I-I YE OLD MILL OAKLAND COUNTY ,-:-x ~:~ c -J S ~-:.::: LAND) OF TH GRE AT LAKEnS Its- life, resources, industries., people, politics, government,, wars, institutions, achievements, the press, schools and churches, legendary and prehistoric lore IN TWO VOLUMES Edited by GEORGE N. FUIJLER, A.M. (Harvard), Ph.D. (Univ. of Mich.) Also In Volume Three An Account of OAkLAD OUT Edited by LILIJAN DRAKE'AVERY VOLUME nII Published by National Historical Assvociation. Inc.. and dedicated to the Miehigan Pioneer and Historical SocietyIn commemoration of its fiftieth anniversary A ''. I I -ORGANIZATION O1 RED CROSS AND WORK OF1 ITS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS-INPLUENZA EPIDEMIC-WORK OF THt SCtOOLS&-CHURCHR-W RIR EP CLUBS —BOY SCOUTS -NATIONAL COtWCIL OF DE'BNSE —WOMAN'S LITERARY CLUBADICK RICHAtRMON WOMAN'L RELIEF' CORPS —WAR WORK OF MANUFACTURERS-DRAFT BOARDS — MLITARY ACTIVITIESSERVICE OF LIEUT. HODGES-GOLD STAR LIST................................1-80 CHAPTER VI-EDUCATION FIRST SCHOOLS IN COUNTY-PIRST SCHOOLS IN PONTIACACADBMIS — MICHIAAN MILITARY ACADEY — BEGINNING OF PUESLC C0HOOL SYrTEM IN PONTIAC —TE OLD UNION —PRESENT 8CHOOL SYSTIBM —BUJIlDlNGS-THACHINO STAFr-DEPARTMENTS -FINANCIAL STAT1STICS —RIULES GOVEiNING EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHIRS —LATR SIGNS OF PROGRBSE —PAR-NT-TACS ASSOCIATIONS-COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTeM-NUMBR OF SCHOOLS- IN BACH TOWNoHIP-SURVEY Or COND ITION................ 81-86 CHAPTER VII-PHYSICIANS AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH PONTIAC CITY HOSPITAL-ITS BEGINNING AND PRESENT VALUE TO CITY-ST. JOSEPH MERCY HOSPITAL —WORK OF CITY HEALTH DBTARTMiBT-VITAL STATISTICS-COUNICABL DIS]ASESPUBLIC HEALTbH NUBING-WORK OF CITY LABORATORY —FOOD N1BPACTION-CVITY SlJfTATION-CUNTY HEALTH WOHK-FONTIAC 8TATe BHOPITAL,................................_..... 87-92 CHAPTER VIII-CITY OF PONTIAC INWCORPORATION Ag A VILLAGBE-ARLY ACTVTI=E-OHGANIZATION OP FIR IPAIRTMEiNT ---PRENT fTSTi-t-irPUSE OF ProSNT CITY GOVERMWNT OUTLINED-WORK OF CoIERC'S OFFICE-ELECTION& —CHARTER OOMII.ltWON IMBTIA -KICTRIC TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIGHT RATES-EMPLOYEES PICNIC-WORK OF ASSESSOR'S OFFICE -CO-OPERATION BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTSLIBRARY-WORK OF FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS-RECREATIONAL DIVISION-ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED FOR BOARD OF EDUCATION-ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS-CITY WATER DEPARTMENT-CONTROLLER'S REPORT............................93-107 CHAPTER IX-BENCH AND BAR ADDRESS OF M. E. CROFOOT IN 1858 AT DEDICATION OF COURT HOUSE-AN ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY DAYS IN THE COURTS OF THE COUNTY-EXCERPTS FROM ADDRESSES OF AARON PERRY GIVING MORE MODERN HISTORY OF BENCH AND BAR-JUDGES OF THE SIXTH CIRCUIT COURT............................................................108-113 CHAPTER X-MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRY ADVANTAGES PRESENTED AT PONTIAC TO MANUFACTURER-BEGINNINGS OF AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY-OAKLAND MOTOR COMPANY-GENERAL MOTORS TRUCK COMPANY-FISHER BODY CORPORATION-WILSON FOUNDRY & MACHINE COMPANY-PONTIAC BOARD OF COMMERCE..........................................................14-120 CHAPTER XI-BANKS AND BANKING EARLY METHODS OF TRANSACTING BUSINESS-FIRST BANK OF COUNTY-WILDCAT BANKS AND EVIL EFFECTS-NATIONAL AND STATE BANKS-BANKS OF PONTIAC-NAMES, CAPITALIZATION AND OFFICERS OF ALL BANKS IN THE COUNTY..........................121-124 PERSONAL SKETCHES-Arranged aphabetically............................................................................................................................... 125-451 i r i j CHAPTER I. PIONEER INFLUENCES AND SETTLEMENTS OAKLAND county, the largest but one of all the counties of the southern peninsula of Michigan, was the first inland county to receive permanent settlers. It would be reasonable to suppose that the tide of eastern immigration would first have affected the shore counties, but as a matter of fact this county had permanent settlers in 1817, a date quite as early as those which marked the beginnings of important American settlements along the shore. Some of the reasons for the priority of settlement of Oakland may be summarized as follows: the personal equation as exemplified in the influence of one of the members of one of the early surveying parties, Benjamin Graham, who became interested in these lands when running the western boundary line of Macomb county; the expedition of Major Oliver Williams through the county and his subsequent good reports; the superior natural advantages found in the water power, variety and fertility of soil, good timber and beautiful scenery, and the vigor and enterprise of the Pontiac Company. The soil of this section was varied, but in the main good. The stiff lake clay found along the shore of Lake Huron extended over to constitute a large part of southeastern Oakland, but was traversed at intervals by sand ridges paralleling in general the lake shore and indicating that the shore of the lake at one time in the past extended over into this territory. A very good quality of sandy land, so prevalent in the lake regions, was a characteristic soil of the county. In addition to these two types of soil, the oak openings were found to cover irregular patches of loose-textured glacial drift, this drift soil and the better sandy land predominating. However, from observing the location of the early settlements, it is to; be imagined that the first comers to the county did not concern themselves greatly with the type of soil when locating their farms. Timber was abundant, oak, pine, elm, maple, beech, black-walnut and whitewood having been found in quantities. The better sandy soil, which may be the result of the sandstone formations which underlie the southeastern watershed of Michigan, supported large tracts of pine, the "Big Pineries" of the county, one of which' was in Orion township, having often been mentioned by pioneers. The oak was particularly abundant, and the openings in the oak forest, so beautiful a product of nature, were highly prized by the pioneers. The valuable tracts of this hardy wood and the beauty of the oakrimmed lakes is perpetuated in the name of the county. The beauty of this region in its primeval glory must have been exceptional. A pioneer wrote in 1822: "We also saw several of the celebrated lakes spoken of by former exploring parties into the interior. One of these, immediately in the rear of Mr. Williams' house. 18 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY is in the highest degree romantic and beautiful. * * * Before supper, at the instance of Judge Sprague, we ascended a conical elevation of land very precipitous and lofty, from the summit of which, for many miles in circumference,.we were presented with a view of a most picturesque and beautifully diversified country. Lakes, valleys, uplands and groves of pine and other timbers here met the eye to an extent that occasioned an equal degree of surprise and pleasure." A superb view of the surrounding country was gained by pioneers from the top of a peak near Pontiac, called by some Bald Mountain, an eminence which rose some hundred feet above the rest of the countryside. In 1833, after a visit here, the famous De Toqueville wrote: "After we left Mr. Williams, we pursued our road through the woods. From time to time a little lake (this district is full of them) shines like a white tablecloth under the green branches. The charm of these lovely spots, as yet undisturbed by man, and where peace and silence remain undisturbed, can hardly be imagined. I have climbed the wild and solitary passes of the Alps, where nature refuses to obey the hand of man, and displaying all her terrors, fills the mind with an exciting and overwhelming sensation of greatness. The solitude here is equally deep, but the emotions it excites are different. In this flowery wilderness, where, as in Milton's Paradise, all seems prepared for the reception of man, the feelings produced are tranquil admiration, a soft melancholy, a vague aversion to civilized life, and a sort of savage instinct, which cause you to regret that soon this enchanting solitude will be no more." There are about 450 lakes in Oakland county exclusive of mill ponds or other artificial bodies of water, and the total area of these lakes is about twenty thousand acres. Among, the principal of them may be counted Cass, Orchard, White, Walled, Lakeville, Orion and Elizabeth. The secondary drainage of the county is into these lakes, while the primary drainage is by means of the Shiawassee, Huron, Rouge and Clinton rivers, which drain the northwest, southwest, southeast and northeast parts of the county respectively. The lakes of the county are admirably described in a paper by Ida M. Durkee entitled "Memoirs of Hon. Charles Bartolette Boughner, Pioneer," a paper read before the members of the Historical Society of Oakland county on February 22, 1921. The paper reads in part: "In Oakland county there is a chain of beautiful lakes, more than 450 in number, many of them many square miles in area. Around these, shaded by the 'forest primeval', wound the trail of the redman and the corduroy road of the settler. Two rivers flow through them, the Huron and the Clinton, and after a tortuous course of hundreds of miles are at last lost in Lakes Erie and St. Clair. "West Bloomfield is preeminently the lake township of the county, being literally dotted with crystal lakes and having more than 4,000 square acres or about one-fifth of its surface covered by them. The River Rouge drains a few of them into the Detroit river. "Cass lake, named after Governor Cass, is the largest in the HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 19 county, and almost entirely in West Bloomfield but with two arms stretching out into Waterford where Elizabeth lake, named after his wife, is located. "Orchard, the next largest and wholly within the township, is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of them all; though some prefer Pine on account of the irregularity of its shore line, which is one of fascinating beauty. Orchard lake is nearly round and framed in a setting of wooded bluffs and pebbled beaches. It is charming, picturesque, and has a flavor of poetic legend and historical association that make it very interesting. Near its center is Apple island, an emerald gem of about thirty-eight acres, set in the deep blue of the lake. On it are a few apple trees, 'old and gnarled,' which legend says were planted by the Indians. Its Indian name, Me-nah-sa-gor-ning, meaning the place of the orchard, still lives in tradition. Much of the legendary lore of the aborigines has been woven into a beautiful poem by Samuel M. Leggett of Clintonville, Waterford township, entitled 'The Legend of Mle-nah-sa-gor-ning.' "On this island the Algonquin chief, Pontiac, met Chief Walk-inthe-Water and revealed to him the plan of his terrible conspiracy. And it was here that he had his lodge after his repulse at the siege of Detroit. "And there are legends too of tenderer meetings here, between the young warrior and the Indian maiden, which, whether they be true or false, lend an additional charm to a spot already made charming by the hand of nature. "Near the western shore of the lake is Cedar island, a small wooded tract of about two acres. "The chain of beautiful lakes known as the 'Straits' has two of its number in West Bloomfield, while Walnut. Green, Union and Pleasant and a score or more or lesser ones lie wholly within its boundaries. "But eighty years ago when most of Michigan was still primitive forest, the habitat of Indians and wild animals, the poor settlers who cut their way hither through the wilderness were not seeking scenery but lands that would support them and their families, and here they saw prosperity awaiting the cultivators of this fertile and heavily wooded soil. "Orchard island, or as it has more recently been named, Apple island, was an Indian reservation, one of the two which were laid off within the township, the other being at the south end of the lake on land since known as the Cummings farm. Both of these are now the property of Willis C. Ward. "Upon these reservations the Indians planted corn, beans, potatoes and other vegetables which they cultivated in the careless, slovenly manner so characteristic of the redman; hut notwithstanding, they produced a considerable amount of food. "The apple trees on the island proved a boon to early settlers, for here they were able to obtain shoots with which they could start orchards for themselves. "The Indian reservations were sold at public auction by the gov 20 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ernment in September, 1827, and were purchased at a price of eleven shillings and eight pence per acre by James Galloway, of Palmyra, New York. This thrifty New Yorker, mindful less of his own comfort than the welfare of his children who should follow him, gave the island to his daughter Julia. In 1847 it was sold to William Dow, a brother of James Dow, a prominent figure in Orchard lake history. Dow deeded it to John Coates in 1851, and in '56 it was sold to Colin Campbell, of Detroit, whose family has since spent their summers there. "The other reservation, consisting of 107 acres at the southern end of the lake, Galloway deeded to his son Jerome, then about two years of age. Jerome Galloway, because of his father's forethought, was thus for many years and until his recent death the only living person whose name appeared on the records of the original grants given by the government, and he took great pride in showing the purchase deed bearing the signature of John Quincy Adams. He became a wealthy farmer and influential citizen and was a representative in the State Legislature in 1849. Descendants of these first families in the land are among the foremost citizens of today." The following extract from "Our Debt to the Pioneer," by the late Mrs. Kittie Cuthbertson McCoy is a beautiful description of the county's lakes. It was prepared for the annual meeting of Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society, and was read February 22, 1916, and also at the Centennial Celebration, August, 1916: Men, lift your hats from your brows today In honor of those who are gone away. In honor of those who with courage true Took Oakland County from the wilds for you. Our beautiful county, the state's diadem, Bands of silver her streamlets, each lake a bright gem, Each lake an emerald with charm evermore Reflecting the verdure, green-fringing the shore. Each lake a garnet or a ruby, blood-red, When the hues of' the sunset are over it spread. Each lake an amethyst, when o'er it are hung The storm-clouds and purple-red shadows are flung. Each lake a diamond when the radiant beam Of the sun in the noon-hour gives sparkle and gleam. Each lake a topaz, earth's bosom to grace When the pale yellow moon smiles into its face, And when the white cloud-rifts float slowly above, Each lake is a pearl which the angels must love. Ah! these are the lake-gems of world-wide renown, God has chosen to set them in Michigan's crown, They adorn our fair county these jewels of worth, Our Oakland, the fairest, the dearest on earth. With her wide-spreading acres of billowing grain, HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 21 Her low sun-kissed hills edging valley and plain, Her gigantic oaks, her towering pines, Her fruits and her flowers, the wealth of her vines, Her schools and her churches, her beautiful homes, Her temples of art, her high-standing domes, Oh, surely no country on all this wide earth Can claim more devotion because of its worth, And it is our birthright, our heritage dear, Can we pay our great debt to the pioneer? The work of our fathers, let us often recall, Nor let the dim past overshadow it all, And let us be sure that our children will know The story of one hundred years ago. The story of hardship, of toil and of tears, The story of brave-hearted pioneers. Their part is finished, their labor is done, Our part to cherish the guerdon they won; Our part to render as year follows year, All honor and praise to the pioneer. That the island in Orchard lake was a favorite resort of Indians there is no doubt. There is much of tradition still clinging to this romantic spot, and much of fact in regard to the Indian occupation of the island is known. Both tradition and fact are preserved in a splendid paper entitled "Orchard Lake" and prepared by Caroline E. Campbell, who for many years made the island her summer home. She says in part: "Another place where we children lingered was by the Indian graves. In my childhood they were clearly defined, but the many feet passing over them have well-nigh obliterated them. On Memorial Days I distinctly remember taking garlands of flowers and laying them on many of these graves, and sitting beside them and trying hard to cry, and wondering why I could not. My heart was greatly touched by a story my mother told me of a little grave with a white heart-shaped stone laid on it, and my mother impressed me more than she realized, perhaps, by her touching picture of that squaw's grief as she placed the little stone upon the grave to mark it specially. I could really shed tears there, and I put my sweetest flowers upon that little grave. "I grew to love Pontiac's Mound, too; a little round hill on the southern shore of the island. Here we believed was Pontiac's favorite resting place. Here was the spot most sacred to the tribe. Whether there is any foundation for this belief, I do not know; but it was interwoven in the creed of my childhood. Mrs. Burns, one of the real pioneers, and mother of Mr. James Burns, told my mother that she had seen the Indians three hundred strong pass by her house to the point by Cedar island, and thence swimming a little and fording most of the way, pass to the island, where they held their councils and their feasts, and where we were led to believe Pontiac presided from 22 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the eminence of this mound. Others have said Pontiac retired to Orchard island after his defeat at Bloody Run; and who knows but he planned his famous conspiracy on that very spot? It is strange how little we know about Pontiac. Our pioneers paid about as much heed to the Indians as we to the common tramps, and yet by passing lightly by these people, we miss many romances. "But to go back to Mrs. Burns. She said at first she was afraid of the Indians, especially as they looked curiously at her little boy. She took up a gun and aimed it at them, but they shook their heads and laughed, and in some way gave her to understand they did not mean to harm her or the boy. Year after year they passed her home on their annual pilgrimage to the island. Each year they were fewer in number until only two appeared. Then next year there were none, and only the spirits of the Indians claim it now. "Along the south shore toward the east there was a strange line of earth works. From behind these the Indians could shoot their arrows far out over the lake, although no one remembered seeing this done. Near these breast-works-if such they are-are still to be seen ridges where their corn was planted, and in several places on the higher land are circular hollows which were filled with shelled corn and all covered with bark to keep out the rain. This corn was still in the hollows when my father bought the island in 1856. "The island seems to have been a favorite burial place for the Indians. When Mr. John Coates sold the island to my father, he took with him a fine collection of Indian relics, which' are still, I believe, in the museum in Paisley, Scotland. Among these was quite a large silver cross, which was taken, supposedly, from the grave of a chief. This shows that the Jesuit Missionaries had been among our Indians. We have very few relics, but I am sure the uncultivated land would contain great numbers. The little hills on the south shore of the island seem to many to be burial mounds. However, I should be the last person in the world to disturb the Indians' quiet sleep. "About 1885, the caretaker on the island was plowing and pierced a small mound. Here was seated a skeleton with a pewter pan in his lap, the pan filled with wampum. It also contained a knife, rusted almost beyond recognition. The plow share went through the pan, but I still have it, although someone unkindly robbed me of the wampum. There was a great deal of it, so this skeleton had probably been a chief. In 1908 or 1909 another man was ploughing in a field that had long been cultivated. The earth must have gradually washed away so that the level had been lowered, for he pierced a grave containing two skeletons lying on their faces. They were not more than three feet below the surface. We could see the marks of their blankets by the difference in color of the strata of the earth. Why they were lying on their faces we cannot tell. They may have been prisoners who were slaughtered. They were peculiar looking; rather short or undersized, with very long arms in proportion to their height. Had I known of any scholars who would have desired to study them, I should have been glad to have had some light thrown on the subject; but knowing none, I had them covered again without disturbing their HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 23 bones any more than possible, and I felt how strange it was that we could get no answers to our question as to who they were, why they lay there, or indeed to any of the real history of the countryside." The following is quoted from the Pontiac Gazette of July 3, 1872, and is of interest at this point: "In the spring of 1820, my father, Dr. William Thompson and myself and one of father's hired men started from Silver lake in a canoe, passed through lakes and down river, arrived at Orchard lake same day and camped on the island, and were entertained by Indians that resided on the island, and were the first party of white men that had visited the island. Next day took a quantity of fancy apple trees from the old Indian orchard, went down the Clinton, arrived at Pontiac the second night; took canoe and trees on lumber wagon to Silver lake. Some of those same trees are still living in the Silver lake orchard, and on the old Dr. Thompson farm, town of Oakland." (E. S. Williams.) The following extract from a letter from Mr. Galloway, Palmyra, New York (1895), is given to throw additional light on the early history of the island: "My great-grandfather once owned Orchard island, as he speaks of it. I have listened by the hour hearing my father tell of his boyhood days playing with the Indian boys, shooting at a mark with bows and arrows and fishing in the lakes, and of the apple trees and the Indians' burial ground. One of the apple trees was very large, the apples falling fifty feet apart from one side to the other, and they could easily find an eagle's nest for there would be bones of fishes and small animals lying at the root of the trees." Information concerning the Indian occupation of Oakland county is contained in a paper read by Ralzemond A. Parker, of Royal Oak, before the session of the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Soriety on February 22, 1921. Mr. Parker says that the following was told by Mrs. Ruth Benjamin who died a few years ago at the age of ninety-two years. Her maiden name was Ruth Stoughton and she was the mother of John Benjamin, at one time supervisor of Royal Oak township. A settler on the "Early Trail," one Erastus Ferguson, who located on the northeast part of Section 16, was one day chopping wood on the northeast corner of his land when her father passed on the road. Ferguson called to him and told him that he had something interesting to show. He took Mr. Stoughton to a large log lying near the road, and behind it were the skeletons of some fifteen or sixteen Indians. No record has been found of a conflict at this point which was near the bank of the west branch of the Red Run, but the early records of the British occupation of Detroit state that several expeditions had been sent out, probably following the Indian trails, and that some had skirmishes with the Indians. This was, undoubtedly, the result of one of these skirmishes, because as Mrs. Benjamin also stated, in clearing out and deepening a small run which crossed the road a little further to the north, there was found the remains of what was evidently a British soldier, for with the skeleton was a belt buckle and a piece of cloth distinguishably red. The soldier had 24 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY probably been buried in the bed of the stream, a common practice in those days, to prevent the remains being disturbed by Indians or wolves. Unfortunately the buckle and cloth were lost long before the time Mirs. Benjamin related the incident to me. "In early days a large Indian village or settlement," continues Mr. Parker, "evidently occupied the southeast quarter of Section 7 and perhaps part of Section 8, for even to this day large ditches can be seen leading from, to, and around the swampy places, apparently for irrigation purposes." These ditches are located in the western part of Roseland cemetery; but, as no attempt has been made to preserve their integrity, they will probably be destroyed. One of them crossed the section line road between Sections 8 and 17, or the Twelve-Mile Road west, the ditch and the bank of which were perceptible until a very late period and perhaps even today. Directly north of Mr. Benjamin's house is a large bank or dam across the swale. Probably that was built by beavers. Upon this dam Mr. Parker recollects seeing the stumps of elm trees four feet in diameter. The little stream in which were found the remains of the British soldier showed the remains of beaver-dams, and the work of beavers, indicating that those animals were plentiful at an early date. But beavers could not have excavated and are not known to have ever excavated such work as a ditch four or five feet deep with banks correspondingly large and running through the forest fifty or sixty rods, such as the work in Roseland Park cemetery. The banks of these ditches were covered with heavy timber. Other evidences of cultivation also existed to a late date which are comparable with, and like, the Indian corn-fields found in other parts of the state. The Indians raised corn, beans, pumpkins and even French wheat in the vicinity of Detroit. The following extract from Judge Campbell's "Political History of Michigan," page 211, shows what the Indians were at an early date: "For a couple of centuries after the first settlement in Canada, the Indian tribes were in several instances the only farmers in the country, and supplied the whites. In Michigan, Ohio and Indiana their villages were neat and their lands were well laid out and well tilled." The first permanent settlement in Oakland county was made by the Graham party. Benjamin Graham, a youth employed as a chain carrier with a surveying party running the western line of Macomb county in 1816, the present Oakland county having been at that time included in Macomb, became so favorably impressed with the lands in this region that he returned to his home in the neighborhood of Mt. Clemens fired with the idea of establishing himself at some good spot in the new territory. He, with his brother Alexander, followed the river route up the Clinton river and penetrated the interior as far as Troy township. This was in the summer of 1816. Erecting a temporary shelter, they remained for a time, but returned to their home for the winter. Returning in March of the following year with Christopher Hartsough, they arrived at the location of Rochester on the 17th, St. Patrick's Day, and erected a log house, this site appealing so strongly to the father, James Graham, that he decided I; PIONEERS OF OAKLANI) COUNTY-TAKEN IN 1874 I HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 25 to go no farther for a time. The Graham party, on this trip, packed their entire belongings hither on the backs of five French ponies, the forest trails not permitting travel with wagons at that time. James Graham soon afterward moved to Section 24 of this township, Avon, and squatted on a farm which was occupied in 1819 by Dr. William Thompson. In his early life Mr. Graham had lived near Tioga Point, on the Chemung branch of the Susquehanna river in Pennsylvania. He went from there to Canada, but in 1816 came to Detroit and after a time moved to Mt. Clemens until he made final settlement in Avon township. The first entry of land in this township was by John Hersey on October 29, 1818, and included the southeast quarter of Section 10, now within the limits of Rochester, the price paid having been two dollars an acre. A description of some of the early life and development of Rochester and Avon township are given in a paper read at the annual meeting of the Pioneer and Historical Society on February 22, 1918, by Miss Eva Barwise, of Rochester. Miss Barwise says in part: "The first industries were started for supplying the immediate needs of the settlers. They were saw mills for preparing material for building and grist mills where corn and wheat could be ground for flour. "In the summer of 1819 Messrs. Hersey, Russel, Woodworth and Alexander Graham, son of the first settler, built a saw mill on the banks of Paint creek. The first sawing was done in October of that year. Afterward a single run of stone was added for gristing purposes. The stones for this mill were thirty inches in diameter and were taken out of Stony Creek and dressed by one of the Messinger family. The mill stood on the site of the Eureka Mill, built fortynine years later by Dr. Jesse and Dr. Jeremiah Wilson. "Before the year 1819 no other gristing mill was nearer than a few miles north and west of Mt. Clemens. In 1824-25 Mr. John Shippey commenced the manufacture of mill stones from bowlders. His first set was made for Mr. Nathaniel Millerd, and the next set was cut for Mr. H. Lathrop. The stones were placed in a mill built by Col. Stephen Mack of Pontiac, the frame of which was a part of the frame of the first Barnes paper-mill. Fire destroyed the mill in 1875, but the firm rebuilt the same year of brick, purchasing modern improvements for paper-making, which is now one of the manufacturing interests of Rochester. The next activity in the industrial line was in the little settlement called Stony Creek. "George M. Shaw built a wagon and blacksmith shop in 1825-26. This shop was afterward converted into a tannery and used for this purpose a number of years. The building went into decay and was carried off by the spring floods. About this time a distillery was completed and operated by a Mr. Jackson, who sold it to Charles Learned and Benjamin Horton. The firm had commenced the erection of another distillery and they moved the fixtures of the first building to their own. This business venture was sold to Mr. Lyman 26 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Wilcox, who added facilities for gristing. A few years later the property was again sold, but was burned soon after. "In 1828 the manufacture of chairs and furniture was begun by William Burbank. In 1837 a grist mill was built on the Clinton river by Johnson Niles at the south end of town. A wool-carding and cloth-dressing factory was built on Paint creek by Hosea Richardson in 1844. In the pioneer homes wool was spun and woven into cloth and then pressed at the mill. "For a long time mail was brought on horseback by way of Royal Oak and later it was carried by stage. Roads leading through marshlands of logs were covered with sand and gravel. Rains washed away the sand, leaving an uneven surface. About the year 1848 a plank road was laid between Rochester and Royal Oak. Then a turnpike road was made and toll charged for the upkeep. Either road was a great improvement over the sticky clay and deep sand over which loads were drawn to Detroit. In the meantime land was cleared and farms were being developed. Frame houses usually of one and one-half stories instead of the log houses. To return to Rochester-we find that two general stores had been opened and two hotels built not later than 1832." THE PO'NTIAC COMPANY (Addressed to the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society, February 22, 1919, by Aaron Perry) While most people of this county recognize the good work done for the city of Pontiac by the Pontiac Company and the substantial benefits rendered to the city by that company, most people do not recognize the great amount of work done for the county of Oakland by the Pontiac Company. The Pontiac Company was a copartnership and not a corporation. It was formed in Detroit November 5, 1818. The members of the partnership were fifteen in number as follows: William Woodbridge, Stephen Mack, Solomon Sibley, John L. Whitney, Austin E. Wing, David C. McKinstry, Benjamin Stead, Henry I. Hunt, Abraham Edwards, Archibald Darrah, Alexander Macomb, Andrew G. Whitney, William Thompson, Daniel Le Roy and James Fulton. As to most of the members of that company I have been unable to find any biographies or authentic data. But I have been able to find something as to the history and activities of some of the most prominent of them, and think that introductory to this address, I ought to briefly tell you who some of them, at least, were and something of their personnel. William Woodbridge was born in the state of Connecticut and was a lawyer by profession. He was secretary of the Territory of Michigan in 1819-20. He was United States congressman from 1828-32 and was judge of the Superior Court of Detroit in 1835 and was a member of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Michigan in 1837. He was state senator in 1839, and United States senator in 1841-47. He died in 1861, at the age of eighty-one years. Alexander Macomb was born in Detroit, April 3, 1782. He fought HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 27 in the war of 1812 and commanded as Brigadier-General of the American forces at the battle of Plattsburg, and received a gold medal for his bravery and efficiency as a commander, and also a vote of thanks of the U. S. Congress. He was made Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. army in 1835. He fought the Indians in Florida and performed other military services and died at Washington, in 1841, at the age of fifty-nine years. Solomon Sibley was a lawyer and afterwards a judge in Detroit. Daniel Le Roy was the earliest lawyer who practiced in Oakland county. He was present at the first day of the first term of the first court held in this county, July 17, 1820. He was admitted to the bar in the State of New York. He was afterwards judge of the county court of this county, prosecuting attorney for several terms, and the first attorney general of the state of Michigan, having been appointed to that responsible position by Governor Mason, in 1836. He moved from this county to the village of Fenton, Genesee county, and died there; but have no data as to the exact time of his death. Austin E. Wing settled at a very early day on Wing lake, in Bloomfield township, which lake was given his name. He was an intimate acquaintance, traveling companion and friend of General Cass, and a United States congressman for three successive terms. Stephen Mack was trustee and general manager and the real head of the Pontiac Company. He was born in Connecticut in 1763, and was thirteen years old at the time of the great Declaration of Independence in 1776. When a young man, after marrying Temperance Bond, he settled in Vermont and engaged in the mercantile business there. He built a hotel there long famous as the White House. He belonged to the Vermont militia and became a colonel and commander of one of its regiments, and was afterwards always known as Colonel Mack. In 1810, when forty-seven years old, he sold his hotel and mercantile business in Vermont and took up the mercantile business in the city of Detroit, leaving, however, for better educational advantages, his family still in Vermont for a number of years. His son, Almon Mack, long a resident of Rochester in this county, attended a military school in Vermont and trained Michigan militia after his arrival in this county. Colonel Stephen and Temperance Mack had a family well reared and remarkable both for its number and ability. They had twelve children, three sons and nine daughters, six of whom were twins-certainly a great distinction. Colonel Mack was in Detroit when the American General Hull, during the War of 1812, surrendered Detroit to the British. A few years after that war ended the Pontiac Company was organized, and because thereof Colonel Mack became a citizen of what is now Oakland county. But he did not bring his family to Pontiac until 1823. Lovina Mack, one of his daughters, came to Pontiac to keep house for her father before her mother came. She arrived here about a year before her mother. She died in Pontiac September 2, 1823, and she is supposed to have been the first adult woman who died in Oakland county. Her father, Colonel Mack, died in November, 1826, only eight years almost to a day after the Pontiac Company was 28 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY organized in Detroit, November 5, 1818. He died of some stomach trouble, possibly aggravated by his financial calamity hereinafter mentioned. Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, was a cousin of the Macks and one of Colonel Mack's daughters joined the prophet's band in Salt Lake. You will be sorry to learn or be reminded that Colonel Mack met with the calamity of an absolute financial failure because of becoming surety for a friend. The Bank of Michigan was organized in the city of Detroit and incorporated there in 1817, with a capital of $100,000, afterwards increased to half a million. James McClosky, a friend of Colonel Mack, was cashier of that institution and defaulted to a large amount. Colonel Mack was surety on his bond, and was apparently the only surety on that bond who had available means, and his entire estate was taken from him to make good the losses caused by the embezzlement of such cashier. A little pittance was saved to his wife, Temperance Mack, because, being her individual dower interest, it could not be taken for her husband's debts. Of the other members of the Pontiac Company I have been unable to find anything worth mentioning in the way of personal history. Apparently they were all prominent business men in Detroit, excepting William Thompson, Daniel Le Roy and James Fulton, who were all residents of Macomb County, of which Oakland County was then a part. The locality of Oakland county was first surveyed by the United States surveyors in about 1816. It was all surveyed before the famous Oakland County surveyor, Hervey Parke, did any work in a professional way in Michigan. As I have said, the Pontiac Company was organized November 5, 1818, and Colonel Mack was appointed its trustee and business manager and so continued to the time of his death when Elon Farnsworth was substituted in his place under the authority of an Act of the State Legislature and a conveyance from the executors of Colonel Mack's will also authorized by the Act of the Legislature. Colonel Mack, the next day after his appointment as such trustee, contracted with the United States on the installment plan and entered for his company twelve hundred and eighty acres, in a compact body, in the central part of the present city of Pontiac. A little later, in 1822. he applied for and entered one hundred and sixty acres more, making in all one thousand four hundred and forty acres. The whole of the twelve hundred and eighty acres cost the company $2,400, the down payment being only $120 and the remainder to be paid before the issuing of the patents, or U. S. deeds, for the lands. The date of the first patents is September 12, 1820, and of the remainder of the land May 20, 1823. The surveying and platting of the town site at Pontiac was done by Major John Anderson and was done in November or December, 1818, or very soon after that time. Before platting had been completed and the corners marked a saw mill had been erected by Stephen Mack at the mill site at the foot of Lawrence site in said city, being HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 29 the site later occupied by the Mathews mill and the Pontiac Knitting Company, and four-inch scantling were sawed in that mill and used for the corner stakes of the various lots and subdivisions contained in such plat of the proposed village of Pontiac. If that is true the stakes could not have been driven until early in 1819, because Major Williams, a pioneer settler on Silver lake, says that when he passed through Pontiac in the fore part of March, 1819, the saw mill was being erected and still incomplete. The records in the office of the register of deeds show that the first deeds of lots on the Pontiac town plot were made between March 9 and June 14, 1822, being to the following persons: Peter Godfroy, Daniel Le Roy, David Stannard, James McCloskey, Orison Allen, Harvey Williams, John Crofts, and John Murdock. What these grantees paid for their lands it appears now impossible to determine. The consideration named in each of these deeds is one dollar. It is probable that they were sold very cheap, but whether more than a dollar was paid I am unable to determine. The first settlement within the present city limits was made in November or December, 1818, but no deeds were received until 1822. The first settlers on the present site of the city of Pontiac were undoubtedly Colonel Mack, Major Joseph Todd, William Lessiter, and Orison Allen. A body of workmen undoubtedly came in November or December, erected a cabin, and began work on the mill site. The Todds and Allens arrived for permanent settlement in January, 1819, though they had visited the place in December. In 1819 Calvin Hotchkiss and Jeremiah Allen entered lands in the vicinity. In 1820 and 1821 the following probably with some others, came to this locality: Abner Davis, Eastman Colby, Alexander Galloway, Rufus Clark, Enoch Hotchkiss, James Harrington, G. W. Butson, John Edson, Joshua Terry, Joseph Harris, Stephen Reeves and Captain. Joseph Bancroft. The rapid progress of the settlement long afterwards incorporated as the village of Pontiac, and its success in outstripping the village of Auburn were due principally to the efforts of Colonel Mack, trustee and manager of the Pontiac Company, and the personal influence of prominent men constituting that company. The first improvements in the city were made by the firm of Mack, Conant and Sibley, Sibley being only a silent partner. Mack secured from, the Pontiac Company the above mentioned water power at the foot of Lawrence street and built a saw mill thereon in the winter of 1818-19. This site was secured for the benefit of Mack, Conant and Sibley. It is important here to remark that that site was given to Colonel Mack subject to the condition that he should pay $1,000, a very large sum in those days, towards the erecting of county buildings, in case the county seat and seat of justice should be located in Pontiac. The first building erected on the site of Pontiac was a small log cabin built by them for the temporary accommodation of their employees while getting out timber for the dam and saw mill. It stood near the dam in question, which has recently been removed, and on 30 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the westerly side of the river, now known as Clinton River, and then known as the Huron of St. Clair. This building was soon occupied by Major Joseph Todd and family, William Lessiter and Orison Allen. This cabin was probably built in November, 1818. So the fall of 1818 must be treated as the beginning of the now prosperous city of Pontiac. The next building completed was a blacksmith shop belonging to the firm of Mack, Conant and Sibley, which stood not far from the saw mill and the flouring mill afterwards erected on that mill site. A trip hammer was added to the shop in 1823, but historians say was never much used. The flouring mill, afterwards known as the Mathews mill, and later converted into a knitting factory, was built by that firm on that same site and completed in 1819 or 1820, and was the first flouring mill erected in Pontiac and possibly in the county of Oakland, although it is sometimes claimed that the Hersey mill in the township of Oakland was erected prior to this one. This mill was a large and important one for those days, and probably contained three run of stone, two burr stones and one made from a common boulder taken from this locality. The Mack flouring mill was completed in 1819 or 1820. On the completion of this mill a great local celebration was enjoyed in Pontiac, and the Pontiac Company and citizens of Pontiac gathered for the purpose of a great, free, and easy hilarious time; and the flowing bowl was freely passed and no limit required of the amount of distilled spirits to be consumed. It is worth while to note the contrast in the use of intoxicating liquors between early Pontiac (pioneer Pontiac) and our present city. In those early days the roads were so impassable between Pontiac and Detroit, that it cost as much to ship grain to Detroit as it does now to ship it to New York City. Grain was, therefore, very cheap in price, and was freely distilled and comparatively large quantities of whiskey made in Oakland county. Many distilleries were erected here, one being erected by Colonel Mack, and whiskey was about as cheap as kerosene oil is now, and it was drunk very freely. Mr. Conant left the above mentioned firm, in 1820, and Mack continued to run the firm business for the other partners, himself and Sibley, until his death in 1826. Conant seems to have had nothing to do with the distillery. It was erected by Colonel Mack about 1823, and was run in connection with the flouring mill. Colonel Mack also erected and put in operation a small woolen mill about that time, containing machinery for carding, spinning and weaving, which mill did quite an extensive business. Colonel Mack also built a grist mill at the village of Rochester in 1824. He also ran a general store in the city of Pontiac where the people in the locality, including the Orchard Lake Indians, and the Indians traveling through this place, as well as the pioneers of this locality, did their local trading. The roads being impassable direct from Detroit the earliest pioneers of this locality came by way of the Huron of the St. Clair (the Clinton river) and as I have said, at that time this county was a part of the large county of Macomb. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 31 The Pontiac Company was instrumental in securing the location of the county seat and seat of justice on their plat of land. Of course they had the argument that it was on the crossing of the Clinton river by the Saginaw trail, then likely to be converted into a territorial road, and nearer than the rival Auburn to the center of the probable future limits of the permanent county of Oakland, and that it had more and better mill-power sites. But notwithstanding those arguments the county seat very likely would not have been located here excepting for the great efforts of the Pontiac Company and their liberality in donating lands and money. Governor Cass, January 12, 1819, made a proclamation fixing the tentative boundaries of Oakland county, and appointed a commission of five men to locate the county seat. February 12, of the same year, the Pontiac Company delivered a communication to these five commissioners and tendered to them the present site for a courthouse and one of the present jail lots. and one thousand dollars or more in money, and six additional lots for the benefit of the county, in case the commission would locate the seat of justice on the town plat of Pontiac. These extra six lots were numbers 29 to 34 inclusive of the original plat, and fronted on Perry street between Mt. Clemens and School streets. These lots were sold by the county in 1840 and the meager proceeds received therefor were used for current use of the county; and afterwards, in 1846, the county bought one additional lot for jail purposes costing $225, which was undoubtedly much more than they got in 1840 for the whole six lots they had sold. Pontiac was selected by this commission as the seat of justice March 28, 1820. In 1824 the first courthouse was begun, but it was not completed and accepted by the county, until 1833, although it had been used for county purposes soon after its erection was begun. This county building was made of frame logs in the lower story and boards in the second story, as I understand it. The first story was used as a jail and the upper story for the sheriff's residence and the holding of courts. I have said that the first settlers came to this locality by the course of the Clinton river. It is not generally known, I think, here, that the Saginaw Turnpike, or territorial road, was not laid out or completed through this county until 1819 or later. I understand it was established in 1819. The so-called Saginaw trail appears to have been little better than a pony path for Indians up to the time of the building of this territorial road. The growth of Pontiac and the county of Oakland at first was very slow, and it continued up to about 1830 or 1831. The population in 1820 was only 330. In 1830 the population of the whole county was 4,910. It had increased in 1840 to 23,646 and in 1850 to 31,270. You will be surprised to be reminded that the total population of Michigan in 1820 was only 8,896; and the population of Oakland county was then only about one-thirtieth of that of the whole state. In 1830 the population of the state had increased to 31,639, and of Oakland county to 4,9f0. So that in 1830 we had about one-seventh 32 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY of the population of the state, and Oakland county was the most important county in the state outside of the city of Detroit. The increase in wealth in this county was also very slow, and the statistics of the poor during the earlier history of the county show that there were many paupers among the pioneers. The first poor house erected in the county seems for the first year to have housed an average of about forty-six paupers continuously. In 1828 the total assessment of Pontiac township, including the village or hamlet of Pontiac, which was not incorporated as a village until 1837, was $106,377. And the total taxes assessed for that year in the whole township was $447.24. As late as 1830 the total county taxes of this county were only $2,569.67. You have all heard on previous occasions of this kind, mention of Indians in this locality, and we are very apt to get the impression that they were more numerous than they really were, during the time that Colonel Mack was running the Pontiac Land Company. As a matter of fact there appears to have been only one subordinate and quite unimportant tribe of Indians, or perhaps more accurately "band of Indians," located in this county, being the band known as the Orchard Lake Band, having its headquarters in the vicinity of Orchard lake. But this county being situated between Saginaw Bay, and Detroit, the familiarity of our early settlers with Indians was largely with these traveling bands. One of the chiefs of the Chippewa Indians, named Kish-kur-ko, was quite a frequent visitor to this county, and quite a troublesome one. Our local historians claim he was harsh, cruel and bloodthirsty, and of very small brain calibre, and not at all liked by the early pioneers, but situated as we were then, it is quite remarkable that we had so little trouble with the Indians. Colonel Mack traded largely with the Orchard lake Indians and he gives them the character of being peaceable excepting when under the influence of liquor; but he records they were very fond of fire-water. As late as 1834 the county of Oakland was full of wild game, and infested by wolves. From 1827 to 1834 over 370 wolves had been killed and the bounty for killing them, $3.00 to $5.00 each, paid by the county, an average of killings you will notice of over fifty a year. No one can listen to the brief sketch I have given of the activities, industry, generosity, efforts and achievements of the Pontiac Company without realizing that it was a very important factor in the development not only of the village of Pontiac but of the county of Oakland as well. And when we realize that the activities of its head and business manager, Colonel Stephen Mack, extended over a period of only eight years, we can but marvel that he was able to accomplish so much that was substantial and lasting in so short a time. And in the cycle of years, on Decoration days, when we go to Oak Hill cemetery, where his body now lies, for the purpose of memorializing the worthy dead, we ought for memory's sake, if not literally to drop a sympathetic tear, at least to place a wreath of flowers on his revered and honored grave. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 33 BIRMINGHAM From an enlightening paper entitled "Piety Hill" read by W. D. Clizbe at the annual meeting of the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society on February 22, 1919, the following information regarding the early settlement of Birmingham is taken: Birmingham covers the south half of Section 25 and the north half of Section 36. The center is marked by a stake in the middle of Maple avenue, west, and in line with the east side of Pierce street. These four quarter sections were entered under the administration of President Monroe. Patents of title were later issued to those who made the entries. Col. Benjamin H. (sometimes written K.) Pierce entered the northwest quarter of Section 36 January 28, 1819, which involves all west of Pierce street and south of Maple. John W. Hunter entered the northeast quarter of Section 36, which involves all east of Pierce street and south of Maple. Major John Hamilton entered southeast quarter of Section 25 September 27, 1821, which involves all north of Maple from Adams avenue to the stake in the middle of Maple at the center of the village, which causes Hamilton's west line to cut the Ford block in two and take in a part of other stores on that corner, and thus north to a point east of the railroad culvert. Elijah Willits entered the southwest quarter of Section 25 September 25, 1821, only two days earlier than Hamilton, which involves all north of Maple avenue and west of the north and south line, constituting the west line of John Hamilton's land before described. Col. Pierce (a brother of Franklin Pierce, afterwards President of the United States) never resided on his quarter section, but John V. Hunter, Elijah Willits and John Hamilton came to stay, and each built a log house which held their families and also served as taverns for the public. These men were business men and went ahead with vigor. Mr. Hunter was two years ahead of the others in entering his land, and not knowing the exact northwest corner of his land he built his first house on Mr. Willits' land, just back of the beautiful home of Miss Sly on the corner of Woodward avenue (Saginaw) and Willits street. His second log house he built on his own land about where the D. U. R. waiting room is, and near it in 1822 he built the first frame house in town.. Years after this first frame house was moved to No. 510 Brown street. The second frame house was the present north wing of the old National Hotel built by Major John Hamilton in 1827, on the corner of Woodward and Hamilton streets. The year 1819 was certainly the birth year of Birmingham, though it was not called by that name until around 1830. Previous to that it was called after the names of one of the three hostelries, but most frequently Hunter's or Hamilton's, while some dubbed it "Piety Hill." Mr. Hunter was a Presbyterian, Mr. Willits was a Methodist and his hotel-house was used as a meeting place. The early settlers were so earnest and interested in developing their new home, so thoughtful of others and hospitable, clean in thought and dignified in habits that 34 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY it is quite incompatible with conditions to suppose the name "Piety Hill" to have been anything but a well-meant title, though possibly a pleasantry. The Methodist church was organized in 1827 and the first church was built in 1839, and is now the town hall at the corner of Bates and Merrill. The first Presbyterian church was built on lot No. 9 of Hunter's plat in 1844, and is now a store room behind Mel. Clement's stone blacksmith shop. Along with the Hunters in 1819 came Judge Amasa Bagley, who settled at Bloomfield Center, and another was Dr. Ziba Swan and family, consisting of three sons and a daughter. One son, Ziba Swan, Jr., afterwards became a judge. Dr. Ziba Swan settled on the Wendell property, the northwest quarter of Section 25. There were clear spots on this land and the Indians are said to have had some fine old fights there. Besides being the first doctor in Birmingham he built the first school house, about where the pavement turns west through the Quarton's estate at the site of the old toll-gate. Back in the southwest corner of Dr. Swan's farm he dedicated a half acre to the sacred purposes of a burial ground, which he tended carefully for a quarter of a, century, when in 1846 he deeded two and one-half acres in all to nearly two dozen citizens who should care for the cemetery as a sort of association. Dr. Ezra Parke came in 1822 and lived a mile north of Birmingham, where he held the first Methodist meetings, and this spot was not a half mile from the home of Deacon Elijah S. Fish, who established a Presbyterian church in his barn on the present Benedict farm. Dr. Parke was the first postmaster of Bloomfield and served twelve years (1824-36). Hervey Parke (his brother) came in 1822, taught school in Swan's schoolhouse, lived in John W. Hunter's new blacksmith shop and took up surveying, No sooner had the first settlers cleared a space for potatoes and corn than other business matters attracted attention. Mr. Willits started a tannery in 1827. Mr. Hunter in 1828 established a foundry where Ed O'Neil's store stands. This developed into a big business, largely through the activities of Roswell P. Merrill. As it grew they finally were making anything from plow points to threshing machines. The threshing machine factory stood where Charlie Shain's drug store and the First National Bank are. When abandoned for manufacturing it became an academy and was used as such until a public school was established in a brick schoolhouse at the brow of the hill on West Maple avenue. (Mill street). This building, built in 1854, still stands and belongs to W. D. Clizbe. Rev. S. N. Hill, the Presbyterian minister who had taught in the academy, opened the first public school. In 1869 the school on Chester street, now properly named "Hill School", was opened under Supt. Beatty, who was followed the next year by Z. C. Spencer. Rev. Hill and Prof. Spencer during those years practically established the educational status of this section. Birmingham schools have been second to none all these years, and only a year ago they moved into a quarter of a million dollar high school. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 35 The early surveyors had made such reports of Michigan that the actual settlers were held back. They had made the land either swamp or gravel, and conveyed the idea that neither could be made useful for agriculture. Until the winter of 1819 there was no road to Detroit other than dry weather trails. Our first settlers came from Detroit by roads out Gratiot way, and thence on the banks of Clinton river from Mt. Clemens. When we now roll over a pavement lighted by electricity the whole distance we are quite apt to forget that once it took two teams of sturdy oxen to pull through one pioneer with a little jag of household necessities. WATERFORD The early history of Waterford and Waterford township is marked strongly by the efforts of members of the Williams family, and especially by one of its members, Major Oliver Williams, one of the very first settlers in Oakland County, and a man who did much to broadcast the excellencies of the region. Major Williams, according to the 1877 "History of Oakland County", was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, August 6, 1774. He removed with his family from Concord, Massachusetts, to Detroit, Michigan, in 1815. He had established a mercanitle business in Detroit, purchasing his goods in Boston, carting them overland in covered wagons to Buffalo, and shipping thence by water to Detroit. He ordinarily made two trips a year, on horseback, to and from Boston and Detroit. During the winter and spring of 1810-11 he built, at the river Rouge, a large sloop, which he named the "Friend's Good-Will", and in the early summer of 1812, just previous to the breaking out of the war between the United States and Great Britain, made a voyage to Mackinaw, acting in the capacity of supercargo. At Mackinaw his vessel was chartered by the government to take military stores and supplies to the garrison at Chicago, then a small military and trading station. She was also to bring back a cargo of skins and furs for the government. The commanding officer at Mackinaw, Lieutenant Hanks, furnished the major with a box of ammunition, twelve stands of arms, and a non-commissioned officer and six men, as a guard against the Indians, who were then openly hostile, and it was known that war was imminent. Upon his return from Chicago he was decoyed into the harbor of Mackinaw, which had in the meantime been captured by the British, and was made a prisoner. His cargo of course was taken for the benefit of the British government, on account of his vessel being under a government charter. The name of his vessel was changed to "Little Belt", and formed a part of Commodore Barclay's squadron, captured the next year by Perry on Lake Erie. At the time of the battle she mounted three guns. She was burned at Buffalo the following winter. Major Williams was paroled and sent to Detroit, and was present at Hull's surrender, and after General Winchester's defeat in January following he was sent east, with most of the business men of Detroit, before the arrival of General Harrison's army. After Winchester's 36 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY defeat, many of the prisoners, some badly wounded, were brought to Detroit by the Indians, and offered for ransom. Major Williams ransomed several, and afterwards received from the United States government fifty-six dollars, being the amount he had paid for two Kentuckians. These were certified to by the proper papers. Several others were ransomed, but the technical vouchers not being given, he received nothing for them. For his vessel and property taken by the British he never received any compensation, and the amount remains unpaid to the present time. The amount of his business interests destroyed by the war may be estimated from the fact that his purchases in Boston the year preceding the war amounted to $64,000. In the fall of 1815, Mrs. Williams left Concord, Massachusetts, with her family of eight children, the oldest not yet fourteen years of age, to join her husband in Detroit. The family traveled with a spring carriage, and their goods followed in a four-horse covered wagon, to Buffalo, where they took passage for Detroit on board a small schooner named the "Mink". They arrived safely at Detroit after having been obliged to lay to at. Put-in-Bay for several days, Qn account of stormy weather. When passing Malden the vessel was fired upon by drunken Indians. Luckily, the shots flew wild, and no one on board was injured. In 1816, Alpheus Williams, a brother-in-law of Major Oliver Williams, brought his family to Detroit. The fall of 1818 witnessed one of the first settlements in Oakland county. In the latter part of September of that year, Major Williams, Calvin Baker, Jacob Eilett, and, it is believed, Colonel Beaufait, together with Mrs. Oliver Williams and Mrs. Alpheus Williams, made a journey to Oakland County, on horseback. They had a French guide, who was probably familiar with the country, and followed the Indian trail towards Saginaw, which crossed the Clinton river, about where Saginaw street now crosses in the city of Pontiac. (Editor's Note: This guide is elsewhere described as an Indian-perhaps he was a half-breed.) The party selected their lands in the vicinity of Silver lake, searched-out the surveyors' lines, and marked the corners. After an absence of three or four days the party returned, carrying specimens of the shrubs and flowers, of the region. The report electrified the staid, quiet inhabitants of Detroit, among whom the belief was general that the interior of Michigan was a vast impenetrable and uninhabitable wilderness and morass. The exploring party entered their lands at the United States land office, the price being at that time two dollars per acre, only a part of which was required to be paid at the time of purchase. The succeeding autumn and winter were remarkably open and warm, scarcely any frost or snow being seen until March. Major Williams during the winter built on his land at Silver lake a double log house, fifty by twenty feet in dimensions, and one and a half stories in height, and in March, 1819, moved his family from Detroit to their new home in the wilderness. The beginnings of Waterford village date back to 1819, when HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 37 Alpheus Williams, a brother-in-law of Major Oliver Williams but not otherwise related to him, and Captain Archibald Phillips built their houses at that place. Williams' house was of logs, but Phillips' was more pretentious, being constructed of sawed boards. The two men came to Waterford for the purpose of erecting a saw-mill on the Clinton river, and this they did afterl constructing a dam and raising a pond. It is stated that this pond caused much sickness among the early inhabitants of the place on account of the overflowed shrubbery and weeds rotting in the water. The first hotel began operations about 1830 under the ownership of Phillips, and the first grist mill was put up in 1844 by Dr. George Williams, not related to Alpheus Williams. He built a mill at Clintonville at the same time, the one at Waterford having three runs of stone. A carding mill was built between 1840 and 1842 by Richard Bronson on the old Williams property, part of which he had bought. The first village lots were laid out in 1845 by William T. Windiate, and additions have subsequently been made. CLINTONVILLE The village of Clintonville, in Waterford township, was founded as early as 1830, when Samuel C. Munson came there and built a grist mill and a saw mill. These mills supplied the needs of the surrounding country for years, although they changed hands from time to time. In 1835 John Osmun, Sr., bought the property for his sons, and they kept it until 1844 when they disposed of it to Dr. George Williams in 1844, that gentleman building a new mill on the dam-site. Munson's house was the first to be built, a small log structure, replaced in 1834 by a frame dwelling. This village is now practically extinct. DRAYTON PLAINS Drayton Plains, a small village in Waterford township, received its first settler in 1822-23, a man named Foster, although it is thought he settled on the plain near the later site of the village. Jonathan Perry and Harvey and Austin Durfee also came at an early day, the Durfees being the first settlers on the ground where the village now stands. Daniel Windiate, an Englishman, and his son-in-law, Thomas Whitfield, built the Drayton Plains Hotel in 1838-39, two years after they had built a dam and grist mill of three runs of stone. Windiate had been a miller in England, his mill in the old country having been called "Drayton Mill", and he gave his mill here the same name, the name of the village being taken from that of the mill. No village lots were laid out until 1860, when this was done by Lewis L. Dunlap, although a considerable cluster of houses had been built before that time. The first store in the place was started by another son-in-law of Windiate, William Besley (or Beasley). TROY CORNERS In 1822, Johnson Niles, a carpenter by trade, settled on the northeast corner of Section 9 in Troy township. At that time there were only about fourteen families in the township, and Niles quickly 38 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY assumed a position of leadership among them. He brought with him his family, consisting of his wife, two sons, Orange and George, and daughter Julia. He built a cabin and started at once trading with the Indians, having supplied himself with trinkets for this purpose. This business developed, a larger stock was laid in, and a general store conducted. The enterprise was so successful that a full stock was being carried by about 1830. At about that time he opened a tavern in conjunction with his store, and the building was quite pretentious for the time and location. In the meantime, a shoemaker by the name of Guy Phelps who owned the southwest quarter of Section 3, opened a shoe shop, and about 1831 a blacksmith shop was started by John Miller. Troy Corners was by now the trade center of the township, and until the time of the railroad, when the village was passed by, it appeared that it would be the rival of Pontiac for the leadership of the county. At one time its population numbered several hundred. A post-office'was established in 1823, with Niles as postmaster, a position which he relinquished after many years to his son, Orange. The industries of the township in the early days, aside from small distilleries, were largely confined to saw mills, mostly steam powered affairs, which were used to convert the heavy timber of the township into valuable lumber. ROYAL OAK Royal Oak, in Royal Oak township, which has sprung almost overnight from a sleepy village to a city of importance on account of the vast extension in manufacturing which has been moulding eastern Michigan in the past twenty years, was originally platted in 1836 by Sherman Stevens, who had purchased the land from Joseph Parshall. It is stated that the village was laid out in anticipation of the completion of the Detroit & Pontiac Railroad. The first business of the village was a saw mill built by the railroad in 1836, and in the same year Daniel Hunter built a hotel. There had been for some years an old block-house there in which men named Lockwood and Talbot had kept tavern. Another hotel was built in 1839 and called the Railroad Exchange. The post-office was established, having been moved thither from Chase's Corners, in 1838. Royal Oak languished for many years in a state of near decay, but with the enormous growth of Detroit in the past few years it has attained the distinction of being the second city in the county, Pontiac only exceeding it. Bordering on Royal Oak is the village of Ferndale, "the largest village in Michigan," and this extends from the limits of Royal Oak to the county line, where it meets the city limits of Detroit. Ferndale has been in existence only a comparatively short time, but there is no doubt it will continue its present rapid growth to become one of the leading communities of the county. Royal Oak is now a city of many thousands, and it is not doubted that Pontiac must look to her laurels within the next decade if it is not to be surpassed by what was a short span ago but a hamlet on the highway. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 39 FARMINGTON The village of Farmington, in Farmington township, one of the southern tier of Oakland county, is a village of considerable magnitude. Its first settler was Arthur Power, who later built a mill on the creek flowing through the town, and its first important resident was Dr. Webb, the first physician of the township. Power,, with his two sons, John and Jared, and two workmen, came from New York state with the purpose of settling in Michigan. They were all members of the Society of Friends, and Dr. Webb and other early comers were also of that faith. For many years the settlement was called Quakertown, but the name, the real name, has always been Farmington, named for the town of that name in New York, near Power's former home. Power's first mill was a saw mill, and in 1830 he erected a new dam and a grist mill, both mills receiving their power from the new dam. The first hotel of the place was operated about 1830, and its first landlord was Dr. Isaac Wixom. The pioneer merchant of Farmington was Stephen Page, and his enterprise was followed soon by a store conducted by Henry Miller. Page's store was built by Power, and, indeed, that man seems to have been the motivating influence behind the early settlement and vigorous start of the community. NOVI The village of Novi, or Novi Corners as it used to be called, is in the township by that name, and was founded prior to 1830. The first comer to the present site of the village was John Elmore, who settled on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 14. He was quickly followed by Apollos Cudworth and Benjamin Brown. Brown opened a general store, the first in the township, and a man named Blanchard opened a tavern soon afterward. This was the beginning of the village, and when a post-office was established it attained the status of other villages in the county. The first postmaster was Asaph C. Smith, a storekeeper who began business at the "Corers" soon after Brown opened his store. WIXOM The village of Wixom, situated on the line between Novi and Commerce townships, was brought into being by the establishment of a railroad station at that point after the Civil war, and is now little more than a few houses, small stores, a post-dffice and a hotel. COMMERCE The village of Commerce was the earliest settlement within the boundaries of Commerce township, and the first man to enter land at that point was Abram Walrod. He came in May, 1825, and he was soon joined by Reuben Wright, a New Yorker, and two years thereafter came John Cook, also from the Empire state. Settlers congregated about this nucleus rapidly, and the village soon boasted a post-office, a grist mill (erected in 1837' or 1838 by Crossman, Seymour & Hoover), a store for general merchandise which was started 40 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY in 1836 on a small scale by Henry Paddock, and a tavern conducted by Richard Burt beginning in 1834. The village is located pleasantly on the Huron river. WALLED LAKE One of the most popular resorts of Michigan is Walled lake, in Commerce township, a lake made especially famous by the wall of stone which forms its banks, a wall produced by purely natural causes. In June, 1825, Walter B. Hewitt located near this lake, and was joined in May of the next year by Bela Armstrong. From time to time there were acquisitions received to this community, and as the village took form it was called Walled Lake. The vicinity was a favorite of the Indians, who fished and hunted in large numbers thereabouts, and a flourishing trade was done with them. The first store was an Indian trading post conducted by Prentice & King in 1830, but the stock carried was. only that which was calculated to intrigue the imaginations of the Indians and not to supply the needs of the few whites. In 1833, William R. Adams established the first regular store of the place, whose stock is said to have been principally whisky. The village was platted in 1836 by Jesse Tuttle, and although the growth has been slow, a good trade is done in the summer time with the cottagers. SOUTH LYON The village of South Lyon, in Lyon township, was for many years known as Thompson's Corners, the first house having been built there in 1832 for the Widow Thompson, whose son, William, kept the first store of the place in an addition to his mother's home. Among the early settlers were S. and E. Calkins, Thomas and Dwight Dunlap, Charles Borden and Albert Letts. A steam mill was erected for sawing lumber in 1835 by William and Robert Thompson. A post-office was installed there in 1847 with the name of South Lyon, from which the village thereafter took its name. The building of the Detroit, Lansing & Northern; Railroad through it in 1871 gave an impetus to the growth of the village, and in 1873 it was given a village charter by the state legislature. NEW HUDSON The following facts concerning the early settlement of New Hudson, a village in Lyon township, this country, are gleaned from the 1877 history of the county. Settlements were made in the vicinity of.the village as early as 1831 or 1832. Among the first settlers were Daniel Richards and Russel Alvord, the latter of whom laid out the village in 1837. The first house was erected in 1832 by Richards, and the first tavern by Alvord. The first store was opened for business in 1834 by Dr. John Curtis and John A. Hand. The first post-office was established in 1834, with Dr. Curtis as postmaster. The doctor later moved to Kensington, another village in the township, now no longer existing, and took the post-office with him. The Detroit and Howell Turnpike Company was organized in 1850, and the road con HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 41 structed through New Hudson about that time, a toll-gate being placed in the village. MILFORD The village of Milford, in the township of that name, was platted in 1836. The site was chosen because of the superior water power to be had there, as it is at the confluence of the Pettibone creek and Huron river. Elizur Ruggles and the Parks family were the first settlers, having come in prior to 1836, the two families erecting the first houses. Settlers were quick in coming to the new village, and the first store was opened in 1836 by Jabesh M. Mead, and the storekeeper was his brother-in-law, Ansley S. Arms. A tavern was kept in the same year by the Widow Edmonds, and the following year saw the erection of a school and numerous dwellings. The first saw mill had been built in 1832 by Elizur and Stanley Ruggles. This was sold to the Armstrongs in 1839, and by them to Major Hughes in 1853. The mill pond was such a terrible nuisance that the people of the surrounding country destroyed it in 1856 to prevent further sickness from it. This act resulted in a law suit which dragged on in the courts for years, but the dam was never reconstructed. A grist mill was erected in 1836 by Luman Fuller, the Armstrongs built one in 1839, and the Pettibone mills were built in 1846 by W. B. Hebbard. The last mentioned enterprise became a flourishing industry, and milling is done on the site in considerable volume to this day. The above mentioned Hebbard and George Davis built a woolen factory in 1850. The Vowles Cultivator works was established by Joseph Vowles, the inventor of the implement, in 1865, and in the spring of the same year the Milford agricultural works were established by P. F. and D. W. Wells. Milford was incorporated in 1869, and has had a post-office since 1835. HOLLY Holly, in the township of Holly, owes its existence to the building of the Detroit and Milwaukee railroad. This road reached Holly in 1855, where there had been for some time a collection of a few houses. In 1862 the Pere Marquette railroad was completed from Holly to Flint, and the town began to boom. A saw mill had been built there in 1843 by Ira C. Alger, and a grist mill by the same man in the next year. These mills attracted business to the embryo village, but after the coming of the railroad its growth was given a powerful stimulus. A post-office, by the name of Holly Mills, was opened in 1846, and in 1858 a foundry was built, followed twelve years later by another enterprise of the same kind. The original plat of the village was made in 1855 by James G. Mitchell, and three years later he platted an addition at the north side of town. ORTONVILLE Ortonville village, in Brandon township, had its beginning in 1848, when Amos Orton built a dam across Kearsley creek and built a small saw mill to work up the lumber in the vicinity. In 1852 42 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY he also built a small feed mill, which met with such success that in 1856 he erected a three-story frame mill with a large capacity. The first house was erected in 1850 by Orsamus Doty, the next came in 1851 and was built by Thomas Tripp; Amos Orton and Hiram Ball building their homes in the following year. Orton built a blacksmith shop in 1850, and this was followed three years later by the wagon shop of George Wiggins. Dr. Thomas B. Johnson, the first physician, came in 1855, and in the following year opened a small store. Amos Orton was the first postmaster, the office being opened in 1855. The town was platted in 1866 by several residents of the place, and in 1875 the Ortonville Foundry was established, manufacturing plows, harrows and general, farm machinery. OAKWOOD Oakwood village, on the line between Brandon and Oxford townships, was settled in 1836 as Campbell's Corners. Three houses were all that appeared on the site until 1843 when Thomas Streator built a blacksmith shop, and other adjuncts of a village followed in the succeeding half dozen years. OXFORD Oxford village, in Oxford township, had its first settlers in 1833 -34, Fite and Adam Rossman, the house built by the former having later been used as a tavern. In 1833 Henry Shelters settled nearby and was the first carpenter of the place. Others, of various trades and occupations came in from time to time, and in 1840 the first manufactory was erected, a factory by Daniel F. Ingals and Benjamin Knight, who made plows, sleigh-shoes and repairs for farmers. The first store was opened in 1842 by Samuel Phelps. The village was platted in 1845, George Loucks platting four acres, but the progress of the village was slow until the railroad was put through. After that the development of the village was steady, and it was incorporated on January 13, 1876. A considerable number of manufacturing establishments have been the result of the increased interest of people in Oxford, and they have in turn added materially to the importance of the place. LAKEVILLE To quote from an old history of the county, "the very first settler of Addison (township) seemed to realize that somewhere on section 27, at or near the outlet of the principal lake of that region, would be the site for the village which would serve as a trading-point for the township. And when, in 1830, Sherman Hopkins built a small log house and a saw mill on the spot where Lakeville now stands, he really laid the foundation of the place. His successor, Addison Chamberlain, completed the work; and in 1840 Frederick S. Clark, Payne K. Leech and Richard L. Clark laid out the village of Lakeville on section 27. Lakeville lake is a popular summer resort for people from far and near, and while the village does a good business all the year, the summer season is especially busy for the inhabitants \~4,. T S WASHINGTON STREET, VILLAAE OF OXFORD I HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 43 of the town. A post-office was established, in 1838 with George Larzelier as postmaster. Chamberlain's mill was destroyed in 1846, and in the following year Charles W. Chapel secured the mill site and built a three-story and basement flouring mill with a capacity of fifty barrels a day. In 1851 he opened a store, the first in the village to carry a complete stock of supplies. ORION The village of Orion, in Orion township, had a fantastic beginning, if such it may be called, In 1836, forty acres on the northeast part of section 11 were platted by one James Stillson, a traveling auctioneer. After having a highly-colored and also highly imaginative picture made of the city, which he named Canandaigua City, he went east and sold several of his lots at enormous figures, these purchasers later finding that they had bought small pieces of uninhabited marsh land. In 1838 the real start of the village was made when Needham Hemingway platted the east half of the southeast quarter of section 2, now the principal part of the village. A few months later John Perry platted sixteen blocks nearby, calling it Perrysburgh, now part of Orion. At first the village was called New Canandaigua, but in 1854 was changed to Orion when the name of the post-office was changed. The village was incorporated in 1859 but its charter revoked in 1863. It was almost wiped out by a fire in 1862, but recovered, was again incorporated in 1869 and has since been under its own guidance. Orion lake long ago began to attract summer visitors, and this attraction has been capitalized by the people of the village, who turn the custom of the warm weather population to their own advantage. CLARKSTON Beautifully situated near several small lakes and on the Clinton river in Independence township, the village of Clarkston is also a summer resort spot of considerable popularity, and since it is practically the only trading point in the township does a good business with the agricultural population of the vicinity. The first house was built in 1830 by Linus Jacox, and the second in 1832 by Butler Holcomb, who built the first saw mill in the same year. In 1838 he sold out to Jeremiah and Wilson F. Clark, who immediately began the construction of a grist mill. A few years later the place began to be called Clarkston, and in 1842 the Clark brothers platted twenty acres and gave it that name. The first store had been opened in a rude shanty in 1838 by William and John Axford, but in 1842 a large frame building was occupied by the store of Nelson W. Clark. The Clarkston mills were rather pretentious, the power furnished by the Clinton river, and the capacity four hundred bushels a day. A foundry was built in 1845 by Arthur Davis. It was remodeled by successive owners, and finally became a part of the Clarkston carding mills, an enterprise fostered in 1847 by N. W. Clark. 44 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY DAVISBURGH The village of Davisburgh, in Springfield township, was first settled in 1836 by Cornelius Davis, who took up 720 acres of government land. Village lots were laid out in 1857, soon after the Detroit & Milwaukee railroad was built through it. The first sawmill was built by John C. Davis, and in 1854 he also built a gristmill which did a large custom grinding business for many years. The first store in the town was kept by him in a part of this mill. The first school in the village was taught about 1856 by Emma Mosey, and in 1854 the post-office was established with John C. Davis as postmaster. CLAWSON Located o'n the line of the Detroit United Railroad in Troy township is the village of Clawson. This is the third village of the township, the others being Troy Corners and Big Beaver. It is near the southern line of the township, and is of more recent origin than the two other villages of the township mentioned. KEEGO HARBOR In 1905 Keego Harbor had one house and a stop for the interurban cars. Today it has a population of 1,000 during the whole year, and in the summer the number of people there reaches 6,000. From the time Joseph Sawyer built the canal from Keego Harbor to Dollar lake and Cass lake the community has grown rapidly. Summer cottages first, and then permanent homes were built, and there are now two schools, Keego Harbor school, costing $8,500, and the Roosevelt school, which has been in use for about two and one-half years, costing $85,000. CHAPTER II. COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT O N January 12, 1819, Hon. Lewis Cass, governor of the Michigan territory, issued a proclamation establishing the county of Oakland, as follows: "Whereas, a petition has been presented to me, signed by a number of the citizens of the said Territory, requesting that the boundaries of a new county, and the seat of justice thereof, may be established by an act of the executive, which shall not take effect until the arrival of a period when its population shall require such measure; "Now, therefore, believing that a compliance with the request will have a tendency to increase the population of such parts of the territory as may be included within these boundaries, and prevent those difficulties which sometimes arise from the establishment of counties when settlements are formed, and conflicting opinions and interests are to be reconciled, I do, by virtue of these presents, and in conformity with the provisions of the ordinance of Congress of July 13, 1787, lay out that part of the said territory included within the said boundaries, viz., beginning at the southeast corner of township 1 north, range 11 east, north of the base line; thence north to the southeast corner of township 6, in said range; thence west to the Indian boundary line; thence south to the base line; thence east to the beginning, into a new county to be called the county of Oakland. And I hereby appoint John L. Leib, Charles Lamed, Philip La Cuer, John Whipple, and Thomas Rowland, Esqs., commissioners for the purpose of examining the said county, and reporting to me the most eligible site for the seat of justice of said county. To take effect from and after the 31st of December, 1822, unless sooner determined by the governor. LEWIS CASS." The settlement of Oakland county grew apace, however, and in the following year, March 28, 1820, Governor Cass issued a second proclamation definitely organizing the county. This proclamation was as follows: "Whereas, the inhabitants residing within that part of the territory included in the county of Oakland, as the same was laid off by act of the governor of the territory, bearing date the 12th day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, have requested that the said county should be organized "Novw, therefore, I do, by virtue of the provisions of the ordinance of Congress passed July 13, 1787, determine the limitations in the said act of governor of this territory, and I do hereby declare the tract of country included within the said boundaries to be the county of Oakland, and the inhabitants thereof henceforth entitled to all rights 46 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of the other counties of this territory are entitled. "And I do, in conformity to the report of the commissioners appointed by the act aforesaid, establish the seat of justice of the said county at the town of Pontiac. LEW CASS." Thus was Oakland county organized, a square of land thirty miles on each side, containing twenty-five congressional townships, an area of nine hundred square miles. For the "more convenient execution of the laws within the county" it was deemed expedient by William Woodbridge, secretary to Governor Cass and at that time acting governor of the territory, to divide the county into two townships by executive proclamation on July 28, 1820. The two townships thus formed were Oakland and Bloomfield, comprising, respectively, the northern three-fifths and the southern two-fifths of the county. The next division into townships was made in 1827 according to an act of the legislature approved on April 12th, creating the additional townships of Pontiac, Farmington and Troy. In 1830 Southfield township was organized; in 1832, Novi and Royal Oak; in 1833, West Bloomfield; in 1834, Commerce, Lyon, Milford and Waterford; in 1835, Avon, Groveland, Highland and Orion; in 1836, Independence, Springfield and White Lake; and in 1837, Addison, Brandon, Oxford and Rose. Addison township: First land entry made in January, 1826, by Henry Connor on section 27; first settler, Sherman Hopkins, who located mill-site on section 27 in 1830 and built a house; sold mill to Addison Chamberlain in 1831; first frame house built by Chamberlain; township organized in April, 1837, and named in his honor; first two town meetings were held in his house; first school erected in 1835; post-office established at Lakeville in 1838. Avon township: First land entry made October 29, 1818. by John Hersey on section 10, now in village of Rochester; first settlers were James and Alexander Graham and Christopher Hartsough, who arrived at present site of Rochester on March 17, 1817; township organized first Monday of April, 1835; saw-mill erected 1825 on Clinton river by George Postal, and a grist-mill was built soon afterward nearby by his son, Charles Postal. Bloomfield township: First land entry made January 28, 1810, on section 36 by Col. Benjamin H. Pierce; first settlers were John W. Hunter, John Hamilton and Elijah Willets; first house erected by Hunter; township organized by proclamation of governor June 28, 1820. Brandon township: First land entry made in June, 1831, by Elijah B. Clark, Asa Owen, and Jesse Decker, citizens of Orion township, who never became settlers in Brandon; first settler was John G. Perry, who moved to land he purchased on Section 35 in 1835 with his family; built first house; first post-office established in 1845 on section 27 with William King as postmaster; first school-house in 1837 on section 33, and first teaching was in summer of 1838; township organized in 1837 and first meeting was held on April 3, 1837. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 47 Commerce township: First permanent settler was Abram Walrod, who settled on section 10 in May, 1825; now on site of village of Commerce; built first house of logs; first frame house built in about 1833 by Thomas Caruss; first post-office established in 1832; first grist-mill erected at village of Commerce in 1837 or 1838; township organized by act of legislature approved March 7, 1834, and first meeting was held at house of Henry Tuttle on April 7th. Farmington township: First settlers came about February 1, 1824, and were Arthur Power and his sons Jared and John, David Smith and Daniel Rush, all from Ontario county, New York; postoffice established under name of Farmington in fall of 1825 with Dr. Ezekiel Webb as postmaster; first saw-mill erected by Arthur Power at Farmington; first grist-mill by him in 1830; township organized by act of legislature approved April 12, 1827. Groveland township: First land entry made on September 3, 1829, by William Roberts; Roberts and Masten W. Richards made first actual settlements, building log houses; post-office established with name of Austin in 1845-46; first school built 1832-33; township organized in 1835, and first meeting held at the house of Calvin Herrick o.n April 6th of that year. Highland township: First purchase of land made by Naham Curtis September 6, 1832, on section 36, and the built the first house; first mill was a grist-mill built in 1835 at Spring Mills (Highland) by Major F. Lockwood; first saw-mill built in 1846; first store in 1836 by Simon Hough; post-office established at Spring Mills in 1857 with Enos Leek as postmaster; township organized March 17, 1835, and first meeting held at house of Jesse Tenny on April 6th. Holly township: First settlement made in 1831 on section 6 by William Gage and his family; built first house; first land entry made by Nathan Herrick on September 16, 1830, on section 1; first sawmill built at village of Holly in 1843; post-office established in 1846 with Marcus Young as postmaster; township organized in March, 1838, and first meeting was held in the following month at the house of John Runyon. Independence township: First land entry made on October 10, 1823, by Alpheus Williams; first settlement made by Linus Jacox in 1830; first frame house built on Sashabaw plains in 1834 by Adam Fisher and Marcus Riker; first post-office established on section 15 with Thomas Johnston as postmaster; first saw-mill built by Butler Holcomb in 1833; grist-mill in 1839; township organized in spring of 1837 and first meeting held in April at house of Arthur Davis. Lyon township: First settlement made in 1830 by Bela Chase on section 27; first mill at Kensington in 1834 by Joel Redway, a sawm'ill; post-office established in 1847 at South Lyon with Z. C. Colvin as postmaster; township organized on March 7, 1834; first meeting held at house of Eleazur E. Calkins on April 7th. Milford township: First land entry made by Amos Mead in 1827 on section 10; Elizur and Stanley Ruggles, among earliest pioneers, settled in 1832; they erected the first saw-mill in the township in 1832, and also built first house in township; first grist-mill erected in 1836 48 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY by Luman Fuller; post-office established at Milford village in 1835 with Aaron Phelps as postmaster; township organized December 30, 1834. Novi township: First land entry made September 3, 1824, by John Gould, who entered northeast quarter of section 36; first settlement made by Deacon Erastus Ingersoll, who settled in section 24 with his wife and nine children on April 26, 1825; built first house in township; first post-office located at house of John Gould in 1827 with Gould as postmaster and with the name of West Farmington; township detached from Farmington and organized as Novi in fall of 1832, and first meeting held at house of Cyrenius Simmons on April 1, 1833. Oakland township: First land entry made March 16, 1819, by Benjamin Woodworth and William Russell on section 33; first settlements were made in 1826 by Asa Baker, Benedict Baldwin, Needham Hemingway, Josiah Dewey, Jeremiah Hunt, Joel Potter, Samuel Tower and James Coleman, nearly all from Monroe county, New York; first log house built by Jeremiah Hunt in 1825; first grist-mill built by Needham Hemingway on Paint creek ift 1835; first saw-mill in 1836 on Stony creek by Arnon Baker; post-office established in 1874 at Goodison's with L. P. Tower as postmaster; township organized in 1835 and first township meeting held at house of William Snell after township was organized with present boundaries; really was organized in 1827 when it included the present townships of Avon, Oakland, Addison, Oxford and Orion, and first township meetings then were held at Rochester. Orion township: First land entry made by Judah Church and Joh'n Wetmore in 1819 on section 19; first settlement made on section 24 in 1825 by Samuel Munson, who built first saw-mill at once on section 25; other saw-mills erected by Joseph Jackson in 1825: Needham Hemingway and others in 1829, and Thomas Drake in 1835. the last being a steam power affair; first grist-mill built in 1837-38 by Needham Hemingway at village of Orion; first post-office established about 1832 at Decker's with Jesse Decker as postmaster; township organized in March, 1835, and first meeting held at house of Jesse Decker. Oxford township: First land entry made in 1823 by Elbridge G. Demfing; first settlement not made until 1831, although much land had been purchased'before that time; first settler was a trapper named Avery Brown, who built a shanty in 1831, but first permanent settler was Elbridge G. Deming, who came with his family in the spring of 1832 and built a log house on section 9; first post-office at Deming's home in 1834 or 1835 with Deming as postmaster; township organized at meeting at house of Fite Rossman in April, 1837. Pontiac township: First land entry made by Pontiac company in November, 1818; first settlement made in February, 1819, by members of company; first house built by themf at that time (see history of Pontiac Company elsewhere in this work); township organized on April 12, 1827; first township meeting held at courthouse in Pontiac on May 28, 1827. Rose township: First land entry made by I. N. Voorheis and HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 49 Daniel Hammond on June 8, 1835; first settlement made in 1835 on section 35 by Daniel Danielson, who built first house in township; post-office established with name of Rose at Buckhorn in 1837-38 with John A. Wendell as postmaster; township organized March 11, 1837, and first meeting was held at house of David Gage on April 3d. Royal Oak township: First land entries made July 6, 1820, by I. Luther and D. McKinstry in section 33; first settler was a Mr. White, who built his cabin in spring of 1822, or perhaps earlier; named from large oak tree called "Royal Oak" by Governor Cass; the railroad built a saw-mill at village of Royal Oak in 1836; first post-office at Chase's Corners in 1826 with Joseph Chase as postmaster; post-office removed to Royal Oak in 1836; township detached from Troy and organized as Royal Oak in 1832. Southfield township: First land entry made by John Wetmore in May, 1821; first actual settler was John Daniels, who came in 1823 to settle on section 4; built a house and returned east for his family in spring of next year; first saw-mill was built in 1829 by Joshua Davis and Michael Beach on the east branch of the Rouge river; first grist-mill built in 1837 on main Rouge by Ezekiel H. Sabins at Southfield Centre; two tanneries started in 1830; township organized on July 12, 1830, under name of Ossewa, which was changed to Southfield in seventeen days; first annual township meeting was held at house of Benjamin Fuller on April 4, 1831. Springfield township: First land entry made by Daniel LeRoy on section 13 on July 19, 1830, his purchase including Little Springs; the first settler was Asahel Fuller, who located on the LeRoy purchase in 1830; afterwards built first hotel in township at Springfield post-office; the first school was taught by Sarah Pratt in a frame barn built by Azra C. Crosby in 1834 on Section 13; organized in 1837 under present name after people had refused to organize under name of Painsville as decreed by legislature; first meeting held April, 1837, at house of David Stanard. Troy township: First land entries made February 12, 1819, on section 19 by Messrs. Castle, Hunter, Hamilton and Fairbanks; first settlement in 1821 on section 9 by Johnson Niles, now known as Troy Corners; first post-office established at Troy Corners in 1823 with Johnson Niles as postmaster; township organized May 28, 1827, and first meeting held at house of Riley Crooks. Waterford township: First entry of land made by Major Oliver Williams on the banks of Silver Lake, in section 13, in the fall of 1818, and made the first settlement; the first school was taught in Major Williams' sheep-house in the fall of 1821 by a man named Brett; first post-office established in 1834-35 on Lake Elizabeth, and was called Lake Elizabeth post-office; township was organized in 1835 and the first meeting held in old district No. 1 school-house on April 6, 1835. West Bloomfield township: This is the lake township of the country, as it includes many of the largest in the county; first land entry made by James Herrington on May 15, 1823; first settler was 50 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY John Huff, who built his cabin in the fall of 1821; first post-office called Pine Lake and established in 1831 with John Ellenwood as first and only postmaster; first saw-mill erected in winter of 1825-26 by Peter Barr and Isaac Castle on stream between Cass and Timber lakes; first grist-mill built in 1835 or 1836 by Ezekiel H. Sabins, and was called the "Pepper mill"; township set off April 22, 1833, and first township meeting held at house of Nelson Rosevelt April 7, 1834. White Lake township: First land entry made by Harley Olmstead on section 36 on October 7, 1830, and he was also the first settler. He settled here in May, 1832, and built the first house in the township in the following month; first school-house probably taught in White Lake settlement in fall of 1835; first post-office established at Oxbow in 1835 or 1836 with Frederick Hopkins at postmaster; first township meeting held at house of Maxfield Ludlow on April 4, 1836. The management of Oakland county was first reposed in a board of three commissioners, according to an act of the Territorial legislature of May 30, 1818. The first commissioners for this county were Ziba Swan, Enoch Hotchkiss and Jonathan Perrin, whose terms ran until October, 1825. A second board of commissioners was then elected for a term of three years, but in 1827 they were superseded by a board of supervisors. One supervisor was elected from each township in the county, and in addition to, their township duties the supervisors met annually at the county seat to transact the county's business, formerly attended to by the board of commissioners. The duration of this annual meeting was limited to eight days, and the first meeting was held in July, 1827. Among the early acts of the governors of the county were those providing for the erection of county buildings, a courthouse and a jail. These were combined in one building, the first story constructed of squared logs and used for the jail, and the second story of frame construction which was used for a court room. This was erected in 1823-24, Major Oliver Williams having the contract for getting out the timber. However, the second story was not completed until 1827. Several attempts were made during the ensuing fourteen years by the supervisors to get the people of the county to appropriate money for new county buildings, but in every instance their plans were rejected. In June, 1840, the board ordered the sale of village lots 29 to 34 inclusive in Pontiac which belonged to the county, the proceeds of which sale were turned over to the county treasury. In April. 1841, a contract was made for the erection of a building for county offices for the sum of $1,937.50 between Solomon Close and the county commissioners. The board of supervisors had been replaced by a board of commissioners, three in number, on January 7, 1839. In 1847-8 a jail was built by Solon B. Comstock for $5,378.00, but the original courthouse remained until 1856, although not in use for the last few years of its life as its condition was too wretched. In 1856-57 a new courthouse was built by D. J. Pratt for $12,294.00, the building known as the "county offices" having been sold to help defray the expenses of the new building. Both the jail and the courthouse were built of brick. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 51 The present courthouse is adequately described in the history of Oakland county published in 1912 and edited by Thaddeus D. Seeley. This description reads as follows: "This 'beautiful temple of justice,' as the board of supervisors rightly called it, as received from the hands of Superintendent Rufus Swinehart, who represented John G. Schmidt, the contractor, of Toledo, on the 2d of November, 1905, is built of gray Cleveland sandstone and fronts nearly ninety feet on West Huron street. Its imposing tower of brick bears a statue of Justice of heroic size, about one hundred and twelve feet above the level of the street. The two entrances and doorways are flanked by two massive stone columns twenty-six feet in height. Red enters largely into the color scheme, with tiled corridors and marble wainscoting. Rest rooms for both men and women are in the basement, which also contains offices for the commission of schools and superintendents of the poor and a large audience room used chiefly for school examinations. On the first floor are the other county offices, and the accommodations for the probate judge, and on the second floor the circuit court room, which is beautifully decorated; office of the prosecuting attorney, the supervisors' room and the judge's private room. Two features are especially noticeable on the first, or main floor. Opposite the Saginaw street entrance, and occupying much of the wall space, is a large and impressive painting of the great chief Pontiac, and at the foot of the stairs as the visitor passes into the courthouse from West Huron street is a large marble tablet which presents a record of historic value. Upon its face is inscribed the names of the building committee holding office during the period of its erection, as follows: Frank J. Vowles, chairman; John Power, Charles A. Fisher, Ezra Gardner, Frank Thurston, LeRoy N. Brown, Ienry N. Lowery and E. Laverne Davis." On the first floor there is a large bronze tablet placed by the General Richardson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution bearing the names of the men who died in the United States service during the World war. The cost of the building, furnished and decorated, amounted to $113,323.18. The Oakland county jail is one of the finest anywhere to be found in the country. It is thoroughly modern in every respect, is a large and handsome building of yellow brick. Care of the Poor: Prior to the year 1834 the care of the poor in the county was the concern of the individual townships, but it early became apparent that adequate and humane care of the paupers could best be given by the county itself. Accordingly, a committee was appointed by the board of supervisors in 1834 to inquire into the expediency of establishing a county home. The committee thus appointed reported adversely, but in the following year the report of the committee was reconsidered and Messrs. Castle, Curtis and Voorheis elected a committee to take charge of the funds already raised for the purpose and to purchaseq and fit up a farm at a cost not to exceed $800, to be paid in four annual installments. The east half of 52 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the northeast quarter of section 2 in Waterford township at a cost of $1,050, and on May 2, 1835, the building was announced to be ready for occupancy. In 1839 the county assumed the burden of caring for all the poor within its boundaries, abolishing the township duties in this regard. The original farm was occupied until 1857, when it was sold for $40 an acre and another farm of 370 acres bought in Waterford township. For about four years it was the practice of the superintendent to "farm out" the paupers entrusted to his care. This was from 1860 to 1864, and came about through the county having lost the farm through non-payment of mortgages. This system of "farming out" the paupers was considered to be unjust and far from humane, and in 1863 a committee reported that it be done away with immediately by the purchasing of another farm. On April 1, 1864, a farm was bought comprising 120 acres, but two years later it was sold and one of 100 acres bought in Waterford township, and in 1869 additional land was bought to bring its area up to 137 acres. In 1866-67 buildings were erected on this farm at a cost of about $15,000. From time to time additional buildings were put up and the old buildings remodeled until it became one of the best county homes in the state. In the summer of 1918 the buildings at the farm were destroyed by fire, and temporary buildings were at once erected to house the poor. These were taken over by the county in December of that year, and while they were but temporary structures, they were made modem and as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. Those who have held county cffice from the time of the organization of the county to the present timel (1925) have been as follows: Clerks: Sidney Dole, 1820-26; Elias Comstock, 1827-36; Horatio N. Howard, 1835-36; Charles Draper, 1837-38; Pierce Patrick, 1838 -42; Joseph R. Bowman, 1843-48; John T. Raynor, 1849-52; Alfred Treadway, 1853-54; Edward W. Peck, 1855-58; Charles V. Babcock, 1859-60; Zepheniah B. Knight, 1861-62; Phillip M. Parker. 1863-64; James D. Bateman, 1865-66; John Fitzpatrick, 1867-70, 1873-74; Alexander G. Comstock, 1871-72; Theodore W. Lockwood, 1875-76; Daniel L. Davis, 1877-80; Mark Walter, 1881-82; Charles M. Fay, 1883-86; Charles P. Grow, 1887-1890; Frederick Wieland, 1891-94; Frederick Harris, 1895-98; George A. Brown, 1899-January 24, 1910 (resigned); Floyd B. Babcock, 1910-1920; William H. Cryderman, 1921-24; Burton P. Daugherty, 1925-. Registers of Deeds: Sidney Dole, 1820-26; Thomas J. Drake, 1828-32; Walter Sprague, 1832-34; Francis Darrow, 1835-37; Morgan L. Drake, 1837-38; Ransom R. Belding, 1839-42; Thomas J. Hunt, 1843-46; E. H. Budington, 1847-50; Theron A. Flower, 1851-52; Robert W. Davis, 1853-56; Joel P. Toms, 1857-58; Charles A. Howard, 1859-60; Daniel A. Button, 1861-68; Robert W. Davis, 1869-70; Thaddeus A. Smith, 1871-82; Albert Richardson, 1873-74; Thaddeus A. Smith, 1875-76; James H. Harger, 1877-80; Ludovic R. Cole, 1881-84; Daniel Morrison, 1885-88; Melvin D. Sly, 1889-90; Gleason F. Perry, 1891-94; William T. Mathews, 1895-98; Albert G. Griggs, 1899-1902; George F. Brondige, 1903-05; Charles H. Glaspie, 1906-08; HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 53 Harry S. Gardner, 1909-14; Dan A. McGaffey, 1915-18; Stanley C. Rogers, 1919-22; Lucile Avery, 1923-. Treasurers: William Thompson, 1825-29; Samuel Satterlee, 1829 -35; James A. Weeks, 1836-37; John P. LeRoy, 1838-39; Horace C. Thurber, 1840-42; Bernard C. Whittemore, 1843-44; William S. Henderson, 1845-48; Jacob Hendrickson, 1849-50; Samuel E. Beach, 1851 -56; Harry C. Andrews, 1857-60; Erasmus E. Sherwood, 1861-62; Robert Yerkes, 1863-64; Charles C. Waldo, 1865-66; Lysander Woodward, 1867-70; Hiram Voorheis, 1871-72; Albert B. Simpson, 1873 -76; Allanson Partridge, 1877-1880; Erasmus E. Sherwood, 1881-1884; John Allen Bigelow, 1885-88; George Killam, 1889-92; James S. Gray, 1893-94; H. Frank Stone, 1895-98; James L. Hogle, 1899-1902; Judson L. Sibley, 1903-06; John Power, 1907-09; George B. Richardson, 1910-14; Arthur M. Young, 1915-18; Will B. Narrin, 1919-20; Floyd H. Losee, 1921-. Sheriffs: William Morris, 1820-27; Schuyler Hodges, 1828; Harvey Parke, 1829-31; Orison Allen, 1832-36; Caleb Bucknam, 1837-40; Warren Hunt, 1841-44; Edward Martin, 1845-48; Moses G. Spear, 1849-52; Arthur Davis, 1853-56; Clark Beardsley, 1857-60; Austin N. Kimmis, 1861-64; Samuel E. Beach, 1865-68; William Satterlee, 1869 -70; Edwin S. Harger, 1871-72; Ahijah J. Wixom, 1873-74; Edwin S. Harger, 1875-76; Lovett W. Stanton, 1877-80; Hiram L. Lewis, 1881 -84; Christopher S. Voorheis, 1885-86; Salmon S. Matthews, 1887-88; Martin W. Bloomburg, 1889-92; Hiram Killum, 1893-94; John K. Judd, 1895-98; Richard D. Belt, 1899-1900; William A. Brewster, 1901-04; George Greer, 1905-08; Chauncey A. Harris, 1909-10; Arthur J. Tripp, 1911-12; Dwight I. Oliver, 1913-16; Oliver H. P. Green, 1917-18; Charles M. Cross, 1919-20; James S. Butler, 1921-24; Frank Schram, 1925-. Coroners: S. V. R. Trowbridge, Joseph Morrison, 1829; S. V. R. Trowbridge, 1832; Pierce Patrick, 1835; Leonard Weed, Orange Foote, 1836; William Terry, Nathan Herrick, 1838; Nathaniel A. Baldwin, Benjamin Marcer, 1840; Daniel V. Bissell, John Vincent, 1842; Jonathan T. Allen, to fill vacancy, 1844; Jonathan T. Allen, elected, Jacob Loop, 1846; Bela Coggeshall, William R. Marsh, 1848; Elias Woodman, Bela Coggeshall, 1850; Archibald Waterbury, Everett Wendell, 1852; Ziba Swan, Harrison Smith, 1854; Charles V. Babcock, Benjamin V. Redfield, 1856; Francis B. Owen, Hosea B. Richardson, 1858; Hosea B. Richardson, Zuriel Curtis, 1860; Stephen Reeves, Corydon E. Fay, 1862; Orrin E. Bell, Abram Miller, 1864; Archibald H. Green, Orange Culver, 1866; Curtis Babcock, John Campbell, 1868; David A. Wright, Carlo Glazier, 1870; Ira Goodrich, John Highfield, 1872; George P. Hunderford, George E. Proper, 1874; George P. Hungerford, David A. Wright, 1876; John Lacy, Alexander H. Culver, 1878; George D. Cowdin, John Highfield, 1880; George Niles, Carnot N. Northrop, 1882; Andrew J. Culver, Allen P. Wright, 1884; Andrew J. Culver, George Niles, 1886; Andrew J. Culver, Joseph W. Seeley, 1888; John Lessiter, Nathan J. Smith, 1890; Elbert J. Kelly, John Lessiter, 1892; Chauncey Brace, Charles D. Howard, 1894; Chauncey Brace, Elbert J. Kelly, 1896; Chauncey 54 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Brace, Mason N. Leonard, 1898; Chauncey Brace, Clark J. Sutherland, 1900; Ora C. Farmer, John W. Fox, 1902; Ora C. Farmer, Chauncey Brace, 1908; Ora C. Farmer, Clarence Brace, 1914; Ora C. Farmer, Archibald C. Adams, 1918; Ora C. Farmer, Dr. R. G. Tuck, 1920; Ora C. Farmer, Donald Cameron, 1922; Ora C. Farmer, Earl Gordon, 1924-. County Surveyors: Hiram Barritt, 1843-44; Algernon Merryweather, 1845-48; Sloane Cooley, 1849-50; John Southard, 1851-52; Carlos Harmon, 1853-54; Henry Nicholson, 1855-56; Hervey Parke, 1857-58; Reuben Russell, 1859-60; Hervey Parke, 1861-62; Sloane Cooley, 1863-64; Elias C. Martin, 1865-66; Reuben Russell, 1867-68; Horatio Merryweather, 1869-70; Sloane Cooley, 1871-72; Horatio Merryweather, 1873-74; Julian Bishop, 1875-76; Julian Bishop, 1877; Hiram Terry, 1878-80; Quincy A. Thomas, 1881-82; Joseph Rennier, 1883-86; Sloan Cooley, 1887-88; Reuben Russell, 1889-90; Samuel J. Serrell, 1891-94; Reuben Russell, 1895-1902; Franklin A. Slater, 1903 -24; Maurice A. Baldwin, 1925-. CHAPTER III. TRANSPORTATION HE necessity for roads early engaged the attention of the pioneers in Oakland county. Entrance into the county from the south was nearly barred by the almost impenetrable swamps in the neighborhood of Royal Oak, and the water courses and Indian trails were the only avenues through the forested regions to the north and west of that morass. These trails, especially in the warm weather, could at best be used only by pack horses or men on foot, the dense timber and underbrush preventing the passage of wagons. The first settlers, the Graham party, packed all their belongings into the county on five ponies, and most of the other early settlers employed the same means of transportation unless some stream could be used to transport them to their objectives. The most important Indian trail at the time of the organization of the county was the Saginaw Trail, which led through the county on a line between Detroit and Saginaw. Another trail of importance led from Mt. Clemens to Orchard Lake. It was much used by Indians going to the lake, and subsequently proved to be of advantage to the early white inhabitants of the county. The end of this trail is now marked by a tablet fixed on a boulder at the lake which reads: "This tablet marks the end of the Indian trail from Mt. Clemens to Orchard Lake. Pontiac and his braves returned to Me-na-sa-gor-ning after the Battle of Bloody Run." The locating and making of roads was one of the first concerns of the settlers, and as each township was formed it located roads and commenced work upon them. The Saginaw road, which followed the old trail of that name, was rightly conceived to be the most valuable highway, and its construction did much to develop the county. The early Saginaw trail has been described by Ralzemond A. Parker in his paper entitled "Reminiscences of Royal Oak, Michigan." Mr. Parker writes: "It may well be said that Royal Oak was the gate-way to Oakland county. The early trails followed the ridges as far as possible. Thus the early Saginaw trail left Detroit about where Hamilton avenue does now, passed through the east part of Greenfield, struck the ridge upon which is situated the villages of Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge, following what is now called 'Pleasant Ridge', passing through or near Washington avenue in Royal Oak village, just west of the D. U. R. waiting room; thence north across the present intersection of the railroad and First street, thence northward along the ridge for a short distance, then northwest across the Red Run, through the east part of sections 16, 8 and 6; and intersecting and following the line used by the present Saginaw turnpike from a spot about one mile south 56 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY of Birmingham near or just beyond the Deep Run Stock Farm, as it is called; went on to Saginaw through Birmingham, Pontiac, Clarkston, Grand Blanc and Flint. This was the 'Early Saginaw Trail.' Many subordinate and branch trails led from it and it was afterwards modified more or less. One of these branches, perhaps the principal one, led north along the ridge from Royal Oak following a line along what is now known as the Rochester Road. It was called the 'Paint Creek Trail.' "A military road was begun about 1817 or 1818, starting from Detroit and following the Saginaw Trail, and Colonel Leavenworth, then in command of the Post, had previous to 1819, worked it about three miles, besides corduroying it several additional miles. This corduroy I have seen, and many of the old settlers will remember it, it being especially plain to be seen across the marshes of sections 16, 8 and 6. "About 1820 a military road to Saginaw was authorized from the ten thousand acre tract by Act of Congress providing for military roads in Michigan. This road was cut out along the present Saginaw turnpike, and the other road was abandoned; though for many years it was referred to by the early settlers as the 'Old Road.' The new military road paralleled it on the west through Royal Oak township at a distance of from one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile. By 1844 it, had been worked out as a wagon road, by the United States government to what is called the Beecher School House, five miles north of Flint; and by an Act of Congress, was given the name "Saginaw Turnpike'." An act which was approved August 5, 1824, incorporated the "Pontiac and Paint Creek Turnpike Company," this turnpike to extend from the Detroit river, on the present road, by the most practicable route via Royal Oak to the court house in Pontiac, with a branch from Royal Oak to a point on Paint creek. Another act, approved June 23, 1828, a road was ordered to be layed out from the northeast corner of the county and running south with the county line until it intersected the Detroit and Pontiac turnpike. An act of March 4, 1831, provided for a road running southwest from Pontiac to a point on the road between Monroe and Ypsilanti. On June 26, 1832, a road' was ordered layed out from section 18 in Southfield township to Detroit. A road was authorized from Livingston county to Pontiac on April 4, 1833, and on the 20th day of the same month a road from Bloomfield west to the Pontiac and Monroe road, and one from Bloomfield through Auburn to Flint were authorized. These first roads were little better than cleared paths through the wilderness. Little grading was done, and almost no surfacing, so that in wet weather they were almost impassable. Corduroy roads were built over the marshiest stretches, and while these did give a solid foundation, they soon became so rough that it was torture to traverse them in a wagon. Graveled turnpikes, most of which were built by turnpike companies which exacted toll to pay for expense of building and upkeep, succeeded the corduroy roads, and as the 1? c a: it WILLIAM MORRIS.: FIRT SRIFF WILLIA\M MORRIS. FIRST SHERTIFF JOSEPH TOD')D. ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS AT PONTIAC CAPT. HARRY P ARKE. EARLY SIlRVEVOR OF MICHIGAN MRS. CATHEiRINSE AITIEN rENSON, FIRST W\HITE GIRL BORN IN PONTIAC HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 57 highway engineer's science has been perfected, grading and draining, as well as smooth surfacing, came into common use throughout the county. The automobile has been the greatest determining factor of the past generation in the construction of improved roads. Rapid transit has become a necessity of commerce, and transportation of goods from one town to another by means of the motor truck has made the building of hard surfaced, adequately foundationed roads imperative. Within a comparatively short span of years road-making has been revolutionized. Broad highways extend in a net work over the entire county, and what in years gone by used to be a trip of days is now one of hours. The farmer, the merchant, the manufacturer, all alike depend upon these highways, and profit from them as well. The magnitude of the road system of the county, exclusive of those roads which are maintained by the township individually, is striking. According to the report of the Oakland county commission for the year 1924, there are 413.59 miles of county roads of which 79.84 miles are hard surfaced. The maintenance of these roads cost for the year mentioned $227,787.44. The state trunk line roads have a total mileage of 155.08 and the maintenance cost for the year was $113,180.66. Disbursements for the year ending September 15, 1924, were: For Covert road construction, $343,155.89; for county road construction, $129,554.10; maintenance, $402,355.09, a grand total of $875,065.08. Federal aid has been given during the past eight years to a considerable extent in road making throughout the state. Woodward avenue is the busiest highway in the county. This is in reality the old Saginaw trail,; and is an extension of the main business thoroughfare of the city of Detroit. There is in Oakland county in process of construction a highway known as "Wider Woodward Avenue." This super-highway (so-called) is being built by the state of Michigan on more generous lines than any other suburban highway in the country. That it has a greater capacity for traffic than the "Ideal Section" of the Lincoln Highway is easily seen when a comparison of its width is made with that highway. The Ideal section has a paving width of forty feet on a 100-foot right-of-way, allowing twenty feet on each side for the lines of traffic going in opposite directions. Contrast with this the spacious provisions of the Woodward avenue pavement where the separated highways for traffic going in each direction will be forty feet in width with curbs and gutter providing a full forty-four feet of paving to be used for traffic. This comparison gives some idea of what a tremendous undertaking now is under way between Pontiac and Detroit, where already three miles of the westerly forty-four feet of the new highway are in use. There is much credit due the Oakland County Road Commission for the Wider Woodward plan, for it worked diligently for several years to have the state undertake this project. The Oakland county roads are second to none, and with the vigorous prosecution of improvements now going forward, a few years will make highway transportation here ideal in every respect. 58 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY DETROIT AND PONTIAC RAILROAD By Ralzemond A. Parker. It should be recollected that the Saginaw turnpike was laid out, according to act of congress, 100 feet wide. When the Detroit and Pontiac railroad was organized, it was hoped and an attempt was made, to build the railway within the line of the 100 feet roadway to save cutting out another and separate line. But the United States government would not permit this and a new line had to be established from Detroit to Royal Oak, the railroad company obtaining a blanket deed from the owners of the land which in its terms read: "We hereby grant a right-of-way 100 feet wide through such lands as we may own in Wayne and Oakland counties to the Detroit and Pontiac railroad." The road was built on a line to which the owners consented, purporting to be the line referred to. No description of the property, through what sections it passed, was given in the deed, and no acknowledgement was made in the deed. Years later, in 1874 or '75, after the reorganization of the whole line and its change of name to the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railroad, and its failure and the appointment of Trowbridge as a receiver, the attorneys of the road conceived the idea that they owned a right-of-way 100 feet wide from the junction of this road with the Grand Trunk Railway to Royal Oak village, and instructed the receiver to take possession of that right-of-way. In 1858, under the Railroad Act of the State, the road had been fenced in as fifty feet wide and the land had been bought and sold with reference to that width, with no notice of occupancy by the railroad or of right-of-way except that which had been fenced in. I instructed the then land owners, one of whom was Welcome Campbell, father of Dr. Campbell of Birmingham, to put the fences back to the fifty foot line where they were when they bought the land and not allow the 100 foot claim. Much testimony was taken and finally the railroad company's receiver abandoned the claim and the railroad, with one or two exceptions, was re-installed as a fiftyfoot roadway and no more. North of Royal Oak village it was obliged to form a roadway east of the 100 foot Saginaw turnpike line, and through sections 6, 7 and 8 right-of-ways of various widths were obtained from various parties. A twenty foot right-of-way was obtained from Mr. John Benjamin, who owned property in the southwest quarter of section 8. My grandfather, William M. Parker, gave a lease of sixty years duration on a strip forty feet wide. The railroad was built as near the 200 foot line of the Saginaw turnpike as circumstances would permit. When the legislature narrowed the width of the latter to four rods, a strip one rod wide was left between the right-of-way of the railroad and the turnpike. This strip reverted to the owners of the land, but, later, the attorneys of the railroad claimed that it reverted to the railroad and they attempted to fence it in. This attempt I stopped by appropriate proceeding. It was afterward purchased by the Detroit and Pontiac street rail HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 59 way company to provide for a second track, for which purpose it is still used by the Detroit United railway. In 1838 the railroad had been completed and was operated by horsepower as far as Royal Oak. One of the drivers of these horse trains was Merritt Chase, then a lad of sixteen years. By 1839 the road had been extended to Birmingham and was operated by steam. It is not my purpose to give a history of this road but I can give some reminiscences of its early operation. It was constructed of V-shaped ties, having cuts in them in which were wedged stringers cut preferably of maple 4x7 inches. As maple became scarcer, white ash and oak were used. The stringers were about sixteen feet long and upon these was spiked bar iron from 21/ to 3 inches wide and from Y8 to 1/2 inch thick. The smaller sizes were used first but proving defective, were replaced by the larger ones. The traveling of the cars over the road caused the bar rails to not only creep but to curl and to form so-called snake heads which sometimes curled up breaking through the floor of the cars to the imminent danger of the passengers. Such an accident occurred near my home. The clothes were torn from a woman passenger although she was unhurt. The cars finally were protected by iron spiked on the under side over the rails. Many stories and reminiscences are told of the road such, for instance, as the time it took to make the journey from Detroit to Pontiac and return; and it became a part of the history of the people of Oakland county. I have seen passengers get out of a train and push to help; I have seen passengers leave the train and run across the road to an orchard, fill their pockets with apples, run along the road, join the train and get on again. I am told that a prominent citizen of Pontiac one day took a trip to Detroit and return. While the engine was being fed and watered at Royal Oak this man used the opportunity to call on a friend and allowed the train to start off to Pontiac without him. He started on a run up the track feeling sure of catching it, but a friendly passenger pulled the bell-rope and the train waited for him. This man was Morgan L. Drake. Derailments were very frequent, of almost daily occurrence in fact. One day the up-bound train ran off the track near my grandfather's corner, and the passenger train, following later, did the same. The train men did not fix the track and when the trains returned the performance was repeated. It was not unusual for the farmers to hitch up their oxen and pull a refractory engine back on the track. During the winter of 1847 and 1848 no trains ran at all. Prior to that time the locomotives had no cabs, but when they started running in the spring, cabs had been placed upon them. EARLY LOCOMOTIVES The first locomotive used was named the "Detroit," the second one was the "Pontiac." The "Pontiac" had no tender; there was a wood box in back of the engine which held the wood, cut stove length to fire the boiler. A tank under the boiler held water. The engines 60 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY were wooded at Royal Oak and Birmingham with wood enough to run from one station to another and to Pontiac. Male passengers were not only allowed to help load wood in the tender but were expected to do so. Wood was bought from farmers and piled along the track and at convenient times, hauled by the trains to the stations where it was sawed up into stove length. Cutting and selling wood to the railroad was a flourishing industry. At one time 1,500 cords of wood were piled up along the track near Royal Oak. The "Detroit" engine was a little heavier than the "Pontiac" and had a forward swivel truck and one pair of driving wheels with the axle back of the fire-box; and a tender on two pairs of wheels. These two locomotives were the only motive power except horses, until about 1849. At that time, another engine called the "Empire" and about the same size as the "Detroit" was bought and put on the road. This was noticeable in some particulars; the "Detroit" and "Pontiac" had wooden frames, the "Empire" had a bar iron frame. The "Empire" had not only a swivel front truck, but a pair of trailing wheels behind the drivers. A little later another engine of the type of the "Detroit" was placed on the road and owing to the projected Oakland-Ottawa road, was named the Ionia. This was not an inside connection engine, but instead, had valve eccentrics and mechanism located outside of its wooden frame. EARLY LOCOMOTIVES The "Pontiac" in its later days was used to furnish power for wood sawing machines at Royal Oak and Holly. The "Detroit" ran off the track, into the ditch at the crossing of the Saginaw turnpike south of Pontiac in the winter of 1853 and 1854 and was smashed by the cars following. About 1852 an engine with two pairs of drivers was borrowed from the Michigan Central road, but this made only a few trips over the road. Another engine of similar type weighing about sixteen tons was brought from New York and was named the "Syracuse" which was later changed to "Corunna." After the Oakland-Ottawa road was built, and, joined with the Detroit and Pontiac, became the Detroit and Milwaukee, twelve engines were purchased from the Boston Locomotive works and put on the road. They were about twenty-five tons weight and all had names. The first was "General Cass"; the others were "N. P. Stewart," "Shubel Conant," "Henry N. Walker," the "Oakland" and the "Genesee." During the Civil war a heavier type, weighing twenty-eight to thirty tons, was used for freight engines. They were named after the Great Lakes, the first being "St. Clair," then came "Erie," "Huron," "Superior," and "Michigan." Some were named for the stations along the route, e. g. "Royal Oak" 17. Later all engines were numbered. The Detroit and Pontiac and the Oakland and Ottawa railroads were merged on February 13, 1855, and in 1860, the road being in bad financial conditions, it came under the management of the Great Western railroad, now the Grand Trunk Western. In 1862 the Flint and Pere Marquette road was completed from HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 61 Holly to Flint, and the Holly Wayne & Mo'nroe road in 1870, the two being subsequently united under the name of Flint & Pere Marquette. It crossed the townships of Novi, Commerce, Milford, Highland, Rose and Holly. The Detroit & Bay City road, now a part of the Michigan Central, was completed through the northeastern part of the county in 1872. The Michigan Air-Line, completed in the late seventies, and now a part of the Grand Trunk Western system, enters the county at the southwest and runs from South Lyon to Pontiac and on to Rochester. Another branch of this great system is the Pontiac, Oxford & Northern, which runs from Pontiac through the townships of Pontiac, Orion, Oxford and Addison. All the lines of the Grand Trunk Western coming into Pontiac employ the same depot, which is a great convenience to the traveling public, and the fact that the several railroads entering the metropolis of the county are all under one management is of great advantage to manufacturers, whose products can be handled in this way at a maximum of efficiency. The freight handling facilities of the system are of the best, and factory trackage, much of which was built during the years of the World war, is sufficient to care for the needs of even the largest of the city's industries. The Detroit United railroad (electric) gives excellent service to a large part of the county. The first unit of this system was built in 1889 as the Pontiac & Orchard Lake railroad. The Detroit & Northwestern road was built to Orchard Lake through Farmington in 1890 and bought the Pontiac & Orchard Lake line in order to have a through connection with Pontiac. In 1902 the interests of the Detroit & Northwestern were acquired by the Detroit United railroad, which now owns and operates in addition the Detroit & Pontiac line, which is a direct line through Royal Oak, and the Flint division, which passes through Royal Oak, Clawson, Big Beaver, Rochester, Lake Orion Junction, Goodison, Orion, Oxford and Ortonville. Electric cars are operated over this system at frequent intervals, and no inconsiderable quantity of freight is carried by this agency. CHAPTER IV THE PRESS T HE fourth newspaper to be established in the Michigan territory was the Oakland Chronicle which Thomas Simpson published at Pontiac, beginning in the year 1830. He was a Jacksonian Democrat, but not of that fiercely partisan type which characterized so many of the newspaper publishers of that day, and this for the two reasons that he had no competition and was himself of an amiable disposition. The subscription prices of his paper were $3.00 a year in advance or $3.50 on time. The first number of his paper contained an account of a bill passed by congress reducing the price of public lands. The history of this paper and the subsequent publications in Pontiac was traced in detail by Mr. Harry Coleman, former editor of the Press Gazette, in a paper read before the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society at its annual meeting in 1916. Mr. Coleman's able paper gives such accurate information regarding the various newspapers which have occupied the Pontiac field that it is quoted extensively, as follows: "The second niumber (of the Chronicle) contained numerous local items, in addition to general information, chiefly relating to the doings of Congress. Amos Mead had just been made postmaster at Farmington and the Chronicle made note of it. There were so few people here in the county at that time that Simpson's publication assumed the character of a general newspaper, some issues not containing more than three items of purely local nature. He was without telegraph, telephone, Associated Press or any of the means which figure so closely in relationship to newspapers of the present day. He was editor, printer, publisher, pressman, typesetter and mail clerk all rolled into one. His information was gained largely through newspapers mailed to him from New York and he accepted this slow means because there was no other alternative. * * * "On December of the year 1830, the Chronicle began to breathe the spirit of present day happenings. John Higgins advertised his intention of applying to the legislature for a divorce; the Chronicle reduced its subscription price to $2.00 a year and local politics began to warm up; David Paddock announced himself as a candidate for the legislature; David Hammond carried thirty-two barrels of flour from Pontiac to Detroit on a sleigh the last day of February, 1831, and sold the same for $154. "Simpson's work as an editor had attracted more or less attention about the state and his plant was sought by General John R. Williams and Major Campau of Detroit, who purchased the same, together with the Chronicle's good will and subscription list, the deal being perfected April 22, 1831. With this beginning the purchasers took the HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 63 plant to Detroit, changed the name of the Chronicle to the Democratic Free Press, and thus was born what is today a paper of over 100,000 copies daily and represents an investment of from $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. "Pontiac was without a paper after the sale of the Chronicle until December, 1834, when E. G. Van Buren established the Oakland Patriot, a democratic publication. Van Buren found this field unprofitable and made his way to Centreville, and afterwards to White Pigeon, where he accepted the Whig faith. "Following the Patriot came the Oakland Whig, under the ownership of A. G. Sparhawk, a partisan who detested neutrals and who with his energy and dash succeeded in making it rather uncomfortable for the Democrats who were without a mouthpiece. On February, 1836,!Sparhawk changed the name of his publication to the Pontiac Courier. Among the items of that year was one relating to the organization of the Oakland county anti-slavery society with Deacon Elijah J. Fish in the chair and John P. LeRoy as secretary. During 1837 Professor Cowles of Oberlin University lectured in Pontiac against slavery. The editor of the Democratic Balance, which had been established the previous year by Nicholas Gantt, as a Democratic organ, tried to break up the meeting and prevent the professor from finishing his remarks. George W. Wisner and A. G. Sparhawk, the Whig editor, enlisted the sympathy of a majority of the audience and free speech was established for the remainder of the evening. Sparhawk sold his interests to Fletcher & Company who assumed the ownership of the Courier. * * * "J. Dowd Coleman succeeded Fletcher & Company in the ownership of the Courier, the name being changed to the Jeffersonian. Coleman sold the paper in 1840 to W. M. Thompson, who restored its former name, the Courier, continuing its publication until November, 1842, when William Sherwood succeeded to the ownership, afterwards removing the plant to Corunna, where the paper appeared as the Shiawassee Democrat and Clinton Express. Soon afterwards the paper was re-established at Flint. "The Pontiac Advertiser and Democratic Balance was first issued in the summer of 1836, following the suspension of the Patriot, the publisher being Nicholas S. Gantt. It was staunchly Democratic and spoke in words of fire and brimstone. This paper was suspended in 1837. "The Pontiac Herald made its appearance in 1838 by W. S. Stevens, this publication also being of the Democratic faith. Stevens sold his interests to Benjamin Irish, who continued the issue until the plant was sold and removed to Flint. A. W. Hovey edited the Herald a part of the time while Irish owned it. "During the year 1840 the Pontiac Reformer was established by Samuel Cudgel, a name which thoroughly fitted the business of waging reform. A fire laid waste the plant and the building of this promising publication and it sank into a dreamless sleep from which it awoke no more. 64 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY "The Pontiac Jacksonian, one of the best known state papers of its time, was established at Pontiac during the spring of 1838 by Eldridge & Denton, the former being afterwards judge of the county court of Oakland county. Eldridge sold his interests in 1840 to A. W. Hovey, who with Denton continued the ownership until 1844 when the firm of Jackson & Hovey sold the Jacksonian to Julius Smith and A. W. Adams. The new proprietors continued for two years to issue the paper when it was acquired by William W. Phelps. Phelps afterwards sold the property to Judge Augustus C. Baldwin, he in turn selling the same to Mr. Peabody. During 1864 R. H. Solis acquired a half interest, soon acquiring the interest held by Baldwin. Upon his death his widow continued the paper, H. M. Look being the editor from 1865 to 1867. Mrs. Solis sold a half interest in the Jacksonian to W. B. Cole, Cole soon after taking over the entire property. In May of 1872 a Mr. Shiudru acquired a half interest, he and Cole removing the property to Ludington where it now appears as the Lzdington Appeal. "The Jacksonian was ably edited during much of its career but gave little of its space to news. It had been published when great issues were at stake and when men's minds were turned constantly upon politics and the issues that arose preceding and following the Civil war. "During the year 1843 J. Dowd Coleman, who had previously owned the Courier, and later the Genesee Herald at Flint, returned to Pontiac with his plant and established the Pontiac and Oakland Gazette as a Whig organ. He sold his interests one year later to W. M. Thompson, who in turn sold to J. B. Seymour, Thompson reentering possession, April 1, 1850. His holdings were acquired in 1854 by Z. B. Knight who changed the name to Pontiac Gazette. During 1858 Knight sold to M. E. N. Howell and R. H. Hosmer, the latter retiring in June of the same year. Beardslee and Turner bought the property during 1863. Beardslee was succeeded by Rann in 1867 and later by S. J. Tomlinson in 1868. Mr. Tomlinson sold and went to Lapeer, leaving Clark B. Turner as sole owner. Mr. Rann returned to co-partnership with Mr. Turner in September of 1869, afterwards retiring in favor of C. F. Kimball, who with Mr. Turner, published the Gazette until 1897 when S. J. Tomlinson, who had owned a part of the business in 1868, returned to acquire the interest held by Mr. Kimball. Mr. Tomlinson acquired entire ownership of the paper three years later, 1900, disposing of the same to George E. English. The latter continued the weekly edition of the paper for two years when he launched into the daily field through an organization known as the Pontiac Gazette Company. The daily, like the weekly, continued to espouse the cause of the Republican party as the paper had during its long career. In the meantime the Press, an independent paper, had come into the field during 1900. Strictly partisan newspapers were having a hard road to hoe in Michigan wherever independent competition had come to assume its place in newspaper making. Mr. English and his associates in the corporation owning the Gazette de HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 65 cided to retire from the daily field and the Gazette was absorbed by the Press in 1906. "William P. Nesbitt, later private secretary to Governor Ferris, issued the first number of the Bill Poster on January 14, 1868. It was first distributed as an advertising sheet but Mr. Nesbitt had a storehouse of energy and many original ideas respecting the conduct of a first class newspaper. He soon enlarged the little paper, gave it a good local flavor and spoke his opinions freely and fearlessly. The paper continued to grow in the affections of the people until it became one of the best known papers in the state. Nesbitt met every issue squarely and gave his competitors much to think about. He sold a half interest in the property to J. C. Vial and the two continued the publication until March 20, 1871, when Nesbitt became once more the sole owner. -At first issued as a monthly it blossomed forth as a weekly in 1869. In 1874 Elbert J. Kelly purchased one-half of the Nesbitt interest and latterly, in 1876, he became sole owner, Mr. Nesbitt locating at Big Rapids. Mr. Kelly continued the paper as a Democratic organ and his peculiar fitness for the enterprise was shown in his original way of handling local news. Previous to 1871 the Bill Poster had not been allied with any political party, but as a free lance had endeared itself to a large number of readers and succeeded in spite of competition with older and well established papers. "Mr. Kelly sold the Bill Poster to a stock company headed by Ferris S. Fitch in 1889. Mr. Fitch had been superintendent of schools and was a writer deeply interested in state and national politics. His election as superintendent of public instruction soon followed his connection with the paper, which was changed to the name Post. Mr. Fitch relinquished his holdings in the Post on September 1, 1895, to Harry Coleman, who continued its publication until 1907 when it was merged with the Press. "Henry M. Reynolds, head and front of the temperance movement which swept over the country during 1899 established the Living Issues, a prohibition paper, during 1890. This was continued until seven years later as a Pontiac publication having a circulation in all parts of the state. Mr. Reynolds was associated with his wife in the conduct of the paper, and the two were much in demand, both as speakers and writers on the temperance question. "Following Clark B. Turner's retirement from the Gazette he established the Pontiac Journal as a Republican organ during 1899. This paper lived but a short time owing to the competition of the older Republican organ owned by Mr. Tomlinson. Jay Clark established the Pontiac Republican during 1893 and this paper retired from the field four years later. "Charles H. Fisher, a resident of this city, owned the Pontiac Democrat which he had established previous to the sale of the Bill Poster to Ferris S. Fitch. When the corporation was formed to take over the Bill Poster, Mr. Fisher likewise disposed of his property to the new corporation, the new paper being known as the Post. "Charles F. Gee, of Imlay City, came to Pontiac during 1893 and 66 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY established the Times, an independent paper. He afterwards removed from the community and the paper was continued for some years by Charles H. Fisher. On two occasions previous to 1900 efforts had been made to establish daily newspapers in this community. The field did hot warrant these attempts at the time and two funerals attended the efforts, one of them being the Daily Gazette, established by Kimball & Turner during the year 1894. This paper ran for eighteen months and then suspended publication. "On September 17, 1900, the writer (Harry Coleman) made plans for an independent newspaper of daily issue. Various cities where successful small daily newspapers were issued were visited and while people in general predicted failure for the proposition, the first issue came forth, it being a four page affair filled with local news and such telegraphic news as could be cheaply furnished by express. After six months of effort the Pontiac Daily Press seemed doomed to failure. "Mr. Coleman bought out the half interest of Mr. Tomlinson, who was discouraged, for $500, reduced the price of the paper from ten cents to six cents a week, added machinery and doubled the expense of operation. It was two years from that time before the Press paid expenses, but rural delivery saved the day. The circulation grew to command the respect of advertisers, and its success has been assured. "On August 25, 1896," continues Mr. Coleman, "the Daily Gazette, which had been launched the previous year, found the field well occupied and its subscription list was taken over by the Press, the merged paper being known as the Press Gazette. This paper continued to be published by the writer until October 15, 1914, when it was sold to Messrs. Howard H. Fitzgerald, George H. Gardner and Harry Y. Fitzgerald of Flint, who have continued to expand its wide circulation and add to its many interesting local and general features." The history of the newspapers published in Oakland county outside of the city of Pontiac was admirably sketched in a paper prepared by Mr. Joe Haas, publisher of the Holly Herald, for the annual meeting of the Pioneer and Historical Society on February 22, 1917; as follows: "At your banquet one year ago you were favored with a fine history of the newspapers of Pontiac City, by our good friend Mr. Harry Coleman. I trust that this brief history of the newspapers of the county outside of the county seat may be deemed worthy to be considered a continuation, supplement or sort of foot note to Mr. Coleman's production. "There are now eleven newspapers published in the county outside of Pontiac, all weeklies. Seven villages have one paper each and two others have two. Beginning in the northeast part of the county they are the Oxford Leader, Orion Review, Rochester Era, Rochester Clarion, Birmingham Eccentric, Royal Oak Tribune, Farmington Enterprise, South Lyon Herald, Milford Times, Holly Advertiser and Holly Herald. "We find that these eleven weekly newspapers are the survivals of HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 67 between forty and fifty attempts at country journalism in our county. Most of them have long been established, the oldest forty-six years, the youngest thirteen years. Many of them represent the life-work of their publishers and all, I believe, are a credit to the community in which they are published and to their county. The twenty years between 1875 and 1895 saw the establishment of about twenty-five newspapers in the various towns of Oakland county, only about twenty per cent of which have endured. Recent years have witnessed very few new country newspapers, changes in the situation making something more necessary for the launching of a paper than that proverbial 'a bag of type and a bag of wind.' "The first attempt in the journalistic line in Oxford was the Oxford Enterprise which was established over forty years ago, but its publication was of short duration. The Oxford Times established soon after by S. A. Fitzpatrick was likewise short lived. On May 15, 1875, the Oxford Journal was launched by Messrs. Waggott and Stair. The following year Mr. Stair disposed of his interest and the paper was continued for some time under the ownership of Waggott & Stoddard. In 1877 the ownership changed to Stoddard & Wait. In 1879 the Oxford Leader entered the field, which has been the only paper to endure in that village and for many years has been successfully issued under the ownership and management of E. H. Congdon and A. B. Glaspie. In the interim the Oxford Globe was issued for a number of years, its subscription list finally being merged with that of the Leader. "The first newspaper to be issued at Orion was called the Good News, and was started in 1873 by Rev. J. R. Cordon. It was issued semi-monthly and devoted largely to the temperance cause. In 1875 it passed to the ownership of James W. Seeley who the following year changed the name to the Orion Weekly Times which was continued for a number of years. On December 12, 1881, the Orion Review was established by three gentlemen, J. A. Neal, Joseph Patterson and Frank Sutton, the first acquiring full ownership in 1882. Eleven years later, in 1893, it was incorporated as a stock company with Mr. Neal and the late Frederick Weiland as managers and controlling stock holders. It has since been under the ownership of the same corporation with J. A. Neal and G. H. Neal in charge. The Orion Wave was established nearly twenty years ago by the lake and assembly interests, Mrs. S. P. Brown, formerly of the Holly Independent, being in charge, the plant being moved there from Holly. The Wave was published for a little over a year, the Review being alone in the field ever since. "Rochester has two newspapers, the Era and the Clarion. The former was established April 11, 1873, by T. B. Fox, who moved the plant there overland from Milford. For twenty years he continued its publication and in 1893 it passed to the ownership of his son, William A. Fox, who had been connected with it from the start, and who has since continued its publication. "The Rochester Clarion was started on August 19, 1898 by C. S. Seed who has ever since conducted same. Besides these two papers 68 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY a number of other attempts have been made in the Rochester field. In May, 1876, Varin & Burgit, two harness makers, assisted by William McCoy,. launched the Rochester Sun and conducted it for two years when it was purchased by Rev. C. O. Brown. Associated with him was Tom S. Sprague, now of Birmingham. They changed the name of the paper to the Rochester Spectator and conducted it for a few months when the plant was sold to A. J. Bateman and later removed to Saginaw. In 1885, Edward Beck, now a prominent newspaper man of Toronto and once city editor of the Detroit News, and Frank D. Wells, now of the Michigan Horticultural Service, launched the Rochester Observer which was run only about six months. The next one to enter the field was the Rochester Plaindealer, started by W. H. Marvin of the Utica Sentinel, and Edwin R. Frank, who was killed on the D. U. R. a few years ago. They ran the Plaindealer for about three months when it was sold to Edw. W. Mason who continued it about half a year longer. This was in the 90's since which time the Era and the Clarion have been the sole occupants of the Rochester territory. "The Birmingham Eccentric was started in 1876 by Almeron Whitehead and George H. Mitchell, both of whom had been clerking in stores in the village. Through a period of forty-one years its publication has been continued by them. Mr. Whitehead is now president of the First National Bank of Birmingham and Mr. Mitchell is postmaster at that village. They have served their constituency so well that they have almost escaped competition in the newspaper field. The Birmingham Tribune was established several years ago by George McConnell and conducted by him for some time, that being the only other attempt to enter the Birmingham field. "The Royal Oak Tribune was started thirteen years ago by William Brown, of Detroit, with Richard O. Rose as associate editor. It was later sold to a Mr. Woodruff, of Detroit, who conducted it for about a year and sold it to Louis F. Storz, Jr., who later sold it to George H. Mitchell of the Birmingham Eccentric and Harry A. Gardner at that time Register of Deeds, with Mr. Rose as associate. 4They operated the Tribune successfully for a couple of years when it was purchased by the present owner, W. O. Hullinger, formerly of Mt. Pleasant. Previous to the advent of the Tribune, Royal Oak had not figured very prominently in the newspaper history of the county. Several years ago, in the late 70's I believe, the Royal Oak Experiment was conducted for a short time. "South Lyon's pioneer newspaper was the Sentinel, started in 1879 by A. J. Little and conducted by him for a number of years. The Excelsior came into the field in 1880, having been established by Charles H. Rorabacher who conducted it for twenty-three years, selling his plant and newspaper in 1903 to L. B. Samsen, who changed the name of the paper to The Herald and who published it for five years, disposing of it in 1908 to A. K. Pierce, the present owner. In the meantime another newspaper, the South Lyon Picket, was established and HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 69 conducted for a time, finally being merged with the Excelsior by Mr. Rorabacher purchasing the plant. "The Farmington Enterprise was started on November 4, 1887, by E. R. Bloomer, who continued its publication for ten years when the plant was sold to E. McKinnon. Harry McCracken later came into possession of the plant and conducted it for a short time. In the meantime, Walter Richards had started the Farmington Herald and in a couple of years consolidated the two under the name of the EnterpriseHerald. Later the paper was sold by him and within a short time passed through a number of changes of ownerships, among the men who had it each for a short period being Messrs. Smith, Van Black, Goss, Ramsey and Price. October 1, 1915, the paper was purchased by W. E. Lord, the present owner. "The Milford Times was established at that village in 1871 by I. P. Jackson and is still published there, having been in the ownership of the one family for forty-six years. Mr. Jackson died in 1886 and the paper was issued by his family until the mother's death two years later, when it went to the ownership of his son Bert. Miss Carrie Jackson, a daughter, was employed in the office and in 1892 she purchased the business a'nd has since been connected with the paper. In 1896 she was married to G. S. Rowe and the paper has since been issued under the ownership of G. S. and C. M. Rowe. "No less than three other newspapers have been issued in Milford, but all have long since passed out of existence. In 1871, a few months after the Times was established, T. B. Fox came from Saginaw and started the Milford Weekly Era. It was continued for a year and a half when the publisher moved the plant to Rochester. The Milford Review was launched in the early 80's by Ayers & Camp. It changed hands a few times and was discontinued after publication for three or four years. The plant was taken over by Grant Slocum, now supreme secretary of the Gleaners, and he started the Milford Advertiser which was issued for a few years leaving the Times alone in the field, a position which it has since held. "Holly has always been a fertile field of newspaper activity, no less than eight newspaper ventures having been made there, most of which have been of short duration, so that the field is now left with the two papers, the Advertiser and the Herald. The pioneer in the field, and also, I believe, the first newspaper to be issued in the county outside of Pontiac was the Holly Register, launched in 1865 by a Mr. Crawford, who sold out the following year to E. Frank Blair. On May 29, 1869, Henry Jenkins bought the plant and continued the Register for a number of years, being a rather prominent figure in early newspaper history in Holly. The Holly Circular was first issued in 1872 by Messrs. Fish & Frain, who conducted it for a year, selling out to Le Roy O. Fallis, who after an effort of a year and a half, decided to discontinue the paper and the plant was shipped away. The Holly Times was started in 1875 by Thos. V. Perkins, but its publication was of short duration. "The first newspaper to endure was the Advertiser, established in 70 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 1877 by Fred Slocum, who later sold out to his brother James Slocum, now of Detroit, who for ten years conducted it with the exception of one year when it was owned by a Mr. Ward. In 1897 Mr. Slocum sold the paper to Patterson brothers who have since continued its publication. In the 80's the Holly Citizen made its appearance for a short time and a few years later Walter Van Avery launched the Holly Independent. He died twenty years ago, and for a few years his wife continued the paper which was discontinued in 1899 and the plant moved to Orion. The Herald was established in September, 1901, and has since occupied the field with the Advertiser. Ortonville for a short time possessed a newspaper which came under the ownership of the Oxford Leader, having been established by a man named Clark. It was called the Hustler and the Leader placed in charge that venerable printer, the late William McCoy, who at one time or another has worked on nearly every paper in the county, and whose proudest boast was the fact that at one time he had 'set type with Horace Greely.' The Hustler was discontinued a few years ago and its subscription list merged with the Oxford Leader. "Attempts at starting newspapers have been made at other points in the county, in fact on two different occasions Clarkston has had a paper for a short time, but none of them has been a successful venture, and as far as can be reliably ascertained, the above constitutes a brief history of country journalism in Oakland county." CHAPTER V MILITARY MATTERS A LTHOUGH the Mexican war was the first conflict to engage the attentions of the people of Oakland as a county, there lies buried within its boundaries thirty-one soldiers who fought in the Revolution, and their final resting places have been to a large extent marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution. These men came to Michigan after the independence of the Colonies had been won from England, and formed a part of the pioneer vanguard in this country. The same is true of Oakland county in the War of 1812 as in the Revolution. There was no county of Oakland at that time, and while much of the fighting of that war occurred in southeastern Michigan, the effect of it on this particular region was indirect. So far as can be determined there were sixteen soldiers of that war who settled in Oakland county after it was over. Mexican War: The declaration of war with Mexico in April, 1847, found the people of this county eager and ready to aid in the punishment of an arrogant country. Company A, Fifteenth United States Infantry, was composed of men of this county. The enlisted personnel numbered a hundred, nearly half of whom enlisted under Lieut. Samuel E. Beach in Pontiac. The first captain was Eugene Van de Venter, who was succeeded in December, 1847, by Thornton F. Brodhead. William R. Strafford was first lieutenant and Samuel E. Beach, second lieutenant, Beach having been promoted to first lieutenant for:meritorious service at Contreras and Churubusco. Others who served the company as officers were Edwin R. Merryfield, Lewellyn Boyle and Charles Peternell, second lieutenants, and Thomas W. Freelove, first lieutenant. Company A campaigned in Mexico, fighting at Contreras, Vera Cruz, Chapultepec, and Churubusco, and other minor engagements, and suffered a large number of casualties, record of which is made in previous publications. The entire history of Oakland county in the Mexican war was one of high honor, and reflected credit upon it throughout the state. Civil War: The War of the Rebellion stands unique in the annals of military conflicts in the world's history inasmuch as it has been the only war by which both the conquerors and the vanquished benefited. Not only were men of Oakland county found on every hardfought field of that great struggle, but the civilians at home covered themselves with glory by the manner in which they raised money for war purposes and relief measures. The amount of money raised by this county totaled $586,556.98, a sum exceeded by but one county in the state, Wayne, which had a much larger population. The Soldiers' Relief law authorized the 72 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY expenditure of much money in the relief of soldiers and their families, and that Oakland did not allow its patriot sons and their dependents to suffer is evidenced by the fact that $127,993.38 was spent in this manner. In addition to these two large amounts already given, no inconsiderable amount of money and supplies were donated by the Sanitary Commission and the various Ladies' Aid Societies. In the field, Oakland was represented in the First Michigan Infantry; the Second Infantry, commanded by Major General Israel B. ("Fighting Dick") Richardson; the Third Infantry, a Grand Rapids regiment whose depleted ranks were later filled by Oakland county men; the Fifth Infantry; the Seventh Infantry, which had over one hundred Oakland men on its roster; the Eighth and Ninth Infantry, with about sixty Oakland men; the Tenth- Infantry, largely composed of Flint and Genesee county men, but with a goodly number of Oakland's sons also; the Fourteenth Infantry, with over ninety men and seven officers; the Fifteenth Infantry, with about sixty Oakland men; the Sixteenth, also with about sixty; the Twenty-Second Infantry, which had the largest number of Oakland men of any regiment, about five hundred and sixty, and was commanded by ExGovernor Moses Wisner, of Pontiac, who died as colonel of the regiment on January 9, 1863 of disease; the Twenty-Ninth Infantry, entered the service late in the war with about a hundred Oakland men; the Thirtieth Infantry, a home regiment, had a few Oakland men; the Mechanics and Engineers, a regiment of engineers; Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade, composed of the First, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Michigan Cavalry regiments, had a number of Oakland men in each regiment, and became famous under its dashing leader; the Second, Third and Fourth Cavalry regiments also contained men from this county; the Eighth Cavalry numbered over two hundred Oakland county men on its rolls; the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries had over a hundred men from the county; the Michigan Light Artillery, twelve six-gun batteries, had about one hundred men from this county; and the 102d U. S. Colored Troops, organized in the latter part of the war, numbered about forty citizens of this county. WORLD WAR With the break in diplomatic relations with Germany in February of 1917, and war with the Central Powers an inevitable result, the people of Oakland county began to gird up their loins for the monumental task which they knew would soon confront them. The population of the city of Pontiac in the spring of that year was about 25,000, and of the county outside the city between 45,000 and 55,000. The government estimate of the county's population on July 11, 1917, was 87,843. This figure was based on the registration figures for the selective draft, and was probably high, according to the county clerk, F. B. Babcock, who announced at the same time that the county's quota of men for service was to be 5,786. Nearly every nationality was found in Pontiac, and within the confines of the county DR1) V'- \\\.\\ 01 (;.C 1'R1t'KS 'O)R ()\IRS.\.PARADE. ()1. I'()NIAC.\t1'S I'RO ()M CA.01' (C-S'I'R.. N,1:\R.NCHT 30). 191"S I HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 73 were about one thousand aliens. Most of the Germans were found in the neighborhood of Farmington. Even before the declaration of war on April 6, 1917, the Pontiac Gazette had issued a stirring appeal to "Show Your Colors," and the first to respond were the five hundred employees of the Hess-Pontiac Spring & Axle Company, who presented a large flag to the company on March 25th, the flag being raised on a ninety foot pole with appropriate ceremonies. Other organizations followed suit, and soon the national colors were bravely displayed at every hand. A monster patriotic rally was held at the First Methodist Episcopal Church on April 16th, and this proved an inspiration to the people of the city, other rallies and flag raisings following in rapid succession. The financing of the war was a primary and vital concern to the people of the country, and those living in Oakland county were in the forefront in this work. Five war loans were made to the national government by the people of the country, and in the first of these the county's quota was placed at one million dollars. The chairman of this loan, the campaign for which extended from May 25 to June 15, 1917, was Cramer Smith. The response of the people of the county to this first appeal of the government was, indeed, a heartening demonstration of patriotism. The' First Commercial Bank of Pontiac disposed of $225,000, the Oakland County Savings Bank disposed of $108,200, the American Savings Bank $65,000, and the Pontiac Savings Bank $340,000, making a total of $739,050 of Liberty bonds sold in Pontiac. The county outside Pontiac bought $600,700, bringing the grand total up to $1,339,750, an oversubscription of more than one-third of the quota. The Second Liberty Loan campaign, which began on October 1, 1917, brought a subscription of $2,505,000 from the county, an oversubscription of $5,000. Of this campaign Cramer Smith was the county chairman and John H. Patterson the general chairman of the city of Pontiac. The Third Liberty Loan campaign extended over the period from April 10 to May 7, 1918, and of this campaign Thaddeus D. Seeley was county chairman and Frank H. Carroll the city chairman. The quota set for Oakland county was $1,557,510, and the amount subscribed was $2,470,000. The Fourth Liberty Loan, with the same men as county and city chairmen, was subscribed for in full, the quota having been $3,048,700. This campaign occurred between the dates of September 26 and October 18, 1918. The Fifth, or Victory Loan, was floated after the closing of hostilities, the campaign coming between April 21 and May 10, 1919. Thaddeus D. Seeley was again the county chairman and Charles M. Crofoot was city chairman. The county's quota in this, the last of the great war loans was $2,220,850, and the amount subscribed totaled $2,253,400. The success of the Liberty loans and other financial undertakings on the part of the people of the county, and of which they may so 74 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY justly be proud, was primarily due to the Oakland County Patriotic League. After the second Liberty Loan it was seen that an organization of some kind must be formed to carry out the various requests of the government, and on November 11, 1917, there was organized at the Board of Commerce the above mentioned league. Its aim was to raise a fund from which could be paid the demands on Oakland county as apportioned, and to procure money for such patriotic movements as were endorsed by the President of the United States and his war board. On January 11, 1918, a war board for the county with objects parallel to those of the League, was appointed by Governor Sleeper. This board, composed of John H. Patterson, F. M. Warner and C. B. Wilson, worked in perfect harmony with the league, which was under the direction of Frank G. Jacobs. Tow\nship chairmen were appointed for each township, and the entire organization of the league was a model of efficiency and accomplishment. A committee was formed for the purpose of assessing upon individuals the amount expected of them in the various loans and contributions, and the right of appeal to this committee in case of error was at all times maintained. The establishment of this committee did away with a certain amount of unpleasantness which occurred throughout the county when the mob spirit of criticism vented itself in the use of yellow paint and kindred methods. "Food first" was one of the watchwords of the war, and to the increased production and conservation of food the people of the county bent every effort. H. N. McCracken, of Farmington, was appointed by the state as special agent for Oakland county to work under the direction of the food preparedness board and the Michigan Agricultural College. He began his work on May 2, 1917, by forming a county-wide organization, the purpose of which was to increase the production of every kind of food, particularly small grain, potatoes, beans and corn. City gardens were urged, and it was estimated that there were about two hundred acres of available garden land within the city limits of Pontiac. Men having land but no time to work it offered it to men who had no land but who could find time to spend in gardening, and in this way a large amount of food was produced which otherwise would have been drawn from the rural districts. However, increased food production was but half the story. As much was to be gained by conservation of food as by its. increased production, and under the impulse of patriotism a nation of wasteful livers became frugal Spartans. A proclamation urging the saving of food was issued by Major Leman H. Cambrey on May 14, 1917, and on October 8th of the same year Governor Sleeper likewise sent out a proclamation. State-wide effort in this direction was instituted, and in October, 1917, Mrs. Harry Coleman received a commission from Lansing as county chairman of food conservation. She at once appointed a committee for a house to house canvass to save food, and the members of this committee had 7,029 Hoover pledge cards signed in the county, over half of which were in Pontiac. A public canning HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 75 demonstration was held in Pontiac, and similar demonstrations throughout the county, in the interest of the cause. The United States Food Administration was put into operation in Oakland county on December 1, 1917, with Francis G. Ely, of Pontiac, as county administrator. He at once began work in the city hall, and the following matters were some of those under his control: supervising all hotels, restaurants, etc., as far as meats and wheat products were concerned and explaining many bulletins to proprietors; supervising the sale of wheat flour with the proper amount of substitutes by the grocers of the county; and to see that meat markets did not purchase or sell poultry during certain months. The following meat menu was allowed to be served at hotels, restaurants, etc.: Monday, roast beef; Tuesday, steaks; Wednesday, stew, boiled or hash; Thursday, steaks; Friday, fish; Saturday, stew, boiled or hash, and ox-tail, liver, sweetbreads, kidneys, brains and tripe any time. Early in 1918 a fair price committee of four was formed to meet each week and fix fair prices. The following were appointed deputy food administrators in the county: H. A. Case, of Rochester; J. W. Anderson, of Orion, and Mrs. E. Lee, of Oxford. Early in July, 1918, one hundred and ninety-five retail grocers of the county met at Pontiac and agreed to the sugar card method of distribution. By this method each person was given a card which allowed him to buy two pounds of sugar a month. In these various ways the people of Oakland county did their full share toward the production and conservation of food, and the combined efforts of the people of the nation in this direction were a large factor in winning the war. The fuel question was another serious matter for the people of the county, and a United States Fuel Administration was put in operation during the first winter, an unusually severe season in the north. Municipal activity to remedy the shortage of coal which Pontiac felt with all the rest of Michigan was undertaken by Mayor Cambrey and the city commission on October 25, 1917. On that day Mayor Cambrey went to Lansing to confer with State Fuel Administrator, W. K. Prudden. Pontiac was then 34,000 tons behind the supply of 1916, and the mayor returned with a'promise of fifteen cars of coal, one-third hard. The distribution of this coal rested with the city officials and only one-half a ton was distributed to one person. Flat prices were set on November 17th. In December Mayor Cambrey was appointed County Fuel Administrator by W. K. Prudden, with two other members of the administration, and although there was a great shortage of coal during the winter, actual suffering was prevented by the prompt and almost inspired service of this body of men. At times the large manufacturers did much to help by supplying many people with fuel from their own stores. A branch of war work which enlisted nearly every woman, many men, and most of the children in its ranks was the Red Cross. Agitation for organization of the county as a branch of the American Red Cross began prior to our entry into the war, and on May 14, 1917, HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the county was duly organized for work at Pontiac. Gregory H. Turk was chosen president, Clinton McGee vice-president, F. H. Carroll treasurer, and E. B. Linabury secretary. The General Richardson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution had already obtained the first eighty memberships in the Red Cross, and the society began at once the work of organizing units in every township. A nation-wide drive for $100,000,000 was made by the Red Cross, and the quota of $40,000 apportioned to Oakland county was exceeded. The Pontiac Needlework Guild retained the superintendent of the Red Cross, although not at first merged with that organization, and other clubs worked as branches of the Red Cross. In October, 1917, the Needlework Guild joined forces with the Red Cross, and rooms were secured in the courthouse for the work. Originally there was a committee of three, Mrs. E. A. Christian, Mrs. O. J. Beaudette and Mrs. Harry Coleman, who supervised the work of the Red Cross, but as the organization was enlarged by the addition of other departments, this committee was increased in number. The Oakland County Red Cross handled between $7,000 and $8,000 of materials every month, and turned out from fifty to sixty thousand completed hospital garments. The Civilian Relief and Home Service section was organized in October, 1917, through the efforts of Mrs. Edna Formhals according to directions received from the National American Red Cross. Mrs. Formhals was appointed chairman of this section, and home service work was done for the needy, fuel, money and clothing being furnished to those who were in distress. The section served 1,059 service men and their families, and aided some two hundred families to get cheques from the War Risk Insurance Board. The Surgical Dressings section, under the able chairmanship of Mrs. W. C. Harris, of Birmingham, made 346,944 dressings, which were sponges, wipes, compresses, five-yard gauze rolls, pneumonia jackets, paper-backed pads, irrigation pads and oakum pads. The Knitting department in charge of Mrs. H. C. Wisner, completed during the war a vast number of socks, sweaters, helmets, wristlets and other knitted articles, a total of 21,546 articles having been made by the women working in this department. During the influenza epidemic the people of the county were in dire straights. There was a shortage of medical men and a large number of the expert nurses were busy in the hospitals devoted to the soldiers. In this extremity, the Red Cross issued a call for volunteer nurses, who were given instruction in the art of home nursing by Red Cross nurses. They were then sent into the homes to do nursing, which they did with a fearlessness and ability which won for them undying gratitude of the people whom they attended. A total of 579 nursing days were put in by the Red Cross in this way during the epidemic. To facilitate the work, and quell the rising tide of influenza, all public gatherings were prohibited for some time. The schools of the county organized chapters of the Junior Red HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 77 Cross, and the children did a large amount of work in assisting in the various phases of Red Cross work. The churches of the county were vigorous in their prosecution of war work of all sorts. Their doors were thrown open for patriotic meetings on many occasions, the pastors made stirring war speeches and served in the Y. M. C. A. and in the army as chaplains. War Relief clubs were organized for the relief of war sufferers, and notable among them was the Belgian Relief Club, which began its merciful ministrations long before America entered the war. Nineteen dentists in the county affiliated themselves with the Preparedness League of American Dentists and gave free dental service to men in the armed forces of the country. The General Richardson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution did Red Cross work every Friday in the home of Mrs. Lillian Drake Avery, and the members did much other work as individuals in other branches of war work. The Boy Scouts, who were under the leadership of Charles E. Ranhauser, of Albany, New York, on a salary of $2,500 a year, did yeoman service as messengers for the Red Cross, the Food and Fuel Administrations, and distributed posters for the Liberty Loan campaigns, War Savings Stamps campaigns, and drives of various sorts. The National Council of Defense did a vast amount of work near the close of the war in the registration of women for war work under the general chairmanship of Mrs. S. A. Kessell. The Woman's Literary Club, the leading woman's club of the city, and one whose organization dated back to 1892, undertook the first collection of books and other reading matter and the transmission of it to the training camps. This work was later transferred to Mrs. F. W. Broad, public school librarian. Dick Richardson Woman's Relief Corps No. 102, associated itself with the D. A. R. in its war work, and was identified with most of the humanitarian enterprises instituted, while the Pontiac Woman's Club and other organizations did commendable service. The manufacturers of the city of Pontiac were an extremely important link in the chain of war material production on the part of the United States. The Oakland Motor Company made cylinders for Italian Bugatti 16-cylinder motors and develoyed a whippet tank which, had it been brought out earlier in the war, would have unquestionably been of great assistance at the front as it was a distinct improvement on the small tanks used. The General Motors Truck Company made a great part of the ambulances used by the United States, and this enormous task was done with a dispatch which brought the warmest thanks of the government. The Wilson Foundry & Machine Company engaged in the manufacture of mine anchor weig'its, aeroplane cylinders, tank motors, hubs for transports and semi-steel shells, and the quantity of these produced may be imagined from the statement that the average war-time production of this company aggregated $525,000 in value a month. While the civilian war efforts of the people of Oakland county 78 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY were a glorious testimonial of their patriotism, the service of the boys in the armed forces of the government was no less whole-hearted and enthusiastic. The county was divided into two districts for I-he selective draft, the first district including the townships of Oxford, Orion, Pontiac, Addison, Oakland and Avon and the city of Pontiac; the second district including the remainder of the county. The first district draft board was organized on June 27, 1917, in the private office of Sheriff O. P. H. Green, the members of the board having been Dr. J. W. Fox, County Clerk Floyd Babcock and Sheriff O. P. H. Green. Of this board Mr. Green was chosen chairman and Mr. Babcock secretary. On July 5th, 4,287 men registered in the first district for service. The gross quota of men asked on the first call was 960, but since the county was credited with 191 voluntary enlistments the net quota was 769. On August 8th the draft board of the first district held its examinations on the second floor of the armory and the first contingent was sent to camp. Altogether the first district board sent about eight hundred men in twenty-three different contingents, and handled a total number of registrations reaching 9,378. The second military draft board had its headquarters at Clarkston. Edward Sevener of Ortonville was chairman, Mark Halsey of Royal Oak was secretary, and Dr. C. J. Sutherland of Clarkston was the third member. Altogether, during the war, this board drafted, classified and transported 810 men, and handled a total of 8,079 men. The majority of Oakland county men served in the army, a goodly number being assigned to service with the famous Thirty-second, or Red Arrow Division, which covered itself with glory at Fismes, Cierges, the Second Marne and the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Other men found service in many other units and divisions throughout the entire army. The United States M/arine Corps numbered among its members several Oakland county men, and it may safely be said that the esprit-de-corps of that famous branch of the service was increased by them. The United States Navy also had representatives from Oakland county, and it was the navy that claimed Oakland county's outstanding hero of the war, Lieutenant George S. Hodges, Jr., of Pontiac. Enlisting in the Naval Reserve Flying Corps late in July, 1917, he was given his ground school training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On October 1st he was sent to Pensacola for flying training, and was commissioned ensign on January 17, 1918. On April 7, 1918, he landed in England, where for some time he was engaged in fighting Zeppelins and bombing submarines. In November, 1918, he was recommended for the Naval Medal of Honor by Admiral Sims. However, his act of bravery, for which the Admiral had recommended him for this honor, brought him, on December 4, 1918, the Distinguished Service Cross from President Wilson, one of eleven awarded to the Naval Reserve Corps. The D. S. C. was awarded him for going to the rescue of Seaplane F-2A No. 4067. This seaplane had been wrecked, and the crew was surrounded by a flaming ring of burning gasoline and wreckage. Lieut. R. H. McCann and Ensign Hodges, observing the danger which HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 79 threatened the lives of the crew, flew as close as they dared and dived overboard. Swimming under water beneath the burning gasoline, they emerged within the flaming ring to rescue the members of the crew. Ensign Hodges saved the life of Ensign Garrison by drawing him below the surface and swimming out to safety with him. For this act of gallantry, Admiral Sime wrote a highly laudatory letter to Hodges, in which he said that the act was "heroic and worthy of the best traditions of our naval service." Ensign Hodges was returned to the United States and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on March 8, 1919, with which rank he was honorably discharged from the service. There were over 3,500 Oakland county men in the service, 215 of whom were in the navy, and in addition there were the Oakland County Home Guards, composed of men too old or otherwise unable to perform active military service. The Home Guards drilled and were prepared for any eventualities which might necessitate military force at home, taking the place of the National Guard in peace times. The memory of those men who gave their lives in the service is immortalized in bronze on a tablet in the court house placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution. According to this tablet those who lost their lives were: Leon E. Allen, Bert Bailey, Russel W. Barley, August Barnowske, Ellsworth H. Bartlett, John C. Baynard, Leverne Beebe, Avery D. Bigelow, George E. Bilkovsky, William Blackwood, Clifford Bloomquist, Melford Blunt, Fred W. Boardman, Percy C. Brown, William Burt, Stanley W. Cannel, S. Harold Chaille, Lewis Clark, Grant Cole, Harold J. Collins, Captain James Cooke, Jesse Cooley, Howard C. Cromer, Harold Daley, Robert Dorch, Bert J. Day, Harvey C. Deaner, Eugene Derragon, Edward Deveney, Charles Edwards, Harvey W. Fahnestalb, Walter W. Fraser, Harold G. Freeman, Bert Gay, Joseph E. Graves, Major Mason W. Gray, Roy Gready, William J. Gregory, Merle B. Griswold, Roy L. Hartwig, Charles Harvey, Lawrence Havens, Earl E. Hicks, Grover M. Hill, Arthur A. Hill, Robert A. Hill, Paul Hornaday, Charles H. Howey, Gerald Hughes, Richard R. Hunt, William H. Jansen, Jr., Francis G. Johnson, John E. Johnson, David Jones, Emil A. Kath, Wilford J. Keller, Raymond J. Kinsey, Lucien R. Lovewell, Eugene P. McCarthy, Robert H. McCrary, Loyd J. McGovern, Lieut. Edward McGrain, William J. McNally, Earl Mattimore, Fred Metcalf, Bert Middlewood, Harry C. Miller, Herbert J. Mitchell, Lieut. Elmer B. Nelson, Daniel T. Ody, Ernest E. Oldenburg, Christ Pappas, Orville Pearsall, Walter Pieteras, Verne E. Polan, Wilbur Potter, Frederick Pratt, Wallace B. Prichard, Miles S. Richardson, Benjamin J. Richmond, Andrew Robertson, Ora H. Robison, Hugh B. Rodenbo, George A. Rohm, Walter Ryman, Edward J. Schackern, Ray Schoonover, Frank B. Scott, Lieut. Chester A. Sherwood, Seymour Skutt, Frank B. Smith, Frank L. Spencer, Everett B. Stockwell, R. Harold Struthers, Amal Swartz, William G. Tegges, Robert C. Thompson, Earl A. Tyrer, Frank Wentlandt, Homer Wing, Arthur Wrigley, Jr., Jack Yuill, and Capt. David Lewis Kimball who died on the Mexican 80 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY border. In addition to the names appearing on this tablet, as above, it has been determined that the following also died in the service: August Gaudy, Sgt. Allen F. Stone, Gustave R. Goudie, Harold B. Patterson, John Pappas, Lloyd W. Lovewell, Albert H. Marsh, John Howard Kinney, and Margaret Irene Parr, a nurse, who died in France. L I CHAPTER VI EDUCATION T is thought that the first school taught in Oakland county was in the loft of Major Oliver William's sheep-house in the fall of 1821, and the first teacher was a young man named Brent, who had seven pupils under him for instruction. In the following year a log school house was built, and that same year saw the beginning of a common school in Pontiac, a special school building having been erected in the county seat in 1822, when a one-story frame structure was built west of the court house, and as the village grew two other school buildings were put up, both of brick, one of which was at the corner of Auburn avenue and Parke street, and the other at Williams and Pike. Every township in the county, as soon as the need was felt, built small school houses, and mention of these is made in another chapter. In addition to common schools there were what were called select schools, in which some of the higher branches of learning were taught. Under a territorial law of 1831, an academy was established at Auburn, and known as the Auburn Academy. Two years later, on April 23d, the Pontiac Academy was established under act of the territorial legislature, and this was conducted in the second story of a building at Huron and Saginaw streets, the lower floor being used by the Presbyterians for church services. Professor George P. Williams was the principal of the academy, which was made a branch of the university in 1837, a status which endured until 1840. Two years later the Pontiac English and Classical School was opened in the academy building, but only used until 1843 when it was sold to the Presbyterian church. The growth of the public school system, however, obviated the necessity for special academies, and they soon died out. For many years a much talked of factor in the educational system of the country was the old Michigan Military Academy, which was founded at Orchard Lake in September, 1877, by Col. J. Sumner Rogers, then an army officer stationed at Detroit. He received financial assistance from many of Pontiac's leading citizens. The initial enrollment was thirty-two, but this number increased to 184, from twenty-four states. Its affairs became involved financially, and it sank into a gradual decline, from which the efforts of several able men were unable to revive it. In 1907, it passed out of existence as the Michigan Military Academy, stood empty for some time, and is now used by the Polish Catholic Church as an academy. In the year 1836, the public school system of Pontiac was organized by John D. Marshall, and in the following year the state by law created a large number of school districts throughout the state, 82 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY each district to have a school and a teacher. Oakland county was thus districted, but it was not for ten or twelve years that the people began to pay much attention to the character of the buildings in which their children were instructed. In 1849 the Pontiac school board was requested to consider a location for a new Union school, but it took ten meetings before a site was selected, plans adopted and money levied for this famous old school. The first graduating class was in 1867, a course of study preparatory for graduation not having been mapped out until 1864. Pontiac, in the meantime, had been growing apace, and in 1871 a large high school building was erected in the oak grove on Huron street. It was as impressive a structure for that day as is the present high school building for the present day, and in 1872 students were first admitted to the university on diploma. The first high school in Pontiac was a subscription school conducted by S. Gale and J. W. Crain in the winter of 1845. The Old Union school was a long step forward (the building cost almost $4,000), and the high school of 1871 was another marked advance. But the growth of Pontiac has been so rapid in more recent years that the school system, both materially and intellectually bears little resemblance to that system of even two decades ago. In 1912 a beautiful new high school was built on the site of the old school at a cost of approximately $175,000, and this has since been enlarged. Compare the Old Union with the present equipment of eleven school buildings and twenty-one portable buildings, a school ground acreage of eighteen acres, and an approximated valuation of $2,800,000. James H. Harris is superintendent of schools and Kate H. Brown is grade supervisor. Under the able management the schools of Pontiac are second to none in the state. The high school, of which Frank J. DuFrain is principal and Arthur W. Seldon assistant principal, has fifty-five full time teachers and six part time teachers in the following departments: English, history, foreign languages, science, mathematics, commercial, industrial, home economics, fine arts, music, public speaking, physical education and the library. Grove junior high school, which is in the high school building, has ten teachers, Elmer R. Webster junior high school has nine, Baldwin has two, McConnell has two, and John P. Wilson has two. The supervisor of the junior high schools is Arthur W. Seldon, and in addition to the above regular teachers employed in the junior high schools, there are teachers of free-hand drawing, home economics, physical education and music, twenty-two in all. There are ten elementary grade schools, as follows: Bagley, located on Bagley street, has five teachers including Nina E. Doty, the principal; Baldwin school, on Howard street, has seventeen teachers and a principal, Alice Shattuck; Central school, on East Pike street between Parke and Union, has fourteen teachers and a principal, Jessie M. Brewer; Crofoot school, on West Huron street, has fourteen teachers, and the principal is Florence Herrington; the Florence Avenue school, located on the corner of Florence and Willow avenues, HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 83 has four teachers including the principal, Cora C. Bailey; Glenwood school, on Glenwood avenue, has four teachers; McConnell school, on the corner of Paddock and Willard streets, has nineteen teachers and the principal, Mary D. McGinnis; Elmer R. Webster school, on West Huron street between Murphy avenue and Monroe street, has thirteen teachers and a principal, Gertrude McVean; the John P. Wilson school, on Sanford street between Wilson and Midway avenues, has twenty teachers including the principal, J. Arlene Cleveland; and the Wisner school, on Oakland avenue, has fourteen teachers including the principal, Grace M. Fosdick. In addition to the above, there are special departmental teachers, who work in more than one school. These departments are drawing, music and physical education. There is also a part-time school, a medical inspector (Dr. A. L. Brannack), a school dentist (Dr. P. B. Jones), a school hygiene department, a school for atypical children, a county normal training school, and various employees, such as engineers, clerks, attendance officer, supervisor of buildings, and janitors. According to the latest statistics, there was a total enrollment in all schools of 6,196, of whom 1,167 were high school students, in June, 1924. At the beginning of the last school year there was an enrollment of 6,829 of whom 1,271 attended the high school. This was an increase of almost eleven hundred in the school enrollment in the past four years. The number of graduates from the high school in this period has practically doubled, showing that students are much more apt to complete their high school courses now than in former years. The average school attendance for the year was exceptionally good, the figure standing at 6,030.68 out of a possible 6,196. The number of days taught came to 195, making a total attendance of 1,171,007.5 days. The tax rate for school purposes in Pontiac is $16.05 per thousand dollars, and the amount expended by the.schools for the year was $823,266.34. Of this amount, 59.2 per cent was for instructional service, and the remainder divided among general control, general operating, insurance, maintenance, capital outlay, auxiliary agencies and bonds, coupons and sinking fund. The per capita cost of instructing the pupils amounted to $136.50, a figure based on the average daily attendance, and almost three dollars and a half lower than in the preceding year. The people of Pontiac spend $16.79 per person annually for school purposes. The Junior College was organized at the beginning of the school year 1918-19, with an enrollment of sixteen. Its purpose is to furnish an opportunity to graduates of the Pontiac high school to continue their education and secure university credit at home. Courses are offered in college English, mathematics, French, Spanish, chemistry, physics and history. It is possible by this agency to secure credits sufficient to cover one year of college or university work. The enrollment in the junior college increased to a high point of thirty-seven in 1922-23, but dropped off to twenty-two during the present school year. 84 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY The night school has become an established feature of the public school system, and is rendering a widely appreciated service to those who cannot attend day school. The regular session of the school is from the first Monday in October to about the middle of March, and is divided into two terms of approximately twelve weeks each. There is a corps of seventeen teachers working in the night school under J. C. Springman, the director, and that this feature of the school system is in demand is shown by the paid enrollment of 691 during the last session. The part-time school, located in one of the portable buildings on the high school grounds, provides for the continued education of boys and girls, from fifteen to seventeen years of age, who are in employment. They are required to attend this school eight hours a week, and the membership for the past year was 208. Ethel Wooden is the girls' director, and Ross P. Tenny, the boys'. Two full time teachers are in charge, with three teachers employed for part of the time for shop work in auto mechanics, cooking and typewriting. A school savings system was inaugurated November 1, 1923, under the plan known as Thrift Incorporated, with the support and co-operation of all Pontiac banks. The total number of depositors for the period from November 1, 1923 to June 30, 1924 was 4,764, approximately 80 per cent. of the average daily attendance in the schools. The average number of depositors each week was 2,706. The total deposits for the year, including interest, amounted to $34,222.99, and the withdrawals were $10,187.00. A salary schedule for teachers aims to give recognition and encouragement to three things: preparatory training, skill and success in teaching, growth in service. In the high school, the range for men holding a college degree, representing four years' work beyond the high school, is from a minimum of $2,000 to a maximum of $3,000. For women, the range is from $1,600 to $2,500. To those holding or securing a master's degree, plus at least three years' experience in teaching, an annual increment of $100.00 is allowed. The salaries in the junior high schools and grade schools range somewhat lower. A bonus, amounting to $12.50 for each semester hour accredited work, not to exceed eight hours, is allowed for summer school work in college or university. The present rules governing eligibility of candidates for teachers' positions in the Pontiac schools are as follows: No person not now so employed shall hereafter be eligible to appointment as a teacher in the high school unless a graduate of a four year's course of study from a college authorized to confer the usual degrees. No person not now so employed shall hereafter be eligible to appointment as a teacher in grades one to eight, inclusive, unless able to satisfy the following requirements: (1) Must be a graduate of a Michigan State Normal School or a school of equal rank; (2) Must have had not less than one year's successful experience teaching in public graded schools or its equivalent. No person shall be eligible to appointment as a kindergarten teacher unless a graduate of a high HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 85 school having a four years' course of study and a regular kindergarten training school having a two years' course. No person shall be eligible to appointment as a teacher in drawing, music, domestic science and art, or manual training, unless a graduate of a high school having a four year course of study and has had in addition two years special training in a training school devoted to these subjects. Signs of progress within the past few years are shown by the establishment of an auto mechanic course in February, 1922; by the mechanical drawing department being separated from free-hand drawing and made an integral part of the industrial department, with a special room, equipment and instructor, in February, 1922; by the establishment of a printing department in September, 1922; by the establishment of a dental clinic in co-operation with the board of health in January, 1922; by the placing of a school physician on full time and the organization of a board of health in October, 1921; by the establishment of a department of household mechanics in October, 1923; by the voting of $750,000 bond issue by the people on November 1, 1923, for a new junior high school and other school extensions; by the installation of the Thrift System; and by the reestablishment of the County Normal school in September, 1924. Co-operation and interest of the parents of the children is maintained through the medium of the parent-teachers' associations, of which there are nine in the city. The Baldwin school parent-teachers' association has for its president Mrs. R. N. Miller; Mrs. Walter Green is president of the Central school association; Mrs. J. E. Horak of the Crofoot school; Mrs. H. G. Stowell of the Florence Avenue school; Mrs. Hugh Hendrick of the Glenwood association; Mrs. Frederick King of the McConnell school association; Mrs. Benjamin Jerome of the Elmer R. Webster association; Mrs. Charles Mann of the John P. Wilson association, and Mrs. Carl Gerlach of the Wisner school parent-teachers' association. On a smaller scale, much the same sort of work is being done in all the schools of the county, whether city or county schools. The county schools are under the supervision of the county school commissioner, and of these schools there are a large number, most of them having from two to three teachers, one of whom acts as director of the school. Addison township has six schools, Avon has eleven, Bloomfield has nine, Brandon has five, Commerce six, Independence five, Lyon seven, Milford four, Novi (a consolidated township unit) has eight, Oakland six, Orion nine, Oxford six, Pontiac township has eight, Rose seven, Royal Oak township has eleven, Southfield ten, Springfield seven, Troy nine, Waterford eight, West Bloomfield seven, and White Lake township has eight schools. A survey of the county schools as to their condition and the efficiency of the teaching personnel was made in the school year of 1924-25 under the direction of the county school commissioner. When it was completed a number of special advisory teachers were sent to visit the various schools, their duties being to observe the methods 86 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY of the teacher regularly in charge and to aid her wherever aid was needed, and to make suggestions as to improving her methods. This work is now going on, and when it is completed another survey of conditions will be made to determine what, if any, benefit has been derived by this advisory system. It is the first effort of its kind ever to be attempted in Michigan, and is being watched with much interest by educators throughout the entire state. It is pioneer work of this character that is keeping the schools of Oakland county at the front. CHAPTER VII PHYSICIANS AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH T HE early physician in any pioneer locality had obstacles to overcome which would appall the present day medical practitioner, but while the pioneer doctor's practice entailed more severe physical exertion, perhaps, than does that of the modern man, the sick are now much better cared for and the public health more fully safeguarded by present methods, and this is the direct result of the efforts of the profession along scientific and hygienic lines. The work of the earlier medical men was interesting in the extreme in the light of present day observations, and an admirable account of many of the important doctors, their individual work and their efforts to raise the standard of the profession through their medical societies is available in a chapter on the medical profession written by Dr. Mason W. Gray for the history of Oakland county published in 1912. The careers of many of the physicians of the county are outlined in the biographical section of this volume, and the attention of the reader is here directed toward the more altruistic phase of the medical fraternity's work-the public health measures and the hospitals. The Pontiac City Hospital is an eternal monument to the perseverance and beneficence of a number of the women of Pontiac, led by Mrs. Charles Going and Mrs. Harry Coleman. These two women, actuated by sympathy for a sick man who had been taken to the county jail as the only place in town where he might be cared for, conceived the idea that the city must have a hospital, and at once began making plans in that direction. This was in 1902, and by the end of that year they had raised a sum of $886.57 in various ways, $500 of which was at once expended in the purchase of three lots on West Huron street. On October 7th, of that year, they incorporated as the Pontiac City Hospital, the following signing the articles of incorporation: Mrs. Samuel W. Smith, Mrs. W. R. Sanford, Mrs. Harry Coleman, Mrs. C. V. Taylor, Aaron Perry, Mrs. Charles Fisher, Mrs. J. R. Mitchell, Miss Anne Murphy, Mrs. S. S. Matthews, Mrs. M. S. Brewer, Mrs. J. S. Stockwell, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, Mrs. Charles Going, Charles A. Fisher and E. W. Murphy. By the end of 1906 the treasury boasted some five thousand dollars, and in the following year building began. Hospitals in various parts of the country had been studied searchingly, and the plans were drawn accordingly. The cost of the building came to $17,000, with much of the work and material donated. The corer stone was laid on July 12, 1908, with Judge Stockwell making the address. The building was opened in May, 1909. The sheets, towels and other 88 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY linens were furnished by the women of the county, and the operating room was equipped by the physicians of the city as a memorial to Dr. F. B. Galbraith. In 1915, by arrangement with the city, the hospital and properties were deeded to the city and became known as the Pontiac City Hospital in earnest. The deed of the property provided for the operation by a hospital board composed of women appointed by the city. Additions to the original unit of twenty-five beds have been made from time to time until the capacity is now sixty-five beds. A nurses' home in back of the hospital has been built, and in 1924 a new boiler, hot water tank and heater were installed in the heating plant, a separate building, thus removing the fire hazard from the hospital. New composition floors in the 1921 addition have been laid in the past year by the company laying the original floors without cost to the city, all the walls have been redecorated, repairs made wherever necessary, and twelve new beds purchased for emergency demands. During the past year there were 1,587 patients admitted, and 1,532 discharged, aggregating a total of 12,990 patient days. Of these, 12,333 days were by pay patients, and 657 days were paid for either through free beds maintained by private organizations, or by the County Poor Commission. There were 210 births and 31 deaths; 354 major operations, and 477 minor operations; first aid services were rendered in 106 cases. One hundred ninety-four emergency calls for doctors were made. The entire work represents cash receipts of $53,963.21. A training school for nurses is conducted in connection with the hospital with a competent instructor in charge. In addition members of the medical fraternity give a series of lectures and take an active part in the work of the school. There were on December 31, 1924, nine students enrolled in this training school, seven taking their work at the hospital and two affiliating with other hospitals. May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, is observed as National Hospital Day, and for the past two years has been observed by the local hospital as an open house day with a baby contest. Many people visit the hospital every year on this day. An eight day drive was successfully completed between June 22 and June 29, 1925, for $200,000, the money to be used for the erection of another hospital in the city, to be known as St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, and when this addition is made to the hospital facilities of the city, the growing demands of the city will be met. The health department work of the modern city covers a wide range, wholly separate from the former ideas of purely communicable disease work. The local department has been expanded from time to time, as the needs and growth of the city dictated, until today in a leased building on the corner of Perry and Mt. Clemens streets, it conducts the milk and food inspection, laboratory and allied services and supervises the recording of vital statistics concerning the community and its general health. The year 1924 gave Pontiac a resident death rate of 9.14 per SCHO(OI, 'UILT AI;)"I' 1850. A'l' SO(UTH\EST CORNER MAIN ANI) HIRD ilsB-:aa: "~rYr -Ocr* L; 4;PL ej 1 u n"tjr; i 1r -I r-'c," "i rii-a ~~ -02up\c:a I i:r ~u SCH IN IAC IN THF AR SCHOOI, IN P(ONTIAC L],II 1, IN 'IHE EAR LVY '(30's -11 Lg SOME OF PONTIAC'S INI)USTRIES .iI HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 89 thousand of population, the same rate as for the preceding year, and this is very low. The lowest in the country was Fort Worth with 8.7 and the highest in Memphis with 20, with the rate for the entire state of Michigan about 12.1. The total number of births, exclusive of stillbirths, was 991, an increase of thirty-seven over 1923, and this was at the rate of 22.9 per thousand of population. The excess of births over deaths in 1924 was, therefore, 583. A small proportion of infant deaths from congenital causes can be prevented by the provision of adequate prenatal care or advice, and this department is making a special effort to provide such care and advice for the expectant mother. During 1924 there were reported 3,219 cases of communicable disease, compared with 2,487 cases in 1923. The increase was due very largely to mumps, chicken pox and measles, these three diseases amounting to 63 per cent. of all the cases reported. In order to prevent a small pox epidemic, which was raging in Detroit, a general vaccination and re-vaccination was undertaken, in February and March of this year, 1924, when approximately 15,000 persons were vaccinated by the physicians of the city. Diphtheria and scarlet fever were also successfully combated during the year. The public health nursing program of the year was greatly handicapped by inability to secure trained nurses to carry on the work, a full staff of nurses having been on duty only during the last four months of the year. The original work of a health officer was to control epidemics and suppress nuisances. The work is now extended to include the prevention of diseases, the correction of remedial defects and the promotion of hygienic habits of living. This work can best be carried on by personal education of the individual, and the public health nurse working in the field, visiting in private homes, is the logical teacher of the newer phases of public health work. About one-quarter of the people cannot afford to buy the services of a physician except for cases of disabling illness. These people go unadvised and ignorant of the possibilities of preventive and corrective work unless reached by the public health nurses. With the exception of the dental clinic, treatments are not provided by the board of health. Individuals needing treatment are. referred to private physicians, but, if the person cannot afford a personal physician, he is directed to the particular agency best qualified to care for his individual needs. During the past years cases have been referred to the following agencies: Superintendents of the Poor, private physicians, Social Service Bureau, Visiting Nurses Association, county venereal clinic, county tuberculosis clinic, Pontiac City Hospital, University hospital at Ann Arbor and the League of Catholic Women. The city laboratory renders valuable aid in the diagnosis and control of disease. The larger part of the work is the examination of cultures and specimens derived from the human body for the purpose of detecting bacteria for disease. A daily examination of the city water supply is made for the purpose of checking up on the 90 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY purity of the water. Every week the city milk supply is tested, both bacteriologically and chemically to determine its freshness and wholesomeness. Through an arrangement with the county government, the same laboratory is made available for service to communities outside the city. In 1917, 1,377 laboratory examinations were made, and in 1924 this number had increased 33,691. A considerable amount of special work was done by the laboratory in the study of cultures from convalescent scarlet fever cases, and this study was embodied in a paper published in the January number of "Public Health," the monthly publication of the Michigan Department of Health, and was also read before the Fourth Annual Conference of Health Officers and Public Health Nurses in Lansing, in December. The food inspection department has three divisions, milk inspection, food inspection and meat inspection. The milk supply of the city has been greatly improved in quality in recent years, as shown by the records on file in this department. Two years ago, most of the milk supply was obtained from farms within fifteen miles of the city, but within the past year the boundaries of the Pontiac milk basin have been extended so that at the present time much milk is obtained from farms twenty-five to thirty miles away. In recent years, many of the nearby farms that formerly produced milk have been subdivided, this making it necessary to obtain milk from more distant points. There are about 2,400 cows producing milk for this city and 204 farms are under inspection at the present time. Two years ago the supply was obtained from 120 farms. Fifty per cent. of the cattle have been tuberculin tested. About 3,800 gallons of milk are consumed daily, or about three quarters of a pint per capita daily. The division of food inspection provides services for restaurants and lunch rooms, bakeries, candy and grocery stores, soft drink parlors and bottling works, commission houses and retail meat markets. At the present time there are under inspection seventy-seven restaurants and lunch rooms, two hundred twenty stores selling beverages, one hundred and three grocery and meat stores, thirty-four grocery and confectionery stores, thirty meat markets, ten fruit and vegetable markets, ten bakeries and six coffee houses. The sanitary control of meat and meat-food products is necessary for the protection of the consumer and the protection of the meat handlers. There is danger to the consumer if the meat is in an infected or diseased condition, and the mere handling of the flesh of animals inspected infected with anthrax or glanders may convey the infection to those who touch it. During the year 1914 the number of animals inspected was 4,361, while in the year 1924 the number was 33,791, of which sixty-four animals were condemned, and the estimated weight of the meat condemned was 25,020 pounds. The proposition to provide for the country-wide tuberculin testing of cattle was submitted to the voters at the fall election of 1924, but failed to receive a majority vote. The plan was backed by the city commission, Oakland county medical society, women's clubs, milk dealers, packing houses, farmers, laborers, teachers, ministers, lawyers, HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 91 editors and the large group of people interested in obtaining clean milk from healthy cows. This department took an active interest in the campaign in an educational way and prepared much of the printed matter used in the work. Over 56,000 pieces of educational printed matter were distributed throughout the country, the cost being cared for by interested groups and individuals. The purpose of state-wide inspection is to insure counties which conduct rigid tuberculosis tests from having their clean herds contaminated by intermingling with the herds of adjacent counties. The garbage and other refuse, with the exception of ashes, is collected by a contractor licensed by the city. Householders received two collections each week from May to October (1924), and at least once each week during the other months of the year. Daily collections are made from restaurants, hotels and boarding houses, where not less than twenty-five persons have their meals, from May to October, and at least three times a week during the remainder of the year. The garbage is conveyed to a farm in Orion township where it is fed to hogs. The rubbish is collected semi-annually during the spring and fall of each year. This department serves as a clearing house for the various complaints filed in regard to service, complaints filed by the householder or by the contractor. The sanitary condition of a community has a very direct influence upon the health and mortality of the people. Where the sewage disposal is inadequate, where the water supply is not properly guarded, such diseases as typhoid fever and other intestinal diseases are prevalent. Pontiac, with its modern sewage disposal plant, an abundant supply of pure water, with a modem water filtration plant available for any emergency, is well protected against disease of this type. There were but six cases of typhoid fever reported and three cases were contracted outside the city. From the foregoing it will readily be seen how far is the cry from the pioneer physician to the work of the present day medical man and the board of health. Similar service, but on a much smaller scale, is conducted by the county for its citizens residing in the villages and on farms, althought the danger from epidemics and the chance for contagion is much less in those regions where the population is sparse, and where there is not one common water supply as there is in the city to carry disease to all. There is situated also at Pontiac, on the northern limits of the city, the Michigan State Hospital, a large institution which cares for a part of the insane of the state. This hospital, which is a state institution and consequently has no direct connection with Oakland county except for the fact of its location here, has been established almost fifty years. Its large buildings and attractive grounds are ideal for the purpose to which they are put, and there are cared for in the neighborhood of fifteen hundred patients. Established in 1877, the hospital has a present value of $1,176,000. It covers 780 acres with its buildings, farms and gardens, with 565 acres under cultivation. The present bed capacity of the hospital is 1661, and it ministers to thirteen counties. CHAPTER VIII CITY OF PONTIAC THE founding and early history of Pontiac has been given in the chapter on Early Settlement, and other publications containing much of the history of the development of the city has been recorded in permanent form in previous historical publications on Oakland county. To summarize what has already been published, and get down to the more recent history of the city-Pontiac was incorporated a village by an act of the state legislature approved by the governor on March 20, 1837, and on the first day of May, that year, seven village trustees were duly elected. A week later a set of by-laws for the government of the -village were adopted, and village government was in force. In 1842 the charter of the village was amended, and the control of the village was placed in what was now called the common council, allowing the people to choose a president, three trustees, a recorder and marshal, the village treasurer having been appointed by the council. A fire which wiped out the business center of Pontiac in 1840 with a loss of $25,000, found the village without means of protection against fire other than the old-time "bucket brigades," and steps were soon taken to supply this deficiency. The first brigade for carrying water buckets had been organized in 1833, and a hand engine was purchased in 1844, and in 1847 another engine was bought. In that year the first fire house was completed and housed both engines, operated by two companies. On March 21, 1860, an ordinance was passed authorizing Enos F. Chappell to form a stock company for the purpose of financing and operating a gas company, and in the following year on March 15th, Pontiac received its city charter. In 1863 the total assessed valuation of the city property was $660,287. In the winter of 1867-68 the first policeman, really a night watchman, was appointed, and in the following year the first city hall was built, a two-story building on Pike street now used by the fire department. The city developed gradually, improvements being made in the fire department and police department, but without any marked departure from the old order until 1885, when the council adopted a resolution to submit the proposition of bonding the city for an electric light plant to the people, but it was rejected at a charter election in 1886, and the city did not have a plant until the winter of 1891-2. In order to give the city an adequate supply of water for household, sanitary and fire purposes, the city council appointed a board of four water commissioners, with terms of four years, and empowered them to install a water system. On November 12, 1888, the works were in operation on a direct pumping and main system, a s- I. I- OC-1 r^ P1()N'I'I.\C HI(H SC(HOOL HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 93 bond issue of $85,000 covering the cost of installation. In 1893 Pontiac had its first telephone system and its first fire alarm system electrically operated. In November, 1894, the people voted to spend $25,000 for a sewage disposal plant. From 1861 to 1911 the city had a mayor-council type of government, the city having been divided into five wards with two aldermen elected from each ward, and the mayor elected at large. In 1911, however, so much dissatisfaction had been found to exist with the old mode of government that the city was put on commission form of government. This had been voted by the people in April, 1910. One mayor and two commissioners were elected by the city at large on a non-partisan ballot. They devoted full time to city affairs and appointed all subordinate officials. The commission combined both the legislative and administrative functions of the government, sitting as a city council in performing legislative work and also taking direct charge of administrative departments. The organization was grouped into three divisions: the mayor had full charge of the departments of finance and public safety, one commissioner had full charge of the departments of streets, public improvements, sewers and drains, and the other commissioner had full charge of the departments of water supply and public utilities. The commission form of government lastedc until 1920, when the commission-manager form was substituted for it. There are seven commissioners elected from the city at large on a non-partisan ballot, and these commissioners choose one of their number as mayor, who acts as chairman of the commission. The commission constitutes the legislative and governing body of the city. In the language of the charter, it has power to "pass such ordinances and adopt such resolutions as they shall deem proper in order to exercise any or all the powers possessed by said city." The commissioners devote only what time is necessary to the city and receive $5.00 for each meeting attended, not to exceed $300.00 in any one year. They appoint the manager, clerk, assessors, director of finance, director of law, board of review, welfare board, cemetery board and hospital board. The manager is appointed as "the chief administrative officer of the city," is responsible to the commission for the proper administration of the affairs of the city. He makes all appointments, except those made' by the city commission. The purpose of organizing the affairs of the city along such lines were stated briefly as follows: 1. To secure the services to the city of men to formulate the policies and supervise the municipal government, who had had wide experience in private work, but who could not be induced to give up such work, to devote their entire time to the city. 2. To separate, for purposes of better work, the legislative and administrative functions of the city. A commission composed as outlined above should not be encumbered by administrative detail, but rather should be allowed to act from the viewpoint of a policy-forming body interested in results more than detail. 94 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 3. The modern city and the administration of its affairs calls for trained workers. It has become a specialized field. Hence, the position of city manager, who the charter requires, shall be chosen solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications. Students of municipal government feel this to be the most practical and sound administrative plan today. It is based upon the principal of a successful business, with the commission sitting as a board of directors and they in turn hiring a general manager to do the administrative work. It has proved a sound plan where tried, and is capable of needed results not possible under other methods. The following code of ethics of the International City Managers Association was adopted at the convention recently held in Montreal, Canada. It conveys quite clearly the conception held by the managers themselves, of the managerial form of municipal government: "1. The position of city manager is an important position and an honorable position and should not be accepted unless the individual believes in the council-manager plan of government. "2. No man should accept a position of city manager unless he believes in the council-manager plan of government. "3 In personal conduct a city manager should be exemplary and he should display the same obedience to law that he should inculcate in others. "4. Personal aggrandizement and personal profit secured by confidential information or by misuse of public time is dishonest. "5. Loyalty to his employment recognizes that it is the council, the elected representative of the people, who primarily determine the municipal policies, and are entitled to the credit for their fulfillment. "6. Although he is a hired employee of the council, he is hired for a purpose-to exercise his own judgment as an executive in accomplishing the policies formulated by the council, and to attain success in his employment, he must decline to submit to dictation in matters for which the responsibility is solely his. "7. Power justifies responsibility, and responsibility demands power, and a city manager who becomes impotent to inspire support should resign. "8. The city manager is the administrator for all Tthe people, and in performing his duty he should serve without discrimination. "9. To serve the public well, a city manager should strive to keep the community informed of the plans and purposes of the administration, remembering that healthy publicity and criticism are an aid to the success of any democracy. "10. A city manager should deal frankly with the council as a unit and not secretly with its individual members, and similarly should foster a spirit of co-operation between all employees of the city's organization. "11. No matter how small the governmental unit under his management, a city manager should recognize his relation to the larger political subdivisions and encourage improved administrative methods for all. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 95 "12. No city manager should take an active part in politics. "13. A city manager will be known by his works, many of which may outlast him, and regardless of personal popularity or unpopularity, he should not curry favor or temporize but should in a farsighted way aim to benefit the community of today and of posterity. "The phrase, 'council-manager government,' means that form of municipal government in which the people choose a legislative body, be it called a council, a commission, or a board of directors, or something else, which employs a city manager to exercise the administrative and executive functions of the city." The following facts relating to the activities of the city government are taken from the annual report for the year 1924 made by the city manager, Clifford W. Ham: The commission held fifty-three regular, three special and one adjourned meeting during the year. The only meeting at which a quorum was not present was April 7th. The clerk's office typed 16,691 lines of commission proceedings during the year at a cost of $1,168.40 for publishing in the Pontiac Daily Press. The cost of setting up the proceedings in book form was $140.50. This does not include cost of index or bindlng. At the general election, April 7, 1924, bond issues of $990,000.00 were rejected by the electors. At the general November election, the electors approved the annexation of the property lying just south of the city limits in Bloomfield township comprising five hundred fifty (550) acres. This adds one more voting precinct and the city now contains seventeen election precincts. The total expense of all elections for the year, 1924, was $6,907.05. Of this amount, $4,204.75 was paid to inspectors and clerks of election, who conducted the elections, and $2,702.30 for miscellaneous items, including cost of ten new ballot boxes, voting stalls, registration books, light and heat, advertising, printing, etc. In addition to the above but not charged to election expense, two pieces of property were purchased by the city at a cost of $1,025.00. One on Stockwell street and one on Stevens Court, on which election booths were erected. Based on a total vote of 29,536 at the four elections, the cost per each vote cast was.2342 cents. A card index file has been installed in the city clerk's office for registering electors. This file contains 13,798 cards on which is printed the form of oath as required by the statute. Every elector is requested to make affidavit on these cards when making application for registration. The signature of every voter who re-registered during the months of June, July, and August appears in our file. These cards are filed in alphabetical order and bear the number of the precinct in which the elector resides. A re-registration of the electors of the city was conducted by the city clerk during the months of June, July, and August with the following results: Male, 8,116; female, 5,682. Total 13,798. Charter Commission Meeting. On June 19th a joint meeting was held of the city commission, departmental heads, and the old charter commission. This was the first meeting of the nature held since the 96 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY manager charter was adopted in 1920. Here the framers of your local government were given an opportunity to inspect the instrument they had written, make certain suggestions as to its purpose, and go over the problems of local government with those charged with its administration. Here also the framers were asked the meaning of sections not clear; were advised and asked advice of sections that might need rewriting in the near future. The evening proved one of much worth and a real first-hand study was made of the intricacies of municipal administration. Electric Light Rates Reduced. In the early summer, the city took up further with the Consumers Power Company the question of reduced electric light rates for the consumers of the city. After considerable work and numerous conferences, an adjustment of such rates was accomplished, making a saving to the electric consumers estimated at $40,000.00 yearly. This rate the Consumers Power Company state is now below any electric rate that Pontiac has ever enjoyed. Employees Picnic. The affairs of the city, amounting in dollars and cents to $3,500,000.00 yearly, are entrusted to your city employees. A government is no better nor worse than its workers, and the local administration believes that a high organization morale and esprit de corps is paramount. The policy of building up such organizations has long been effective in the industrial world, and is beginning to be recognized in all undertakings. Hence, the local employees knocked off work one day last summer, June 26th, and with their families, some five hundred strong, held a picnic and field day on the Boy Scout grounds at Tommy's Lake. Sports, matches, racing, and similar events were the programs, both before and after the basket picnic in the grove. The merchants of town, realizing the value of the day to the welfare of the city, generously donated prizes, ice cream, ice, soft drinks, fruit, etc., which went far toward making the day the success it was. Few people realize that the assessing of property in the city of Pontiac has grown into a tremendous task, involving engrossing detail of the most exacting nature. There are now 19,000 pieces of real property (land and buildings) which each year must be described and valuated in this office, besides 1,000 ownerships of personal property, which must be entirely checked, valuated and assessed. The total value 1924, as equalized by board of supervisors, was $51,745,863.00. This work must be entered on three separate and distinct rolls requiring therefore triple work. One of these rolls is then used to spread the tax for the city and school. Each of the 19,000 descriptions, 1,000 personal assessments, must be figured separately, the amount of tax indicated and the whole carried over into a total at the edge of the page. The same procedure must be followed on the roll used for the state and county taxes including county roads, drain, covert roads, and others. Making in all as high as six or eight separate sets of figures for each description on the roll. In addition, forty-eight special assessment rolls in duplicate, covering much of this property, were made out during the year. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 97. The assessor's office is unusually equipped for the task of writing the description of these rolls and tax receipts. In 1917, an Addressograph, the first machine of its type, especially designed by the Addressograph Company for this work, was purchased. Each description and the name of its owner is made on a plate which serves year after year as long as the name or description does not change. When either of these change, a new plate for that portion only is made and inserted. A tax roll is printed in three or four days and then bound ready for use. It is estimated that this particular machine saves several extra employees by the work it does and further that the work is not only neater when done in this manner, but the errors occurring when the human machine is used are thereby entirely eliminated. Assessors' plats of all unplatted property in the city of Pontiac are now virtually complete. The purpose in making them is to facilitate the working of the assessor's office so that the property described by metes and bounds can be given an accurate description. Heretofore the taxes on many parcels of land so described have been returned for sale. The auditor general, however, has refused to accept many of such returned taxes because the descriptions of the land were inaccurate and not sufficient to give the proper identity of the land. The result was that the tax was reassessed against the city at large, and the property inaccurately described was tax free. The assessors' plats cannot be used for conveyance purposes, but only for the purpose of taxation. The city of Pontiac has six representatives on the board of supervisors of Oakland county. This group is made up of the two members of the board of assessors, the director of finance, the director of law, and two other citizens appointed by the city commission. For some years past the tendency has increased for closer work between the county and city organizations, in the rendering of public services. The standing instructions and policy of the city commission to the heads of the various municipal departments have been to cooperate with the county in engineering, public health, welfare and all other lines of public service. The city organization in turn has received from the board of supervisors and the officers of the county the fullest co-operation and help wherever it was possible to do so, in the furthering of such service. This is a hopeful sign for the problems of local administration with which both are concerned can in many instances be better worked out through mutual effort. For example, in the police work of the two units, the authority of the one coincides in many places with the other. The police department operates on the basis of co-ordination with the sheriff's force, and the sheriff's force with the police. The public health work is another branch in which is found close union of the two units of government. As an example, the city conducts a general laboratory, the facilities of which are made available at cost to the entire county. The health officer of the city has been appointed medical inspector of the Michigan Department of Health for Oakland county. Services are rendered direct to many county com 98 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY munities when requested by the local health officers of the county. The market, as developed during the year, is one of the newer forms of this county-city work. The report for 1924 includes the whole history of the library as a city institution. It was taken over, under lease, from the Ladies' Library Association. The building was rearranged, repaired, supplies were purchased, walls papered, and archways cut through to connect the reading room with the main room. The librarian assumed her duties January 16, 1924, and the library was opened to the public, February 15th. The largest task accomplished from the mechanical side was the making of a card catalogue of all books. Now it can be definitely told whether or not a given book is in the library. Book pockets and date slips were pasted in all books, and about one-half of the books were renumbered. SPECIAL EVENTS 1. Owing to a shortage of funds with which to purchase books, it was decided to appeal to the public. The week of March 10th to 15th was designated gift week. During this time, approximately 800 books were given. This number was later increased to 1,423. 2. A large American Flag was presented by the Daughters of Veterans, May 25th. 3. November 4th to 11th was Children's Book Week. Special story hours were held and new books displayed. 4. The librarian spoke on library affairs at the Michigan State Library Association meeting at Saginaw, and to various groups about the city. Circulation. Three thousand two hundred eighty-five borrowers have been enrolled, 37,005 books loaned to adults and 13,719 loaned to children, a total of 50,724. Days open were 269, showing a daily average circulation of 188. Record of reading room since October 4th, 1924, shows 1,738, or a daily average of twenty-seven people in the reading room. Books and Magazines. Seven thousand books were turned over by the Ladies' Library Association, 692 more were purchased, 1,423 were added by gift, making a total of 9,115. Among these can be found subject matter in practically all fields. Eight daily papers and thirty magazines were received on subscription and twenty other periodicals were received as gifts. Back files of magazines are being collected. The longest now are the Literary Digest from 1900, the National Geographic from 1915, and the Atlantic Monthly from 1920. Market. This is a co-operative effort between Oakland county and the city of Pontiac. The board of supervisors, by resolution, appointed a market committee to work with the city. A site on Mill street, south of Huron street, was leased and put in condition, and necessary equipment provided. An ordinance was passed by the city commission providing for a fee of twenty-five cents per vehicle for each day. The market opened for business June 17, 1924. The success of the arrangement was immediately evident. At the beginning HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 99 of the season market days were Tuesday and Friday of each week, but owing to the growth of the market it was found necessary to change the days to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Following statistics give relative idea of growth of the market: Average rigs per day, 64.8; average consumers on market grounds per day, 873. The market closed November 29, 1924. A real benefit had been extended to both the producers on the farms and the consumers in the city. The public immediately asked the county and city to purchase a site, erect buildings, and operate a market upon a permanent basis. Arrangements were finally completed whereby the county assumed 60 per cent and the city 40 per cent of the burden. The county for 1925 appropriated $45,000.00 for its share, and the city $30,000.00. The original site has been purchased for $40,000.00 and deeds taken running to the county for 60 per cent of the land frontage, and to the city for 40 per cent. It is proposed to construct market buildings early the coming year, estimated to cost $35,000.00. Interest seems keen on the part of the farmers and the city consumers in the market prospects for the coming year. Fire fighting service in the city of Pontiac is housed in two stations and equipped with the following: Three triple combination pumps, hose and chemical trucks, one service truck, one aerial ladder truck, one Oakland roadster. The combined facilities of this apparatus include: Pumping capacity of 2,750 gallons per minute; chemical tank capacity of 200 gallons, hand extinguishers; 10,800 feet two and one-half inch hose; ladders and miscellaneous other equipment incidental to fire fighting. The personnel consists of forty men working on the two platoon system with the result that twenty men are on constant duty, and the other twenty men subject to call at any time. A shop is maintained at No. 2 fire station, with all necessary tools for ordinary repair work which work is performed by men of the department. Hose used by department equipment with two and one-half inch thread couplings which is rapidly becoming a standard in this community and is the same as that used in the city of Detroit. This scheme was instituted in order that assistance might be called from Detroit in the event of a conflagration. This is also being copied by villages and towns in our proximity with the same idea in view. The department carries in stock enough reserve hose to make a complete change on each truck. During the year of 1924 both fire stations have been painted by firemen inside and out and many improvements made to beautify the department property. Fire department work is that of prevention as much as fire fighting. Prevention calls for regular inspection of buildings and their contents, supervision of the handling and storing of the more combustible and explosive materials, educational work as to fire hazards and their removal, fire causes and their remedy, emergency work and the registering of alarms. During the week of May 22nd, 1924, a thorough inspection of all 100 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY public buildings and buildings within the fire limits was made by members of the Michigan Fire Prevention Association, each inspector being accompanied by a local fireman at which time recommendations were made to decrease fire hazards. During Fire Prevention Week and at other intervals members of the department also made inspection of all buildings in the mercantile district. Daily drills have been held at each station during the year (weather permitting), consisting of connecting pumper to hydrant, laying hose, and raising and climbing of ladders, which have shown a marked increase in efficiency. These are but some of the efforts made with the idea of decreasing fires within the city and for the protection of the community. During the year the department answered 279 alarms, ninety-eight of which were calls from fire boxes, one hundred forty-seven were received by telephone, and thirty-four were false alarms. Police Department. The police department's activities include a general patrol system, traffic supervision, and division for the apprehension of criminals, commonly called detective division. The personnel consists of thirty-eight men or one officer to every 1,000 inhabitants. Each officer is required to follow his own case through courts and appear against the defendant, hence an officer's duties are more than merely patrolling streets, for he must be well versed in the ordinances of his city and laws of the state pertaining to each individual case. The value of the department is not measured by the number of arrests or the amount of fines the records show. On the contrary it is organized for crime prevention and the guarding of the public peace, much as a health department's duties are designed to prevent disease, eliminate contagion, and encourage cleanliness. Equipment. The equipment consists of four touring cars and four motorcycles. A telephone, which is connected direct with the sheriff's office in Pontiac and police departments of Birmingham, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Highland Park, and Detroit, used exclusively for police work, is one of the indispensable pieces of office equipment, it having aided in many apprehensions. An indentiscope was recently purchased for taking pictures of sentenced criminals and suspects, as well as additional finger print equipment, which materially aids in apprehending law violators for other cities and counties as well as our own. The police signal system consists of twenty call boxes and twentythree flashes which allows direct communication, through the electrical department operator, between the police officer and all patrolmen, thus enabling the spread of an alarm in case of robbery, etc. Activities. There were 1,804 complaints of a most varied nature received by the police department during the year, which resulted in 1,583 arrests. From this number the records show county jail sentences imposed totaling 5,522 days and forty-two months or approximately nineteen years and in addition, prison sentences of varying terms were meted out to twenty-three persons with a minimum total of forty years and a maximum total of one hundred sixty-nine years. Sixty-nine arrested persons were turned over to other au HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 101 thorities, while the total fines imposed amounted to $7,282.25. Other activities of this department for the year include: 1. Campaign toward removal of signs between sidewalk and curb. 2. Testing of brakes on motor vehicles. 3. New system of automobile patrol in residential section. 4. Stationing of traffic officers at most conjested comers in business district from 8:00 a. m. to 9:00 p. m. The Department of Public Welfare is organized with an advisory welfare board of seven members appointed by the city commission. The board meets from time to time for counsel on important matters connected with the work. There were two outstanding developments during the year. The first was the expansion of the recreational division by the addition of seven men and seven women for the summer program connected with the playgrounds, and bathing beach. The second was the acceptance by the city of the proposal of the Welfare League of a clearing of all cases through the department's office. This latter proposition provides for the housing under one roof of the privately supported charitable agencies of the city, and the clearing of the work by the City Director of Welfare. It is an experiment, but it is believed possible that thereby the money contributed to such work by private subscription can better serve the needs of the community. More services rendered for the amount expended. Here, too, the social workers of the city are brought in constant contact with all phases of-their problems, and a mutuality of interest is maintained by the various agencies. Policewomen's Work. This includes patrolling streets, dances, restaurants, stations, movies, and places of amusement. Protective work, such as securing physical examination and treatment, court prosecution, probation work, and the securing of commitments to institutions. The division makes inspections of dance halls for licenses and 193 dance permits were issued during the year, while three halls were closed because of the manner of conducting the dances. Three hundred seventy-one cases were handled by the department, three hundred forty-three having been closed, while twenty-eight remained open on the files December 31st. RECREATIONAL DIVISION-FACILITIES USED Parks-Dick Richardson, Wilson, Oakland, Murphy. Schools-Wilson, Webster, McConnell, Baldwin, High school and High school swimming pool. Gymnasiums-Webster, McConnell, Baldwin, High, Armory, Central Methodist, First Methodist, Presbyterian, Bethany, Baptist. Ball Fields-Wilson Foundry, State Hospital, Fisher Body, High School. Playgrounds-Crofoot, Wilson, McConnell, Baldwin, Wisner. Churches-Congregational, Bethany Baptist, Central Methodist, First Methodist, Presbyterian. 102 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Sundry-Board of Commerce, Welfare Building, Health Building, Woodmen's Hall. ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION Three life-saving clubs, three nature-study clubs, one weaving club, Junior High Soccer Football League, one handicraft club. Leagues. The ten leagues, consisting of seventy-six teams, have been operated on the basis of one game and one practice per week for each team, throughout the season, providing plenty of healthy occupation on two evenings each week for 1,335 members of the community, exclusive of the spectators at games. Men's basketball league grew from nine teams in the spring to twelve in the fall. Girls' basketball from eight to ten. Industrial from eight to ten. The growth of these leagues would have been greater if we had had places for them, as more teams were formed at the beginning of the season but had to be abandoned owing to the lack of gymnasiums both for games and practices. Industrial leagues consisted mainly of factory teams. Basketball, church and mercantile teams, girls' basketball, stores, factories and churches. City Baseball League operated jointly by Junior Chamber of Commerce and this department. Junior Chamber shouldered the financial responsibility. Recreation Baseball League formed for teams of young men not in the older men's organization. Private grounds had to be secured as the city owns no baseball grounds. State Hospital, Wilson Foundry and Fisher Body kindly loaned their grounds. All schools having seventh grades entered the Junior High School Soccer Football League. Clubs. Weaving and basket making at Grove Junior high school has proved a popular, interesting and instructive class among girls. Wilson Boys' Club was crowded. Discontinued when the Boy Scouts started operating there. Adult Social Club attracted many for music, cards, social dancing, and a general social good time. Both sexes participated, and refreshments were generally served. Story-telling to young children brought a large attendance each week. Held at Congregational church. Sunday-Monday Club. A mixed club of young people, the activity of which was of a varied nature. Nature study clubs aimed to implant a love of nature and care of the living things about us. Life-saving course was popular. Mostly two sessions per week, one dry-land instruction, and one in the high school pool. One camp of Camp-Fire Girls organized, and activities of a varied nature conducted. Girls from the Richardson Park playgrounds formed into a club, activities include handicraft, dramatics, etc. HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 103 Athletics. A large indoor meet was held at the high school, in conjunction with Rotary Club boy's week. Games tournaments also conducted this week at the other school gymnasiums. City-wide track and field meet attracted a large entry, and close competition. Swimming meet did not attract such a large list of entries, but was an improvement on the previous water meet. City basketball championship held to attract the attention of teams not in league to the work for basketball being conducted by the city. (League teams won both championships). Boys championship held, to draw together the teams formed spasmodically about the 'city. Co-operated with North-End Tennis Club in conducting a Junior Tennis Tournament. Winter Sports. Slides and skating rinks were prepared last winter, and greater efforts made this winter to improve the facilities provided. Five skating rinks prepared this winter, and two slides at Murphy Park. The Richardson Park rink was prepared for flooding by the park department this year. Skiing, and sleigh rides also part of the program. Christmas Carols. Singing around municipal Christmas tree by various groups. These broke up after the community celebration at the tree, and sang to the "shut-ins." Bathing Beach. This popular sport was extensively used from morning till night. Swimming classes were held by the man and woman instructor at the beach, and by voluntary helpers. At weekends and on holidays crowds were large. Band Concerts. At the city parks, band concerts were exceedingly popular, the largest crowds attending at Oakland Park. (With the exception of holiday concerts and those in connection with pavement dances). Pavement Dances. One of the most popular attractions of the summer season was the pavement dances. Thousands of people attended and the "floor'"/was always crowded. Five were held down town, and one on the east side and one on the west side among the foreign born. Doll, Live Pet and Handicraft Exhibition. This exhibition showed the work that had been conducted along these lines on the playground. A fine assortment of exhibits was on view, and a large crowd attended. Show was preceded by a parade of doll buggies and exhibits, two blocks long. Prizes donated by the four luncheon clubs, and other interested individuals. Attendance A t sum m er activities........................................................................126,353 At spring, fall and winter activities............................. 33,499 T o ta l............................................................................................................... 8 52 104 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY The work accomplished in the department of public works shows one of the busiest "normal" years in the history of the city, and no doubt more was accomplished than the citizens, not having been in close touch with the program, might realize. Paving. Eight streets, aggregating 18,300 square yards of surface, were paved during the year at a total cost of $90,000. Curbs and Gutters. In addition to those built in connection with the paving, curbs and gutters were built on eighteen streets totaling 31,655 lineal feet and costing $34,647. Grading and shaping of these streets were also done as a part of the other improvements. Sewage Disposal. This plant, located on the river at East Boulevard, completed in 1921, handles the entire sewage treatment for the city. It is of the Imhoff design with revolving sprinkling filters. A man is kept in charge to look after the technical operation, although the plant needs the minimum of attention. During the year, 2,700 cubic yards of sludge were removed from the drying bed at the plant at a cost of $1,390. The sludge drying bed has been entirely rebuilt, enabling more frequent drawings from the tanks, and consequently more efficient disposal. Sewers and Drains. Thirty-seven thousand seventy-eight feet of sanitary sewers, including eighty manholes, were built at a total cost of approximately $90,000. Eight thousand six hundred fiftythree feet of storm drainage, from ten inches to forty-two inches, including sixty-nine catch-basins and thirty manholes, were completed at a cost of approximately $50,000. This makes a total of 8.7 miles of sewer work, varying from shallow open cut work to deep wide excavation and tunnel. Building and Plumbing Permits. A great amount of building was carried on in the city during the year as evidenced by the records in this department. One hundred seventy-four permits were issued for construction of new resident buildings and 470 for new nonresident buildings, and 474 for alterations, making a total of 1,128. Estimated value of buildings and improvements was $1,914,243, netting to the city $1,621.65 in permit fees. Three hundred ninety plumbing permits were issued in addition, netting $941.25 in permit fees. City Buildings. Besides the work on the buildings occupied and reported in the other municipal departments, two activities need mentioning here. The city over a term of years has gradually been perfecting its general accounting system and stock records. During this year, a new stores room was constructed at the municipal yard on Lake street and the Air Line railway. With this building completed at a cost of approximately $6,000, the city now possesses the best stock rooms and stock records it has yet had, and is enabled to buy in quantities and at wholesale discounts, thereby saving thousands of dollars yearly. At Lake street is kept the great bulk of materials and supplies needed for the city work, such as cement, brick, sand, manhole tops and rings, crock and tile for street and sewer work; fittings, hydrants, pipe and lead for the water works system, and miscellaneous small articles comprising a long detailed list. *w K^% <)4 -t (W::< d SE; I- * -i VII,,AGEC OF CIARKSTON HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 105 In connection with this yard also is operated the municipal garage and repair shops for cars, trucks, tractors, street graders, scraping and cleaning equipment, snow plows, and other city apparatus. During the month of August, the city hall began to show signs of serious settling because of the rotting away of its wood piling. Cracking of the plaster of the walls in several offices indicated that steps would have to be taken at once to place new underpinning if the building was to be prevented from collapse. This was done by the city engineering department at a cost of $3,700. This cost also included redecorating. Parks. In 1921 the city purchased a number of park sites in various sections of the city. Since that time a consistent program of park improvement has been undertaken which is gradually and constantly making a tremendous change in the parks themselves and presenting to the people of the city needed park and recreational facilities. During the year covered by this report, a great deal of improvement was made. Wilson Park. The roadway into this park was graded, the beach at Crystal Lake was cleaned, stones picked out, the beach sanded, a new springboard built, and the entire surroundings made a place of joy to bathers. A fine spring on the hillside was cleaned out, and crocked up, supplying now a continuous supply of pure, cold drinking water. The open spaces of this park lend themselves to the development of a municipal golf course, on which much work was done during the season. Water piping was laid for sprinkling of the greens throughout the course. Some of this was the extension into the park of the water works system, and some by the installation of temporary piping from the lake. The swampy parts were plowed and planted, the fairways and greens improved and sodded. In a short time, the golf course will be in operation, affording another park facility to those who care to use it. Richardson Park. A great deal further cleaning and filling was accomplished, playground equipment for summer time and flooding equipment for an ice rink in the winter time was installed. Old paving bricks salvaged when West Lawrence street was repaved, were used to construct a retaining wall along the river. With a small amount of further improvements, this park, situated close in, will present a popular place for both children and grown-ups. Murphy Park. Further cleaning of the wooded part of this park was accomplished, the roadways graded, and a toboggan slide built. Aaron Perrk Park. A great deal further filling done here, and the place kept in a presentable condition. Shortly this park will present a spot of beauty and utility to the community. Oakland and Beaudette Parks. No great amount of improvement done here during the year. The tennis courts and grounds in Oakland park were in constant use during the summer season. The legal phase of the city administration is handled by a director, known as the city attorney. An outline of the work done by this 100 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY department covers nearly every phase of city work. Prosecutions for violations of city ordinances: Representing the city in courts and before commissions in suits and hearings to which the city is a party; preparation of all ordinances; giving of legal advice to the city commission and the administrative departments in all matters relating to their official duties. A great deal of time is spent in conferences on affairs of the city, the collecting of delinquent personal taxes, and miscellaneous old accounts owing the city are handled by the attorney's office. In many such cases, court action must necessarily be taken. The greatest and perhaps most important work is the guiding and advising of the city commission and officials in a way that will keep them within their legal rights, thus avoiding future trouble. This necessitates thorough examination of the law and the rendering of many legal opinions covering the various subjects. CITY WATER DEPARTMENT The entire water supply produced by the city water system during the year, 1924, came from deep wells located around the pumping station and from two auxiliary wells located in the northern and eastern part of the city known as the north end well and the east end well. These two sub-units are new wells added to the city's well water source of supply and are both equipped with electrically driven deep well pumps, delivering water direct into the distributing mains. These new units together have a daily production capacity of over 1,500,000 gallons. This, combined with the well water production at the pumping station by means of air compressors, gives the city an available well water supply of over seven million gallons daily. The electrically driven wells have not been operated for a long enough period to make any detailed report on comparative costs, but Irom information available at this time, the electric power costs between 35 and 40 per cent less than steam power. A very marked saving is evident from reports of operating expenses to date, and over a period of a year, power costs will show a considerable decrease. In addition to the water supply from deep wells, the department has the filtration system available and ready at all times in case of any great fire emergency. In twenty minutes, this system can be put into operation on a production rate of ten millions gallons per day. The danger of Pontiac being short of water for fire protection purposes is a minimum risk. However, no water from the filtration system has been produced or delivered to the mains since February, 1922. In the year, 1924, the department pumped 1,460 million gallons of well water, an increase of three millions over 1923 and fifty-five millions more than the 1922 production. Extensions and additions to water mains began in May and this work continued throughout the year. The department placed 12,165 feet of pipe during this period and with the addition of Indian Village and Woodward Estates subdivisions to the distribution system, a total of 41,634 feet of water lines have been added in 1924 to the water HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 107 mains serving the city. These extensions consisted of 23,504 feet of 6-inch, 9,422 feet of 8-inch and 8,708 feet of 12-inch pipe. A total of 92.4 miles of water mains now serve the consumers in the city, ranging from.4-inch to 24 inches in diameter. With these main extensions, water hydrants have been set approximately every 500 feet on four-inch mains or larger. Seven hundred thirty-nine hydrants are now in service. In addition to main extensions, new sources of water supply and pumping equipment, an electrically operated coal unloader has been installed at the water works siding which has reduced the labor cost of unloading coal in the storage yard. CONTROLLER'S REPORT Controller's report showing balance in various city funds, as of December 31, 1924, together with the receipts and expenditures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1924. During the past year, the city has paid $167,750 of its outstanding bonds, leaving a balance of bonded indebtedness as of December 31, 1924, of $2,697,500. This consists of $1,319,500 in water improvement bonds and $1,378,000 in general obligation bonds. It will thus be seen that the city has paid more than 5 per cent of its total debt during the year. This policy will no doubt continue for several years, inasmuch as our city bonds are nearly all payable serially. The paying off of our debt at so rapid a rate necessarily increases our tax rate, but eventually will cut down the amount of interest paid. This fact is not usually considered in a comparison of our tax rate with other cities. CHAPTER IX. BENCH AND BAR NO more appropriate account of the progress of the judiciary and the legal profession, together with some account of the early county buildings, can be found than that which was embodied in the address of M. E. Crofoot, delivered in 1858 at the dedication of the then lew courthouse, and the address of Aaron Perry, delivered in 1904 as a farewell to that same building. Excerpts from these two masterly addresses are, therefore, here recorded. "That old and dilapidated temple now tottering on its foundation, with its crumbling walls tumbling about it, its covering fluttering like the tattered garments of the old man represented as the personification of poverty, was reared (we are told), upon its present locality in 1823, where it has stood 'wasting its sweetness on the desert air' for the last thirty-five years. "But ancient as it appears, it was not the first building to welcome the expounder and legal adjudicator of the law for Oakland county. The ground where a portion of the Ogle House now stands, became firstly the seat of justice. "There, in July, 1820, those clothed with judicial honors Chief Justice Thompson, Bagley and Bronson, associate justices, assembled in an old log building, where the free breath of Heaven wafted without interruption of those useless modern appendages-a door, floor or chimney, and where too, assembled the grand jurors of the county, at this the first session of a court of records in our county. "One man was licensed as an attorney and two were licensed to keep tavern, thus keeping up the proper equilibrium of power which is so essential for all new countries. The officers of the court were: "Daniel LeRoy, prosecuting attorney. "William Morris, sheriff. "Sidney Dole, clerk. "Whereupon, the grand jury were discharged, and all business before the court (that above stated) having been transacted, and the law properly expounded and interpreted, the court adjourned. "If any one desires to preserve a lasting memento of this first court of Oakland county, we are told that they can secure a chip from the logs of that same old building, where they presently lie in the rear of that old red house so long occupied by our townsman, Mr. Hendrickson. "In July, 1821, the -first indictment was found against our old townsman, 0. A., for keeping a tavern without license, and a fine of one dollar and costs was imposed upon the defendant, which the truthful historian informs us was all spent at the bar, save the costs of HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 109 one of the judges, who had some conscientious scruples against ever letting a good thing go. "In 1825 Elder Elkanah Comstock was by the court authorized to celebrate the rites of matrimony, and in 1826, the Rev. W. Ruggles was licensed to do likewise, whereupon we have no doubt that innumerable blessings resulted from the rights so conferred. "In 1824 the first court was held in the old courthouse, and by 1830 the importance of the judiciary or the convenience of suitors had the effect to induce the board of supervisors to order the court room to be lathed and plastered. Judges Thompson, Bronson, Bagley, Weeks, LeRoy, Hunt, Moseley, Witherell, Chipman, Woodbridge, Sibley, Morrell, Fletcher, Whipple, Eldredge, Green and Copeland, have there adorned the bench, and all taken their appropriate part in dispensing justice to the citizens of the country from that old building, which we leave with no feelings of regret, except the severance of the ties that a quarter of a century's practice therein has necessarily formed. "Some of the most eminent men of the state who were never residents of the county, have in the earlier days of our courts, there been formally admitted to the bar, among whose names we find those of Wm. Woodbridge, Wm. A Fletcher, Solomon Sibley and Henry Chipman-while the names of many no less prominent who have resided among us have there receivel their license, and while eminent names have adorned the legal profession all over the state, we claim that the bar of Oakland county, according to its numbers, is second to none in the state in legal attainments. "From our own bar have gone forth editors, judges and members of congress, and most of the offices of honor and trust in our state have been at one time or another filled with some of our number. "Lest some ambitious young men about to enter our honorable profession, should embrace the too common impression that the acme of legal attainment is the successful practice of some trick, permit me here to say that no profession demands higher moral integrity, honor and uprightness, than the legal profession. "No position in society requires a more thorough and complete education, and no practice of life requires more honorable dealing. The mere trickster is unfit to become the confidant of any man, and whatever success he may attain for the moment will sooner or later sink him beneath the respect of an honorable community and draw upon him the contempt of mankind. "The men of eminence in the legal profession are men of integrity -are men who truly advise their clients whether their legal rights have been invaded, and what remedy they may obtain; men who are not disposed to stir up law suits for trivial and imaginary wrong, or yield to that vindictive spirit which always surrounds a petty quarrel. Better, far better dissuade such petty suits, than hope to profit by their encouragement." The above quoted paragraphs are from Mr. Crofoot's address, while those which follow are from that of Mr. Perry. 110 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY "Old and out of date as this courthouse now is, it is a palace when compared with its predecessors. "The first settlement within the county of Oakland was made by James Graham in the present township of Avon in March, 1817. The next settlements were made at this city, in the fall of 1818 under the auspices of the Pontiac company, of which Stephen Mack was then the manager. "John Jones, a pioneer of Bloomfield, is claimed to have cleared the primeval forest from the site of the present courthouse. He is recorded as having done it at the moderate wages of fifty cents per day. "The predecessor of this court held its first term of court in this city in an old log building which stood near the present Rose House, in the year 1820. Judge Crofoot said in his speech dedicating this building that that courthouse was without door, floor or chimney. "Soon thereafter, in 1823 or 1824, a new courthouse and jail combined were built on the lot where the present jail now stands. The first story was constructed of squared logs or timbers, surmounted with a framed second story. The lower story was used as a jail and the upper story as a court room. The prison cells were made of six inch oak planks sawed by Almon Mack in his sawmill at Rochester. The sheriff's home also adjoined the court room in the upper story of that building, and those upper rooms were not finally completed until about 1830, when the board of supervisors finally caused the court room to be graced with a modern 'up-todate' finish of lath and plaster. "But even that palatial courthouse did not satisfy the progressive people of this county long. As early as 1835 the building was indicted by the grand jury, and the struggle for a new courthouse began. Efforts were made by the board of supervisors that year to get the legislative council of the territory to authorize a loan for that purpose. The authority for such loan was secured but the board of supervisors finally refused to negotiate the loan. The matter was before that board again in 1837. The board voted to submit the matter to a vote of the people in the fall of 1838, but nothing finally resulted from that effort. In April, 1844, the electors of the county voted down a proposition to raise $8,000 for a new courthouse. The matter was frequently before the board of supervisors after that. In the spring of 1852 a proposition to raise the necessary funds for a new courthouse was again voted down by the electors of the county. In the spring of 1854 a similar proposition was again rejected by the people. But finally, in the spring of 1856 the people by a vote of 2,277 to 744 authorized the building of the present courthouse. During the year 1856 the contract for the erection of this building was let to D. J. Pratt for $12,594. "In 1848 Solomon Close entered into a contract to erect a building for county offices for the sum of $937.50 and it was probably erected during that year. That was a long one-story wooden building situated in front of where this building stands, with a roof sloping to HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 111 the front, surmounted with a balustrade fifty-nine feet long on which were painted in large letters the words, 'Oakland County Offices.' That building was used for county offices until the present courthouse was completed. "In 1847-8 Solon B. Comstock built a new jail building for the county, for the sum of $5,539.51. That structure was replaced by the present very creditable jail building, only a few years ago. "In 1874 the fire-proof vaults now in this courthouse were constructed at an expense of about five thousand dollars. "The old courthouse was badly cared for. At the time this one was built the benches and tables were badly worn and had been carved in a disrespectful way by pioneer jack knives. The boys of the first generation in this county seem to have had much more license in the use of their "Whittles," as Burns calls them, than have the children of the present day. Judge Crofoot speaks in his dedication address of the old courthouse as then 'tottering on its foundation' and as having 'both graced and disgraced our county.' "March 9, 1858, after the dedication ceremonies, a jury was impanelled for the trial of the three Tulley boys on the charge of having murdered their father; and the next eight days were devoted to the trial of that famous case. Thomas J. Drake, Michael E. Crofoot and Moses Wisner appeared for the defendants. Charles Draper, then prosecuting attorney, appeared for the people, and Sanford M. Green presided as judge. All were learned in the law and skilled in its practice. "At that time the following attorneys constituted the members of the Oakland county bar in active practice: Thomas J. Drake, William Draper, Morgan L. Drake, Moses Wisner, Randolph Manning, Augustus C. Baldwin, Charles Draper, A. B. Cudworth, Loren L. Treat, Michael E. Crofoot, Jacob VanValkinburg and Junius TenEyck. Not one of them is now living. "The judges who have presided over this court in this building are the following: Sanford M. Green, James S. Dewey, Levi B. Taft, Augustus C. Baldwin, Silas B. Gaskill, William W. Stickney, Joseph B. Moore and George W. Smith. "All have been able judges and an honor to the bench. Three of them, Hon. W. W. Stickney, Hon. Joseph B. Moore and Hon. George W. Smith still survive. And we are grateful to Providence for having spared their lives and preserved their health. And we appreciate the compliment of their having honored us with their presence on this occasion and joined us in bidding farewell to this old building, filled with recollections and associations dear to them as well as to ourselves. "The tower, or cupola of this building, call it what you may, was formerly ornamented with the iron figures of four large American eagles with spreading wings. And more or less of the 'spread eagle' style has manifested itself in the building ever since. "During the last forty-six years this room has on many occasions resounded to the melodious cadences and firey appeals of eloquent 112 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY advocates, as well as to some speeches that have been dull and common place-to speeches that have fired the jurors with indignation or suffused their eyes with tears, and to some that have lulled their wearied minds to involuntary slumber. "Once an old lawyer was giving advice to his son who was just entering upon the practice of his father's profession. 'My son,' said the counselor, 'if you have a case where the law is clearly on your side, but justice seems to be clearly against you, urge upon the jury the vast importance of sustaining the law. If, on the other hand, you are in doubt about the law, but your client's case is founded on justice, insist on the necessity of doing justice, though the heavens fall.' 'But,' answered the son, 'how shall I manage a case where both law and justice are dead against me?' 'In that case,' replied the old man, 'talk round it!' "I fear there has been some talking around the subject in this court room. This room has heard many Irish bulls, much keen satire, sparkling wit, quick retorts and ready repartee. But I am pleased that I can affirm that exhibitions of uncontrolled temper, heartless abuse, pettyfogging tactics and sharp practices have been extremely rare. Business in this court has vastly increased since 1848, both in the number and in the importance of the cases adjudicated. I also believe that there has been a corresponding increase in the gravity and responsibility felt by the attorneys practicing here. "In 1848 the cases in this court rarely involved more than a few hundred dollars, while how they frequently involve many thousands. Then there was but one railroad in the county. Estates were small and great enterprises, carried on by corporations or large aggregations of capital, were unknown. Will contests and deed contests were rare, or involved only small amounts, and accident or negligence cases, which now form a large proportion of our litigation, were almost unknown. "To successfully practice law now requires much more general knowledge and a much wider examination of authorities than in those earlier days. Human affairs have become much more intricate and complicated.: The increase in the number and size of incorporated cities and villages, the multiplication of machinery, the multifarious applications of steam and electricity, the increase in wealth and production, and the energy and strenuousness of the present ageall have rendered the practice of law much more onerous and much more difficult. New points and new questions are arising more rapidly than they are being settled. Our supreme court dockets, as well as our circuit court dockets, are crowded, and the multiplication of the decisions of the courts of last resort is almost appalling." A description of the present county buildings is to be found in the chapter on County Government, and in that chapter also is set forth a list of the judges and prosecuting attorneys who have graced the bench and bar of Oakland county. This county was for many years a part of the Sixth Circuit with Lapeer county, but in 1916, the judicial business of the county having HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 113 increased by leaps and bounds, Oakland was set apart by itself as the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Michigan. At the time of this change, Judge George W. Smith prepared the following sketch of the judges of the Sixth Circuit from the time of its creation to 1916, and this sketch was published in the Pontiac Press: "Augustus C. Baldwin, of Pontiac, was elected for the term beginning with January 1, 1876. Being dissatisfied with the salary, which was then but $1,500, he resigned in March, 1880. Silas B. Gaskill of Lapeer was then appointed to fill the vacancy by Governor Crosswell, of Adrian. Judge Gaskill was then the senior partner in the firm of Gaskill & Geer. He began holding court at Lapeer on April 20, 1880. As is the case now, it became necessary for an appointee to vacate the office unless elected at the next general election, which happened to be that of November, 1880. It being the Garfield campaign with but little attention given to the nominees for circuit judge, Mr. Gaskill ran with the Republican ticket and was elected for the balance of the term. In April, 1881, occurred the regular election of circuit judge for the full terms all over the state, and growing out of private family reasons not necessary to describe, there was a widespread and deep-seated prejudice in Lapeer county against Judge Gaskill. The Democrats nominated William W. Stickney, who was elected over Gaskill by a very large majority, chiefly by the vote of Lapeer county. Judge Gaskill was a very skillful trial lawyer, and it is stated by lawyers that Harrison Geer acquired much of his early skill from his association with Gaskill. "Judge Stickney served the Sixth Circuit with credit to himself from January 1, 1882, to January 1, 1888, six years. He was defeated by Justice Joseph B. Moore at the regular election of judges in April, 1887. "Judge Moore began his work January 1, 1888. He served a full term of six years and was re-elected in April, 1893. He began his second term January 1, 1894. At the April election of 1895 he was elected a justice of the supreme court and resigned from the Sixth Circuit, his resignation to take effect December 31, 1895. George W. Smith, of Pontiac, was appointed to fill the vacancy by Governor Rich, of Lapeer, and began work January 1, 1896." Judge Smith served until he was succeeded by Judge Kleber P. Rockwell, former probate judge, on January 1, 1918, a total of twentythree years. Judge Frank L. Covert was elected to fill a vacancy in the office of judge of the Sixth Circuit at the general election in November, 1920, serving until January 1, 1924, when he entered upon a regular six-year term in the office to which he was elected at the spring judiciary election of 1923. CHAPTER X MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRY FROM the days of the Pontiac Company, the vigor of the men who have lived in the city of Pontiac has placed the city in an ever increasingly prominent place among the manufacturing cities of the country. From the day the first grist-mill was opened, industry has been nurtured and manufacturing encouraged to such an extent that outside industries have been attracted hither by the knowledge that this place presents advantages for the manufacturer not always encountered in other communities. In addition to the vigor of its inhabitants, the city enjoys excellent transportation facilities, and transportation is the handmaiden of industrial prosperity. Both steam and electric railways, as well as automobile highways, give the city unrivaled advantages in this respect. Surrounded by a rich agricultural region, and endowed with a health-giving climate, the city gives to the laborer an economical and pleasant living, and the'policies of the large industries has always been to co-operate with, rather than to combat, the laborer, which has resulted in a surprisingly low strike rate and a continuity of employment beneficial to both industry and labor. The financing of the various industries is amply cared for by the banks of the city, and the Pontiac Board of Commerce is ever ready to extend a helping hand in the way of advice and the securing of good factory sites. Until the past two decades, Pontiac, in common with other cities, had the usual industries, ranging from breweries to carriage factories, from foundries to grist-mills, but in the past twenty years the automotive industries and its auxiliaries have overshadowed other classes of manufacturing here. Indeed, in this class are to be found what are sometimes called the "Big Four" of Pontiac's enterprises-the Oakland Motor Car Company, the General Motors Truck Company, the Wilson Foundry & Machine Company and the Fisher Body Company. The Oakland Motor Company was founded in 1906 by Edward M. Murphy. He had previously been one of the guiding spirits of the Pontiac Buggy Company, but seeing that the trend of the times was toward gasoline propelled vehicles, he procured the aid of W. C. Durant, of the General Motors Company, in the establishment of an automobile factory, the product of which was appropriately called the Oakland car. Mr. Murphy died in 1909, and the Oakland Motor Car Company was then taken over by the General Motors Company, and since that time has continued as a unit of that great company. In an extensive group of plants the Oakland cars with their wide range of striking, sturdy models, have become known in their price class. With a capacity of three hundred cars daily, the factory is HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 115 turning out a product that carries the fame of the city to the far corners of the world. The most modern production methods are followed, and the plant gives employment to many skilled workmen. The floor space of the factory group totals 770,390 square feet and it covers 24.67 acres of ground. The Cartercar, at one time one of the best known automobiles made, was manufactured in Pontiac, but is not now being built. The General Motors Truck Company had its origin in the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, an industry established here in 1905. Some time later this plant was absorbed by the General Motors Company, additions made to the plant from time to time, and now it is one of the large truck companies of the world, in fact, it is the largest of its class. In this modern factory are turned out the reliable carriers of the highway which are in evidence everywhere that freight is hauled by motor on the roads. During the World war this company built most of the ambulances used by the United States. Demand for the product of this concern has grown steadily through the past decade and has led to expansion of the buildings until it represents one of Pontiac's most stable industrial units. Its new machine shop is declared by experts to be one of the finest in the industry. Modern efficiency methods of manufacture are followed throughout. The building of automobile bodies has long been an integral part of industrial Pontiac. In 1902 the Pontiac Body Company, a name changed to Monroe Body Company in 1905, was organized for the exclusive manufacture of automobile bodies, and met with great success. Previously, Oliver J. Beaudette had commenced the manufacture of bodies, and in spite of fires which destroyed his plant in 1901 and again in 1903, the business prospered under his able management. In more recent years the body manufacturing interests of the city have passed into the hands of the Fisher Body Corporation, the largest body building concern in the world, and having factories at various points throughout the country. Two plants are kept busy at Pontiac keeping up with the demand for the product, closed bodies being built in one plant while open type bodies are built in the other. The industry is one of the city's largest, and is located on a tract of ground which allows for future expansion. Near the city on the Orchard Lake road the Jewett Company has recently completed a factory devoted to the making of radio sets, and it is claimed that this plant is the largest plant devoted exclusively to the making of these sets in the country. The Wilson Foundry & Machine Company is one of the large industrials of the country, it being together one of the largest and one of the most important links in the chain of automotive industry. What the work of this concern is, and how important it is may be gleaned from the following article which appeared in the columns of the Pontiac Press on February 24, 1925. "Ten years ago today announcement of the first big order from the Willys-Overland Company marked the beginning of the Wilson Foundry & Machine Company, as a really big industrial concern. 116 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY "The company had been incorporated June 8, 1914, to do a general foundry business with C. B. Wilson, president and general manager, D. R. Wilson, vice-president and sales manager, and C. E. Killinger, secretary and treasurer. The plant then covered but eight and three-quarters acres of ground, the buildings being but a few of the group left from the old Flanders Manufacturing Company. They included only a small foundry, core room, two small cupolas and a machine shop. COVERS THIRTY-SEVEN ACRES "Today the company has expanded until it covers 37.9 acres of ground with half a dozen huge buildings purchased or erected in the past decade. In ten years the original capacity of the foundry has increased from seventy-five tons per day to 600 tons. The original floor space of 39,644 square feet has grown to 1,016,794. "In 1914 but 143 men were employed, earning wages totaling $40,000, and ten years ago the payroll included but 1,300 men. Last year 4,300 men were employed and the total payroll was more than $4,000,000, running in one month to $512,000. "Last year 4,666 tons of aluminum and 73,416 tons of iron were melted, 154,931 sets of Overland engines were cast and machined and 52,320 Knight engines were cast, machined and assembled at the local plant. In ten years the annual sales have increased from $53,000 to $13,900,000, and the capital investment has grown from $170,325 to $3,951,620. "Between 2,500 and 3,000 men and women are now employed at the Wilson Foundry & Machine Company, and business is increasing after last year's slump. Not only are all the Knight engines made and assembled here, but the Overland engines are made here and sent to Toledo for assembling and all tire molds are made here for both the Fisk and Federal companies. All Khight motors used in Federal trucks also are made at the Wilson plant. "Present officers are C. B. Wilson, president; D. R. Wilson, vicepresident and general manager; George P. Waller, secretary; G. H. Gerkens of Toledo, treasurer, and N. W. Peterson, assistant treasurer. "Residents of Pontiac who remember the Wilson foundry as it was a decade ago would not recognize the tremendous industrial plant which has developed from that small beginning. For nearly half a mile back from south Saginaw street to Franklin road great buildings extend, each filled with costly machinery, which is almost human in its ingenuity and ability to do work with little supervision. "There are huge retorts in which aluminum is melted by fires of sprayed fuel oil under pressure. These retorts rock back and forth, their open mouths like the flaming craters of volcanoes. FIVE BIG CUPOLAS "There are five huge cupolas in which iron is melted. Alternate layers of iron and coke are dumped into these cupolas until the flaming, molten mass within has been brought to a temperature of 2,700 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 117 degrees. Out of the slag hole is forced a shower of sparks and molten metal, like lava from a volcano. There are fireworks every day in this part of the foundry. "There are forty-eight huge tanks which look and operate like washing machines. Many cylinder blocks are piled into each machine and then hundreds of small pieces of malleable iron in the shape of stars are shoveled into each one, the machines are closed and begin to rock. The noise in this 'tumbling' room is tremendous. The iron stars take the place of soap in the tumbling machines, polishing both inside and outside of the engine parts after casting, since the malleable iron is harder than the cast iron parts. Throughout the tumbling process, suction through pipes cleans all sand and dirt from the interior of each machine. "The Wilson Foundry & Machine Company is recognized as one of the most efficient plants of its kind in the country. Engineers come from all over the United States and even from Europe to study its methods. The constant effort is toward greater use of power tools and continuous processes. "In 1920 but forty-five pounds of good casting went out of the factory for every one hundred pounds of iron which went into the cupolas. In 1924 seventy-four pounds of good castings were produced from each one hundred pounds, an improvement in efficiency of more than 60 per cent. "Modern machinery has been installed each year which has resulted in tremendous increases in the capacity of the plant and reduction in payroll required. Two men now do all the work of firing five cupolas, though formerly it required six men for each one. Huge steel buckets now are used containing 3,500 pounds of metal each. These buckets are suspended from overhead rails. Everywhere through the plant are there overhead rail carriers, power trucks for floor use and other carriers equipped with both wheels and hooks on top so that they can be drawn or pushed over the floor or swung through the air. "Most of the unloading of the raw pig iron and other materials is done by a huge magnet which can pick up ten tons of material at a time. A huge traveling crane traverses the entire length of the sand storage building, crosses the railroad tracks and the coke piles as well, one huge carrier operated by a single man, traveling both lengthwise and across the building, doing all the work. This huge sand pile contains 800 carloads of sand. SAND USED OFTEN "The sand is used for the making of molds and cores, between which the molten metal is poured to make the various castings used in the automobile engines. All of the handling, sorting-and weighing of the sand is by machinery. The sand is used over and over being conveyed back to reeonditioner on endless belts from the spot where it is dumped. 118 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY "The core room is a huge factory in itself where the cores are made from which the various parts are cast in the foundry. The wire department is one of many busy places. Here huge coils of wire are straightened in machines, then bent into desired shapes, cut and sent to the proper parts of the plant. The old wire is salvaged, straightened again, rebent, and used usually five different times before it becomes useless. "And after the cores and molds are made the aluminum and iron parts are cast, there is the assembling room where the long line of engines move along, men adding another part at each pause with inspectors constantly on guard to eliminate defective or inferior work of any sort. "After being completely assembled, the Knight engines go to the block testing and listening room where experts with telephonic devices listen to the sound of the engines. For half an hour the engines are driven by another motor, until they are warmed up. Then for five and one-half hours the engines are driven under their own power, being attached to a pump instead of being equipped with a radiator, and the power developed is stored in the outside motor, which in this part of the process becomes a dynamo. This power is used about the plant, so that there is no loss from the testing of the engines. "If any noise is heard by the listeners the engine is sent to the motor hospital and the cause found and corrected. After the general test each engine goes through a final listening room where but one engine is operated at a time and here an expert listener gives the engine its final test. After passing this inspection the engine goes to the shipping platform. PART IN WAR "The Wilson Foundry & Machine Company played a big part in the war. Many engines which drove the famous British tanks were built here. Cylinders for engines which drove the Curtiss airplanes were made here, the plant's output of these cylinders reaching 1,000 a day toward the end of the war. "By this time the foundry was working entirely on war orders. It was the only foundry in the United States which met all requirements of the government in the manufacture of semi-steel high explosive shells. An addition to the machine shop was built to permit manufacture of cylinders for Liberty engines. "The success of the Wilson company has been due to three principal factors. C. B. Wilson and D. R. Wilson were practical foundry and machine shop men when they established the local plant. Either one can operate any machine in the entire foundry. Both were organizers and both possessed the ability to create an esprit de corps which has maintained the nucleus of the organization in a way equalled by few companies of its size. "C. B. Wilson was called to Buffalo during the war by the Curtiss airplane company to straighten out production tangles which had resulted from the tremendous rush of war orders in that plant. He HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY.. -:.119 was at Buffalo for six months, his work being completely successful. "In 1921, following the slump in the automobile industry, he was called to Toledo as general manager of the Willys-Overland Company and in the two years Mr. Wilson was in charge the Willys-Overland Company made the greatest recovery of any large motor car plant. "It was when C. B. Wilson went to Toledo that D. R. Wilson became general manager of the Wilson company. It is characteristic of the latter man that when the new office building was erected he refused to move his office into it. "'It is not my job to meet the public,' he said. 'My job is to run this plant.' So today Mr. Wilson's office is down in the machinery shop, almost in the exact geographical center of the plant, where he is accessible to every man in it. "D. R. Wilson still punches his time card in the clock. And a few years ago when he issued an order banning smoking during working hours he obeyed the order himself, scrupulously. He liked the change so well that now, even outside of office hours, he rarely smokes." In addition to the so-called "Big Four," there are a large variety of products sent out annually from the manufacturing plants of the city. A list of these plants, as compiled by the Pontiac Board of Commerce on April 14, 1925, follows: Oakland Motor Car Co., Oakland Ave.; General Motors Truck Co., Rapid St.; Wilson Foundry & Machine Co., S. Saginaw St.; Fisher Body Co., Baldwin Ave.; Fitzgerald & Company, 356 S. Saginaw St.; Angle Bumper Co., Orchard Lake Ave.; Slater Construction Co., Park St.; C. E. DePuy Co., Jackson St.; Bell Supply Co., Osmun St.; Nelson Boode Trap Co., 202 E. Huron St.; Pontiac Steel & Iron Works, W. Pike St.; Jewett Radio Company, Orchard Lake Ave.; Baldwin Rubber Co., Paddock St.; Boice Bros. (Pontiac Brick Co), 974 Orchard Lake Ave.; Ray Kemp Gravel Co., Mt. Clemens St.; Chas. S. Inch Monument Co., 30 E. Lawrence St.; Michigan Refining Works, 82 Perkins St.; Pontiac Glass Co., 21 W. Lawrence St.; Pontiac Packing Co., 49 Turk St.; Harger Beef Co., East Boulevard; Pontiac Provision Co., Wayne St.; Jig Bushing Co., 454 Willow Ave.; The Oliver Co., Perry St.; Oakland County Bottling Works, 106 Branch St.; Hubbard Spring Co., S. Saginaw St.; American Forging & Socket Co., Branch & Air Line Ry.; James T. Reynolds & Son, 131 N. Perry St.; Pontiac Paint Co., Perry St.; Van Auken Top Co., E. South Boulevard; Pontiac Die Tool & Machine Co., 68 Water St.; Eaton Axle & Spring Co., Branch & Air Line Ry.; Pontiac Varnish Co., Brush St.; Pontiac Tractor Co., 44 W. Lawrence St.; Pontiac Tent & Awning Co., 84 Oakland Ave.; Columbia Truck & Trailer Co., S. Sanford St.; General Accessories Co., 212 Osmun St.; A. P. Bowman & Son, 11 Garland St.; Button Attaching Machine Co., 651 S. Saginaw St.; Bacon Manufacturing Co., West Alley-Osmun Block. The Pontiac Board of Commerce is an exceedingly "live" organization, the membership of which includes nearly every business man, merchant and manufacturer in the city. Organized in 1910 as 120 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the Pontiac Commercial Association, the objects of it are to "promote in every reasonable, legitimate and practical manner the prosperity and well-being of Pontiac and her citizens," During the World war the association was the machine through which a large portion of the civilian war work was done, and especially was this true as regards the financing of the war. On September 15, 1915, the Board of Commerce secured a lease on the Galbraith home on East Huron street, and it was a few weeks later that possession was secured. For ten years this building has housed the Board of Commerce, an addition having been built to provide added dining room and kitchen space. The organization is now interested in securing the building of an eight-story hotel on this site, and in the event that the hotel is built, the Board will probably be housed in that building. -I-V 7. 'r i fllI~ - I. -. I -7 ~z Yll' 7-:1 VI. "o t j t 1 8srisssrr 4:: t ' I 1 4. "f, ' i ) *i- B ^'. ' 4 7-' Y.. 7'. CHAPTER XI BANKS AND BANKING N the early days of the Michigan territory there is no doubt that some form of exchange was employed by the pioneers beside bank notes and currency. Most of the settlers in the new country brought with them but little cash, and the financial resources of the entire region being small adequate banking facilities could not, of course, be at once instituted. It was necessary, however, for the pioneers to have some medium of exchange, and in this extremity they turned to the use of "tender" or "barter," using skins, hides, whiskey, pork or grain, or some such commodities, known to have a definite money value, in their commercial transactions. The records of early trading establishments show that little actual cash came into the possession of the trader, or was given out by him. The first bank in Oakland county was opened on May 26, 1835, under authorization by the charter of the Detroit & Pontiac railroad company. Prior to that time the citizens of the county had either to use the bank notes of distant banking establishments or the current tender of the day. This first bank was called the Bank of Pontiac, had an authorized capital stock of $100,000 of which less than ten thousand dollars was subscribed, and bank notes were soon put into circulation. During the panic of 1837 this bank was forced to suspend operations, although it continued specie payments after all other banks in the state had suspended. It was revived afterward, but only for a short time. The lax banking law of 1837 brought about the "wildcat" banks of the state, and, indeed, of the entire country. By this law it was very easy for any citizen of the state to declare his intention of operating a banking institution and put his bank notes into circulation with practically no capital behind him. Bank examiners were employed to make the rounds of the various banks, but news of their intended arrival always went before them, and the banker made sudden shift to have the required cash on deposit in his vault for their inspection. This cash was more often than not procured for the occasion from some other bank, and the same cash often did duty for many banks, preceding the examiners on their route. The notes of these banks, being printed at random in almost any quantity, became almost worthless, in fact, entirely so in many cases, and the ultimate collapse of the entire banking system of the state inevitably resulted. It was the season of speculation in public improvement enterprises, people were eager to invest in almost any kind of scheme, and the bankers obligingly printed bank notes for wild-eyed investors in almost every conceivable hare-brained enterprise. Specie redemption of bank notes was almost unheard of, and 122 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the sound business men of the east were loth to invest capital in a state where their entire resources might be swept away at the whim of some unscrupulous banker. This condition of finance materially retarded progress in the state for some years, and eventually brought about more drastic banking laws. Oakland county had six socalled "wild-cat" banks which all closed their doors in a short time after the beginning of the panic. On April 28, 1836, the Oakland County Bank was chartered on the Safety Fund system, but its charter was repealed in 1847 after it had succeeded in putting a large amount of its paper in circulation. The county was then without a bank until April 29, 1864, when the First National Bank of Pontiac was organized with a capital of $50,000. The Second National Bank of Pontiac was established in the following year, and this bank was the predecessor of the Pontiac Savings Bank. In 1870 the First National Bank of Holly was organized, later becoming the First State Savings Bank. The Exchange Bank, of Birmingham, a private banking house, came into existence in 1887, and flourished for several years. In 1910 it was merged with the First National Bank of Birmingham. The First National Bank of Rochester was instituted in 1908, and state banks have been organized in almost every community of the county for many years. The largest banks of the county are, of course, in Pontiac, and they are, in 1925, as follows:, The Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank and the Pontiac Trust Company, the First National, and the People's State. The Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank is backed by a strong board of directors and staff of officers. Under the auspices of this bank the Pontiac Trust Company has been organized with identical directors and stockholders, and is housed in the same building, a superb structure at the northeast corner of Saginaw and Lawrence streets. The First National Bank was consolidated with the American Savings Bank in 1922, as the American National Bank, and on the first of January, 1924, changed its name to First National Bank. It is Pontiac's only National bank and was organized in 1920, having since become widely known as a conservative, sound and yet progressive institution. The youngest of Pontiac's banking institutions, the People's State Bank, was established on January 28, 1922, with S. E. Beach, one of the city's oldest and best-known bankers, at its head. It occupies a site that has for years been connected with the banking business, and possesses an up-to-date equipment and banking system. A list of the banks of the county, with some information concerning each here follows: Berkley State Bank, capitalized at $25,000, of which E. H. Fowler is president, C. A. Dunton and E. D. Cromie vice-presidents, and F. E. Herdman, cashier; the First National Bank, of Birming HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 123 ham, capitalized at $100,000, of which A. Whitehead is president, C. B. Randall and C. Nixon vice presidents, and M. T. Jarvis cashier; the First State Savings Bank, of Birmingham, capitalized at $100,000, with Frank Hagernan president, Thomas H. Cobb vice-president, and A. C. Peck, cashier; the Clarkston State Bank, of Clarkston, capitalized at $20,000, with D. R. Teggerdine president, G. A. Walter vice-president, and G. D. King cashier; the Farmington State Savings Bank, of Farmington, capitalized at $40,000, with H. M. Warner president, M. B. Pierce vice-president, and E. S. Pierce cashier; the Peoples State Bank, of Farmington, capitalized at $50,000, with James L. Hogle, J. A. Miller and Thomas Lytle vice-presidents, and John Fitzpatrick cashier; the American State Bank, of Ferndale, capitalized at $50,000, with F. W. Dalby president, H. B. Wallace and Lewis Walton vice-presidents, and Lewis Walton cashier; the Ferndale State Bank, capitalized at $49,070, with Arthur E. Wood president, C. R. McLaughlin and W. A. Hassberger vice-presidents, and D. G. Just cashier; the Hazel Park State Bank, of Hazel Park (Royal Oak P. O.), capitalized at $25,000, with H. A. Meinke president, George Westfall and C. A. Mooney vice-presidents, and D. R. McLellan cashier; the First State & Savings Bank, of Holly, capitalized at $100,000, with C. A. Wilson president, Eli Bird vice-president, and D. B. Lyons cashier; the Oliver S. Hibbler private bank at Leonard with a capital of $10,000; the Farmers State Savings Bank, of Milford, capitalized at $25,000, with A. M. Bird president, M. L. Stringer and Fred Childs vice-presidents, and C. I. Gittins cashier; the Orion State Bank of Orion, with a capital of $30,000, and Ira Carpenter president, A. G. Haddrill vice-president, and Lee Earle cashier; the State Bank of Ortonville, capitalized at $25,000 with Lewis Sweers president, H. A. Profrock vice-president, and James R. Leece cashier; the Farmers State Bank, of Axford, capitalized at $30,000, with G. W. MacKinnon president, J. B. Shoemaker and Wm. Skillman vice-presidents, and Morgan Oxford cashier; the First National Bank, in Pontiac, capitalized at $400,000, with H. M. Zimmerman president, D. R. Wilson and A. F. Newberry vice-presidents, and J. E. Horak vicepresident and cashier; the Peoples State Bank of Pontiac, capitalized at $100,000, with S. E. Beach president, Otto Sachse vice-president and W. B. Grunwald cashier; the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank, capitalized at $800,000, with Cramer Smith, president, 0. J. Beaudette and others vice-presidents, and A. G. Nicholi cashier; the Pontiac Trust Company, capital $200,000 and officers identical with the Pontiac Commercial & Savings Bank; the First National Bank, of Rochester, with a capital of $50,000 and J. C. Day president, M. H. Haselswerdt vice-president, and L. E. Becker cashier; the Rochester Savings Bank, capitalized at $50,000, with W. C. Chapman president, H. J. Taylor and P. J. O'Brien vice-presidents, and H. A. Case cashier; the First State Bank, of Royal Oak, capitalized at $200,000, with John H. Bald 124 HISTOBY OF OAKLAND COUNTY win president, H. L. Mellen, C. B. Edwards and S. D. Thomas vicepresidents, and F. T. King cashier; the Royal Oak Savings Bank, capitalized at $100,000, with J. M. Beddow president, G. A. Lehman vice-president, and E. D. Skinner cashier; the State Savings Bank, of South Lyon, capitalized at $20,000, with G. T. Gready president, J. H. Sayre and J. B. Bradley vice-presidents, and R. J. Smith cashier; and the Peoples Bank, of Walled Lake, a private bank having a capital of $9,500, of which J. L. Hogle is president, F. E. Ward vlcepresident, and C. A. Chaffy cashier. r( Personal Sketches Mrs. Lillian Drake Avery was born November 22, 1856, the daughter of Francis M. Drake, and was about ten years old when she first attended the school taught by Mr. G. A. Brown, who later became her brother-in-law. It was her privilege to have this excellent teacher supervise her education, and she was one of the six who composed the first class graduated from the Chelsea high school, 1875. In the spring of 1873 she had taught a three months' term in a district school at the modest wage of three dollars a week and board-the latter obtained a week in turn among the patrons of the school. As there were twelve students and only five boarding places, her experience in boarding around in well-to-do farm houses and with people well known was not at all unpleasant. This school was seven miles from home and located in North Farmington in what is known as the Green District. Soon after the beginning of her second year's attendance at the Chelsea school, on the failure of one of the teachers to meet the requirements, she was asked to take her place temporarily. Ten weeks passed before another teacher was procured. After an interval of a month she was again asked by the school board to supply another vacancy. She remained in this department over a year, meanwhile continuing her. studies and graduating with the rest of the class, June, 1875. One of her classmates was Aaron B. Avery, born August 26, 1853, son of Nathan and Matilda Rockwell Avery, whose home was about ten niles north of Chelsea in the township of Lyndon, to whom she was betrothed before he left for college, and she returned home to teach the primary department of the school at Farmington, where she remained three years. During this time Dr. Avery had completed his course of medicine, receiving his degree from Ann Arbor and establishing a practice at Farmington. It is a rather curious fact that the first family to give him a call was the Drake family, and he was the first physician that had made them a professional visit for thirty years. Dr. Aaron B. Avery and Lillian Drake were married October 22, 1879, at Farmington, and resided there until November, 1885, when they removed to Pontiac. They lived for a year in a rented house on North 126 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Saginaw street, and then purchased a home on the corner of Clark and Saginaw streets. Two years later they traded with F. Messinger for a house at 101 West Lawrence street, where the family lived over thirty years. Dr. Avery died June 11, 1911. During her life in Pontiac, Mrs. Avery has been much interested in several study clubs. For three years she was a member of the Chatauqua Circle, another year was a member of a Round Table Club, and in 1892 assisted in the organization and was the first president of the Woman's Literary Club, of which she is still an active member. She was a charter member of the General Richardson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, its first vice-regent, then filling the offices consecutively of regent, registrar and historian, until she had given twenty years of official service to the chapter. She was State Historian for three years in the Michigan Society, D. A. R. From 1886 to 1894 she was a director in the Ladies' Library Association, and has always done what she could to advance the interests of that organization. She is also a member of the Norton Avenue Hospital Guild, the Girls' Protective League, and the Women's Auxiliary of the American Legion. For many years Mrs. Avery has been interested in local and family history. Since 1915 she has served as secretary of the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society, and during the World war preserved and tabulated the historical material of the county for that period. She served on the committee that promoted a successful celebration of the Centenary of Oakland county in 1916. The women's demonstrations and the historical features were entirely in her charge. Her genealogical research has been pursued principally during her vacation periods, when making trips to New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Ohio and Illinois, resulting in a nearly completed record of the Ingersoll family and a portion of the Drake line and other allied lines. Love of travel carried her over-seas in the spring of 1914, when she joined her daughter in Paris, where after a month of sight-seeing they started on the "grand tour" of Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Holland and England. They had just reached London when war was declared, and for ten anxious days they waited in suspense to know whether it were going to be possible for them to get home when they had planned. Fortunately they were able to sail on the very boat on which they had engaged passage before leaving Paris. It was the first British boat that had crossed after war was declared. Mrs. Avery is often called upon to give addresses to the clubs of the county on travel and historical topics. Dr. and Mrs. Avery became the parents of two children, Blanche and Lucile (Avery) Whitfield. Blanche Avery is a graduate of the University of Michi PERSONAL SKETCHES 127 gan, has traveled extensively, and is a member of the teaching staff of the Pontiac high school. Lucile Avery, who married Edward Harris Whitfield on February 19, 1925, is thoroughly alive to her duties as a citizen. In 1921 she organized and became first president of the Oakland County Chapter of the League of Women Voters, was elected County Register of Deeds in 1922 and was re-elected in 1924. Mrs. Lois M. Adix is one of the efficient and popular executives of the young and progressive village of Berkley, where she is giving a careful administration of fiscal affairs, as the incumbent of the office of village treasurer. Mrs. Adix was born at Durand, Shiawassee county, Michigan, November 4, 1890, and is a daughter of John and Carrie (Estey) Moore, both of whom were born in Washtenaw county, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Moore, paternal grandparents of Mrs. Adix, were born in England, and upon coming to the United States first settled in the state of New York, whence they came to Michigan and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers in Washtenaw county, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Carrie (Estey) Moore is a daughter of Israel and Mary (Deam) Estey, who were natives of England and who came from the state of New York to become pioneers in Washtenaw county, Michigan, where their homestead farm was near that of the Moore family, about four miles west of the city of Ann Arbor. Israel Estey was a brother of Jacob Estey, the originator and manufacturer of the celebrated Estey organs and pianos. John Moore gained his early education by attending the schools of his native county, and as a youth he learned the machinist trade, to which, as a skilled artisan, he gave his attention for many years. He is now living virtually retired and he and his wife maintain their home in the city of Ann Arbor. Dean Estey Moore, eldest of their children, likewise resides in Ann Arbor; Mrs. Adix, of this review, was the next in order of birth, and Cora M. is the wife of Earl F. Holloway, of Jackson, this state. Mrs. Adix completed her public school studies when she was graduated in the high school in the city of Jackson, and thereafter she was a student in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti. She was for three years a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of Jackson county, and for a similar period she was employed as a bookkeeper in the city of Jackson. May 16, 1914, she became the wife of Emil William Adix, who was born in the city of Chicago. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Adix was solemnized at Ann Arbor and soon afterward they established their residence in Detroit, where Mr. Adix became a representative of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, with which he has since continued his alliance and with which he has made a record of successful achievements. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. They have one child, Philip Dean Estey Adix, born in Detroit, September 24, 1916. In 1919 Mr. and Mrs. Adix came to Royal Oak township and bought property in what is now the village of Berkley, there having been at that time only three or four houses to mark the site of the future 128 HISTORY OP OAKLAND COUNTY village, which was incorporated in 1923. From their pleasant suburban home when established here Mr. and Mrs. Adix could originally descry only about three other dwellings, and the splendid advancement since made is indicated when it is noted that the village of Berkley now has a population of about 4,500. In 1919 was organized the Beverly Park Improvement Association, and on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving day of that year a meeting was called to consider the matter of incorporating the village, this meeting having been held in the Berkley school building. Mr. Adix was made chairman of the meeting, and after discussing affairs thoroughly it was decided that the obtaining of a village charter was not feasible at that time. No further action was taken until 1923, when Berkley received from the state its village charter, and on the 28th day of September of that year Mrs. Adix had the distinction of being elected the first treasurer of the new village, she having since continued the valued incumbent of this office and having given an administration that has met with unqualified popular approval. She is an enthusiast in her official work and in all that makes for the further advancement of her home village. She is an active member of the local Woman's Club, which has affiliation with the Oakland County Federation of Women's Clubs, and of this club she was the secretary in 1922-23. She is a popular figure in the social and cultural activities of her home community. George Alexander, M.D.-Doctor Alexander, well-known and esteemed member of the medical profession, has been a resident of Pontiac since 1917. The Doctor's office is at 1072 North Saginaw street and the residence at 85 Johnson avenue. The Doctor is a Canadian by birth and was born in Ontario November 19, 1863. His early education was obtained in the grade and high schools of Ontario and in 1894 he was graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery and began practice in Silverwood, Tuscola county, Michigan. He practiced in that community twenty-three years and in 1917 decided to locate in Pontiac. In 1889 Doctor Alexander was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Pickering, of Ontario. They have one daughter, Marian, a graduate of Pontiac high school. She is a teacher in the Institute Conservatory of Music in Pontiac. Luther D. Allen, chairman of the board of supervisors of Oakland county, represents in this important governmental body of the county his native township of Bloomfield, where his attractive rural home is in Bloomfield Hills. He is a scion of a family that was founded in this county nearly seventy-five years ago-about three years after Michigan was admitted as one of the sovereign states of the Union. Mr. Allen was born on the old family homestead farm, in section 16, Bloomfield township, and the date of his nativity was December 16, 1867. His parents, Joseph and Sarah (Patchett) Allen, settled on their farm in this township within a short time after their marriage, where the father developed one of the productive farms of the county, he having been a boy at the time when the family came to the county, PERSONAL SKETCHES 129 about 1854, and it having been to him a matter of satisfaction that he was able here to achieve substantial prosperity, and also to contribute much to the civic and industrial development and advancement of the county. Joseph Allen's death occurred in March, 1899, when he was sixty-four years of age, and his widow is now (winter of 1924 -25) eighty-four years of age, she being one of the venerable and revered pioneer women of Oakland county. The boyhood and early youth of Luther D. Allen were compassed by the influences and activities of the home farm, and his early educational advantages were those of the district schools and the public schools at Birmingham. His prior experience well fortified him when he initiated his independent activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower, and eventually he also developed a substantial business as a buyer and shipper of live stock. With these lines of enterprise he still continues his alliance, with progressive policies that mark him for no little leadership in the advancing of the standards of farm industry in his native county. Mr. Allen was likewise one of the foremost in the organizing of the Pontiac Packing Company, and he is now a valued member of the board of directors of this corporation, as is he also of the directorate of the First National Bank of Pontiac. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and his first official service was in the capacity of highway commissioner in his native township. He retained this position two years, gave eighteen years of effective administration in the office of justice of the peace, and he has been supervisor of Bloomfield township since 1919, the board of supervisors of the county having elected him its chairman for the fiscal year 1924. In the primary election of 1924 Mr. Allen was made the nominee of his party for the office of county road commissioner, and at the ensuing November election he was victorious at the polls, so that he is now the incumbent of this office. At Pontiac, judicial center of the county, Mr. Allen holds membership in the Exchange Club of Birmingham. He is affiliated also with the Knights of Pythias of Pontiac, and he and his wife hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pontiac. In the year 1890 Mr. Allen married Miss Anna Buttolph, daughter of John and Julia Buttolph, one of the old and honored families of the county. She was born in Troy township, this county, March 21, 1866, and received the advantages of the public schools at Birmingham, including the high school. Howard, elder of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Allen, was born in 1892, and after his graduation in the Pontiac high school he entered Albion college, in which he was graduated in 1914. In 1923 he was graduated in the University of Michigan, with the degree of Master of Arts, and he is now professor of science in the public schools of Wyandotte, Wayne county. He married Miss Georgia Triece, of South Haven, Van Buren county, and they have two daughters, Marian, born in the year 1918, and Dorothy in 1924. Ruth, younger of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Luther D. Allen, was born in 1900, was graduated in the Pontiac high school, and in 1922 she was graduated in Albion college, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. She is now 130 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of the city of Wyandotte. It will be seen that each successive generation of the Allen family has given good account of itself, and it has a goodly heritage of pioneer honors in the fine old state of Michigan. John C. Allshouse.-Entering the Pontiac post office on November 1, 1890, Mr. Allshouse has held every position in the service except that of postmaster or assistant postmaster. His long record is one of merit and of fidelity to Uncle Sam. With the extraordinary record of 99.88 per cent, Mr. Allshouse was the first man in the Pontiac post office to take the state post office examination. Zealous as a Mason, Mr. Allshouse in 1884 was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Pontiac Lodge No. 21 and in 1891 was master of his lodge. Up to that time he was the youngest worshipful master of the lodge. He is now the oldest living past master. Mr. Allshouse was high priest of the chapter of Royal Arch Masons and thrice illustrious master of the Council of Royal and Select Masters and eminent commander of the commandery of Knights Templar. He belongs to the Consistory and Shrine and was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias in Pontiac but withdrew and also withdrew from the Elks. He is a member of the Past Masters' (Masonic) Association. Mr. and Mrs. Allshouse and family belong to the Congregational church. Mr. Allshouse was born in Warren county, New Jersey, November 15, 1857, a son of William and Sarah Jane (Mellick) Allshouse. The family came to Pontiac on March 17, 1866, direct from New Jersey. William Allshouse for a time operated a hotel and for many years was a traveling salesman for D. M. Osborne & Company, machinery, receiving $1,800 a year and expenses, considered in those days an extremely large salary. Before leaving New Jersey he was surrogate judge of his county, corresponding to probate. This office was held during the Civil war and immediately upon expiration of his term Mr. Allshouse entered the Union Army as paymaster, but hostilities ceased before he was able to see active service. The son, John C. Allshouse, received his early schooling in New Jersey and in Pontiac. At fifteen he quit school, worked on a farm, and then entered the employ of J. F. Smith, Pontiac groceryman. Later he worked for Turk Brothers, grocers, and was with these two concerns seventeen years. Four months were spent in an express office in Pontiac and on November 1, 1890, he entered the Pontiac post office. Three years ago Mr. Allshouse resigned as superintendent of mails, not desiring the exacting responsibilities of the post, and has since occupied a clerical position. When he entered the post office he was a carrier, then became traveling clerk; then was in the general delivery, money order division and in the dispatching of mail. On June 15, 1881, Mr. Allshouse married Miss Sarah Malissa Collins, of Pontiac. There are three children. Ethel is the wife of Carl H. Pelton, a lawyer of Pontiac, Chester is in the real estate and insurance business in Ann Arbor and Hazel is the wife of George A. Sutton, attorney of Pontiac. Byron D. Anderson, the popular and progressive mayor of the PERSONAL SKETCHES 131 fine little city of Orion, Oakland county, has here been successfully established in the automobile business since 1911 and now owns and conducts a well equipped sales agency and service station in the handling of the celebrated Chevrolet automobiles. Mr. Anderson was born in Oakland township, this county, January 13, 1872, and in Oakland county his parents, the late William and Olive (Flumerfelt) Anderson, passed their entire lives, the father having long been numbered among the representative farmers and influential citizens of Oakland township. Of the four children the subject of this review is the older of the two who survive the honored parents. Byron D. Anderson attended the Cline school in his native township, and made good use of the educational advantages thus afforded him, the while he profited also by the fortifying discipline that he early gained in connection with the varied activities of the home farm. He eventually engaged independently in progressive farm enterprise, and with the basic industry of agriculture he thus continued his active alliance in his native township until 1911, when he established himself in the automobile business at Orion. Mr. Anderson is a stalwart in the local ranks of the Democratic party, and has been influential in its counsels and campaign work in his home community. His place in popular confidence and good will is most secure, and he has served continuously since 1914 as clerk of Orion township. In 1918 he was elected mayor of Orion, and that his service of four years met with popular approval is indicated by the fact that in 1924 he was again elected to this office, in which he is giving a characteristically efficient and progressive administration of municipal affairs. Mr. Anderson is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Maccabees and the Order of American Yeomen. He married Miss Belle Chapin, of Oakland township, and aside from being, by virtue of her husband's official position, the "first lady" of Orion, she has the personality that has made her a popular figure in the social and cultural life of her home community. Stuart A. Austin.-Mr. Austin is the head of the well-known Austin Trucking Company, 21 South Perry street, Pontiac, member of an old and estimable family and a business man of substance. Mr. Austin, too, was born in Pontiac, February 14, 1888, a son of John and Hannah Austin, nee Clark. The father was born in Ontario, the mother in Detroit. Thomas Clark was the father of Mrs. John Austin, a native of England and a pioneer of Michigan. Mr. Clark resides in Pontiac at the very unusual age of ninety-six. John Austin for a quarter of a century was agent of the American Express Company in Pontiac. For seven years he was fire chief. His uncle, John Prentice, started the trucking business in Pontiac, and after his death, John Austin and a half-brother, Thomas Mason, bought the business and operated it until about 1915, when Stuart A. Austin purchased Mr. Mason's interest and continued in association with his father until 1920, when the latter died. Since 1920 Mr. Austin and his mother have owned and operated the business. Stuart A. Austin obtained his early education in the public schools of Pontiac. He is a 132 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Blue Lodge, Chapter of the Royal Arch and Knights Templar. He is also a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Kiwanis club, of the Board of Commerce and of the Episcopal church. In 1912 Mr. Austin was united in marriage to Miss Hazel Knapp, born in Michigan. They have one daughter, Betty Jane, who was born April 9, 1917. Dorinda Knapp, the grandmother of Hazel (Knapp) Austin, died in Jackson, Michigan, in 1923 at the age of eighty-three years. Floyd B. Babcock is giving a characteristically loyal and efficient service as postmaster of Pontiac, and in this county of Oakland, where he was born and reared, there have been given manifold other evidences of the unqualified esteem in which he is held on his native heath, for he has held other positions of public trust. Mr. Babcock was born on the parental homestead farm in Highland township, this county, November 20, 1879, and is a son of Newton B. and Lorena (Ruggles) Babcock, both of whom were born in the state of New York. Newton B. Babcock has been a resident of Oakland county fully sixty years, was for a number of years engaged in the grocery and drug business in the village of Milford, and since 1914 he has been serving as an efficient court officer at Pontiac, judicial center of the county. He and his wife now figure as venerable and honored pioneer citizens of the county. In the public schools of Milford Floyd B. Babcock continued his studies until he had duly profited by the advantages of the high school, and thereafter he was there associated six years with the mercantile business conducted by his father. He next gave five years of service as assistant postmaster at Milford, and he then came to Pontiac to initiate his service as deputy county clerk, a position which he retained seven years, the ensuing eleven years having marked his able administration as county clerk. For a time he was associated with the automobile business, as one of the principals in the Nash Pontiac Company, and October 16, 1922, he was called to service as acting postmaster of Pontiac, his regular appointment to this office having occurred on the 4th of the following December, and his administration having been marked by the punctilious care that makes for the rendering of the maximum service in all departments of the local post office and its rural mail routes. Pontiac's postmaster is a stalwart in the local'ranks of the Republican party, and has been active and influential in the counsels and campaign work of his party in his native county. In his home city his maximum Masonic affiliation is with Pontiac Commandery No. 2 of Knight Templars, and in the city of Detroit he has membership in Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is affiliated also with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. June 21, 1902, Mr. Babcock was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Hewitt, of Milford, and she is a popular factor in the social, church and cultural activities of her home'community. Mr. and Mrs. Babcock have one daughter, Arlene. Long in service in offices of distinctive public trust in Oakland county, Mr. Babcock is here a PERSONAL SKETCHES 133 citizen so well known that not to know him is to argue one's self virtually unknown, and no man in the county here has a wider circle of valued and appreciative friends. John W. Bachelor, M.D., was reared from childhood in the village of Oakwood, Oakland county, and that in connection with his civic and professional status there can be no application of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country," is attested by the substantial and representative character of his practice as a physician and surgeon in the county that has been his home from boyhood. Doctor Bachelor was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, June 14, 1875, was but four years old when he was doubly orphaned, and after the death of his parents he was placed in the Little Wanderers' Home in the city of Boston. Later he was brought to Michigan with a carload of other orphans, all of whom were to be distributed among families wishing to receive them, and Doctor Bachelor was signally fortunate in having been adopted by the late Dr. Watts J. Bachelor, of Oakwood, whose family name he was given and in whose home he was reared with true parental affection and solicitude. He studied in the public schools of Oakland and later was graduated from Oxford high school. In the meanwhile he had determined to prepare himself for the profession that had been signally honored by the character and services of his honored foster father. He accordingly entered the Detroit College of Medicine, and in this institution he was graduated May 4, 1897, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In June of the same year he established his residence and professional headquarters at Oxford, where he has continued in successful general practice during the intervening period of more than a quarter of a century, his able ministrations in this community having been interrupted only during the interval of his service in the medical corps of the United States Army in the period of the World war. In the early part of the year 1918, Doctor Bachelor enlisted in the medical corps, in which he gained a commission as captain, and in which he remained on duty until the armistice brought the war to a close, his honorable discharge having been granted him December 4, 1918, and he now having rank as major in the reserve medical corps, besides which he is an appreciative and popular member of the Army and Navy club in the city of Detroit. The course of Doctor Bachelor has been marked by civic loyalty and by a fine sense of professional stewardship, so that he has well earned his place as one of the able and representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. In his World war service Doctor Bachelor was stationed first at Fort Riley, Kansas, and later at Camp Wheeler, Georgia. In the year 1896 was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Bachelor to Miss Hattie L. Bradley, of Thomas, Oakland county, and though they have no children, their pleasant home is a favored rendezvous for the young folks of the community, the while Mrs. Bachelor is its gracious and popular chatelaine in connection with the representative social activities of Oxford. Harry W. Baer.-Mr. Baer is in the feed and seed business in 134 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Pontiac, his place of business located at 38 West Lawrence street. He is well known and held in high esteem in business circles and his efforts have been conductive to a distinct success. Mr. Baer was born September 19, 1865, in Dayton, Ohio, but moved to Detroit. His parents were Cornelius and Mary (Zimmerman) Baer. The father was in the confectionery business. This he was obliged to relinquish because of ill health and he turned to the cultivation of the soil. Cornelius Baer died in Davisburg at the age of forty-nine years. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died in Pontiac, aged eighty-four. Harry W. attended school in Davisburg, farmed two years, then moved to Clintonville, where for six years he operated a general store. For thirteen years following he was in the flour and feed business and in 1912 moved to Pontiac. For a while Mr. Baer worked for the Studebaker Body Works and later went with F. J. Stewart. The present establishment of Mr. Baer is one of the best equipped in the community, handling feed, hay, fertilizer, seed, garden tools, etc. The building is 180 by 30 feet and has modern facilities for loading and receiving feed. Motors for water craft are also carried by Mr. Baer and the business keeps two men and a truck busy the entire year. In 1898 Mr. Baer left the ranks of bachelordom and wedded Miss Anna Eldridge, of Newcastle. They have one child, Sidney John. Mr. Baer is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Odd Fellows. By religious preferment he is a Methodist. He holds membership in the Board of Commerce and the Credit Bureau. He is also a member of the Oakland County Auto club. Thomas Baines.-The splendid development and progress that have marked Oakland county in the last decade have incidentally made the county an inviting field for the constructive activities of reliable and efficient contractors and builders, and in the county one of the successful representatives of this important line of business enterprise is Thomas Baines, who maintains his residence and business headquarters in the thriving little city of Royal Oak, one of the oldest towns in the county. Mr. Baines was born in Lancashire, England, July 16, 1881, and is a son of Henry and Margaret (Cateral) Baines, the father having been a successful contractor and builder. Thomas Baines gained his early education in the excellent schools of his native land and was a lad of thirteen years when he began to assist his father in carpenter work, in which he eventually became a skilled artisan. His entire active career has been one closely identified with the work of the carpenter's trade, to which he continued to give his attention in England until 1909, when he came to the United States and established his residence in Detroit, Michigan, where he remained three years. For several years thereafter he was superintendent for a construction company that was engaged in building operations in Vermont and New Hampshire, but Michigan had proved to him so attractive that he finally returned to this state, and since 1920 he has been successfully engaged in business as a contractor and builder at Royal Oak, he having erected many high grade houses in this district of Oakland county, including his own modem residence, at 209 South PERSONAL SKETCHES 135 Washington street. At Royal Oak he and his wife are communicants of the parish of St. Mary's Catholic Church. On the 30th of September, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Baines to Miss Eleanor Elston, who likewise was born and reared-in England and who is a daughter of the late William and Elizabeth (Leaming) Elston, the former of whom was born in 1842 and died in 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Baines became the parents of six children, and all except the youngest were born in England: Elizabeth was born April 15, 1900, and died on the 6th of March of the following year; Thomas, Jr., who was born November 23, 1901, is now associated with his father in the latter's contracting and building operations; William, born January 15, 1903, likewise is giving effective assistance in his father's business; Margaret was born May 15, 1905, and died on the 9th of the following November; James was born May 15, 1908, and is now associated with his father's business activities; and Marie, the only one of the children to claim the United States as the place of nativity, was born May 12, 1913. Frederick A. Baker, M.D., 804 Pontiac Bank building, Pontiac, was born in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, September 3, 1887, and came to Michigan with his parents, Jay A. and Caroline (Stellwagen) Baker. The family settled in Manistique and in that place Frederick A. was graduated from high school. He then spent two years in Kalamazoo college and in 1914 was graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery. He served an interneship for one year at Grace hospital, Detroit, and another year was devoted to application to special work in the post-graduate department of Tulane University, New Orleans. In 1920 Doctor Baker located in Pontiac and has developed a large and lucrative practice. He specializes in eye, ear, nose and throat. Doctor Baker is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, Masonic fraternity, Phi Beta Pi and the Kiwanis club. On July 27, 1915, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Leda Stellwagen, of Ann Arbor. There are three children-Marian Joyce, born April 24, 1916; Ruth Caroline, born May 26, 1918, and Nancy Louise, born February 12, 1924. Robert H. Baker, M.D., was for four years an instructor in surgery in the medical department of his alma mater, the University of Michigan, and this service indicates his exceptional fortification for the surgical branch of his profession. As a specialist in surgery he has been established in practice in the city of Pontiac since the summer of 1920, and his office is maintained at 808 Pontiac Bank building. His technical experience was effectively advanced by his service as a member of the medical corps of the United States Army in the World war period. Doctor Baker was born in Bay City, Michigan, April 10, 1892, and is a son of Charles and Jennie (Crake) Baker. In the public schools of his native city the Doctor continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, in 1909, and thereafter he completed a full academic course in the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1913 with the 136 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was matriculated in the medical department of the university, and in the same he was graduated in 1916, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. As previously noted, he gave four years of service as an instructor in surgery in the medical department of the university, but in the meanwhile he volunteered for service in the medical corps of the United States Army, in which he enlisted March 1, 1918, and in which he gained commission as first lieutenant. He was first assigned to duty in Washington, D. C., at the Army Medical School, from which he was graduated, and later he was in service at Camp Custer, near Battle Creek, Michigan, where he remained several months after the armistice had brought the World war to a close and where he received his honorable discharge in May, 1919. He has been engaged in successful practice in the city of Pontiac, as a specialist in surgery, since the summer of 1920, and in addition to being a popular member of the Oakland County Medical Society he has membership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, besides being affiliated, with the Alpha Kappa Kappa medical college fraternity. The Doctor has a substantial and representative practice that indicates alike his professional skill and his personal popularity. His political alignment is in the ranks of the Republican party and he is an active member of the Kiwanis club in his home city. June 5, 1918, Doctor Baker wedded Miss Helen Crane, of Summit, New Jersey, and the one child of this union is a son, Jack Chamberlain Baker, who was born in November, 1920. Baldwin & Brumfield.-Mabel W. Baldwin, of the firm of Baldwin & Brumfield, general insurance and real estate, Tribune building, Royal Oak, Michigan, is a daughter of the Empire state. She was born in Lockport, New York, her parents being John H. and Mary A. Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin operated a farm in connection with the state hospital at Pontiac, then engaged in the buying and selling of hay. He hauled hay to Detroit, using one horse and wagon, and soon acquired fine Canadian steeds. A farm on Crook road was purchased by Mr. Baldwin. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin are living, Mr. Baldwin being president of the First State Bank; also treasurer and the largest stockholder of the Baldwin theater. Politically a Democrat, Mr. Baldwin has served as a member of the village council. Miss Mabel received her early education in Royal Oak and was graduated from the Birmingham high school in 1897. She taught school four years, first in the primary, then in the seventh and eighth grades, later in high school. Miss Baldwin became associated with W. G. Burke, lumber dealer in Pontiac, then went to the Michigan Business College in Detroit and for two years was private secretary to Willis Hoff. For a period of four years Miss Baldwin was with the Lawson Lumber Company of Royal Oak as bookkeeper and in 1921 was elected township treasurer, which office she filled for two years. In 1923 Miss Baldwin opened an office in the Tribune building doing a general insurance business, and shortly thereafter Miss Mary Brumfield became a partner in the enterprise. The association of the two women PERSONAL SKETCHES 137 has been mutually pleasant and profitable and the-business has enjoyed a constant and substantial increase. The Misses Baldwin and Brumfield do income tax work, secure automobile licenses and serve in an advisory capacity in addition to handling real estate and insurance. Miss Baldwin is a bonded notary public. In November, 1923, she was elected to the city commission, the first woman chosen to a commissionership. Her interest in civic and community development movements is sincere, steadfast and exceedingly helpful. Miss Mary Brumfield, member of the firm of Baldwin & Brumfield, real estate and general insurance, Tribune building, Royal Oak, Michigan, was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, a daughter of J. D. Brumfield. The father was a well known casket manufacturer. Miss Brumfield, although not long a resident of Michigan, declares her full appreciation of the state, its progressive citizenship and its wealth of resources. Her association with Miss Baldwin has been pleasant and helpful and the firm of Baldwin & Brumfield enjoys a large and growing clientele because each member of the partnership is splendidly equipped and each has scrupulous regard for the interests of the individual patron. Miss Brumfield, as with Miss Baldwin, is civic minded and is a strong proponent of organized effort on the part of women. She is especially active in the Business and Professional Women's Club, which club was organized through her efforts. She was president two years, and at the present is corresponding secretary for the state organization. Miss Brumfield is also a bonded notary public and the Misses Baldwin and Brumfield are called upon to administer considerable notarial service in addition to their real estate and insurance operations. Miss Brumfield shares Miss Baldwin's interest in civic promotional movements and in the support of all measures designed to advance the material, moral, social and cultural interests of Royal Oak. This wholesome interest has conduced, in no small degree, to the success of the agency owned by the Misses Baldwin and Brumfield. Arthur Grant Barber, the energetic and popular young business man who has the management of the Pringnitz feed store in the village of Clawson, was born on a farm near Caro, Tuscola county, Michigan, May 3, 1898, and on that same homestead farm his parents, Cyrus and Edith (Chambers) Barber, still reside. Mr. Barber was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and in the meanwhile profited by the advantages of the public schools of his native county. After leaving school he continued to be associated several years with the work and management of the old home farm, and thereafter he followed various occupations until 1922, when he came to Oakland county and took a position in the Pringnitz feed store at Clawson, assuming the management of the store and business in May, 1924. Mr. Barber is a Republican in political alignment, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. February 10, 1920, Mr. Barber wedded Miss Alta M. Hammond, daughter of Frank and Jennie (Hickie) Hammond, whose farm home is near the city of Akron, 138 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Barber have two sons-John Grant, born July 28, 1921, and James, born March 22, 1924. Roy H. Barker, dealer in hardware, mill supplies, paints, oils, etc., is one of Pontiac's substantial business men. He was born in Franklin, Oakland county, August 23, 1883, and came to Pontiac a child. In this city he attended school and for twenty-two years has been engaged in the hardware trade, twelve of which he was the owner of an'establishment. In 1912 Mr. Barker "started on his own hook" and today has one of the leading stores of Pontiac. He is widely known throughout Oakland county and has made an outstanding success of his business because he thoroughly understands his line and because he has unfailingly followed a high standard of business practice in which service and honor are the leading ingredients. Mr. Barker is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Pine Hill Country Club and of the Board of Commerce. In all community matters he is helpful and interested. On December 20, 1910, Mr. Barker was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Brewster, of Pontiac. The issue of the union is two sons, Roy H., Jr., and Edward M. In politics as well as civic movements Mr. Barker has been active. He was a member of the Pontiac city commission two years. William A. Barnett, of the B. & L. Auto Sales, 140 North Saginaw street, Pontiac, was born in Cape May, New Jersey, August 4, 1893. He attended the Cape May high school and Banks' Business College in Philadelphia. Mr. Barnett became connected with the post office at Cape May and was in the postal service two years. For another year he was attached to the post office at Carney's Point, New Jersey. For three years he was supervisor for the Dupont Company at the Pennaman powder plant and was with this industry during the World war. For a year and a half Mr. Barnett was with the Oakland Motor Company at Pontiac and in 1921 he and Charles J. Levengood organized the B. & L. Auto Supply of Pontiac, the firm afterwards being appointed representative of the Olds Motor Works as distributor for Oldsmobiles in Pontiac and vicinity. Mr. Barnett is a communicant of St. Michael's Catholic Church, is lecturer in the Knights of Columbus, and a member of the board of directors of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Joseph Bauman is the owner of the largest cement block manufacturing works in Oakland county and operates also several large sand and gravel pits, on land owned by him in Troy and Royal Oak townships. He has developed a large and important business and maintains his manufacturing plant on rural mail route No. 5 from Royal Oak. He is one of the alert and progressive business men of the younger generation in Oakland county, where he has made a record of a large and worthy achievement. Mr. Bauman is a native son of Michigan, his birth having occurred in the city of Detroit, January 28, 1888, and his early education having there been acquired in the parochial and public schools, including the high school. After coming to Oakland county Mr. Bauman gave his attention to farm I i ij i;i i i i1 ' 712;1~ Adzf J /:A. i 6 G Ir2;? PERSONAL SKETCHES 139 industry until 1919, when he engaged in the manufacture of cement blocks, the enterprise having been initiated on a comparatively small scale and having been by him developed to the largest of its kind in the country. His business is one of major importance as touching building and general construction work, and there is constant demand for the products of his concrete block works and sand and gravel pits. Mr. Bauman is a Republican in his political adherency, he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus. On the 6th of November, 1911, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bauman to Miss Anna Wangler, daughter of Albert Wangler, a substantial citizen of Royal Oak, and the children of this union are four in number, namely: Jeanette, Vera, Virginia and Clarence. Clarence E. Baxter.-The business life of Clarence E. Baxter, member of the real estate firm of Baxter & VanWelt, began when he was fourteen in his father's general store in Davison, Genesee county. It has since been active and intensive but mixed with a large share of the elements that make for civic progress. In the promotion of community welfare movements Mr. Baxter is wholesomely active. The firm of which he is a member maintains its offices at 415 Pontiac Bank building, in Pontiac. Mr. Baxter was born in Davison, December 23, 1887, and obtained his early education in that community and at the age of fourteen faced the realties of life when he entered his father's store. He remained with the father until he was twenty years old and, having gained a fine working knowledge of mercantile practices and principles, went to Oxford, Oakland county, and bought a general store, which he operated for eleven years. In 1918 he determined upon real estate, came to Pontiac and opened an office. During 1919 and the early part of 1920 Mr. Baxter erected ninetyeight houses in Pontiac. In the latter part of 1920 he formed a partnership with Herbert J. VanWelt. In addition to his realty interests, Mr. Baxter is a director of the Michigan Industrial Savings Association. His advance in business has been definite and his attitude discloses a vital interest in the material and social prosperity of Pontiac and a genuine love of the community. In fraternal affairs Mr. Baxter turns to the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a member. In 1912 Mr. Baxter was united in marriage to Miss Eunice M. Baker, of Oxford. Two children have augmented family ties and home life, Betty and Adeline. The members of the family support and attend the Presbyterian church. Philip H. Beauvais.-A practical business man is Philip H. Beauvais, city manager of Royal Oak, Michigan, and city engineer of the corporation. Mr. Beauvais was born in Muskegon, Michigan, July 15, 1888, and finished his education in the Muskegon high school. He began life's battle for bread as a civil engineer in the United States engineering service, rivers and harbors improvement, and after nine years of service with the federal government became city manager of Manistee, Michigan, so it is evident that in Royal 140 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Oak's manager is a combination of engineering and business ability. Proponents of the commission-manager form of government throughout the United States subscribe to one of two views respecting that type of charter and the qualifications of the manager. One contends the manager should be a man of practical affairs, a business trained man. The other group inclines to the engineering view-that the manager should be above all else an engineer because, in the last analysis, municipal government is largely a matter of engineering aside from the fiscal phase. So in Mr. Beauvais both qualifications are combined. He served Manistee four years and in January, 1921, came to Royal Oak and became the manager and engineer. Mr. Beauvais is a member of Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, Free and Accepted Masons, of Royal Oak Chapter No. 167, Royal Arch Masons, and has taken the fourteenth degree of the consistory, Knights Templar, Damascus Commandery No. 42. He is also a member of the Elks and Odd Fellows, of the Detroit Masonic Country Club, of the Royal Oak Exchange Club, the Royal Oak Real Estate Board, Chamber of Commerce, American Society of Civil Engineers and International City Managers' Association. He is a Presbyterian. Mr. Beauvais was married twice. His first marriage took place in Muskegon in 1909 to Alice Bertrand, of Muskegon, who died November 2, 1918. Two children were born, Phyllis, in 1914, and Bertrand, April 6, 1917, who died at the age of twenty-nine months. In 1921 Mr. Beauvais was united in marriage to Alice Vincent, of Manistee. She had two sons, who took the name of Beauvais, William, born in 1909, and Edward, born in 1911. By the second union two sons were born, Philip H., Jr., 1922, and Robert Zotique, 1923. Mr. Beauvais is the president of the Maple Park Land Company. He is also a member of the finance committee of the First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak. His father was Zotique S. Beauvais, born in Peterboro, Ontario, September, 1845, and the wife was Maria McCauley, born in Belfast, Ireland, in June, 1855. The elder Beauvais came to Muskegon in 1875. and now lives in retirement in that city. The present Mrs. Philip H. Beauvais is a daughter of William Vincent, who was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire county, England, in December, 1843. He came to Detroit when twenty years old with 100 pounds sterling. His father was a wealthy man, but William, not being the oldest son, received comparatively little of the big estate. Mr. Vincent was a pioneer in lumber and tanbark and in the land business in Detroit. He has by hard work acquired a fortune and is now eighty-one years of age. His wife, Mary Voorhees before marriage, was born in Pennsylvania in 1854 and came to Michigan when eight years old. Mr. and Mrs. Vincent headed a family of twelve children of whom eight are now living. Lewis R. Bebout has been established in the practice of law at Rochester since 1921 and the success that he has achieved gives him rank among the representative younger members of the Oakland county bar. Mr. Bebout was born at Morocco, Indiana, January 26, 1894, and is a son of David and Elizabeth (Royster) Bebout, who PERSONAL SKETCHES 141 now maintain their home at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the father is living virtually retired, after many years of successful activity as a contractor and builder, he having been born in 1861 and his wife in 1866. Lewis R. Bebout gained his earlier education in the public schools of his native place, and after the family removed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he there continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, in 1912. In preparation for his chosen profession, he completed the curriculum of the law department of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated in 1917, his admission to the Michigan bar having been virtually coincident with his reception of the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the period of the nation's participation in the World war Mr. Bebout was in service as a member of Company 135, ordnance department, at Camp Johnson, Florida, this patriotic service having been rendered prior to his having definitely established himself in the practice of his profession. In due course he received his honorable discharge and returned to Michigan, where, at Rochester, he has found ample field for successful work in his profession. Mr. Bebout is aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, and is affiliated with Homer Wing Post No. 172, American Legion, at Rochester, and with Rochester Lodge No. 268, Knights of Pythias. December 8, 1917, Mr. Bebout wedded Miss Etta Osburn, daughter of Frederick Osburn, of Ann Arbor, and the one child of this union, Barbara June, was born August 20, 1923. Louis E. Becker became associated with the First National Bank of Rochester in 1912, about three years after its organization, and that his has been loyal and efficient executive service with this institution is attested by the fact that since 1917 he has been its cashier. Mr. Becker was born in Troy township, Oakland county, February 1, 1872, and is a son of Frederick and Christina (Brand) Becker, both natives of Germany, where the former was born December 17, 1847, and the latter August 16, 1847, she having been a child of two years when her parents came to Michigan and established their home on a farm in Troy township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Frederick Becker was reared and educated in his native land, and was about seventeen years of age when he came to Oakland county, Michigan, in 1864, and he early gained secure vantage-ground as one of the progressive and substantial exponents of farm industry in Troy township, whence he later removed to Avon township. His marriage was solemnized in Troy township and he and his wife became the parents of four children, all of whom are living. Louis E. Becker was four years old at the time of the family removal to Avon township, in 1876, and after receiving the discipline of the district school he profited also by the advantages of the Rochester high school. After leaving school he followed farm enterprise in Troy township until 1912, when he accepted a clerical position in the First National Bank of Rochester, in which he won advancement to the position of assistant cashier, and of which he has been cashier since 1917. Mr. Becker is found loyally aligned in the ranks of the Democratic party, and he served as supervisor of Troy 142 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY township at the time of the building of the new courthouse of Oakland county, he having been at the time the youngest member of the board of county supervisors. He is an appreciative member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliations are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M. February 10, 1897, marked an important event in the life of Mr. Becker, since on that date was solemnized his marriage to Miss Lillian Switzer, who was born and reared in Oakland township, this county. David A. Bell.-The secretary of the well-known Pontiac Packing Company, incorporated in 1916, is David A. Bell, who was born in Southfield, Oakland county, Michigan, November 24, 1883. His early education was secured in the grade and high schools of his native county and at a Detroit business college. His training in the meat business has been thorough and for a long period he was employed in Detroit, then went to Birmingham, Michigan, where he engaged in the meat business and in which place he resides. For two years he was a member of the city council of Birmingham. He is a stockholder of the First National Bank of that city. In May, 1923, Mr. Bell became secretary of the Pontiac Packing Company, but continued his residence in Birmingham. He is a Mason, Odd Fellow and Knight of Pythias. In 1907 Mr. Bell was united in marriage to Miss Alta Bradley, of Plymouth, Michigan. A son, Gerald, was born July 16, 1908. He is a sophomore in the Birmingham high school. The members of the Bell family attend the Presbyterian church in Birmingham. James E. Bell is not only a retired farmer and substantial and highly esteemed citizen of Clawson but also had the distinction of having been born on a farm that is now included in large part in the fine little city in which he maintains his home. The old homestead on which he was born, on the 7th of December, 1872, lay on either side of Main street in the present village of Clawson, which is in the Oakland county township of Royal Oak, and the house that was the place of his birth was situated on the east side of Main street. This continued to be his place of abode until 1889, when his father erected a larger and more modern house on the west side of the street, this being now the home of him whose name initiates this review. Mr. Bell is a son of the late John and Anna Jane (McBride) Bell, the former of whom was born in Ireland, in 1837, and the latter of whom was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1841. John Bell was a lad of twelve years when he became a resident of Oakland county, in 1849, and in the passing years he gained secure prestige as one of the substantial and representative exponents of farm industry in Royal Oak township, he having made many improvements on his homestead farm, which is now largely within the corporate limits of the village of Clawson, one of the most interesting of the various towns of the county. Here he lived and wrought to goodly ends and here he so ordered his course as to retain the unqualified con PERSONAL SKETCHES 143 fidence and respect of all who knew him. He was one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Clawson at the time of his death, in 1915, and his wife did not long survive him, she having passed to eternal rest in 1917, and both having been earnest members of the United Presbyterian church. Aside from James E., of this sketch, the other surviving children are: Thomas, William, Mrs. Jane Reed, Mrs. Lottie Robinson, and Miss Edna Bell. The early education of James E. Bell was gained largely in the district school known as the Stump school, near the old home place, and as a boy and youth he gained full experience in connection with the varied activities of the home farm. On this place he continued to stage his productive activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower until he retired, in 1916, his land holdings having become very valuable in connection with the expansion of the village of Clawson, as much of the old farm has been platted into village lots and successfully placed on the market for improvement. Mr. Bell takes lively interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home community and native county, his political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church in their home village. On the 13th of December, 1911, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bell to Miss Grace McKibbin, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county and who is a daughter of the late James and Cornelia (Quick) McKibbin, the former of whom was born in Ireland and came with his parents to Oakland county, Michigan, when he was a small boy, and the latter of whom was born at Berkley, Royal Oak township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have four children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: Donald, December 4, 1912; Anna, September 13, 1914; James E., Jr., May 4, 1919, and Clare, July 2, 1922. Since retiring from the active operation of his farm Mr. Bell has concerned himself in real estate enterprise to an appreciable degree, in the platting and sale of village lots on the old homestead place. Fred D. Beneway, who is giving characteristically effective service as assessor of the village of Berkley, Oakland county, was born in the historic Michigan village of Tecumseh, Lenawee county, November 27, 1882, and was there reared and educated, his advantages including those of the high school. After leaving his native place he passed about ten years as clerk in the cement mills at Alpena, this state, and thereafter he was foreman in a Maxwell automobile service station in the city of Detroit during a period of nine years, at the expiration of which, in 1920, he came to Oakland county and established his residence in Royal Oak township. Here he was elected in 1921 to the office of justice of the peace, a judicial position which he has since retained. Mr. Beneway was associated with George Gasco in platting and founding the village of Berkley, which received its village charter in 1923, Mr. Beneway having been chairman of the charter board, and the other members having been Frank L. Lord (an attorney), Earl Phelps, Allen McCabe and James Randolph. Mr. Beneway was appointed the first assessor of the new village, and 144 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY still holds this office, besides being also deputy clerk and deputy treasurer of the thriving and progressive little village which he aided in founding and which is making a splendid advancement along both civic and material lines. Mr. Beneway is a charter member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has not only passed all of the official chairs in this lodge but is also district deputy in the grand lodge of the state, the while his wife is past noble grand district deputy of the Michigan organization of the Daughters of Rebekah, in which her local affiliation is with Harland lodge.. April 30, 1902, Mr. Beneway wedded Miss Etta Elsworth, of Alpena, and they have two children, Cecil C. and Dorothy. Cecil C. Beneway was born May 28, 1903, and is a graduate of the high school at Highland, Oakland county. He is the star member of the football team maintained under the auspices of the business men of Royal Oak, has gained no little prestige also as a baseball player, and is a general all-around athlete of marked enthusiasm and ambition. He now holds a position with the Braun Lumber Company, of Detroit. Miss Dorothy Beneway was born February 8, 1907, and her early educational advantages include those of the high school at Royal Oak, she being now employed as a stenographer in the offices of the great Detroit mercantile establishment of the J. L. Hudson Company. Albert C. Benter conducts at 61 Oakland avenue in the city of Pontiac a well equipped Ford automobile sales and service establishment, and is one of the progressive representatives of this line of enterprise in Oakland county, where his business is one of substantial order. Mr. Benter was born at Winona, Minnesota, May 22, 1895, and in the year 1898 his parents came to Michigan and established their home in Jackson county, where the father engaged in farm enterprise and where he remained until his death, in 1910, the widowed mother being still a resident of Michigan. Albert C. Benter is a son of John Henry and Bertha (Prevert) Benter, both natives of Germany, whence the latter came with her parents to the United States when she was about fourteen years of age. John Henry Benter was born in June, 1837, and was reared and.educated in his native land, coming in 1854 to the United States, as an ambitious youth of seventeen years. He followed farm industry in Minnesota and thereafter in Jackson county, Michigan, as already noted. He was a most zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, and he was for many years a teacher in its Sunday school. Of the eleven children ten survive the honored father-five sons and five daughters. John Henry Benter was three times married, and by the two former marriages he became the father of ten children, of whom eight are living. His has thus the distinction of having been a noteworthy opponent of "race suicide," as he was the father of twenty-one children, eighteen of whom are living and well established in life, while none of the twenty-one children died in infancy. This is a remarkable record and is well worthy of specific notation in this review. - The Michigan public schools afforded Albert cee-c — PFLONAL SJtTCIt~rICs 14S 145 C. Benter his early education, which was supplemented by a coutte in the Cleary Business College in the city of Detroit. At the age of nineteen years he took a position in the Detroit executive ofMies of the Ford Motor Company, and there he continued his efficient service until March 1, 1924, when he established his residence in Pontiac and here became authorized agent for the Ford Motor Company. I4is fine establishment affords a floor space of 10,000 square feet, and the service in every department is fmaintained at the highest standard, so that the business is constantly expanding in scope and importance. Mr, Benter's advancement and success have been won through his own ability and efforts, and he is one of the enterprising and popular young business men of Pontiac. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of the Red Run Golf Club. August 17, 1916, recorded the marriage of Mr. Benter to Miss Marguerite Schtuckert, of Detroit, and they have two children: Albet C., Jr., born September 17, 1917, and Eleanor Marguerite, born Octobet 1, 1919. Family responsibilities and industrial connections precluded the calling of Mr. Benter into active military or naval service when the nation entered the World war, but two of his brothers were in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces over seas. Herman A. was a member of the Sixteenth Engineers and was in service in France twenty-one months. Ernest E, received his preliminary military training at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, and his overseas service covered a period of fourteen months, including that with the allied army of occupation in Germany after the armistice brought hostilities to a close, his honorable discharge having been granted him in December, 1919, James A. Berridge has become one of the prominenit representatives of constructive real estate enterprise in Oakland county, and this implies much, for no county in Michigan has made greater developmental progress along this line in the past decade than has beautiful Oaklatdid At Royal Oak, one of the oldest and most attractive little cities of the county, James A. Berridge is president and manager of the Berridge-Morrison Real Estate Company, the operations of which are of large and important order, the company having substantial financial status and having paid appreciable dividends each year since its organization. Of this company, which Stage~ its operations largely in and about Royal Oak, A. P. Morrison is Secretary and treasurer. C. K. Berridge, J. A. Berridge and E. T. Morison organized the Royal Oak Investment Company, which is the largest and oldest cohcern of the kind at Royal Oak and which exercises important functions in financing home building and the handling of land contracts and mortgages. E. T. Morrison is president; C. K. Berridge is vice-president, and J. A. Berridge is secretary and treasurer, James A. Berfidge was born at Gallipolis, judicial center of Gallia county, Ohio, and the date of his nativity was August 8, 1891. He is a son of John F. and Lille (Kinder) Bertidge, who are now deceased. The public schools afforded James A, Berridge his earlier eduction, which was supplemented by his attending Rio Grande Col 146 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY lege, at Rio Grande, Ohio, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1916 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Prior to his graduation he had made a record of successful service as a teacher in the public schools, and in the pedagogic profession his work included the superintendency of the consolidated schools of four townships in Gallia county, Ohio, as well as service as head of the history department in the public schools at Highland Park, Wayne county, Michigan. Since 1919 he has been actively engaged in the real estate business at Royal Oak, with impregnable standing as a reliable and progressive business man and liberal and public spirited citizen. He takes active part in public affairs in his home community, is a staunch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, has membership in the local Exchange Club and the Red Run Golf Club, and in the Masonic fraternity he has received the thirtysecond degree of the Scottish Rite, besides being a noble of the Mystic Shrine. The religious affiliations of the family are given to the Methodist church. August 20, 1914, Mr. Berridge was united in marriage to Miss Sallie Morrison, of Bidwell, Ohio, and they have three children: James A., Jr., Edgar Morrison, and Betty Jane. Bigelow, Ball & Wotring.-The well-known firm of Bigelow, Ball & Wotring, cartage, and which maintains a daily freight service and a van service, is composed of Clarence E. Bigelow, Harry E. Ball and William E. Wotring. The offices are located at 323 North Perry street, Pontiac, and a branch office is maintained in Detroit with William E. Wotring in charge. Clarence E. Bigelow, the senior member of the firm, was born in Monday, Genesee county, Michigan, May 16, 1860. His father, Albert Bigelow, was a native of New York, was born in 1822 and died in Oakland county in 1913 at the advanced age of ninety-one years. The wife of Albert Bigelow was Asenath Firman, who was also born in New York state, dying in Oakland county. Albert Bigelow was a farmer by vocation. He and his wife became pioneers of Genesee county but in 1863 moved to Oakland county. The son, Clarence E., attended public school in Oakland county, farmed, and in 1900 came to Pontiac and engaged in teaming. In 1917 with Harry E. Ball he began a general cartage business under the firm name of Bigelow & Ball and in 1918 William E. Wotring became an associate and the firm name was changed to Bigelow, Ball & Wotring. On December 1, 1893, Mr. Bigelow married Catherine E. Craig, who was born in Oakland county, September 24, 1863. She was a daughter of William S. and Sarah (Bardey) Craig. The father was born in Ireland, the mother in Genesee county, New York. Mr. Craig died in Oakland county and Mrs. Craig died in Pontiac, January 27, 1910. William Craig was a farmer. He and his wife were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Bigelow are communicants of the Baptist church. They have two daughters, Bernice Minnie and Blanche Margaret. The former was born in Oakland county, November 9, 1894, attended grade and high school and business college and on May 26, 1917, was wedded to William E. Wotring. Mr. Wotring was born in Kingwood, West PERSONAL SKETCHES 147 Virginia, September 11, 1890, and came to Battle Creek in 1915, engaging as a professional nurse. For thirteen years Mr. Wotring was in the United States army and served in Japan and the Philippines and on the Mexican border. He was on the Mexican border when the United States entered the war against Germany and the central powers and was one of the first to enlist for service. He became first sergeant in the Thirty-second division and spent seventeen months over seas. Mr. Wotring was in the battle of Chateau Thierry, July 28, 1918; in the battle of Soissons, August 28, 1918; at Argonne forest, September 28, 1918; Alsace Lorraine, August 7, 1918, and returned to the United States in April, 1919, and on May 12th received his final discharge. Mr. Wotring is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a member of the American Legion. He is also a member of the Pontiac band. Mr. and Mrs. Wotring have three children, William Bigelow, Craig Keith and Ralph Elmer. The second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence E. Bigelow is Blanche Margaret, born May 14, 1896, in Oakland county. She attended public school and business college in Pontiac and in addition to performing general duties of housework including the caring of two small children, she is bookkeeper for the firm of Bigelow, Ball & Wotring. In May, 1917, Miss Bigelow became the wife of Harry E. Ball. Mr. Ball, too, is a son of Oakland county and was born in Avon township, June 17, 1894. He attended school in Oakland county. Mr. Ball offered his services to his country during the World war but because of physical condition he was not accepted. Mr. Ball is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the. Board of Commerce. He and Mrs. Ball belong to the Congregational church. They have two children, Clarence E. and Donald Harry. Mr. Ball is a son of John and Maud (Green) Ball. John Ball was born in Canada in 1860 and when two years old came to McComb county, Michigan, and his parents, Richard and Mary Ann (Curtan) Ball, both natives of Canada. Richard Ball died in McComb county at the age of ninety-one years and his widow is living, aged eighty-eight. Mr. Ball was a farmer. John Ball married Maud Green in 1893 and located in Avon township, Oakland county. Mr. Ball was accidentally killed near Rochester in 1921, but the wife survives. The association of Messrs. Bigelow, Ball and Wotring has been harmonious and mutually profitable and the concern enjoys a lucrative business and an enviable reputation for ability and service. R. Judson Bingham, treasurer of the fine village of Ferndale, one of the most modern and attractive residential towfns of Oakland county, is a native son of Michigan and a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of this state, his paternal grandparents, Origin S. and Phoebe (Worden) Bingham, having been born in Vermont, of colonial New England ancestry, and having driven with team and wagon the greater part of the way from the old Green Mountain state to Michigan, before railroads had been established. These sterling pioneers became early settlers in Branch county, Michigan, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Lancaster and Diana (Fox) Coff 148 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY man, maternal grandparents of the subject of this review, likewise became pioneer settlers in Branch county, the former having been born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio. It is a matter of record that Christopher Coffman, great-grandfather of R. Judson, cast his first presidential vote for General Andrew Jackson. R. Judson Bingham was born at Coldwater, judicial center of Branch county, and in the same county were born his parents, Frank and Locelia (Coffman) Bingham, the latter of whom is seventy years of age at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-5, and the former of whom died in 1896, his birth having occurred in 1854 and his entire life having been passed in Branch county. It may be noted that Christopher Coffman, great-grandfather of R. Judson Bingham on the maternal side, was one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Branch county at the time of his death, he having been born in Pennsylvania and having been a representative of a family that was there founded in the colonial days. At Coldwater the public school discipline of R. Judson Bingham included that of the high school, and his initial business experience was acquired by holding a clerical position in a banking institution in his native county. Later he was associated with lumber enterprises in the west, he having passed about fifteen years in South Dakota and Montana. In 1919 he established his residence at Pontiac, Michigan, and in 1922 he removed from that county seat to Ferndale, where he became engaged in public accounting. He has also served as city treasurer of Ferndale since the spring of 1924. He is a Republican in political adherency, and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1915 Mr. Bingham wedded Miss Alice Alleman, of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and they have two children, George Robert, and Dorothy Gail. Arthur M. Bird owns and conducts a well equipped and attractively appointed drug store at Milford and his local interests are further represented in his holding the office of president of the Farmers State Bank. Mr. Bird was born on a farm near Romulus, Wayne county, Michigan, December 23, 1877, and is a son of Peter C. and Mary Jane (Morris) Bird, both representatives of families that were founded in Michigan in the pioneer days. Peter C. Bird was born in Wayne county, this state, and in that county he passed virtually his entire life. He was the owner of a large and valuable farm estate in his native county, but for many years he maintained his residence at Romulus, where he was prominently associated with the banking business and where his death occurred in the year 1912. He made a definite sacrifice in his service as a soldier in the Civil war, having been a member of the Twenty-fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. A wound that he received while participating in the first battle of Gettysburg developed a running sore that caused him no little trouble during the remainder of his life. His brother, Robert C., likewise. was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. Mrs. Mary Jane (Morris) Bird was born in the state of New York, in 1844, and was a child at the time of the family removal to Michigan. She survived her husband by about ten years and her death occurred in June, 1922. The PERSONAL SKETCHES 149 boyhood years of Arthur M. Bird were passed on the old home farm, and his rudimentary education was acquired in the district school of the neighborhood. He later attended a Detroit high school, and in 1899 he was graduated in the department of pharmacy at the Detroit College of Medicine. He passed the following year in Detroit, and in 1900 he engaged in the drug business at Milford, where he now owns and conducts the store in which he originally established himself, he having in the meanwhile sold the business but having repurchased it after a period of two years. Mr. Bird was prominently concerned in the organization of the private banking institution that later was incorporated as the Farmers State Bank of Milford, and he has served as president since it became a state bank, in 1918. He is one of the liberal citizens of Milford and gives support to measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the community. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and in their home city he and his wife hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal Church. November 10, 1904, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bird to Miss Hazel K. Potts, daughter of Frank W. and Julia May (McFarlane) Potts, both of whom were born and reared in Oakland county, the father having died here in March, 1917, and the widowed mother being now a resident of Milford. Mr. and Mrs. Bird have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: Frank Morris, June 24, 1911; Jean Marjorie, June 28, 1915, and Keith Robert, November 20, 1921. Arthur P. Bogue, member of the law firm of Keeling & Bogue, American Bank building, Pontiac, shares his partner's interest not only in the professional responsibilities, but in interest in community betterment and civic advancement. Mr. Bogue was born January 9, 1888, a son of Parker and Mary E. (Madison) Bogue, in Athens, Alabama. The elder Bogue was a soldier in the Union army and a farmer and is now living in Winchester, Indiana. Arthur P. was educated in public schools in Alabama and at the age of fourteen moved with his parents to Spiceland, Indiana, and later to Winchester. He attended Huntsville high school two years, completed his secondary schooling at DePauw Academy, Greencastle, Indiana, attended DePauw University three and a half years and then the University of Michigan, receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917 and the Bachelor of Laws degree in February, 1920. Mr. Bogue entered military service in May, 1917, and was discharged in May, 1919. He was over seas eighteen months, most of the time at Base Hospital No. 36 as mess sergeant. In February, 1920, Mr. Bogue opened a law office in Pontiac and six months later formed a partnership with Ralph T. Keeling. On September 13, 1919, Mr. Bogue was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth McCormick, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They have two children, Bernard Madison, aged four years, and Elizabeth Vaughn, aged eighteen months. Mr. Bogue, who is a communicant of the First Presbyterian Church, is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Pythias. 150 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY A. Floyd Blakeslee was born in Lake county, Michigan, October 30, 1887, a son of Elmer E. and Elizabeth A. (Schunk) Blakeslee. The father was born in Oakland county where he grew to manhood, studied law and engaged in the practice of that profession, becoming prosecuting attorney of Lake county. In 1899 he came to Pontiac and here he was successfully engaged in practice until his death, which occurred May 4, 1917. He was the son of Eli S. and Sarah (Rockwell) Blakeslee and a grandson of Scriber Blakeslee, who came from New York state and settled in Bloomfield township, Oakland county, in 1832. Scriber Blakeslee was the son of a Revolutionary war soldier. The mother of A. Floyd Blakeslee, who still resides in Pontiac, was born in Ontario, Canada, and is a daughter of Abram and Sarah (Judge) Schunk. A. Floyd Blakeslee acquired his early education in the public schools of Lake county and the high school of Pontiac. Later he attended Detroit Technical Institute and in 1913 graduated from Detroit College of Law with the degree of L.L.B. He immediately began the practice of his profession in Pontiac with his father under the name of Blakeslee & Blakeslee, this association continuing until the death of the elder Blakeslee. From January 1, 1917, until January 1, 1921, Mr. Blakeslee held the position of assistant prosecuting attorney of Oakland county, when on the latter date he became prosecuting attorney, holding this office until January 1, 1925. In 1919 Mr. Blakeslee married Miss Tirzah J. Arthur, who was born' in Ontario, Canada, a daughter of George and Sarah J. (Porter) Arthur, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Blakeslee have two children, Ellen Elizabeth and Arthur F. Mr. Blakeslee is affiliated with the Masonic order, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Council and Commandery at Pontiac. He also is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Blakeslee is meeting with success in his chosen calling and is a representative of the fifth generation of the family to reside in Oakland county. Ora E. Boice is a reliable and progressive young business man of the city of Pontiac, where he has built up a prosperous enterprise as a dealer in sand and gravel and as a manufacturer of sand-lime brick, with headquarters at 974 Orchard Lake avenue. Mr. Boice was born on a farm in Bloomfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, January 29, 1891, and is a son of Jay F. and Edna (Hart) Boice, who now maintain their home in Pontiac, where the father is living retired. Jay F. Boice was born in White Lake township, Oakland county, in 1859, his parents having gained a goodly measure of pioneer precedence in this county. Mr. Boice was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and his entire active career was one of close and successful association with agricultural and livestock industry in his native county. As a boy on the home farm, Ora E. Boice duly profited by the advantages of the local district school, and after his school days he continued his alliance with farm industry several years. In 1912 he and his brother, Ernest C., engaged in the sand and gravel business at Pontiac, where they have a large sand and gravel pit on Orchard Lake avenue, and where they have developed a large and prosperous PERSONAL SKETCHES 151 business in the supplying of sand and gravel for general construction purposes, as they also have in the manufacturing of brick, under the title of the Pontiac Brick Company. Ora E. Boice is an active member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, and the local Kiwanis Club, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has membership in the Oakland County Boat Club and the Clinton Gun Club. His political alignment is in the ranks of the Democratic party. September 6, 1911, Mr. Boice married Miss Dorothy Roberts, daughter of the late Thomas and Elizabeth (Roberts) Roberts. Of this union have been born four children, of whom three are living: Elsia was born August 2, 1912; Mary Ethel died in early childhood; Loraine was born November 28, 1918, and Thomas was born May 23, 1921. Norman J. Bowen is one of the efficient municipal executives of the village of Clawson, where he is the superintendent of the department of public works. He was born at Lorain, Ohio, September 8, 1895, and was four years of age at the time of the family removal to Cleveland, that state. He was graduated in the Bellevue high school as a member of the class of 1917. As a youth he came to Detroit, Michigan, and entered the employ of the Page-Detroit Motor Company, by which he was eventually transferred to the sales department. With this concern he made a record of successful service which extended over a period of three and one-half years. During the ensuing period of approximately six years he was associated with the Oscar Daniels Construction Company, of New York City, New York, and in August, 1923, he was made superintendent of the department of public works in the village of Clawson, his administration having been notably progressive and efficient. June 15, 1917, Mr. Bowen married Miss Carrie Davidson, daughter of John and Margaret (Blakely) Davidson, well known citizens of Troy township, Oakland county. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have a winsome little daughter, Mary Ann, who exercises somewhat of autocratic sway in the attractive home circle. Clarence Brace.-Mr. Brace is the successor of his father, the late Chauncey Brace, in the conduct of the widely known undertaking business bearing the name. He is also a brother of Ray J. Brace, real estate and insurance, and himself is one of the best known business men of Pontiac, Michigan. The Brace establishment is located at 138 West Lawrence street. Clarence Brace was born in Wayne, Wayne county, Michigan, January 9, 1879, a son of Chauncey and Mary (Randall) Brace, a record of whom is found elsewhere in this volume. Clarence Brace was eight years old when he came to Pontiac with his parents. He attended public school in this city and Osborn's Business College and then became associated with his father in the undertaking business, and 'on the death of the senior Brace became the owner of the business. Mr. Brace is a member of three fraternal bodies, Lodge No. 21 of the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 19 of the Knights of Pythias, and Lodge No. 810 of the HISTQ231 O1P 0ANLAND, COUNTY ifenov~olnt and Throtecive- Qrder Qf Elks. On July 6, 1904, he was inrnted in marriage to Miss Ma~ud Jeanette Kelly, of Pontiac, and of the union one. child, a sQn, was born. He is Chauncey B~race, born June 9, 19WXl a graduate, of tbhe Pontiac high school. Mrs. Brace died in 1912 4nd on November 21, 1916, Mr, Brace was wedded to Miss Emma Hoffman, of Elkton, Michigan. By this marriage three daughters have come~ to strentgthen hom is en onadMr Cahein, the lattepr of whom died February 9, 1925. The members of the family attend Presbyterian church. R. Jay Brace.-.Mr. Brace is well and favorably known in the business world of Pontiac, beinIg engaged in real estate and insurance. His office is at 4 North Saginaw street. Mr. Brace was born in Wayne, Wayne county, Michigan, October 24, 1872, and when six years old came to Pontiac with hi's parents, Chauncey and Mary (Randall) Brace. Mr. and Mrs. Chaunqey Brace were early residents of Wayne county and widely known. Mr. Brace was in the monument business in Wayne, for many years and later engaged in undertaking and embalming. He camec to Pontiac in March, 1887, and was engaged 'in the undertaking and funeral direction business until hi's death on March 11, 1917. le was seventy-three years old at the time of his death. The widow resides in Pontiac, at 123 Mt. Clemens street. Chauncey Brace, served throuzh the Civil war. He was a member and the'treasurer of Lodge No'. 21 of the Free and Accepted Mas.ons in Pontiac, sQ servn for Ltwenty-fives years. He, was tklso a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Rpublic, the roster of which is being fast 4eciJmated by death. R. Jay Brace was graduated from Pontiac high school and for about two 'years was employed by a wholesale drug concern jn Detroit. For ten years he was engaged in banking work in Pontiac and later engaged in the manufacture, of Jeather goods and automobile supplies. He next engaged in conistruction work and erected twenty-one houses for hlimsel. This field was entered. in 1920. To building Mr. Brace added real estate and insurance, which constitute his present business sphere. His succe~ss has been definite and predicated upon sound sense and the exercise of the, spirit of serv-ice. Mr. Brace is aw director of th Auto Insurance~ Company of Detroit. HQ is a Mason, a Knight Ternplar and Shriner and a member of the consistory of the Scottish Rite. Mr. Brace belongs to Central Methodist Ep~iscoQpal Church, of: the build in~ o ittee of which he was a, member when the church hom a constrvcted. On August 21, 1900, Mr. Bracei was uonited in marig tQ Wmi Nele. LaM;4r of Riqhmond, Indiana. They have~ two sons, Qhauncty l-AMar, born 1901., graduatet of the Pontiac high schQQl, and of the W~niversity of Michiga.n, class of 1924, with the degree of Bqahieor of Arts; and Ered errk~ Frank Brave, born 191 1, attending high #eheol. Mr. Brace, who is active, in the oxm-ution of m~vret ca, cjiated tQ advance the generAl interests of Pontiac, and vicinity, is a membar of the. Pine, Lake, Country Club and Qf the Board of Coin PERSONAL SKETCHES 153 Frank B. Bradley, the efficient manager of the Pontiac offices of the Western Union Telegraph Company, was in active over-seas service in the World war and holds the rank of captain in the reserve signal corps of the United States Army. Captain Bradley was born at Fowler, Indiana, March 21, 1883, and after his graduation in the high school at Boswell, that state, he continued his studies in Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, until impaired health compelled him to leave that institution. Later he was graduated in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, and after learning the trade of telegraphy he was employed five and one-half years as telegraph operator in the office of the Pennsylvania railroad, at Indianapolis. In 1911 he entered the service of the Western Union Telegraph Company, in the capacity of office manager, and the only break in his continuous association with this corporation was that of his interval of World war service. As a first lieutenant in the signal corps of the United States Army he was assigned to the Sixth Field Battalion, and with this command he was in active over-seas service during a period of nine months, at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge. Captain Bradley has been manager of the Pontiac offices of the Western Union since January, 1922, and he and his wife have here gained a wide circle of friends, both being active members of the Central Methodist Episcopal church. The captain is a valued member of the local Kiwanis Club, and is affiliated with the various York Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity. May 18, 1921, he wedded Miss Ida Mae Harrigan, of Marion, Indiana, and their fine little son, Frank B., Jr., was born July 16, 1923. Albert L. Brannack, M.D., has been engaged in the successful general practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac during a period of fifteen years, and since 1920 has here served as official physician for the public schools. He is well known in Oakland county, where he was reared from childhood to adult age, and the popular estimate placed upon him, both professionally and as a citizen, is indicated in the broad scope and representative character of his practice, his status being that of one of the leaders in his profession in this county. He maintains active affiliation with the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Doctor Brannack was born in the city of Flint, Michigan, June 15, 1872, and was a child at the time of the family removal to Oakland county, where he continued to attend the public schools until he had duly profited by the advantages of the high school. In 1893 he became a student in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, where he spent three years, and in preparation for the work of his chosen profession he later completed the full curriculum of the Detroit College of Medicine, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1903. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he was engaged in practice in Shiawasee county until 1909, since which year he has made Pontlae the central stage of his professional activities. The Doctor has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity thirty years, and his 154 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ancient-craft membership is now in Pontiac Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M. In the year 1903 was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Brannack to Miss Flora Crosby, of Farmington, Oakland county, and of their two children the first born, Margaret, died at the age of two years. The younger child was born October 27, 1908, and is a member of the class of 1926 in the Pontiac high school. The political allegiance of Doctor Brannack is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Universalist church. Brazier Brothers.-No one in the least familiar with the record of this enterprising firm, which is engaged in the manufacturing of cement blocks, at Royal Oak, can fail to realize that the two brothers who are the constituent members of the firm have all of the progressiveness and courage of the typical young American business man, and besides this they stand exponent of the sturdy self-reliance and resourcefulness of the typical Englishman, both being natives of historic old Sheffield, England, where Joseph E. Brazier, senior member of the firm, was born December 29, 1893, and Harry E., the junior member, on the 9th of September, 1899. The brothers are sons of Esau and Lucy (Sparrow) Brazier, who continued their residence in England until 1920, when they came to the United States and established their residence at Royal Oak, Michigan, where they have since maintained their home. There are two other sons, Arthur R. and William I., and two daughters, Mrs. Ethel S. Braden, of Royal Oak, and Mrs. Ivy Daniels, of Clawson, Oakland county. Both Joseph E. and Harry E. Brazier received the advantages of the University of Sheffield, and Joseph E. was graduated in the Rotherham School of Art, England, in 1919. Joseph E. Brazier was in service in the World war, and in this connection received citation from the British government for his service with the rescuing unit, he having entered the English army in 1914, and his service having been with the Royal Army Medical Corps division. Harry E. Brazier followed the work of his profession, that of mechanical engineer, in England, and in 1919 he accompanied his brother, Joseph E., to the United States. Both found employment at that great Detroit plant of the Ford Motor Company, and they continued their residence in the Michigan metropolis until they initiated their independent business career, in the manufacturing of cement blocks for use in architectural construction. It was on the 4th of March, 1923, that the brothers began modest operations in this line of manufacturing at Royal Oak, and on the 11th of November of the same year their factory was destroyed by fire. With characteristic courage and determination, they forthwith instituted the erection and equipment of a larger and more modern plant, and they have since continued successfully in the manufacturing of cement blocks of the highest grade, besides which they have amplified the scope of the enterprise by adding a department devoted to the handling of a general line of builders' supplies. The brothers are numbered among the representative business men of the younger generation in Oakland county, and here have won a host of friends in both business and social circles. December 26, 1917, Joseph E. Brazier wedded PERSONAL SKETCHES 155 Miss Marian D. Seddon, who likewise was born and reared in England and who accompanied him to the United States about two years later. They have two children: Millicent, born in 1919, and William, born September 16, 1923. The marriage of Harry E. Brazier to Miss Agnes Knutton, of England, was solemnized September 26, 1923, and they are popular factors in the social life of their home community. Willis M. Brewer.-Although much interested in real estate, Mr. Brewer is widely known as chairman of the board of county auditors, to which he was elected in 1920 and re-elected in 1923. He has back of him a fine record of public service. Mr. Brewer was born July 1, 1892, in Steuben county, New York, a son of Charles H. and Lizzie (Macgill) Brewer. The father came to Genesee county from New York state about 1893, later moved to Pontiac and now lives in Detroit. Charles H. Brewer has for many years been engaged in real estate activities. Willis M. attended grade and high school in Steuben county and a business college in Albany. He became clerk to the Steuben county school commissioner, then secretary to Senator Brewster, then confidential clerk in the state (New York) department of architecture. Then he returned to Pontiac, where he had spent some time as a boy. Alone, in 1915, he entered the real estate business in Pontiac and in the spring of 1918 was elected a supervisor of the Second ward and in the fall of that year resigned to become associate county auditor, which position he held until the fall of 1920, when he became chairman of the board of county auditors. Mr. Brewer is also president of the Pontiac board of education. He sustains strong interest in real estate. On June 28, 1917, Mr. Brewer was married to Miss Ruby Purser, of Pontiac. They have a daughter, Mary Louise. During the World war Mr. Brewer was stationed at Camp Dix. He is past commander of the American Legion post in Pontiac and is a member of the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. By religious conviction Mr. Brewer is a Presbyterian. Frank D. Brigham —One of the many attractive villages of Oakland county is Ortonville, and in maintaining the civic and business prestige of this community Mr. Brigham is doing well his part. Here he owns and conducts a well equipped drug store, and the effective service of the establishment has gained to it a substantial and representative supporting patronage. Mr. Brigham was born on a farm in Hadley township, Lapeer county, Michigan, February 23, 1879, and is a son of Aaron and Caroline (Vantine) Brigham, both representatives of sterling pioneer families of Michigan. Aaron Brigham passed virtually his entire life on the old homestead farm that was the place of his birth and also that of his son, Frank D. On this farm estate, which lies in Hadley township, Lapeer county, and Atlas township, Genesee county, he was born in. the year 1840, and there his death occurred in 1894. He was a son of John and Eliza (Goodrich) Brigham, who were born and reared in the state of New York and who became pioneer settlers in Michigan, John Brigham having here taken up a tract of government land and having reclaimed from the forest 156 HISTORY OP OAKLAND COUNTY wilds a productive farm —the fine old estate of which mention has already been made in this review. On this old homestead Mr. and Mrs, John Brigham passed the remainder of their lives, and their names merit enduring place on the rolls of the honored pioneers of Michigan. Aaron Brigham was reared to manhood on the old home farm and received the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period. He continued his active alliance with farm industry throughout his entire career, and was one of the substantial and highly esteemed citizens of Lapeer county at the time of his death. His widow, who was born in Atlas township, Genesee county, in 1843, is now a beloved member of the family circle of her son, Frank D., of this review, and will celebrate in 1925 the eighty-second anniversary of her birth. Mrs. Brigham is a daughter of Charles and Abigail (Brown) Vantine, who came from the state of New York in the 30's and made early settlement in Atlas township, Genesee county, where Mr. Vantine took up government land and instituted the reclamation of a farm. He was a resident of Corunna, Shiawassee county, at the time of his death, his wife having previously died, on the old homestead in Genesee county. On the ancestral homestead farm Frank D. Brigham passed the period of his childhood and early youth, and it is interesting to record that he and his brother Charles still own this fine old landed estate. In 1897 he was graduated in the high school at Ortonville, and thereafter he was employed as a clerk in the local drug store of A. J. Wilders until 1900, in which year he purchased the stock and business of his employer and assumed individual control of the establishment. Here he has since successfully continued the business, with standing as one of the popular and representative merchants of Ortonville. Mr. Brigham is a director of the State Savings Bank of Ortonville, is a Republican in political adherency, and is affiliated with Ortonville Lodge No. 339, A. F. and A. M. He has been a valued member of the Ortonville board of education since 1917 and is a loyal citizen who takes deep interest in all that concerns the communal welfare. In 1903 Mr. Brigham wedded Miss Grace Sevener, of Ortonville, she having been graduated in the local high school as a member of the same class as her husband, that of 1898. Mrs. Brigham passed to the life eternal in the year 1909, and is survived by one daughter, Mabel, who was born July 31, 1905, who was graduated in the Ortonville high school in 1922 and who was graduated in the Michigan State Normal College, at Ypsilanti, as a member of the class of 1925. On the 18th of October, 1911, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brigham to Miss Laura Terry, who was graduated in the high school at Ortonville and also that at Oxford, and who likewise is a graduate of the Michigan State Normal College, Ypsilanti. Mr. and Mrs. Brigham have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: GordQn, May 30, 1913; David, September 18, 1914, and Grant, May 16, 1916. George Fvwiek Brofdig who is successfully engaged in the real estate and abstract business in the city of Pontiac, is a native son PERSONAL SKETCHES 167 of Oakland county, his loyalty to which has been shown in manifold ways, including his service as register of deeds of this county. Mr. Brondige was born in Springfield township, Oakland county, October 15, 1855, and is a son of Eli and Margaret A (Fenwick) Brondige, the former of whom was born in or near Lockport, New York, February 2, 1828, a scion of one of the sterling Holland Dutch families that was founded in New York in the early period of our national history. Eli Brondige was three years old at the time of his mother's death, and was taken into the home of Eli H. Day, his uncle, with whom he came to Michigan in 1838, when ten years of age. Here he was reared to manhood under the conditions of the early pioneer days, and in 1854 he established his residence in Springfield township, Oakland county, where he developed a productive farm and where his death occurred June 21, 1895. His marriage to Miss Margaret A. Fenwick was solemnized July 4, 1850, she having been born in the village of Clyde, New York, July 8, 1831, and having been a child at the time of the family removal to Michigan, in 1836, her parents having been natives of England. Mrs. Brondige survived her husband by nearly twenty years, and her death occurred January 5, 1912. Eugene E., eldest of the children, was born May 1, 1852, and died September 9, 1913. He married Miss Alice Foster, whose death occurred December 12, 1908. George F., of this review, was the next in order of birth. Mary E. is the wife of Rev. Eugene Yager, of Oxford, Michigan. John E. is engaged in the practice of law and at this time (1925) municipal judge in Royal Oak city. George F. Brondige supplemented the discipline of the Oakland county public schools by taking a course in the Detroit Business College. At the age of eighteen years he became a teacher in the district schools, and this represented his first independent venture. For several years he continued his successful service as a teacher, and thereafter he served as traveling representative for Detroit capitalists engaged in the purchase of lands in Iowa and other western states. He returned to Michigan in 1881, and shortly afterward, in the following spring, he established his residence upon the farm of eighty-five acres that he had purchased in Rose township, Oakland county, about three miles east of Holly. He later added to his farm estate forty acres in the adjoining township of Holly, and he made a record of successful achievement as a vigorous and progressive exponent of agricultural and livestock industry. He continued to give his attention to his farm operations until 1893, when he removed with his family to Holly and accepted a position with a leading mercantile concern in the city of Detroit, this alliance having continued a number of years. In 1897 he established the family home in the city of Pontiac, and in 1899 he took the position of deputy register of deeds for the county, under Albert G. Griggs. The efficiency of his service in this capacity marked him as the most eligible of candidates for the office of register of deeds, to which he was elected in November, 1902, on the Republican ticket. He made many improvements in the service of this office, including the installation of a new system of records, and he 158 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY proved one of the most valuable and influential members of the official family of his native county. Since his retirement from office he has developed a substantial and prosperous real estate and abstract business. Mr. Brondige was also secretary and treasurer of the Pontiac Land and Home Building Company, and trustee of the Long Lake Land Company. He is a stalwart Republican, as was also his father, and is a member of Uniform Rank of the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Oakland county board of supervisors. He, with his family, is an attendant of the Baptist church. On the 5th of October, 1881, Mr. Brondige was united in marriage to Miss Letitia Foster, who was born June 19, 1859, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Parker) Foster. Mrs. Sarah (Parker) Foster was nearly ninety-two years of age at the time of her death, November 20, 1910. She was a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Yeomans) Parker, who were born in England, and she was a direct descendant of the William Parker who served as a general in the army of Alfred the Great, and whose bravery was rewarded by his being granted the valuable Warwich estate in England, besides which he married a sister of Alfred the Great. The marriage of Samuel Foster and Sarah Parker was solemnized in 1845, he having come from England to the United States in 1828, and settled in Oneida county, New York, whence he came to Michigan in 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Foster became the parents of seven children: Samuel was a resident of Chicago at the time of his death, in 1912; Sarah A., the wife of Nolton Bigelow, is now deceased; Charles T., a resident of Rose township, this county; Alice is deceased; Horatio, now deceased, whose home was at Midland, Michigan; Letitia, whose death occurred March 15, 1924, was the wife of George F. Brondige, of this sketch; and one child died in infancy. In conclusion is given a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Brondige: Miss Mabel Letitia is deputy register of deeds of Oakland county; Georgiana Margaret is the wife of Glenn P. Seeley, of Pontiac; the younger members of the ideal home circle are the twin daughters, Gladys Foster and Glennie Fenwick, who are assistants in their father's office. James Lester Brown.-Mr. Brown is a member of the firm of Eames & Brown, plumbing, heating and sheet metal contractors at 55-57 East Pike, Pontiac. At the age of twenty he entered the plumbing business in Canada as a journeyman. On his own account he was in business in Flint, Detroit and Pontiac. The firm of Eames & Brown is one of the best known in Pontiac. It does a large business and bears an enviable reputation because of the high class service supplied. Mr. Brown was born May-20, 1883, in Forest, Ontario, a son of John Brown. In Forest he received his early education. On February 7, 1916, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Miss Jessie B. Hill, of Pontiac. The Browns are, by religious preferment, Presbyterian. Mr. Brown is a Pythian and belongs to all the Masonic bodies, including the Shrine. Besides his fraternal affiliations extend to the Aviation Town and Country Club and the Pontiac Board of Commerce. He is active in Masonic fraternal work. In trade PERSONAL SKETCHES 159 activities, Mr. Brown keeps abreast of the times and the newer devices and equipment in plumbing, ventilating and sheet metal work. Richard Edwin Brown is a prominent executive in connection with the automobile industry in the city of Pontiac, where he is divisional manager of the Fisher Body Corporation. Mr. Brown was born at Ionia, Michigan, June 18, 1881, and is a son of Frank L. and Sarah (Lewis) Brown, who are now residents of Seabreeze, Florida. Mr. Brown was but eighteen months old when his parents removed to Montour Falls, New York, and he was reared and educated in the old Empire state, where he was graduated in Cook Academy, at Montour Falls, in 1900, his higher education having been acquired in Cornell University, at Ithaca, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1904. Thereafter he was for six years identified with business enterprise at Montour Falls, and he then returned to his native state and established his residence in the city of Detroit, where he was for two years in the employ of the Hudson Motor Car Company. He then took a position in the Detroit offices of the Fisher Body Corporation, with special assignment to the buying of lumber used by the concern in its extensive manufacturing operations. In 1923 he came to Pontiac as manager of the 0. J. Beaudette plant of this corporation, and February 20, 1925, he was made divisional manager in charge of both the Beaudette plant and the Baldwin avenue plant. Mr. Brown is a Republican in his political alignment, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and holds membership in the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Golf Club, the Detroit Riding and Hunt Club, and the Detroit Polo Club. He takes special interest in equestrian sports and as a skilled polo player he frequently comes into action with the Gold Hats of Detroit. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and the family home, a fine suburban place, is at 19230 Lucerne Drive, Palmer Woods, in the Detroit metropolitan district. July 26, 1916, marked the marriage of Mr. Brown to Miss Norma G. Jones, of Baltimore, Maryland, and they have two children, Richard Edwin, Jr., and Cora May. Sard H. Burlingham has developed in Oakland county a substantial and prosperous plumbing and heating business, and his high reputation and distinctive success rest on the secure basis of fair and honorable business methods and high-grade service. His well equipped establishment in the city of Pontiac is at 15-19 West Lawrence street, and in connection with the splendid growth of Pontiac and other towns in Oakland county he has been able to render a highly specialized service making for better housing conditions and home standards. Mr. Burlingham was born on the parental homestead farm in Washington, Macomb county, Michigan, August 16, 1868, is the only son in a family of four children, the others being Sybil, May and Maude, and his parents, Sard H. and Sarah (Lincoln-Morris) Burlingham, now deceased. By her former marriage to Charles Morris the mother had four children, all now deceased. The subject of this review gained his early education by attending the public 160 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY schools of his native county, and he was a mere lad of thirteen when he found employment in a knitting factory at Pontiac, Thereafter he worked a year in a tin shop, and also gained practical experience in the plumbing trade and business. After becoming skilled in these lines of work he made his initial venture of independent order by establishing a small shop for the handling of sheet-metal work, and it was from this nucleus that he evolved his present substantial plumibing and heating business in the city of Pontiac. He removed to his present quarters January 1, 1918, having here erected a substantial building of two stories and basement and twenty by sixty-eight feet in dimensions. For the better accommodation of his constantly expanding business he later erected a brick building that is fifty by one hundred twenty feet in dimensions, with two stories and basement. This building is an adjunct to that which he erected in 1917. Mr. Burlingham's business extends into many sections of Oakland county and now involves his retention of an average corps of fifteen employees. The progressiveness of Mr. Burlingham has further been shown in his successful operations in the handling of real estate, and in addition to his transactions in city realty he has specialized in the handling of properties on the fine resort lakes of Oakland county. He is a valued member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce and the local Business Men's Club, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, is a Republican in his political alignment, and his wife holds membership in the Central Methodist Episcopal Church in their home city. In September, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Burlingham to Miss Lillian Nott, of Pontiac, and the children of this union are three in number-Donald, Helen and Glenn. Mr. Burlingham has proved himself one of the world's productive workers, has gained success through his own ability and efforts, and is one of the representative business men and substantial citizens of Pontiac. Mrs. Myrtle G. Button is successfully continuing at Ortonville the representative general insurance business that was here founded by her husband, the late Asahel P. Button, who was one of the most liberal and influential citizens and business men of Ortonville and whose death here occurred March 30, 1922, Mrs. Button was born on the homestead farm of her parents, in trandon township, Oakland county, and the date of her nativity was April 6, 1871, She is a daughter of Alonzo and Jane A. (Lemon) Flagler, the former of whom was born in Macomb county, Michigan, in 1838 —the year following that which marked the admission of Michigan to statehoodand the latter of whom was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1841, her parents having come to Macomb county, Michigan, in 1844 and she having there been reared and educated under the conditions of the pioneer days. Alonzo Flagler was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm and received his youthful education by attending the common schools of his native county. In 1868 he purchased and established his home on a farm in Brandon township, Oakland county, and he continued as one of the prosperous and honored exponents of agricultural and livestock industry in this county during the re PERSONAL SKETCHES 161 mainder of his active career. Mr. Flagler was about seventy-two years of age at the time of his death, and his venerable widow is now a revered member of the family circle of her daughter, Myrtle G., of this review. On the 4th of March, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Asahel P. Button to Miss Myrtle G. Flagler. Mr. Button was born at Belleville, Wayne county, Michigan, May 28, 1875, and his death occurred shortly prior to the forty-seventh anniversary of his birth. He was a son of Miner William and Margaret (McNeil) Button, the latter of whom is deceased, Miner W. Button having come from the state of New York and established his residence in Wayne county, Michigan, in the year 1865, he being now a resident of Ortonville, Oakland county. In 1893 Asahel P. Button was graduated in the high school at Belleville, and in the spring of the following year he went to the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and entered the employ of his uncle, Asa Button. In 1896 he returned to Oakland county and wedded Miss Myrtle G. Flagler, and he and his bride thereafter continued to reside in the city of Boston until 1905, when they returned to Oakland county and established their permanent home at Ortonville. Here Mr. Button developed a prosperous business under the title of the Button Implement Company, an enterprise that is continued under the control of his son, and the insurance business which he established is now under the effective management of his widow. Mr. Button was a most loyal and public-spirited citizen, served as president of the municipal board of trustees of Ortonville, as president of the local board of education, and as secretary of the Ortonville Board of Commerce. He was an enthusiastic and successful apiarist, and in this connection it is to be recorded that he was for two years the president of the Michigan Beekeepers' Association, besides which he was one of the leading members and served as secretary of the Oakland County Beekeepers' Association. His political support was given to the Republican party and he was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Button is a popular figure in the representative social activities of her home village and is here an active member of the Ladies' Literary Club. Ervin H., the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Button, was born in the city of Boston, January 22, 1897, and after his graduation in the Ortonville high school, in 1913, he took a course in the Flint Business University. Since the death of his father he has successfully continued the business of the Button Implement Company, as previously noted in this review. June 2, 1916, he wedded Miss Bernice Laing, of Royal Oak, this county, and they have two children, William Miner and Robert Ervin. Birum G. Campbell, active in civic and industrial movements of the community, is district manager of the Consumers' Power Company at Pontiac, one of the most important public service corporations in the state. Mr. Campbell was born in Parma, Jackson county, Michigan, January 26, 1885, a son of E. W. and Ella M. Campbell, the father a farmer and live stock shipper. The elder Campbell is a Republican and resides in Parma. Birum G. Campbell was graduated from high school in 1902, studied mechanical and electrical engineer 162 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ing, worked in Jackson and became engineer, foreman, cashier, then secretary of the Jackson Gas Company. In 1914 he was engaged in engineering work and as assistant general manager of the Springfield Gas and Electric Company and the Springfield Consolidated Railway Company, Springfield, Illinois, until 1917. In that year he became district manager of the Consumers' Power Company, at Pontiac. The plant is large and is caring for a large and growing patronage. All factories of Pontiac are supplied with electric current and gas. In 1908 Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Helen Chapel, of Parma. There are three children. Mr. Campbell is a Republican in politics, a Presbyterian by religious conviction, a member of the Masonic order and of the Commandery and the Shrine. He was the first secretary of the Pontiac Rotary Club. He is vice-president of the Boy Scout Council, a director of the Board of Commerce, treasurer of the Sons of the American Revolution, vice-president of the Presbyterian Men's Club and extremely active and helpful in all local affairs. James W. Carter is vice-president and general manager of the Thomas Furniture Company, which conducts one of the largest and most metropolitan furniture and general house furnishing establishments in the city of Pontiac, and he has made, in his executive capacity, a large and valuable contribution to the development and upbuilding of the substantial and well ordered business now conducted by this progressive Oakland county company. The Thomas Furniture Company utilizes five floors of the building at 15-19 East Pike street, together with a large annex building at the rear of the main floor, and in completeness and grade of stock in all departments, and in general efficiency of service, this establishment is maintained at the best metropolitan standard. James W. Carter was born in Melbourne, province of Ontario, Canada, February 22, 1875, and in the public schools of his native province he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school at Strathroy, as a member of the class of 1893. Thereafter he continued to be associated with the work and management of his father's farm until 1901, when he established his residence in Port Huron, Michigan, and entered the employ of the Howard Furniture Company. He eventually became a member of this company, with which he continued his alliance until 1916, when he sold his interest in the business and came to Pontiac, where he purchased a substantial interest in the Thomas Furniture Company, of which he has since continued the vice-president and general manager. Mr. Carter has brought to bear not only thorough knowledge of all details of the business but also progressive executive policies that have worked greatly to the expansion of the business and service of this representative Pontiac business house, his alliance with which marks him as one of the influential citizens and business men of the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county. He is a director qf the Pontiac Traffic Bureau, is a loyal member of the local Kiwanis Club, and in all ways is liberal in the support of measures and enterprises that make for the civic and material advancgment of his home city. He and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church, and PERSONAL SKETCHES 163 their attractive home, at 161 Judson street, is known for its graeious hospitality. September 22, 1917, Mr. Carter wedded Margaret Smith, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the light and life of their home is the daughter, Lyndon, who there exercises much of autocratic sway. Charles W. Case has long been engaged in the hardware business at Rochester and in the mercantile circles of this gallant little city he thus has a good measure of priority. He has a well stocked and equipped establishment, and it is interesting to note that in his present store, as employee and proprietor, he has staged his activities during the past thirty-six years. Mr. Case was born on the parental homestead farm in Brandon township, Oakland county, Michigan, March 15, 1870, and in his native county he has found ample opportunity for successful achievement in business. He is a son of Joseph E. and Charlotte E. (Taylor) Case, the former of whom was born in Newton, New Jersey, September 10, 1842, and the latter of whom was born in Oakland township, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1846, her parents having been early settlers in that township. Joseph E. Case was a boy of seven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Oakland county, and here he has continued to maintain his home during the long intervening period of eighty-two years, he having long been one of the substantial farmers of Brandon township and being now a resident of the village of Orion, where he is living retired, as one of the venerable and highly esteemed citizens of Oakland county. His wife has been a devoted companion and helpmate and she likewise has passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten. They are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The'public schools of his native county afforded Charles W. Case his youthful education, and he continued to be associated with the work of the old home farm until he was nineteen years of age. He then found employment in the Rochester hardware store of H. J. Taylor, learned all details of the business, and in 1899 he purchased the stock and business from Mr. Taylor, so that he has had the one store as the center of his activities throughout his entire business career. Mr. Case is a Republican in his political proclivities, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, is president of the board of trustees of the local Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and his wife are earnest members, and he is a trustee of the Brookland Golf Club. He is one of the substantial business men and liberal and public-spirited citizens of Rochester, and in his native county his circle of friends is virtually coextensive with that of his acquaintances. On the 14th of March, 1894, Mr. Case was united in marriage to Miss Georgia E. Mason, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county and who is a daughter of John M. and Livonia (Parker) Mason, old and honored citizens of this county. Mason A., older of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Case, was born April 5, 1900, and the younger son, Vern, was born February 4, 1906. Mason A., who is associated with his father's business, married Miss Leona Howell, daughter of William Howell, of Rochester, and the two children of this union are Betty Jean and Mary Louise. 164 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Homer A. Case, cashier of the Rochester Savings Bank, is not only an able executive in one of the important institutions of the village of Rochester, but is also a loyal and public-spirited citizen whose place is secure in popular esteem in his native county. He was born and reared on a farm in Brandon township, Oakland county, and the date of his birth was May 19, 1876. He is indebted to the public schools for his youthful education, and he remained on the home farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when he became a clerk in a hardware store in the city of Owosso, where he remained one year. He then returned to his native county, and May 4, 1899, he here established his residence at Rochester, where he served two and onehalf years as assistant postmaster. He then assumed the position of bookkeeper in the Rochester Savings Bank, later was advanced to the post of assistant cashier, and in January, 1919, there came further recognition of his faithful and efficient service, in his promotion to the office of cashier, of which he has since continued the incumbent. Mr. Case figures as a loyal advocate and supporter of the principles of the Republican party, though he has manifested no ambition for political preferment. He served two years as president of the Rochester Board of Commerce, and is now a valued member of its directorate. He is a member of the Brookland Golf and Country Club and the Oakland County Automobile Club, and in the Masonic fraternity his affiliatiQns are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M. On the 25th of June, 1903, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Case to Miss Mabel F. Knapp, of Oxford, this county, and the one child of this union is a daughter, Ethel Josephine, who was born January 31, 1905, was graduated in the Rochester high school as a member of the class of 1922 and is a popular figure in the social activities of her home community. Cass Chamberlin is successfully established in business at Oxford, as a dealer in coal and coke, and while he applies himself closely to business he does not deny himself occasional visits to the northern part of Michigan for the hunting of big game. He is a good marksman, and his chief diversion is found through hunting expeditions of various kinds. Mr. Chamberlin is a native son of Oakland county and a representative of one of the well known families of this section of Michigan. He was born on the parental homestead farm, in Addison township, December 28, 1884, and after attending the public schools in the village of Leonard he profited also by advantages of the Oxford high school. After leaving school he was employed in turn by Messrs. O'Brien and Cowdin, of Oxford, and he then became associated with the James Olson Coal Company, with which Oxford concern he continued his alliance until April, 1923, when he formed a partnership with Dr. E. I. Crawford and engaged independently in the coal and coke business, under the firm name of Chamberlin & Crawford, which has since been retained. He has the active management of the firm's business, which has grown to one of most successful order. Mr. Chamberlin has had no desire to enter the arena of practical politics, but is loyally aligned in the ranks of the Republican PERSONAL SKETCHES 165 party, and in the Masonic fraternity his affiliations are with Oxford Lodge No. 84, F. & A. M.; Oxford Chapter No. 94, R. A. M.; Pontiac Council, R. & S. M. and Oxford Exchange Club. His name still appears, in 1925, on the roster of eligible bachelors in his native county. Vern L. Chamberlin was born in Oakland county, August 30, 1883, a son of L. E. and Julia (Axford) Chamberlin. The father was born in Ohio and came to Oakland county when a young man, becoming a successful farmer of Orion township, where he owned two hundred and forty acres, and here his death occurred in 1916. February 21, 1877, he married Miss Julia Axford, who was born in Oakland county, a daughter of Ogden and Diana (Sissen) Axford, who were early settlers of this county. The paternal grandparents of V. L. Chamberlin were Jeremiah and Martha (Baker) Chamberlin, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Ohio. Jeremiah Chamberlin was a physician and came to Michigan in 1871, locating in Romeo, Macomb county, where he practiced his profession until his death in 1888. V. L. Chamberlin was one of a family of six children. He was reared on the farm, where he attended the public schools and Romeo high school. He spent three years at Michigan Agricultural College in the study of mechanical engineering. He later attended Bradley Polytechnic Institute at Peoria, Illinois, and in 1909 located in Pontiac, where he entered the jewelry business, under the name of V. L. Chamberlin Company. In 1922 this became an individual enterprise, the name being "V. L. Chamberlin, Jeweler," located at 88 North Saginaw street. In 1910 Mr. Chamberlin married Miss Florence Lintz, of Rochester, Michigan, and they have become the parents of two children, Dalton Lintz and Arthur Ezra. William C. Chapman has made a record of important and successful achievement in connection with varied lines of business enterprise and is today one of the influential citizens of Rochester, where he has held for fully twenty years the office of president of the Rochester Savings Bank. Mr. Chapman is a scion of colonial New England ancestry and claims the Green Mountain state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Proctorsville, Vermont, March 11, 1866, and his early education having been gained in the public schools of that place and Detroit. He is a son of the late Clark H. and Ellen (Sherwin) Chapman, both likewise natives of Vermont, where the former was born in 1822 and the latter in 1833. Clark H. Chapman became one of the prominent members of the bar of his native state, and in addition to being there engaged in the practice of law for many years he was called upon also to serve as a member of the Vermont legislature. He was a resident of Detroit at the time of his death, in 1888, and his widow passed to the life eternal ten years later, in 1898. William C. Chapman was twelve years of age when he came to Michigan and here he continued his studies by attending the public schools of Detroit until he was sixteen years old. He then entered the employ of the late William C. Yawkey, who was long one of the extensive and influential lumbermen of Michigan, and after having been associated with the lumbering operations of 166 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the Yawkey organization during a period of eight years, Mr, Chapman engaged independently in the lumber business at Rhinelander. Wisconsin. He continued his alliance with the lumber industry four years, his interests in this business having finally been sold by him, in 1892. He had become a stockholder in the Western Knitting Mills, and in this connection he established his residence at Rochester, where the corporation erected a large manufacturing plant. He became vice-president and general manager of the Western Knitting Mills, succeeding his brother Charles, who held the office of vicepresident until his death, in 1915. Mr. Chapman continued as vicepresident of this industrial corporation until 1920, when he sold his stock and retired from active alliance with the business. He has been one of the most substantial stockholders of the Rochester Savings Bank for fully a quarter of a century and has been its president twenty years. At Rochester Mr. Chapman erected a beautiful and commodious residence, in the Italian style of architecture and this constitutes the home of the family. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. He is one of the substantial citizens of this county and has secure and well merited place in popular confidence and esteem. On the 11th of March, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Chapman to Miss Ada Barney, of Ludlow, Vermont, in which fine old commonwealth of New England she was born and reared, she having been graduated there in Black River Academy, as a member of the, class of 1889, and a fellow student at the time having been Calvin Coolidge, who was graduated there in 1888 and who is now the President of the United States. Duane C. Barney, the father of Mrs. Chapman, was born in Vermont in the year 1838, and there he maintained his home until his death, in 1905, he having long been established in the marble and granite business. Mr. Barney was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he served as a member of the Seventh Vermont Volunteer Infantry. His wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Colburn, was born in 1840, and her death occurred at Rochester, Michigan, in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman have one son, Carroll B., who was born December 6, 1890. Carroll Barney Chapman continued his studies in the Rochester public schools until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1909, and in 1913 he was graduated in Michigan College of Agriculture and Applied Science with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He is now successfully engaged in the real estate business at Rochester. January 20, 1914, he married Miss Grace George, and her death occurred October 29, 1918, the one surviving child being a son, William Carroll. January 18, 1920, Carroll B. Chapman contracted a second marriage when Miss Wilhelmina Shepherd became his wife. W, Bi. Chatterson.-Mr. Chatterson, after learning the plumbing trade in Bay City, came to Pontiac in 1912 and for a year worked at the trade. He spent several years following in West Branch, Michigan, and in 1916 returned to Pontiac and established a business of his own. His establishment today carries twelve men on the payrolls. "% Z // Wf4eot^f PER —SONAL SXETC1Ik$17 167 Mr. Chattersoti specializes in contract work in and atound Pontiac. He has organized his employees into a baseball team and with this team plays twice a week. The Chatterson nine plays with such teams as the state hospital, Oaklahd Motor Car Company engineers, Fisher BrOthers' team, Wolverines, and Consumers' Power Company. Mr. Chatterson takes a keen interest in the ball team and in the welfare of his employees, being a great believer in the virtue and efficacy of proper recreation. Mr. Chatterson Was married on June 12, 1912, to Miss Mildred Allen. There are three children, Saraheta, Wilema and Edith Maude. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows, Board of Commerce, Oakland County Sportsman's Club, and the state association of master plumbers. The maintenance of a ball team by a plumbing establishment is very unusual and has attracted considerable attention to the Chatterson establishment and its directing spirit. The team has done good playing and is rated one of the best amateur ball organizations in this section of the state. It is very close to the heart of Mr. Chatterson. Edmund A. Christian, M. D., has by continuous study and research, and by long and varied experience of practical order, gained much of authority in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and at Pontiac the Michigan State Hospital for the Insane has been signally fortunate in retaining his professional and executive services during a period of more than forty years-a period covering a large part of the history of this noble institution, of which he has been the superintendent since 1894, and the high standard of the humane service of which is largely due to his earnest, unselfish and able administration. Doctor Christian became assistant physician at this state hospital in the year 1882, in 1889 he was advanced to the position of assistant superintendent, and since 1894 he has been the superintendent. His administration has been marked by broad human sympathy expressed in helpfulness, and he has insistently urged a popular understanding of the fact that insanity represents a disease, a pathological condition, and is never to be considered in criminal connections. He has studied deeply, patiently and earnestly, has had experience in the treating of patients of all manner of disordered mental types and nervous aberrations, and all this knowledge and experience he is translating into scientific and humane helpfulness of the highest order -a work that makes the institution of which he has charge a veritable hospital for the scientific treatment of disease rather than a barred bastile for the captivity of "lunatics." His is a broader service also in the dissemination of the theory and practice of taking definite action for the prevention of mental and nervous disorders, so that such unfortunate conditions may be obviated rather than permitted to run their course to unhappy denouement. Doctor Christian was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, September 7, 1857, and is a son of Dr. Edmund P. and Mary (Hawley) Christian, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio. Dr. Edmund P. Christian was the first Detroit citizen to be graduated irt the newly founded and later great University of Michigan, in which he was a member of 168 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the class of 1847. He later was graduated in the Buffalo Medical College, Buffalo, New York, and during the greater part of his long and earnest professional career he was established in practice in Wayne county, Michigan, the most of the time with residence and headquarters at Wyandotte. He served as one of the earlier presidents of the Michigan State Medical Society, and he did effective work also as editor of the Peninsular Journal of Medicine, which was at that time the leading medical publication of Michigan. Dr. Edmund P. Christian was not only one of the distinguished pioneer physicians and surgeons of Michigan, but was also a citizen of broad and benignant influence in connection with matters touching the communal welfare. He and his wife were zealous communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, and they were revered pioneer citizens of Michigan at the time of their death. The public schools of Wyandotte and Ann Arbor afforded Dr. Edmund A. Christian his earlier educational discipline, and thereafter he had the satisfaction of entering the University of Michigan, his father's alma mater, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1879 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, the university having later conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In the medical department of the university he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882, and almost immediately after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he became assistant physician of the state hospital of which he is now the honored superintendent and which represents the stage of his constructive and loyal professional activities during the long intervening years. This Michigan institution has meant much to Doctor Christian, and he has meant much to it. His service has been an intrinsic part of the growth and development of the hospital, and to him has been due much of the broadening of its humanitarian sphere of usefulness. The Doctor has grown with the institution, and has come to a plane of high authority in connection with the treatment of nervous and mental diseases. He is a valued member of the Detroit Society of Neurology and Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the Oakland County Medical Society, besides being an active and appreciative member of the American Medical Association. He was specially active in Red Cross service in the World war period, and has served as president of the Oakland county organization of the American Red Cross. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and he and his wife are members of the Protestant Episcopal church. In the year 1894 was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Christian to Miss Augusta Baldwin, daughter of the late Judge Augustus C. Baldwin, who was long one of the most honored and influential citizens of Pontiac and Oakland county. Doctor and Mrs. Christian have three children: Isabel is the wife of Robert White and they maintain their home in Pontiac; Margaret is the wife of Robert F. Perry, of Flint, this state, and Miss Dorothea remains at the parental home. Walter Charles Churchill is one of the prominent and enterprising representatives of the real estate business in Oakland county, with PERSONAL SKETCHES 169 headquarters at Royal Oak, where he conducts his business under the title of the Startup Realty Company, with office at 1629 Woodward avenue. Mr. Churchill was born in Monroe county, Michigan, June 12, 1890, and is a son of Walter C. and Laur (Lewis) Churchill, who now reside at Clarkston, Oakland county, this state. The subject of this review was a child at the time of the family removal to the province of Ontario, Canada, where the public schools afforded him his youthful education and where also he learned the trade of toolmaking, to which he gave his attention for some time. Later he there served as a road superintendent, with headquarters at Windsor, and his residence in Ontario was continued until he returned to his native state. In 1920 Mr. Churchill established him residence at Royal Oak, where he has since been engaged in the real estate business and where his well directed activities have had important bearing on progressive development in this favored district of Oakland county. That he has won prestige and success in his chosen sphere of business and also a place of popularity in his home community is indicated by his having held continuously since 1923 the dual office of secretary and treasurer and now vice-president of the Royal Oak Real Estate Board. The basic Masonic affiliation of Mr. Churchill is with Blue Lodge No. 403 in the city of Windsor, Ontario, and at Royal Oak he has membership in the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and lodge No. 45 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, and their attractive home, at 1615 Mayfield Drive, in the Vinsetta Park district of Royal Oak, is a center of generous hospitality. November 8, 1923, was the date on which was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Churchill to Mrs. E. Jenness (Beaudry) Startup, of Royal Oak, she having been born and reared in Detroit and being a daughter of A. and Delia (Spencer) Beaudry of that city. Rollin W. Clark is the director of finance of the city of Pontiac. As such he is charged with serious responsibilities, but the proponents of the commission-manager type of charter stoutly contend that under such form there is a distribution of responsibility and a protective balance that does not obtain in the decentralized, or federal, form of city government. Rollin W. Clark was born in Waterford village, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1879, the son of Washington E. and Eliza M. (Keeler) Clark, both natives of the same county. Grandparents on both sides were early settlers of Oakland county and the paternal great-grandfather, Jeremiah Clark, who was the founder of Clarkston, Oakland county. He fought in the Revolution and is buried in Clarkston. Washington E. Clark was a stock buyer. He is deceased. Rollin W. attended local schools and in 1900 was graduated from the Pontiac high school. He later attended a business college and became a public accountant. He taught commercial subjects in Michigan Military Academy and was associated with the Heitsch Construction Company and in 1921 became director of finance of Pontiac. His splendid training has made Mr. Clark a valuable public servant. Mr. Clark was married to Miss Grace E. Reid, of 170 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Waterford, arid there are four children in the family circle. They are Reid, Jean, Rollin and Dan. Mr. Clark is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Martin J. Cloon^n is one of the successful and popular representatives of the retail drug business in the city of Pontiac, where his well equipped establishment is located at 72 North Saginaw street. Mr. Cloonan was born in Pontiac, February 29, 1880, and is a son of Stephen J. and Mary A. (Kahoe) Cloonan, the former of whom was born in Ireland, and the latter of whom was born in the family home in Michigan, where her parents were early settlers. Stephen J. Cloonan was a child at the time when the family came from Ireland and established a home in Michigan. Here he was reared and educated, and here, in his youth, he learned the trade of carriage making, at a time when all work was done by hand and was of the best grade. He was a young man when he established his residence in Pontiac, and here he continued to follow his trade until the introduction of machinery arid the production of cheap buggies and carriages made the vocation no longer profitable. Mr. Cloonan has given many years of effective service in the office of constable at Pontiac, is a citizen who has secure place in popular esteem, and he and his wife are now somewhat more than eighty years of age, with unimpaired mental and physical powers and with a host of friends in their home city. The public schools of Pontiac gave to Martin J. Cloonan his early education, and while a student in the high school he pursued studies that tended to prepare him for the pharmaceutical profession. This supplemented practical experience which he had initiated when he was thirteen years old, he having at that age found employment in the drug store of E. L. Keyser. He eventually passed the state examination that gave him status as a registered pharmacist, and prior to engaging independently in business he had been employed in drug stores in Mount Clemens and Detroit. He finally returned to Pontiac and resumed his association with the dtug business of Mr. Keyser, and in 1911 he established his present independent drug business, the success of which betokens the careful management and excellent service that marked the conducting of the enterprise. Mr. Cloonan is a director of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, is a member and loyal supporter of the local Rotary Club, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He married Miss Ethel Marsh, of Pontiac, and their one child, Mary Jane, was born July 15, 1922. Leon F. Cobb, M.D.-Doctor Cobb, although in practice in Pontiac but a short time, has established an enviable reputation and built a large and lucrative practice. The older physicians of the city are looking toward him with respect to his ability in surgery. The Doctor is located at 155 Oakland avenue and maintains a splendidly equipped office, Doctor Cobb is a true son of Oakland county and was born in Pontiac township, October 6, 1896. He attended public school and was graduated from Lake Orion high school in PERSONAL SKETCHES 171 1915 and from the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery in 1921, During the World war, he enlisted in the medical reserve corps and so served while in college, Doctor Cobb is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Exchange Club. He holds membership in the Oakland County and Michigan State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. He is the official physician for the Salvation Army in Oakland county. In 1919 Doctor Cobb was united in marriage to Miss Edith Stansell, and one child has been born, Ralph David, whose advent came on June 20, 1923, J. F. Codling.-With one exception, the oldest retail merchant in Royal Oak; a public official with untarnished record and a citizen who has merited the esteem and good will of the public for what he has contributed to the community welfare and growth, J. F. Codling is a strong factor in the life of this thriving little city. He was born in Forest, Ontario, March 27, 1881, a son of William and Elizabeth (King) Codling, the father a farmer his entire life. J. F. Codling attended grade and high school in Ontario, took up telegraphy and worked at the trade in Syracuse, New York. Later Mr. Codling applied himself to optometry. He came to Royal Oak and worked in a jewelry store repairing watches. He supplemented his income by distributing milk and in 1906 was in position financially to establish a business of his own in jewelry and optometry. Mr. Codling took the state examination and became in 1913 a registered optometrist since which time he has given more specialized attention to this profession. For fifteen years the jewelry store has been located at Main and Fourth streets. After a few years alone in business, Mr. Codling took as associates his brothers, A. C. and T. W. Codling, and they operated as a co-partnership, but in 1914 the business was reorganized and incorporated as the J. F. Codling company, all the stock being owned by the three brothers. They purchased the adjoining building, which was used formerly as a feed store, remodeled it and occupied it as a retail establishment devoted to men's furnishings. The original building extended back forty feet, but the new structure is twenty by one hundred and ten feet. Later when a new brick block in the rear of the corner building facing Fourth street was erected the Messrs. Codling rented this store and devoted it exclusively to boys' furnishings and clothing. The jewelry business is operated on a strictly modern credit and cash basis. In November, 1900, J. F. Codling was married to Miss Margaret King, of Saginaw. To them have been born four children: Hazel, who attends Detroit College; Reta, a graduate of Detroit College, who resides in Troy, Michigan; Laura, a 1924 graduate of Royal Oak high school, and Clarence, at home and in school. Mr. Codling is a member of the Congregational church. He is a Mason and has attachment With the consistory of the Scottish Rite and the Shrine. He is also a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Exchange Club and Chamber of Commerce. A Republican in political faith, Mr. Codling is mayor of the city of Royal Oak. He served on the first commission and was re-elected for a two-years' term. In January, 1925, he was appointed mayor upon the 172 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY resignation of A. G. Miller. In 1909 to 1911 he was treasurer of the then village and in 1911 to 1913 was township treasurer. In 1917 he was chief of the Royal Oak volunteer fire department. Mr. Codling, genuinely interested in all civic undertakings and the general advancement of the city, is a director of the First State Bank. He promoted the organization of the Royal Oak City Bank, of which the city is very proud. Burton G. Cole.-The village of Ferndale, Oakland county, was incorporated in the year 1918, and its record of splendid development and progress since that time has been a revelation of the best in civic and material advancement, the village now having a population of approximately 12,000. Among the vitalj and resourceful realtors who have been actively concerned in this development is he whose name initiates this paragraph. Mr. Cole, now one of the representative real estate men of the Ferndale district, has here conducted business since 1917, and his reliability and progressive policies are shown in the scope and importance of his operations. His office is at 840 Rockwell avenue, west, where his attractive home is. Mr. Cole was born at Port Austin, Huron county, Michigan, December 16, 1884, and he there continued his studies in the public schools until his graduation in the high school, in 1902. Thereafter he was for a time a student in Kalamazoo College, and after leaving that institution he followed for seven years the vocation of accountant, in connection with railroad freight office work. Thereafter he held for a short time the position of assistant credit manager of the Detroit City Gas Company, and he then turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he has gained prestige and success, his activities in this line at Ferndale having, as previously stated, been initiated in 1917, shortly before the incorporation of the village. He and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church of Ferndale, and he has given six years of service as superintendent of its Sunday school. He is past master of Ferndale Lodge No. 506, F. & A. M. He and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star, and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Cole has been the secretary and treasurer of the Masonic Temple Association of Ferndale from the time of its inception, and has been prominent and influential in the erection of the fine Masonic temple in his home community. His marriage to Miss Luta H. Harrison, daughter of William Harrison, a pioneer citizen of Bloomingdale, Van Buren county, was solemnized October 5, 1910, and the one child of this union is Mary Adella, born April 10, 1921. As indicative of the genial and helpful spirit of Mr. Cole, it may be stated that he has locally gained the sobriquet of "the pickup man," owing to his invariable habit of never passing persons while he is driving his automobile without asking them to ride. A little girl whom he thus invited.to ride expressed her thanks by saying, "I don't know your name, but you are the man who always picks up people." It was from this that Mr. Cole gained his title of courtesy. PERSONAL SKETCHES 173 Lewis H. Cole is the executive head of the L. H. Cole Tire Company, which controls in the city of Pontiac a substantial business in the handling of automobile tires, gasoline and oils, with two well equipped establishments-one at 165 South Saginaw street, and the other at 185 Oakland avenue. At Union City, Branch county, Michigan, a picturesque little city marked by the confluence of the St. Joseph and Coldwater rivers, Mr. Cole was born March 17, 1895, and he was a child at the time of the family removal to Detroit, where he continued to attend the public schools until his graduation in the Central high school, in 1912. Thereafter he was a student two years in the Michigan Agricultural College, at Lansing, and when the nation became involved in the World war he subordinated all personal interests to respond to the call of patriotism by volunteering for service in the United States army. His enlistment occurred in December, 1917, and he was sent to Camp Hancock, Georgia, for preliminary training. In March, 1918, he sailed with his command, the first army ammunition train, for the stage of conflict in France, and there he continued in active service fourteen months, with a record that shall ever reflect honor upon his name and mark him as one of the gallant young Americans who did valiant service in the greatest of all conflicts in the history of the world. He remained over seas for some time after the armistice brought the war to a close, and then returned to his native land, where he received his honorable discharge in April, 1919. In the following autumn he organized the L. H. Cole Tire Company, and in 1922 the business was expanded by the establishing of the second headquarters, at 185 Oakland avenue. The enterprise has been very successful, owing to progressive policies and effective service. Mr. Cole is aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, is affiliated with the local post of the American Legion and with Roosevelt Lodge, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. In 1917, shortly before entering World war service, Mr. Cole wedded Miss Marie Kaufman, of Reading, Pennsylvania, and their home is now brightened by the presence of their two children, Virginia, born in 1921, and Roberta, born in 1923. William L. Cole, M.D., is now one of the veteran and honored representatives of his profession in his native county of Oakland, where he has been established in successful general practice at Oxford for the long period of forty years. He has kept constantly in touch with the advances made in medical and surgical science, his professional stewardship has been marked by ability, loyalty and faithful service, and it is safe to say that today no other physician in Oakland county has a larger or more representative general practice than does Doctor Cole. The Doctor was born in Orion township, this county, July 14, 1856, and is a representative of one of the old and sterling families of this favored section of Michigan. He was reared under the influences of the farm and after attending the public schools he was for two years a student in Michigan Agricultural College. In preparation for the profession of his choice, he completed the curriculum of the Detroit College of Medicine, in which he was graduated March 174 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 10, 1881. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he was engaged in practice at Orion until 1884, when he established his residence at Oxford, this attractive village having continued the central stage of his earnest and effective professional ministrations during the long intervening years. Doctor Cole has affiliation with the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. May 20, 1891, was the date of the marriage of Doctor Cole to Miss Maude E. Hagerman, who likewise was born and reared in this county and who was only thirty-one years of age at the time of her death, May 24, 1900. Cyril L., the one child of this union, was born July 4, 1895, and after his graduation in the Oxford high school he attended the University of Michigan. He is now a resident of Denver, Colorado. Robert M. Corbit.-By his wise counsel and thorough knowledge of the principles of law, Mr. Corbit has gained and holds the esteem and confidence of a large circle of friends at Oxford and elsewhere, which marks him as a worthy and representative member of the Oakland county bar. Mr. Corbit was born across the Hudson from New York City, at historic Weehawken, New Jersey, July 15, 1871, the place of his birth having special fame as the stage of the historic duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. He was a mere boy when he accompanied his parents to Jones county, Iowa, in 1881. His early education was gained in the district school, supplemented by two winters in the village school, and later he was graduated from Lenox College, at Hopkinton, Iowa, with the degree of Bachelor of Science and with high honors in debate and oratory. In 1901 Mr. Corbit was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan, and was admitted to the Michigan bar in June of the same year. In October of the same year he was admitted to the bar in Iowa. His marriage to Dr. Aileen Betteys was solemnized in October, 1902, his wife having been graduated in the medical department of the University of Michigan in that year, and the young couple soon established themselves in the practice of their respective professions at Wyoming, Jones county, Iowa. Doctor Corbit is represented in a personal sketch on another page of this volume. Mr. Corbit was well and favorably known in his chosen location and soon built up a substantial practice in law. In 1904 he was elected village treasurer, an office to which he was successively elected until his removal to Michigan in 1914. He became a leader in the local councils of the Republican party and was a delegate from Iowa to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1912, besides having been a frequent delegate of his party to local and state conventions. In 1909 he incidentally acted as editor-in-chief of an excellent history of Jones county, Iowa, a work which has proved of historic value and authority. In 1914 Mr. Corbit, with his wife and son Clarence, moved to Oxford, Michigan, where he continues to reside. Mr. Corbit's law business has been extended to practice in the Michigan supreme court and also the federal courts. He is a member of the local Masonic fraternity, and has also received the thirty-second degree PNi~RSONAL ISKETOHEI1 175. Scottish Rite in the Michigan Sovereign Consistory at Detroit. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Oxford Congregational church. Mr. Corbit has been a member of the Oxford school board for the past eight years, having been president of the board for two years, and is now acting as secretary for the fourth term. He is a progressive citizen whose honesty and integrity are unquestioned. Of the marriage of Mr. Corbit adequate data are given in the personal sketch of his wife, Dr. Aileen B. Corbit, both having gained secure professional status in Oakland county. Aileen Betteys Corbit, M.D., is successfully established in the practice of her profession in her native village of Oxford, Oakland county, her birth having here occurred October 25, 1877. Her husband, Robert M. Corbit, a leading member of the bar of Oxford, is individually represented elsewhere in this volume. Doctor Corbit is a daughter of John Wetmore and Clara (Crawford) Betteys, both of whom likewise were born in Oxford, as representatives of honored pioneer families of Oakland county. John W. Betteys was born September 13, 1846, and his marriage to Miss Clara Crawford was solemnized, by Rev. J. M. Tittering, November 30, 1875, Doctor Corbit of this sketch being the elder of the two children, and the younger, Mildred, who was born April 27, 1885, being the wife of P. E. Dennis, of Detroit. The death of John W. Betteys occurred August 30, 1906, his wife having passed away February 4, 1903, and both having been lifelong residents of Oxford township, Oakland county. William H. Betteys, grandfather of Doctor Corbit, was born at Charlton, Saratoga county, New York, March 8, 1815, and in 1836 he came to Michigan and established his residence in Oxford township, Oakland county, about one year prior to the admission of Michigan to statehood. He here took up a tract of government land, at the time when Martin Van Buren was president of the United States, and here he reclaimed from the forest wilds a productive farm, he having been one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, January 8, 1896. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy C. Niles, was born at Pontiac, this county, in October, 1824, her parents having been among the first territorial pioneers of Oakland county. Mrs. Betteys, whose death occurred December 25, 1893, was a grand-daughter of John Wetmore, who came from Chili, New York, and in Oakland county, Michigan, took up thirteen eighty-acre tracts of government land In the vicinity of Oxford. He entered also the first claim to government land in Southfield township, and was associated with another pioneer in taking up the first claim in Orion township. He married Mehetabel Clark, and the remains of this pioneer woman were laid to rest in the Pontiac cemetery, as were also those of five of her children. Calvin Crawford, maternal grandfather of Doctor Corbit, was born in Orange county, New York, September 4, 1818, and his wife, wvhose maiden name was Clarissa Morris, was born in Blooming Grove, that county, October 6, 1825. Calvin Crawford came to Oxford township, 176 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Oakland county, in the autumn of 1844, and he became the owner of 1,000 acres of land, 600 acres of his estate being in Oxford township. He was a skilled artisan at the carpenter trade and erected many of the pioneer houses in Oakland county. This honored pioneer passed more than sixty years of his life at Oxford, where he died July 20, 1905, his widow having passed away June 1, 1908. Doctor Corbit is indebted to the public schools of Oxford for her early education and was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1893. Her ambition to fit herself for the exacting profession in which she has since achieved success and prestige found expression when she was matriculated in the medical department of the University of Michigan, where she continued her studies until her graduation, June 19, 1902, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. She made registration with the state medical board on the 23d of the following month, and on the 22d of October of the same year was solemnized her marriage to Robert M. Corbit. They forthwith established their residence at Wyoming, Jones county, Iowa, and there Doctor Corbit continued in the successful practice of her profession until 1914, when she and her husband returned to Oxford, Michigan, where she has since continued her able and successful professional service and where her husband is engaged in the active practice of law. Doctor Corbit served as vice-president of the Jones County (Iowa) Medical Society, is a charter member of the Oakland County Medical Society, and has membership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, through which, as well as through constant study and research, she has kept in close touch with the advances made in medical and surgical science. Doctor Corbit, on the 5th of February, 1918, was organizing regent of John Crawford chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and she has since continued one of its influential and popular members. She is an active member also of the L. S. Club of Oxford, is affiliated with the Eastern Star, and she and her husband have membership in the Congregational church. Her one child, Clarence John, born August 24, 1903, was graduated in the Oxford high school in 1920 and in Olivet College as a member of the class of 1925. Clarence Corbit is an accomplished musician, having specialized in the theory of music and orchestra work in Olivet College, is a fine clarinetist and pianist; is a member of the Congregational church and of Oxford Lodge No. 84, F. & A. M. Doctor Corbit is not only one of the representative physicians and surgeons of her native county but has also given four years of very efficient service as health officer of the village of Oxford, where she has done much to improve sanitary conditions and otherwise safeguard the communal health. Hers is the deepest of interest in the history of Oakland county, where she is a representative of prominent and influential pioneer families, as the earlier record in this review clearly indicates. Alverdo A. Corwin, a man of sterling character and marked business ability, left a definite and worthy impress upon the civic and business annals of the city of Pontiac, where his interests were of im PERSONAL SKETCHES 177 portant order and where he stood exponent of loyal and public-spirited citizenship. Mr. Corwin was born in New Fane, Niagara county, New York, March 11, 1850, and at his home in Pontiac, Michigan, his death occurred September 5, 1923. The interval between these two ultimate life dates was marked by large and well ordered achievement on his part and by a course directed by superior intellectuality and exalted principles of integrity and honor. In Niagara county were likewise born his parents, Christopher R. and Susan Mariah (Wilson) Corwin, who passed their last years in Jackson, Michigan. The public schools of his native state afforded Mr. Corwin his early education, and that he profited by the advantages thus afforded him was shown in his successful subsequent service as a teacher in the schools of Jackson county, Michigan, his wife likewise having been a popular teacher in the schools of that county. It was in the year 1872 that Mr. Corwin came to Michigan and established his residence in Jackson county. After having there been in the employ of a timber and lumbering company several years he there engaged in the lumber business in an independent way. He continued to make Jackson county the central stage of his activities until 1890, when he transferred his residence and business to Pontiac, where he initiated operations under the title of the A. A. Corwin Lumber Company. He developed a substantial and prosperous business, and since his death the same has been continued by his sons, under the title of A. A. Corwin & Sons. Mr. Corwin identified himself fully and loyally with local interests, and at the time of his death he was vice-president of the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank. He was well fortified in his convictions concerning governmental and economic policies, and while he never manifested any ambition for political preferment or public office, he gave a staunch support to the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Corwin was a member of the board of trustees of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pontiac at the time of his death, and of this church his widow likewise is a zealous worker. Mrs. Corwin has been a popular factor in the social and cultural circles of Pontiac, and is affiliated with the Daughters of the American Revolution, she not only having had ancestors who were patriot soldiers in the Revolution, but her maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Blodgett, having participated in the war of 1812, as a member of a New York regiment. On the 12th of April, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Corwin to Miss Carrie M. Hobart, who likewise was born in the state of New York and who is a daughter of the late Albert M. and Mary (Blodgett) Hobart. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Corwin has continued to maintain her home in Pontiac, where she has a wide circle of friends and where her interests have been centered during a period of virtually thirty-five years. In conclusion of this memoir is entered a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Corwin: Hobart, who is engaged in the lumber business in the city of Jackson, is married and has one son and one daughter. Irving S. and Roy A continue the lumber business established by their father at Pontiac, the former being the father of one son and one daughter, and Mr. and Mrs. Roy A. Corwin having two sons and three daughters. Alverdo was gradu 178 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ated in the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and has since continued in active service in the United States Navy, in which he made a splendid record of service in the World war, he being now on duty at the government torpedo station at Newport, Rhode Island. He is married and has two sons and one daughter. Thomas H., youngest of the children of the honored subject of this memoir, was born in 1885, and his death occurred January 8, 1908. Frank L. Covert has been a member of the Oakland county bar for more than thirty years, and that he has won high standing in his profession needs no further voucher than the statement that he is now serving on the bench of the circuit court of the Sixth judicial circuit of Michigan, which comprises Oakland county. Judge Covert was born on the old homestead farm in the township of Waterford, Oakland county, Michigan, November 23, 1867, and is a son of Hudson P. and Mary J. (Sheldon) Covert, both natives of the state of New York, where the former was born in Seneca county and the latter in the vicinity of the city of Rochester. Hudson P. Covert became a territorial pioneer of Michigan, where he first made his home in 1832, about five years before the admission of the state to the Union. His active career was one of close and worthy association with farm industry, until in 1886 he established his residence in Pontiac, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, both having been venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Michigan at the time of their death. Judge Frank L. Covert was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Pontiac, including the high school, and thereafter he here studied law under the preceptorship of the representative law firm of Taft & Smythe, his admission to the bar having occurred in August, 1890, and his home having been continuously maintained in Pontiac, where he soon won a due measure of success and prestige in his profession. In 1894 he was chosen circuit court commissioner, which position he retained three terms. Several years he held the office of county superintendent of the poor. In 1904 Judge Covert assumed the office of prosecuting attorney of the county, in which office he served three consecutive terms. Further official honors were in store for him, as is shown in his two terms of service as a member of the state senate and by his appointment, May 9, 1919, to fill out an unexpired term on the bench of the circuit court, an office to which he was regularly elected in 1920 and of which he continued the incumbent through re-election in 1923. In his law practice and in all of the official positions in which he has served, Judge Covert has shown a fine personal stewardship, and on the bench his rulings have been marked by a broad and accurate knowledge of law and precedent and by a fine conception of justice and equity, so that few of his decisions have been reversed by courts of higher jurisdiction. The political allegiance of Judge Covert is given unequivocally to the Republican party, and he and his wife are active members of the First Presbyterian Church of Pontiac, which he has served as a trustee. He has been very influential in the affairs of the Knights of Pythias, and in 1919-20 was grand chancellor of the Michigan grand lodge of this fraternity, in which he is now supreme representative. He is affiliated PERSONAL SKETCHES 179 also with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. October 2, 1895, was marked by the marriage of Judge Covert to Miss Catherine Cruice, of Pontiac, and they have one son, Hudson Cruice Covert, who was graduated as a chemical engineer at the University of Michigan as a member of the class qf 1924. Judge Covert has made judicious investment in real estate in Pontiac and other parts of Oakland county, takes deep interest in all that concerns the welfare and advancement of his home city and county, and is distinctively a liberal and public-spirited citizen who has impregnable place in popular confidence and esteem. Robert J. Coyle.-A telephone man-as well as the humble operator-has his troubles just as all other business men have their diurnal difficulties and problems, but the telephone manager or executive is somewhat differently situated because as a general thing the public is almost wholly unacquainted with the operation of a telephone exchange. Comparatively few persons realize the mechanism of a phone exchange; of the intricate problems of engineering and of construction that contemplate the laying out of lines, the planting of poles, the stringing of wires and cables. Few realize that the installation of an instrument represents infinite planning. Fewer realize that the work of the sweet-voiced but unknown operator calls for consummate skill, forbearance and rapidity of mental effort and physical action. Mr. Coyle, who is manager of the Pontiac division of the State Telephone Company, knows it. He wishes to share the information with all others who do not fully appreciate what telephone operation means and entails. But fortunately the attitude of the public is becoming more intelligent and discriminating and the tendency to attack public service corporations is markedly decreasing. The public is finding out that its interests are indissolubly wrapped up with those of its public utility servitors. Mr. Coyle was born in Chestertown, New York, December 21, 1893, a son of Charles P. Coyle, an attorney now in Glens Falls, New York, where he is active in public affairs. The mother was Laura (Thompson) Coyle, who passed away in 1904. Robert C. Coyle attended public school and Detroit College of Law and in 1914 began an association with the Michigan State Telephone Company at Detroit, in the commercial office. He was manager and was placed on the division staff, and on January 1, 1923, became manager of the Pontiac division of the big corporation, which division embraces Pontiac, Birmingham, Oxford, Rochester and Clarkston. Mr. Coyle is interested in all matters designed to advance the interests of Pontiac and vicinity. He is a loyal Kiwanian, a member of the Board of Commerce, of the Masonic fraternity and of the Masonic Country Club, near Mt. Clemens. George Armstrong Cram, junior member of the representative Pontiac law firm of Doty & Cram, in which his partner is Frank L. Doty, demonstrated, while he was still a student in the University of Michigan, his exceptional forensic and dialectic ability, which has come into resourceful power in his achievement of place as one of the vigorous and successful trial lawyers at the bar of Oakland county. 180 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY The substantial and important law business controlled by the firm of Doty & Cram affords the best evidence of the character and professional ability of the constituent members. Mr. Cram was born at Marseilles, LaSalle county, Illinois, September 17, 1889, and is a son of George J. and Alpharetta (Armstrong) Cram, the former of whom was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, and the latter in Dekalb county, Illinois, she having been a daughter of John A. Armstrong, who served as a member of an Illinois regiment in the Civil war, and Amy (Davis) Armstrong, her father, Captain William Davis, having been a sea captain in his earlier life and having later been a pioneer settler in Dekalb county, Illinois, where from his land holdings he contributed an appreciable section of right-of-way for the construction of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In Illinois George J. Cram, the father, became secretary of a company engaged in the manufacture of corn shellers and other farm machinery and implements at Marseilles, Illinois, and later he served as manager of a branch house of the Moline Plow Company at St. Louis, Missouri. In 1904 he came with his family to Pontiac, Michigan, where he became secretary of the Pontiac Buggy Company and where he retained this executive office until his death, in 1908. The wife and mother died at Pontiac, Michigan, March 3, 1921. The earlier educational discipline of George A. Cram was obtained in the public schools at Marseilles and Sandwich, Illinois, and those of the city of St. Louis, Missouri. He was about fifteen years of age at the time the family home was established in Pontiac, and after here completing the curriculum of the high school he entered the University of Michigan, and graduated in the literary or academic department of this great institution in 1911. After thus receiving his degree of Bachelor of Arts, he continued his studies in the law department of the university until his graduation as a member of the class of 1913, his admission to the Michigan bar having been virtually coincident with his reception of the degree of Juris Doctor. While in his senior academic year at the university (1911) Mr. Cram was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity, and in 1913 he became affiliated with the honorary law fraternity known as the Order of the Coif. He was elected also to Delta Sigma Rho, an honorary oratorical fraternity, his call to membership in this organization resulted from the effective service he had given in the 1912 debate between representatives of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago. In his second year in the law department he was a member of the Woolsock Society, a picked organization of second year students. In 1913 he was associate editor of the Michigan Law Review. His first active professional work was in the city of Detroit, where he remained one year, and he then came to Pontiac and became a member of the present law firm of Doty & Cram, the offices of which are in the First National Bank building. In 1910 Mr. Cram served as secretary of the charter commission that formulated the new Pontiac charter providing for the commission system of municipal government, and in 1919-20 he was a member of the charter commission that obtained for the city its present commission-city manager form of government. I^^^^ ^ PERSONAL SKETCHES 181 His political allegiance is given to the Republican party; he and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian Church in their home city, and he is a member of the local Lions club. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and in connection with the law department of the University of Michigan he further has affiliation with the legal fraternity of Gamma Eta Gamma. In 1916 occurred the marriage of Mr. Cram to Miss Lela M. Knight, of Pontiac, and they have three children: Margaret, Eleanor and George K. 'Elmer I. Crawford, D. V. M., is one of the skilled and popular representatives of his profession in Oakland county, maintains his residence at Oxford and controls a substantial and successful practice as one of the leading veterinarians of this county. Doctor Crawford was born in Macomb county, Michigan, and there his public school discipline included that of the Romeo high school. In preparing for his chosen profession he was fortunate in receiving the advantages of the excellent McKillip Veterinary College, Chicago, and in this institution he was graduated in March, 1911, with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. In the same year he established his residence at Oxford, where he has since continued in the active and successful practice of his profession, in which he finds requisition for his service even outside the borders of Oakland county. In 1923 Doctor Crawford became associated with Cass Chamberlin in the coal and coke business, which they have since conducted under the title of Chamberlin & Crawford, the business being now one of substantial and representative order. Doctor Crawford is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Oxford Lodge No. 84, Chapter No. 94, R. A. M., is a member of the John Wager Hunting Club, and is a Republican in his political alignment. He is also a member of the Oxford Exchange Club and Isaac Walton League. December 31, 1908, was the date of the marriage of Doctor Crawford to Miss Carrie Allen, who was born at Oxford and who has been here for eight years as bookkeeper in the office of Joseph Jossman. Doctor and Mrs. Crawford have one child, Azubah June, who was born January 8, 1916. Charles M. Crofoot is a native son of the city of Pontiac and a representative of one of its honored pioneer families, as may be seen by reference to the memoir dedicated to his father, the late Judge Michael E. Crofoot, on other pages of this publication. Charles M. Crofoot was engaged in the retail drug business in Pontiac during a period of thirty-eight years, and he also has been a progressive exponent of real estate enterprise in his native city and county. He became concerned in real estate operations while he was still engaged ii the drug business, and has continued his alliance with the business to the present time, he being a member of the representative real estate firm of Lewis & Crofoot. Mr. Crofoot was born in Pontiac January 12, 1853, and his early educational advantages were those of the public schools of his native city. After taking a course in pharmacy at the University of Michigan he was for a time employed in a drug store in the city of Chicago. He came to Pontiac in the fall of 1877 to become quartermaster in Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake, 182 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY holding this position until the next spring, when he returned to the drug business in Chicago. He returned to Pontiac in 1879, engaging independently in the drug business, to which he continued to give his attention for thirty-eight years, as previously noted. He has been loyal and liberal in the support of measures and enterprises that have tended to advance the civic and industrial progress of Pontiac, where he is now president of the American Forging and Socket Company, and also of the Van Auken company. His political alignment is with the Democratic party and he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. He is a director of Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank and a member of the Michigan Union of the University of Michigan. Michael E. Crofoot became a member of the Oakland county bar about a decade after the Territory of Michigan had gained the dignity of statehood, and he was one of the honored and influential pioneer representatives of the legal profession in this county at the time of his death, May 11, 1884. He had served as judge of the probate court of the county and also as prosecuting attorney of the county. His was a large and benignant influence as one of the loyal and publicspirited citizens of Pontiac. Judge Crofoot was born at Schenectady, New York, March 14, 1822, and his death occurred about two months after the sixty-second anniversary of his birth. Judge Crofoot profited by the advantages of the common schools of the old Empire state and relied entirely upon his own resources in advancing his education along scientific lines and in preparing himself for his profession. At Genesee, New York, he completed a two-year course in Temple Hill Academy, and in 1841 he began the study of medicine, his application to this study having continued about one year. He then became a teacher in the schools at Gates, near the city of Rochester. In the spring of 1843, in consonance with advice given him by one of the officers of the school in which he had been teaching, he initiated the study of law. In this connection he was favored in gaining the preceptorship of General H. L. Stevens, who was then one of the leading lawyers in the city of Rochester. In the office of General Stevens he continued his legal studies three years, and in the meanwhile he reinforced his resources by teaching school during winter terms. In 1845 business matters in Michigan called General Stevens to this state, and soon afterward he established the family home at Pontiac. The General then prevailed upon the subject of this memoir likewise to come to Pontiac, and here Judge Crofoot was admitted to the Michigan bar in the winter of 1846. Thereafter he continued in the active and successful practice of law at Pontiac until impaired health compelled him to retire, in 1879. In 1848 he was elected judge of the probate court of the county, and by re-election in 1852 he continued the incumbent of this office during a total period of eight years. In 1862 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the county, his re-election in 1864 attesting the high estimate placed upon his services as prosecutor in the troubled period of the Civil war. Judge Crofoot gave unsparingly of his time, energy and ability in support of measures and enterprises that made for the well-being of his home city and county, was connected helpfully with most of the public enterprises in PERSONAL SKETCHES 183 Pontiac and was specially active in advancing the interests and standards of the public schools. He was for several years an officer of the Oakland County Agricultural Society and did much to promote the success of its annual county fairs. The Judge was a member of the building committee that had charge of the erection of the original buildings of the Eastern Asylum for the Insane, at Pontiac, and was for a number of years a member of the board of trustees of this state institution. He was associated with Colonel J. Sumner Rogers in projecting and establishing Orchard Lake Military Academy, which was opened to students in September, 1877, and which for years had rank as one of the most excellent military schools of the United States. It must ever be a matter of regret that the organization and service of this admirable Oakland county institution were finally permitted to lapse. While in the active practice of his profession Judge Crofoot maintained an office in Detroit, also, and his law business became one of broad scope and importance, his having been a secure place as one of the representative members of the Michigan bar. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party and he and his wife were communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. October 29, 1849, Judge Crofoot was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Fitch, who was born at Bloomfield, New York, and whose death occurred in 1910, she having long been a gracious figure in the social circles of Pontiac. Of the seven children, four are living: Charles M., Louis W., Lodowick F. and Sarah E. Elmer D. Cromie is serving as road commissioner of Royal Oak township and is one of the substantial citizens of the village of Berkley. He is a son of Robert and Ella (Cromey) Cromie, who here made settlement on their homestead farm in Royal Oak township, Oakland county, within a comparatively short time after their marriage, which occurred in this county, and Mr. Cromie here made a record of successful activity in connection with normal farm enterprise. He owned ninety-three acres of land, and all of the tract is now platted as a part of the village of Berkley. In this march of development and improvement incidental to the upbuilding of Berkley, the land was naturally sold at an appreciable profit. Mr. Cromie continued as one of the substantial and honored citizens of Oakland county until his death, in 1915, at the age of fifty-nine years, and his widow still maintains her home in Berkley, she being fifty-nine years of age at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-5. Of the six children all but one survive the father. The son, Elmer D., now one of the prominent and influential citizens of Berkley and Royal Oak township, was reared on the old home farm and received the advantages of the public schools of his native township. He continued to give virtually his entire time and attention to constructive farm industry until his activities were diversified by his election to the office of road commissioner of Royal Oak township. He has held this office two and one-half years and has given effective service. He has been actively associated with the development and progress of Berkley, was one of the organizers of the Berkley State Bank, 184 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY and has been its vice-president from the time of its incorporation. December 30, 1919, Mr. Cromie married Miss Sarah J. Parker, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county, and who is a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Megran) Parker, the former of whom still resides in this county, at the venerable age of seventy-six years, and the latter of whom died in February, 1915, aged fifty-two years, she having been an earnest member of the Troy United Presbyterian Church, as is also Mr. Parker. Elmer D. Cromie was born on the farm that is now a part of the village of Berkley, and that has already been mentioned in this review, and the date of his nativity was June 22, 1890. Rev. Michael J. Crowley, the able and honored pastor of St. Michael's Catholic Church in the city of Pontiac, is directing the spiritual and temporal affairs of this important parish with consecrated zeal and marked efficiency and his parochial residence is at 121 Chamberlin street. Father Crowley was born in the city of Jackson, Michigan, September 21, 1876, and is a representative of one of the old and honored families of that city, where his preliminary education was acquired in the Catholic parochial schools. In preparation for the high calling of his choice, he attended Assumption College at Sandwich, Ontario, Canada; the Catholic Seminary of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Catholic University and Theological Seminary in Washington, D. C. He was graduated in this last mentioned university as a member of the class of 1900, was ordained to the priesthood in that same year, and his first pastoral assignment was at Gagestown, Tuscola county, Michigan, where he remained until 1904, when he was given an assignment in the city of Monroe, this state, that place having early become a center of Catholic interests and activities in Michigan. In 1912 Father Crowley became acting pastor of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, and this charge in the city of Detroit he retained until he entered the World war service, in 1918, as a chaplain in the United States Army. In this patriotic service he passed nine months with the American Expeditionary Forces over seas, his assignment being to the office of chaplain of the Forestry Units, Dijou District, and he having received his honorable discharge in August, 1919. In the following September he became pastor of St. Michael's Church in Pontiac, and he has since continued his earnest and able administration of the affairs of this parish, which has shown marked advancement of spiritual and temporal growth under his regime as pastoral and executive head. Father Crowley is known and valued in Pontiac as a broad-minded, loyal and public-spirited citizen whose influence in community life is large and benignant. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and is an active member of the local Rotary Club. His is an inviolable place in general confidence and esteem in the city that is the stage of his devoted Christian service, as well as that of communal order. William H. Cryderman was born in Ionia county, Michigan, June 28, 1878, and is a son of George and Rhoda Eliza (Wilcox) Cryder I I 4 1 1 I,-', I Sm^ 0"% doin — LLLI %L, — e ---s; PERSONAL SKETCHES 185 man, the former of whom was born near the city of London, province of Ontario, Canada, and the latter of whom was born at Maple Rapids, Clintonq county, Michigan. William H. Cryderman acquired his youthful education in the public schools of Ionia and Oakland counties-at Ionia and Farmington, and he has been a resident of the city of Pontiac since June 25, 1899. His mother still resides in Oakland county and is now the wife of John W. Moore, who is a prosperous farmer and who was born near Farmington, this county. Mr. Cryderman was employed eleven years in the Pontiac post office, and upon his retirement from this service, in 1914, he purchased a local confectionery store, which he conducted about three years. October 1, 1917, he took a position in the office of the county sheriff, Perry Greene, and upon the death of Mr. Green he was advanced to the position of under sheriff, which he retained until December 1, 1918, when he entered service as deputy county clerk. His efficient service in this latter position marked him as specially eligible for advancement to the office of county clerk, to which he was elected in November, 1920, as candidate on the Republican ticket. The multifarious and important details of the office were admirably ordered under his administration, and he did much to systematize and improve the work of the office. He was one of the popular members of the official corps of Oakland county, and high popular estimate is placed on his services as county clerk. January 21, 1925, he retired from office of county clerk and devotes his time to the real estate business. He has been active in the local councils of the Republican party, he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church, he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in the Masonic fraternity he has received the Knight Templar degree, besides being a noble of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Cryderman is the father of three children, the names and respective birth dates of whom are here recorded: George M., December 21, 1911; Helen M., January 16, 1913, and Marian, June 20, 1917. Harry E. Curtis, widely known and highly esteemed insurance man, was born May 12, 1890, a son of Thomas J. and Ida (Britton) Curtis, old settlers of Lenawee county. He attended district school, Hillsdale College and Michigan Agricultural College and for a period sold courses in the International Correspondence School. He was with Grinnell Brothers six years and went with the Lincoln Life Insurance Company as a special representative and now is district agent of the company for Oakland county. Mr. Curtis came to Oakland county and in Pontiac organized the force he directs. There are 3,000 satisfied and protected policy holders in the district and the Pontiac office is writing between $200,000 and $250,000 worth of business each year. The clientele has been materially increased under the direction of Mr. Curtis. Mr. Curtis, although a very busy man, finds time for fraternal association. He belongs to the Philatheans, a college organization, and has gone through all the chairs of Odd Fellowship. He is now a district deputy of that order and holds memmership, also, in the Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias. On July 186 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 22, 1924, Mr. Curtis was united in marriage to Miss Hazel Taylor, of Adrian, Michigan. Mr. Curtis is rated a Republican in national politics. By religious conviction he is a Congregationalist. Burton Perry Daugherty.-In the populous, opulent and progressive county of Oakland, an appreciable part of which is included in the Detroit metropolitan district, the office of county clerk is one of exacting responsibility, and in the administration of the multifarious affairs of this important office at the present time the county claims Mr. Daugherty as the resourceful and valued executive. Mr. Daugherty reverts to the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity. He was born at Avery, Erie county, Ohio, March 25, 1895, and is a son of Perry and Elizabeth (Balcom) Daugherty, who came to Oakland county, Michigan, and established their residence in the village of Holly in the year 1904. Perry Daugherty was a blacksmith by trade, but gave a goodly part of his active life to farm enterprise. He continued his residence at Holly until his death, in 1921, at the age of sixty years, and there his widow, at the age of sixty-six years, in 1925, still resides. The present clerk of Oakland county was a lad of nine years at the time of the family removal from Ohio to Oakland county, and in the public schools at Holly he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1913. In the following year he enrolled as a student in Michigan Agricultural College, and there he remained until he responded to the call of patriotism, in the very month that marked the nation's formal entrance into the great World war. He enlisted April 16, 1917, in the United States Navy, and after one year of service on the United States hospital ship Solace, he was transferred to the marine corps and assigned to duty at Quantico, Virginia. August 1, 1918, he was transferred to Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters of the Fifth naval district, and in this connection he continued in service until the close of the war, he having remained with his command after the armistice brought a cessation of hostilities over-seas and having received his honorable discharge June 26, 1919, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After his return to Oakland county he resumed association with the work and management of the home farm, near Holly, and he thus continued until the death of his father, in 1921. In that year he was appointed postmaster at Holly, and in this position he continued his service until 1924, in November of which year, as candidate on the Republican ticket, he was elected county clerk, by a majority that gave distinctive evidence of popular appreciation of his eligibility and also indicated his strong hold upon the confidence and good will of the people of his home county, it being altogether probable that he is the youngest man to be elected clerk of Oakland county in the entire history of governmental affairs in the county. In his executive stewardship as county clerk Mr. Daugherty is fully justifying the popular choice of incumbent. He is affiliated with Holly Lodge No. 34, A. F. and A. M., in the village of Holly, where he has membership also in the chapter of Royal Arch Masons and the council of Royal and Select Masters. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian :I. PERSONAL SKETCHES 187 church. June 23, 1922, Mr. Daugherty married Miss Eloise LeBlance, of Detroit, and of this union there is a fine little son, Burton Perry, Jr., who was born May 7, 1923. The more gracious memories of his service in connection with the World war are perpetuated by Mr. Daugherty through his active membership in the American Legion. Daniel L. Davis has been a resident of the city of Pontiac since 1877 and is one of the veteran and honored members of the Oakland county bar. He was long and successfully engaged in the practice of law in Pontiac, and though he is now virtually retired from the work of his profession and passes the winter seasons in California, for years his name figured as that of senior member of the representative law firm of Davis & Bromley, the law partnership of Daniel L. Davis and Peter B. Bromley having been formed in 1880, and the firm having been concerned in much of the important litigation in the courts of this section of the state, with a clientage of representative order. Mr. Davis has won many forensic victories in connection with cases of major importance, and long ago gained high reputation as a vigorous and resourceful trial lawyer. His standing at the local bar is the more pleasing to note by reason of his being a native son of Oakland county. Mr. Davis was born at Davisburg, this county, April 27, 1846, and is a scion of a family that was founded in this county about two years before the territory of Michigan was admitted as one of the sovereign states of the Union. His paternal grandparents, Cornelius and Agnes (Winfield) Davis, were both natives of the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized, and in 1835 they came to the wilds of Oakland county, Michigan, and established their home near the present village of Davisburg, which was named in their honor. Cornelius Davis there obtained a tract of government land and initiated the reclamation of a farm from the forest wilderness. He developed a productive farm and was one of the sterling, honored and influential citizens of the pioneer community. He was born at Shokan, Ulster county, New York, in 1792, and his death occurred at Davisburg, Michigan, in 1852, his wife having survived him by several years and their children having been ten in number, of whom seven attained maturity. Cornelius Davis was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and he and his wife were zealous members of the Presbyterian church. John C. Davis, father of him whose name introduces this review, was born at Shokan, New York, May 1, 1821, and thus he was a lad of fourteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Oakland county, Michigan, in 1835. He grew to manhood under the conditions and influences of pioneer days, and in his active career was associated with farm enterprise, milling and merchandising, having long been one of the substantial and influential citizens of Davisburg and after his retirement from business having removed to Pontiac, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was one of the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1907. In October, 1840, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Davis to Miss Sarah Griswold, who was born in Covington, New York, 188 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY March 8, 1822, a daughter of Hiram Griswold. Mr. Griswold came with his family to Oakland county in 1837, and became one of the well known pioneer farmers near Davisburg. Mrs. Davis preceded her husband to the life eternal, her death having occurred in 1906. Both were earnest members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Davis gave his political allegiance to the Democratic party. The names of the nine children are here recorded in the respective order of birth: Daniel L., Mrs. Mary Monroe, George W., Harry J., John, J. C., Hiram G., Joseph and Martha. It should be stated that the late John C. Davis, father of the subject of this review, was the first to serve as postmaster at Davisburg, and was captain of a company of volunteers in the Michigan militia under the administration of Stevens T. Mason, the first governor of the state. Daniel L. Davis continued to attend the pioneer district schools until his eighteenth year, and thereafter advanced his education by a course in the high school at Trenton. He continued his active alliance with farm industry until he was twenty years of age, and thereafter taught three terms of district school. His later activities marked him as a dealer in produce, grain, agricultural implements and general merchandise, and he was thirty years of age when he matured his plans for preparing himself for the legal profession. In 1876 he was elected county clerk by a majority of one and removed from Davisburg to Pontiac, the metropolis and judicial center of the county having represented his home during the long intervening years. During his two terms of service as county clerk Mr. Davis applied himself diligently to the study of law, the while giving careful attention to his official duties. Upon his retirement from office he passed the examination that gained him admission to the bar, and he forthwith engaged in active general practice at Pontiac, where he long controlled a large and important law business that denoted him one of the leading members of the bar of his native county. Even since his retirement from active practice he is frequently called upon for consultation in legal matters, and occasionally consents to appear in court procedures, in the interests of old and honored clients of his firm. Mr. Davis classifies himself as an independent Democrat, and he has served as a member of the Democratic state central committee of Michigan. For a number of years he was the president of the Oakland County Agricultural Society, and in this connection he had charge of the details of the supervision of picnics, annual events of no little importance in the history of the county. Mr. Davis is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Pontiac and is a loyal and valued member of the local Board of Commerce. He is affiliated with the local Blue lodge, chapter and commandery bodies of York Rite Masonry, and also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. April 18, 1873, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Isabel I. Wilson, daughter of James and Martha Wilson, pioneer citizens of Springfield township, this county. Mrs. Davis died in the year 1885, and is survived by two children: Sarah G., who was born October 7, 1877, and who now resides in Pasadena, California, PERSONAL SKETCHES 189 and Manly D., of whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume. In 1900 Mr. Davis wedded Miss Lillian Gay, of Albany, New York, and after her death he eventually married Miss Muriel Fessenden, of Lansing, Michigan, who is the popular chatelaine of their attractive home at Pontiac. Manly D. Davis was born in Pontiac, Michigan, March 29, 1879, a son of Daniel L. and Isabel I. Wilson, a record of whom will be found elsewhere in these pages. The son acquired an education in the public schools of Pontiac, Ferris Institute and the University of Michigan, from which he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1901. For two years he gave his attention to the practice of law, when he found the business of real estate more alluring, and in this enterprise has met with outstanding success. He is manager of the Davis Investment Company, of which his father is president. This company has done much in subdividing, building and developing several of the most extensive plats in this part of the state, including Oak Knobs, Galloway Lake, Duck Lake and others. Mr. Davis resides in a beautiful home in Bloomfield Hills and maintains offices in Detroit and Pontiac. He is a director of the Bloomfield Hills Country Club, is ex-president of Pine Lake Country Club, and is a member of Delta Chi college fraternity. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and also a member of Moslem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Detroit Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, and he and his family are members of the Presbyterian church. In 1907 Mr. Davis married Miss Ella Poppleton, of Birmingham, and they have two children, May Isabel and Sallie D. Mr. Davis is vitally interested in all things pertaining to the welfare of his native county and as the accompanying record will show he is of the fourth generation of the Davis family to reside in Oakland county. Frank W. Davis, assistant superintendent of the Pontiac division and Pontiac city lines of the Detroit United Railways, is a native of Oxford county, Ontario, Canada, born May 23, 1881. He received his early education in his native county and began his business career as a farmer, for modern farming is admittedly abusiness, In 1910, however, Mr. Davis diverted to transportation and entered railroad service. He worked through the various stages so necessary to a fundamental understanding and became train dispatcher and was stationed in Pontiac for four years. Latterly he resided eight years in Birmingham, when he was promoted to assistant division superintendent. In 1922 he removed to Pontiac and his home is at 271 State avenue. Mr. Davis is active in fraternal and civic affairs of the community. He is a Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Exchange club and a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church. Although a recent addition to the city, Mr. Davis is genuinely interested in the progress of the city and is an enterprising citizen who visualizes a greater Pontiac in the horizon. On October 28, 1903, Mr. Davis was wedded to Miss Nellie Jackson, of Oxford county, Ontario. Mrs. Davis received her education in Oxford county. Four children have come to brighten the Davis 190 HISTORY OP OAKLAND COUNTY home, Fred, Clara Belle, Murray and Greta. Fred is a graduate of Pontiac high school and now holds a position with the Oakland Motor Company of Pontiac. Clara Belle is a high school senior and Murray is in the grade schools. E. Samuel DeGarno established a lumber yard in the village of Milford in the year 1911, and in the intervening period he has here developed a substantial and prosperous business as a dealer in lumber and general lines of building supplies, besides which he has been associated also with real estate operations in this part of Oakland county. Mr. DeGarno was born in Highland township, this county, October 31, 1880, his father, the late Archibald D. DeGarno, having long been one of the representative farmers in Highland township, where he remained until his death in May, 1921, his widow, who was born in the year 1842, still maintaining her home on the old farm. E. Samuel DeGarno attended the public schools of his native township and those of Big Rapids, and he was a student one year in Michigan Agricultural College. Thereafter he continued for several years his association with the work and management of the old home farm, and he next passed nine years in the city of Toledo, Ohio, he having within this period been there employed in three different banking institutions. He finally returned to his native county, and here he has been successfully engaged in the lumber business at Milford since 1911. Mr. DeGarno has been active in the local councils of the Democratic party and has been called to offices of public trust, he having been treasurer of Milford township in 1916. He is affiliated with both York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, besides being a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. On the 16th of February, 1911, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. DeGarno to Miss Helen B. Weaver, daughter of the late John Nelson Weaver, whose widow is now a loved member of the family circle of Mr. and Mrs. DeGarno, who have two children, June Katherine, born June 9, 1913, and Nelson, born October 14, 1914. Theodore L. Degenhardt.-The Ferndale community of Oakland county, which is virtually an integral part of the Detroit metropolitan district, has had a splendid growth and development within the past decade, and one that has contributed in large measure to this splendid civic and material progress is the representative citizen whose name initiates this paragraph and who figures as one of the leading contractors and builders at Ferndale, his business headquarters being at 22714 Woodward avenue. He has been a resident of Ferndale since 1919, and in this immediate district he has, as a contractor, erected fully 500 houses, all of excellent grade, as well as a number of buildings used for business purposes. He is secretary and treasurer of the Degenhardt Building Company, of Ferndale, and is general manager of the Wallace Building Company, of Highland Park. Mr. Degenhardt is a loyal and valued member of the Ferndale Board of Commerce, and is a staunch supporter of its progressive policies. He is treasurer of the local Rotary Club, and is a member of the Gridiron Club of Detroit. His political alignment is with the Republican party, PERSONAL SKETCHES 191 and he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. Mr. Degenhardt was born in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, September 28, 1887, and is a son of Anton and Gertrude (Kellerhoff) Degenhardt, the former of whom was born March 22, 1842, and died in 1904, and the latter of whom was born March 17, 1845, she having survived her husband by eight eight years and having passed to the life eternal in 1912, both having been devout communicants of the Catholic church and the father having given the greater part of his active business career to contracting and building. Theodore L. Degenhardt gained his early education in the parochial and public schools of his native city, and as a boy he began toassist his father in the latter's work at the carpenter trade. The passing years gave to him a high standard of efficiency in this trade, and with the same he has continued his association to the present time, the while he has advanced to a position of prominence and influence as a contractor and builder. Mr. Degenhardt entered the nation's military service in the World war period, became a member of the Eighty-third Division of the United States Army, and with this command was stationed at Camp Custer, Michigan, near Battle Creek, from June 24, 1918, until the following December, when he received his honorable discharge, about one month after the signing of the historic armistice had brought the great war to a close. In 1919 Mr. Degenhardt established his residence at Ferndale, which has since continued the central stage of his able activities as a contractor and builder, both in an independent way and in the collateral connection already noted in this review. Mr. Degenhardt is also a director of the Ferndale State Bank. July 28, 1920, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Degenhardt to Miss Anna Post, daughter of Bernard Post, of St. Louis, Missouri, and of this union there are two children, Rosemary, who was born April 26, 1922, and Theodore L., Jr., who was born March 2, 1924. Ralph H. DeGraff.-At 351 Oakland avenue in the city of Pontiac is located the automobile service station that is owned and successfully conducted by the progressive and popular young business man whose name initiates this review. Mr. DeGraff reverts to the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, he having been born at Brockport, Monroe county, New York, October 8, 1889, and in the same state having been born his parents, Jesse and Lena (Hoyt) DeGraff. The parents eventually removed to Chatham, province of Ontario, Canada, and from that place they came to Pontiac, Michigan, in 1910. Jesse DeGraff was a wheelwright by trade and to work as a skilled mechanic he gave virtually his entire active life, he having been sixty-five years of age at the time of his death, February 23, 1921, and his widow, at the age of sixty-five years, having since continued to maintain her home in Pontiac. Of their four children, all sons, the two surviving are Ralph H. and Elmer, the latter of whom is in the employ of the Fisher Body Company, of Pontiac. Ralph H. DeGraff acquired the greater part of his early education by attending the public schools connected with the New York State Normal School at Brockport, and it was about the time that he attained to his legal majority that he came with his parents to Pontiac. Here he clerked for a time 192 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY in a store devoted to the handling of men's furnishing goods, and later he was here associated with the General Stores Company, as was he thereafter with the Chase Mercantile Company. After giving several years of such clerical service Mr. DeGraff made a venture of more independent order. He made a successful record as a salesman of automobile tires, a business to which he gave his attention from 1922 until the spring of 1924, when he established and opened his present well equipped service station. He has made the place justify its service title and has gained a substantial and representative supporting patronage. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and he is a member of the Baptist church, in the faith of which he was carefully reared by his parents. He is one of the popular young bachelors of Pontiac and takes lively interest in all that touches the welfare and advancement of his home city. Roy DeWitt, the enterprising proprietor of the Roy DeWitt meat market at 465 South Saginaw street in the city of Pontiac, was born at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1895, and is a son of William L. and Florence (Heichel) DeWitt, who now reside in Pontiac, Michigan, the father being a carpenter by trade and vocation. Roy DeWitt was a child at the time of the family removal to Beach Creek, Pennsylvania, where his public school discipline included that of the high school. In 1911, at the age of sixteen years, he came to Pontiac, Michigan, and became delivery boy for John Pawloski, later taking the position of meat cutter and still later becoming manager of Mr. Pawloski's markets, which position he held until August 11, 1920, when he engaged in business in an independent way, by purchasing from Mr. Pawloski the branch market at 465 South Saginaw street. This is a well equipped meat market, the excellent service of which has gained to him a large and representative supporting patronage. Mr. DeWitt is one of the popular young business men of the Oakland county metropolis, is a Republican in politics; he and his wife are communicants of St. Michael's Catholic Church, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, besides which he is an active member of the Pontiac Gun Club, of which he is the president. He is also a member of the Exchange Club. On the 24th of May, 1916, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. DeWitt to Miss Anna Pawloski, whose father, John R. Pawloski, is proprietor of the Cadillac meat market in Pontiac. Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt have six children: William, Ruth, Katherine, James, Mary and Dorothy. Arthur R. Dillman.-As a member of the firm of Dillman & Upton, dealers in lumber, coal and builders' supplies at Rochester, Mr. Dillman stands forward as one of the progressive business men and representative citizens of this thriving little Oakland county city, where his attractive home is at 311 West Fifth street. On a farm in Oakland township, this county, near the village of Goodison, Mr. Dillman was born March 29, 1886. He is a son of John H. and Mary J. (Middaugh) Dillman, who maintain their home at Rochester, the father having retired after many years of successful alliance with farm industry. In the public schools of Rochester the discipline of Arthur PERSONAL SKETCHES 193 R. Dillman included that of the high school, and thereafter he completed a course in the Detroit Business University. For several years he was employed in the offices of the Detroit Edison Company, and in 1911 he was transferred to the Oakland division of the Eastern Michigan Edison Company, with headquarters at Rochester, where he held the position of cashier for the company during the ensuing five years. In 1916 he became a member of the firm of Charles W. Upton & Company, composed of Charles W. Upton, Roy G. Upton and Arthur R. Dillman. Charles W. retired from the firm in 1923, when the firm name became Dillman & Upton, composed of Arthur R. Dillman and Roy G. Upton. The firm of Dillman & Upton has built up a large and prosperous business, as a dealer in lumber, coal and builders' supplies. Mr. Dillman is a director of the First National Bank of Rochester and is a loyal and valued member of the local Board of Commerce. He is affiliated in his home village with the Rochester lodge F. & A. M., and Chapter No. 137, R. A. M., and in the city of Detroit he is a member of Consistory and Moslem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His political support is given to the Democratic party and his wife has membership in the Congregational church. January 25, 1911, Mr. Dillman married Miss Hilda B. Upton, daughter of Charles W. Upton. Mr. and Mrs. Dillman have two children: Roberta H., born April 2, 1912, and Charles John, born January 14, 1921. James A. Dolan.-At 371 North Perry street in the city of Pontiac Mr. Dolan is successfully established in the retail drug business, as proprietor of the Dolan Pharmacy, the same receiving a supporting patronage that marks popular appreciation of the effective service given in all departments of the establishment. Mr. Dolan claims the old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1890. He was a child at the time of the family removal to Cincinnati, Ohio, and there he attended the public schools until his graduation in the high school, in 1909. Mr. Dolan gained specially excellent preliminary equipment for the work of his chosen profession, as he was graduated in the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy as a member of the class of 1915, and from the Wilmington College of Pharmacy, at Wilmington, that state, in 1917, each of these institutions having given him a degree -the former that of Bachelor of Pharmacy, and the latter of Graduate in Pharmacy. As a pharmacist in the state of Michigan the original activities of Mr. Dolan were in a drug store at Highland Park, a suburb of Detroit, and he was there engaged when, in September, 1917, he volunteered for service in the World war. He enlisted as a private in the hospital corps and was promoted to the grade of sergeant in the same. He entered overseas service with the Nineteenth Division, and lived up to the full tension of the great conflict. He was for six months with the allied army of occupation in Germany after the signing of the armistice, and passed about two months at Luxemburg. Mr. Dolan remained overseas about one year, returned to the United States in the early summer of 1919 and received his honorable discharge in June of that year. He returned to Highland Park, where he remained until 1920, when he opened his present well equipped drug 194 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY store in the city of Pontiac, where he has built up a substantial and representative business. He is a member of the American Pharmaceutical Association and the American Druggists' Association, his political alignment is with the Democratic party, he is a communicant of the Catholic church, and he is affiliated with the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Hazel A. Donlon.-Miss Donlon is the secretary and treasurer and exercises full management of the Fred Burton Abstract Company, of Oakland county, a successful business institution, widely known, and which has sustained a merited expansion during the past few years. Miss Donlon was born in Detroit, October 3, 1897, a daughter of John and Anna Donlon, the father having been in the wholesale candy business. Miss Donlon attended parochial school in Detroit and, since her parents removed to Florida, attended high school in that state. The family returned to Detroit, however, and Mr. and Mrs. Donlon are now living in that city, Mr. Donlon having retired from business. Miss Donlon attended Central Business College in that city and in 1920-21 attended the University of Detroit. She became a messenger in the service of Fred Burton in Detroit and, by reason of industry and ability which carried her through every department of the business, was elevated to the general management in 1918. In 1920 the company established an abstract business in Royal Oak, located in the Tribune building and employing two persons. The concern, sustaining substantial growth, transferred its offices to 512 South Washington avenue, superbly adapted to its purposes. The new quarters are very attractive and complete. The front of the building is white, trimmed with blue, and the structure is declared to be the most attractive business building in Royal Oak. The concern employs twelve persons. Fred Burton is president and Clarence Burton the vice-president. Miss Donlon is a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club, the Chamber of Commerce and of the Welfare Committee. Frank O. Dorsey.-Mr. Dorsey is a member of the Royal Oak Monumental Works at 1024 North Main street. He was born in Greenfield, Franklin county, Massachusetts, September 18, 1890, a son of John E. and Annie R. (Fleming) Dorsey. The elder Dorsey was a roofing contractor. Frank 0. was educated in the public schools of Franklin county and worked as a mechanic for the S. L. Prentice company, Boston, distributors of an electrical heating regulator. For three years he was a salesman, then went with the big Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, of New York, traveling in New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts for two years. He enlisted in the Second cavalry in Vermont and was transferred to the Eighteenth cavalry, which was later the Seventy-sixth field artillery, and went to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and to officers' training camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and went overseas with the Seventy-sixth field artillery for service during the World war. He went over as a second lieutenant and for fourteen months fought with the Allied forces, going through the memorable battle of Chateau Thierry with the artillery. He was then sent to England for training for three months in a tank corps PERSONAL SKETCHES 195 and was dispatched to France for service in the tank corps at Cambrai. Orders to sail for home came in January, 1919, but he was detained and for three months served as athletic officer. Mr. Dorsey received his discharge June 12, 1919, then returned to service with the big tobacco company and for a while sold stock for the Massachusetts Security Corporation. In 1920 M. Dorsey was married to Miss Angie Vanetti, of Barre, Vermont. There is one child, Frank O., Jr. For a while the Dorseys lived in Amherst, but a year after marriage came to Royal Oak, and Mr. Dorsey became a salesman for the Royal Oak Monumental Works, then purchased an interest in the business, of which he is now manager and is also manager of sales. Mr. Dorsey is sincerely interested in the civic and material advancement of Royal Oak. He is a Rotarian, a member of the American Legion and the United Commercial Travelers. He is a communicant of the Catholic church. In political and economic views he is thoroughly independent. Frank Langdon Doty, attorney of Pontiac, with offices in the First National Bank building, was born in Rose township, Oakland county, February 10, 1882, a son of Pardon H. and Lora L. Doty, nee Pratt. Both were born in Rose township. Paternal grandparents were Elias and Sophia (Jayne) Doty, of New York state. Maternal grandparents were Charles and Kaziah (Crane) Pratt, early settlers of Rose township. Pardon H. Doty was aq.extensive farmer in Rose township, and died July 10, 1915. He held several township offices. Frank Langdon was educated in rural school and in Pontiac, attended the University of Michigan, and in 1905 received the Bachelor of Arts degree and in 1907 that of Bachelor of Laws. For six months he practiced in Shiawassee county, Michigan, but ever since has been in Pontiac. He was prosecuting attorney for the county from 1912 to 1916. In 1915 the firm of Doty & Cram was formed. Mr. Doty is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a Noble of the Detroit Shrine. He belongs to the consistory at Detroit, also is a member of the Knights of Pythias. On November 14, 1917, Mr. Doty entered military service in aviation and was sent to France for training as a pilot. He entered as a first lieutenant and emerged from the service a captain. A large part of his service was as instructor and tester of planes, although during the latter part he was at the battle front. In the early thirties, Enos, Elias, Tobias and Silas Doty left New York state and traveled across the country to Michigan, locating first in Hillsdale, where Silas took up land and remained. The other three brothers came to Oakland county and settled in the southeastern comer of Rose township. Elias Doty was born in Solon, Cortland county, New York, July 23, 1815, a son of Isaac Doty, a native of Washington county, that state, who came with his family to Michigan in 1828 and settled at Ypsilanti, Washtenaw county, where he built and operated for many years a woolen mill. Isaac Doty had followed farming a few years prior to coming to Michigan but his true occupation was woolen manufacture. He resided in a number of places in Ohio and Michigan, but was not entirely satisfied until he became established in Rose township, where the son, Elias, lived many years. On the trip to Michigan the 196 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY family drove to Syracuse with team, thence over the canal to Buffalo, then to Detroit, making the lake trip on the old steamer "William Penn". The ague and other fevers with which the early pioneers had to contend in the new country harassed the members of the Doty family for several years and Isaac Doty almost succumbed, but finally recovered his health. The contrast was great for the Doty family had come from a region well known for its salubrious atmosphere. Isaac Doty died suddenly oh July 26, 1855, his wife preceding him by five years. Mrs. Doty was Charlotte Loomis and Miss Loomis and Mr. Doty were married in Washington county, New York, October 5, 1806. Mr. and Mrs. Doty moved to Cortland county shortly after marriage and there all the children were born. The children and dates of birth were as follows: Enos, born September 8, 1807; Elizabeth, March 1, 1809; Tobias, April 11, 1811; Andrew, May 5, 1813; Elias, July 23, 1815; Silas, July 13, 1817; Amos, June 17, 1819; Sarah, December 11, 1820; Eunice M., February 26, 1822; Permelia, June 21, 1824. Elias was married in Rose township March 1, 1842, to Miss Zevia Jayne, of Cortland county. He had removed with his father to Rose township in 1836 and purchased land in Springfield township, but determined upon Rose as his permanent home. He made a success at farming. He purchased eighty acres in Monroe county, Michigan, and became the owner of a farm of 346 acres in Rose township, Oakland county, where he resided. In addition to this he owned other land in the same township and much in Livingston county and 200 acres in Kansas. Mr. Doty was a Whig and later became a Republican. His wife died March 19, 1872, and on March 17, 1875, he was married to Mrs. Louisa Brown Rogers, a native of Cayuga county, New York. The first Mrs. Doty was born July 25, 1820, and to Mr. and Mrs. Doty were born the following children: Martha Ann, born April 16, 1843, died May 25, 1843; Mary Permelia, September 5, 1844; Mortimer, May 25, 1846, died June 14, 1846; Edward E., June 12, 1847; Pardon Hicks, March 13, 1849; Benjamin Franklin, January 14, 1852; Olivia, May 26, 1854; Enos, December 27, 1858; Isaac, February 3, 1862. John B. Downey, chief of police of the Pontiac department, has been an officer of the law since he became twenty-two years of age. Incidentally he was superintendent of the police department of Detroit, succeeding his father to that post, the first instance of a son succeeding his father in that position in Detroit. Chief Downey is in the full sense a police officer, bringing a vast experience and fund of information to the place. His splendid service has brought to the consciousness of the people the one great salient fact that the police officer is a true social agent. Chief Downey was born in Detroit, a son of John J. Downey. He came with his parents to Oakland county as a boy of six but when fifteen returned to the larger city. At twenty-two he entered the Detroit police department as a patrolman and went through the various posts until he reached the chieftaincy. For twenty years he was on the detective staff. He holds membership to this day on the police force of Detroit but, of course, on the retired list. On May 15, 1924, he became chief of police of Pontiac. John J. Downey had been PERSONAL SKETCHES 197 the Detroit chief, the father also starting at the bottom of the ladder in the eighties. The elder Downey passed from the scene of mortal problems on March 25, 1916. He was a Civil War veteran, volunteering his services at the beginning of the conflict and serving until the very close. He was in the Eighth Michigan infantry, did gallant work and was thrice wounded. But his gallantry in peace was just as great. His wife was, before her marriage, Isabella Nichol. She died when John B. was quite young. In 1891 John B. Downey was married to Miss Elizabeth Miller, of Detroit, and to them two children have been born, one of whom, Jeanette, died March 1, 1922. The other is John B. Downey, Jr., who is at home. Chief Downey is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the various bodies from Blue Lodge to Shrine and Consistory. He is a member of the North Grand Boulevard Methodist Episcopal Church. Edward J. Duffy.-In October, 1919, Mr. Duffy, the year he came to Pontiac, engaged in the plumbing business for himself, and has established a large and profitable clientele. His office and establishment are located at 53 Hill street. The field of operations of Mr. Duffy is general plumbing and sanitary engineering and installations, heating, ventilating, etc. It is adequately covered by Mr. Duffy, whose experience and knowledge of the business are extensive. Mr. Duffy is a native of the state of Delaware, born in Wilmington August 15, 1890. He attended school in his native city and began his business career with the celebrated E. L. DuPont de Nemours Company, of Wilmington. This association and training were of the most valuable character and the company sent Mr. Duffy to a large number of places as its trusted representative. In 1919 he came to Pontiac as the representative of the DuPont corporation and the same year decided to enter the plumbing business on his own account. His customers extend throughout Pontiac and Oakland county. Mr. Duffy was a member of the First Delaware infantry and in 1916 and 1917 was mess sergeant in the Mexican expedition. He received his discharge from military service April 27, 1917. On July 7, 1921, Mr. Duffy was united in the holy bonds of wedlock to Miss Ellen Mulligan, who was born in Ireland October 5, 1894. Mrs. Duffy received her education in the schools of her native land and came to Pontiac in 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Duffy are communicants of the Catholic church. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Elks. Frank J. DuFrain, M.A., has been principal of the Pontiac high school since the autumn of 1921, and his service has counted definitely in upholding the high standard of the public school system of Oakland county's metropolis and judicial center. Mr. DuFrain was born at Momence, Illinois, March 2, 1889, and after his preliminary discipline in the public schools he entered the Illinois Normal University, at Normal, in which he was graduated in due course. He thereafter continued his studies in the University of Illinois, and after receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts he completed the post-graduate work that gained to him likewise the degree of Master of Arts. At the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-25, he is carrying forward through the medium of Columbia University, New York City, the HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 198 further post-graduate work that will gain to him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Mr. DuFrain has shown the most loyal and effective of stewardship in all of his service in the pedagogic profession, and prior to coming to Pontiac he had served in turn as principal of high schools at Glasford, Raymond and Rockford, Illinois. At Glasford and Raymond he taught mathematics in addition to giving close attention to his general executive and administrative duties. In the city of Rockford he first held the position of assistant principal of the high school, and here, as in other connections, he won advancement through ability and efficient service. He was made principal of the Rockford high school, and this position he retained until he entered upon his administration as principal of the high school of Pontiac, Michigan, where he has given characteristically constructive service and won unequivocal popularity. Mr. DuFrain is an appreciative and valued member of the Michigan High School Principals' Association, of which he was vice-president in 1923, and of the executive committee, of which he is a member at the present time. He has active affiliation also with the National Educational Association and the National Association of High School Principals, besides being a member of the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity, which is a national and honorary educational organization. At the time of this writing he is president of the local Kiwanis Club, and he has been active and loyal in advancing the progressive civic and social policies of this vital organization. Mr. DuFrain was in the nation's military service in the World war period and is actively affiliated with Cook-Nelson Post of the American Legion, which he formerly served as vice-commander. His political alignment is with the Republican party and he and his wife attend Protestant churches. On the 19th of October, 1917, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. DuFrain to Miss Mildred Dumke, who likewise was graduated' in the University of Illinois. The one child of this union is a daughter, Jean Blair, born November 6, 1921. Monroe G. Dunlap has been in a significant way an exponent of progressiveness in connection with farm industry in Oakland county, as is evident when it is stated that he has gained the local title of "potato king," owing to the high degree of success that has attended his extensive operations as a grower of potatoes of the best grade. His initiative, energy and progressive policies have gained to him further recognition, as is shown in his occupancy of the office of supervisor of Oxford township. Mr. Dunlap reverts to the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred on a farm thirteen miles distant from Syracuse, Onondaga county, New York, July 7, 1846. The rural schools of his native state afforded him his youthful education, and in the meanwhile he gained experience in all phases of farm enterprise as conducted at that period. He was eight years of age when he accompanied his parents, David and Betsy (Comstock) Dunlap, on their removal to Michigan, in 1854, and the family home was established on a pioneer farm in Oxford township, Oakland county, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives, they having been honored pioneer citizens of this county at the time of their deaths. On this fine old ancestral homestead farm Mon PERSONAL SKETCHES 199 roe G. Dunlap, subject of this review, has resided fully seventy years, the property being owned by him and his son, Monroe G., Jr., and he himself now having status as one of the venerable and highly esteemed pioneer citizens of the county in which he has long lived and wrought to goodly ends. David Dunlap and his wife were born and reared in the state of New York, and in all of the relations of life they represented the best type of citizenship. Mrs. Dunlap was fifty-three years of age at the time of her death, in 1873, and her husband remained on the old homestead in Oxford township until the close of his long and useful life, he having been seventy years of age at the time of his death, in 1886. Monroe G. Dunlap early had his full share of constructive activity in connection with the work of the home farm of the middle-pioneer period in the history of Oakland county, and the educational discipline that he received in the rural schools was supplemented by his attending the village school at Oxford and finally by his course in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti. A man of forceful character and strong mentality, Mr. Dunlap has not only been one of the world's noble army of productive workers but has also had much of leadership in community affairs, where he has exemplified his civic loyalty and also done much to advance the standards of farm industry, he and his son, Monroe G., Jr., being associated in the ownership of one of the well improved and valuable farm estates of Oakland county and the same having an area of two hundred sixty acres and another farm of one hundred twenty acres. Mr. Dunlap is a well fortified advocate and supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and in public matters of local order he had made an exceptional record in his service as township supervisor. It was virtually forty years ago, in 1885, that he was first elected to this office, which he thereafter retained nine consecutive years. In 1910 he was again elected representative of Oxford township on the county board of supervisors, and he retired at the expiration of his term of one year, but in 1921 he was again elected, and he continued his service in this office until April 1, 1925, with unabated loyalty and vital zeal of stewardship. Mr. Dunlap is direct and decisive in all human contacts, his judgment is mature, and he is known and honored alike for his sterling attributes and for the service he has rendered as a citizen and as a resourceful exponent of constructive and progressive farm industry. He gave thirty years of service as a member of the school board of the village of Oxford, and he is affiliated with the Blue lodge, chapter and commandery bodies of York Rite Masonry. He was reared in the faith of the Universalist church and has ever been liberal and tolerant in his religious views. In the year 1874 Mr. Dunlap wedded Miss Louisa Roberts, a member of another of the sterling families of Oxford township, and her death occurred in 1878. Olin J., elder of the two children of this union, resides in Oxford village. The younger child, Blanche, died in infancy. October 29, 1885, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Dunlap to Miss Altha Barnes, of Imlay City, Lapeer county, and of the four children of this union two died in infancy. Monroe G., Jr., is associated with his 200 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY father in the ownership bf the old homestead farm and now has active charge of its operations; Grace L. died in 1918, at the age of twentyfour years, a gracious young woman whose untimely demise was deeply mourned by her wide circle of friends. Since May, 1924, Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have resided in Oxford village. C. Arthur Dunton is not only one of the vital exponents of the real estate business in the Berkley district of Oakland county but is also vice-president of the Berkley State Bank, which was organized and incorporated in March, 1924, and which already has made for itself a place of influence in the safeguarding and advancing of the community interests. Mr. Dunton was born in Lapeer county, Michigan, September 2, 1884, and was a child of five years when his father, Edward Howard Dunton, died, as a young man. D. I. Dunton, paternal grandfather of the subject of this review, came to Michigan from the vicinity of Huntertown, Indiana, and made settlement in Lapeer county, the closing years of his life having been passed in the home of his grandson, C. Arthur Dunton, of this sketch, and his death having occurred at Mount Clemens, Macomb county, in 1905; the family name of his wife was Winn, and she died in the late '80's. The public schools of his native county gave to C. Arthur Dunton his early education, and he was but fifteen years of age when he finished his studies in the Lapeer high school and entered upon an apprenticeship to the baker's trade. At the age of sixteen years he left Lapeer, where he in the meanwhile had been for a time engaged independently in the baking business, and found employment in the bakery establishment of C. F. Greeley, of Oxford, Oakland county, his employer having been a distant kinsman of the late Horace Greeley. From Oxford Mr. Dunton removed to Hillsdale, Michigan, where he remained two years, and he then engaged in independent business in the city of Mount Clemens, where he conducted a well ordered baking establishment. Thence he finally went to Detroit, where he entered the employ of the Stormfeltz-Lovely Company, one of the largest and most important real estate concerns in the Michigan metropolis. With this company Mr. Dunton remained thirteen years, gained a thorough knowledge of all phases and details of the real estate business, and made a record of large personal success, as attested by the fact that with this company he held for seven years the position of sub-division manager. In February, 1915, Mr. Dunton established his residence in Royal Oak township, Oakland county. Here in 1924 he established the Northwood Inn Corporation, of which he is secretary and treasurer, he owning the property where this popular amusement place is conducted. The real estate operations of Mr. Dunton in this county have been of broad scope and important order, have been conducted under the title of the Dunton Land Company, and have had specially to do with the platting and developing of subdivisions. In the upbuilding of the still young village of Berkley, none has made more loyal and effective contribution than Mr. Dunton, and his influence has been not only along the line of material progress but also that of communal or civic order. He has given four years' service as k AI PERSONAL SKETCHES 201 president of the local board of education, and has taken pride in the wonderful development of the public school system of Berkley, the school in this village having had but a few pupils in the beginning and the enrollment for 1925 showing a total of 1,100. When the village was incorporated, September 28, 1923, Mr. Dunton had the distinction of being chosen the first president of its board of trustees, or municipal council. His appointive term expired in April, 1924, and he was then elected to the office by popular vote, in consonance with the provisions of the village charter. His administration as executive head of the municipal government was marked by the same progressiveness, careful business policies and constructive activity that have conserved his splendid success in the real estate business, and it should le remembered that he had depended entirely on his own resources in making his way forward as a business man and influential citizen. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he has received in the Masonic fraternity the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, besides being a noble of the Mystic Shrine, and he is one of the loyal and vital members of the Rotary Club of Royal Oak township. He was reared in the faith of the Baptist church, and his wife is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. June 24, 1902, Mr. Dunton was united in marriage to Miss Iola Beardsley, who was born at Otter Lake, Lapeer county, July 28, 1883, and who was a child at the time of the family removal to Oxford, Oakland county, where she was in due time graduated in the high school, after which she was for one year a popular teacher in the public schools of Oakland county. Mr. and Mrs. Dunton have one daughter, Marjorie D., who was born at Hillsdale, this state, April 30, 1904, who was graduated in the Royal Oak high school as a member of the class of 1921, and who is now (1925) a member of the junior class in Alma College, at Alma, Michigan, where she is specializing in library work. Clarence H. Dusenberry, proprietor of the Dusenberry Radiolectric Station, 94 North Saginaw street, Pontiac, Michigan, is a native of Pontiac. The date of his birth was June 10, 1893. Mr. Dusenberry's early education was obtained in the grade and high schools of his native city. He also attended business college and private schools and also enrolled in the Sherwood School of Psychology of Chicago and studied with Doctor Blumenthal, of Washington, D. C., noted psychologist. Mr. Dusenberry then turned to business and became associated with his father, James H. Dusenberry, in the conduct of his mercantile business in Pontiac. The elder Dusenberry was also general passenger agent of the Detroit United Railways. After an association lasting about six years, Clarence Dusenberry opened a confectionery store in Pontiac, one of the finest of the kind in the city, and on the outbreak of the World war, sold this business and entered service in the United States Army. He was first stationed at Camp Custer, Battery F, 328th Field Artillery, but was a short time later transferred to Headquarters company, 328th Field Artillery, which was composed of specialty men in smoke bomb, hand grenade, wire 202 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY less and gas observation units. Headquarters company of the 328th Field Artillery also carried the artillery musicians. Early in 1918 Mr. Dusenberry left Camp Custer with the 328th Field Artillery and was stationed at Camp Mills, Long Island, for a very short time, after which the whole regiment went over seas. Over seas he landed at Liverpool, England, and was stationed at Camp Knotty Ash and from there went to Camp Commons at Southampton, England. From this place he crossed the English Channel to LaHarve, France. From LaHarve they proceeded to Bauis Bretange, thence to Coequidon, which was the artillery training camp for the 328th Field Artillery. He proceeded from Coequidon to Domgermain, thence to Toul. He next was dispatched to the Boise Laprets woods and on October 31, 1918, went up the line with the 328th Field Artillery, which supported the 92nd division during the last eleven days of action. Mr. Dusenberry was a Montauville, one mile from Pont-a-Mouson, which was twenty-nine miles from Metz, at the signing of the armistice. After the armistice was signed Mr. Dusenberry traveled through AlsaceLoraine and was stationed at Villerupt near Deutch-Orth for one week with headquarters of the Sixth Army Corps. Mr. Dusenberry left Camp Pontanazeenen, Brest, France, the latter part of March, 1919, and returned to the United States and was granted a discharge in June, 1919. Mr. Dusenberry rejoined his father in business and in 1921, organized his present business. Mr. Dusenberry is the owner of a remarkably large and interesting collection of war relics, not excelled by any other collection in Michigan. Mr. Dusenberry's business, the Dusenberry Radiolectric Station, is very attractive and does a large business. Mr. Dusenberry is an officer of the Knights of Pythias and is colonel of the First Michigan regiment, uniform rank. He is also a member of the Elks and the Masonic fraternities and belongs to the Scottish Rite and to the Shrine. He was captain general of the Knights Templar. He is a Kiwanian and was Boy Scout commissioner for the city of Pontiac. Mr. Dusenberry is district chairman of the Aerial League of America, a member of the American Legion and of the Chamber of Commerce. He was the presiding officer of Little Theater Players. In 1916 Mr. Dusenberry and Miss Louise LeClaire, of New York City, were joined in wedlock. One son has added to the family circle, Neville LeClaire, born March 12, 1922. Mrs. Dusenberry also served in the World war. She was first stationed at Camp Custer Base Hospital, quartermaster's headquarters. In the course of six months she was transferred to New York City and remained there about six months. Upon Mr. Dusenberry's return, Mrs. Dusenberry joined him at Camp Custer. They now live at 165 Mt. Clemens street. W. R. Eames, plumber of 238 West Pike street, Pontiac, is a native of Ontario. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Edward Eames, were born in Canada and the son made his appearance on November 2, 1885. He received his schooling in the public schools of Ontario, then entered earnestly into a mastery of plumbing, obtaining his first job in Sarnia, Canada. In 1909 he came to Pontiac and the firm of PERSONAL SKETCHES 203 Eames & Brown was formed. The firm has always been located near the present location. In 1918 a brick structure was erected. The firm of Eames & Brown, doing a general plumbing and heating business, is one of the best known in Pontiac. A considerable amount of sheet metal work is also done by the concern and its business has sustained a creditable growth each year. In 1907 Mr. Eames was united in marriage to Miss Ada Beach. They have two children, Jane and David. Mr. Eames belongs to all the subsidiary bodies of the Masonic fraternity, and to the Shrine at Detroit. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Pine Lake Country Club, Kiwanis Club and the Board of Commerce. Allen J. Easton has been president of the Thomas Furniture Company, engaged in the retail furniture business in the city of Pontiac, since 1913, and since 1915 he has given virtually his undivided attention to his executive administration with this progressive corporation. Prior to this he had made a record of long and efficient achievement in the pedagogic profession. Mr. Easton is a scion of one of the pioneer families of the historic old Western Reserve in Ohio, and of one that was founded in America in the early colonial era, the genealogical record being here traced back to the year 1630. Mr. Easton was born in Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio, July 24, 1867, and is a son of Ira and Harriet (Pratt) Easton, the former of whom likewise was a native of Mesopotamia, where he was born August 1, 1831, and the latter of whom was born at East Aurora, New York, February 22, 1830. Ira Easton, whose active career was mainly one of close association with farm industry, died in 1880, when his son, Allen J., of this review, was thirteen years of age, and the widowed mother survived him by more than thirty years, she having been eighty-three years of age at the time of her death, in 1913. The public schools of Ohio afforded Allen J. Easton his early education, and his ambition to gain a higher education was attained through his own efforts, he having provided through his service as a teacher the financial fortification essential to the advancing of his own education. In 1883 he initiated his service as a teacher in the district schools of his native state, and his work in this connection was in the schools of Trumbull and Mahoning counties. In 1895 he entered the University of Michigan, in which he continued his studies two years, and in 1897-98 he was principal of the high school at Lapeer, Michigan. In the autumn of 1898 he resumed his studies in the University of Michigan, and there he completed his course in June of 1900, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. At the beginning of the school year in 1900 Mr. Easton assumed the position of principal of the high school in the city of Port Huron, where he thus continued his effective service until 1915, when he established his home at Pontiac and turned his attention to the management of the affairs of the Thomas Furniture Company, of which he had become the president in 1913, as previously noted in this context. He has standing as one of the progressive business men and liberal and public-spirited citizens of the Oakland county metropolis, and his unabated interest 204 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY in educational affairs has been shown in his three years of service as a member of the Pontiac board of education, of which he was the treasurer two years. His well fortified political convictions are indicated in his loyal allegiance to the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife are zealous members of the First Congregational Church of Pontiac, in which he is chairman of its board of trustees. Charles F. Easton, a brother of the subject of this review, has likewise made a record of long and effective service as a teacher. He has served as an instructor in Grand River Institute, Austinburg, Ohio; in Geauga Seminary, at Chesterland, Ohio; in Oberlin Academy, at Oberlin, that state, and in Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. June 23, 1909, was marked by the marriage of Allen J. Easton to Miss May Hamilton, daughter of Hon. Levi J. and Eliza (Loring) Hamilton, of Butte, Montana, and the children of this union are three in number: Hamilton Pratt, born April 20, 1910; Carson Densmore, born October 6, 1914, and Barbara, born April 11, 1922. Charles M. Eaton.-Mr. Eaton specializes in fire and casualty insurance and maintains his office at 221 First National Bank building, Pontiac. He came to Pontiac in 1882, turned to telegraphy on leaving school, but settled upon insurance and has attained success in that field. Mr. Eaton was born in Cayuga county, New York, March 15, 1865, and was brought by his parents to Saginaw in 1867 and attended public school in that city, but the parents later settled in Tuscola county and the son attended school in Caro. In 1882 he came to Pontiac, entered high school and later learned telegraphy. For three years he was with the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha line and stationed in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. He worked as a telegraph operator until 1907, when he engaged in the insurance business and has developed a large clientele. Mr. Eaton is a stockholder in the Knights of Pythias block, being a member of the order. He is also a Mason and is chaplain of the branch of the uniform rank of the Pythians to which he belongs. In November, 1899, Mr. Eaton was married to Miss Lottie E. Quine, of Pontiac. Mrs. Eaton passed away September 3, 1900. Mr. Eaton, who resides at 155 West Pike street, is a member of All Saints' Episcopal Church. Charles G. Eddington is established in the successful practice of his profession, that of optometrist, in the city of Pontiac, where he has his headquarters at 13 North Saginaw street, and the substantial scope of his business indicates the high popular estimate placed upon his technical skill and effective service, besides testifying also to his personal popularity. He is one of the leading representatives of his profession in Oakland county. Mr. Eddington was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, April 28, 1865, and there he gained in the public schools his rudimentary education, he having been twelve years of age at the time of the family removal to Pontiac, where his public school studies included the curriculum of the high school. He has given more than twenty years to the practice of his profession, for PERSONAL SKETCHES 205 which he thoroughly prepared himself, he being a graduate of the Northern Illinois College of Ophthalmology and Otology. In the line of his profession he gave his attention to special work in association with Dr. P. D. White, of Detroit, and this alliance continued one year. He has been engaged in practice at Pontiac since 1909 and has retained a substantial and representative supporting patronage. His political alignment is with the Republican party. In the York Rite of the Masonic fraternity his basic affiliation is with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, F. & A. M., and he has membership also in the local chapter of Royal Arch Masons and the Pontiac Commandery of Knights Templar, while in the Scottish Rite he has received the thirty-second degree, his Masonic connection being also extended to Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and has membership also in a local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Eddington married Mrs. Edna (Joslin) Bannerman, of Detroit, and their attractive Pontiac home is situated at 207 North Saginaw street. John T. Eddington.-Mr. Eddington has been in the retail jewelry business in Pontiac for many years, is widely known and the business he personally directs has sustained an appreciable enlargement. Mr Eddington is located at 205 National Bank building. He was born in Detroit April 6, 1863, received his school instruction in Detroit and at the age of fourteen came to Pontiac and learned the jeweler's trade and art with Oliver L. Backenstose. He served an apprenticeship of four years and then remained with Mr. Backenstose two years and three months. Mr. Eddington was the first night telephone oper ator in Pontiac, a post which he faithfully filled two and a half years. On April 6, 1885, Mr. Eddington engaged in the jewelry business for 'himself, in Orion, Michigan, and remained there until November 15, 1897, when he returned to Pontiac. His first location was on the comer where the Pontiac Bank building now stands, but in 1922 he established himself at 205 National Bank building. Mr. Eddington is reputed a high class artisan and possesses splendid business qualifications, all of which have served to insure his success. On September 14, 1887, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Plumley, of Orion. Mr. Eddington is a Mason, holding membership in the Shrine and in the Knights Templar. He became a Knight of Pythias in 1889. In business, social and fraternal circles he is much esteemed. Bert Edge, plumber, whose place of business is at 506 West Fourth street in Royal Oak, was born in Millville, New Jersey, October 8, 1889, a son of John and Rachael Edge. The father is living but the mother is dead. Bert attended public school in Millville and early applied himself to the plumbing trade. Four years were given over as an apprentice and for eleven years he worked as a journeyman, obtaining a fund of knowledge and developing a mastery of technique that fitted him admirably for service in all branches of the plumbing trade and heating. His work in the United States and in Canada has been of rather diversified character. In 1918 Mr. Edge went into business for himself, locating at 506 West Fourth street, and has 206 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY been so engaged ever since, meeting with deserved success and establishing a large patronage. To some extent Mr. Edge also deals in real estate. In 1911 he was united in marriage to Miss Etta W. Baggot, of Millville. He is a communicant of the Episcopal church and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Edge holds membership in the Royal Oak, state and national organizations of master plumbers and was elected president of the Royal Oak association in 1924. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and is keenly alive to the 'needs and to the development of the city. Clifford B. Edwards, vice-president and manager of the First sState Bank of Royal Oak, Michigan, is a Buckeye by birth and saw the light of day in Portsmouth, great shoe manufacturing city, on July 7, 1880. He is a son of Alfred M. and Ida Jane Edwards, both of whom reside in Royal Oak. When a baby, Clifford B. was taken to Kansas City, later to Detroit, and secured his first employment as messenger boy in the First National Bank of Detroit. He advanced to paying teller and on May 18, 1914, came to Royal Oak. to the First State Bank as cashier. Subsequently he became manager of the institution and in the latter part of 1918 was elected vice-president. When Mr. Edwards became affiliated with the bank it had deposits of $25,000, which in ten years have increased to $4,000,000, a remarkable growth. On August 14, 1906, Mr. Edwards and Miss Shirley Peake, of Detroit, were united in wedlock and of the union three children were born, Wendell, Jane and June. Mr. Edwards is a Republican but subordinates party interest to public welfare. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and of the Masonic fraternity in Royal Oak. Ernest K. Elliott.-Mr. Elliott is the president of the Main Plumbing and Heating Company, 117 West Third street, Royal Oak, Michigan, and is one of the best known and most respected business men of that thriving little city. Mr. Elliott was born in Grand Blanc, Genesee county, a son of John K. and Etta (Morse) Elliott. The father farmed the greater part of his life and is now with his son. The mother is dead. Ernest K. Elliott received his primary education in Grand Blanc and attended high school in Flint. For four years he worked in buggy factories and for a period of thirteen years was associated with the Edwin Sterner Company, in plumbing and heating, becoming a stockholder of that company. From 1913 to. 1915 he was associated financially and in service with Elmer Odell in the Royal Sheet Metal Company, of Royal Oak, and in the winter of 1915 Mr. Elliott with Philip Werner and Sid Petingill organized the Main Plumbing and Heating Company, which was soon incorporated with Mr. Elliott as the president. Mr. Elliott practically manages the financial end of the business. The company started to do a general plumbing, heating and sheet metal business in a comparatively small establishment, sixty-five by fifteen feet, which has been doubled. The company occupies a fine, substantial structure of brick, two stories high, one hundred twenty by twenty-nine and one-half feet, at 117-19 West Third street, the lower part of which is devoted to PERSONAL SKETCHES 207 plumbing and heating, the upper to the sheet metal work. The company does a general contracting business in plumbing and hot water heating and sheet metal business and features the Rudy furnace. The Main Plumbing and Heating Company operates extensively in Royal Oak and vicinity but has made installations as far as Dearborn. Nine school building contracts are under way. Originally there were three men on the payroll. Now a staff of forty high grade mechanics is on the roll and the company is doing a business of $150,000 a year. In 1904 Mr. Elliott was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Edith Cooper, of Fenton, Michigan. Mrs. Elliott died, and in 1919 he was united in marriage to Miss Etta Hawley. By the first marriage one son was born, Max, who is a stockbroker of the Main Plumbing and Heating Company. By the second union, a daughter has come to brighten the family heartstone, Marjorie, aged three. Mr. Elliott is a communicant of the Methodist church, a member of the Masons, Elks and Odd Fellows. He is affiliated with the Royal Oak, the Michigan State and the National Associations of Master Plumbers and with the Michigan Roofing Contractors' Association. He is a Rotarian and belongs to the Royal Oak Club. Although a Republican in politics, his views are liberal. Francis G. Ely.-The problem of equitable taxation-the just method of levying governmental support and the proper division of the tax dollar-is a subject quite familiar to Francis G. Ely, chairman of the board of city assessors of Pontiac, and one very dear to him. Mr. Ely is a profound student of taxation. He is and has been for many years active in politics and has been the mayor and acting city manager of Pontiac. He has also had other experience in public life and Mr. Ely is one of the best known citizens of this section of the state. He was born May 13, 1868, in Wyoming county, New York, a son of Edmund and Helen (Granger) Ely, both natives of the Empire state. The family originally came from the Isle of Ely in the English Channel and its descendants participated actively in the movements and events which gave birth to a new nation. The father of Francis G. Ely was in the Civil War, a member of the Twenty-fifth New York light artillery. The latter part of his life he was a merchant and in 1876 came to Davisburg, Oakland county, and died in 1922 at the age of eighty-four years. The widow resides with her son. Francis G. attended district school in Michigan and at fourteen was obliged to leave school to face the sterner tasks of life. He learned telegraphy and for several years, with the Grand Trunk, worked at various points. In 1886 he became associated with his father in mercantile business in Davisburg, the association lasting eighteen years. He then bought his father's interest, continued alone seven years,-and then sold out. For fifteen years Mr. Ely was postmaster of Davisburg and held various township offices. In 1904 he was president of the Michigan Postmasters' Association and for several years was active in the National Association of Postmasters. In 1913 he came to Pontiac, entered real estate, and in 1916 was appointed city assessor and in 1918 was elected mayor and was chief executive 208 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY until the inauguration of the commission-manager charter in 1920. He served, temporarily, as city manager until January, 1921, and in April, 1921, became chairman of the board of city assessors. In 1890 Mr. Ely married Miss Hattie E. Reed, of near Davisburg. A daughter, Marjorie, is the wife of Dr. R. T. Monroe, of Boston. Mr. Ely is a member of Pontiac Lodge No. 21, Free and Accepted Masons; Oakland Chapter No. 5; Pontiac Council No. 3, Royal and Select Masters; Pontiac Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar; Moslem Temple, Mystic Shrine; Knights of Pythias and Chamber of Commerce. He is secretary and treasurer of the Michigan Tax Conference; a prolific writer and speaker on tax problems. In 1908 Mr. Ely was receiver for the Citizens' Mutual Fire Insurance Company and in such capacity had 400 lawsuits at one time in circuit court. The Ely home is at 261 State avenue. In 1925 he was elected president of the State Association of Supervisors. Charles F. Erb.-When it is noted that in connection with his operations as a contractor and builder, Mr. Erb retains an average corps of one hundred employes, there is conveyed an idea of the remarkably broad scope and important order of his business. Honest work and effective service have been at the base of the development of the extensive business of this sterling citizen of Pontiac, and he is one of the leaders in his chosen vocation in his native state of Michigan. He looks upon the high standard of his work as his best medium of advertising, and his reputation is in itself a valuable commercial and business asset. Mr. Erb was born at Yale, St. Clair county, Michigan, May 13, 1880, and is a son of Cristopher C. and Martha (Slosser) Erb, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom now maintains her home among her several children at Capac, St. Clair county, the greater part of the active career of the father having been given to farm industry. The public schools of his native county afforded Charles F. Erb his early education, and as a boy and youth he was for ten years associated with operations in Michigan lumbering, an experience that has given him an accurate knowledge of lumber values and been of great value to him in his independent activities as a contractor and builder. He was but eleven years of age when his parents removed to West Branch, Ogemaw county, where his father engaged in the lumber business. In his association with his father's business Mr. Erb acquired a fundainental knowledge of construction work in the erection of buildings, and along this line he amplified his experience by association with building enterprise in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. In 1905 Mr. Erb engaged in contracting and building enterprise at Traverse City, Michigan, and in the period of 1909-11 he was engaged in farming near West Branch. He then resumed his association with building operations, with headquarters at Yale, where he remained until 1915, when he removed to the city of Flint. He then confined his service to the exclusive construction of commercial buildings, and in 1920 he removed to Pontiac, where he had assumed a contract in the erection of the Commercial and Savings Bank building and branch bank building of the same institution. In addition to this he has carried through many other i 6z~YZ^ 0^0 - I PERSONAL SKETCHES 209 important contracts, including the erection of an addition to the Webster public school building, and the remodeling of the Pontiac Laundry building, the while he has erected many modern school buildings, including one of twelve rooms at Plymouth, Wayne county, and one of eight rooms and a gymnasium at Burkland, Oakland comuty. He constructed also the Gaukler fireproof storage warehouse in Pontiac, where he has large business and property interests, besides which he continues to retain important interests at Flint. He has a summer home at Dewey Beach, Union Lake, Oakland county. Mr. Erb recently completed for himself and family one of the finest homes in the city of Pontiac at 119 State street. He is a progressive and valued member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, and has membership in the American Contractors' Association, the Oakland Automobile Club, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he and his family are all enjoying the comforts of a Christian home. Jacob Erb was a boy at the time when the family home was established in Oakland county, nearly seventy years ago, and here he passed the remainder of his long and useful life, he having been one of the substantial and honored citizens of Royal Oak for many years prior to his death, which here occurred April 13, 1921. Mr. Erb was born in the picturesque old district of Germany that was formerly known as Swabia, in the year 1849, and thus was about seven years old when, in 1856, the family came to the United States and established a home in Royal Oak, Oakland county, Michigan. Mr. Erb was a son of George and Catherine Barbara Erb, who were residents of Tuttlengen Wurtemberg, Germany, up to the time of coming to America, their other two children having been George and Julia. In his hative land the father had learned and followed the trade of shoemaker, and as a skilled workman he continued to give his attention to the work of his trade after establishing his home at Royal Oak, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Jacob Erb gained the greater part of his early education by attending the schools of Royal Oak, and he eventually became one of the leading merchants and citizens of this village, where for many years he conducted a general store. Save during the administration of President Grover Cleveland, Mr. Erb had the distinction of serving continuously as postmaster of Royal Oak from 1880 until 1916. He served a number of terms as township treasurer, was a member of the local board of education, and served also as a valued member of the village council. He was a stalwart in the local ranks of the Republican party, and was influential in the councils and campaign work of his party in Oakland county. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine M. Stauch, was born in Detroit, Michigan, October 28, 1851, a daughter of Peter and Mary Stauch, who came to Oakland county and settled on a farm at the intersection of the Fourteen Mile road and the Crooks road, in Royal Oak township, when their daughter Catherine was but three years of age. Mts. Erb is now one of the venerable and loved pioneer women of Royal Oak, where she still occupies the old Erb homestead, at the corner of Main and First streets, that became the hdioe of the Erb 210 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY family in 1872, the same being a wedding present to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Erb from Peter Stauch. She is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the four children the eldest is Mary V., who is the wife of Frank Springsteen, their marriage having been solemnized January 20, 1900; Clara Louise is the widow of Albert D. Kidder, to whom a memoir is dedicated elsewhere in this work; and following paragraphs give record concerning the two sons, Lewis George, and B. Fred. Lewis George Erb was born January 22, 1883, and in 1899 he was graduated in the high school at Birmingham. He thereafter completed in the University of Michigan a course in the law department, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1904 and with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was for five years engaged in the general merchandise business at Royal Oak, and in 1908 he was one of the organizers of the Braun-Erb Lumber Company at Highland Park. In 1910 he became one of the organizers of the Mulhall-Erb Lumber Company in the city of Owosso, Shiawassee county, and in 1914 he was one of the incorporators of the Erb-Kidder Lumber Company, of Royal Oak, of which he is now the president and of which further mention is made in the memoir of Albert D. Kidder. This company was incorporated with a capital of $20,000, now has an authorized capitalization of $150,000, and controls a large and important business in the handling of lumber, building supplies and coal, as one of the leading concerns of its kind in Oakland county. The company also finances the erection of houses, and is thus doing further service in advancing community progress in its field of operations. Mr. Erb is affiliated with the Blue lodge at Royal Oak and with Michigan Sovereign consistory and the Moslem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine in Detroit. He is one of the loyal and progressive members of the Royal Oak Board of Commerce and has membership in the Silver Glen Golf Club. His wife, whose maiden name was Lola B. Jenhings, was supervisor of local Red Cross work in the period of 1921-23, and they are popular figures in the social life of their home community. B. Fred Erb was born April 3, 1887, was graduated in the Birmingham high school in 1904 and in 1908 he completed a course in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated in that year. He is now manager of the Packard foundry in Detroit, and owns half interest in the Lawson-Erb Lumber company of Birmingham. August 3, 1914, was the date of his marriage to Miss Grace M. Lawson, and they have three children, Marjorie Grace, Frederic Arthur and Jane Catherine. Alexander Ewart —The general agent of the American Railway Express Company in Pontiac is Alexander Ewart, who, although starting in life as a plumber, diverted to other service. Mr. Ewart has had a thorough and intensive training in railroad and express company work. He is a Canadian by birth, seeing the light of day on April 6, 1876, in Oshawa, Ontario. He is a son of William Ewart. Mr. Ewart received his early education in Canadian public schools and Gait Collegiate Institute. He learned plumbing and followed the PERSONAL SKETCHES 211 trade until he was twenty-two years old. In 1901 Mr. Ewart went with the old National Express Company at Detroit as a clerk, stationed at the old D. G. H. & M. depot. Then he ran as a messenger between Detroit and Grand Haven, then between Detroit and Chicago. In 1911 he came to Pontiac as agent of the express company, which is now part of the American Railway Express Company. In 1900 Mr. Ewart was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Louise Ryan. A son, William Alexander Ewart, is a graduate of Pontiac high school and is now a student in the law department of the University of Michigan, having completed two years in the literary department. Mr. Ewart is a Pythian. The members of the Ewart family are Presbyterians. Lucius A. Farnham, M. D., has achieved the professional success that effective preliminary discipline and loyal stewardship ever merit, and in the practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac he specializes in surgery, the while he has standing as one of the able and representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county. He was in service in the medical corps of the United States Army during virtually the entire period of the nation's participation in the World war. Doctor Farnham was born in the city of St. Louis, Gratiot county, Michigan, June 25, 1877, and is a son of Philip P. Farnham and Caroline (Platt) Farnham, the vocation of his father having been that of Baptist minister. The public school advantages of Doctor Farnham included those of the Ann Arbor high school, in which he was graduated in 1894. In preparation for his exacting profession he then entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1905. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he was engaged in successful general practice at Calumet, Houghton county, and upon leaving that upper-peninsula Michigan city he came, in 1911, to Pontiac, where he has since continued his efficient and earnest professional ministrations, save for the period of his World war service. In 1917, soon after the United States entered the war, Doctor Farnham volunteered for service in the medical corps of the United States Army, in which he received commission as captain. He was stationed for some time at Camp Gordo, Georgia, whence he was sent to Camp McPherson, that state, and the closing period of his active service was at Camp Raritan, New Jersey, he having there remained until the armistice brought the war to a close and he having received his honorable discharge in April, 1919. He now holds the rank of major in the reserve medical corps of the United States Army. The Doctor has gained recognition as one of the leading surgeons of Oakland county and his practice is one of substantial and representative order. He has membership in the American Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the Oakland County Medical Society. He was elected to the city commission in 1924. His political views are shown in his loyal allegiance to the Republican party, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. As an appreciative native son of Michigan the Doctor is deeply interested in the history of this commonwealth, and the publishers of this work were fortunate in obtaining his cooperation as a member of the local advisory board in connection with 212 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the compilation of the Oakland county edition. In the year 1910, in London, England, was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Farnham to Miss Edwina Datiell, of Calumet, this state, and they have two children — argaret Helen and John Daniell. Wilfred Fleming.-Mr. Fleming, master plumber of Pontiac, was born in Cockermouth, England, April 27, 1888. At the old home there can be seen today the old castle which was bombarded by Cromwell and the cannon with which the attack was made. Mr. Fleming is the son of William and Anna Bell Fleming. The mother is dead, the father living at the age of ninety-two years and yet working at his trade of woodturner. Both parents remained in England. At the age of ninety years the venerable William Fleming purchased a new bicycle, asserting that it should last him the remainder of his life. The son, Wilfred, received his education in England, served as a plumber's apprentice seven years, came to Battle Creek, worked at the trade five years, then came to Pontiac and worked two and a half years for Eames & Brown, then forming a partnership with Mr. Glennie as Glennie & Fleming. This yet continues, the firm doing all kinds of olumbing, heating, ventilating, installation work, etc. The firm was organized April 12, 1919. In 1911 Mr. Fleming was united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss Hannah Bell Walsh, who was born in Ireland. They were married in the United States. There are three children, William, Bellvena and Joseph Walter. Mr. Fleming is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Masonic fraternity. In England he served three years with the Volunteers and four years with the Territorials, joining the former at the age of sixteen. This service required two nights and Saturday afternoon of each week, besides two full weeks each year. Scrupulous in all his dealings and relationship with others, Mr. Fleming is held in the highest esteem by all who know him. John T. Fowler.-At No. 4 North Saginaw street in the city of Pontiac is located the attractively appointed and well equipped retail drug establishment that has here been conducted by Mr. Fowler since the year 1912 and that receives a substantial and representative supporting patronage-an evidence of effective service given and also of the personal popularity of the proprietor. Mr. Fowler was born at Mason, judicial center of Ingham county, Michigan, September 22, 1884, and there he continued his studies in the public and high school. In preparation for the profession and business in which he has since gained definite success, he entered the department of pharmacy at Ferris Institute, Big Rapids, this being one of the admirable educational institutions of Michigan. There he was graduated in the year 1906, and in the meanwhile he had gained valuable experience of practical order as touching the drug business, as he began to work in a Mason drug store when he was a lad of thirteen years, his service being given at such times as he was not attending school. After his graduation in Ferris institute Mr. Fowler returned to Mason, and after having worked f6r some time in a drug store, he was similarly engaged two years in the city of Lansing and two years at Wyandotte, Wayne county. PERSONAL SKETCHES 213 In 1912 he became the owner of his present drug store at Pontiac, and he has made the same metropolitan in its facilities and service. Mr. Fowler is a director of the Pontiac Board of Commerce and is a valued member of the board of education. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he is a member of the local Kiwanis club, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the year 1909 Mr. Fowler was united in marriage to Miss Amy D. Hulburt, of Mason, and they have four children, Robert H., J. Russell, Thomas R., and Bruce D. Mr. Fowler takes deep and loyal interest in all that tends to advance the civic and material prosperity and progress of his home city, and is known as a liberal and public-spirited citizen. John Wesley Fox, M.D.-Doctor Fox was born in Leamington, Ontario, June 3, 1871, and obtained a public school education in that city. In 1897 he was graduated from Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery and began practice, upon leaving school, in Orion, Oakland county, remaining there until 1912, when he came to Pontiac. In this city he has had an active and prosperous career and has built a large practice. He was appointed a member of the local board of examiners of Division No. 1, Oakland county, during the World war and served from June 22, 1917, until the close of the war. Doctor Fox is a member of the county, state and national medical societies. He was made a Mason in Orion and holds membership in the chapter of the Royal Arch in Oxford. In 1901 Doctor Fox was united in marriage to Mary Ina Voorhees, of Pontiac. Doctor Fox is genuinely and helpfully interested in the various movements set forth to advance the social, civic and material interests of the city. Frank Fraquelli.-Mr. Fraquelli is a member of the firm owning and operating the Royal Oak Monumental Works at 1024 North Main street, Royal Oak, and was born in Switzerland July 9, 1879. He learned the marble and stone cutting and monument carving art in Italy with precision and thoroughness and emigrated to the United States in 1903, locating in Cleveland, then going to Clinton, Michigan, where he worked at the trade. He then proceeded to Barre, Vermont, in the heart of the granite section, and worked fourteen years and in 1919 came to Royal Oak and became associated with his cousin, John Fraquelli, in the Royal Oak Monumental Works. For a while the two partners performed all the work required, the carving, the setting and the selling, in addition to the office details. The company distributes monuments throughout Oakland county and in Detroit. Increased business has necessitated drawing of plans for a large moder building to afford much needed space and other facilities. On December 18, 1909, Mr. Fraquelli was united in marriage to Miss Cecelia Vanetti. Two children are the issue of the marriage, Raymond and Alfonso. Mr. Fraquelli is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to blue lodge and chapter in Royal Oak and to the Shrine and consistory of the Scottish Rite in Detroit. He also belongs to the Modem Woodmen of America in Detroit and to the Improved Order of Red Men and the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Barre. 214 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY John Fraquelli, of the Royal Oak Monumental Works, is a native of Switzerland and was born March 12, 1880. He learned the trade he has followed many years with great success in Italy and at the age of fifteen came to the United States and worked throughout the Central states. In 1915 he established the Royal Oak Monumental Works, which he conducted alone for three years, doing all the carving of monuments, headstones, etc., the setting up and the selling. Later he took in with him his cousin, Frank Fraquelli, and later admitted into the firm Frank O. Dorsey. The company now employs the services of four expert workmen, besides the three owners. In 1905 Mr. Fraquelli was married. He is the father of three children: Dorothy, who assists in the office; Francis and Vera. The Royal Oak Monumental Works is a well known industry, is growing rapidly and substantially in output and volume of business and ranks high in the service that is called upon to keep ever fresh the memory of the departed. Charles G. Freeman has been a resident of the city of Pontiac during the long period of sixty-one years, was long and successfully engaged in the produce business, in which his operations were of extensive order, involving his maintaining of warehouses in many different sections of the United States, and after having thus proved himself one of the world's productive workers in the domain of business, he is now enjoying the retirement and the material rewards that are the fitting sequel of earnest and worthy endeavor. He is one of the venerable and honored citizens of Pontiac and Oakland county and is distinctly entitled to recognition in this publication. A representative of a family that was founded in Michigan in the pioneer days, Mr. Freeman was born at Mount Clemens, Macomb county, October 3, 1847. He is a son of Green and Emilie Lois Freeman, the former of whom was born in Jefferson county, New York, January 4, 1817, and the latter of whom was born in Connecticut, in the year 1816. Green Freeman was a lad of eight years when he accompanied his parents to Michigan Territory, fully a decade prior to the admission of Michigan to statehood, and the family home was established in this frontier district, where were borne the full measure of trials and labors incidental to pioneer life in a veritable forest wilderness, the parents of Green Freeman having been residents of Macomb county at the time of their death and having been numbered among the very early settlers in that county, where the father obtained government land and reclaimed from the forest a productive farm. Green Freeman was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days and profited by the advantages of the pioneer schools. He continued his residence in Macomb county until 1864, when he removed with his family to Pontiac, where he engaged in the produce and milling business, of which lines of enterprise he was here a leading representative many years. He passed the closing years of his life in the home of his son, Charles G., of this review, and was eighty-two years of age at the time of his death, June 27, 1899, his wife having passed away nearly twenty years previously, on the 11th of January, PERSONAL SKETCHES 215 1879. The common schools of Michigan afforded Charles G. Freeman his youthful education, and he was sixteen years of age at the time when the family home was established in Pontiac, which has been his place of residence since 1864. Here he became closely associated with his father's business, and later his independent activities in the produce business were expanded to wide scope and importance, with the result that he became one of the influential exponents of this line of enterprise in Michigan, with warehouses throughout diverse sections of the Union and with ownership of the refrigerator cars used in the railway transportation of various kinds of produce handled by him. He continued his activities in the produce business until 1924, when he retired, the passing years, as marked by his efficient and honorable business activities, having gained to him a substantial competency. Mr. Freeman has served as a director of the First Commercial Bank of Pontiac, and as a loyal and appreciative citizen he has been zealous in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the general well-being of his home community. His religious faith is that of the Protestant Episcopal church, and his wife holds membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church of Pontiac, besides which she is a charter member of the Woman's Literary Club of this city and has long been a popular figure in the social life of the community. In the year 1891 Mr. Freeman wedded Miss Arletta Rich, who was born in Orion township, Oakland county, January 13, 1864, and who was thirteen years of age at the time of her parents' removal to Pontiac, where she continued her studies in the public schools until she had duly profited by the advantages of the high school. Georgiana was born June 12, 1842, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Welch) Hallett, was reared and educated in Oakland county, and here, April 8, 1863, occurred her marriage to Charles Rich, who was born in Brown county, New York, May 24, 1839, and who was left an orphan when he was twelve years of age, he having been a child when he came with his parents, James and Elizabeth (Burlen) Rich, to Oakland county and the home having here been established in Orion township, where the parents were pioneer settlers and where their deaths occurred. Charles Rich learned the trade of harnessmaker, was engaged in the harness business at Pontiac several years and then returned to his former home at Orion, when he later removed to Ovid, Clinton county, and continued in the work of his trade, he eventually having engaged in the farm implement business at Pontiac, in partnership with C. B. Pittman, and he having been one of the prosperous farmers of Oakland county at the time of his death, which occurred on his fine homestead farm, near Pontiac, March 19, 1901, and his widow being still a resident of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Rich became the parents of three children: Arletta was born at Orion, January 13, 1864, she being now the wife of Charles Freeman, subject of this sketch. Arthur Charles, second of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Rich, is engaged in the hardware business in Pontiac. Charlotte E. is the wife of Clarence E. Allen. Harold Green Freeman, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, was born January 14, 1894, was graduated in the Pontiac 216 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY high school and thereafter was a student in the University of Michigan. Harold G. Freeman was among the first Oakland county young men to volunteer for service in the World war, he having enlisted December 17, 1917, and having been in service as mess sergeant in the military camp at Jacksonville, Florida, whe'n attacked with the illness that resulted in his death, October 7, 1918, he having given his life to his country in as full a sense as did the gallant young Americans who died on the battle-scarred fields of France. His death brought the maximum of loss and bereavement to his devoted parents, and sorrow to his host of friends. As he was an only child, there is in this connection a definite significance of application in the scriptural statement that "To him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken even that which he hath." Allen D. and Clare G. Fuller are native sons of Michigan and here their fraternal alliance is one of constructive order, as they are successfully established in business in the thriving village of Oxford, where, as dealers in coal and lumber, they conduct their business under the title of the West Side Coal and Lumber Company. They are sons of Alison S. and Lunette (Allen) Fuller, who now reside at Oxford, where the father is living retired, after many years of association with farm industry. Alison S. Fuller was born in New York and reared in Michigan and became a successful farmer in Huron county, where he remained until 1897, when he came with his family to Oakland county and engaged in farm enterprise near Oxford, he having remained on his farm until he removed to Oxford, where he has since lived retired. Allen D. Fuller was born on the old home farm near Bad Axe, Huron county, Michigan, January 25, 1882, and his early education was acquired in the district schools. He continued his active association with the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years, and in 1919 he and his brother, Clare G., became the founders of the West Side Lumber and Coal Company at Oxford. Allen D. Fuller has been a resident of Oxford since 1907 and has gained place as one of the substantial business men of this village. His two sons, Milton S. and Donald, are both in service in the United States Navy. Clare G. Fuller was born on the home farm in Huron county March 21, 1894, and he supplemented the discipline of the district schools by a course in the high school at Oxford, in which he was graduated. He was one of the young men who represented Oakland county in the nation's military service in the World war period, he having been stationed at Camp Custer, near Battle Creek, this state. December 27, 1922, he wedded Miss Elsie Tenney, daughter of George C. Tenney, a resident of Ohio. He is affiliated with the American Legion, the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias. Stuart'Eugene Galbraith, M. D., has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac since 1899 and here is well upholding the professional and civic honors of the family name, his father, the late Major Franklin B. Galbraith, M.D., having long been one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland PERSONAL SKETCHES 217 county and one of the influential citizens of Pontiac, a tribute to his memory being entered elsewhere in this publication, so that further data concerning his career and the family history are not demanded in the sketch here presented. Dr. Stuart E. Galbraith is not only a scion of one of the pioneer families of Michigan but is also a representative of the third generation here to be engaged in the practice of medicine, his grandfather, Dr. John Galbraith, having been numbered among the early physicians and surgeons of this state. He whose name initiates this paragraph was born at Pontiac, Michigan, on the 30th of April, 1872, and is a son of Dr. Franklin B. and Maria (Smith) Galbraith. After his course in the public schools of Pontiac Doctor Galbraith attended the fine old Michigan Military Academy, at Orchard Lake, an institution that, unfortunately, has passed out of existence, after a record of splendid service. From the University of Michigan he received in 1896 the degree of Bachelor of Science, and in preparation for the profession that had been signally honored by the service of his father and grandfather, he then entered the medical department of the university, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1899 and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Since that year he has continued in the successful practice of his profession in his old home city of Pontiac, and the scope and character of his practice indicate alike his technical skill and his personal popularity. He has continued a close student along professional lines, has taken effective post-graduate work in the cities of Detroit and Chicago, and in connection with his general practice he has specialized since 1918 in x-ray diagnostic service, with the best of modern electrical equipment for this work. He is actively identified with the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. For several years the Doctor served as a member of the board of trustees of the Michigan State Hospital for the Insane in his home city of Pontiac, he having held this position until the hospital passed under the centralized control of state institutions. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and his political alignment is with the Republican party. Like his honored father, Doctor Galbraith is distinctly loyal and progressive in his civic attitude and expresses this in the staunch support that he gives to measures and enterprises tending to advance the general communal welfare. He was influential in local patriotic service during the period of the nation's participation in the World war. On the 19th of June, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Galbraith to Miss Mary Richards Wisner, of Detroit, and the children of this union are three in number: Stuart Eugene, Jr., Wisner Avery, and Robert Harris. Major Franklin B. Galbraith, M.D., long held precedence as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county and as an honored and influential citizen of Pontiac, in which city his professional activities had their central stage during a period of more than thirty years. Doctor Galbraith was born in Sanilac county, Michigan, near Port Huron, December 26, 1840, and was a son of 218 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the late Dr. John and Nancy (Humphrey) Galbraith, his father having been one of the able and honored pioneer physicians of Michigan and having been a resident of Sanilac county, this state, at the time of his death, in 1880, his wife having there died in 1878, both having been born in Canada and both having been earnest members of the Presbyterian church, the ancestral Scottish faith being represented by this church. John Galbraith, Sr., father of Dr. John Galbraith, was born and reared in Scotland and became the founder of the family in America, as an early settler in Canada. In the pioneer common schools of Michigan Dr. Franklin B. Galbraith acquired his early education, and at the age of seventeen years he entered the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated. He then went to New York City and entered the celebrated College of Physicians and Surgeons, and such had been his preliminary preparation that he was enabled to complete his course in this institution and be there graduated as a member of the class of 1861. Upon his return to Michigan the Doctor established himself in practice at Lexington, Sanilac county, but he soon responded to the call of higher duty, by enlisting for service in the Civil war. He became assistant surgeon of the Tenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and with his command he entered active field service in Tennessee, in April, 1862. His brother, Alec G., was captain of a company in the Twenty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, was severely wounded at the battle of Chattanooga, was captured by the Confederate forces and was held seventeen months as a prisoner of war, in Andersonville and Libby prisons, where he endured the hardships that have made the names of these prisons odious in history, and he lived but a short time after being released from captivity and returned to his home in Michigan. Doctor Galbraith continued in active service with his regiment until his health became so impaired as to necessitate his resignation and retirement. Upon his return to Port Huron he assumed charge of the practice of Dr. C. M. Stockwell, who was absent in service as a surgeon with a Michigan regiment, and in 1863 he was appointed surgeon of the military board of enrollment, with headquarters at Pontiac. Later he was commissioned surgeon of the Thirty-first Michigan Volunteer Infantry, from which he was subsequently transferred to the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, and with this latter command he continued in active service at the front until the close of the war. The Doctor ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades and was for many years in active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the close of the war Doctor Galbraith returned to Pontiac, where his marriage was soon afterward solemnized, and he then returned to Port Huron, where he was engaged in practice a few years. He then came again to Pontiac, and here he continued his able and faithful ministrations as a skilled physician and surgeon during the remainder of his life, he having been one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Oakland county during a period of more than thirty years. The Doctor was a citizen who commanded unqualified popular confidence and esteem, and this was shown not only in the broad scope of his professional work but PERSONAL SKETCHES 219 also in his being called to positions of distinctive public trust. He was three times elected mayor of Pontiac, and his service in this capacity constitutes a commendable chapter in the municipal history of the Oakland county metropolis and judicial center. In 1889 Doctor Galbraith was elected to the state senate, in which he made a record of characteristically loyal and constructive administration, his election having been compassed by an exceptionally large majority that denoted his hold upon popular confidence in his constituent district. He was a stalwart advocate and supporter of the principles of the Republican patty, was a courteous, dignified gentleman of the fine old school type, was a student and thinker, and was a man whose earnest stewardship was expressed in service for his fellow men. He was one of the influential and honored members of the Oakland County Medical Society and the Michigan State Medical Society, and held membership also in the American Medical Association. His ancientcraft Masonic affiliation was with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, F. and A. M. At Pontiac was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Galbraith to Miss Maria S. Smith, who was born in the state of New York, a daughter of John Smith, and who was a child at the time of the family removal to Oakland county, Michigan, where she was reared and educated. The death of Doctor Galbraith occurred February 21, 1903, and his widow passed away on the 7th of May, 1912. They are survived by two children: Grace G., who is the wife of James H. Harris, of Pontiac, Michigan, and Dr. Stuart E., who is the subject of personal mention elsewhere in this volume. Dr. Franklin B. Galbraith was a man who measured up to the highest standard in all of the relations of life, and this publication exercises a consistent function in here rendering tribute to his memory. George G. Gasco was the first to become a member of the committee which had charge of the securing of the village charter for Berkley, and has been one of the loyal and influential citizens who have worked in season and out for the advancing of the civic and material interests of this attractive Oakland county community, in which he has consistently been given the title of "Father of Berkley." In business connections Mr. Gasco is a skilled asbestos worker, and he has been identified with this line of industrial enterprise during virtually his entire active career. He is now in the employ of the Standard Asbestos Company, of Detroit, and has maintained his residence at Berkley since 1919. Though he himself is a native of the province of Ontario, Canada, Mr. Gasco is a scion of Michigan pioneer families, his parents, Charles and Olive (Graves) Gasco, having been born in this state-the former in 1856 and the latter in 1859. Charles Gasco was for many years a sailor on the Great Lakes, his association with lake navigation interests having continued the greater part of his active life and his death having occurred November 9, 1914; his widow now maintains her home at Redford, Wayne county, Michigan. George G. Gasco was born at Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, October 13, 1882 and his youthful education was acquired mainly in the public schools of Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. He is an expert in 220 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY asbestos work, and has prospered through his active alliance with this line of business. He has been one of the most active and influential of citizens who have promoted the development and progress of Berkley, which village was incorporated in 1923, and is deeply appreciative of the manifold advantages and attractions of this favored section of beautiful Oakland county. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church and at Berkley he is a charter member of the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the tent of the Knights of the Maccabees. July 17, 1912, Mr. Gasco married Miss Emma McDonald, daughter of John and Sarah B. (Bell) McDonald, the former of whom was born in Scotland, April 20, 1861, and the latter of whom was born in Ireland, in 1859, her death having occurred in 1908. John McDonald was a boy at the time when the family came from Scotland to America, and he now resides in the city of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Gasco have two children-Georgia, who was born November 17, 1913, and Robert Charles, who was born August 29, 1915. Mr. Gasco owns and occupies one of the attractive homes of Berkley, the same being situated at 2426 Wilkishire road. John O. Gaston, M.D., has effectually demonstrated in faithful and efficient service and consequent success the wisdom of his choice of profession, and is numbered among the representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county, where he is established in active general practice at Rochester. Doctor Gaston was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, January 10, 1879, and is a son of Charles H. and Mary B. (Warren) Gaston, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter at Davis, Macomb county, Michigan. Charles H. Gaston is a son of Ogden and Alice Elizabeth (Simpson) Gaston, and was a boy at the time of the family removal from New York state to Oakland county, Michigan. Ogden Gaston was one of the early settlers of this county, where he engaged in mercantile business at Andersonville and Davisburg, he having had the distinction of making the first sulphur matches produced in the United States, and having passed the closing years of his life in the city of Detroit, where he died in 1897, at the age of seventy-nine years, his widow having there continued her residence until she too passed away, in 1905, at the venerable age of eighty-one years. Charles H. Gaston was reared and educated in Oakland county and was for many years actively identified with civic and business interests here. He is now living retired, at Rowayton, Connecticut, his wife having died in Brooklyn, New York, in 1903, at the age of fifty-one years. Mrs. Mary B. (Warren) Gaston was a daughter of Rev. Samuel E. Warren, who was one of the pioneer clergymen of the Methodist Episcopal church in Michigan and who held pastoral charges at Rochester and Farmington, Oakland county, he having died at Armada, Macomb county, in 1900, when seventy-six years of age. The father of Doctor Gaston was for a number of years engaged in business in the city of Detroit, and his business activities were for some time staged in Brooklyn, New York. Doctor Gaston was a boy at the time of PERSONAL SKETCHES 221 the family removal to Brooklyn, New York, where his public school discipline included that of the high school. In 1904 he was graduated in the Detroit College of Medicine, and after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he had the distinction of being the first American physician and surgeon in service in the Panama canal zone, where he remained two years, climatic and other conditions there having so impaired his health that for five years thereafter he was unable to engage actively in the work of his profession. In this period of enforced semi-inactivity he found opportunity, however, to further fortify himself, through study and clinical experience in various hospitals. In 1912 Doctor Gaston engaged in practice at Rochester, Oakland county, and here he continued his effective ministration until the nation entered the World war, in the spring of 1917, when he promptly volunteered for service in the medical corps of the United States Army, his preliminary training having been received at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana, and he having thereafter been assigned to sanitary work in connection with governmental military affairs in California, where he remained in service, with the rank of captain in the medical corps, until he received his honorable discharge, at Palo Alto, within a short time after the armistice brought the war to a close, in the autumn of 1918. He then returned to Rochester and resumed his private practice, the scope and importance of which mark him as one of the able and popular physicians and surgeons of Oakland county. The Doctor has membership in the American Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society, and the Oakland County Medical Society. His basic Masonic affiliation is with a Blue lodge in the city of Detroit, and he has membership also in Rochester Chapter No. 137, Royal Arch Masons, the local chapter of the Eastern Star, and the Rochester lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Daughters of Rebekah. In 1919 Doctor Gaston wedded Miss Frances Sipperley, who was born and reared in Oakland county and who is a daughter of Park and Marcia (Van Horn) Sipperley, who first settled in Macomb county and thence came to Oakland county. Doctor Gaston is found loyally arrayed in the ranks of the Republican party, and in this connection it may be noted that his maternal uncle, Homer Warren, long one of the leading representatives of the real estate business in the city of Detroit, was appointed by President Roosevelt to the office of postmaster of that city, besides which he was a candidate in the primaries for the office of governor of Michigan, his successful opponent in the primary election having been Hon. Fred Warner, who was later elected governor. Doctor and Mrs. Gaston are popular factors in the social life of their home community and are active members of the Allen Methodist Episcopal Church at Rochester. Frank B. Gerls, M.D., is established in the successful general practice of his profession in his native city of Pontiac, is president of the Oakland County Medical Society at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-5, and in addition to being one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the younger generation in his native coun 222 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY try, he is a scion of one of the old and influential families of this county. The Doctor was born at Pontiac on the 8th of January, 1889, and is a son of Henry and Lucy (Buttolph) Gerls, both of whom likewise were born and reared in Oakland county. Henry Gerls was long numbered among the prominent citizens and business men of Pontiac, where he gave many years of service as cashier of the First National Bank, he having been the incumbent of this important executive office at the time of his death, in June, 1897, and his widow, who was born in Troy township, this county, being still a resident of Pontiac. Of the two children Dr. Frank B., of this review, is the first born, and the younger son, Arthur, was born in 1893 and died at the age of seven months. Miss Marian S. Gerls, a sister of the late Henry Gerls, was graduated in the University of Michigan and has been for a number of years a successful and popular teacher in the Detroit public schools, she being now a teacher in the Central high school of the Michigan metropolis. -Thomas Gerls, paternal grandfather of Doctor Gerls, was one of the venerable and honored citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1900, he having served at one time as postmaster of Pontiac and having been for many years the treasurer of the Baptist church of this city. He was eighty years of age at the time of his death. John Buttolph, maternal grandfather of the Doctor, likewise was one of the sterling and honored citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Seventh Day Adventist church. After preliminary discipline in the public schools of Pontiac, Doctor Gerls continued his studies in the high school at Ann Arbor until his graduation, in 1907, and in that city he then entered the Homeopathic medical department of the University of Michigan. In this well ordered medical school he was graduated as a member of the class of 1912, and on September 1st of that year, within a short time after receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine, he engaged in the practice of his profession at Pontiac. Here he has built up a substantial and representative general practice and the scope and character of the same indicate alike his professional ability and his personal popularity in his native city and county. From 1914 to 1919 Doctor Gerls was medical inspector for Pontiac public schools. In addition to his affiliation with the Oakland County Medical Society, of which he is president in 1925, as previously noted, he has membership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, Michigan State Homeopathic Association and American Institute of Homeopathy, as well as the Phi Alpha Gamma medical college fraternity. He is a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, and is affiliated also with the Masonic fraternity. His political alignment is with the Republican party. He affiliates with the Presbyterian church of which his wife is a member. His well appointed office is maintained at 818 Pontiac Bank building. Doctor Gerls married Miss T. Irene Allison, daughter of E. V. Allison, who was long one of the leading jewelers of Pontiac, he having here been associated with his father in the jewelry business during a period of PERSONAL SKETCHES 223 more than fifty years. Doctor and Mrs. Gerls have a fine little son, Thomas Edwin, who was born October 5, 1922. LeRoy Eugene Gibson, M.D.-Doctor Gibson was born in Oakland county, Michigan, December 12, 1884, received his early education in Pontiac and was graduated from high school in 1902. He matriculated at Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, received the coveted medical degree in 1906 and for thirteen years Doctor Gibson practiced in Oxford, Oakland county. He came to Pontiac in 1919 and has since specialized in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and has achieved outstanding success. The Doctor took a postgraduate course in the New York Post-Graduate School, and keeps fully abreast of the times in the remarkable progress of medicine and medical technique. Doctor Gibson is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society, of the Michigan State Medical Society, of American Medical Association, of the American Ophthalmological and Oto-Laryngological Society. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and has taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, sublime prince of the royal secret. The Doctor is a member of the Board of Commerce. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1913 Doctor Gibson was married to Miss Bertha J. Baldwin, of Oakland county. They have one son, Jack Eugene, born October 1, 1914. Lloyd A. Gifford, secretary and treasurer of the Gifford Lumber Company, of Royal Oak, was born in Vermontville, Michigan, March 12, 1880, a son of William W. and Melissa (Kimball) Gifford, the former a native of New York while the latter was born in Michigan. They are residents of Detroit, where William W. Gifford has been engaged in the real estate business for the past twenty years. Lloyd A., attended the public schools of Rochester, Michigan, graduating from the high school of that place in 1897. In 1899 he graduated from the Chelsea high school of Chelsea, Michigan. In 1904 he graduated from the University of Michigan with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. It was that year that he entered the employ of the C. W. Kotcher Lumber Company, of Detroit, with whom he remained six years, having charge of the credit department. For the next four years he was associated with the Braun Lumber Company, becoming treasurer of that concern. In 1915 he organized the Gifford Lumber Company, of Royal Oak, and is secretary and treasurer of the same. The Gifford Lumber Company occupies commodious quarters on South Main street, where their establishment is supplied with a modem office building and substantial buildings for the housing of lumber. This company carries a complete line of lumber and building supplies and is one of the enterprising concerns in the rapidly growing city of Royal Oak. Mr. Gifford takes commendable interest in the affairs of his community, as is evidenced by the fact that he is secretary of the Baldwin Theater, a member of the board of directors of the First State Bank of Royal Oak and his support can always be counted upon to further the interests of all worthy causes. Mr. Gifford has attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry and is a 224 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY member of Moslem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In politics he is a Republican. Glenn C. Gillespie is a native son of Oakland county, is a representative member of its bar, and is now serving with characteristic ability on the bench of the circuit court of the Sixth judicial circuit of Michigan, which comprises the county of Oakland. Judge Gillespie was born on the parental homestead farm, in Addison township, this county, June 10, 1884, and is a son of Fremont and Matilda (King) Gillespie, the father having long been numbered among the substantial exponents of farm industry in this county and having been one of the well known and highly esteemed citizens of the county at the time of his death, June 24, 1924. The widowed mother still maintains her home in Oakland county. James Gillespie, grandfather of Judge Gillespie, was born and reared in the state of New York and thence came to Michigan and established himself as a pioneer farmer in Oakland county, where he passed the remainder of his life. Judge Gillespie recalls with appreciation and satisfaction the youthful discipline that he gained in connection with the activities of the home farm. His fundamental education was acquired in the district school near his home, and later he attended the high schools at Romeo and Oxford. He learned the trade of telegrapher, and after being employed five years as an operator in the service of the Michigan Central Railroad, he followed the course of his ambition and well formulated plans, by turning his attention to the study of law. In the year 1910 he was graduated in the law department of the University of Michigan, and after thus receiving? hiss degree of Bachelor of Laws, with concomitant admission to the bar of his native state, he forthwith engaged in the practice of his profession at Pontiac. He soon made himself known as a resourceful trial lawyer and well fortified counselor, and his private practice showed a cumulative trend from the beginning. In 1912 he initiated his service as assistant prosecuting attorney of the county, and he retained this position until 1916, from which year until 1920 he gave an able administration as prosecuting attorney of his native county, to which office he was elected as a candidate on the Republican ticket. His effective service in this capacity marked him as definitely eligible for higher honors, and on the 1st of June, 1921, he was elected to the bench of the circuit court, the office of which he has since continued the zealous and efficient incumbent, few of his judicial decisions having met with reversal by courts of higher jurisdiction. At the time of his election to this office the Judge was serving as city attorney of Pontiac. Judge Gillespie has been influential in the local councils of the Republican party, he and his wife are active members of the First Baptist church in their home city, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. September 20, 1911, Judge Gillespie wedded Miss Leola Chamberlin, of Orion, this county, and the two children of this union are daughters, Eleanor and Eunice. Cas I. Gittins is cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Milford, PERSONAL SKETCHES 225 at Milford, Oakland county, and is known and valued as one of the efficient bank executives of the county. Mr. Gittins was born at Canton, Wayne county, Michigan, January 27, 1883, and his public school discipline found its culmination when he attended the high school at Plymouth, in his native county. Thereafter he completed a thorough course in the Gutchess Business College, in Detroit, and after his graduation he followed various lines of business occupation until 1918, when he became one of the organizers of the Farmers State Bank of Milford, of which he has since continued the popular cashier and the substantial business of which has been developed largely through his effective administrative policies. Mr. Gittins is one of the loyal and progressive citizens of his home village, is a member of its board of education, and in the spring of 1924 he received significant mark of popular confidence and esteem, in his election to the office of mayor of Milford, or president of the municipal board of trustees. In this office he is giving a characteristically progressive administration that is inuring greatly to the civic and material advancement of Milford. The mayor is affiliated with Milford Lodge No. 165, F. and A. M.; Milford Chapter, R. A. M.; Northville Commandery, Knights Templar, and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Detroit. He and his wife are zealous members of the local Presbyterian church, of which he is a trustee, and he has membership in the Exchange Club of Milford. His political allegiance is given unreservedly to the Republican party. February 29, 1904, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Gittins to Miss Laura J. Von Sice, of Wayne, this state, and Mrs. Gittins died in the year 1906, the one child of this union, Josephine, having died at the age of six months. In June, 1909, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gittins to Miss Mabel Hull, of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, and they have five children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Catherine, Charlotte, and Cass I., Jr. In connection with the service of Mr. Gittins as mayor of Milford, it is interesting to record that his brother Clarence is serving as mayor of Highland Park, Wayne county. Another brother, Dr. Berry Gittins, is a leading physician and surgeon at Highland Park. The subject of this review is treasurer of the Milford board of education and clerk of the board of trustees of the Presbyterian church of Milford. James S. Glennie.-Studying architecture by correspondence and entering the plumbing field at the age of fourteen, clothed James S. Glennie with an ambition and an equipment that have combined to give great value to the professional and business life that followed. Mr. Glennie stands high in the business life of Pontiac. He was born in Scotland March 25, 1879, a son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Cochrane) Glennie, both Scots. When nine, James accompanied his parents to Chicago. The father was a coachman and in the undertaking business in Scotland. For many years he drove for R. T. Crane, plumbing manufacturer of Chicago. James attended public school in Chicago and studied architecture at night and at fourteen began a plumbing apprenticeship, entering the trade largely because his 226 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY brother Alexander was so engaged. James began with T. and J. Innes, Chicago, and was with this concern ten years, then formed a partnership with a Mr. Innes, son of his former employer, in the plumbing business. This was dissolved after some years in order that Mr. Glennie might be with his wife, who was in ill health, at the home of her parents in Iowa. There Mrs. Glennie died. Mr. Glennie went to Gulfport, Mississippi, and raised oranges, having an excellent grove of his own. While there he was married to Miss Ella Speirs, of Chicago. This was in June, 1915. Two children were the issue of the second union, James Alexander and Kathryn Elizabeth. The first marriage was in 1908 to Miss Lillian Forest, of Iowa, and one child was born, Forest. In 1919 Mr. Glennie came from Mississippi to Pontiac and for two years was in the employ of Eames & Brown, and in 1921 formed a business operating as Glennie & Fleming, general plumbing. Mr. Glennie is a Mason, Odd Fellow and Modern Woodman. In Chicago, Mr. Glennie was a member of the church of which Dwight L. Moody was leader. Mrs. Glennie is an Episcopalian and Mr. Glennie is serving on the new parish house committee of the church in Pontiac. Leo. F. Gildemeister.-Mr. Gildemeister was born in Northville, Wayne county, Michigan, January 10, 1888, a son of Louis and Emily (Paselk) Gildemeister, both natives of Germany. The elder Gildemeister came to Michigan and engaged in the milling business in Northville. In 1895 he came to Farmington, Oakland county, and built an up-to-date mill which he operated with marked success until his death in 1914. Mr. Gildemeister was fifty-seven years of age at his demise. The widow, aged sixty-two, resides in Farmington. The Gildemeisters were the parents of six children. Leo F. attended grade school and high school in Farmington and learned the milling business with his father, remaining with him until his death, at which time the son became the proprietor of the business, an enterprise that is flourishing and meeting a community requirement. Mr. Gildemeister is a director of the People's State Bank at Farmington, a financial institution with resources of about a million dollars. Mr. Gildemeister is also a member of the Masonic order in Farmington and is an active member of the Evangelical church, of which his father was a founder. Mrs. Gildemeister is also active in affairs of the church. Thomas S. Gocha has found in the rapidly growing little city of Berkley and its surrounding districts a most inviting field for his successful operations as a contractor and builder, and he has here erected many high-grade houses and made other contribution to the civic and material progress of the community. Mr. Gocha was born in Wayne county, Michigan, October 7, 1864, and is a son of Charles and Margaret (Akie) Gocha, the former of whom was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1835, and the latter of whom was born in Detroit, November 7, 1837, the year that marked the admission of Michigan Territory as o'ne of the sovereign states of the Union, so that her memory covers virtually the greater period of Michigan state history, this venerable PERSONAL SKETCHES 227 pioneer woman being still a resident of Michigan, where she is a member of the family circle in the home of her son John, at Flint, Michigan, there having been a family of nine children, of whom two are living at the time of this writing, in 1925. Charles Gocha was a boy at the time when he accompanied his parents from Canada to Michigan, and his father became a pioneer farmer in Wayne county. His active career was one of close association with farm industry, in Wayne and Huron counties, this state, and he represented Michigan as a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he was somewhat severely wounded while participating in the historic battle of Gettysburg. He was a member of Company 96, Second Battalion, of the Veteran Reserve Corps, from 1862 until the close of the war, in 1865. He passed the closing years of his long and useful life in Gaylord, Michigan, and was for many years in appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, his religious faith having been that of the Catholic church, of which his venerable widow likewise is a devout communicant. Thomas S. Gocha received the greater part of his youthful education by attending the pioneer public schools of Harbor Beach, Huron county, where also he gained full experience in the work of the home farm. He continued for twelve years to be engaged in farm work and in service in the lumber woods of Huron county, and then turned his attention to the carpenter trade, in which he became a skilled artisan. As a contractor and builder he has been successfully established in business at Berkley since 1918, and he is one of the substantial and highly esteemed citizens of this vital community. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he and his family are communicants of the Catholic church. The marriage of Mr. Gocha to Miss Mary Lesprence was solemnized January 17, 1887, and their devoted companionship has continued during the long intervening years. Mrs. Gocha, of French ancestry, likewise was born and reared in Michigan and is a representative of a sterling pioneer family of this state. She is a daughter of Gilbert and Genevieve (Condon) Lesprence, the former of whom was born in Detroit, August 6, 1837, and the latter in the same city in the year 1836. The death of Gilbert Lesprence occurred in 1914, and his widow passed away December 25, 1922. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Gocha: Thomas was born October 16, 1889, and his death occurred September 17, 1906. Louise Olive, who was born January 22, 1891, is the wife of George LaFrance, of Detroit, and they have three sons and one daughter. Lester 0., who was born April 21, 1892, married Miss Katherine Ginnly, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they now reside in Berkley, their children being one son and three daughters. Lester 0. served in the United States Navy during the entire period of the nation's participation in the World war. Victoria, who was born June 5, 1896, is the wife of Elmer Ray, of Berkley, and they have two sons and two daughters Lucie was born June 24, 1902, and died at the age of nine months. Edward, who was born January 22, 1903, remains at the parental home and is associated with his father in contracting and building 228 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY operations. Anna, who lived only one day, was born May 5, 1906. Gilbert was born Juhe 5, 1907, and Ernest on the 10th day of September, 1912, these two being the youngest members of the parental home circle. Charles R. Godfrey is claimed by the village of Clawson, Oakland county, as one of its representative citizens and business men, who is serving as a member of the village board of commissioners and who is assistant manager of the Clawson Lumber Company, which is incorporated as a subsidiary of the Gifford Lumber Company of Detroit. Mr. Godfrey was born in the city of Nashville, Tennessee, April 25, 1896, and there he received his earlier educational discipline, which was advanced by his attending the public schools of Quincy, Illinois, after the family removal to that city. He was graduated in the Quincy high school as a member of the class of 1914, and at the time when the nation became involved in the World war he was a student in the Detroit College of Law. In April, 1917, the month in which the United States formally declared war against Germany, Mr. Godfrey volunteered for service in the United States Army and was sent to the military training camp at Columbus, Ohio. Thereafter he was for twenty-two months in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, as a member of Company A of the Sixteenth Engineers, with which he participated in the campaigns and engagements marking the progress of conflict in various sectors. He continued in service several months after the armistice brought the war to a close, and received his honorable discharge i'n August, 1919. Thereafter he was in the employ of the Ford Motor Company, in Detroit, three years, and since 1922 he has held the position of assistant manager of the Clawson Lumber Company, one of the leading business concerns of the village of Clawson. Mr. Godfrey is a loyal and valued member of the Clawson Chamber of Commerce, and in 1924 he was elected village commissioner, the municipal government of Clawson being of the commission form that has proved effective in many other villages and a large number of cities throughout the United States. Mr. Godfrey is aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, and his continued interest in his comrades of the World war service is indicated in his membership in the American Legion. November 19, 1919, Mr. Godfrey.married Miss Elizabeth Marlin, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they have two children, Marcella Elizabeth and Charles R., Jr. Ray Gordinier.-Since becoming of age Ray Gordinier has been identified with the building material industry in Pontiac. He attended the grade and high schools of Brown City, Michigan, and on leaving school started with F. J. Stuart & Company, which firm name continued about a year and a half after Mr. Gordinier became attached to the establishment. He and J. L. Sibley then became the owners of the business and the title became J. L. Sibley & Company, which name continues although Mr. Sibley is dead. Mr. Gordinier was born in Dryden township, Oakland county, in 1881, the son of Albert and Anna K. Gordinier, nee Bonesteel. The mother was born in Canada PERSONAL SKETCHES 229 and came to Michigan as a girl. The father was born in Oakland county. The father's forebears settled in Oakland county north of Pontiac. Albert Gordinier was a farmer and during the Civil war served in Company G, of the Tenth Michigan infantry. In 1905 Ray Gordinier was joined in marriage to E. Claire Jackson, of Port Huron. To them has come one child, Ethel Rae. Mr. Gordinier, who is a member of the Congregational church, is much esteemed in Pontiac and vicinity. The concern he heads does a general business in fuel as well as building material. Fred E. Gordon.-In a general way much of Oakland county, with its diversified industrial and business interests and manifold attractions as a place of residence, figures as a part of the great metropolitan district of Detroit, and for it can be claimed no minor metropolitan advantages and prestige. Thus is here offered an inviting field for successful achievement by those who give themselves earnestly and consistently to the practice of law, and among the able members of the bar of this county is Fred E. Gordon, who is engaged in the practice of his profession at Ferndale, where he is serving also as justice of the peace, and who has been influential in the development and progress of this beautiful village, in which he established his residence in the year that it was incorporated, 1918. Mr. Gordon was born at Swartz Creek, Genesee county, Michigan, May 2, 1884, and he was nine years old at the time of the family removal to Detroit, in 1893. In the public schools of the Michigan metropolis he continued his application to study until he was graduated in the high school, in 1905, and he forthwith entered the Detroit College of Law, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1908 and with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He did not engage at that time in the active work of his profession, but became a traveling salesman. To this vocation he gave his attention until 1919, and it was in the preceding year that he established his residence in Ferndale, which received its village charter in that year, and the growth and advancement of which have since been a splendid revelation of modern community progress. Mr. Gordon was the second to serve as president of the village board of trustees, or municipal council, and his administration was one of marked progressiveness and large achievement in forwarding the civic and material advancement of the village. Mr. Gordon was the first to suggest the advisability of widening Woodward avenue through the village, this being an integral extension of the celebrated Woodward avenue in Detroit. In this project Mr. Gordon gained the helpful co-operation of Captain Gilbraith and Col. Sidney Waldon, manager of the Detroit Automobile Club, and the result was that the very valuable improvement was made, and the Woodward avenue road was widened the entire distance from Pontiac to Detroit, the work being done by the state of Michigan. Mr. Gordon is affiliated with Ferndale Lodge No. 506, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and with the Delta Theta Phi law school fraternity. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. His wife, whose maiden 'name was Margie Hamilton, was born at Calumet, Michigan, and is a daughter of the 230 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY late Rev. John Hamilton, who was for a number of years pastor of the Methodist church at Birmingham, Oakland county, besides having held many other pastoral charges in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have two children: Mary H. is a student in the Ferndale high school, and Katherine will enter the same high school in 1925, before this publication is issued from the press. Mr. Gordon has a substantial law business, and he is known and honored as one of the most loyal and progressive citizens of Ferndale. Mrs. Nicholas J. Grace is successfully conducting in the village of Berkley the well equipped grocery store that was established by her husband shortly prior to his death, and in her initiative and resourcefulness she has proved herself one of the representative business women of Oakland county, her modern store being known for its effective service in all departments and its supporting patronage being of appreciative and representative order. Mrs. Catherine Rebecca (Taylor) Grace was born at Alpsville, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1872, and is a daughter of Milton S. and Elizabeth (Ashton) Taylor, the father having been a native of the old Keystone state, where he was born in 1849, and the mother having been born in Maryland, in 1852. Milton S. Taylor gave the greater part of his active life to coal mining and continued his residence in Pennsylyvania until his death, July 4, 1907. In that state his widow still resides, as a member of the family circle in the home of her son Milton. Mrs. Grace is indebted to the public schools of Alpsville for her early education, and there, on the 1st of March, 1894, was solemnized her marriage to Nicholas John Grace, son of Hibbard S. and Katherine L. (Bigley) Grace, of Alpsville, where the death of Mr. Grace occurred and where his widow still maintains her home. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas J. Grace continued their residence in Pennsylvania until 1913, when they came to Michigan, and Mr. Grace died at Berkley on the 17th of February, 1924, shortly after having here established the grocery business which has since been conducted by his widow. Mr. Grace was a Republican in his political views, was affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his religious faith was that of the Christian church, of which his widow likewise is a zealous member. Mr. Grace is survived by six children: Ruth Irene, who was born December 19, 1895, is the wife of Edwin Johnston, and they have three daughters and two sons. Mr. Johnston is junior member of the firm of Grace & Johnston, engaged in the grocery business at Berkley, the senior member of this firm being Nicholas John Grace, Jr., eldest son of the subject of this review. Nicholas John Grace, Jr., was born September 2, 1897, and was in active service in the United States Navy in the World war period, in which he made several voyages across the Atlantic ocean, besides having served about one year on a submarine chaser in the English channel. As previously noted, he is now engaged in the grocery business at Berkley. September 4, 1922, he married Miss Dorothy Whitlow, of Berkley, and they have one son and one daughter, Franklin Bigley and Jacqueline Harriett. Hibbard Samuel, the next younger PERSONAL SKETCHES 231 son of Mrs. Grace, was born August 9, 1899, and now resides in the city of Berkley. He is married and has two sons. Milton Sutton was born December 20, 1902; he also resides in Berkley. Edward Shields, born June 20, 1906, and Harry Earl, born March 29, 1909, remain with their widowed mother in the attractive home at Berkley. Ulysses A. Grace.-Mr. Grace operates the Grace House in Farmington, Michigan, a hostelry established by his father in 1907, but he is also well known through his farm connection, being the owner of a seventy-three acre tract. A member of the Universalist church and of the Masonic fraternity, Mr. Grace gives much interest to both church and lodge. In political matters he inclines strongly to the Republican party. Aside from his other interests, Mr. Grace is a stockholder of the People's State Bank. Ulysses A. Grace was born in Farmington township, July 9, 1865, a son of Benjamin and Sarah Jane Grace. The father was widely known as a farmer and in 1907 erected a large three story hotel which he leased. Sarah Jane Grace died in 1883 and Mr. Grace passed away in 1918. The son attended public school in Farmington and then turned to farming. Land advanced in value considerably and for the past fourteen years Mr. Grace has been living in the hotel, directing the operation of the hotel and doing some farming. In November, 1887, he was united in marriage to Lydia H. Turner. They have a son, Clare. He attended Detroit high school and during the World war did wireless service for the government. He is now connected with a garage in Farmington. Ira J. Green.-Mr. Green is well known as a dealer in batteries, operator of a garage and the distributor of Paige and Jewett motor cars, located at 109 and 111 South Saginaw street, Pontiac. He is popular and is advancing rapidly in a business way. Mr. Green was born at Orchard Lake, Oakland county, June 13, 1890, a son of Wm. and Mary (Richardson) Green, both natives of Oakland county. Mr. Green was a farmer in early life and turned blacksmith and died in 1905 at the age of forty-five. His widow is sixty-one years of age. William Green was a fine penman and taught writing for a long period. He and his wife had seven children, all of whom are living. As Ira J. was but fifteen years old when his father died, he early applied himself to the sterner questions of life and has made his own way in the world. He attended public school and the Waterford high school, availing himself of all possible school opportunities. Mr. Green after leaving school was employed by the Oakland Motor Company five years, three of which was spent on the road, he having charge of various plants, necessitating a great deal of traveling, and he covered a large part of the United States. Among the plants that claimed much of his atttention were those at Pittsburgh and Kansas City. As a mere lad Mr. Green made good and discharged a position of great responsibility with alacrity and ability. In 1915 he engaged in the garage business with E. B. Hodges, of Pontiac. In the course of two years he sold out to Mr. Hodges and in June, 1917, the firm of Green Brothers was started, handling Earl cars, not now on the market. Soon after the partnership was formed Mr. Green bought his brother's interest and became 232 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the sole owner of the business, which has expanded into one of large proportions with a variety of service. In 1914, Mr. Green was married to Esther Stewart, daughter of Elisha Stewart, of Pontiac. They have one child, Phyllis Green, born May 15, 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Green attend Baptist church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and is interested in all projects advanced for the material improvement of Pontiac and vicinity. David A. Green was born November 2, 1862, on the old homestead farm in Bloomfield township and his public school advantages included those of the country school and the high school at Birmingham, besides which he attended a normal school. Eventually he established his residence in the village of Clarkston, Oakland county, and there he was for ten years engaged in the produce business. He served five years as postmaster, and served also as treasurer of Independence township and as president of the Clarkston board of education. He represented the First district of Oakland county in the Michigan Legislature three terms, sessions of 1909-1910, 1911-1912 and 1921-1922. He moved with his family to Pontiac and here he continued successfully in the grocery and produce business during a period of fully twenty years. In 1918 he became associated with his son, J. Wendell, in the automobile business, and also in important building operations in Pontiac. David A. Green is a Knight Templar and Shrine Mason, and is affiliated with Pontiac Blue Lodge and Pontiac Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; also the Knights of Pythias. His political alignment is with the Republican party and he and his wife have membership in the Methodist church, which Mr. Green has served for twenty years as an official member. In 1891 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Mary Hagerman, who was born in Bloomfield township, April 16, 1870, a daughter of William A. and Eliza (Patchett) Hagerman. Eliza Patchett was born in Bloomfield June 6, 1845, the daughter of David and Elizabeth Patchett, who settled in Bloomfield in 1839, Bloomfield pioneers and the head of a prominent Bloomfield family, settling in Section 10. Elizabeth Patchett was the daughter of John Trollope, who settled in Birmingham in 1837. William A. and Eliza Hagerman, who established their home at Bloomfield Center, in the '60s, Mr. Hagerman's family history being more definitely touched in the personal sketch of his brother, Frank Hagerman, of Birmingham. Wm. A. Hagerman cqmes from an old Quaker family and was born near the Delaware Water Gap, Pa., on June 1, 1842. Miss Mary Hagerman attended the public school at Bloomfield Center, also the Birmingham high school. She also taught school for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Green have two children, J. Wendell and Marian Blanche. J. Wendell Green was born at Clarkston, this county, March 25, 1898, and graduated from the Pontiac high school as a member of the class of 1916. In 1918 he entered service in the United States Army, in connection with the nation's participation in the World war, and he was stationed at a student training camp in Detroit when the armistice brought the great conflict to a close, he having soon afterward received his honorable discharge. He was employed one year in the Commercial Savings Bank of Pontiac, and since that time he has been actively engaged in the PERSONAL SKETCHES 233 automobile business, as one of its prominent and progressive representatives in the city of Pontiac. He is a member of Birmingham Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of Pontiac Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is the head of the firm of J. Wendell Green Company, automobile dealer in Maxwell and Chrysler cars. The firm was established in 1918 by himself and father in the city of Pontiac. Marian Blanche was born in Clarkston, this county, April 10, 1900, and was educated in the public schools of Pontiac. On August 31, 1922, she married Harold F. Flickinger, of Pontiac. H. F. Flickinger was born February 7, 1899, in Rosendale, Missouri, and moved to Michigan with his parents in 1911. He graduated from the Pontiac high school with the class of 1916, and when the World war started enlisted in the medical corps of the United States Navy, where he saw active service with the United States Marines and the transport force, having made thirteen round trips between the United States and France. He is a member of Roosevelt Lodge No. 510, Free and Accepted Masons, and the First Methodist Church and employed in the accounting department of the Fisher Body Corporation. Thomas Green, father of David A., was born October 5, 1816, and was a young man when he came to Michigan and established himself as a pioneer settler in Oakland county, Michigan. In the year 1849 he purchased Ininety-six acres of land in Bloomfield township, and he paid for this property, which is in the very center of the beautiful Bloomfield Hills district, at the rate of seven dollars an acre, the old homestead being still owned by his heirs and being now a very valuable property, as the district has become the location of many of the finest suburban homes of the Detroit metropolitan area. Mr. Green reclaimed his land from the forest wilds and developed one of the excellent farms of the county. He was one of the honored pioneer citizens of this county at the time of his death, in 1898. Thomas Green was an ardent abolitionist in the period leading up to and culminating in the Civil war. He united with the Republican party at the time of its formation, assisted in the organization of its contingent in Bloomfield township, where he assembled with others for this purpose, at the old Weston Tavern. He cast his vote in support of General John C. Fremont, first presidential candidate of the Republican party. Martha Elizabeth Green, his widow, passed away in 1918, at the venerable age of eighty-four years. She was born in Oyster Bay, New York, October L1, 1834, and was a daughter of William and Mary Ann (Thompson) Sandbrook, who likewise were sterling pioneer settlers in Bloomfield township, the homestead now located in Section 12, Bloomfield township. The children of Thomas and Martha E. Green that are living are: Miss Frances Green, born January 24, 1856; David A. Green, date mentioned above; Charles W. Green, born October 31, 1866, and Oscar L. Green, born October 13, 1871, all of Pontiac; and Mrs. Carrie B. Perkins, born July 1, 1864, of Troy, Michigan. William Sandbrook was born in Oxford, England, in 1808, and his death occurred at his old home in Bloomfield township in the year 1885. He was one of the founders and builders of that township, was an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and was influential in public affairs in his community. His wife was a daugh 234 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COIUNTY ter of William and Mary Thompson, who came to Michigan in the territorial days and who were among the first to settle in Bloomfield township, where they established their home in 1827, fully ten years before Michigan became a.state. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson settled on Section 12, Bloomfield township. It is related that in the early pioneer days Mrs. Mary Ann (Thompson) Sandbrook was known for her vital energy and individual resourcefulness, and she considered it no special task to make her way on foot to Detroit over an Indian trail. Thomas Green was the son of John Green, who was born in Leeds, England, in 1774, and of Sarah Marguerite Green, who was born in Dumfries, Scotland, in 1781. The Green family is of English origin and can trace its lineage back to the year of 1040. The first member of the family to obtain prominence was Sir Thomas Green, who served as lord mayor of London from 1154 to 1160. The Green family has a very beautiful coat of arms issued during the reign of Henry II. and bearing the date 1171. Leon J. Greer, dealer in farm implements, West Lawrence street, Pontiac, was born August 17, 1883, in West Bloomfield township, the son of George and Lucy (Cantrell) Greer. The senior Greer was born in Flint and came to Oakland county where he farmed. He was prominent in public life and for four years was sheriff of the county and for eleven years a township supervisor. He is now living in retirement in Pontiac. Mrs. Greer died in 1907. George Greer is a Mason and a member of the Elks. Leon J. attended Pontiac high school, farmed two years, then for a couple of years worked in Pontiac financial institutions, returned to the farm, but in 1918 came to Pontiac to remain permanently and establish himself in the farm implement business. The first year sales amounted to $22,000. Last year the volume of business reached $41,000. The establishment handles implements of all kinds and for all purposes, twine, fencing, oils, etc. A branch is maintained in Birmingham, Michigan. In Pontiac Mr. Greer occupies both floors of a structure forty by one hundred forty feet. On June 12, 1906, he was united in marriage to Miss Edna Williamson of Pontiac. Three children are the issue of the union, Erwin, Maurice and Lucy. Mr. Greer is a member of the Congregational church, Masonic order and Knights of Pythias. Edward L. Groner.-One of the well ordered business concerns in the city of Pontiac is the Purser Fruit Company, which has its headquarters at 25 West Pike street and which controls a substantial wholesale fruit business in the city and the territory tributary to Pontiac as a distributing center. Of this progressive organization Mr. Groner is one of the three constituent members, and he is one of the enterprising business men and progressive citizens of the fair city that is the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county. Mr. Groner was born on the parental homestead farm, in Rich township, Lapeer county, Michigan, August 2, 1885, and there he was reared to manhood, his educational discipline in the meanwhile having been that of the public schools. In his native county he continued his alliance with farm industry until 1912, in November of which PERSONAL SKETCHES 235 year he established his residence at Pontiac, where for five years he was engaged in the retail grocery business. Thereafter he was for a time in the employ of the General Motors Company, and he then connected himself with the Purser Fruit Company, with which concern he has since continued his active alliance, he having become one of the principals in the organization in the year 1920 and his coadjutor in the business being its founder, Salem W. Purser, of whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Groner has had no desire for political preferment, but gives a staunch allegiance to the Republican party and is a loyal and public spirited citizen. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. November 22, 1906, Mr. Groner wedded Miss Blanche Hutchens, of Clifford, Lapeer county, and their one child is a son, Francis, who was born January 2, 1909, and who is at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1925, a student in the Pontiac high school. Edwin M. Grow.-Giving part of his time to insurance in 1916, Mr. Grow in 1921 was obliged to give his exclusive attention to that field of business. In 1914 he came to Royal Oak and went with the Mellen-Wright Lumber Company, sharing during the five year period indicated his time and attention between the hardware business and insurance. In 1921 Mr. Grow took over the Hartrick agency and in 1923 transferred his operations to the Royal Oak Savings Bank building. The Grow insurance agency is one of the best known in this section of Michigan. Three times in volume has the business increased since assumed by Mr. Grow. The subject of this sketch was born February 19, 1888, a son of Joseph B. and Lurinda M. Grow. The father was born in Waterford, Michigan, the mother in Oakwood, Oakland county. The father was a farmer but in 1897 established a general insurance agency in Royal Oak. He is now living in Royal Oak, the burdens of active business life lifted from his shoulders. Active in public affairs, the elder Grow was supervisor four years, township clerk and a justice of the peace. He is a Republican. The son attended public school and a business school in Detroit for two years, then took to farming, giving special attention to dairying. This he pursued until 1913 and in 1914 came to Royal Oak and went with the Mellen-Wright Lumber Company and in 1918 he took charge of the hardware department. In 1913, Mr. Grow was married to Miss Eva M. Parady, of Royal Oak. There is one daughter, Doris Jean, born August 12, 1921. Mr. Grow is a Methodist and a member of the official board of his church. He is a member of the Republican party, the Chamber of Commerce and the Masonic fraternity and is especially active in the Rotary Club. Gerald Guinan is one of the popular young business men in the vital city that figures as the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county, where he has charge of the bookkeeping and other office details at the establishment of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company. Of this company, now one of the important concerns contributing to the industrial precedence of Pontiac, specific record is 236 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY given on other pages, in the personal sketch of its executive head, G. Lafayette Tubbs. Mr. Guinan claims Oakland county as the place of his nativity, his birth having here occurred, at Milford, September 23, 1892. His early education was acquired principally in the public schools of Pontiac, the county seat, and here he initiated also his association with the practical affairs of business. Here he held for eight years the position of paymaster for the Oakland Motor Car Company, and in the World war period his service was with the Precision Casting Company, a Pontiac concern that did much in turning out requisite supplies in connection with the government war activities. Since 1919 Mr. Guinan has been associated with the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company, and as its office manager he is giving a most loyal and efficient administration. He holds membership in the Pontiac Board of Commerce and the local Kiwanis Club, and is in full accord with the progressive policies of these vital organizations. On the 28th of January, 1914, Mr. Guinan was united in marriage to Miss Hazel Tubbs, daughter of G. Lafayette Tubbs, who is president of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company. Mr. and Mrs. Guinan have an interesting family of five children: Mary Jane, Frances Elizabeth, James Bruce, Thomas Clark and Gerald, Jr. Floyd Hackett is president and treasurer of the Hackett Coal Company of Royal Oak, Oakland county, and the impetus that he has imparted in the development of the wholesale and retail business of this concern indicates his energy and resourcefulness as one of the representative young business men of his native state. Mr. Hackett was born in Shiawassee county, Michigan, September 25, 1893, and his public school discipline included that of the high school in the city of Saginaw. Thereafter he was for two years associated with his father in the retail coal business in the city of Flint, and he then went to the great coal district of West Virginia, where he gained at first hand a thorough knowledge of the productive details and other phases of the coal industry. He remained in West Virginia nine years, and one of his best achievements within this period was his winning as his wife Miss Elsie Britt, who was born and reared in that state and who there gained her early education by attending the public schools-principally those of Cedar Grove. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hackett was solemnized May 14, 1917, and thereafter they continued their residence in West Virginia until 1921, when they established their home in the vital and progressive little Michigan city of Royal Oak. In the same year Mr. Hackett here effected the organization and incorporation of the Hackett Coal Company, of which he has since continued the president and treasurer, Mrs. Hackett being the vice-president and Norman J. LaRa secretary of the company. Mr. Hackett has not only developed his business into one of major importance in the wholesale handling of coal in Oakland county, but has also shown equal progressiveness and loyalty in his civic attitude. He is an active member of the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce, and his political allegiance is given to the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Hackett have one daugh PERSONAL SKETCHES 237 ter, Alma, who was born in the year 1918. The family is one of distinctive popularity in the social activities of Royal Oak. Frank Hagerman, president of the First State Savings Bank of Birmingham, one of the well ordered and substantial financial institutions of Oakland county, claims the old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1845. His early education was obtained in the schools of his native state, and he was about seventeen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Michigan, in 1863, the family having arrived at Bloomfield Center, Oakland county, April 15th of that year, and the parents, John and Adaline (Angele) Hagerman, having for a number of years thereafter conducted a pioneer hotel at that place. John Hagerman was a resident of Birmingham at the time of his death, May 16, 1889, his birth having occurred in Pennsylvania, June 11, 1808, and his wife having been born there February 16, 1818. Both families were founded in that historic old commonwealth prior to the war of the Revolution. Mrs. Hagerman survived her husband by nearly twenty years, and passed to the life eternal June 11, 1907, at the venerable age of eighty-nine years and was revered as one of the oldest of the pioneer women of Oakland county. John Hagerman passed the last sixteen years of his life at Birmingham, and was a substantial pioneer citizen who commanded high place in popular confidence and esteem. Frank Hagerman established his residence at Birmingham in 1869, and here he was successfully established in the drug and grocery business during a period of about thirty years, as one of the leading merchants of the little village that in the meanwhile expanded into a city of most attractive orderone of the most beautiful of the smaller cities of this part of Michigan. Mr. Hagerman was prominently concerned in the organization of the First State Savings Bank of Birmingham, was made its vice-president at the time of its incorporation, and he retained this position until 1922, when he was made its president. He has been influential in formulating and carrying forward the progressive policies that have made this one of the solid and important banking institutions of Oakland county, and he continued his active executive service until November, 1920, since which time he has sufficiently emancipated himself to be able to pass several winters in California, in company with his wife, who has been his companion and helpmeet during a period of more than half a century, she having membership in the Seventh Day Adventist church and his political allegiance being given to the Democratic party. The marriage of Mr. Hagerman to Miss Rosetta Adelaide Daines was solemnized July 18, 1870. Mrs. Hagerman was born at Bloomfield Center, this county, in 1848, and is a daughter of John and Alice (Watkins) Daines, whose marriage occurred October 24, 1844, and who were young folk when they established their home in Oakland county. Mr. Daines was born at Canandaigua, New York, in 1817, and his wife was born in Baltimore, Maryland, June 6, 1824. The death of Mr. Daines occurred May 16, 1873, and his widow thereafter continued her residence in Oakland county until she too passed 238 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY away, October 12, 1892. Mr. Daines was a pioneer in the manufacturing of drain tile, and invented the third machine devised for such manufacturing in the United States. Of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Hagerman the elder is Alice, who is the wife of Thomas L. Thurber, of Wing Lake, Michigan, their five children being Rosemary, Ruth, Alice, Thomas D., John L., and Frances Elizabeth. Miss Gertrude Hagerman remains at the parental home, is a graduate of the Birmingham high school, and is a popular factor in the representative social activities of her home community. William Henry Haken A business that had its inception in the home of Mr. Haken has grown to one of substantial proportions. It is the plumbing business operated by the firm of Haken & Harrington, Mr. Haken's associate being Ed Harrington. The concern, located at 8 North Perry street, does no competitive contracting work, but a general plumbing service for a good, growing clientele in the city of Pontiac and Oakland county. There is no phase of plumbing or heating and ventilating that does not receive the prompt and intelligent attention of Haken & Harrington. Mr. Haken was born in London, England, came to Pontiac in 1904 and worked for Joseph Cooper and other plumbers for seven years. In 1912 he started in business on his own account, having his shop and office at home. Later Mr. Haken took in Fred Hamlin as a partner, which partnership waS dissolved in 1920. The same year Mr. Harrington was admitted as a partner and the firm has continued as such since. In August, 1909, Mr. Haken was united in marriage to Mrs. Clara Kellogg, of Pontiac, and there are five children in the family circle, Florence, LeRoy, Marion, Dorothy and Beatrice. Mr. Haken is interested in the policies of the Republican party. Active in trade matters and in the advancement of plumbing as a profession and a business, Mr. Haken is secretary of the Oakland County Plumbing and Heating Dealers' Association. In civic matters he maintains a consistent, helpful interest. Fay C. Hall.-A long and valued training is one of the outstanding assets of Fay C. Hall, manager of the Holland Furnace Company, 63 North Perry street, Pontiac. Mr. Hall was born in Ithaca, Michigan, June 3, 1876, and in 1894 was graduated from Ithaca high school. For three years he was employed by a local furnace concern in Ithaca and then went to Sault Ste. Marie, where he was engaged in the same class of work. In 1909 Mr. Hall came to Pontiac, where he took a position as traveling salesman with the Beckwith company and, completing a term of eight years with this concern, became manager of the Holland Furnace Company. Mr. Hall is an Elk and member of the Board of Commerce. On August 21, 1899, he was married to Miss Lena Cady, of Ithaca. Three children were born. Frances, aged twenty-two, attended the Pontiac schools and was graduated from Sheboygan high school, and business college in Grand Rapids. She now holds a position in the latter city. Cady, aged nineteen, also attended the public schools of Pontiac. The third child is Gail, aged twelve years. Mr. Hall was married a second time, his wife being PERSONAL SKETCHES 239 Mrs. Millie Hills, of Bay City, Michigan. She had one child by her former marriage, Charles W. Hall, the name "Hall" being assumed by process of adoption. The Halls reside at 270 Nelson street. Edwin J. Hallett was a lad of fourteen years when he found employment in the hardware store at No. 2 North Saginaw street in the city of Pontiac, and it is significant of his effective service to the community and of the success and advancement that he has won that in the same building in which he thus initiated his association with the hardware business he is now conducting a substantial and prosperous business of the same order, as senior member of the firm of E. J. Hallett & Son, in which the junior member is his one surviving son, Edwin H. Mr. Hallett's appreciative loyalty to Oakland county is that of a native son, for he was born at Orion, this county, April 3, 1858. He is a son of James and Elizabeth (Welch) Hallett, whose marriage was solemnized in the state of New York. James Hallett was born in England and was a child at the time of the family removal to the United States, the home being established in the state of New York. Mrs. Elizabeth (Welch) Hallett was born at Hamburg, New Jersey, and she and her husband were young folk when they came from New York state and established their home in Oakland county, Michigan, where they passed the remainder of their lives and where Mr. Hallett was long engaged in the work of his trade, that of painter. Of the family of three sons and three daughters only two are now living, Edwin J., of this review, and Mrs. Georgiana Rich, who likewise resides in Pontiac. Edwin J. Hallett gained his early education in the public schools of Orion, but his broader education has been that acquired through self-discipline and through long and active association with business and civic affairs in the city that has represented his home for more than half a century and in which he now has rank as a veteran and honored merchant. As previously noted, Mr. Hallett was fourteen years old when he found employment in a hardware store in the building in which the business of his firm is now conducted. Here he was for twenty-six years in the employ of the late H. F. Messenger, and this alliance was severed only when he engaged in the hardware business in an independent way. Mr. Hallet has inviolable place in popular esteem in his native county, is a reliable and straightforward business man whose reputation is a distinct commercial asset and his well equipped hardware establishment has long been the stage of successful business enterprise. In 1916 he admitted to partnership his son, Edwin H., and the business has since been continued under the firm name of E. J. Hallett & Son. Mr. Hallett has been continuously identified with the hardware business in the one Pontiac building during a period of fifty-two years, and this record can be claimed by no other business man on Saginaw street. Mr. Hallett has been content to devote himself closely to his business, and thus has had no desire for political activity or public office, though he is a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party and has ever shown deep interest in all things touching the welfare and progress of his home community. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Foresters, 240 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the Royal Arcanum and the Knights of the Maccabees, and is an active and valued member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce. The year 1878 was marked by the marriage of Mr. Hallett to Miss Ida Sunbury, daughter of the late Henry B. Sunbury, of Pontiac, and of this union have been born three children: Eva, Edwin H., and Lloyd. The only daughter is now the wife of Dr. J. R. Bird, who is successfully established in the practice of dentistry in the city of Detroit. Dr. and Mrs. Bird have two children, Morrell and Lawrence. Edwin H. Hallett, who is junior member of the firm of E. J. Hallett & Son, was graduated in the Pontiac high school as a member of the class of 1913. In connection with the nation's participation in the World war he enlisted in the United States Navy, in May, 1918, and received training at the Great Lakes Naval Station, near Chicago. The war closed before there was demand for his service overseas, and he received his honorable discharge December 14, 1918, about one month after the signing of the historic armistice that brought to a close the greatest war in the history of the world. Mr. Hallett is one of the representative young business men of his native city, is a Republican in politics, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. In 1916 he wedded Miss Genevieve Hause, of Pontiac, and their one child, Patricia Ann, was born March 26, 1920. Lloyd Hallett, youngest of the children of the honored subject of this review, was associated with the business of his father at the time of his death, in 1903, when but twenty-one years of age. Clifford W. Ham. Availing himself of the limitless field of service in governmental training and municipal research, Clifford W. Ham not only aided in the construction of the charter of Pontiac but became second manager of that city. There are now approximately three hundred cities and towns throughout the United States that are directed by city managers. Out of the new consciousness enveloping the country there emerges a demand for the scientific training of public officials. Mr. Ham was born in 1893 in Newton county, Indiana, a so'n of Joseph L. and Addie (Jenkins) Ham. Joseph L. Ham was a native of Indiana, his wife of Michigan. Mr. Ham was a farmer. He and Mrs. Ham came to Pontiac in 1910. For some years he has been caretaker for the Pontiac City hospital. Clifford W. attended public schools in Indiana and in Big Rapids, Michigan; also Ferris Institute at Big Rapids and the University of Michigan, in the latter taking a special course in municipal government. He then became assistant city manager of Escanaba, Michigan, then went to Gladstone, this state, as adviser on the making of a city charter and then became the city manager. He was city clerk under the commission government and secretary of the charter commission, which wrote the commission manager charter, and became Pontiac's second manager. Mr. Ham had also spent a year with the Bureau of Governmental Research. In 1917 Mr. Ham was united in marriage to Miss Grace Clemens, of Harrisville, Michigan. Two children have been born them, Elton W. and Elrita. Mr. Ham's maternal great-grandfather was a member of the first constitutional convention of the State of Michigan. He rode a horse from PERSONAL SKETCHES 241 Cass county to Detroit to attend. He was the second white settler in Cass county. His son was a member of the second constitutional convention of the state. They, too, held aloft the banner of good government, although their problems were vastly different from those which confront Mr. Ham. Godfrey F. Hamlen, M. D., has been engaged in the practice of his profession in' Oakland county nearly thirty years, and since 1906 has maintained his residence at Rochester, where he controls a general practice of such scope and character as to mark him distinctly as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the country. He is a popular member of the Oakland County Medical Society, in the affairs of which he takes active part, and has membership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Doctor Hamlen was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, February 26, 1866, and there he received the advantages of the Godrich high school, as well as those of the Central high school and also of well ordered private schools. Prior to entering the medical profession Doctor Hamlen had gained a goodly experience in connection with the mercantile business, as is shown by his having been for five years employed in the great Chicago establishment of Marshall Field & Company, and four years in that of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company, another of the important mercantile concerns of Chicago. He finally followed the trend of his ambition, by coming to Michigan and entering the Detroit College of Medicine. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1896, and after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he came to Oakland county and engaged in practice in the village of Commerce, whence he later moved to Farmington, this county, where he staged his professional activities until 1907, when he initiated practice at Rochester, which has since represented his home and the center of his zealous and able service as a physician and surgeon. The doctor takes lively interest in all that concerns the welfare and progress of his home village and county, his political allegiance being given to the Republican party, and his Masonic affiliations being with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. and A. M.; Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M.; and the local chapter of the Eastern Star, of which his wife likewise is a member. In 1891 Doctor Hamlen wedded Miss Ann H. Boening, of Chicago, and their only child, John H., met an untimely death soon after he entered service in the United States Army, at the time of the World war, his enlistment having occurred August 28, 1918, and his death having occurred, as a result of an attack of influenza and pneumonia, on the 12th of the following November-the day following that on which was signed the now historic armistice that brought the war to a close. John H. Hamlen gained his earlier education in the public schools of Farmington, later attended the Central high school in the city of Detroit, and finally was graduated in the high school at Rochester. Thereafter he was employed eighteen months in the chemical department of the great Detroit establishment of Morgan & Wright, and during one year he was a student in his father's alma mater, the Detroit College of Medicine. He was thereafter engaged in the shoe 242 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY business at Rochester until he entered the World war service, in which he sacrificed his life as distinctly as did those who fell on the battle grounds of France, he having been twenty-six years of age at the time of his death. David G. Hammond, of the Pontiac Laundry Company, is a native of the Empire state, born in Dunkirk, June 28, 1870, a son of George Hammond. The father was engaged for many years in the monument business and was located at Lawrence and Perry streets. He died in 1905. The mother was Mary A. Hammond, who passed away in October, 1921. David G. Hammond received his early education in Dunkirk. For eight years he was identified with the monument business but in July, 1896, Mr. Hammond entered the employ of Platt's laundry, driving a wagon. In 1913 he purchased an interest in the Pontiac Laundry Company and became president of the company with D. I. Oliver secretary and treasurer. In 1921 consolidation was effected with the General laundry, with D. I. Oliver president and general manager, D. G. Hammond secretary, and Ben Egan treasurer. Since Mr. Hammond became identified with the establishment the volume of business has increased thirty times. The laundry employs eighty-one men and women. There are nine trucks and one horse wagon and service is supplied Wall Lake, Birmingham and all towns throughout Oakland county. On February 14, 1895, Mr. Hammond was married to Miss Mary Cummings of Pontiac and there is one son, Roy E., who is working in Detroit. Mr. Hammond is a Presbyterian, a member of the Elks, Pythians, Foresters and Maccabees, and holds membership in the Board of Commerce. He is vigilant in matters pertaining to the general welfare of Pontiac and vicinity. In politics he subscribes to the principles and national platform of the Republican party. Victor H. Hancock. Mr. Hancock, the general manager of the Pontiac Packing Company, Incorporated, was born in Delaware county, Indiana, March 7, 1887, and received his elementary school instruction in that county. He attended Purdue university and was graduated from the agricultural department of that well known institution in 1908. Mr. Hancock then came to Pontiac and for two years was with the Oakland Motor Company and three years with J. L Marcero, wholesale cigars, tobacco, confections, etc., of Pontiac. In 1915 Mr. Hancock assisted in the organization of the Pontiac Packing Company and was made general manager. The following year the concern was incorporated. Mr. Hancock, on June 15, 1918, was joined in marriage to Miss Mabel M. Kirby, of Pontiac. They have two children, Mary Ruth, born August 20, 1921, and Helen Joan, born September 16, 1924. In April, 1918, Mr. Hancock enlisted in the 310 Michigan Engineers, 85th division, and was sent to Camp Custer. In July, 1918, he was sent over seas where he remained eleven months, five of which was with the army of occupation. June 13, 1919, he was discharged. Mr. Hancock was in the engagementts of St. Mihiel and the Argonne and received a slight wound over the right eye on September 13, 1918. Mr. Hancock and his brother Homer are the owners of the Pontiac Steel and' Iron Works on West PERSONAL SKETCHES 243 Pike street, Pontiac. Victor H. Hancock is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Board of Commerce. Edwin S. Harger. Mr. Harger, real estate dealer of Pontiac, prominently connected, whose business location is at 44 North Saginaw street, was born in Commerce township, ten miles west of Pontiac, October 10, 1880. He availed himself of all possible opportunities within the public schools and for ten years operated as a buyer and shipper of live stock. At the age of nineteen Mr. Harger came to Pontiac. In 1909 he engaged in the real estate business, forming an association with his brother, Fred L. Harger, a sketch of whose life also appears in this volume. Mr. Harger is strongly interested in agriculture, is the owner of a fine Oakland county farm and is successful. Mr. Harger is a son of Edwin S. Harger, the family being among the best known in Oakland county. In 1917 Mr. Harger was married to Eleanor Irwin, daughter of Mrs. Ida Irwin, of Watertown, Tuscola county. The Hargers have two children, Edwin S. Jr., aged six, and Stewart J., aged three. Mr. Harger is a loyal member of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the chapter of the Royal Arch and to the council of Royal and Select Masters. Fred L. Harger. Entering the world of business at the age of fourteen, Fred L. Harger has achieved outstanding success in the real estate field in Pontiac and is one of that city's most influential men of affairs. His experience has combined selling, merchandising and real estate operation. Mr. Harger is a native of Oakland county and was born in Commerce, November 15th, 1883, a son of Edwin S. Harger. The father was born in Somerset, Niagara county, New York, in 1825, and in 1837 came to Bloomfield township, Oakland county, with his parents, Seeley and Arvilla Harger, both of whom have since passed from earthly activities. Edwin S. Harger was a farmer. He received his education in Oakland county and became, in adult life, promine'nt in public affairs. He was sheriff of the county four years and served in other offices. Upon leaving the office of sheriff, Mr. Harger led a retired life. He died in 1898. His wife was Helen D. Colvin, who was born in Fourtowns, Waterford township, Oakland county. Her parents also were pioneer residents. Mrs. Harger is seventy-two years of age. The son, Fred L., attended public school and when fourteen years old became a clerk for the Purdy Mercantile Company, of Gagetown, Michigan. In the course of three years he became a traveling salesman, was on the road two years and for two years was engaged in merchandising in Detroit. In 1909 Mr. Harger entered real estate and later formed an association with his brother, Edwin S. Harger, under the name of the Harger Real Estate Company. The business, conducted upon a high plane, is very successful. Mr. Harger is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Pine Lake Golf Club. In 1908 he became the husband of Miss Blanche Cobb, of Ashley, Michigan. Mrs. Harger's parents were also old residents of Oakland county. To Mr. and Mrs. Harger have been born two children, Janet, aged fifteen, a student at Pontiac high school, and Marjorie, aged thirteen. 244 HISTORY OF OAKLAD COUNTY William C. Harger, who is successfully established in the wholesale meat business in the city of Pontiac, Oakland county, was born in West Bloomfield township, this county, March 25, 1871, and is a son of Charles and Lavangy (Voorhees) Harger, both of whom likewise were born and reared in this county, where the respective families gained a goodly measure of pioneer prestige. The subject of this review is a grandson of Seeley Harger, and more specific record concerning the Harger family will be found on other pages of this volume, in the personal sketch of Fred L. Harger. Robert Voorhees, the maternal grandfather, came with his parents to Oakland county in the early pioneer period of its history. Charles Harger became well known through this section of Michigan, he having long been successfully engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock. He was one of the sterling and honored citizens of his native county at the time of his death, in 1912, when he was sixty-five years of age, and his widow passed away in 1916, aged seventy-three years, both having been active members of the Presbyterian church. Charles Harger was a loyal and public-spirited citizen and in connection with the municipal government of Pontiac he served as alderman from the Fourth ward. The public schools of Pontiac afforded William C. Harger his early education, and in the meantime, when but thirteen years of age, he began to assist in his father's live-stock business, including the driving of cattle from Lapeer county to the market in Detroit. He was about twenty-five years of age when he initiated independent business as a. wholesale dealer in meats, and he established the first enterprise of this kind in Pontiac. He was connected with the Pontiac abattoir eighteen months, and later built and equipped his present modern plant, he being the sole owner of the property and business, in connection with which he employs an average of fifteen men. He is a reliable and progressive business man and takes loyal interest in all that concerns the welfare of his native city and county. He is a Democrat in political adherency and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. April 28, 1905, Mr. Harger married Miss Catherine Rice, of Lenawee, this state, she having been a daughter of the late John Rice, who was well known in this section of Michigan and who died in 1923, aged seventy-three years. Mrs. Harger passed away in 1910, aged twenty-nine years, and is survived by one child, Miss Frances, who is a student (1924-5) in the Pontiac high school. The second marriage of Mr. Harger was with Miss May Holser, daughter of Louis Holser, who is now living retired, at Pontiac, he having become engineer of the great sanitarium at Battle Creek at the time when it was erected and equipped, and later having been engineer of the Michigan State Hospital for the Insane at Pontiac. To Mr. and Mrs. Harger have been born three children: Charles Louis died at the age of two years; Robert William was born in 1921; and Helen Elizabeth was born in 1923. Mr. Harger has built up a large and prosperous business and is one of the substantial and honored citizens of his native city. Ed T. Harrington. Mr. Harrington is a member of the widely PERSONAL SKETCHES 245 known plumbing firm of Haken & Harrington at 8 North Perry street, Pontiac. He was born February 20, 1884. When Ed T. was a mere child his father died. The son obtained his education in the public schools of Pontiac and worked for John D. Moat in the plumbing business in Detroit for a year. He next worked for Nathan Leet in Pontiac and for Beattie & Tobin, in Pontiac, next for Sard H. Burlingham, in the same city. In 1918 he entered in business for himself, maintaining his office in the living room of his home. In 1919 he became associated with Mr. Haken and the combination has been eminently successful. The firm of Haken & Harrington employs four men and does high grade plumbing work of all kinds. Mr. Harrington personally supervises the work of installing plumbing and heating systems while Mr. Haken does the estimating and attends to the details of the office. Mr. Harrington was married to Miss Cora Parker November 12, 1910. There are two children, Edward F., and Norma L. Mr. Harrington is a Baptist. In politics he is inclined to Republicanism. He is a member of the Elks and the Odd Fellows and of the Plumbing Dealers' Association. James Hugh Harris. A long experience and extensive training in pedagogic work and school superintendency is the valuable possession of James Hugh Harris, superintendent of city schools of Pontiac, Michigan. Mr. Harris was born in the Upper Penninsula, the son of Benjamin and Jane Harris. His early education was obtained in northern Michigan and he was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1891 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. Harris began his teaching career in the high school at Saginaw, E. S., and later taught Latin and Greek in the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake. From 1900 to 1903 he was principal of the Bay City high school. He was superintendent of schools in Pontiac from 1903 to 1906, and from 1906 to 1910 assistant superintendent of schools in Minneapolis. He resigned this position in the latter year to accept the superintendency of the Dubuque (Iowa) schools where he remained until 1921, when he returned to Pontiac as school superintendent. In 1916 he was offered the superintendency of schools in St. Paul, Minneapolis, but declined it. Graduate work has been done at the University of Chicago and the University of Minnesota. In 1901 Mr. Harris was married to Grace G. Galbraith of Pontiac, daughter of the late Dr. F. B. Galbraith. They have one daughter, Katharine, who was graduated from Vassar College in 1925. Mr. Harris has been for a number of years a contributor to educational journals. In 1913-14 he was president of the Northern Iowa Teachers' Association and in 1920-21 was vice-president of the Iowa State Teachers' Association. In 1921-22 he was a member of the National Superintendents' Association committee on "status of the superintendent of schools." In 1900-01 he was president of the Michigan Schoolmasters' Association. In 1907 Mr. Harris served as secretary of the department of superintendents of the National Educational Association. In 1908-09 he was first vice-president and later the acting president of the Minnesota State Association of Correction and Charities. He was until recently a director of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce 246 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY and a vestryman of the Episcopal church. He is a Rotarian, and a director of the Local Welfare League. Mr. Harris is doing much to develop the public school service and to co-ordinate educational processes so that public education becomes a determinant in the promotion of civic and social welfare movements. His counsel and professional assets are much respected and frequently consulted. John D. Harrison has the distinction of being the youngest independent exponent of the real estate business in the vital little city of Ferndale, Oakland county, even as he is one of the most alert and progressive representatives of this important line of enterprise. He is contributing much to the continuous advancement of this community, the rapid and remarkable growth and development of Ferndale having been one of the recent marvels of such constructive progress i'n this section of Michigan. At the time of its incorporation as a village, in 1918, Ferndale had a population of about 1,500, and today it is a flourishing and modern little city of approximately 12,000 population. Mr. Harrison was born in Isabella county, Michigan, July 21, 1902, and his boyhood days were passed on the parental homestead farm, the while he profited by the advantages of the district schools, a discipline that was later supplemented by his attending the Northwestern high school in the city of Detroit. He was seventeen years of age when he came to Ferndale, which received its village charter that year, and here he became virtually a juvenile prodigy in real estate exploitation, while advancing his education by attending the high school at Royal Oak, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1921, besides which he attended the Junior College at Highland Park, Wayne county. He has made a record of substantial and well ordered achievement not only in the handling of real estate in the Ferndale community but also in the successful carrying forward of extensive building operations. He is one of the wideawake, and progressive young business men of Oakland county, is a loyal and valued member of the Ferndale Board of Commerce and the Exchange Club, and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. None better merits the modern colloquial title of "live wire" than does this vigorous and successful young business man and popular citizen of Ferndale. George B. Hartrick is one of the representative younger members of the bar of his native county and is established in the successful practice of his profession in the attractive little, city of Royal Oak, Oakland county, where he maintains his office in the Royal Oak Savings Bank building. He was born at Royal Oak, July 2, 1891, and in the local schools he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, in 1910. He thereafter entered the Detroit College of Law, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1913. His admission to the bar was virtually coincident with his reception of the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and he has since been continuously engaged in practice at Royal Oak, where the scope and importance of his law business show that to him there can be no application of the scriptural statement that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." Mr. Hartrick is a member of the Oakland PERSONAL SKETCHES 247 County and Michigan State Bar associations, is a Republican in politics, and he has been called upon to serve in various positions of public trust, including those of city assessor, township supervisor, and assistant prosecuting attorney of the county. He gave also six years of service as circuit court commissioner of his native county, was last to serve as president of the municipal board of trustees of the village of Royal Oak, prior to the obtaining of the city charter, and he holds, in the winter of 1924-5, the office of city attorney of Royal Oak. In the Masonic fraternity Mr. Hartrick has received the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, besides being a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and he is affiliated also with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Exchange Club of his home city, and he and his wife are here active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. December 6, 1913, Mr. Hartrick wedded Miss Bernice Bossardet, of Detroit, and they have five children: John B., Janet, Joan, George Paul, and James G. Mr. Hartrick is a son of Thomas and Mary (Briggs) Hartrick, the former of whom was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1850, and the latter of whom was born in Farmington township, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1848, a daughter of Zebediah Briggs, who was born in the state of New York and who thence came with his parents to Michigan in the early pioneer days, the family home havifig been established in Oakland county. Thomas Hartrick was reared and educated in Canada and was nineteen years of age when he came to Oakland county, Michigan, where his marriage was later solemnized and where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, secure in the high regard of all who knew them. They are survived by two sons, of whom the subject of this review is the younger, the older son, Thomas, Jr., being a representative of the Travelers Insurance Company and maintaining his home at Detroit, Mich. Thomas Hartrick, Sr., was one of the stalwart advocates of the principles of the Republican party, and was holding the office of highway commissioner at the time of his death. He was long numbered among the substantial farmers of Oakland county and was influential in community affairs. He and his wife were zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The death of Mr. Hartrick occurred in 1912, and his widow passed away in 1914. Bert W. Harvey.-Mr. Harvey is the incumbent of the post of building inspector of Pontiac, a position the vitality of which is becoming more evident to the public as the city expands. Mr. Harvey was born in Grand Haven, Michigan, January 14, 1889, and came to Utica, Macomb county, and was graduated from Utica high school in 1908. In 1913, Mr. Harvey was graduated from the Michigan Agricultural College, department of civil engineering, and for a year was with the Studebaker Corporation, Detroit. Considerable public utility appraisement work was done in Detroit by Mr. Harvey, this including appraisal of property and equipment of the Detroit United Railways and the Detroit Edison Company. For a year Mr. Harvey was with the Detroit Forging Company and on April 17, 1917, shortly after the declaration of war, he enlisted in the navy and served ten 248 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY months on the United States steamship Columbia. Ten months he was at the Brooklyn navy yards, four months in Annapolis, six months on the "Wyoming" and six months on the "Pastoris." Altogether his term of service covered approximately two and a half years and Mr. Harvey was discharged at the Eagle Boat plant of the Ford company, November 1, 1919. He started in service as fireman, third class, and was promoted to chief carpenter's mate and later to engineering ensign. After the war Mr. Harvey went with Essel, Styne, Murphy & Hanford, of Detroit, and was with the concern a year. In 1920 he came to Pontiac and for two years has been the city building inspector. Mr. Harvey is a member of the American Society of Engineers, a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, Shriner, American Legionnaire and member of the Detroit Masonic Country Club. On August 11, 1923, Mr. Harvey and Miss Lucille McNaughton, of Pontiac, were united in marriage. Campbell Harvey, M.D.-Doctor Harvey, whose office is located at 807 Pontiac Bank building, Pontiac, was born in Detroit April 26, 1889. His maternal grandfather, Colin Campbell, was an early settler of Detroit. About 1865 he bought Apple island at Orchard lake in Oakland county. Campbell Harvey received his early education in Detroit, attending the public schools and graduating from Detroit Central high school in 1907. He then attended Princeton for three years, after which he spent a year with the E. M. F. company of Detroit. He then matriculated at the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1911 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For a period following he was in the employ of the Ford Motor Company and had risen to the post of assistant cashier. In 1918 he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan. A year's interneship was served and Doctor Harvey became senior house physician at the Boston floating hospital during 1919. He was then made assistant instructor in the department of pediatrics of the University of Michigan, so serving in 1919 and 1920, and then became medical house officer in the Children's hospital of Boston. He began the practice of medicine, outside institutions, in Detroit and remained in that city one year. While in Detroit he was visiting physician for Harper's hospital and the Children's hospital. In 1922 the Doctor came to Pontiac and continues practicing in this city, specializing in pediatrics. Doctor Harvey is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, alumni association of the Boston Children's hospital and of the Floating hospital of Boston. He is also a member of the Detroit Pediatric Society; of the University of Michigan Pediatric Society; of the Sigma XI, an honorary fraternity; of Nu Sigma Nu, a college fraternity; Alpha Sigma Phi, a medical fraternity; of the Masonic order; the Lions' Club; Detroit Boat Club; Board of Commerce and of the Presbyterian church. On January 24, 1919, Doctor Harvey and Miss Dorothy Durfee, of Sylvania, Ohio, were married. There is one daughter, Dorothy Durfee Harvey, who was born June 26, 1923. In November, 1917, Doctor Harvey enlisted PERSONAL SKETCHES 249 as a private in the World war and was transferred to the medical reserve corps. On the day he was directed to report for service the armistice was signed. Milton H. Haselwerdt is vice-president of the First National Bank of Rochester, of which he was formerly the cashier, and is secretary of the Rochester Development Company, a corporation that is doing splendid service in advancing the civic and material progress of Rochester and its tributary territory in this section of Oakland county. Mr. Haselwerdt was born and reared on a farm in Sharon township, Washtenaw county, Michigan, April 20, 1882, and is a representative of one of the old and honored families of that county. After his high school course he availed himself of the advantages of a business college in the city of Ypsilanti, and at the age of twenty-one years he took a position as assistant cashier in a bank at St. Ignace, Michigan, a picturesque little city on the upper peninsula and on the straits of Mackinac. There he remained four years, and in 1908 he came to Oakland county and assisted in the organization of the First National Bank of Rochester, of which he became cashier at the time of its incorporation, his service in that important executive capacity having been effective in the formative period of the institution's business and having been continued until 1917, since January 9th of which year he has been the vice-president. In 1924 the bank erected and took possession of its fine new building, of most modern architectural design and of high grade equipment and facilities, this building being a source of just pride to the citizens of Rochester and especially to the stockholders and officials of the institution. The First National Bank of Rochester bases its operations on a capital stock of $50,000, $85,000 surplus and undivided profits, resources in excess of $1,500,000, its affairs are ordered along consistently conservative lines and it is one of the substantial and important financial institutions of Oakland county. Mr. Haselwerdt is a liberal and public spirited citizen, has given seven years of service as a member of the Rochester board of education, is a director of the local Board of Commerce, and is a popular member of the Brooklands Golf and Country Club. His political alignment is with the Republican party, he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and his Masonic affiliations are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M. On the 15th of August, 1907, Mr. Haselwerdt wedded Miss Augustine Blanchard, of St. Ignace, this state, and they have three children: Irene, born August 1, 1908, is a member of the class of 1926 in the Rochester high school; Mildred, born March 12, 1912, is a student in the junior high school, and Marilyn Ruth was born July 2, 1924. William A. Hassberger.-Such remarkable and splendid growth and development as have marked the history of the Ferndale community in Oakland county could not have been made without the interposition of reliable, discriminating and resourceful exponents of the real estate business, and to its business men of this sphere of action Ferndale largely owes its rapid development from a small village to its present 250 EISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY population of about 12,000, in which connection it must be remembered that not until 1918 did Ferndale gain its charter as a village. Mr. Hassberger is vice-president of the Ferndale State Bank and is a member of the enterprising firm of Watson & Hassberger, which has here built up a large and prosperous real estate business, with which has been combined well ordered building operations that have contributed much to the material advancement of the village that is a veritable little city. The office of the firm is maintained at 22900 Woodward avenue. Mr. Hassberger was born in Scotland, January 21, 1893, and he was seven years of age when his parents crossed the Atlantic and established residence in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1909 Mr. Hassberger was graduated in the high school in the city of Montreal, Canada, and his initial service in connection with the practical affairs of life was in the capacity of messenger boy for the Michigan Central Railroad, at Detroit, Michigan, where he remained three years and won advancement that involved his having charge of the freight department. He next passed three years as an employee of the Michgan Stove Company, one of the important industrial concerns of Detroit, in which city he had established his residence in 1912. There his final connection was with the Cadillac Motor Company, and in 1920 he initiated his activities in the real estate business in the rapidly growing village of Ferndale. Here he was first associated with L. L. Watson, a brother of Philip J. Watson, who is his present coadjutor, as a member of the firm of Watson & Hassberger, this effective alliance having been formed in 1923. Mr. Hassberger is a member of the local Exchange Club, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. June 28, 1916, Mr. Hassberger wedded Miss Elsie Hemstreet, of Detroit, and they have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: William A., Jr., Jute 26, 1917; Richard Charles, May 29, 1919; and Geraldine May, November 6, 1922. Mr. Hassberger is one of the progressive business men and loyal citizens who are valued exponents of civic and, material progress in Ferndale. John L. Heckerd.-Mr. Heckerd is a member of the firm of John L. Heckerd Company, realtors of Royal Oak, Michigan, rather the head and directing genius of the business, which he operates on a high plane and which has gathered merited success. Mr. Heckerd was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, January 15, 1887, and was graduated from the Lock Haven high school. He became a telegraph operator and later was the manager of a stock and bond office in New York City and held similar positions in several southern cities, developing a strong business talent and obtaining a valuable fund of business information. In 1915 he went to Detroit and secured a position as real estate salesman. In 1918 he enlisted in the World war, was stationed at Camp Custer and discharged in January, 1919. He then located in Royal Oak, in October of that year, opening a real estate office. He has met with outstanding success. Mr. Heckerd is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner, Elk and Rotarian. He,faithfully bears the escutcheon of Rotary and of the Real Estate Board, of which he is a member. He is also a member of the Amer PERSONAL SKETCHES 251 ican Legion, the Oakland County Auto Club, Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Real Estate Association and the National Association of Real Estate Boards. On September 7, 1918, Mr. Heckerd was united in marriage to Miss Clara Walters of Saginaw. To them has been born one daughter, Leah, whose advent was joyously observed December 12, 1919. Mr. Heckerd has been very active in civic and public movements especially in the formal organization of Royal Oak as a city in 1921, and served as a member of the city commission, 1921 to 1923, inclusive. Herman G. Hendrickson is a successful representative of horticultural industry in Oakland county, and stages his operations in his native township of Troy, near the village of Clawson. Here he was born April 6, 1872, a son of George Washington Hendrickson aid Mary E. (Parks) Hendrickson, the latter of whom was a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of Oakland county. George W. Hendrickson was born in the state of New York, October 10, 1827, and he was long numbered among the substantial exponents of farm enterprise in Oakland county, his death having occurred here September 15, 1910, and his wife having survived him by exactly one year and one day, as her death occurred September 16, 1911. Mrs. Hendrickson was born on the old homestead now owned and occupied by her son, Herman G., of this review, and the date of her birth was February 11, 1835-two years prior to the admission of Michigan to statehood. She was a daughter of Allen Miner Parks, whose father, Captain Robert Parks, had been an officer in the war of 1812, and the latter's father had been a captain in the Continental Line in the war of the Revolution. Allen M. Parks was born in 1808, and died April 5, 1855. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Martin, was born August 24, 1810, and died June 22, 1878. Captain Robert Parks came to Michigan Territory in 1822 and purchased 400 acres of land in what is now Troy township, Oakland county, principally in section 8. He here reclaimed from the wilderness a productive farm, and while he later lived for some time at Grand Rapids, he eventually returned to Troy township, where he passed the remainder of his life as one of the honored territorial pioneers of Oakland county. To the public schools of Troy township Herman G. Hendrickson is indebted for his youthful education, and in his earlier career he was there actively identified with general farm enterprise, but for the past thirty years he has given his attention to scientific horticulture, in which connection he now has greenhouses that have an area of 5,000 square feet. He sold sixteen acres of his farm for a good figure and a portion of the same has now been subdivided, as an addition to the village of Clawson. Later he sold thirty acres which is also platted and is now a part of Clawson. In his home place, given to his horticultural enterprise, he retains three and one-half acres, and the tract is equipped with modern improvements and facilities. His political support is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife attend and support the Methodist Episcopal church at Clawson, Mrs. Hendrickson's parents having been members of the Presbyterian church for many years. Mr. Hendrickson is affiliated with Birmingham Lodge No. 44, Ancient Free and 252 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Accepted Masons, of which his father likewise had been an active member. February 14, 1900, Mr. Hendrickson wedded Miss Anna McBride, who was born in Royal Oak township, this county, April 24, 1876, a daughter of Hugh and Sarah (Thompson) McBride. Hugh McBride, who still resides in Royal Oak township, at the venerable age of eighty-six years (1925), was born in Ireland, as was also his wife, whose death occurred in 1882, they having been early settlers in Royal Oak township. Mr. McBride is a son of the late Robert McBride, who came with his family from Ireland and established his home in Detroit, Michigan, in 1854, the old home having been near Belfast, Ireland. The sailing vessel on which the family first embarked, from Queenstown, was partially wrecked, in mid-ocean, and was compelled to return to the home port. The McBride family then took passage on another sailing vessel, and the voyage of three months was completed when they landed in the port of New York City. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrickson have one daughter, Marian E., who was born January 1, 1904, and whose early educational discipline included that of the high school of Royal Oak. January 18, 1922, Miss Hendrickson became the wife of Edward F. Graham, and they now reside at Clawson. Mr. Graham was born in Missouri, and he was one of the gallant young men who served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in the World war, he having been in over-seas service eighteen months and having lived up to the full tension of the great conflict, in connection with which he was on the front line at the time when the historic armistice brought hostilities to a close. F. Evan Herdman.-One of the recently established financial institutions of Oakland county is The Berkley State Bank, in the village of Berkley, and, with ample capital and well ordered executive control, this bank is proving a most valuable medium for conserving and advancing the general prosperity of its constituent community. He whose name introduces this review had the distinction of being selected as the first cashier of The Berkley State Bank, a position which he assumed in March, 1924, shortly after the incorporation of the institution, his service since that time having in the fullest degree justified his being called to this executive office. Mr. Herdman was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, June 16, 1901, and he was a child at the time of the family removal to Leamington, Ontario, Canada, where he was reared to adult age and where he received his early education, which included the curriculum of the high school. His initial business experience was gained through his finding employment in a bank at Harrow, Ontario, and later he held a position as accountant for the Ford Motor Company of Canada, at Ford, Ontario, at its head offices, where he remained about eighteen months. He then' established himself again in his native city of Detroit, where his service was in various departments of The Commercial State Savings Bank, with which he continued his connection until he assumed his present position, that of cashier of The Berkley State Bank. In the city of Detroit Mr. Herdman is affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge No. 297, A. F. and A. M., and Olive Leaf Lodge No. 438, I. O. O. F., of Berkley, besides which PERSONAL SKETCHES 253 he has membership in the representative Gridiron Club of Detroit. He is also a member of the Detroit Republican Club. Leo John Heenan.-Possessed of strong native artistic ability with a predilection for architecture, Mr. Heenan has become one of the leading architects of Pontiac. He is located at 30Y2 East Pike street. Mr. Heenan was born in Jackson, Michigan, August 1, 1890, and received his early education in the public schools of that city. When about fourteen years old he came to Pontiac, was graduated from high school here and took a year at the University of Michigan in the department of architecture. He then entered the office of Albert Kahn, in Detroit, and in the course of two years went with Smith, Hinchman & Fields, with whom he remained a year. He was next with the industrial engineering concern which built the present plant of the Maxwell Motor Company. A year was also spent in Detroit with Mr. Bishoff, one of the leading architects of that city, and then he returned to Pontiac and took charge of the Motor Truck Company, which had been the old Rapid Motor Vehicle Company. For three years Mr. Heenan had charge of all construction work. He returned to Detroit and was employed by Harry Hamilton and Morris Grabosky, who built the plants of the Gray Motors Company and the Sampson Motor Truck Company. In 1914 he returned to Pontiac and engaged in business for himself, meeting with unusual success. Mr. Heenan was architect for the Strand theatre, Baxter school, St. Joseph's Hospital at Mt. Clemens, Skeman building, Warner residence, C. B. Wilson residence, Isgrigg residence on Franklin boulevard, and rebuilt the home of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, E. H. Fay residence and other structures. He planned the gates of Perrymount Park cemetery and planned Grinnell Brothers' music house of Pontiac, one of the finest buildings of the size in the United States. Other architectural work done was for the W. H. Berner residence at Bloomfield Hills, the T. F. McMannus estate and the E. P. Waldron residence at Bloomfield Hills and others reflecting a pronounced degree of architectural versatility. Mr. Heenan is a member of the city's commercial organization and of the Elks. He is a director of the Lions' Club and a director of the Michigan Mutual Savings Association. During the World war he was connected with the quartermasters' department in Detroit and stationed at the Denby motor truck plant and the army and navy aviation supply depot, under Major Ernest Wemp. On April 26, 1916, Mr. Heenan was united in marriage to Miss Cora Lillian Nelson, of Chatham, Ontario. Three children have come into the family, Leo J., Jr., born August 11, 1920; Shirley G., born October 8, 1921, and George Arthur, born November 9, 1923. Raymond E. Hess.-The village of Berkley, Oakland county, gained its municipal charter in 1923, and its development and progress have been one of the marvels of civic and material advancement in the latter-day history of this county. Mr. Hess has here been established in business as a contractor and builder since 1917, and that he has made valuable contribution to the material development of this community needs no further voucher than the statement that he has here 254 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY erected up to the present time 175 houses of modern type, the while he has likewise made contribution to material and civic progress through his well ordered activities as a dealer in local real estate. Mr. Hess reverts to the historic old Keystone state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, May 11, 1887. He is a son of Elam and Margaret (Herr) Hess, both likewise natives of Pennsylvania. Elam Hess was long numbered among the substantial farmers of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and he is now living retired in the city of Lancaster. He was born in the year 1850, as was also his wife, the death of the latter having occurred October 24, 1923. The public schools of Lancaster afforded Raymond E, Hess his youthful education, and he early entered upon a practical apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, at which he became a skilled artisan and with which he has been continuously associated to the present time, he having established his home at Berkley in 1917 and having gained precedence as one of the leading contractors and builders in this section of Oakland county. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and he is a liberal and public-spirited citizen who is always ready to do his part in the advancing of the best interests of his home community. He owns and occupies a fine modern residence at 2928 Cumberland road. August 24, 1914, Mr. Hess married Miss Mildred Sackrider, who was born and reared in the province of Ontario, Canada, and who was a daughter of Max Sackrider. Mrs. Hess died March 15, 1925. Roy, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Hess, was born June 8, 1919, and died on the 16th of the following month. Mr. Hess is a member of the Baptist Church. Harry H. Hiltz has maintained his residence in Pontiac since the year 1902, and here he has been independently engaged in the jewelry business since 1915, his attractively appointed and well equipped jewelry establishment being at 104 North Saginaw street, and its effective service, as combined with the personal popularity of its proprietor, having gained to it a substantial and appreciative patronage. In the fair old city of Hamilton, Province of Ontario, Canada, Harry H. Hiltz was born November 29, 1883, a son of Richard and Julia (Cline) Hiltz. He is indebted to, the public schools of Hamilton for his early educational' discipline, and there also, at the age of fourteen years, he entered upon the practical apprenticeship that led to his becoming a skilled workman at the jeweler's trade. He was a youth of eighteen years when he came to Pontiac, Michigan, and here he found employment in the jewelry store of Edwin Allison, with whom he continued his association until 1915, when he engaged in the same line of business in an independent way. He now has one of the leading jewelry establishments of the city, and its business shows a constantly cumulative tendency. Mr. Hiltz is affiliated with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Pontiac Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons, besides which he holds membership in a local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church, and they are popular figures in the social life of their home community. On the 30th of June, 1908, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hiltz to Miss Margaret N. Terry, of Pontiac, she PERSONAL SKETCHES 255 being the eldest daughter of Josiah P. Terry and a representative of one of the old and honored families of Oakland county, a record of the Terry family being given on other pages of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Hiltz have four children: Joseph R., Beatrice J., Harry H., Jr., and William Roy. Murray Hiltz, a brother of the subject of this review, enlisted as a volunteer, in 1917, for service in the World war, and within his nineteen months of service he was for more than a year with the American Expeditionary Forces over seas. He was a member of the Three Hundred and Twenty-ninth Michigan Machine Gun Battalion, and in his over seas duty he served as bugler. Forest Holdsworth is one of the progressive representatives of the real estate business in the city of Pontiac, Oakland county, where he is junior member of the firm of McQuaid & Holdsworth, the offices of which are at 86Y2 North Saginaw street. Mr. Holdsworth was born at Beaconsfield, province of Ontario, Canada, July 25, 1882, and was three years of age at the time of the family removal to Tuscola county, Michigan, where his early education was acquired in the public schools. At the age of seventeen years he initiated his apprenticeship to the painters' trade, and he continued to follow this trade about twenty years, he having established his residence in Pontiac in the year 1898. In 1919 he here became associated with W. B. Craig in the real estate business, the firm of Craig & Holdsworth establishing its offices at No. 1Y2 North Saginaw street. In 1921 the present firm of McQuaid & Holdsworth was formed, and it has developed a substantial and well ordered business in the general handling of city and country real estate, with a clientage of representative order. Mr. Holdsworth is an active member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, is president of the Pontiac Real Estate Board at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-25, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. He married Miss Gertrude E. DuMontier, of Caseville, Huron county, and of this union have been born five children: Edna M., Charles B., Louis Russell (who died in infancy), Eleanor Marie, and William Ward. Edna M. is a member of the class of 1925 in the Pontiac high school, and Charles B. is a member of its freshman class. Mr. Holdsworth is a loyal and progressive citizen, and through his real estate operations has done much to advance the interests of his home city. Samuel Hollway.-Mr. Hollway, retail dealer in meats, 395 Orchard Lake avenue, Pontiac, is a member of a widely known and estimable family and was born in this city July 10, 1873. He is a son of Frederick Hollway, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Hollway attended public school, grade and high, and upon leaving school worked for his brothers in the meat business. He then engaged in business in Rochester, Oakland county. This was in 1900. He was in Rochester two years and then for a while was with the Hollway Brothers, later operating a retail establishment on Oakland avenue. In 1923 Mr. Hollway purchased a meat market at 395 Orchard Lake avenue and this has been a very successful venture, employing five men. Mr. Hollway is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and of the Knights of the Maccabees. On April 27, 1900, he was married to Miss Anna Gessler, of Pontiac. There are three children. The 256 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY oldest, Marian, is twenty-three, a graduate of Pontiac high school and of Ypsilanti State Normal. For two years she taught in Birmingham, Michigan, and is now teaching in Pontiac. In July, 1924, Miss Hollway became Mrs. Thomas F. Carson, of Laporte, Indiana. The second child is Floyd, aged twenty-one, who was educated in the Pontiac public schools and is now employed by his father. The third child is Isabel, aged fourteen. The members of the Hollway family are communicants of the Baptist church. Warrick Hollway.-Mr. Hollway is a member of the firm of Hollway Brothers, retail meats, located at 36 North Saginaw street, Pontiac, a thoroughly representative firm and one of the best known in the city. The firm is composed of Warrick and Henry Y. Hollway, sons of Frederick and Mary (Smale) Hollway. Frederick Hollway was born in England, February 24, 1841, and Mrs. Hollway was born in Osborne township, Huron county, Ontario, May 20, 1842. Mrs. Hollway died April 10, 1912. Frederick Hollway came from England to Canada in 1852, was married in 1862 and in 1872 came to Pontiac, where the following year he engaged in the meat business. In 1889 the business was sold to the Hollway Brothers. The elder Hollway for years bought and shipped cattle, but for the past twelve years has lived in retirement from active business cares and today at the age of eighty-three is well preserved and mentally and physically vigorous. He owns and drives his own automobile and enjoys frequent trips to Canada. In 1873 Mr. Hollway was made a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and Mrs. Hollway became the parents of seven children, two of whom died in infancy. The living children are Henry Y., Warrick, Sarah, Samuel and Maud, who is the wife of John Ebner, of Detroit. Warrick Hollway was born in Ontario, June 3, 1866, came to Pontiac when four years old, attended grade and high schools and was associated with his father in the meat business until 1889, when he and his brother, Henry Y., purchased the father's business. The same year Mr. Hollway was married to Miss Lizzie McCormick, of Pontiac. They became the parents of three children. Roy D. married Helen Parkins, of Pontiac. He died in Arizona in April, 1919, aged twenty-nine years. Beryl was graduated from Pontiac high school and from St. Margaret's in Washington, D. C., training especially for kindergarten work. She taught in Pontiac and for two years in Highland Park, Michigan. She is the wife of Lester F. Orr, of Melba, Long Island, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Orr have one child, Lester F., Jr., Bernice Irene, the third child, is also a graduate of Pontiac high school and attended St. Margaret Institute. She is now the wife of Dr. William Hannan Hubbard, of Pontiac, and the mother of one son, Hollway Hubbard. Mr. Hollway, in addition to his business, finds time for fraternal association, being a Rotarian, Elk and Pythian. Henry Y. Hollway was also born in Canada, received his early education in Pontiac and was associated with his father until 1889, when the brothers purchased the establishment. Mr. Hollway was married January 26, 1919, to Miss Anna Kallenbach, of Pontiac, and they have one child, Marie C., aged twelve. Henry Y. Hollway shares with his brother strong interest in the upbuilding and develop PERSONAL SKETCHES 257 merit of the community. He is a member of the Board of Commerce. Fred W. Holmes, postmaster of the village of Milford, is giving an administration that in every sense justifies his selection for this office, the service of which is one of major importance in the community. Mr. Holmes was born in Livingston county, Michigan, January 18, 1877, and was a child at the time of the family removal to Commerce township, Oakland county, where his father continued to hold precedence as a successful and representative exponent of farm industry until his death, in 1908, at the age of sixty-five years. The popular postmaster of Milford is a son of David and Frances (Merrill) Holmes, and it has already been noted that the father was one of the prosperous farmers of Oakland county at the time of his death, having had secure place in popular confidence and esteem. The widowed mother is now (1925) seventy years of age and still resides in Oakland county, at Milford. Fred W. Holmes found his childhood and early youth compassed by the invigorating influences of the home farm, and in the public schools he continued his studies until his graduation in the Milford high school. He continued his active association with farm enterprise until 1909, when he established his residence at Milford and became a carrier on one of the rural mail routes served from the local postoffice. In this service he continued until November 7, 1922, when he was appointed postmaster at Milford, of which office he has since continued the efficient incumbent. While residing on the farm in Commerce township Mr. Holmes there served as township treasurer in 1906-7. In the Masonic fraternity his affiliations are with Milford Lodge No. 165, F. and A. M.; Milford Chapter No. 71, R. A. M., and the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. He is unfaltering in his allegiance to the Republican party, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was also his wife. On the 25th of June, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Holmes to Miss Sarah Bush, of Bellville, Wayne county, and she passed to the life eternal November 24, 1918, the one surviving child being Gyles D., who was born July 14, 1914. Milford's postmaster is well known in this favored section of Michigan and his circle of friends is virtually limited only by that of his acquaintances. Orph C. Holmes has shown in his business activities the same spirit of loyalty that characterized his course while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in the World war, he having volunteered about one month after the United States entered the war. As a contractor and builder Mr. Holmes has been engaged in business at Ferndale, Oakland county, since 1919, and in this enterprise he has as a partner and valued coadjutor his first cousin, James E. Holmes. Honorable methods and effective service have gained to this firm a substantial and prosperous business. Mr. Holmes was born at Frankfort, Indiana, August 14, 1893, and his parents, James R. and Elgie (Parvis) Holmes, now reside on their homestead farm in Gratiot county, Michigan. In the public schools of his native place Mr. Holmes continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, in 1912, and thereafter he attended Winona College and also 258 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY summer sessions of the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. He was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of his native town of Frankfort from 1912 until 1917, and on May 12th of the latter year he volunteered for service in the World war. He entered the officers' training camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison, near Indianapolis, and there won his commission as second lieutenant, a rank which he retained throughout his subsequent period of service. He became a member of the Three Hundred and Sixth United States Cavalry, but in August, 1918, he went to France as a member of the Third Pioneer Infantry. He saw active and arduous service at the front, took part in the campaigns in various sectors, and participated in the now historic Meuse-Argonne battle. After the signing of the armistice brought the war to a close Mr. Holmes was in service with the allied army of occupation in Germany, and he did not return to his native land until the summer of 1919. He received his honorable discharge August 19th of that year, and he is now a member of the Reserve Three Hundred and Nineteenth Cavalry, in which he was made a first lieutenant in December, 1919, and in which he was advanced to the office of captain in August, 1924. Captain Holmes is a member of the Army and Navy Club in the city of Detroit. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a Republican in politics, and has membership in the Baptist church. The firm of Holmes & Holmes, general contractors and builders, maintains headquarters in the American State Bank building at Ferndale. L. D. Holser, plumbing and heating, located at 48 West Pike street, Pontiac, Michigan, is a son of Oakland county born in Waterford December 18, 1880. He is a son of Lewis J. and Elva E. (Terry) Holser. The father engaged in farming in early life, worked as a stationary engineer at the Battle Creek sanitarium and at the state hospital in Pontiac and later engaged in the plumbing and heating business in Pontiac. The mother died in 1888 but Lewis J. Holser is living at 148 West Pike street, Pontiac. L. D. Holser attended public school, did farm work as a boy and was in the navy fifteen months. He then became associated with his father in plumbing and heating, worked in Detroit and Pontiac and in 1915 went into business for himself in Pontiac, buying the father's shop and business located at 27 East Pike street. He had been located seven years at 27 East Pike street. August 15, 1924, he moved to his present location, where larger quarters could be secured. Mr. Holser does much work on homes, schools, etc., and his business is extensive. From fifteen to twenty-five operatives are employed. Mr. Holser furnishes the equipment for sewage disposal plants, retails all kinds of pipes, valves and fittings and makes all sorts of heating and ventilation installations, among some of the larger jobs being the Pontiac Daily Press, Queen General Motor Truck Company, Vaile Brothers, schoolhouses at Oak Ridge, Ferndale, Redford and Plymouth, and a heating plant at Sylvan Lake schoolhouse. Mr. Holser was married on December 31, 1913, to Miss Florence Kurnz of Detroit. There are three children, a E. P. HONVARTH, SR. 1 PERSONAL SKETCHES 259 Gertrude, Jay and Junior. Mr. Holser belongs to the various Masonic bodies, including the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is an Elk, a member of the Lions' Club, Knights Templar and, politically, he is a Democrat. Membership in the Board of Commerce is also held. Elijah B. Howarth, Jr., present representative of the Twelfth senatorial district of Michigan in the state senate and previously a member of the house of representatives of the Michigan legislature, is one of the prominent members of the bar of Oakland county, is established in the practice of his profession at Royal Oak, and is one of the progressive and influential citizens of this attractive little city. Mr. Howarth was born in Orion township, this county, October 2, 1885, and is a son of Elijah B. Howarth, Sr., who still resides on the fine old homestead farm in Orion township, the same having been the place upon which his father settled in the pioneer period of Oakland county history. To the district school of the home community Senator Howarth is indebted for his preliminary education, which was advanced by his attending the high school in the village of Orion, and the Ohio Northern University, at Ada, Ohio. In 1910 he was graduated in the Detroit College of Law, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and upon his admission to the bar he engaged in the practice of his profession at Rochester, Oakland county, where he remained until 1913, when he removed to Royal Oak. Here he is a member of the representative law firm of Howarth & Allen, which controls a large and important general law business. Mr. Howarth served two terms as circuit court commissioner for his native county, and in the World war period he was a valued member of the draft board of the. Second district of Oakland county. He is a stalwart in the local ranks of the Republican party, and on the 7th of November, 1922, he was elected representative of Oakland county in the lower house of the Michigan legislature, he having received 6,198 votes and his Democratic opponent, Charles H. Richmond, having received 3,301. In the primary election of September 9, 1924, Mr. Howarth received the Republican nomination for state senator from the Twelfth district, and in the following month he was elected to this office, by a majority that indicated the high estimate placed upon him in his constituent district. He is affiliated with Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, A. F. and A. M.; Royal Oak Chapter No. 167, R. A. M., and the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He is a director of the Royal Oak Savings Bank, is the owner of the Howarth building, one of the modern business blocks of Royal Oak, and he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church in their home city. In the year 1911 Mr. Howarth wedded Miss Laura B. Smith, and they have four children: Alice, Marjorie, Esther and Milton B. Elija Bailey Howarth, Sr., was born on the farm in Orion township which has since been his home, January 1, 1855, a son of John and Loretta (Clark) Howarth. John Howarth was born in Hatfield parish, Yorkshire, England, February 28, 1813. He was baptized in the Church of England at an early age and in 1834 he came to the United States. In 1835 he came to Michigan, living a short time in 260 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the village of Detroit, and then located on a farm in Orion township which continued to be his home until his death on July 16, 1892. On December 27, 1842, he was united in marriage to Miss Loretta M. Clark, who was born in Connecticut December 24, 1819, and who died April 24, 1863. She became the mother of the following children: George W., who enlisted for service in the Civil war and died on the way to join the Union forces and was buried at Chattanooga, Tennessee; John C. married Amanda Parker, becoming a prosperous farmer, and died October 27, 1920; Romaine Almond died in childhood; Charles H. married Mary E. Rice, was a farmer and died October 27, 1914; Hattie E. married Julius Johnson; Leila J. died in childhood; Elijah B., the subject of this record, and James Edward, who died in childhood. For a second wife John Howarth married Mrs. Sarah M. Parker, who was born in Munroe county, New York, and died September 8, 1906, and of this marriage there was one child born, Sarah. At the time of his death the following tribute was penned to the memory of John Howarth by Uncle Judson Clark: "Quiet and unassuming, and withal of domestic nature, the ties of home and kindred were more sacred to him than to most men. And as all can attest who have participated in the many family reunions, that the one spot was always made brighter by the presence of Uncle John Howarth." Elijah B. Howarth was reared on the homestead farm and attended the district school, which is located on the Howarth farm. He married Miss Mary Parker, who was born in Oakland county, February 8, 1854, and died March 4, 1897. Of this marriage four children were born: Judson married Miss Alice Bishop and is operating the Holwarth homestead; E. B., Jr., of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this volume; Leila married Forrest Cotcher and resides in Pontiac township, and Dora, who married Walter Looney and resides in Pontiac township. For his second wife Elijah B. Howarth married Margaret Heliker, now deceased. Mr. HIowarth is a member of the Methodist church and donated the land for the church of that denomination, which stands on the Holwarth farm. In politics he has always been a Republican and aside from minor township offices has never aspired to public honors. He succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead and for many years has been one of the successful farmers of his township, being active in its affairs until recently ill health has made it necessary to shift the burden to the shoulders of a younger man. Edward V. Howlett, M. D., is established in the successful practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac, and has definite status as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county. He was born on the parental homestead farm in Unadilla township, Livingston county, Michigan, January 20, 1876, and his public school discipline included that of the high school at Howell. In preparation for the exacting profession of his choice, he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1902. After receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he gained valuable clinical experience PERSONAL SKETCHES 261 of preliminary order, by serving as interne in the Tamarac Mining Company hospital at Calumet, Michigan, for one year, and he served eighteen months as an assistant to Doctor Burnham, chief surgeon for the Tri-Mountain Mining Company, in Houghton county, this state. He was then appointed successor of Doctor Burnham as chief surgeon for this important mining corporation, with which he continued his alliance in this capacity until October, 1911, when he resigned. On the 12th of the following January he established his residence in the city of Pontiac, where he has since continued his professional activities and where he has built up a substantial and representative practice, in which he gives special attention to surgery. Doctor Howlett is an active member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In the Masonic fraternity his maximum York Rite affiliation is with the local commandery of Knights Templar, and in the Scottish Rite he has received the thirty-second degree. He is a loyal and valued member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce and is a member of the local Aviation Club. His political alignment is with the Democratic party and he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. September 20, 1904, Doctor Howlett wedded Miss May Rockwell, of Stockbridge, Ingham county, and they have two sons. Robert Rockwell, the elder son, was born November 14, 1906, was graduated in the Pontiac high school, was a student in Kalamazoo College in 1922-3, and in the autumn of 1924 he entered the University of Michigan, in which he is a student at the time of this writing. The younger son, Lucius Edward, was born January 28, 1908, and is a member of the class of 1925 in the Pontiac high school. Frank A. Hoyt has made a record of loyal and efficient service in various offices of public trust in his native county, and the year 1925 finds him giving a most effective administration as county superintendent of the poor in Oakland county, with residence and executive headquarters in the city of Pontiac, the county seat. Mr. Hoyt was born in Independence township, this county, July 7, 1869, and is a son of Edwy William Hoyt and Minerva (Bell) Hoyt, both natives of the state of New York. Edwy W. Hoyt was born in 1836 and was a child of two years when his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hoyt, came to the new state of Michigan and established their residence in Oakland county, they having been pioneer settlers in what is now Independence township, where the father developed a farm, besides following his trade, that of blacksmith, a vocation with which the family name had been identified for several generations. Edwy W. Hoyt was reared and educated in Oakland county, and here became a skilled artisan at the ancestral blacksmith trade, though his primary vocation was that of farm enterprise, of which he was for many years a successful representative in Independence township, he having been seventy-three years of age at the time of his death, in 1908, and his wife having passed away in that same year, at the age of sixty-six years, she having been a child at the time of the family removal from New York state to Oakland county, Michigan, where she passed the 262 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY remainder of her life, both she and her husband having been honored pioneer citizens of the county at the time of their death. Frank A. Hoyt was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm, is indebted to the public schools of his native county for his youthful education, and in addition to acquiring knowledge of all details of productive farm industry he learned also the blacksmith trade, under the effective direction of his father. He well upheld the prestige of the family name as a progressive farmer and skilled blacksmith in Independence township, and there was no minor proclamation of the confidence and esteem in which he was held in the community in which he was reared, for he was called upon to serve as township clerk (1916), and as township supervisor, to which latter office he was elected in 1917 and in which he served four years. As a member of the county board of supervisors he did much to advance the interests of his constituent township of Independence, and also progressive movements for the benefit of the entire county. In 1921 he was elected to his present office, that of superintendent of the poor, in which he is zealously and sympathetically providing ways and means for helping the unfortunate wards of his department of the county government, the while he is careful in making expenditures of funds in the most economical but effective way. He has sold his farm, a well improved property, and has made investment in Pontiac real estate, including his attractive home place, at 118 Lincoln avenue, where, as a.bachelor, he is not denied the advantages and attractions of a real home. Mr. Hoyt is a Republican in his political alignment, and is affiliated with Cedar Lodge No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Charles O. Hubbell owns and conducts, at 156 Oakland avenue, one of the well equipped drug stores of the city of Pontiac, and the substantial and representative character of the supporting patronage indicates the effectiveness of the service here given. Mr. Hubbell claims the fine old Hoosier state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at York, Steuben county, Indiana, December 16, 1868. He was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Fremont, Indiana, including the high school, and later he was a student in the Tri-State Normal College, at Angola, in his native county. He gave four years to the study of medicine, under the preceptorship of Dr. H. D. Wood, one of the able and honored pioneer physicians and surgeons of northern Indiana, and in 1893 he came to Jackson, Michigan, he having passed examination before the Michigan state board of pharmacy. He remained in the state of Michigan until he established himself in the drug business at Hammond, Indiana, where he was thus engaged four years. During the ensuing twelve years he was engaged in the drug business at Plymouth, Wayne county, Michigan, and he then, in 1912, established his present drug store in Pontiac, where he has built up a substantial and prosperous business that gives him rank as one of the representative business men of the cify. Mr. Hubbell is a Republican in his political proclivities, he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church, he is a member of the Exchange Club in Pontiac, and in the Masonic fraternity he PERSONAL SKETCHES 263 has affiliation with all York Rite bodies, his maximum alliance in the same being with Pontiac Commandery of Knights Templar, and he being also a noble of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Detroit. In his home city he has membership also in the Knights of Pythias. In the year 1896 Mr. Hubbell wedded Miss Laura E. Crawford, of Milford, Oakland county, she being a daughter of the late James Crawford. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbell have two children: Helen, who remains at the parental home was graduated in the Pontiac high school and in the same completed also a post-graduate course; Alice Jeanette, likewise a graduate of the local high school, is now the wife of Park Hammond, of Pontiac, her husband having come to Michigan from Bolivar, Pennsylvania. Frank Schuyler Hubbell, who, after many years of successful and varied business activities, is now living virtually retired, in the attractive little Oakland county city of Milford, claims Michigan as the state of his nativity and is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of this commonwealth. He was born in Marengo, Calhoun county, Michigan, January 1, 1858, and is a son of the late Edwin and Sarah E. (Mudge) Hubbell, the former of whom was born in Milford township, Oakland county, Michigan, and the latter of whom was born near Meadville, Pennsylvania. Philip Schuyler Hubbell, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from the state of New York to Michigan territory in the year 1833, and became one of the earliest settlers in Milford township, Oakland county, where he did well his part in the sturdy work of civic and industrial development, so that his name merits place on the rolls of the honored pioneers of Michigan. He whose name initiates this review is the elder of two children, his sister Carrie having become the wife of William Marling and being now deceased. The Milford public schools afforded Frank S. Hubbell his early education, and as a youth he learned the trade of telegraphist. As a telegraph operator he was employed two years at various Michigan stations on the line of the F. and P. M. railroad, and during the ensuing two years he was employed in the Detroit offices of the Western Union Telegraph Company. In 1877 he returned to Milford and engaged in the retail grocery business, in partnership with D. T. Smith, he having later purchased his partner's interest and having continued in the general store business here during a period of twenty years, with standing as one of the leading merchants of this village. In 1892 Mr. Hubbell showed his civic loyalty and liberality by effecting the organization of the Milford Electric Company, for the supply of light and power to the village, he having been the virtual owner of this plant until September 13, 1923, when it was sold, he having sold his general store business in 1897. Mr. Hubbell was for twenty-nine years engaged also in the wholesale ice business, in the handling of natural ice, and in this business he extended his operations to Clyde, Rose, Farwell and Lake Station, he having in the meanwhile erected some of the largest ice houses in Michagan. In 1907 he initiated the business conducted under the title of the Hubbell Sand Company, at Manistee, 264 ' HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Michigan, and he still retains his interest in this business. He is a director of the First State Bank of Milford, is the owner of valued real estate in this village, and besides has an idyllic summer home on an island in White Lake, near Milford. His political alignment is with the Democratic party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and he holds membership in the Presbyterian church. The first marriage of Mr. Hubbell was with Miss Justina Jeanette Findlay, daughter of the late Alexander Findlay, who was a pioneer citizen of Milford township. Mrs. Hubbell passed to the life eternal in the year 1912, and is survived by four children: Mrs. Linnie Stolle, of Seattle, Washington; Alexander E., of Bay City, Michigan; Emory F., of Saginaw, this state, and Mrs. Janet Gertrude Fee, of Birmingham, Oakland county. On the 15th of October, 1914, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hubbell to Mrs. Elizabeth B. Morehouse, of Detroit, and she is the gracious chatelaine of their pleasant home. Charles Albert Hubble is president and general manager of the Holly Lumber and Supply Company, which is one of the important business concerns of the thriving little city of Holly and which ranks among the leading corporations of its kind in Oakland county. That Mr. Hubble has a distinct predilection for and adaptability to the lumber business may have basic reason in his having been born in a typical Michigan lumber camp, near Otto Lake, Tuscola county, the date of his nativity having been April 19, 1876. At that time the great lumbering industry of Michigan was in its zenith. Mr. Hubble is a son of the late Lewis and Fanny (McCalley) Hubble, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Monroe county, Michigan, on the 23d of June, 1849, a date that shows that her parents were pioneer settlers of that fine old county. Lewis Hubble came to Michigan in an early day and became actively concerned in the extensive lumbering operations that then constituted one of the foremost industries of this state. He later turned his attention to farm enterprise, and he met an accidental death, in 1887, when he was killed by a railroad train. He represented Michigan as a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he served as a member of the First Michigan Cavalry and under the command of General George Custer, later the chief figure in the now historic Custer Indian massacre in the western wilds. The widow of Lewis Hubble survived him by virtually thirty years and her death occurred in 1917. Charles A. Hubble acquired his early education by attending a rural school near the home farm, in the vicinity of the city of Flint, Genesee county, and he has been a resident of Holly since 1890-a period of fully thirty-four years. During all these years he has been continuously identified with the one lumbering concern, the same having been known as the Michigan Truck and Lumber Company until 1923, when the present corporate title of the Holly Lumber and Supply Company was adopted. Beginning as an ordinary workman, Mr. Hubble won advancement by faithful and efficient service, and he was for many years the manager of the business of the original company, he being now president and general manager of the corporation that is the PERSONAL SKETCHES 265 direct successor of the Michigan Truck and Lumber Company. Mr. Hubble is one of the most loyal, liberal and public spirited citizens of Holly, has here been retained in active service as a member of the municipal board of commissioners for the past ten years, is chief of the Holly fire department, and is a director and staunch supporter of the local Board of Commerce. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. In October, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hubble to Miss Blanche M. Bush, daughter of the late William and Mary (Rice) Bush, who were honored pioneer citizens of Holly township at the time of their death, Bush lake, in that township, having been named from the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Hubble. Lawrence, eldest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Hubble, resides in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is married, and has one son and two daughters. Clair maintains his residence in Flint. Frank is married and is in the employ of the Holly Lumber and Supply Company, and Doris is (in 1925) a student in the Holly high school. Edwin A. Hudson is serving as justice of the peace in the village of Rochester, and his administration is such as to make the office justify its title in every sense. As a magistrate his rulings have been marked by judicial wisdom, accurate interpretation of the law, and earnest desire to serve the ends of justice and equity. Mr. Hudson was born in the village that is now his place of residence, and the date of his nativity was September 23, 1861. He is a son of Dr. John K. and Amanda (Greene) Hudson, the former of whom was born at Hemlock Lake, Livingston county, New York, in the year 1816, and the latter of whom was born in Oakland county, Michigan, in 1827, she having been a daughter of Champlin and Fannie (Hazen) Greene, both of whom were born in Livingston county, New York, whence they came to Oakland county, Michigan, as territorial pioneers. It was about the year 1822 that Champlin Greene came to Oakland county, and settled on a tract of land three miles south of the present village of Rochester, where he began the reclamation of a farm from the primitive forest wilderness. He passed the closing years of his life on a farm two and one-half miles west of Farmington, this county, where he died in 1887, his widow having passed away in 1892, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years and as one of the last of the few remaining territorial pioneer women of the county. Dr. John K. Hudson was graduated in Bellevue Medical College in New York City, and was twenty-five years of age when he came to Oakland county, Michigan, and became associated with his brother, Dr. Alanson Hudson, in the general practice of medicine at Farmington. Two years later he removed to Rochester, and here he continued in the successful and earnest work of his profession until his death, in 1865, his wife having survived him by thirty years and having passed away in 1895. They became the parents of six children: Gilbert R. (deceased); Maria L., living at Maryville, Kansas; Lemen W. (de 266 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ceased); Henry (deceased); John G., of Akron, Colorado, and Edwin A. Under the first administration of President Lincoln Dr. Alanson Hudson was appointed postmaster at Rochester, and after his death his widow assumed the duties of this office, in which she continued her service until her son, Lemen W., attained to his legal majority and was appointed postmaster, an office which he retained many years -until Grover Cleveland was elected president of the United States. Dr. Hudson refused to accept from the government any salary for his service as postmaster, as he felt that his work in the office was a matter of civic loyalty. He was a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, with which he united at the time of its organization, and he and his wife were zealous members of the Universalist church. It is worthy of special note that Champlin Greene, maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was a direct descendant of the distinguished Revolutionary patriot and officer, General Nathaniel Greene. The public schools of Rochester afforded Edwin A. Hudson his youthful education, and in the meanwhile, at the age of thirteen years, he found employment in a local drug store owned by his brother, Lemen W. His brother was postmaster at that time and the postoffice was in the Hudson drug store, so that Edwin A. likewise found requisition for his service in handling the mail service of the office. He thus continued his activities until he was nineteen years of age, and during the ensuing six years he held a position in the dry goods store of Jarvis J. Greene, at Pontiac. He then engaged in the dry goods business at Oxford, this county, where he continued the enterprise until 1895, when he became a traveling commercial salesman. His effective service "on the road"' was continued until 1901, when he established his home at Rochester and engaged in the grocery business. Here he followed this line of retail enterprise seventeen years, as one of the representative merchants of the village, and his retirement was on account of the impaired state of his health. In 1921 Mr. Hudson was elected justice of the peace, and in this office he has since continued his efficient administration, with secure place in the confidence and esteem of the people of his native county. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and his Masonic affiliations are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. and A. M.; Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M., and Pontiac Council R. and S. M. In 1886 Mr. Hudson married Miss Elizabeth Burdick, and her death occurred in 1912, she being survived by two children, Ora B. and Ava Burdick. Ora B. was graduated in the Rochester high school when she was fifteen years of age, and later she was graduated in Olivet College, from which she received the degrees of both Bachelor and Master of Arts. She was for two years teacher of languages in the public schools of Cadillac, and thereafter was dean of the department of languages at the Michigan State Normal School at Mount Pleasant for one year. She is still teaching languages, and now resides in the city of Grand Rapids, where her husband, Charles Chervenka, is manager of an important manufacturing concern. Ava Burdick Hudson received the advantages of the public PERSONAL SKETCHES 267 schools of Rochester and is now a resident of Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Chervenka have three children, Elizabeth, Orimal and Hudson, and in them their maternal grandfather, the subject of this sketch, takes great pride. In 1915 Mr. Hudson married Mabel E. Johnson, a native of this township. Joel A. Hugus.-Mr. Hugus is the manager of the Elaborated Roofing Company, Room 1, New Turk building, Pontiac. He was born in Clinton county, Michigan, December 23, 1875, attended public school in that county and early entered the automobile business, which engrossed him until 1916, when he became a roofing contractor. In 1918, Mr. Hugus located in Pontiac. He is not only the manager but the owner of the concern registered under the name of the Elaborated Roofing Company, a widely known business and one covering a field of importance. Mr. Hugus is a member of the Masonic order. On his twenty-seventh birthday, December 23, 1902, Mr. Hugus was married, choosing as his bride Miss Vina Cook, of Flint, Michigan. The busi'ness over which Mr. Hugus presides has grown substantially. Steven E. Hurd is senior member of the firm of Stieler, Hurd & DeNeen, engaged in the plumbing and heating business in the village of Berkley, and of the junior member of this progressive firm, Frederick W. Stieler, individual mention is made on another page of this publication. Mr. Hurd was born on a farm near Gagetown, Tuscola county, Michigan, July 4, 1893, and is a son of Levi and May (Harger) Hurd, born, respectively, in 1854 and 1869. Levi Hurd was a boy at the time his parents settled on a pioneer farm in Tuscola county, and there he has resided during the long intervening years. He was actively engaged in farm enterprise for many years and is now living retired at Gagetown, as one of the substantial and honored citizens of the county that has so long been his home. He has served as justice of the peace and was for several years a member of the Gagetown board of education. His wife passed to the life eternal in the year 1916, and in addition to Stephen E., of this sketch, two other children survive the devoted mother-Earl J., who now has charge of the old homestead farm near Gagetown and Miss Violet, who is, in 1925, a successful and popular teacher in the public schools at Springwells, Wayne county. The public-school studies of Stephen E. Hurd included those of the high school at Gagetown, and thereafter he continued to be associated with the work and management of the home farm until he went to the city of Detroit, where he remained six years and where he found employment in connection with the automobile industry, he having been for three years a foreman in the shops of the Ford Motor Company and having been the incumbent of this position at the time when he established his home at Berkley, in 1918. In the following year he here engaged in working at the plumbing and heating trade, and in May, 1924, he and his present partners established themselves independently in that line of business enterprise, the firm of Stieler, Hurd & DeNeen now having a prosperous and well ordered business in the Berkley district of Oakland county. Mr. Hurd is one of the loyal and progressive citizens of Berk 268 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ley and was elected a member of the first board of municipal commissioners in this village, an office which he still retains. In political alignment he is a Republican, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in their home community, their attractive residence being at 1660 Oxford road. November 25, 1912, Mr. Hurd wedded Miss Grace Marshall, daughter of Daniel and Clara (Cook) Marshall, of Cass Lake, Oakland county. Daniel Marshall was born in 1857 and died in August, 1924, his widow, who was born May 9, 1863, being still a resident of Cass Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd had one child, Marian Ruth, who was born May 10, 1915, and died April 28, 1925. Howard C. Hurlbut.-At 213 South Woodward avenue in the fine little city of Birmingham is found the well equipped plumbing and heating establishment owned and conducted by him whose name initiates this review. Mr. Hurlbut, a representative of a sterling pioneer family of Michigan, was born at South Haven, Van Buren county, this state, May 29, 1871, and is a son of the late Joseph and Anna (Stoughton) Hurlbut, the former of whom was born in the year 1835 and the latter in 1837. Joseph Hurlbut became a successful building contractor in Van Buren county, and it is interesting to record that the old Indian church which he there erected near Hartford is still standing, as one of the landmarks of that section of the state. He was actively concerned in the various movements making for civic and material progress in his community, owned various properties, and at one time sold in Van Buren county a tract of 160 acres of land at the rate of fifty cents an acre-land that is now of large value. He died in 1874, when his son, Howard C., of this sketch, was about three years old, and his widow survived him by nearly forty years, her death occurring in 1913, when she was seventy-six years of age. Mrs. Hurlbut taught the first school at Stoughton Corners, near Hartford, Van Buren county, this rural community having been named in honor of her father. At Hartford Howard C. Hurlbut duly profited by the advantages of the public schools, including the high school, and thereafter he attended Benton Harbor college. After leaving school he held for some time the position of bookkeeper in a plumbing and heating establishment at Benton Harbor, and through his continued association with this concern he learned the various details of the business, including those of technical order. When the nation entered the World war Mr. Hurlbut left Colorado, where he was at that time, and gave effective service in connection with the great government war project at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and he was thus engaged at the time when the armistice brought the war to a close. He has been a resident of Birmingham, Oakland county, since 1918, and since 1920 has here been independently and successfully established in the plumbing and heating business. His political support is given to the Republican party, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On the 11th of June, 1918, Mr. Hurlbut was united in marriage to Mrs. Minnie Pearl (White) Savage, daughter PERSONAL SKETCHES 269 of William White, of Leavenworth, Kansas. By her former marriage Mrs. Hurlburt has two sons, Paul U. Savage, born June 17, 1909, and Hugh Adelbert Savage, born February 1, 1911. Chauncey H. Hutchins, widely known resident and business man of Pontiac, is a native of Oakland county, Michigan, born in Royal Oak April 14, 1875. His parents were Artimus and Emma Hutchins, both deceased. The son was educated in the public schools of Oakland county, worked in a grocery and meat establishment and in the Highland Park postoffice and for four years was with J. C. Hickey. In 1894 Mr. Hutchins entered the grocery and meat business with Robert G. Kneale and was so engrossed seven years. In the early spring of 1902 he, Mr. Kneale and William Price established the Price Varnish Company, with Mr. Hutchins as vice-president. Finally Messrs. Hutchins and Kneale purchased the interest of Mr. Price in March, 1910, and two years later the name was changed to the Pontiac Varnish Company, Mr. Hutchins becoming the president. Mr. Hutchins has always had charge of the selling end of the business and until a few years ago was the sole salesman. The company which placed the first order for varnish has been a regular customer for twenty-two years and, although its official personnel has changed, the regular order comes in, sometimes to the extent of $5,000, and all bills are discounted. Messrs. Hutchins and Kneale also operate in real estate and created a subdivision at Royal Oak under the direction of Mr. Hutchins. There are 311 lots in the plat and four of them are worth $12,000, the original purchase price of the entire tract. A piece was sold recently at $90 per foot, or eighteen times the original rate. There are in the subdivision a number of buildings, some of which are worth $40,000. The principle of selection is adhered to rigidly in selling lots, as it is the desire of the promoters to maintain a high grade subdivision only. When the property was first offered, lots were priced at $150 each, the terms being a dollar down and a dollar a week. The method was unsuccessful. Now the selling price is ten times the original figures and terms are cash. A better class of buyers is attracted. Mr. Hutchins and Miss Lottia Sanborn, of Detroit, plighted their troth and were married November 8, 1898. There are three children, Janice, Helen and Sanborn, all students at the University of Michigan. All were graduated from Pontiac high school and Janice was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1924. Mr. Hutchins is a Republican. He is a devoted member of the Christian Science church. Elmer E. Hymers.-An unquestioned degree of versatility is seen in Elmer E. Hymers. He has functioned with credit and success as a teacher, as a public servant and as a lawyer. He is devoting all his time and talents to the practice of law in Pontiac. Mr. Hymers was born February 16, 1868, in Durham county, Ontario, son of Jonathan Hymers. The father always resided in Ontario and was a farmer and later a merchant and grain dealer. Elmer E. attended Ontario public schools and taught school five years. In 1893 he came to Oakland county and taught school three years in this county. He read law in the privacy of his room and in the office of Perry & Lynch 270 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY took the state bar examination and passed. On April 28, 1899, he was admitted to practice. In 1899-1900 Mr. Hymers served as city clerk. From March 15, 1914, to October 15, 1922, he was postmaster of Pontiac. Twice was Mr. Hymers the city attorney, in 1912-13 and before that, 1908-09. He was a member of the city charter commission, 1910-11. Naturally, Mr. Hymers is civically minded and takes strong interest in all movements affecting the well being of Pontiac and the strenghtening of its public service. He is a member of various Masonic bodies, including Pontiac Lodge No. 21, F. and A. M., Oakland Chapter No. 5, R. A. M., and the Pontiac Commandery No. 2. He belongs to the Scottish Rite, Michigan Sovereign Consistory at Detroit. On June 15, 1899, Mr. Hymers was united in marriage to Miss Maude E. Smith, of Pontiac. Charles S. Inch has been long and prominently identified with the manufacturing and installing of high grade monuments and other types of cemetery memorial in Oakland county and is at the present time one of the leading exponents of this line of business in the city of Pontiac, where he has headquarters at 30 East Lawrence street. Mr. Inch was born at Guelph, province of Ontario, Canada, June 26, 1864, and is a son of Charles and Susan (Parker) Inch, with whom he came to Oxford, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1885, when he was twenty-one years of age, his youthful education having been obtained principally in the public schools of Seaforth, Ontario, and having included the curriculum of the high school. At Oxford his father engaged in the cooperage business, and at that place the parents passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been seventyeight years of age at the time of his death, April 28, 1903, and the widowed mother having passed away April 29, 1908, at the age of seventy years, the remains of both being laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery at Oxford, where a fine monument, erected by their son, Charles S., of this review, is standing as an enduring tribute to their memory. At the age of twenty-four years Charles S. Inch came to Pontiac and found employment at the monument works of David,Scott, he having previously learned thoroughly the technical and executive details of the business. He finally engaged in the same business in an independent way, with L. O. Trowbridge as a partner, and this alliance continued several years-until Mr. Trowbridge removed to one of the western states. W. H. Rambau was then admitted to partnership in the business, and the enterprise was continued under the title of Inch & Rambau until the death of Mr. Rambau, in 1919, since which year Mr. Inch has had as his valued associates in the conducting of the business his two sons-in-laws, William S. Root and Lloyd W. Burns. Mr. Inch has erected many of the finest monuments in the various cemeteries of Oakland county, and Detroit. In the spring of 1925 Mr. Inch established a branch business at the corner of Woodward avenue and Twelve Mile road opposite Roseland Park cemetery. He is now one of the veteran and representative business men of Pontiac and is an honored citizen of distinctive loyalty and public spirit. He is a member and staunch PERSONAL SKETCHES 271 supporter of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce, is affiliated with blue lodge, commandery and council bodies of the Masonic fraternity at Pontiac, and Moslem Temple, N. M. S., at Detroit, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he and his wife are members of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. June 26, 1895, Mr. Inch was united in marriage to Miss Clara O. Riley, daughter of the late James and Susan 0. Riley, who were early settlers of Pontiac. Mr. and Mrs. Inch have two children: Helen S., a graduate of the Pontiac high school and of Wellesley College, is the wife of William S. Root, who is associated with her father in business, and they have one child, Clara Virginia. In the World war period Mr. Root was in service in connection with the manufacturing of airplanes for the government. Marion R., younger of the two daughters, was graduated in the Pontiac high school, and is the wife of Lloyd W. Burns, their one child being a son, Robert Charles. Mr. Burs, who is now associated in business with Mr. Inch, as previously noted, was in the United States Navy during eighteen months of the World war period. Previous to entering the navy he attended the University of Michigan law school. Emil Ingweiller has developed in the land and state of his adoption a prosperous business as a contractor in cement work, installation of septic tanks and in general sewerage work. He stages his operations in the Ferndale district of Oakland county, and in the beautiful little city of Ferndale he maintains his business headquarters at 575 Lewiston street. Mr. Ingweiller was born in Alsace-Lorain, France, September 14, 1886, was there reared and educated and there gained his early business experience, which included association with farm enterprise and also with sewerage work. His parents passed their entire lives in Alsace-Lorraine, and there he himself remained until 1913, about one year prior to the inception of the great World war that was destined to stage much of its conflict on the soil of his native province. March 9, 1913, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Ingweiller to Miss Madelin Lutz, who likewise was born and reared in France, and just three days after their marriage the young couple embarked for the voyage to the United States. Mr. Ingweiller worked in connection with cement and sewerage construction in many of the eastern states, and in 1919 he came with his family to Michigan and established his residence at Ferndale, where he has since maintained his home and where he has been independently engaged in the contracting business since 1921. He and his wife have won the most loyal of friends in this community, and here he has found ample scope for successful business enterprise. Mr. and Mrs. Ingweiller have five children-Katherine, Leo, Edward, Francis, and Rosemary. Julius Irish, who is employed as a skilled machinist in the great Ford automobile plant in Detroit, and who resides in the village of Clawson, Oakland county, was born on a farm near Caro, Tuscola county, Michigan, June 16, 1861, and is a son of William and Henrietta (Phelps) Irish, who were born in the state of New York and who became pioneer settlers in Tuscola county, Michigan, where the father 272 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY developed an excellent farm and long stood as one of the honored and representative citizens of his community, he having had no ambition for public office but having shown his civic loyalty through several years of service as a member of the school board of his district. He was born in the year 1824, and his death occurred June 14, 1911. His wife was born in 1827, and passed away September 19, 1883. Julius Irish attended the public schools at Caro and also those at St. Johns, the judicial center of Clinton county. He was a mere boy when he began working in the lumber woods, at a time when the lumber industry of Michigan was at its height, and when he was but sixteen years old he was made foreman of a gang of logging men. He continued to be thus associated with lumbering operations during a period of nine years, and thereafter he gave his attention to farm enterprise until 1914, since which year he has been employed as a machinist with the Ford Motor Company, Detroit, his exceptional natural talent in mechanics having been so developed that he is now a skillful machinist. He is one of the popular and influential citizens of Clawson, and here served as a member of the village board of commissioners in 1922-3. He has had no ambition for special political activity, but is a staunch supporter of the Republican party. February 26, 1883, Mr. Irish married Miss Mary McCarthy, whose parents were residents of Lapeer county for many years, both being now deceased and the father, Daniel McCarthy, having been a farmer by vocation. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Irish two are living: Freeland, who was born May 29, 1885, and Clarence, who was born January 22, 1889. The one daughter, Katherine, who was born January 22, 1895, became the wife of Earl Allen, and her death occurred January 15, 1921, her son, Leo, born November 19, 1917, being now the juvenile member of the family home circle of his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Julius Irish, and a daughter, Madaline, born October 4, 1919, lives with her uncle, Freeland Irish. Isaac Jefferson Isgrigg has loyally and effectively directed his operations and has gained rank as one of the leading contractors and builders in the city of Pontiac, where he has been engaged in business since 1913. He was born at Greensburg, Indiana, December 5, 1883, and is a son of William H. and Vira (Byrum) Isgrigg, who still maintain their home at Greensburg, the father having been long and successfully engaged in business as a contractor and builder and his operations having been of broad scope. After his graduation in the Greensburg high school Isaac J. Isgrigg took a special technical course in architecture and building construction. He then became associated with his father's contracting and building business, and upon attaining to his legal majority he was admitted by his father to partnership in this business. The firm specialized in the erection of modern school buildings of the highest grade, and all of the school buildings erected in Pontiac in the period of 1913-1924 were built by the Isgriggs, father and son, who came to this city in 1913 as contractors in the erection of the present fine high school building. The PERSONAL SKETCHES 273 partnership between father and son continued until 1919, since which year Isaac J. Isgrigg has maintained his home in Pontiac and been successfully engaged in contracting and building in an independent way. In 1923 he erected the Pontiac Bank building, one of the finest bank structures in this part of Michigan, and he was the contractor also in the building of the new Oakland county jail, the local home of the Salvation Army, the Strand theater building, the Grinnell building, Presbyterian church, and many houses of the best modern type, including that of Colonel Edwin George, and also his own beautiful residence, at 127 Franklin boulevard. Mr. Isgrigg confines his political activities to supporting men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment and is an advocate of the principles for which the Republican party stands sponsor. In the spring of 1925 he was elected and is serving as a member of Pontiac's city commission. He and his wife are members of the Central Methodist Episcopa.l Church of Pontiac, he is an active member of the local Kiwanis Club, and is a Scottish Rite Mason, as well as a member of the Mystic Shrine, besides being a member of the Elks. In the year 1910 Mr. Isgrigg married Miss Lela G. Burke of New Point, Indiana, and they have three children: Lela, born in 1911; William, born in 1914, and Robert, born in 1917. In his business Mr. Isgrigg is known for the scrupulous care which he personally gives to all details of construction work, and he has gained a reputation for reliability that is one of the best assets of his business. Thomas William Jackson conducts one of the leading general insurance agencies in his native city of Pontiac, and in connection therewith maintains a department devoted to income-tax service. His wife has been his valued and resourceful coadjutor in the development of this representative insurance business and to her he ascribes a large measure of credit for the splendid advancement that has been made in the enterprise. The Jackson insurance agency represents some of the strongest and best of insurance corporations that offer indemnity in their respective spheres of operation, and the business, which is of substantial order, has its headquarters in well equipped offices in the Jackson building, 17 East Lawrence street, this building being one of the properties of the estate of the late Henry M. Jackson, father of him whose name initiates this review. Thomas W. Jackson was born in the old homestead of the family on East Pike street in the city of Pontiac, February 12, 1876, and is a son of Henry M. and Nellie (Skarrett) Jackson, both members of sterling pioneer families of Michigan. Henry M. Jackson was born in Macomb county, Michigan, in the year 1840, and was a son of John J. and Mary (Buff) Jackson, who were born and reared in England and who became early settlers in Macomb county, Michigan. At the pioneer period in which they established their home ih Michigan, public improvements were noticeable mainly for their absence, and in various seasons of the year the only passable highway out of Detroit was the Gratiot road, the advantages of this road having led John J. Jackson to select his place of residence in Macomb county, where he and his wife passed the remainder 274 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY of their lives and where he reclaimed a productive farm from what was virtually a forest wilderness. In his native county Henry M. Jackson was reared to the age of sixteen years, his educational advantages in the meanwhile having been those of the pioneer schools. At the age noted he came to Pontiac and entered upon an apprenticeship in a blacksmith shop on East Lawrence street. He became a skilled workman, eventually purchased the shop in which he had thus been employed, and he continued to follow the sturdy work of his trade many years. With increasing prosperity, he purchased property on either side of his shop, and eventually became the owner of a half block of valuable land on East Lawrence street, this property being now in the possession of his sons. During the later years of his earnest and worthy life Mr. Jackson lived virtually retired, and he was seventy-seven years of age at the time of his death, in 1917. Mr. Jackson was a man of strong mentality and mature judgment, was influential in community affairs, and did his share in advancing the civic and material progress of Pontiac. He represented his ward in the city council, and as alderman made a record of characteristically loyal and efficient service. He was a staunch Republican, and was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, who is now (1925) seventy-seven years of age and who is a gracious and loved member of the home circle of her son, Thomas W., of this sketch. Mrs. Jackson is one of the venerable native daughters of Oakland county, her birth having occurred in White Lake township, this county, where her father, Richard Skarrett, settled in the pioneer days and where he developed one of the productive farms of the county. Henry M. and Nellie (Skarrett) Jackson became the parents of four sons, of whom the subject of this review is the eldest; Harry J., the next in order of birth, is engaged in the real estate business in the city of Detroit; and Richard S. and Karl R. continue their residence in their native city of Pontiac. The public schools of Pontiac constituted the medium through which Thomas W. Jackson acquired his youthful education, and his initial experience in business was gained through his taking a position with the Michigan Light Company, with which he long continued his connection and of which he was treasurer many years. During the period of 1918-1921 he was associated with the United States internal revenue service, with special work in the income tax bureau, so that he is authoritatively fortified for the handling of the important business of the income tax department of his present independent enterprise. In 1920 Mr. Jackson assumed control of the fire insurance business that had previously been conducted by C. W. Burridge, and, with the effective co-operation of his wife, he has since developed this into one of the most substantial and important general insurance agencies of Oakland county, with a representative clientage. The subsidiary income tax service is the only one of the kind in the county. Mr. Jackson has manifested the same spirit of civic loyalty as did his father, has given two years of service as alderman from the Third ward, is a Democrat in his political proclivities, is an active and valued member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, PERSONAL SKETCHES 275 and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. October 23, 1919, Mr. Jackson wedded Miss Marian M. Fitch, who was born at Marion, Indiana, a daughter of Samuel C. and May Fitch, who there maintained their home for many years and who now reside in Pontiac, Michigan, where Mr. Fitch is a member of the hardware firm of Hazleton & Fitch. The home of the family is at 82 Mt. Clemens street and has been for thirty-seven years. This home was built by the elder Jackson. George C. Johnston.-For the past fourteen years Mr. Johnston has been the keeper of the municipal exchequer of Pontiac, in other words the city treasurer. Mr. Johnston is a Canadian by birth, born in Whitley, Ontario, May 31, 1873, the son of William Johnston. He received his early schooling in the public schools and at the age of thirteen years came to Michigan, after his father's death. He attended Valparaiso university, taking a commercial course. At various times Mr. Johnston, who knows the value and training of hard work, has functioned as a carriage painter and as a bank employe. He has worked with equal facility in overalls and a white collar. For a period he was in the United States geological survey and in 1888 came to Pontiac and both Pontiac and Mr. Johnston are glad of the decision to locate here. In 1909 Mr. Johnston was united in marriage to Miss Julia T. Boardman, of Pontiac. Mr. Johnston is a member of the Masonic fraternity and Mrs. Johnston is a devoted attendant of the Presbyterian church. Daniel G. Just, cashier of the Ferndale State Bank, was one of the organizers of this institution, in 1924, and has been its cashier from the time of its incorporation, he having previously served as state bank examiner. Mr. Just was born at Coral, Montcalm county, Michigan, September 7, 1895, and there continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1913. His higher education was acquired in the University of Indiana, in which he was graduated in 1917 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. Just gained his initial banking experience through the retention of a position in a bank in his native village, and thereafter he was for three years associated with the City National Bank of Battle Creek. From this alliance he entered service as state bank examiner, a position of which he continued the incumbent until 1924, when he became one of the organizers of the bank of which he is now cashier, in the beautiful Oakland county village of Ferndale. Here he is an active member of the Exchange club, and he is known and valued as one of the loyal and public-spirited citizens of this progressive community. Mr. Just is president of the Board of Commerce. In the Masonic fraternity he is affiliated with Ira A. Beck Lodge No. 503, A. F. and A. M., in the city of Battle Creek. In the year 1918 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Just to Miss Hazel Curtis, of Battle Creek, and they are popular figures in the social activities of Ferndale. Edward G. Kaltz has place as one of the alert and representative 276 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY business men of the younger generation at Ferndale, in which fine little city of Oakland county he is president of the Kaltz Brothers & Kelly Company, now the largest and most important concern here engaged in the handling of fuel and building supplies. Mr. Kaltz was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, March 14, 1891, and is a son of Frank and Henriette (Kolb) Kaltz, who still maintain their home in the Michigan metropolis. After having duly profited by the advantages of the Detroit public schools Edward G. Kaltz continued his active association with farm industry until he was twenty-four years of age, and he next became a contractor in the handling of small cement contract jobs in Detroit, this leading to his engaging in the manufacture of cement blocks, in 1919. On the 1st of April, 1920, he located in the rapidly growing village of Ferndale, where he founded the enterprise that has since developed into the substantial business now conducted under the title of Kaltz Brothers & Kelly Company. After carrying the business forward a few months in an individual way, Mr. Kaltz admitted to partnership his brother, Sylvester J., who is now secretary and treasurer of the company, and C. Walter Kelly, Jr., the other principal in the concern, was secretary and treasurer of the company from the time of its incorporation to January 1, 1925, since which time he is vice-president. Sylvester J. Kaltz is represented in an individual sketch on another page of this volume. June 27, 1916, was the date on which was solemnized the marriage of Edward G. Kaltz to Miss Anna Schmelzle, daughter of Joseph Schmelzle, of Detroit, and the children of this union are two sons, Warren S., born September 8, 1917, and Earl E., April 21, 1920. Sylvester J. Kaltz has been closely and effectively associated with his older brother, Edward G., in building up at Ferndale the substantial business now conducted under the title of the Kaltz Brothers & Kelly Company, dealing in coal and builders' supplies. This progressive corporation, of which he is the secretary and treasurer, controls a large and important business, and its well equipped headquarters is established at 22848 Woodward avenue. Of the company Sylvester J. Kaltz is the secretary and treasurer, and of his brother, Edward G., who is president of the corporation, individual mention is made elsewhere in this publication, with further record concerning the company of which he is the executive head. In the beautiful and historical old city of Detroit, Michigan, Sylvester J. Kaltz was born December 17, 1896, and there his parents, Frank and Henriette (Kolb) Kaltz, still maintain their home. He received the advantages of the public schools of his native city, and in the World war period he was one of the loyal young men who represented Michigan in the nation's military service, though he was not called into active service over-seas. After the close of his military career he came to Ferndale, in 1920, and was admitted by his brother to partnership in the business which later was incorporated under the present title of Kaltz Brothers & Kelly Company, he having been vice-president of the company from the time of its incorporation to January, 1925, now its secretary and treasurer. Mr. Kaltz is an active member of the Rotary Club of Ferndale, is affiliated with a Detroit PERSONAL SKETCHES 277 council of the Knights of Columbus, and he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. On the 26th of November, 1920, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kaltz to Miss Marie Cooney, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cooney, of Alpina. Milton L. Kantz has been engaged in the contracting and building business at Ferndale since 1916 and is one of the leaders in this important line of enterprise in this progressive little city of Oakland county. Mr. Kantz is a native of Pennsylvania and a representative of families early established in the old Keystone state. He was born at Burnside, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, July 25, 1879, and is a son of Ruben B. and Susan (Bowder) Kantz, born, respectively, in 1847 and 1850. The father passed virtually his entire life at Burnside, where he was a successful building contractor, and also was engaged in the lumber business for a long term of years, his death having there occurred in 1917 and his widow being still at the old homestead, the surviving children being six sons and two daughters. After having profited by the advantages of the public schools of his native place Milton L. Kantz pursued a higher course of study by attending Purchaseline Academy. As a youth he gained experience in the contracting and building business, through association with his father's operations in this line, and eventually he engaged in independent work as a contractor. As a builder he has done contracting in seventeen different states of the Union, and thus his experience in his chosen vocation has been of broad scope and varied order. Prior to establishing himself in business at Ferndale he had been a resident of Detroit four years, and in his present home community he has erected many high-grade houses and a number of business buildings, his operations having constituted an integral and important phase of the splendid and rapid development of Ferndale. Mr. Kantz has had no desire for political activity, but is a supporter of the basic principles for which the Republican party stands sponsor and is loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude. He and his wife hold the faith of the United Brethren church, and he was a charter member of a church of this denomination in Detroit, besides having served as a member of its board of trustees. He is a valued member of the Ferndale Exchange Club, is affiliated with the local lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and in Detroit he is a member of the Knights of Malta. On the 16th of June, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kantz to Miss Ida Duke, daughter of John and Rebecca (Longsberry) Duke, her father having died at Clearfield, Pennsylvania, where her widowed mother still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Kantz have seven children, whose names and respective years of birth are here designated: Graydon Duke, 1903; Earl L., 1906; James A., 1910; Milton L., Jr., 1915; Howard S., 1918 Ruth Thelma, 1920; and Sue Carrol, September, 1924. Graydon Duke Kantz, the eldest of the children, was born November 24, 1903, and resides at Ferndale, he having married Miss Katherine Bower, of Detroit. Earl L., the second son, holds a position in the American State Bank at Ferndale, and the third son, James A., is in 1925, a student in the Ferndale high school. 278 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Ralph Tennyson Keeling has been engaged in the practice of law in the city of Pontiac since 1911 and has gained rank as one of the representative members of the bar of Oakland county. He is a member of the law firm of Keeling & Bogue, in which his coadjutor is Arthur P. Bogue, the offices of this firm being in the First National Bank building. Mr. Keeling was born at Barnesburg, Hamilton county, Ohio, a village not far distant from the city of Cincinnati, and the date of his nativity was February 6, 1886. His parents, James G. and Alfrata Keeling, are now living and the vocation of his father was that of professor and internal revenue officer. The public schools of his native county afforded Ralph T. Keeling his early education, and in preparation for the profession of his choice he availed himself of the advantages of the law department of the University of Cincinnati. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1911, his reception of the degree of Bachelor of Laws having been promptly followed by his admission to the bar of his native state, and he shortly afterward having gained also admission to the bar of Michigan. His graduation occurred in June, 1911, and on the 1st of the following August he established his residence in Pontiac, where he has since been successfully engaged in the general practice of law and where his firm controls a large and representative law business. Since 1917 Mr. Keeling has held the office of circuit court commissioner for Oakland county, and he is vice-president, attorney and director of the People's State Bank, in which institution he is a stockholder. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. In the Masonic fraternity Mr. Keeling has completed the circle of each the York and Scottish Rites. in the latter of which he has received the thirty-second degree, besides which he is a noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is a past exalted ruler of the Pontiac lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and he is affiliated also with the Knights of Pythias. He is president, in 1925, of the Masonic Temple Association of Pontiac, which organization is completing the erection of a fine Masonic temple in this city. On the 18th of March, 1909, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Keeling to Miss Ednah Brannen, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and they are popular factors in the social circles of their home city. Floyd Kent is one of the leading realtors of the city of Pontiac, holding active membership in the local, state and national real estate associations. His large spacious offices are located on the ground floor of the First National Bank building and are completely equipped with all modern devices for the selling of real estate and giving efficient service to his clients. One of the little mottoes that Mr. Kent likes best is "When you see me do not think of real estate, but when you think of real estate see me." Anyone who has lived in Pontiac for any length of time and has seen his Seminole Hills development no doubt thinks of him and it could hardly be otherwise. While the development of Seminole Hills has been chiefly due to his untiring energy and keen foresight and vision, yet his success in other lines of real estate activity has been quite as marked. It is usually supposed that a man must go away from home and into distant lands PERSONAL SKETCHES 279 away from friends and where he is unknown to be successful. Mr. Kent's experience is quite contrary to this popular idea as he is a native son of Oakland county and was born on the homestead near Ortonville which his father still owns and occupies. He is the son of Frank and Ella (Markham) Kent, and was born August 6, 1886. His mother died in 1917; his father, a man of sterling character and virile personality, is now retired. He has always been a farmer and his considerable holdings in and around Ortonville attest to his complete success. He is also a keen lover of horses and is widely known for his horsemanship. Floyd Kent attended the high school at Ortonville until 1904, at which time he transferred to the Flint high school and graduated there in 1905. Afterward he attended Albion College. During his vacations while at Albion College he was employed as a salesman for the F. B. Dickerson Publishing Company of Detroit. During this time he was very successful, and it is a fact that while in college he paid his own expenses and had money in the bank. This instance is quite typical of his thrift, and no doubt has contributed materially to his present success. After leaving college he continued his affiliations with this publishing company until 1913, during which time he built up a substantial business in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. While thus engaged his entire time was devoted to the employing and training of college men to sell, the same as he had done, and he incidently received a fine training in salesmanship and became a successful executive. In 1913 after learning the fundamentals of this business he felt himself capable of larger activities and entered the real estate business as a salesman for the Hannan Real Estate Exchange, one of the leading real estate firms in the city of Detroit. During the time he was connected here he started at the bottom and learned the fundamentals of success of this business and received a complete education in the development of high grade subdivision properties. In the early part of 1916 he formed an affiliation with several responsible Detroit men and purchased the old Roberts' homestead on the western side of Pontiac and organized the Seminole Hills Land Company, the offices of which were located in the Dawson building in Pontiac. As the business developed the old offices proved quite inadequate, and in the summer of 1923 large and well appointed offices were taken on the ground floor of the First National Bank building. Mr. Kent is the sole agent for the exclusive Seminole Hills residential district, and in addition he has selling contracts on Elizabeth Dale on Elizabeth lake; Crescent Lake Park on Crescent lake, a summer cottage development; Oakland Hills, situated one mile from the city limits on Oakland avenue, now coming to be known as Woodward avenue. The proposed Telegraph road also borders this fine property. He is also interested in the development of a large tract bordering Big Fish lake, which lies in Oakland and Lapeer counties. Not satisfied with these accomplishments and with his characteristic vision Mr. Kent has plans well under way for the development of an area which will be similar in its restrictions and landscaping to Seminole Hills. However with the trend of the times this development will 280 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY be composed of little farms or small estates where the residents will be more isolated and where they may safely build their permanent homes and will be protected from undesirable surroundings. This property abounds in hills, forests, and rivers and overlooks Loon and Watkins lakes, where the man of moderate means may live under conditions similar to Bloomfield Hills at a cost commensurate to his income. From the foregoing it will be readily seen that Mr. Ke'nt has been essentially a subdivider. Upon opening his new offices it was found necessary to engage in a complete real estate service to care for the clientele which he had built up in his subdivision business. Therefore, he has now complete departments engaged in the handling and selling of country homes and estates, farms and lake property, summer cottages, city residences, factory sites, apartment sites, railroad frontage, leases and rentals, comprising indeed a complete real estate service. It might be interesting to the reader to know that the Seminole Hills district has attracted wide attention by reason of the unique plan on which its development has been carried forward as well as by reason of the use of the names of Indian tribes that once roamed through the forest aisles of this section of the old time Northwest Territory. The firm of Phillips & Wilcox, architects and landscape engineers, laid out the plan of Seminole Hills in 1916, and for its concrete conception in this unique platting it gained first prize at the Michigan State Fair. All roads in the Seminole Hills district are laid out in winding courses to somewhat resemble Indian trails. In its aesthetic, traditional and physical aspects Seminole Hills constitutes one of the most beautiful of urban subdivisions, and its development is contributing immeasurably to the general advancement of Pontiac and Oakland county. Chief Pontiac, famed Indian of the early history of the Northwest Territory and the one for whom the city of Pontiac was named, chose an island in the middle of Orchard lake, seven miles west of Pontiac, for his favorite camping ground. At the judicial center and metropolis of Oakland county, Huron street was the only one perpetuating an Indian name, and Seminole Hills has the distinction of being the first subdivision to have all thoroughfares named after Indian tribes. Here are found streets named Ottawa drive, Cherokee, Iroquois, Chippewa, Ma'nitou, Menominee, Algonquin, Miami and Oneida roads. Homes on Ottawa drive are restricted to brick, stone or stucco construction, the drive being eighty feet in width and lots averaging seventy feet in width. Without a doubt this thoroughfare eventually will be unrivaled in attraction by any of the other best developed streets in Michigan's urban districts. Cherokee road is restricted exclusively to bungalows and semi-bungalows, and no lot is less than sixty feet in width. In the entire development of 556 lots ranging from fifty to 130 feet in width none but private residences may be erected. The subdivision is completely equipped with every modern improvement and in making it so desirable over $250,000 were expended. The property has increased three-fold in value since it was platted, which conclusively proves that residents of Pontiac fully appreciate a development of this high order. Among his friends and associates Mr. Kent is known as a non-partisan in his PERSONAL SKETCHES 281 political affiliations, and gives his support to men and measures meeting with the approval of his judgment. He is a Protestant in religious adherence, and a loyal member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce. He is affiliated with all the degrees of Masonary represented in Pontiac, and is a Shriner, affiliated with Moslem Temple, Detroit. Mr. Kent married Miss Margaret L. Metz, of Wilmington, Delaware, on May 26, 1917. They have one child, Tom, and reside at 75 Cherokee road, Seminole Hills. Harold V. Kennedy, manager of the Ferndale Lumber and Supply Company, one of the important business concerns in the village of Ferndale, Oakland county, was born at Romeo, Macomb county, this state, July 7, 1893, and after having there profited by the advantages of the public schools, including the high school, he was for one year a student at Olivet college. Thereafter he passed one year in the employ of the Stevens Lumber Company, engaged in the wholesale lumber trade at Waters, Otsego county, and he next passed a year in the city of Detroit. He then, in 1915, came to Oakland county and took a position with the Gifford Lumber Company, at Royal Oak, with which representative concern he gained valuable experience in all phases of the lumber business, so that he was well fortified when, in 1920, he assumed the management of the business of the newly established Ferndale Lumber and Supply Company. He has shown marked energy and progressiveness in this connection, and under his administration the business has become one of most substantial order. He is also the secretary and treasurer of the Ferndale Investment Company, and in practical service is giving evidence of his civic loyalty and business enterprise. In the Masonic fraternities his basic affiliation is with Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, A. IF. and A. M.; at Highland Park he has membership in Highland Park Chapter No. 160, R. A. M.; Monroe Council No. 1, R. and S. M., and Highland Park Commandery No. 53, Knights Templar, besides which in the city of Detroit, he is a member of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the directorate of the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce and is a loyal supporter of its advanced civic policies. In the World war period he gave active and effective service with the American Protective League. June 14, 1916, Mr. Kennedy wedded Miss Helene Gottschalk, of Rochester, Oakland county, and they have two daughters, Geraldine and Jean. Mr. Kennedy is a son of Eber and Mildred (Smith) Kennedy, the former of whom resides in Macomb county, where he has been prominently identified with the lumber busiiness for many years. The mother is a resident of California, her father, Daniel T. Smith, having been born in Macomb county, having long been a prominent representative of lumbering industry in Michigan, he having been somewhat more than seventy years, of age at the time of his death, in 1915, the Smith family having come to Michigan from Pennsylvania. Albert Kennedy, grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in Macomb county and there continued to maintain his home until his death, in 1906, at the age of seventy-six years. His father, the late T. P. Kennedy, was one of the very early settlers in Macomb county, and thus Harold V. Kennedy, of this sketch, is a scion of pioneer families of Macomb county on both the paternal and maternal 282 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY sides, his paternal grandfather likewise having been a pioneer lumberman, so that he himself may be said to have an inherent predilection for and facility in the lumber business, of which he is now one of the prominent exponents in Oakland county. Albert D. Kidder was a man of exceptional business and his was a place of prominence as one of the influential citizens and men of affairs in the fine little city of Royal Oak, where he maintained his residence from 1901 until the time of his death, which occurred on the 10th of July, 1924. He was one of the most loyal and public-spirited citizens of his home village and at the time of his death was here prominently identified with the lumber business,in which he was president of the Erb-Kidder Lumber Company, besides which he was a director of the Tribune Publishing Company, which published the leading newspaper at Royal Oak, and president of the Royal Oak Savings Bank. Mr. Kidder was born on a farm near Alexander, Genesee county, New York, and the ancestral homestead which was the place of his birth has been in the possession of the Kidder family since 1806. He was a son of Oel S. and Josephine (Perry) Kidder, and the date of his nativity was February 2, 1864. Mr. Kidder passed the period of his childhood and early youth on the old home farm, and after profiting by the advantages of the public schools he attended the seminary at Alexander. As a youth he gave considerable attention to newspaper work of editorial order, and for a time also he studied law. Inclinations and expediency led him aside from his work of preparing for the legal profession, and his change of course was fully justified by the substantial success he eventually gained in connection with business affairs. After having made a record of success as a traveling salesman for the Johnston Harvester Company, he was for a number of years associated with the American Agricultural Chemical Company, this alliance havi'ng been maintained for some time after he had established his home at Royal Oak, Michigan. After coming to Oakland county, Michigan, Mr. Kidder here resided three years at Rochester, and he then, in 1901, removed to Royal Oak, which represented his home during the remainder of his life. Here he erected and occupied the attractive residence at the northeast corner of Sixth street and Washington avenue. In 1897 Mr. Kidder wedded Miss Etta Winans, and her death occurred in 1903, about two years after they had established their home at Royal Oak. On the 6th of June, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kidder to Miss Clara Louise Erb, daughter of the late Jacob Erb, who was long one of the leading citizens of Royal Oak, a tribute to his memory, with brief review of the family history, being given on other pages of this volume. Mr. Kidder eventually purchased the general store of his father-in-law, Jacob Erb, and four years later, in 1914, he sold this business and became associated with his wife and his brother-in-law, Lewis George Erb, in organizing the Erb-Kidder Lumber Company. About two years of those four Mr. Kidder travelled and Mrs. Kidder conducted the general store. Of this corporation he was made the president, and he continued its chief executive until the time of his death, his progressive and well ordered policies having inured greatly to the success of the enterprise, which is still continued under the ~ ~F~Pl PERSONAL SKETCHES 283 original title, his widow being now secretary and treasurer of the company and Lewis G. Erb being its president. Mr. Kidder gained prominence in connection with the lumber business, as is evident when it is recorded that he was called into service as president of the Michigan Retail Lumber Dealers' Association and also organized and was president of the Suburban Lumber Dealers' Association of Michigan, besides which he was an appreciative and popular member of the lumbermen's fraternal organization known as the Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoos. His civic loyalty found expression in definite helpfulness. He was president of the municipal board of trustees of the village of Royal Oak in 1912, and in 1921 he was a member of the commission that framed the present city charter, besides which he has been a member of the body that drew up the village charter that provided for the commission system of government in Royal Oak and that was adopted in September, 1917. After a service of several years as a director of the Royal Oak Savings Bank, Mr. Kidder was elected its president, an office of which he was the incumbent until one year before his death, as was he also that of director of the Tribune Publishing Company. A man of sterling character and marked business ability, his counsel was much in demand in connection with both business and civic matters, and no citizen had more secure place in popular confidence and respect. While he was sojourning in Florida, Mr. Kidder was elected president of the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce, but his impaired health, as well as the exactions of his business, led to his early resignation of this position. In politics Mr. Kidder staunchly advocated the basic principles of the Democratic party, but in local affairs he supported men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, irrespective of strict partisan lines. He was reared in and retained the faith of the Universalist church, and in the same held membership in the Church of Our Father in the city of Detroit. He completed the circle of York and Scottish Rite Masonry, in the latter of which he was affiliated with Michigan Sovereign Consistory, besides being a Noble of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, likewise in Detroit. He was a member of the Detroit Athletic Club and the Troy Golf and Country Club. In the World war period Mr. Kidder was instant in patriotic service, was a leader in the advancing of the Oakland county campaigns in support of the government war loans, Red Cross service, etc., and was at the head of the local canteen committee. He was survived by his widow and by two brothers, Earl and Perry Kidder, who reside at Alexander, New York. His nephew, Lee S. Kidder, is now a resident of Royal Oak, Michigan. Mrs. Clara Louise (Erb) Kidder, widow of the honored subject of this memoir, was born at Royal Oak, and her, public school discipline included that of the high school at Birmingham, in which she was graduated as a member of the class of' 1895, she having later attended the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti. At the age of sixteen years Mrs. Kidder taught a three-months term in the district school of the Blackman district, and the fifty dollars that she received for this pedagogic service seemed to her a magnificent sum at the time. After her graduation in the state normal school at Ypsilanti she continued for five 286 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY several years. He was with an express company in Detroit and January 1, 1894, went to Fenton, where he was engaged in mercantile business, as express agent and manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company simultaneously. He sold his interests in Fenton and in the spring of 1915 came to Pontiac and established a general real estate and insurance agency. Buying and selling is largely an individual matter and he is thus able to give personal attention to all matters coming before him. He gives special attention to Lake Orion Highlands and Home Acres in the northwestern section of the city. In 1922 Mr. King was president of the Pontiac Real Estate Board. His wife was Anna E. Blair, of Lancaster. One child, Earl L., enlisted in the World war, was attached to the Thirty-second division and went over seas in the Army of Occupation. He participated in the battle of Chateau-Thierry, in the Argonne, and in four major engagements. He returned home on the death of his mother and later received his discharge. He lives at 23 Hartung Court, Pontiac, and is with the 0. J. Beaudette Company. W. H. King is a Republican and in Fenton was a member of the council. He is an active member of the Real Estate Board and is a Mason, Knight Templar and Odd Fellow. In 1918 he was very active in Red Cross work and was a member of the directorate of the Board of Commerce. Albany C. Kirby has definite precedence as one of the progressive business men of the younger generation in his native city of Pontiac, judicial center of Oakland county, where he is vice-president of the Pontiac Packing Company, one of the important industrial concerns of the county. Mr. Kirby was born at Pontiac March 30, 1898, and in the public schools of this city he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1918. Within a short time thereafter he enlisted for service in the United States Navy, in connection with the World war, and he was assigned to preliminary training at Ann Arbor, where he remained until the armistice brought the war to a close, he having received his honorable discharge November 20, 1918. On the 1st of June of the following year Mr. Kirby became associated with the Pontiac Packing Company, in 1922 he was made secretary and treasurer of this corporation, and he has been its vice-president since June, 1924. His basic affiliation with the Masonic fraternity is with Roosevelt Lodge, F. & A. M., and he has membership also in the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. His political alignment is with the Republican party. His marriage to Miss Clara Burt was solemnized November 10, 1920, and he and his wife are popular factors in the social life of the community, their home being at 368 North Johnson street. Frank M. Kirby.-Mr. Kirby is the president of the Pontiac Packing Company, a corporation with which he has been identified since its inception. Mr. Kirby was born in Ionia, Michigan, September 27, 1885, and came to Pontiac when a child of six. His father, William M. Kirby, was for some years engaged in the feed, coal, wood and lumber business. After attending grade and high schools in Pontiac, Frank M. Kirby became associated with his father in business and the ~iii *. '~"s:: ar~ "'' r _C:::: r: iiii ~,: i "8.::i:*_ .21ie_ ii.:-:: Y$: -~ I I 41.4.!T7 ; :, *,, 4* 'o4. A / — o Vi PERSONAL SKETCHES 287 relationship continued until he was nineteen. For five and a half years Mr. Kirby was with Hollway Brothers, meat market owners. Later he worked for the Parke-Webb organization, packers of Detroit, for eighteen months and the next sixteen months for the Sullivan Packing Company, also of Detroit. For nine months he was with the Newton Packing Company of the same city, and became anxious to own or have an interest in the packing business, so in 1916 when the Pontiac Packing Company was incorporated Mr. Kirby was made vice-president and in the course of four years became the president of the company. On November 15, 1921, Mr. Kirby was united in marriage to Miss Emma E. Friday, of Davisburg. Mr. Kirby is a Mason, Elk, and Pythian. He also holds membership in the Board of Commerce. August Julius Kleist, Jr.-Mr. Kleist, president of the Kleist Amusement Enterprise, Incorporated, of Pontiac, was born in Fraser, Michigan, October 30, 1893. When a child he came to Pontiac with his parents, August Julius and Pauline (Weire) Kleist. The father was engaged in the hotel business and in 1907 established the first picture show in Pontiac. He continued in this business five years and in 1912 the business was taken over by the son, who has been very successful, controlling all the shows in Pontiac. Mrs. Kleist died September 10, 1913, but her husband is living in Pontiac and at this time is fifty-nine years of age. August, Jr., received a limited education because of the stern necessities and at an early age was obliged to apply himself to hard work. While attending school he washed bottles in a bottling plant to aid the family exchequer, worked whenever and wherever he could and finally landed a position in the bottling plant that paid fifty cents a day. This was when he was twelve years old. When his father established the picture show, the son worked for him on the basis of six dollars per week and board. His success since 1912 has been rapid and distinctive. Mr. Kleist is a director of the First National Bank and when he entered the board he was said to have been the youngest bank director in the state of Michigan. He is also a director and member of the executive board of the Van Auken Company, of Pontiac, makers of tops for Ford cars. Mr. Kleist is a member of the Elks, Knights of Pythias, all the degrees in Masonry, Board of Commerce, and Kiwanis Club, and a communicant of All Saints' Episcopal church. On October 14, 1914, he was married to Miss Gladys Ream, of Cedar Springs, Michigan. She is vice-president and treasurer of Kleist Amusement Enterprise, Inc., and while her husband was in the World war was in full charge of the business. Mrs. Kleist is energetic, possesses a keen business mind and a degree of foresight. The Kleists reside at 242 West Pike street. Mr. Kleist, for service in the World war, enlisted in Pontiac September 7. 1917, and was assigned to Company M, 338th infantry, and sent to Camp Custer. He was promoted to corporal October 10, 1917, to sergeant on December 1, 1917, and detailed to the gas school for instruction. From this he was graduated as company instructor. Mr. Kleist was successful in the sale of liberty bonds in his company and in Pontiac. On January 5, 1918, he was detailed to the third officers' training camp at Camp Custer and came through as sergeant officer candidate, April 288 HISTORY OP OAKLAND COUNTY 19, 1918. He was then transferred to infantry replacement camp, Camp Lee, Virginia, May 24, 1918, commissioned a second lieutenant on June 1, 1918, and sent to Camp Lewis, Washington, from which he was discharged December 12, 1918. Lieutenant Kleist has heartily co-operated with Cook-Nelson post of the American Legion, of which he is a member, and on several occasions has given free entertainment to the former service men of Pontiac. He has given the use of his largest theatre to the first Legion annual review. In the promotion of community and civic undertakings, Mr. Kleist is active and helpful. Robert G. Kneale, whose position is one of no minor importance in connection with the vital industrial and commercial activities of the city of Pontiac, is here the secretary and treasurer of the Pontiac Varnish Company, a concern that has gained high rank and important status in its field of manufacturing and distribution. Mr. Kneale is not only one of the progressive and representative business men of Pontiac but also has his civic loyalty firmly based on appreciation of the manifold advantages and attractions of his native county and the city of Pontiac, which is its judicial center. Mr. Kneale was born in West Bloomfield township, Oakland county, December 10, 1865, and is a son of the late James and Ann (Eagle) Kneale, who were sterling citizens of this county for many years prior to their death, the father having been a prosperous farmer and also somewhat influential in the local councils and service of the Republican party, the while he and his wife were earnest members of the Protestant Episcopal church. In the public schools of Oakland county Robert G. Kneale continued his studies until he had duly profited by the advantages of the high school, and thereafter he was for two years a salesman for a produce commission concern in the city of Detroit. He then went to California, and it may be that his memories of his native county led him to establish his residence in the California city of the same name. At least, it is to be recorded that for five years he was connected with a general mercantile business in the city of Oakland, California. He then returned to the old home county, and here, in 1894, he formed a partnership with Chauncey H. Hutchins and engaged in the grocery and meat market business at Highland Park. It is pleasing to record that the business alliances of these two progressive citizens have continued during the intervening years, Mr. Hutchins being now the president of the Pontiac Varnish Company, and the two being associated also in real estate operations of important order. In the year 1902 Messrs. Hutchins and Kneale joined with William H. Price in organizing and establishing at Pontiac the Price Varnish Company, the corporate title of which was later changed to the present form, the Pontiac Varnish Company. In March, 1910, Messrs. Hutchins and Kneale purchased the interest of Mr. Price, and it was two years later that the present corporate title was adopted. Concerning the development of the business further information will be found in the personal sketch of Mr. Hutchins, on other pages of this work. Mr. Kneale applied himself with characteristc diligence to learning the technical processes of varnish manufacturing, and in the company's factory he continued for many years to give a personal supervision to the melting and cook PERSONAL SKETCHES 289 ing processes, the while he still continues in executive supervision of the factory and offices of the company. In 1906 the Price Varnish Company purchased from the Lillis estate a tract of land at the junction of Brush street and the tracks of the Air Line Railroad, and erected the front part of the present building of the plant, which was later extended by the acquisition of land to the west, between Brush street and the railroad. This progressive concern manufactures a fine line of clear varnishes of the highest grade, controls a very large business in the city of Detroit, and its general trade territory extends throughout Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. In 1902 the company operated with two melting fires, in 1906 three more were added, and today the modern plant has a battery of twelve melting fires of the best modern type, the last six installed being equipped with oil burners, through which productive capacity is doubled. The plant has a daily output capacity of 10,000 gallons of the various types of varnish, and has storage capacity for 300,000 gallons. The equipment includes also 3,000 drums for the shipping of products, and the company maintains its own railroad sidetrack. As the personal sketch of Mr. Hutchins relates somewhat more in detail, he and Mr. Kneale have done much constructive work of importance in connection with real estate operations in Oakland county, especially in the platting and developing of a fine subdivision at Royal Oak. Mr. Kneale is one of the vital exponents of civic and industrial progress in his home city and native county, is a valued member of the Rotary Club of Pontiac, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church He is a stalwart advocate and supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Kneale wedded Miss Rose Hutchins, of Royal Oak, this county, she being a sister of Chauncey H. Hutchins, president of the Pontiac Varnish Company. Mr. and Mrs. Kneale have one son, Earl C., who is associated with the Pontiac Varnish Company. Frank W. Kolp conducts in the city of Pontiac a prosperous business under the title of the Kolp Shoe Repair Company, and his establishment, at 10 Auburn avenue, has the best of modern equipment and facilities, so that the service is always expeditious and. of the highest grade. Mr. Kolp was born at Canton, Stark county, Ohio, March 31, 1868, and is a representative of one of the old established families of that county, his father, Nicholas Kolp, having been engaged in the retail shoe business at Canton during a period of fully twenty-five years, and his death having occurred there, as did also that of his wife. Nicholas Kolp was one of the Ohio patriots who served as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, and in later years he maintained active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After completing his studies in the Canton high school Frank W. Kolp advanced his education by attending Wooster University, one of the excellent institutions of Ohio. While in school he was active in athletic affairs, and made a specially good record on the baseball diamond. He early began to assist in his father's shoe store, and after the death of his father he continued the business twelve years. Upon leaving his 'native city Mr. Kolp came to Michigan, and after having been for one 290 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY year identified with a shoe business in Detroit, he came to Pontiac and founded his present thriving enterprise, which he has since conducted under the title of the Kolp Shoe Repair Company, his establishment being one of the best of its kind in the city. Mr. Kolp's political views are indicated in his alignment with the Democratic party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Catholic church. In July, 1896, Mr. Kolp was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Edgington, whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Edgington, were residents of Massiflon, Ohio, at the time of their death. Mr. and Mrs. Kolp have three children: Earl resides in the city of Columbus, Ohio, is married and has three daughters; Ray is a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, and' he and his wife have one child, he being a professional baseball player and a member of the St. Louis Browns, in one of the major leagues; Euphrasia is the wife of James McCurdy, of Buffalo, New York, and, they have one son and one daughter. Jacob Kovinsky.-Mr. Kovinsky, who in a business way has grown with Pontiac and who operates in that city a well known waste material establishment, was born in Poland, September 15, 1883, a son of Frank and Mollie Kovinsky. The father was engaged in the hotel business and thirty-seven years ago emigrated to Canada, locating near Windsor. In Ontario he engaged in the junk business and was so occupied for three years, when he moved to Detroit and retired twenty-four years ago, dying in 1923. His wife, the mother of Jacob, now resides in Detroit. The son by dint of hard work and studious habits-he was only eleven years old when he came to Canada with his parents-acquired an education. He was with his father six years and at the age of eighteen came to Pontiac. With a horse and wagon and $213 in cash, Mr. Kovinsky bought junk around town and in the country, made friends and soon was able to establish a yard of his own. His business increased as the city grew. In 1916 Mr. Kovinsky commenced buying real estate, commercial and residential, and has been very successful. In 1917 he owned several buildings on North Saginaw street. He has built a four-family apartment, a garage and the Strand theatre. He remodeled the Backenstose building, purchased Struther's store just below the People's Bank building on Saginaw street, purchased the Dawson block and built a summer home on Loon lake. He rebuilt his fine home at the corner of Fairgrove and Perry streets. A double brick house on High street in Detroit is also owned by him. Mr. Kovinsky possesses one of the largest waste material establishments in this section of the state and is the largest taxpayer in the city of Pontiac. On December 25, 1903, Mr. Kovinsky and Miss Ida Sling, also a native of Poland, were united in marriage. They have four children: Marian, aged seventeen; Lillian, fourteen; Esther, eleven, and Paul, seven. Mr. Kovinsky is a member of Temple Beth El, the Elks, the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith and the Board of Commerce. Politically, he inclines toward Republicanism. William J. Kremer, who is now living retired in Pontiac, has made this city his home during the greater part of his life thus far, has marked the passing years with earnest and worthy effort and service as one of the world's noble army of productive workers, and has so PERSONAL SKETCHES 291 ordered his course as to merit and receive the confidence and good will of his fellow men. He and his wife have an attractive home, at 111 Judson street, and there they celebrated in 1924 their golden wedding anniversary. Mr. Kremer was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, July 10, 1853, and was a child at the time of the family removal to Pontiac, where he received the advantages of the public schools of the period. He is a son of Joseph and Mary (Kallenback) Kremer, who were born in Germany and who were children at the time of the emigration of the respective families to the United States. Joseph Kremer was born in the year 1835, was a shoemaker by trade and vocation, and his death occurred at Pontiac in 1885, his widow, who was born in 1831, having survived him by more than twenty years and having been of venerable age at the time of her death, in 1908. As a youth William J. Kremer became a skilled workman at the trade of buggy and carriage trimmer, and as such he was employed at Romeo, Macomb county, until 1888, when he returned to Pontiac. Here he was for many years a foreman in the factory of the Taylor & Murphy Carriage Company, one of the pioneer industrial concerns of the city, and prior to his retirement from the active labors that had so long engrossed his time and attention, he had held a position as foreman in the trimming department of the Oakland automobile factory. He is the owner not only of his home place in Pontiac but also of several lots at Cass lake. His political support is given to the Democratic party, and he and his wife are zealous communicants of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic church in their home city. Mrs. Kremer, long a popular figure in the social, church and cultural circles of Pontiac, is still one of the vital and appreciative members of the local Woman's Literary Club, and in the World war period she was indefatigable in Red Cross work, in which connection she became well known to and loved by the young men of Oakland county who were called into the nation's military and naval service. November 25, 1874, was the date on which was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kremer to Miss Sarah McCann, who was born in England but reared at London, Ontario, Canada, and who is a daughter of Colonel Charles C. and Isabelle (Moir) McCann, the former of whom was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1818, and the latter of whom was born in Scotland, January 1, 1826. Colonel McCann served as an officer in the British army and was colonel of his regiment when, in the Crimean war of 1856, he was badly wounded. His injury necessitated his retirement from military service and he soon removed with his family to London, Canada, where his death occurred within a short time thereafter, in 1860. His widow survived him by nearly forty years and passed the closing period of her life in Pontiac, Michigan, where she died in 1899, she having come with her children from Canada to Michigan in 1875 and the family home having been established at Romeo, Macomb county. In conclusion of this brief review of the career of one of the honored citizens of Pontiac is given the record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kremer: Charles, who was born in 1877, died in 1912; Leslie was born in 1879 and maintains his home in Pontiac; Frank was born in 1881 and was twenty-eight years of age when he met an 292 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY accidental death, he having been killed by a railroad train; Mary Belle, who was born in 1886, is the wife of Frank Simons, of Detroit, and they have two sons, William and John; Russell, who was born in 1891, resides in Pontiac, is married and has one son, Charles. Frank W. Kuhn is the efficient and popular chief of the city fire department of Pontiac, Oakland county, and has done much to bring the institution to its present metropolitan standard. He was born at Milford, this county, December 23, 1885, and is a son of Ernest and Emma (Houchen) Kuhn, the latter being a daughter of the late William, Houchen, who was one of the honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death. Ernest Kuhn was born in Germany and was a child at the time when the family came to the United States and established residence in Detroit, Michigan. In the Michigan metropolis he gained his early education by attending the public schools, and he has long followed the tinner's trade, at which he is an expert artisan. He was formerly engaged in the work of his trade at Milford, but in 1902 he removed with his family to Pontiac, the county seat, where he was employed some time in the establishment of E. H. Hallett, the oldest hardware dealer in this city. His next alliance was with the Oakland Motor Car Company, and he now holds a position with the General Motors Truck Company. He is seventytwo years of age at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-25, is in the best of health, is alert and energetic and continues to enjoy the business activities that have long engrossed the major part of his time and attention. His wife is sixty-eight years of age, and theirs has ever been an ideal companionship. Frank W. Kuhn acquired his early education in the Milford public schools, including the high school, and at the age of seventeen years he came to Pontiac and took a position in the factory of R. D. Scott, where he remained four years -until the factory was' destroyed by fire. In 1906 he became a member of the Pontiac fire department, and that with this organization he made a record of special efficiency is indicated by the fact that in May, 1917, he was advanced to his present responsible position, that of chief of the department. He is known as a resourceful fire-fighter and able executive, and has the confidence and esteem of the members of his department and of the entire community that he is serving with marked loyalty and ability. Chief Kuhn is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of the Maccabees, and he and his wife are especially zealous members of the local Congregational church, he being a member of the building committee that is to have supervision of the erection of the new church edifice. September 16, 1913, Mr. Kuhn wedded Miss Leah Kennedy, of North Branch, Lapeer county. They have no children, but their pleasant home is a favored rendezvous for their young friends, as well as those of their own generation. Edward L. LaRue.-Edward L. LaRue, manager and owner of the Commercial Collecting Company, 412 Pontiac Bank building, Pontiac, was born in Grand Rapids December 14, 1872. His early education was received in the schools of Kent county, Michigan, and at the age of seventeen he entered the hotel business in Michigan City, Indiana. PERSONAL SKETCHES 293 He was in that city two years, then went to Grand Rapids and for three years managed a hostelry in that city. In Jackson he served as manager of a hotel for eight years, then took to the road as a traveling salesman for the Van Camp Packing Company of Indianapolis and spent three years with this big concern, having charge of the state of Michigan. A year was spent in Morris, Illinois, with the Morris Paper Company, and in February, 1917, Mr. LaRue came to Pontiac and became associated with Frank C. Wood, who in 1910 organized the Commercial Credit Company. Mr. Wood's interest in the business was purchased by Mr. LaRue in February, 1918, and the name was changed to the Commercial Collecting Company. It has since received the personal attention of Mr. LaRue as owner and manager and its success has resulted from the safe and substantial principles promoted by Mr. LaRue. Mr. LaRue is very active in Pythianism and for seven years has been master of finance and chairman of the entertainment committee. He is also a member of the uniform rank of the great order. For twenty-one years Mr. LaRue has been a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and nearly equally as long in the American Insurance Union. On July 24, 1917, Mr. LaRue was united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss Lottie Bruce Palmer, of Grand Rapids. The father of Mr. LaRue was Lewis LaRue, who was with the gallant Seventh Michigan cavalry in the Civil war. He died in 1880. His mother was Sarah A. Cook before her marriage to Mr. LaRue. She died in Los Angeles in January, 1924, at the age of seventy-four years. Mr. LaRue,.besides his ownership of the Commercial Collecting Company, is a stockholder in the Biglow Clay Products Company, of Pontiac. In the promotion of civic and community movements Mr. LaRue's co-operation is always dependable. Mrs. Richard W. Lawler.-That the enfranchisement of women has brought about a new spirit in city government and public service is evidenced from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. In no community, perhaps, is better illustration afforded than in Birmingham, Oakland county, Michigan, the clerkship of which is administered by Mrs. Richard W. Lawler. The incumbent, possessing a practical training in business as well as in the domestic field of service, becam the clerk on June 27, 1921, and has served continuously with no opposition at the polls. This, of course, discloses a high degree of personal popularity and a citizenrecognition of merit that bespeaks the civic alertness of the community. Mrs. Lawler was born in West Sand Lake, New York, the daughter of J. A. and Elizabeth (Wicks) Wendorph. The parents are how living at 302 Brown street, Birmingham, Mr. Wendorph being superintendent of the Roseland Park cemetery. Mrs. Lawler attended Union Business College in Elizabeth, New Jersey, progressed rapidly and at the age of fifteen secured employment as stenographer with the Laggren Brothers' Company. She was in this position a year and a half, then moved to Birmingham and worked, a similar period, for F. W. Floyd. Additional experience of value was obtained in newspaper plants and in a printery that supplied composition to newspaper plants. For a while she served as an attendant at the state hospital in 294 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Pontiac, then went to California and for two years was in the office of the superintendent of the state hospital at Talmage. In 1921 she returned to Birmingham and in June of that year became clerk of the municipality. Miss Wendorph was married to Walter M. Clark, who died shortly after the return from California. At the time of his death Mr. Clark owned a barber shop in Birmingham. On June 24, 1924, Mrs. Clark became Mrs. Lawler when she married Richard W. Lawler, night officer in the police department. Mrs. Lawler politically is a Republican. In religious conviction she is a Methodist. She holds membership in the Daughters of Rebekah and in the Pythian Sisters. James E. Lawson, who is successfully established in the investment, loan and building business at Royal Oak, one of the oldest and most attractive little cities of Oakland county, has the distinction of being not only a native son of this county but also a representative of the county in the Michigan legislature, to which he was elected in the autumn of 1924. Mr. Lawson was born in Troy township, this county, May 5, 1879, and is a son of John and Kittie (Chase) Lawson, both representatives of honored pioneer families of the county. John Lawson likewise was born in Troy township, and his father, James Lawson, a native of Ireland, settled in that township in the pioneer days. John Lawson became one of the substantial and prosperous exponents of farm industry in his native township, was influential in community affairs and was called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust. He was fifty-seven years of age at the time of his death, in 1911, and his widow passed away in 1919, at the age of sixty-three years. They are survived by two sons and one daughter. James E. Lawson was reared on the old homestead farm and after having profited by the advantages of the district school of the neighborhood he attended for two years the public schools of Birmingham. After leaving school he was employed four years by his uncle, Jacob Lawson, engaged in the lumber business at Royal Oak, and he then engaged independently in the same line of business, at Armada, Macomb county, where he remained twelve years and where he is still a director of the Armada State Bank. In 1916 Mr. Lawson engaged in the investment, loan, building and general real estate business at Royal Oak, where he has achieved outstanding success and developed a large and prosperous business. He is a member of the directorate of the First State Bank of Royal Oak, is serving (1925) as a member of the county board of supervisors, besides being a member of the municipal board of commissioners of Royal Oak, the affairs of which are being well administered under the commission system of government. In November, 1924, there was rolled up for him a large majority that secured his election as representative of Oakland county in the state legislature, where he is making a characteristically excellent record of constructive service and is fully justifying the trust reposed in him by the people of his constituent district. Mr. Lawson is a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and at Royal Oak he is one of the influential and progressive members of the Exchange Club, of which he was the first president. He is one of the leaders in the various movements for the A i(77 4, ~ ',-,J A/" '. M L A W SON PERSONAL SKETCHES 295 civic and material advancement of Royal Oak, is an active member of the local real estate board, and in 1921 he was a member of the city charter commission. July 12, 1905, Mr. Lawson wedded Miss Matilda K. Storz, daughter of the late Louis Storz, who was an early settler and highly honored citizen of Oakland county. Jerry, elder of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, was graduated in the Royal Oak high school as a member of the class of 1924 and is now a student in the University of Michigan, and Genevieve is a student in the high school of her home city at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1925. Jacob M. Lawson was born in Troy township, Oakland county, Michigan, May 10, 1855, and died at his home in Royal Oak, September 18, 1913. He was a son of James and Mary (McCullough) Lawson, natives of Ireland who became early settlers of Oakland county. Mr. Lawson attended the public schools of Oakland county and became a farmer, engaging in this occupation for many years. In 1897 he located in Royal Oak and with his brother-in-law, Edward McKinney, established a feed mill, but he soon sold his interest in this and in 1898 established himself in the lumber business, which he successfully conducted until the time of his death. Mr. Lawson was very active in public enterprises in Royal Oak and had much to do with the building up of the city. As a matter of fact he constructed more than a score of houses, but in another and broader sense he was a builder of civic ideals and a pillar of public welfare, and his wise counsel was frequently sought and freely given. October 14, 1886, Mr. Lawson was united in marriage with Miss Jennie McKinney, who was born in Southfield township, Oakland county, June 22, 1862, a daughter of James A. and Grace (Arthur) McKinney, the former a native of Pennsylvania, while the latter was born in New York state. James A. McKinney was well known in Oakland county, being a carpenter and building mover. He died in Southfield township on the old homestead, April 20, 1891, aged fifty-six, and his widow died in March, 1921, aged eighty years. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Lawson came to Oakland county in an early day and their deaths occurred at Birmingham. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lawson: Clyde Leslie married Miss Grace Lamb and they have three children, Jean Elizabeth, Helen Grace and John Marvin; Mabel G. is the wife of Fred Erb, and they have three children, Margery Grace, Frederick Arthur and Jane Catherine; Arthur LeRoy married Miss Hazel Fisher; George Raymond married Miss Virginia Mason and they have one child, Harold Jacob; Allan Clifton married Miss Margaret Harris and they have one child, Margaret Jane. The sons succeeded their father in the lumber business under the name of Lawson Lumber Company, located at 605 South Main street. Mrs. Jennie Lawson is a woman of progressive ideas and ideals, manifesting a helpful interest in the civic and social welfare of Royal Oak. She is an active worker in the Methodist church, is a member of the Woman's club, and is active in the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, being president of the Oakland county union for three years, resigning the year her husband died. She is a member of the Michigan Asso 296 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ciation of Florida at St. Petersburg, and calls attention to the fact that in 1923 Michigan had fifteen hundred residents located in the Sunshine City, which is one of the coming cities of Florida. Mrs. Lawson resides in a beautiful home in Royal Oak erected by the family in 1919. Robert LeBaron, M.D., may consistently be designated as the honored dean of his profession in Oakland county. June 27, 1925, marks the eighty-seventh anniversary of his birth. He has been established in the practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac fully sixty years, and such is the confidence and affection in which he is held by many representative families to whom he has ministered during the course of many years that he has found it impossible to retire entirely from practice, notwithstanding his advanced age. The Doctor retains splendid mental and physical alertness and still finds satisfaction in rendering service in his profession, which he has honored by his character and achievement. The lineage of the LeBaron family, as the name implies, traces back to French origin, and it is significantly consistent that a youthful scion of the American branch of the family went forth to serve in France in the late World war, this distinction having been that of Dr. Robert O. LeBaron, a son of the venerable physician and honored citizen whose name introduces this review. Founded in America in the colonial period of our national history, the LeBaron family has here stood exponent of lofty patriotism and worthy citizenship as one generation has followed another on the stage of life's activities, and the medical profession has claimed from the family many able representatives. Dr. Francis LeBaron, of a sterling French Huguenot family, was a young man when he came from his native France and established residence in the historic old town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, he having been one of the able physicians of his day in colonial Massachusetts. One of his grandsons, Dr. Francis LeBaron, served as a surgeon in the United States army in the war of 1812. In a cemetery at old Plymouth, Massachusetts, are to be found the graves of representatives of three generations of the LeBaron family-Dr. Francis LeBaron, the founder; his son, Dr. Lazarus LeBaron; and the latter's son, Dr. Joseph LeBaron. Dr. Robert LeBaron, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born in Genesee county, New York, June 27, 1838, and is a son of John and Jane (McCollum) LeBaron. The Doctor was second in order of birth in a family of four sons, the others being William, Alonzo and Asher. The parents, with their sons William and Robert, came to Michigan about 1843 and established their residence at Battle Creek, Calhoun county, where was born the third son, Alonzo, the youngest son, Asher, having been born after the family removal to Redford township, Wayne county, where the father purchased a farm. John LeBaron devoted the greater part of his active life to teaching school, and eventually he sold the farm in Redford township and came to Oakland county, where he established the family home on the farm owned by Mrs. Lemira Mead, in Farmington township, both he and his wife having passed many years in this county and died in St. Johns, Clinton county, Michigan. Miss Orasy W. Mead, daughter of Mrs. Lemira Mead, previ NMF S. JACOB HM LAWSON PERSONAL SKETCHES 297 ously mentioned, became the wife of Dr. C. W. Haze, of Pinckney, Livingston county, and the young couple took into their home young Robert LeBaron, who was a lad of eleven years when he accepted from Doctor Haze the invitation to make this change. Doctor LeBaron remained fourteen years with Doctor and Mrs. Haze, and in the meanwhile profited by the advantages of the common schools. His close association with Doctor Haze, as well as a possible ancestral urge, led him to prepare himself for the medical profession. He was graduated in the medical department of the University of Michigan as a member of the class of 1861, and within a short time after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he visited old school friends at Camp Jackson, where Michigan troops were being prepared for service in the Civil war. The young doctor did not long curb his patriotic ardor, and after a personal visit to Governor Austin Blair he received commission as assistant surgeon in the Fourth Michigan Infantry, his three brothers likewise having served as Union soldiers, and o'ne of them, Asher, having died of illness while in the army. Much of the active military service of Doctor LeBaron was with the Army of the Potomac, and he lived up to the full tension of the conflict that perpetuated the integrity of the nation. His term of service expired June 20, 1864, and he then left Petersburg, Virginia, and went to Washington, D. C., where he made report and turned over his equipment, he having been mustered out June 28, 1864, and having received his honorable discharge after a service that shall ever reflect honor upon his name. It is pleasing to record that in the later years Doctor LeBaron has vitalized his interest in his old comrades through his appreciative affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he is a charter member of General Dick Richardson post, of Pontiac. The year 1925 finds him in service as medical director of the Department of Michigan in the Grand Army of the Republic. On the 17th of August, 1864, about a month after receiving his honorable discharge from the army, Doctors LeBaron established himself at Pontiac, and in this city he has continued the practice of his profession during the long intervening years, with standing as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Oakland county, where his has ever been an inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem. He has membership in the American Medical Association, and is one of the oldest and most active members of the Michigan State Medical Society and the Oakland County Medical Society. He has been a stalward advocate of the political principles exemplified by General Andrew Jackson, and has maintained active affiliation with the Democratic party, though never consenting to become a candidate for political office. He and his wife are devout communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, and he has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity from the year of attaining to his legal majority, his alignment in the ranks of Knights Templars having continued fully half a century. The Doctor served several years as president of the Pontiac board of education, and Mr. Backenstock, the only other surviving member of the board of that period, still resides in Polntiac, where he is engaged in the book business. On the 13th of October, 1869, was solemnized 298 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the marriage of Doctor LeBaron to Miss Mary Blake Foster, who had celebrated the preceding day her twenty-first birthday anniversary. Of the three children of this union it is to be recorded that Edith is the widow of Dr. George H. Drake and resides in Pontiac; Mary is a music teacher residing at home, and Dr. Robert Owen LeBaron, the only son, is now a member of the staff of physicians and surgeons in a leading state hospital in California, he having served as a surgeon with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in the World war, and having thus honored alike his native land and that of his ancestors. The honored subject of this review has long owned and occupied one of the beautiful old homes of Pontiac, the same- being at the corner of Orchard avenue and Williams street. The Doctor maintains his office at 31Y2 North Saginaw street. His has been a career of earnest, faithful and useful service in all of the relations of life, and more than this can be said of no man. E. J. Lederle, commissioner of county schools of Oakland county, Michigan, has done much to advance educational interests and promote the power of the public school. Mr. Lederle is a native of Michigan, born October 8, 1881, a son of John E. and Christine (Dunkelow) Lederle. Mr. Lederle received his education in rural schools, attended high school, Central Michigan normal, the University of Michigan, where he received the Bachelor of Arts degree, the University of Chicago and Columbia University. He has made his own way from the days of childhood, alternating teaching with other work and earning the money with which to further his education. He has spent fifteen years in public school work, having experience in the one room rural school, the consolidated, or centralized school, and holding administrative positions in the larger town and city schools. Mr. Lederle has had considerable training in community service work through identification with Community Service, an organization growing out of War Camp Community Service. He has had valuable contacts in the real estate and investment business. His first direct connection with Oakland county was when he became superintendent of the schools of Royal Oak. This he left to become head of the schools at Hastings, Michigan. However, he returned to Royal Oak to enter a financial enterprise and during his residence there was elected president of the village and later supervisor and in the latter position again came in contact with the schools. On July 1, 1923, Mr. Lederle became county school commissioner. His training and experience especially fitted him for this position and he has done much to advance the cause of education. He is a firm believer in the logical leadership of the public schools in the molding of the moral, civic and social thought of the community. On August 3, 1910, Mr. Lederle was united in marriage tp Miss Minnie L. Shore, of Evart, Michigan. There are two children, John W. and Jean Louise. Mr. Lederle is a Mason, Pythian, Kiwanian and communicant of the Presbyterian church. James R. Leece is the efficient cashier of the State Bank of Ortonville, and is one of the representative young business men of his native village of Ortonville, where he was born March 21, 1892, and which he represented in the nation's military service in the World war period. PERSONAL SKETCHES 299 He is a son of William and Hattie (Vantine) Leece, the former of whom was born on the picturesque Isle of Man, off the coast of England and in the Irish sea, and the latter of whom was born in Brandon township, Oakland county, Michigan, a daughter of James and Jane (Harvey) Vantine, who were pioneer settlers in that township, where the former remained until his death, his widow being now (1925) eighty-three years of age. Robert and Anna (Kay) Leece, paternal grandparents of the subject of this review, came from the Isle of Man to the United States and settled in Michigan about 1870, Mr. Leece having previously visited this state but having finally returned to his native isle, where his marriage was solemnized and whence he later came with his family to Michigan and settled in Oakland county, where he passed the remainder of his life and where his widow, at the venerable age of eighty-six years, still maintains her home. William Leece was long numbered among the substantial exponents of farm industry in Oakland county, and he and his wife now reside at Ortonville, where he is living virtually retired. After having availed himself of the curriculum of the public schools of Ortonville, James R. Leece entered the high school at Oxford, where he continued his studies until his graduation, as a member of the class of 1911. Thereafter he was for three years a student in the University of Michigan, and in the autumn of 1916 he became cashier of the private bank at Ortonville, but in September of the following year he gave loyal heed to a higher duty, by volunteering for service in the World war. After his enlistment he was sent to Camp Custer, at Battle Creek, and August 3, 1918, he landed with his command in France, after having passed about two weeks in England. He continued in active service in France until the armistice brought the war to a close, was sergeant in the headquarters company of the 338th Infantry, and after his return to the United States he received in due course his honorable discharge, on the 12th of April, 1919. Thereafter he continued as a partner and the cashier in the private bank at Ortonville until he directed his attention to the organizing of the State Bank of Ortonville. He individually made the sale of most of the stock of the new institution, which was organized August 1, 1922, and which bases its operations on a capital stock of $25,000. He has since continued his effective service as cashier and a director of this substantial and well directed institution, which is giving the best of service to its constituent community. Mr. Leece is found loyally aligned in the ranks of the Democratic party, is a member of the American Legion, and in the Masonic fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, in the consistory at Bay City. His basic Masonic affiliation is with Ortonville Lodge No. 339, A. F. & A. M., and he was master of this lodge two years. December 3, 1921, Mr. Leece wedded Miss Aileen Young, of Oxford, Oakland county, and their winsome little daughter, Dorothy Aileen, was born April 26, 1923. Laurence G. Lenhardt.-In February, 1920, Mr. Lenhardt came to Pontiac as city engineer, having previously had considerable experience in the field of engineering. For some years he was engaged in construction work in various parts of the country and more recently 300 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY was in charge of sewer designing in the city of Detroit. Mr. Lenhart participated in the World war and spent sixteen months in France and Germany. Mr. Lenhardt is a native of Detroit, born in the Michigan metropolis in 1893. He received his early education in the grade and high schools of Detroit and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1914 with the civil engineering degree. His work is of high character. Mr. Lenhardt is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Board of Commerce, Brooklands Golf Club, of the American Society of Civil Engineers, of the American Water Works Association and of the Army and Navy Club, of Detroit. He is unmarried. In religious preferment, Mr. Lenhardt is Episcopalian. Charles J. Levengood.-In 1921 Mr. Levengood and W. A. Barnett formed a partnership known as the B. and L. Auto Sales. The concern, operating on North Saginaw street, Pontiac, has met with success. The business is growing largely because both members of the firm are, to use a popular colloquialism, "on the job." Their ambition is to supply service. Everything in the way of auto supplies and accessories is handled. They are also distributors of the Oldsmobile, representing the Olds Motor Works in Pontiac and vicinity. Mr. Levengood has had a valuable business training. He was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1892, and received his schooling in Pottstown. Then he entered a textile plant in that city, then entered the employ of the great E. L. DuPont de Nemours corporation, one of the world's leading industrial institutions. He was with the DuPonts ten years, chiefly in construction work in different parts of the United States, and in 1919 came to Pontiac with the DuPont company. In 1921 he entered the auto supply business with Mr. Barnett, and in 1924 he became representative of Olds Motor Works. Mr. Levengood is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He is vigilant and helpful in aiding all movements which have for their objective the development of Pontiac and community. Clayton L. Lewis has been a resident of Pontiac since 1913, in which year he engaged in the dairy business on a modest scale, the excellent service which he has given to appreciative patrons on his milk and cream supply routes in this city having gained to him a substantial and prosperous business that marks him as one of the leaders in this line of enterprise in Oakland county. Mr. Lewis was born on the ancestral farm homestead in Allegheny county, New York, September 28, 1876, and there his parents, Martin and Mary (Scott) Lewis, still reside, the father having been born and reared on this old homestead and having there resided during the long intervening years, he having gained place as one of the representative farmers of that fine county of the old Empire state. Clayton L. Lewis was reared on the home farm and his early educational advantages were those of the public schools of the locality. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-three years, and thereafter he passed PERSONAL SKETCHES 301 two years as an employee in the oil fields of Pennsylvania. He learned the trade of toolmaker, and to the same he continued to apply himself eleven years. As previously stated, he has been engaged in the dairy business at Pontiac since 1913. His headquarters are at 46 James street and he has a large and representative supporting patronage. Mr. Lewis has had no desire for political activity, but is a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and is liberal and progressive in his civic attitude. November 29, 1898, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Burdick, who likewise was born and reared in Allegheny county, New York, as were also her parents, her father, Herbert Burdick, having there passed his entire life and his widow, Mary (Walton) Burdick, being now a resident of Nile, that county. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have two children: Alice, who was born June 10, 1901, is the wife of Edwin Heiron, of Pontiac, and they have one child, Elizabeth Jane, born September 29, 1924. Theodore was born June 2, 1903, and is now assisting in his father's business. Lloyd S. Linton is a member of the representative Pontiac real estate and investment firm of Seeley, Linton & Reeves, concerning the operations of which further mention is made on other pages of this volume, in the personal sketch of Hon. Thaddeus D. Seeley, who was the founder of the business. In addition to his important activities in connection with the operations of this firm, Mr. Linton is also secretary of the Pontiac Finance Corporation. He was born in the city of Detroit, April 8, 1883, and is a son of Jeremiah and Henrietta (Young) Linton. In the public schools of his native city Mr. Linton's educational discipline included that of the high school, and after leaving school he found employment in a Detroit hardware store. Later he was employed in a foundry in that city, and thereafter he was for ten years identified with mining operations on the upper peninsula of Michigan. He finally returned to Detroit, and after having been concerned there five years in the real estate business, he came to Pontiac, January 1, 1919, and became associated with Thaddeus D. Seeley in the real estate and investment business. Mr. Linton is one of the loyal and progressive members of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, of which he is a director, and he holds also the office of treasurer of the Pontiac Real Estate Board. He takes deep interest in all that makes for the civic and material advancement of his home city and county, is a Republican in politics, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. August 27, 1908, was the date of the marriage of Mr. Linton to Miss Elizabeth Quay, of Cheboygan, Michigan, and the two children of this union are Elizabeth and Floyd S., Jr. S. Jay Lishness is one of the efficient and valued village executives of Ferndale, Oakland county, where he holds the office of superintendent of buildings. He was born at Bad Axe, judicial center of Huron county, Michigan, May 8, 1891, and in the public schools of his native place his studies were carried forward until he was graduated in the high school, as a member of the class of 1908. There 302 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY after he was for some time associated with his father, L. Jay Lishness, who was long a leading contractor and builder at Bad Axe, and who is now (1925) seventy-five years of age, his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Crawford, being sixty-five years of age, and they having established their home at Bad Axe many years ago. In 1911 S. Jay Lishness went to the city of Detroit, where during the ensuing four years he was associated with John Hayden, a successful contractor and builder. In 1918 he established his residence at Ferndale, which place acquired its village charter in that year, and here two years later he engaged in independent business as a contractor and builder, he having done much to advance the civic and material development and progress of the village. On the 16th of July, 1924, he was chosen superintendent of buildings for the village, and in this office he is giving a most effective administration. In his native town of Bad Axe he still maintains affiliation with Verona Lodge No. 365, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and he is a member of the Detroit Masonic Club. August 17, 1917, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Lishness to Miss Esther Hagelstein, of Royal Oak, Oakland county, and they have a winsome little daughter, Jean Loutrell, who was born September 3, 1921. Martin Joseph Loftus now conducts in the village of Berkley a large and prosperous business as a dealer in coal, coke and cement, and that he is an authority in values and other details of this important line of enterprise may well be understood when it is stated that his experience in the coal mines of his native state of Pennsylvania was initiated when he was a lad of eleven years, he having at that early age obtained employment in picking slate from the anthracite coal mined in his home district, and having continued to be employed in the Pennsylvania coal mines for a term of years. Mr. Loftus was born in the famed coal and correspondence school city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1888, and is a son of Anthony and Mary (Boland) Loftus, who now reside in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Anthony Loftus was born in Ireland, in 1864, and was a small boy when he came with his parents to the United States. He spent most of his active life as a worker in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, and he is now living virtually retired. He and his wife, who was born in the year 1866, became the parents of a fine family of fourteen sons and two daughters, and of the number nine of the sons and one of the daughters are living at the time of this writing, in 1925. The public schools of his native city afforded Martin J. Loftus his early education, and it has already been stated in this review that he was a mere boy when he found employment in picking slate at the coal mines in the Scranton district. He came to Michigan in the year 1913, and after remaining a short time in the city of Detroit he came to Oakland county and established his residence at Berkley, May 27, 1920. Here he engaged in the coal business on a very modest scale, and he has given to the community such effective service that his business has grown to one of broad scope and importance and placed him among the substantial business men of Oakland county. C -~i: CHARLES E. I()VEJOY *PERSONAL SKETCHES 303 He is non-partisan in his political proclivities, and is a charter member of the Berkley tent of the Knights of the Maccabees. June 15, 1916, Mr. Loftus wedded Miss Rose Lehman, daughter of Lawrence Lehman, a retired farmer at West Branch, Ogemaw county, Michigan, and the two children of this union are daughters-Irene, born February 9, 1919, and Shirley, born October 7, 1922. James W. Losee, M.D., has been for more than thirty years engaged in the practice of his profession in his native county of Oakland, and has continuously made the city of Pontiac the central stage of his professional activities, his office here being at 24'2 East Huron street. The Doctor was born on the parental homestead farm in Springfield township, Oakland county, November 19, 1865, there gained his initial experience of practical order, and the district schools afforded his preliminary educational training, which was supplemented by his attending the high schools at Fenton and Pontiac. In line with his ambition and well formulated plans, he finally entered the homeopathic medical department of the University of Michigan, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891, on the 25th of June in which year he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the city of Pontiac he was for seventeen years associated in practice with the late Dr. Aaron B. Avery, and he has since continued in independent general practice with a large and representative clientele that indicates alike his professional ability and personal popularity. The Doctor is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, the American Institute of Homeopathy and the American Medical Association. He is a Knight Templar Mason and is affiliated also with the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, of the progressive civic and industrial policies of which he is a loyal supporter, and he has membership in the Pine Lake Country Club. October 22, 1896, Doctor Losee married Miss Margaret A. North, of Pontiac, and in this city they maintain their home at 58 Norton avenue. Winfield Scott Lovejoy, successor of his father in the old established grocery business at Milford, was born in this village on the 27th of May, 1880. In the local schools he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, and thereafter he was associated with his father in the grocery business until 1910, when his father gave him the stock and business, the enterprise having since been successfully continued by him and his well equipped establishment being known for its high grade service in all departments. He is affiliated with the same local Masonic organizations as is his father, and emulates the paternal example also in his alignment in the ranks of the Democratic party. October 14, 1914, Mr. Lovejoy wedded Miss Mae Mosher, of Battle Creek, Michigan, and the children of this union are four in number: Charles, William, Winfield Scott, Jr., Paul Mosher, and Barbara Jean. Charles E. Lovejoy, long numbered among the representative business men and influential citizens of Milford, where he is now living 304 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY virtually retired, here served as postmaster during both the first and second administrations of President Woodrow Wilson, besides which he gave twenty-eight years of service as justice of the peace, his regime in which position made the office justify its title. After having been for thirty-nine years successfully established in the retail grocery business at Milford, Mr. Lovejoy turned the business over to his son, W. Scott, who has since conducted the enterprise in such a way as effectively to uphold the high prestige of the family name as touching this special line of business. Charles E. Lovejoy was born on the paternal homestead farm in Milford township, Oakland county, March 20, 1852, and is a son of Matthew and Ann (McCall) Lovejoy, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Scotland, their marriage having been solemnized in Oakland county, Michigan, where the death of Mrs. Lovejoy occurred in 1854, when her son, Charles E., of this review, was about two years old. Matthew Lovejoy came from the old Empire state to Michigan in an early day and became a pioneer settler in Mundy township, Genesee county, whence he later removed to Oakland county, where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Ann McCall. After the death of his first wife Mr. Lovejoy wedded Miss Betsey Eddy, and they continued to reside on their farm in Milford township until 1870, when they removed to Milford village. Here Mr. Lovejoy was engaged in the grocery business and here he continued to reside until his death, in 1881, at the age of fifty-seven years. His widow later contracted a second marriage, and after the death of her second husband, Mr. Phillips, she returned to Milford, where she passed the remainder of her life, she having been seventy years of age at the time of her death, about 1902. The old homestead farm, one of the valuable properties of Oakland county, is now owned by Charles E. Lovejoy, of this sketch. To the public schools of his native county Charles E. Lovejoy is indebted for his youthful education, and he became the virtual successor of his father in the grocery business at Milford, where he continued his activities in this line nearly forty years, at the expiration of which he retired and was succeeded by his son, as previously noted. Mr. Lovejoy was one of the organizers of the First State Bank of Milford and has served continuously as its vice-president from the time of its incorporation. Of his characteristically loyal and effective service as postmaster and justice of the peace mention has already been made, and of the latter office he was the incumbent at the time Judge George W. Smith was serving on the bench of the circuit court of this district. In the Masonic fraternity the affiliations of Mr. Lovejoy are with Milford Lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M., and Milford Chapter No. 71, R. A. M. He has had much of leadership in the local councils of the Democratic party, of the principles of which he is a loyal advocate and supporter, his religious affiliations being with the United Presbyterian and Congregational churches. The year 1873 was that in which was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lovejoy to Miss Mary Greig, and the supreme loss and bereavement came to him when his devoted wife passed to the life eternal, in PERSONAL SKETCHES 305 November, 1915, when she was fifty-nine years of age. Bessie L., eldest of the seven children, remains with her father at the attractive home in Milford and as its chatelaine she is the popular successor of her gracious mother. W. Scott succeeded his father in the grocery business, and of him more specific mention is made in a later paragraph. Earl, the second son, is successfully established in the practice of law in the city of Detroit, where he has his office in the First National Bank building. Miss Ruth, youngest of the children, is a popular clerk in the Milford post office. Fisher & Luttrell.-The progressive and popular young business men who are the principals in this firm are Walter A. Fisher and Melville H. Lutrell, and their initiative and executive ability has been shown in their establishing and equipping of the two modem drug stores that they are successfully conducting in the city of Pontiac-the one at 524 South Saginaw street, and the other at 290 State street. These establishments are known as the Fisher-Luttrell Pharmacies. Walter A. Fisher claims the staunch old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Butler, Richland county, Ohio, August 8, 1894. In the public schools of his native place his studies were continued until his graduation in the high school, in 1912, and in 1916 he was graduated in the department of pharmacy at Ferris Institute, Big Rapids, Michigan. In the same year he established his residence in Pontiac, where for two years he was in the employ of the Smith-Bowles Drug Company. Later he was connected with the Buelle Drug Company in this city, and for a short time he was employed in a drug store at Lapeer. In 1920 he became associated with Melville H. Luttrell and established an independent drug business in Pontiac, and the success of the firm has been in significant consonant with the ability, energy and progressiveness of its constituent members, who have gained secure place as enterprising and reliable factors in the representative business activities of the vital city that is the judicial center of Oakland county. The original drug store of the firm is that which they maintain at 524 South Saginaw, and in 1924 they expanded the scope of their operations by the purchase of the drug store at 290 State street. Mr. Fisher is affiliated with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, A. F. & A. M., at Pontiac, and also with a local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. May 28, 1924, was marked by his marriage to Miss Helena Soderquist, of Pierport, Manistee county. Melville H. Luttrell, junior member of the firm, was born in the city of Toronto, Canada, February 11, 1895, and is a graduate of one of the high schools in his native city. He was engaged about three years in the men's furnishing goods business in Toronto, and in 1912 he came to Pontiac, Michigan, where he remained a comparatively short period, he having then returned to his native province of Ontario, Canada. In 1915, however, he again established his residence in Pontiac, and after having made a record of success as a traveling commercial salesman, he subordinated all personal interests to the call of patriotism and enlisted for service in the World war. He became a private in Motor Transportation, United 306 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY States Infantry, won advancement to the office of sergeant and was in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces over seas during a period of about twenty-one months, within which he was at the front on various sectors. Mr. Luttrell enlisted in September, 1917, and received his honorable discharge, on Long Island, New York, July 15, 1919. In 1920 he became associated with Mr. Fisher in the drug business, as already noted in this context. Mr. Luttrell is affiliated with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Oakland Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons; Pontiac Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, and Pontiac Lodge No. 19, Knights of Pythias, besides which he was actively concerned in the organization of the Pontiac body of the new Order of DeMolay, a virtual adjunct of the Masonic fraternity, and was a member of its organic advisory board. His Masonic affiliations are extended also to Nilico Grotto of the Veiled Prophets, at Pontiac. Mr. Luttrell is still an eligible young bachelor. James H. Lynch is now one of the veteran members of the bar of Oakland county, as he has been for nearly forty years engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac. His personality and his achievement in his chosen vocation give him high rank at the bar of this favored section of Michigan, and within the many years of his successful professional activity he has appeared in a large amount of important litigation in the various courts. Mr. Lynch was born in Orange county, New York, December 12, 1859, and his rudimentary education was acquired in the district schools of that county and the public schools of New York City, he having been a lad of about eight years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan, in 1868, and his public school work having been continued here until his graduation in the Pontiac high school, in 1884. He is a son of Thomas and Mary (Markey) Lynch, who were born and reared in Ireland and whose marriage was solemnized in the city of New York. Thomas Lynch was a young man when he came to the United States, about 1856, and the young woman who later became his wife had come to this country about two years prior to his arrival. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lynch remained for a brief period in the national metropolis, and they then established their residence in Orange county, New York, where eventually Mr. Lynch engaged in independent farm enterprise. Upon coming to Michigan, in 1868, Thomas Lynch established the family home on a farm in Oakland county, and he long continued an exponent of farm industry in this county. After retiring from the farm he passed the remainder of his life in Pontiac, where he died in 1923,-one of the sterling and honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county-his wife having entered into eternal rest in the year 1914. They were zealous communicants of the Catholic church, and Mr. Lynch gave his political allegiance to the Democratic party. Of the five children, all sons, four survive the honored parents. After his graduation in the Pontiac high school, in 1884, James H. Lynch began reading law, in the office of Aaron Perry, then one of the prominent members of the PERSONAL SKETCHES 307 Pontiac bar. He made rapid progress in his absorption and assimilation of the involved science of jurisprudence, and in September, 1886, he successfully passed the examination that gained him admission to the Michagan bar. Thereafter he was engaged in the independent practice of his profession until about 1909, when he formed a partnership with his former preceptor, Mr. Perry, this alliance having continued until the death of the senior member of the firm, in 1921, and Mr. Lynch having since individually continued the substantial law business, the while he has paid honor to his former preceptor and partner by still retaining the original firm name of Perry & Lynch. In 1886, the year of his admission to the bar, Mr. Lynch was elected circuit court commissioner for Oakland county, and of this office he continued the incumbent six years. He has served as city attorney of Pontiac and also as a member of the board of education. He has been influential in the councils and campaigns of the Democratic party in his county and was for many years a member of the Democratic state central committee of Michigan. Mr. Lynch was a delegate to the Democratic national convention of 1924, which nominated Hon. John W. Davis and Hon. Charles W. Bryan as its standardbearers in the presidential campaign of that year. He and his family are earnest communicants of the Catholic church and he has been long and prominently affiliated with the local council of the Knights of Columbus. The year 1925 finds Mr. Lynch in service as president of the Oakland County Pioneer Society, and his deep interest in the history of the county and state has been shown in many helpful ways, including his work as author of a history of the Irish pioneers of Oakland county. In June, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lynch to Miss Bridget Crotty, daughter of the late James Crotty, who was one of the early settlers in White Lake township, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Lynch have been born these children: Mary U. is at home; Catherine F. died in the year 1922; Agnes C. is the wife of George Cox, of Pontiac; Margaret B. is the wife of Nicholas Balz and they reside in Pontiac; Veronica died in infancy and Monica Rose is the wife of George Burke of Archbald, Pennsylvania. The youngest members of the parental home circle are the twin sons, Patrick S. and Emmett D. Derrick B. Lyons is cashier of the First State & Savings Bank of Holly, this strong and well directed financial institution of Oakland county basing its operations on a capital stock of $100,000.00, and its influence being large in connection with the conservation of civic prosperity and business enterprise in the attractive little city of Holly. Mr. Lyons was born in Macomb county, Michigan, April 6, 1874, and in that county he was reared and educated. After his graduation in the high school at Davis he remained on the parental homestead farm until he had attained to his legal majority. During a period of eighteen months thereafter he held a position in the Pontiac Savings Bank, and he then left the city that is the judicial center of Oakland county and went to Big Rapids, Mecosta county, where, in 1901, he effected the organization of the financial institution that is now in 308 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY corporated as the Big Rapids Savings Bank. He became the first cashier of the bank and retained this position one and one-half years. In 1903 he removed to South Lyon, Oakland county, and assumed executive charge of the business of the South Lyon Banking Company. In 1905 he there organized what is now the State Savings Bank, and with this institution he continued his effective administrative service fourteen years. He then resigned to accept the position of which he is now the incumbent. that of cashier of the First State & Savings Bank of Holly, which has had a substantial and normal growth during the period of his executive service, which was initiated in 1917. Mr. Lyons is one of the representative business men of Holly, and is distinctly liberal and progressive in his civic attitude. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. April 2, 1908, Mr. Lyon wedded Miss Edith Foster, daughter of Edward Foster, of Clarkston, Oakland county, and the children of this union are Elias Hugh, who was born January 27, 1915, and Alice H., who was born September 27, 1917. Donald R. MacDonald maintains in the city of Pontiac, Oakland county, at 81 West Huron street, a modern and thoroughly well equipped establishment for the handling of automobile supplies and accessories, including batteries and radiators, and in connection is conducted a gasoline and oil service station. In the shop of the establishment are facilities for welding and doing all kinds of automobile repair work. Mr. MacDonald was born in Lapeer county, Michigan, October 22, 1892, and is a son of Donald Roderick and Jennie (McGuinnis) MacDonald, the former of whom was born and reared in Edinboro, Scotland, and the latter of whom was born at Puslinch, Ontario, Canada. Donald R. MacDonald, Sr., was a youth when he came to the United States, and after remaining a time in New York he came to Michigan and established his residence in Lapeer county, where his marriage was solemnized, his wife having been a girl at the time of her parents' removal to Michigan. When the subject of this sketch was two years old his parents established their home at Pontiac, but his father was a resident of North Branch, Lapeer county, in the closing years of his life, his death having there occurred in 1894, and his widow now having her home with her son, Donald R., of this review, at Pontiac. Of the six children all except one survive the father. After his graduation in the Pontiac high school, as a member of the class of 1910, Donald R. MacDonald, immediate subject of this sketch, held for one year a position with the Gaukley Coal Company, and for two years thereafter he worked as a machinist at the Pontiac plant of the Flanders Manufacturing Company. He was next in the employ of the Oakland Motor Company, and he then gave three years to alliance with the insurance business. September 4, 1917, within a few months after the nation entered the World war, Mr. MacDonald enlisted for service in the United States army. He was stationed at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, eleven months, and then, as a member of the Eighty II * II f::-:-::: -:,::,: i::iil-~'i-::`:-:i-:i:-:::::':::'::::~:::::i.~:i —:::-i-::',i-:ii:-:':i:i::i:-j-;::::ia::::::: '~::: 7 Ir ii 4 PERSONAL SKETCHES 309 fifth Division, he embarked for overseas service. In France he was transferred to headquarters company of the regimental provisional replacement depot of the Second Army Corps, where he was in service at the time of the signing of the historic armistice, November 11, 1918. He was then transferred to the American railway transportation office, and his service terminated when he received his honorable discharge, at Camp Custer, Michigan, in July, 1919. After his return to Pontiac Mr. MacDonald continued in the employ of the Oakland Motor Company until May 20, 1922, when he became associated with Howard Losee in the automobile supply business. In April, 1924, he purchased his partner's interest, and he has since continued the business successfully in an individual way. Mr. McDonald is affiliated with Masonic Lodge No. 21, and the local post of the American Legion. He is an active and popular member of the Oakland County Boat Club. October 10, 1922, Mr. MacDonald wedded Miss Althea Shelmere, of Detroit, and they are popular figures in the social activities of their home city, the while Mr. MacDonald is known as one of the progressive young business men of Pontiac. Frederick D. Madison, who maintains his offices in the building of the First State Bank of Royal Oak, has made a record of achievement that gives him secure vantage place as one of the successful and influential architects in this native state. He is an enthusiast in his profession, has designed and supervised the erection of many high grade, modern public and private buildings, and in his civic attitude he is vitally progressive and public spirited, so that his home city of Royal Oak places high valuation upon him as a citizen. Mr. Madison has the distinction of being a representative of an honored pioneer family of Michigan. His paternal grandfather was born January 22, 1825, in the town of Unity, state of New Hampshire, and it was nearly one hundred years ago that this resourceful pioneer was brought with oxen and wagon, by his parents from one of the eastern states to Michigan territory, and was one of the younger members of a large family, all of whom were likewise joy riders. He was one of the first settlers in Oakland county, and his blacksmith shop, on the banks of Walled Lake, was a center of much constructive activity, especially in connection with work demanded in shoeing horses and doing general repair service for those operating the old-time stage lines that were the principal means of transportation in that period of Michigan history. But previous to this when about sixteen years old he was with the Calumet & Heckley Mining Company in the Keweenaw peninsula and saw many of the immense slabs of copper brought to view. In one instance he found, underneath one of these copper slabs when removed, a set of copper knives and tools tempered as nicely as he could temper steel. Later he systematically followed steel workings at Indianapolis which became his working capital for the balance of his active life. Moving and settling at Sault Ste. Marie in 1848 before the first lock was constructed, he had ample use for all of the technical skill he had acquired in steel work in repairs on the vessels going up and down the lakes, work for the United States 310 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY government and in many other ways. It is related at the time he was living at the Sault he was the first man to place a definite curb on the exploits of an Indian Chief, Go-Shono, who was wont to imbibe too copiously of "fire-water" and then to pursue and terrify the people of the community. This unruly redskin made an attempt thus to chase Madison, but the doughty blacksmith seized the slack of a heavy wampus that the Indian was wearing around the throat and proceeded to twist until he choked the chief until he was unconscious and duly subdued and humiliated. Mr. Madison was never again bothered by Go-Shono. Mr. Madison eventually returned to Milford, Oakland county, Walled Lake and Wixom and here he resided until his death, at the age of eighty-five years. The family name of his wife was Seward and she was a kinswoman of the historic William Seward, member of Lincoln's cabinet, and a man whose name is one of prominence in the annals of American history. Frederick D. Madison was born at Kingsley, Grand Traverse county, Michigan, April 2, 1888, and is a son of Frank Seward Madison and Sophronia (Daniels) Madison, the former of whom was born at Saul~ Ste. Marie, Michigan, and the latter at Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, she having been a child when her parents established their home in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Frank S. Madison have for many years maintained their residence in Traverse City, Michigan, where Mr. Madison is a successful contractor and builder, he having been eight years old at the time of the family removal from Sault Ste. Marie to Oakland county, where he was reared and educated. He and his brothers developed much talent as musicians, and for a term of years he was the popular and successful director of a band at Wixom, Oakland county, having been clarinetist in this organization, his brother Gilman drum major, and his brother George solo cornetist. The band gained deservedly a high reputation under his leadership and won many prizes in contests with other bands in the state. Mr. Madison likewise served for many years as chorister in the old Baptist church at Wixom. Of his three children the subject of this review is the youngest, and the other two sons, George F. and Joseph, reside at Clawson, Oakland county. Frederick D. Madison, immediate subject of this review, gained his early education by attending the public schools of Grand Rapids, Plainwell, Traverse City and the excellent school conducted under the auspices of the Detroit Y. M. C. A. He thereafter was a student in the Detroit School of Design, in which he did much to perfect himself in the technical and practical details of his chosen profession. He later was employed in the offices of leading architects in Detroit, and in 1914 he came to Royal Oak, where he has built up a substantial and prosperous business as a skilled and resourceful architect. Mr. Madison prepared the plans for the new county jail of Oakland county, this being the largest and most modern of all such structures in the state of Michigan and being excelled by few in the entire United States. He has designed many modern school buildings in Oakland and adjoining counties and has designed numerous high class homes and business buildings, and is now preparing PERSONAL SKETCHES 311 plans for the Genesee county court house and tuberculosis hospital for Oakland county. Mr. Madison is- a director of the First State Bank of Royal Oak and of the Citizens Theatre Company, and he is president of three other local companies. He has been several times a delegate to the meetings of the Michigan State Utilities Commission, and has there been influential in formulating taxation systems and in the project for the widening of Woodward avenue through its full course as a continuation of the avenue of that name in Detroit. He is vitally interested in all that concerns the civic and material advancement of Royal Oak and Oakland county, and is valued as a liberal and public spirited citizen. In 1914 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Madison to Miss Sadie Elizabeth Hammond, who was born at Royal Oak, and who is a daughter of the late Dr. George B. and Jennie (Miller) Hammond, who here remained until their death, Doctor Hammond having been for many years one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county. Mr. and Mrs. Madison have two children-Paul Emerson and Eleanor Jane. In politics Mr. Madison is found loyally arrayed in the ranks of the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and at Royal Oak he has membership in the blue lodge and chapter bodies of York Rite Masonry, as well as the chapter of the Eastern Star, of which his wife likewise is a member. In the Scottish Rite of the Masonic fraternity his affiliations are with the Michigan Sovereign Consistory, in Detroit, and in that city he is a noble of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Mrs. Edna M. Malpass.-In her effective administration of the fiscal affairs of Pleasant Ridge, Mrs. Malpass, the popular treasurer of the village of Pleasant Ridge, is proving not only a resourceful municipal executive but also giving evidence of her progressiveness and public spirit as a citizen. Mrs. Malpass was born at Traverse City, Michigan, December 31, 1891, and thus became a right welcome New Year's guest in the home of her parents, Edward and Mary E. (Cloney) Perry, the former of whom was born in Rochester, New York, and the latter in the state of Vermont, both having been children at the time of the removal of the respective families to Michigan, where the parents of Mrs. Perry became early settlers at Traverse City. Edward Perry was reared and educated in this state and after his marriage he continued his residence in Traverse City until he came with his family to Pontiac, Oakland county, his daughter, Edna M., who figures as the immediate subject of this review, having been a child at that time. Mr. Perry had the distinction of erecting the first house on what was formerly known as Fairview avenue in Highland Park, and he and his wife now reside in the village of Ferndale, as well known and highly esteemed citizens of Oakland county. Mr. Perry and his sons, Ray and Percy, are successfully engaged in the contracting business, under the title of the Perry Construction Company. In their earlier period of residence in Oakland county Mr. and Mrs. Perry maintained their home at Pontiac, and later they resided for some time at Highland Park, in Wayne county. Mrs. Mal 312 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY pass profited by the advantages of the public schools of Pontiac and Highland Park, and thereafter she attended the Central high school in Detroit. In that city, February 9, 1909, was solemnized her marriage to Charles W. Malpass, who was born at Highland Park, this state, August 26, 1888, and who is a skilled construction engineer, he being now associated with the Studebaker company, in Detroit, and being affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Malpass maintained their residence in the city of Pontiac until 1912, and they have since been popular and representative citizens of Pleasant Ridge, where they have an attractive and modern home and where they have a goodly measure of pioneer distinction, the village having been incorporated several years after they had here establishd their home. In 1923, yielding to urgent requests by the citizens of the community, Mrs. Malpass consented to become a candidate for the office of village treasurer, and to this office she was elected December 3 of that year. She assumed her official duties in January, 1924, and her administration has in the fullest degree justified her selection for this office. She and her husband are liberal in both their civic attitude and religious views, and in later years Mrs. Malpass has been much interested in the doctrines and work of Christian Science. Mr. and Mrs. Malpass have two children: Edna Dorothy, who was born December 25, 1909, is (in 1925) a student in the high school at Ferndale, and Charles Harry, who was born August 11, 1912, is attending the village schools of Pleasant Ridge. George Marble.-Of widely known family, George Marble, who is one of the best known operators in real estate in this section of Michigan, was engaged in railroad work fourteen years before entering the field of real estate in 1920. He was born in West Olive, Ottawa county, Michigan, April 19, 1890, a son of Fred H. and Barbara (Walder) Marble. The father farmed. George attended public school and worked as a fireman and railroad engineer for fourteen years. In 1920 he became an employee of Griggs, Tuttle & Griggs and later "got into the game" for himself, specializing in Lake property and later operating with John C. Cowe in the firm name of Marble & Cowe, which is widely known and doing a large business. Mr. Marble is also sales manager for the Norwalk Burial Vault Company, of Pontiac. On July 22, 1912, he was united in marriage to Miss Clara A. Mennel. Two children have been born, Ralph Clifford and James Wilson. Mr. Marble is a member of the Auburn Heights school board, residing in Auburn Heights but maintaining offices in the Pontiac Bank building in Pontiac. He is a member of Masonic blue lodge, of the Royal Arch chapter, commandery of Knights Templar and grotto of the Veiled Prophets; also of the Odd Fellows. Fred H. Marble's great-grandmother was a sister of Israel Putnam. The paternal grandfather, John P. Marble, located near Lansing and operated a large farm and on this land now is the interurban station, called Marble station. A portion of the farm is being platted into suburban lots. The Marble family came originally from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Much of the PERSONAL SKETCHES 313 development of Michigan lay in the hands of the Marble yeomen. On the maternal side, the Walders settled in Kent county. The parents of George Marble died in Ottawa county. Fred H. Marble was quite active in community life. Joseph L. Marcero is the executive head of the firm of J. L. Marcero & Company, which is engaged in the wholesale confectionery, cigar and tobacco business and which maintains well ordered establishments both in Detroit and Pontiac. In the latter city Mr. Marcero gives his personal supervision to the firm's large and important business, in the conducting of which is used the two-story brick building at 45-47 Perry street, and he is known and valued as one of the substantial and representative business men of,the vital city that is the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county. Mr. Marcero is of French descent and was born at New Baltimore, Macomb county, Michigan, and is a son of the late Captain Peter Marcero, who was long and prominently identified with navigation interests on the Great Lakes and who, as captain, had command of various vessels, both he and his wife having continued their residence in Michigan until their death, and both having been earnest communicants of the Catholic church. Joseph L. Marcero gained his early education by attending parochial and public schools in his native state, and his initial business experience was acquired through clerical service with the Fair Haven Stave Company, at Fair Haven, St. Clair county. Thereafter he was associated in a similar capacity with the fine old tobacco manufacturing concern of Daniel Scotten & Company, of Detroit. A young man of ambition and resourcefulness, he found ways and means for advancing himself and finally of establishing himself in independent business. In the year 1900 he became the leader in establishing a wholesale and retail confectionery, cigar and tobacco business at the corner of Saginaw and Pike streets in the city of Pontiac, and with characteristic energy and ability he applied himself to the upbuilding of the enterprise, which had attained to such proportions by 1909 that it was found expedient for the firm to establish also a wholesale house in Detroit, where operations are still continued by this progressive firm, with headquarters at 310 West Jefferson avenue. In 1919 the Pontiac headquarters were removed from the original location to the newly erected and modern brick building of two stories at 45-47 Perry street, this building being owned by the firm and having been specifically designed and constructed for the purpose to which it is devoted. Through the Pontiac establishment the firm distributes to its trade in Oakland county, and the business has grown to broad scope under the careful and progressive direction of Mr. Marcero and his valued coadjutor, Arthur E. St. Clair, concerning whom individual mention is made on another page of this volume. In its assigned trade territory the firm has the exclusive agency for the celebrated Lowney confectionery, and is distributor of the well known Dutch Master, El Producto and Cuesta Rey cigars. The enterprise had a modest inception and has increased in volume fully 500 per cent. This Pontiac concern has 314 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY proved a distinct influence in advancing the industrial and commercial prestige of this city, and Mr. Marcero has standing as one of the representative business men and loyal and public spirited citizens of Pontiac. He is a director of the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank, is treasurer of the Pontiac Finance Corporation, is president of the local Social Service Bureau, is an influential member of the local Rotary Club, and has membership in leading commercial promotive organizations in both Pontiac and Detroit. He is a charter member and past grand knight of his council of the Knights of Columbus, is affiliated also with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Pontiac Catholic parish of St. Vincent de Paul Church. His political allignment is with the Republican party. On the 2d of September, 1897, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Marcero to Miss Frances Thompson, of Detroit, and the children of this union are Ellen, Thompson L., Joseph L., Jr., and Elizabeth. The elder daughter, Ellen, under the name of Sister Marie Joseph, is a member of the Catholic sisterhood of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and with the same is in service at the convent in Monroe, which city has long been a center of Catholic service in Michigan. Mr. Marcero has achieved worthy success through worthy efforts, and has been in the best sense the architect of his own fortunes, for his advancement has come entirely through his own ability and well ordered endeavors. It is interesting to record that when he established the business of his present firm, he employed only one salesman, and that today sixteen salesmen are retained in representing the concern through its trade territory. Herman H. Martin.-Mr. Martin is engaged in the trucking business and operates a bus service between Royal Oak and Clawson, Michigan. His location is at 1307 South Washington avenue, Royal Oak. Mr. Martin was born on a farm in Summit county, Ohio, near Akron, July 7, 1866, a son of David W. and Rebecca Jane (Henderson) Martin, both natives of Summit county. David W. Martin was a farmer and justice of the peace in Summit county and was widely known and esteemed as "Squire" Martin. He died in 1909 and his widow in 1919. A great-grandmother, Mrs. Rebecca Martin, was the first white child born in the northeastern part of Summit county. She was born in 1800 and died in 1891. A great-grandfather was born in,1799 and died in 1882. The grandparents and great-grandparents spent their entire lives on a 176-acre farm in Summit county. Herman H. Martin received his early education in Summit county but in 1915 came to Oakland county, engaging in farming and light trucking. In 1918 he located in Royal Oak, engaging in the trucking business and providing bus passage between Royal Oak and Clawson. In 1887 Mr. Martin married Miss Dora Bennett. In 1921 Mr. Martin was married a second time, the second wife being Miss Sadie Fishpool. By the first union seven children were born: Mrs. Lillian Rose, who died in 1917; Harry D. Martin, of Royal Oak; Charles W. Martin, of Royal Oak, who during the World war served in the Twenty-sixth division over seas; Ira E. Martin, an aviator in the World war; PERSONAL SKETCHES 315 Mrs. Berdella Bailey, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Earl W. Martin, who, during the World war was over seas with the First division, and Wm. A., of Royal Oak. Herman H. Martin is a member of the Royal Oak Board of Commerce. He is a communicant of the Presbyterian church and is affiliated with the Republican party. He has one brother, William A. Martin, of Akron, and four sisters, Mrs. Florence Neal, of Summit county; Mrs. Ida Zaiser, of Akron; Mrs. Jennie Spade, of Akron, and Mrs. Bessie Reardon, of Akron. Jacob Measel, who is one of the substantial retired farmers of Oakland county and who resides in the village of Clawson, is a native son of Michigan and a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of this state. He was born on a farm in Wayne county, Michigan, November 29, 1855, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Kuntz) Measel, the former of whom was born November 12, 1812, and the latter whom was born April 25, 1835. Jacob Measel, Sr., was born and reared in Germany and was twenty-nine years of age when he left his native land to establish a home in the United States. In Wayne county, Michigan, he took up a tract of government land and instituted the reclamation and development of a farm, Detroit having been at that period little more than a village and Michigan having been admitted to statehood only a few years previously. Jacob Measel, Sr., later came to Oakland county and purchased land near Clawson, he having continued as one of the prosperous farmers of this county during the remainder of his life and his death having here occurred, on his old homestead, in 1887. By his first marriage he became the father of five sons, and of his marriage with Elizabeth Kuntz were born three sons and seven daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch was the oldest. Jacob Measel, Jr., the immediate subject of this review, was reared on the pioneer farm of his father and gained his early education by attending the district schools of Wayne county. He continued to be associated with the work of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and thereafter he was employed in brick yards at Detroit one year. During the ensuing ten years he was engaged in independent farm enterprise in Macomb county, and he then assumed management of his father's old homestead farm near Big Beaver, Royal Oak township, Oakland county, where he continued his well ordered activities as an agriculturist and stock grower until 1917, when he removed to the village of Clawson. Here he has since lived virtually retired, and his eldest daughter and her husband now live on the old farm. Mr. Measel is a Republican in politics, and his religious faith is that of Protestantism. His has been a career of productive industry, and he has so ordered his course as to merit and receive the high regard of his fellow men. The first marriage of Mr. Measel was with Miss Martha Watson, who was born in England, and who is survived by two daughters. Amelia is the wife of Thomas Cole and they reside on a farm in Troy township, their children being two sons and one daughter. Ida, second daughter of the subject of this sketch, is the wife of Byron Moore, of Detroit, and is the mother of one son and 316 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY two daughters. After the death of his first wife Jacob Measel married Miss Paula Comperworth, and she passed to the life eternal November 12, 1908. Oscar R., eldest of the children of the second marriage, resides at Clawson. Thomas P. is likewise a resident of Clawson, and was in the nation's military service in the World war period. Bernice is the wife of Sidney Dunmore, of Clawson. Milo is a resident of Farmington, Oakland county. Viola, who resides at Clawson, is the widow of Gilbert Dunlock, to whom she was wedded after he had served with the American Expeditionary Forces in the World war, he having been severely gassed while in service at the front and his death, in 1922, having been the direct result of this war affliction. Harry J. Merritt, attorney-at-law, 204 New Royal Oak Savings Bank building, Royal Oak, Michigan, was born in Pontiac, September 6, 1896. He obtained his early education in Birmingham and Royal Oak, attended the grade schools and was graduated from Royal Oak high school in 1914. In 1919 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Albion college and in 1921 was graduated from the Detroit College of Law, since which time he has been assiduously engaged in law practice in Royal Oak. Mr. Merritt is a member of the Masonic order; Sigma Nu, a literary fraternity; and, Delta Theta Phi, a law Greek letter fraternity. He is president of the Memorial society of Royal Oak and post commander of the American Legion and is serving on the state executive committee representing the Sixth district. On January 26, 1918, Mr. Merritt enlisted in the air service and was sent to U. S. S. M. A. at Urbana, Illinois, was graduated and sent to Dallas, Texas, later to Selfridge Field at Mt. Clemens, Michigan, and was discharged December 9, 1918, as a second lieutenant. He has since been commissioned a first lieutenant. Mr. Merritt has taken an active part in politics and in the affairs of the American Legion. He is state finance officer of the Legion, Department of Michigan. On October 27, 1923, he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney. Mr. Merritt is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On November 28, 1923, he was united in marriage to Miss Blossom Garland, of Traverse City, Michigan. Mr. Merritt by virtue of his courage, careful attention to detail and fidelity to trust or obligation, commands the respect of the entire community in which he lives and in which he has become a strong factor. Ansel S. Metz is senior member of the firm of Metz & Buchanan, which conducts a prosperous coal and coke business and maintains its well equipped headquarters in the thriving little city of Rochester. The junior member of the firm is Walter O. Buchanan, a son-in-law of Mr. Metz. Ansel S. Metz is a native of Oakland county, where he was born June 28, 1867, and is a son of the late Stewart and Susan (Williamson) Metz, who were born and reared in New Jersey and who became pioneer settlers in Oakland county, Michigan. Here the father purchased twenty acres of land one and one-half miles north of Mount Vernon, where he established the family home and also a blacksmith shop. He was a skilled workman at the blacksmith trade and successfully followed the same during the greater part of his PERSONAL SKETCHES 317 active career, he having been one of the well known and highly respected citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1904, when he was sixty-seven years of age, and his widow having passed away in 1913, aged seventy-eight years. Both were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his political faith was that of the Republican party. Ansel S. Metz profited by the advantages of the public schools of Oakland county and as a youth he became actively concerned in farm enterprise, eventually in an independent way. He continued as one of the progressive exponents of farm industry until 1888, when he established his residence at Rochester, where for ten years and three months he was associated with P. J. O'Brien in the lumber and coal business. In 1914 he purchased the coal yard and business of James A. Casey, and in continuing the enterprise with characteristic energy and discrimination he admitted to partnership in the business, Walter O. Bucha'nan, the firm of Metz & Buchanan having since been recognized as one of representative order in this community, with control of a substantial business that has been developed through honorable and efficient service. Mr. Metz gives his political support to the cause of the Republican party and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The year 1888 was marked by the marriage of Mr. Metz to Miss Eva Fetherston, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county, and the one child of this union is Edna, the wife of Walter O. Buchanan, who is associated with her father in business. Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan have two children-Lyle, born February 29, 1920, and Jean, born April 22, 1922. J. Harry McBride, the progressive business man and influential citizen who figures as the proprietor of the Hardware House of McBride, one of the leading business establishments in the city of Birmingham, Oakland county, is known as one of the liberal and public spirited citizens of this community and has served as mayor of Birmingham. Mr. McBride reverts to the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Beaver Dam, Allen county, Ohio, January 24, 1881. He is a son of William and Lillie (Gates) McBride, the former of whom was born at Chardon, that state, in 1850, and the latter of whom was born at Cortland, Ohio, in 1854. The public schools of his native place afforded Mr. McBride his early education, which was therein continued until 1899, and later he attended the Ohio Northern University, at Ada. He made a record of specially successful service as a teacher in the public schools of his old home town of Beaven Dam, where his professional activities along this line were continued from 1899 to 1903. Thereafter be wa: foi a time employed as a clerk in the establishmnernt " the J. J. Ewing Hardware Company, of Lima, Ohio, and since November 3, 1910, he has been engaged successfully in the retail hardware business at Birmingham, Michigan. His large and well equipped establishment is maintained on a metropolitan standard and is known as the Hardware House of McBride. In the conducting of this substantial business Mr. McBride now has as his valued assistant his son, Russell A. Mr. McBride has not abated his lively interest in educational affairs, and he was treasurer of the Birmingham board of education in the period of 1917-21. 318 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY In 1922 he was elected mayor, or president of the municipal board of trustees of Birmingham, and his two terms of service in this office were marked by characteristically liberal and progressive policies. Mr. McBride married Miss Edith M. Wood, of Detroit, and the one child of this union is Russell A., who was born February 26, 1903, who was graduated in the Birmingham high school as a member of the class of 1921 and who is now actively associated with his father's hardware business. Thomas L. Wood, a brother of Mrs. McBride, served with the Shirley hospital unit over seas in the World war period, and another brother, Harry Wood, was in the aviation service of the United States navy, he having been at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, near Chicago, at the time when the armistice brought the great World war to a close. Allen L. McCabe.-The progressive little Oakland county city of Berkley claims as one of its efficient and popular municipal officials Allen L. McCabe, who is here chief of police and who is giving a most loyal and effective administration. Chief McCabe was born at Lakeview, Montcalm county, Michigan, March 31, 1896, and is a son of Henry and Adaline (Davis) McCabe, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, and the latter of whom was born and reared in Michigan, a representative of a sterling pioneer family of this state. The parents of the Berkley chief of police now maintain their home at Temple, Michigan. In the public schools of the city of Detroit the youthful educatio'nal discipline of Allen L. McCabe included that of the high school, and after leaving school he was for five years employed at clerical work in Detroit and at Calumet, Michigan, three years of which was with the State Contabularly stationed at Detroit, he having there been for three and one-half years paymaster for the Hayes Manufacturing Company and having thereafter given one year to service as a traveling salesman through an assigned Michigan territory. On the 20th of June, 1921, Mr. McCabe established his residence at Berkley, and he was a member of the board which had charge of gaining for this place its village charter, the incorporation of Berkley having been effected in 1923 and he having served continuously since that year as its chief of police, besides being chief of the fire department. Vigorous and resourceful, he is well fortified for the handling of both of these offices, and in the same he has made a splendid record of efficient and progressive service in the vital and rapidly growing village. Chief McCabe is found loyally arrayed in the ranks of the Republican party, and a- an official and citizen he takes lively interest in all that concerns the communal vv clalrc anti -vancement. September 7. 1916, was marked by the marriage or Mr. McCabe to Miss Laura Peschke, of Detroit, her parents having been residents of that city at the time of their death. Mr. and Mrs. McCabe have one son and two daughters, Allen L., Jr., Maxine Frances, and Beverly May. Stephen A. McCall has brought to bear effective service and correct methods and policies in the upbuilding of his substantial and prosperous plumbing and heating business in the village of Milford, where his well equipped establishment has a complete line of supplies and gives employment to several skilled mechanics. Mr. McCall was PERSONAL SKETCHES 319 born on a farm in Hartland township, Livingston county, Michigan, January 13, 1878, and is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Oakland county, as is evident when it is noted that in Highland township, this county, his father, the late Robert F. McCall, was born in 1836, the year prior to the admission of Michigan to statehood. Robert F. McCall was long and successfully engaged in farm enterprise in Livingston and Oakland counties, and was one of the honored pioneer citizens of the latter, his native county, at the time of his death i'n 1922, his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Latson and who was born in Michigan in 1840, having passed away in 1900. The three surviving children, Sherman, Stephen A. and Anna (Mrs. Ruggles, of White Lake township), still own the old homestead farm in Milford township, and the same is under the active management of Sherman McCall. The district schools of his native township afforded Stephen A. McCall his early education, which was supplemented by his attending the high school at Milford. After leaving school he continued his alliance with farm enterprise in Milford township, besides having been for some time engaged in railroad work, and it was in the year 1914 that he established himself in the plumbing and heating business at Milford, where his success has been on a parity with his close application and his excellent service in his chosen field of activity. Mr. McCall is a Democrat in politics, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Blue Lodge and Royal Arch at Milford. November 1, 1899, Mr. McCall was united in marriage to Miss Anna Hibner, who likewise was born in Hartland township, Livingston county, where her father, the late Frederick Hibner, was a prosperous farmer, her mother likewise being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McCall have two children: Freda, who was born June 14, 1901, was graduated in the Milford high school as a member of the class of 1920 and she is now giving effective service as bookkeeper in her father's business establishment. Robert, who was born July 27, 1903, was graduated in the Milford high school in 1921 and is now associated with his father's business. Fred A. McCaul is one of the progressive business men of Ferndale, Oakland county, where he is secretary and treasurer of the McCaul Lumber & Coal Company at 22620 Woodward avenue, and where his attractive home place is at 129 East Maplehurst avenue. Mr. McCaul was born in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, November 19, 1884, and in that same county of Kent were born his parents, William and Jennie (Nardin) McCaul, the former having been born March 17, 1856, and the latter March 19, 1866, dates that denote conclusively that they were representatives of pioneer families of that county. William McCaul devoted the greater part of his active life to the milk business and continued his residence in Grand Rapids. His father was a native of Scotland and his mother of Ireland, and both were numbered among the sterling pioneer citizens of Kent county. The maternal grandparents of the subject of this review were natives of France, and they were young folk when they numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Kent county, Michigan, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Lisle McCaul, a brother of Fred 320 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY A., is successfully established in the real estate business in the city of Kalamazoo, and the one other brother, Forrest, died at the age of one year. In the public schools of Grand Rapids Fred A. McCaul continued his application until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1903, and thereafter he completed an effective course in the Grand Rapids Business College. His active career has been one of close association with the lumber business, of which he has become a prominent and successful exponent in Oakland county. After leaving the business college he was for one year bookkeeper in the offices of the Grand Rapids Lumber Company, and thereafter he was for nine years associated with the Marquette Lumber Company, at Grand Rapids, with which he was sales manager two years. March 1, 1921, he came to Oakland county and effected the organization of the McCaul Lumber & Coal Company, of which he has since continued the secretary and treasurer, his executive policies having had much to do with the upbuilding of the substantial business of the company, which maintains offices and yards not only at Ferndale but also at Royal Oak, besides having offices in the city of Detroit. Mr. McCaul is likewise secretary and treasurer of the Royal Oak Wholesale Company. He is one of the most loyal and progressive members of the Ferndale Board of Commerce, is, in 1925, the vice-president of the Rotary Club at Ferndale, his political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Ferndale, of which he is a trustee. In the Masonic fraternity the Scottish Rite affiliations of Mr. McCaul are with the consistory in his native city of Grand Rapids, where also he is a noble of the local temple of the Mystic Shrine. At Ferndale he is a member of the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the camp of the Knights of the Maccabees, besides which he has membership in the great lumber fraternity, the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoos. June 14, 1910, was marked by the marriage of Mr. McCaul to Miss Alfreda C. Armstrong, daughter of Martin B. Armstrong, of Grand Rapids, and the one child of this union is a winsome daughter, Jane, born December 2, 1916. Thomas H. McCormick.-Mr. McCormick is a member of the well known real estate firm of Taylor & McCormick, 112 North Sagihaw street, Pontiac, the operations of which are extensive throughout Pontiac and Oakland county. Mr. McCormick is a son of Detroit, in which city he was born November 27, 1888. He attended the public schools of that city and in 1908 came to Oakland county to engage in farming. This vocation he followed until 1923 when he came to Po'ntiac and formed a partnership with John E. Taylor in the real estate business, the association proving mutually helpful and profitable. Mr. McCormick owned eighty acres of land at Orion, Oakland county, of which forty acres were sold. The other forty acres is being platted into town lots. Mr. Taylor resides at Orion on his farm. He is unmarried. Membership is held in the Presbyterian church, in the Blue Lodge of Masonry at Orion and in the Chapter of the Royal. Arch at Oxford. Dan A. McGaffey has served since 1918 as register of the probate PERSONAL SKETCHES 321 court of Oakland county, was formerly engaged in the practice of law, and has maintained his residence in the city of Pontiac since 1910. He has been influential in the councils and campaign work of the Republican party in Oakland county, and was for two years chairman of the county committee of his party. He has strong vantage-place in the confidence and good will of the citizens of his home city and county and prior to assuming his present office he had been elected register of deeds for this county, a position which he retained two terms. He began the study of law under the preceptorship of George O. Kinsman, of Oxford, this county, later continued his technical studies under the direction of Judge Glenn C. Gillespie, of Pontiac, and after his admission to the bar, in 1914, he was for two years engaged in the practice of law, in which he made a record of successful service. Mr. McGaffey was born at Holly, Oakland county, January 23, 1875, and there he profited by the advantages of the public schools, including the high school. He was for three years a resident of Birmingham, and was for several years engaged in business at Oxford, where he initiated his study of law, as previously noted in this context. Aside from his professional and official activities Mr. McGaffey has shown in divers ways his intense interest in all that concerns the welfare and progress of his home city and native county, the while he is known also for his enthusiasm in outdoor sports. He is at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1925, the president of the Izaak Walton League of Oakland county, as is he also of the Goodfellows Club of Pontiac, and he is an influential member of the Oakland County Sportsmen's Association, of which he was president two years. He is an active member of the local Kiwanis Club, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and with both York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliations are extended also to the Mystic Shrine. He and his wife hold membership in the First Presbyterian church of Pontiac. In 1902 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. McGaffey to Miss Annabelle Bell, of Birmingham, and their only child, a son, died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. McGaffey have an attractive home in Pontiac, at 35 Claremont Place, and the same is known for its generous hospitality and good cheer. Arthur E. McLintock.-Mr. McLintock is one of the largest land owners and operators of Oakland county, a substantial business man of Pontiac and president of the Bloomfield Hills Land Company. The company's offices are at 1-4 Crofoot building, Pontiac. Mr. McLintock was born in London, England, August 18, 1871, and in his youth came to Ontario, where he received his education in the grade and high schools. The father was Rev. J. W. McLintock and the mother was, before her marriage, Mary Frisken. Rev. Mr. McLintock was a Presbyterian missionary, a teacher of languages and a linguist of pronounced ability. For some years he taught in Ontario. For a while he was located in the West Indies while Arthur was a mere child. Rev. Mr. McLintock was said to have been probably the best educated man in the province of Ontario, a distinction that he seemed to reflect in his every relationship. He died in Sarnia, Ontario, in 1895, at the age of seventy years. His wife died in Ontario in 1891. In 1891 322 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Arthur E. went to Flint and engaged in the carriage business. Later he went to Rush Springs, Oklahoma, and drove a stage four years. Returning to Michigan, he located in Flint, where he remained until 1909, when he moved to Pontiac. In Flint he was engaged in the real estate business and continued in that line in Pontiac. In 1901 he organized the Bloomfield Hills Land Company and since 1905 has been president of the company. The first president was' B. A. Litchfield. Mr. McLintock owns one of the finest and most beautiful residences in Oakland county, along Oakland avenue and the old Saginaw turnpike, on Silver lake. It is' on the farm where is said to have been erected the first frame barn in the state of Michigan. The Bloomfield Hills Land Company owns the Done farm in Green Oak township on which the first white child in Livingston county was born. The company bought the farm of Mr. Done, who became the husband of this child. Mr. McLintock is a Presbyterian in religious affiliation. He is a member of the Elks and of the Board of Commerce. In 1897 he was married to Mary E. Laing, of Flint. They have two children, Winnifred and Milo D. The former, aged tweuitysix, was graduated from Pontiac high school and married Charles Humphries, a coal dealer of Pontiac. They have two children, Donald Mac and Bettie G. Milo D. McLintock is eighteen, a graduate of Pontiac high school and a student in the law department of the University of Michigan. James J. McQuaid is one of the progressive representatives of the real estate business in Oakland county, as senior member of the firm of McQuaid & Holdsworth, of Pontiac. He has been engaged in the real estate business in this city during a period of fully ten years, his operations have been of important order, and he is an active and influential member of the Pontiac Real Estate Board. Mr. McQuaid reverts to the great western metropolis as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in the city of Chicago, January 1, 1872. He was little more than a boy when he became largely dependent upon his own resources, and his education has been gained principally through self-discipline and through instruction imparted by that wisest of all head masters, experience. His youthful responsibilities early developed in him both self-reliance and resourcefulness, and his advancement has been won entirely through his own ability and efforts. He was in the employ of the Bell Telephone Company during the long period of thirty-two years, and his final ten years of service with this great corporation was in the capacity of manager of the Pontiac exchange of the Michigan State Telephone Company, a subsidiary of the Bell Company. Upon his retirement from this executive position he here turned his attention to the real estate business, of which he has become one of the successful and prominent exponents in Oakland county. Mr. McQuaid is a Republican in his political proclivities, he and his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian church in their home city. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In the period of the ination's participation in the World war Mr. McQuaid not only was a zealous supporter of all patriotic activities in his home city and county but was also retained by the Univer PERSONAL SKETCHES 323 sity of Michigan as chief instructor in front-line trench work with the signal corps of the United States Army in training at the university. In the year 1902 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. McQuaid to Miss Maude Thatcher, of Bay City, Michigan, and they have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are herewith recorded: Orrin T., October 12, 1904; Naomi, October 6, 1909; and Betty Jane, February 21, 1913. Orin T. was graduated in the Ferris Institute, at Big Rapids, and thereafter was a student in the University of Michigan. Floyd J. Miller.-A long and diversified newspaper connection, with ample intensive training marks the professional life of Floyd J. Miller, president of the Tribune Publishing Company, of Royal Oak, Michigan. Mr. Miller is a native of Oneonta, Otsego county, New York, and was born on June 13, 1886. He was graduated from the Oneonta high school in 1902 and from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, in 1907, taught school a year, then entered the alluring field of newspaper work. His introduction to the "game" was in Hartford on the Courant, on the staff of which paper he remained a year. Then he went to Cuba and obtained valuable experience during the course of a year on the Havana Post, editorial service on which is extremely difficult because of the mechanical shortcomings of the Post plant, which is in the very heart of the hotel and shopping district of the gay Cuban capital. Returning to O'neonta, Mr. Miller went on the Star, remained a year, and then proceeded to Detroit and was with the Free Press two years. For five years he worked on the Indianapolis News and, returning to Detroit, spent six years with the News of that city. Mr. Miller with his brother, Lynn S. Miller, then formed the Tribune Publishing Company, which bought the paper of W. O. Hullinger at Royal Oak, October 1, 1919. The Tribune Publishing Company publishes the Royal Oak Tribune, the Berkley Tribune, Clawson Tribune, and Hazel Park Tribune. Mr. Miller, quite logically, is active and conspicuous in the social, fraternal and civic life of the community. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, and of Kappa Rho Sigma, a college fraternity. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Merchants' Bureau and the Exchange club. During the World war he was battalion sergeant major of the 151st infantry, Michigan state troops. His brother, Lynn S., enlisted in the Indiana National Guard in 1917, when the war broke, as a private, was made corporal and went to the machine gun officers' training section at Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia. Previously he had been at Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. At Camp Hancock Mr. Miller was commissioned second lieutenant and received his discharge in November, 1918. Mr. Miller was graduated from Oneonta high school in 1906 and from Wesleyan University in 1914. He began his newspaper career in Meriden, Connecticut, on the Meriden Record, on the staff of which he remained two years. Then he went to Indianapolis and was editor of The Spectator, a weekly newspaper, until the entrance of the United States into the World war. For a year after the war he was with the Delaware and Hudson railroad at Oneonta, then came to Royal Oak. He is secretary and treasurer of the Tribune Publishing Company, a mem 324 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ber of the Masonic fraternity, Elks, Baptist church and Chamber of Commerce. He is unmarried. Floyd J. Miller, while residing in Indianapolis, established the American Newspaper News Bureau, later the brother, Lynn, becoming a partner. This service was maintained about four years, and with the outbreak of the war the bureau was abandoned. Floyd J. Miller was married June 6, 1911, to Miss Florence Fall, of Albion, Michigan. Her father, Dr. Delos Fall, was at the head of the department of chemistry at Albion college forty-one years. For two terms he was state superintendent of public instruction and was eminent in educational work. Dr. Fall died in 1921. His wife, Ida Andrews before marriage, died in 1920. Three children have entered the home of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd J. Miller, Philip, Jane and David. Ralph N. Miller owns and conducts one of the well equipped meat markets of the city of Pontiac, where, at 153 Oakland avenue, he has built up a substantial and prosperous business. Mr. Miller was born in the attractive little city of Goshen, Indiana, December 30, 1882, and to its public schools he is indebted for his youthful education, he having there been graduated in the high school and having thereafter been employed for a time by the E. W. Walker Company, engaged in the carriage business at Goshen. Later he followed the modern trend in vehicular transportation enterprise, by identifying himself with the automobile business. In 1910 Mr. Miller established his residence at Pontiac, Michigan, where for two years he was in the employ of the Monroe Manufacturing Company. He then left the city and returned to Indiana, but in the latter part of 1920 he came again to Pontiac, where, early in the following year, he opened his present meat market, at 153 Oakland avenue, where had previously been conducted the Maybee & Travis grocery store. Mr. Miller is punctilious in keeping the stock and service of his establishment at the highest modern standard, and the objective appreciation of this is shown in the substantial and representative supporting patronage that is accorded to him. In Pontiac Mr. Miller is a charter member of Roosevelt Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, he having been its first secretary and having held this office three years. His political convictions place him loyally in the ranks of the Republican party and he and his wife have membership in the Christian Science church. In the year 1903 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Ida L. Cripe, of Goshen, Indiana, and the one child of this union is Donald Robert, who was born May 5, 1912. Vern A. Miller is proprietor of the Lake Orion Creamery, at Orion, and has made the enterprise a distinct contribution to the industrial prestige of Oakland county. Mr. Miller was born at Imlay City, Lapeer county, Michigan, August 24, 1888, and is a son of Casius E. and Lorena (Knowles) Miller, who were born, respectively, in the years 1861 and 1868, the father having died in 1894 and the widowed mother being now a resident of Orion. After having profited by the advantages of the public schools of Orion, including the high school, Vern A. Miller took a course in the Detroit Business Institute, and PERSONAL SKETCHES 325 thereafter he was for several years engaged in clerical work in Detroit. In 1919 he returned to Orion, and after here being employed five and one-half years in the Lake Orion Creamery, he was for one year a clerk in a local mercantile establishment. On the 1st of January, 1924, he purchased the plant and business of the Lake Orion Creamery, the affairs of which he has since managed with marked success and along progressive lines. Mr. Miller is a Republican in political allegiance, he and his wife are zealous members of the local Methodist Episcopal church, and he is affiliated with Orion Lodge No. 46, Free and Accepted Masons. November 2, 1907, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Nellie E. Sweet, daughter of the late Robert and Mary (Walters) Sweet, of Oakland county, and the children of this union are four in number-Marie, Robert, Cass and Mary Jeane. William Henry Miller, 119 East Maple street, Birmingham, Michigan, engaged in the plumbing and heating business, occupies a building covering 20,000 square feet of floor space. Fourteen high grade mechanics and one woman in the office are employed but when the establishment was started by Mr. Miller in 1916 he did all the work himself and later annexed two helpers. The business has grown rapidly and substantially and is widely known for the high character of service rendered. A general plumbing and heating business is conducted, including water vapor systems, and a full line of plumbing supplies is carried. Most of the shop's work is done in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills. William Henry Miller was born in Niagara Falls, New York, May 3, 1886, a son of Julius and Elizabeth Miller. The father is a railroad man. The mother died in 1910. William Henry received his early education in the public schools of his native state and his first grip on the problem of earning his own living was as a cash boy in a dry goods store. Then he became a plumber's helper in New York and spent six years learning the trade, then came to Michigan and for two years worked i'n Ann Arbor. He has also worked in Detroit, Allegan and Royal Oak, obtaining a thorough groundwork and excellent experience with several large plumbing concerns. In 1916 he established a business of his own, carefully tended it, worked hard and now is reaping the rich reward of integrity and faithful service. The business has sustained a remarkable development and the Miller establishment is prepared to handle any kind of job or installation, commercial or residential. On June 27, 1917, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Anneta M. Wolfe,, of Manchester. They have two children, Elizabeth May and Clayton Arthur. Mr. Miller is a member of the Masonic order and of the Odd Fellows. He is a communicant of the Episcopal church. In politics he favors the Republican side. Mr. Miller is a zealous member of the Michigan State Association of Master Plumbers. Frank S. Milward.-Oakland county and its capital city, Pontiac, are in no sense to be differentiated from all other sections of the country in the matter of constant demand for the virtually omnipresent Ford automobiles, and contributing materially to effective service in 326 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY this connection, Frank S. Milward is a representative Ford sales and service representative at Pontiac, where his establishment is at 175 South Saginaw street. In this fine old Michigan city Mr. Milward was born, June 14, 1882, and here his early educational training in the public schools included the curriculum of the high school. After leaving school he clerked in a Pontiac clothing store one year, and he next gave service in a wireless telegraph office that had been established in his native city. He finally entered the employ of the Welsh Motor Company, and with this Pontiac manufacturing corporation he continued his connection five years. In June, 1910, Mr. Milward initiated his activities as a salesman of the Ford automobiles, and he has stated that his "office" was in the back yard of his place of residence. He next established a small sales and repair shop on Wayne street, later removed to more commodious quarters, at 34 West Pike street, and in 1920, to accommodate his then substantial and constantly expanding business, he erected his present garage and sales building, which affords a floor space of 30,000 square feet and is one of the most modern establishments of its kind in Oakland county, with large and well appointed sales room and with the best of equipment for service in all other departments. Though he is still a young man, Mr. Milward has a goodly share of pioneer distinction in his status as a dealer in Ford cars. So far as he has been able to learn, he is now the second oldest Ford dealer in the state of Michigan, in the point of years of continuous representation of the Ford Motor Company. Effective and reliable policies and service and personal popularity have contributed to the success of Mr. Milward, who has made a record of substantial and worthy achievement and who has standing as one of the representative business men of his native city and county. His basic Masonic affiliation is with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, A. F. & A. M., in the Scottish Rite of the time-honored fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree, and he has membership also in the Mystic Shrine. He is a devotee of golf, and is a member of the Pine Lake Golf Club and the Bloomfield Golf Club. September 11, 1906, recorded the marriage of Mr. Milward to Miss Florence S. Lockwood, of Pontiac, and they are popular factors in the social circles of their home city. Burton M. Mitchell, M.D., located in the Wayne building, Pontiac, is a native of Canada, born in Strathroy, Ontario, November 28, 1889. He attended grade and high schools in Canada, came to Detroit in 1912 and in 1916 was graduated from the Detroit Medical College. For eighteen months he served interneship in Harper hospital and in the latter part of 1917 came to Pontiac, where he has since been in active practice, his professional service characterized by scrupulous regard to detail and careful attention to the individual requirements of the patient. Doctor Mitchell married Miss Maud Stewart, of Pontiac, and to them has been born two daughters, Ruth S., aged four years, and Jane. Doctor Mitchell is an Elk and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He holds membership in the Oakland county and Michigan state medical societies and the American Medical As PERSONAL SKETCHES 327 sociation. He is actively interested and very helpful in the support of civic betterment movements within the community. George H. Mitchell marked the passing years with large and worthy achievement and is now living virtually retired, with an attractive home in his native town of Birmingham, one of the most beautiful little cities of Oakland county. He is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families and also a scion of a family that was founded in America in the colonial era, his paternal great-grandfather having served as a patriot soldier in the war of the Revolution, as did also four of his brothers. George H. Mitchell, retired merchant and banker, and former postmaster of Birmingham, was born in this city May 28, 1854, at which time the place was little more than a pioneer hamlet. He is a son of Robert J. and Evaline (Holly) Mitchell, both natives of the state of New York, where the former was born in 1819, and the latter, at Bethany, in the year 1824. Robert J. Mitchell was a son of Joseph Mitchell, who was born in New York state March 8, 1782, and who in an early day came with his family from Westmoreland, that state, and became a very early settler in Macomb county, Michigan. Joseph Mitchell was one of the sterling pioneers of that county, contributed much to its civic and material development, and there continued to reside until his death, at Utica, August 3, 1863. The maiden name of his wife was Clarissa Cone, and she was born at Chatham, Connecticut, April 31, 1789, her death having occurred when she was of venerable age. Robert J. Mitchell was for a long period engaged in the produce and grocery business at Birmingham, and he and his wife were honored pioneer citizens of this place at the time of their death, she having been a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Mitchell was a staunch advocate and supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and was a broad-minded and loyal citizen who commanded unqualified popular esteem in the state that represented his home during virtually his entire life. George H. Mitchell, of this review, is the only surviving member of a family of three children. He was afforded the advantages of the Birmingham public schools, and at the age of sixteen years he began clerking in the grocery store of J. Allen Bigelow, who is now one of the most venerable citizens of Birmingham. Later Mr. Mitchell was employed in the store of Frank Hagerman, who is now president of the First State Savings Bank of Birmingham. Mr. Mitchell continued his association with the business of Mr. Hagerman for a period of eight years, and in 1881 he became a partner of Almeron Whitehead who is now president of the First National Bank of Birmingham, and engaged in the drug, grocery, book and stationery business, the well equipped store of the firm being later made the general office also of the Michigan Telephone Company, Mr. Mitchell being the local executive for this company. In 1887 he and his partner, Mr. Whitehead, under the title of Whitehead & Mitchell, established a private banking business, the institution being known as the Exchange Bank. They established also a local newspaper, the Birmingham Eccentric, 328 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY which they made an effective exponent of community interests. In the second administration of President Grover Cleveland Mr. Mitchell served as postmaster of Birmingham, and later he held this office eight years under the administration of the late and lamented President Wilson. For his appointment to this office for the latter period, Mr. Mitchell states that he is to be given little credit, as the choice of Democratic incumbents was very limited, he and Edward Lamb being the only avowed Democrats in Bloomfield township at the time, and Mr. Lamb having refused appointment to the office, with the result that Mr. Mitchell became the only "eligible and logical" candidate for the position. September 20, 1877, Mr. Mitchell wedded Miss Hannah E. Corey, who was born in Macomb county, September 20, 1855, a daughter of George W. and Narcissa M. (Mitchell) Corey, the latter of whom was born July 4, 1828. George W. Corey was one of the honored pioneer citizens of Macomb county at the time of his death, and his widow passed the closing years of her life at Birmingham. In conclusion of this review is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell: Carrie E. was graduated in the Birmingham high school, and thereafter was graduated in the Still School of Osteopathy, at Kirksville, Missouri. She was for five years established in the practice of her profession in the city of Chicago, and she now resides at Kalamazoo, Michigan, she having resigned the work of her profession and having since made a specially successful record as a writer and representative of newspaper advertising. John U., the second child, died at the age of eighteen months. Emeline Matilda is a graduate of each the Birmingham high school, the Noble school of elocution, in Detroit, and the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti. After three years of successful service as a teacher in the public schools of Toledo, Ohio, she finally, found her major vocation, that of establishing a home of her own, her marriage to George Edison Hand having been solemnized July 16, 1924, at Oakland, California, where they maintain their home. John D. Monroe, M.D.-Dr. John D. Monroe, Oakland Theater building was born in Pontiac, February 4, 1892, and was graduated from high school in this city in 1912. He attended Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery and was graduated in 1917. Doctor Monroe enlisted in the medical corps for service in the World war, in 1918, and was stationed at Camp Custer, later at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia. He received his discharge as first lieutenant December 24, 1918. Doctor Monroe for a year was associated with the eminent eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. Don M. Campbell, of Detroit, and a short time was spent in Harper hospital, Detroit. In July, 1919, Doctor Monroe returned to Pontiac in which city he has since been engaged in practice. The Doctor is a member of the Oakland County and Michigan State Medical Societies and of the American Medical Association. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and Masonic order. In October, 1917, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Beatrice Wakeford, of Sheboygan, Michigan, but Mrs. Monroe passed away June 26, 1923. Doctor Monroe is a son of Harvey PERSONAL SKETCHES 329 G. and Mary A. (Davis) Monroe. Her father was J. C. Davis, a pioneer of Davisburg, Oakland county. Harvey G. Monroe came to Oakland county from New York when a young man and married in Davisburg. In early days he was waterworks engineer in Pontiac and for a time served as chief of the fire department. He built Pontiac's modern waterworks system and was its superintendent until his death in 1910. His widow died in 1922. The senior Monroe, active in the civic affairs of the community, was a member of the Elks. J. Lee Montgomery is up and doing both as a progressive business man and loyal and public spirited citizen. He is one of the representative young business men of Holly, where he controls a substantial and prosperous enterprise as a dealer in coal and building supplies. He has served continuously as deputy sheriff of Oakland county since 1913, and has given three terms of effective service as a member of the village council of Holly, besides which he is an active and valued member of the local Board of Commerce. Mr. Montgomery was born on a farm near Armada, Macomb county, Michigan, July 25, 1892, and is a son of John and Lydia M. (Fuller) Montgomery. John Montgomery was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, August 13, 1862, and was a child at the time when his parents established their home in Macomb county, Michigan. In that county he was reared and educated, and there he was engaged in farm enterprise until he established himself in the coal business at Oxford, Oakland county. He is now retired from active business and he and his wife reside on their fine farm homestead near Oxford. For a long term of years Mr. Montgomery owned and conducted coal and lumber yards both at Oxford and Ortonville, and incidentally handled lime, cement and all kinds of building materials. He has held various local offices of public trust, including those of township assessor, village trustee and member of the board of review. He is affiliated with the Gleaners and the Masonic fraternity. In the public schools at Oxford J. Lee Montgomery continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1912. In the following year he assumed active charge of his father's lumber and coal business at Ortonville, where he remained five years. He then removed to Holly and established his present business, which under his vigorous and careful management has grown to large volume. He has been a deputy sheriff of the county during virtually his entire period of residence at Holly, and at Ortonville he had served as a member of the village council, so that he was well fortified when called upon for similar service at Holly. Mr. Montgomery gives his political allegiance to the Republican party, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. November 25, 1915, was the date of his marriage to Miss Metta Wilder, daughter of S. S. Wilder, of Marlette, Sanilac county, and the one child of this union is a son, Jack Lee, born January 10, 1923. Charles A. Mooney, M.D., is giving a successful professional service that marks him as one of the representative physicians and 330 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY surgeons of the younger generation in Oakland county, where he is established in general practice in the vital and attractive village of Ferndale. He was born at Cleveland, Tennessee, June 1, 1890, and there he acquired his early education. He was a boy when he thence accompanied his parents, John A. and Mary (Newell) Mooney, on their removal to Clarion, Pennsylvania. The former is dead but the latter still lives, being an active member of the Presbyterian church. In the Pennsylvania State Normal School at Clarion Charles A. Mooney was graduated as a member of the class of 1908, and in the same state he was for one year a student in Grove City College. Thereafter he was for two years a student in the scientific department of the University of Pennsylvania, and in preparing for his chosen profession he wisely availed himself of the exceptional advantages of the medical department of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1916. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he further fortified himself by giving one year of service as an interne in Lakeside Hospital in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. He was thus engaged at the time when the nation became formally involved in the World war, and he forthwith, early in 1917, enlisted in the medical reserve corps of the United States Army, in which he gained a commission as first lieutenant. He was stationed at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, until the spring of 1918, when he accompanied his command over seas, where he continued in active service for some time after the armistice brought the war to a close, he having been with the allied army of occupation in Germany at the time when he was ordered back to his native land, he having in the meanwhile been granted commission as captain in the medical corps. The Doctor received his honorable discharge in the autumn of 1919, and in the early part of 1920 he established his home at Ferndale, where he has built up a successful general practice of representative order. He is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In religious lines he was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church. He is a charter member of Ferndale Lodge No. 506, A. F. & A. M., and in the Masonic fraternity his affiliations have been advanced to the reception of the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and to gaining the status of noble of the Mystic Shrine. In his home village he is a member also of the lodge of Odd Fellows, besides which he has membership in the lodge of Elks in the city of Pontiac. The Doctor's popularity is by no means depreciated by the fact that he is still numbered among the eligible young bachelors in Oakland county. Robert Y. Moore resides in the attractive little city of Birmingham and is here serving as supervisor of Bloomfield township, in which he is now the incumbent for his second term. Mr. Moore was born on the family homestead farm, in Troy township, Oakland county, and is a son of Charles and Margaret (Todd) Moore, whose marriage was solemnized in this county. Charles Moore was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, and was sixteen years of age when he estab PERSONAL SKETCHES 331 lished his home in Oakland county, Michigan, where he eventually became a substantial farmer and where he remained until his death, August 1, 1918, at the age of fifty-six years. His widow still resides in Oakland county, she having been here born in Royal Oak township, in 1862, a daughter of James and Jane (McKnight) Todd, who were honored pioneer settlers in that township, and who there remained until their death. The subject of this review is the younger of the two children, and his brother James is a resident of Detroit. The public schools of Birmingham afforded Robert Y. Moore his youthful education, but he was only fourteen years of age when he found, employment as a sailor on one of the steamboats plying on Lake Erie, between Cleveland and Buffalo. He followed this work about one year and then went to Muskegon, Michigan, where he became an inspector in the factory of the Central Paper Company, he having later been advanced to the position of second hand on a machine in the factory and having received in this connection a salary of five dollars a day-good wages as gauged by the conditions and standards of that period. He continued his connection with this paper concern three years, and he then returned to the home farm, owing to the impaired health of his father. Later he passed a year in the west, and upon his return he passed another year on the old home farm. During the ensuing two years he was a street-car conductor on the lines of the Detroit United Railway, and he next gave six years of efficient service as a member of the Detroit police department. He then returned to Birmingham, where, for two and one-half years, he was associated with David A. Bell in the meat business. With this line of enterprise he still maintains connection, as a stockholder in the Pontiac Packing Company, at the county seat. He is a Republican in politics and has been active in the local councils of his party. In 1922 he was' elected clerk of Bloomfield township, and of this office he has since conti'nued the valued incumbent, by re-election in 1924. He is treasurer of the Exchange Club of Birmingham, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias. He is the owner of one of the many attractive homes of Birmingham, and his wife, as its popular chatelaine, makes this a center of generous hospitality. January 14, 1911, Mr. Moore married Miss Lillian Mae Spencer, of Troy township, this county, and in their native county they have a host of loyal friends. Frank R. D. Moreland, one of the prominent exponents of the real estate business in the city of Pontiac, where he maintains his offices at 206 First National Bank building, and is a member of a family that was founded in Michigan in the pioneer days. He was born on a farm near Plymouth, Wayne county, this state, May 29, 1859, and was three years of age at the time of the family removal to a pioneer farm in Tuscola county, where he was reared to adult age and where he duly profited by the advantages of the public schools of the period. At the age of twenty-three years Mr. Moreland became a dealer in agricultural implements, to which line of business he gave his attention about twelve years, with headquarters at Caro, Michigan. He next came to Pontiac, where he assumed the position of sales manager 332 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY for the Standard Vehicle Company, with which he continued his connection six years. He then turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he has since continued and in which he has contributed much to the civic and material progress of his home city. In connection with his large and important general real estate operations Mr. Moreland has erected and sold many houses, and as a reliable and enterprising builder and as a dealer in local realty he has played an influential and worthy part in the upbuilding of Pontiac, especially during the era of its more recent advancement as an industrial center. Here Moreland avenue was consistently named in his honor, and his civic loyalty has at all times' been of the highest standard, as expressed in both sentiment and constructive action. In 1920 Mr. Moreland, in association with Floyd H. Losee, who is now treasurer of Oakland county, and Frank Eli and M. D. Davis, organized the Perry Mount Park Cemetery Association, which is incorporated with a capital stock of $200,000 and which is developing one of the most beautiful cemeteries in this section of Michigan. Mr. Eli is president of the association, Mr. Moreland is its vice-president, Mr. Losee is its secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Davis is its general manager. Mr. Moreland has never manifested any ambition for the honors or emoluments of political office, but is a staunch advocate of the principles of the Republican party. In a fraternal way he maintains affiliation with the Knights of Pythias. In 1880 Mr. Moreland married Miss Eva J. Howell, of Tuscola county, and the one child of this union is David J., of Pontiac. By subsequent marriages Mr. Moreland is the father of one son and one daughter-George Alexander, a resident of Detroit, and Doris Jean, wife of Neil Scott, of Pontiac. The maiden name of the present wife of Mr. Moreland was May Strode, and by a previous marriage she has two daughters, Dorothy ind Anna. Mrs. Moreland was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was for a number of years a resident of Elmira, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Moreland own and occupy one of the beautiful homes of Pontiac, the same being located at 70 Seneca street, and, with Mrs. Moreland as its gracious and popular chatelaine, it is known for its generous hospitality. Ransom E. Moss, M.D., 16%/ East Hurson street, Pontiac, is a native of Erie county, New York. He attended public school of his commnunity and in 1880 was graduated from the medical department of the University of Buffalo and at once began the practice of his profession in Gowanda, Erie county, remaining there thirteen years. He then transferred to Port Huron, Michigan, and engaged in practice in that city, remaining until 1909, when he came to Pontiac. In this city the Doctor has developed a large and lucrative practice and professionally he stands high. For forty-four years he has served a faithful votary of Esculapius. Whe'n Doctor Moss came to Pontiac he opened a drug store, which he conducted in connection with his medical practice, but later disposed of the store and gave his entire time to medical practice. While in Port Huron Doctor Moss was supreme examiner for the Knights of the Maccabees. He is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical PERSONAL SKETCHES 333 Society and the American Medical Association; of the Board of Commerce and of the Masonic fraternity and the Elks. He is a Shriner and a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite member. In 1880 Doctor Moss was married to Miss Vette Cole, of New York state, and by this marriage there was one daughter, Mabel, who is now a member of the faculty of Russell Sage college, Troy, New York. She is a graduate of a girls' school in Maryland and of the state normal at Buffalo, New York, and attended a special school in Rochester. Later she finished a, teaching course at Columbia university. The second wife of Doctor Moss was, before her marriage, Kette McGowan, of Port Huroni. By this union there is also one daughter, Ottille, graduate of Pontiac high school, and now a student at Simmons college, Boston. She is the wife of Harold Kolb, of Boston. Joseph Mueller.-In connection with the remarkable growth and development of the fine little city of Ferndale, Oakland county, definitely co-ordinated with the varied progressive activities of the metropolitan district of Detroit, there has been large and insistent requisition for the service of those engaged in the plumbing and heating business, of which important line of enterprise Mr. Mueller is here an enterprising and successful exponent. Mr. Mueller was born at Wyandotte, Wayne county, Michigan, March 25, 1889, and is a son of Peter and Walburga (Forster) Mueller, who were born in Germany and who were young folk when they came to the United States, their residence having first been established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whence they came to Michigan and located in Wyandotte, the father having continued to follow his trade of miller until his death, in 1915, and the widowed mother having thereafter removed to the city of Detroit, where her death occurred in 1919. Surviving the parents are two other sons, Aloysius, of Detroit, and Peter, Jr., of Ferndale. In the excellent parochial school of St. Joseph's Catholic church at Wyandotte Joseph Mueller received his early education, and in con-.nection with a practical service at the plumber's trade he took an effective correspondence course that further fortified him in the technical details of this line of work, including that of installing heating apparatus and systems. As an artisan at his trade Mr. Mueller came to Ferndale in October, 1923, and on the 1st of June of the following year he here established himself independently in the general plumbing and heating business. High-grade service, courtesy and correct business policies have enabled him to develop a substantial enterprise that is constantly expanding in scope, and he has amplified his activities by instituting the manufacture of the Gar-Burner, an improved device for the sanitary disposal of garbage, he having a patent on this invention. Mr. Mueller has a fine and well cultivated baritone voice, and was for two seasons a member of the Aborn Opera Company, in which he made a record of successful service that gained him many press commendations. He is now a member of the choir of St. James' church in Ferndale, and as a talented vocalist finds other and frequent requisition for his interpretations of the higher grade of musical scores. On the 4th of August, 1909, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Mueller to Miss Rose F. Salliotte, daughter of Charles and Mary 334 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY (Labadie) Salliotte, of Ecorse, Wayne county, her mother being now deceased. The names and respective birth years of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Mueller are here recorded: Jerome J., 1910; Leo A., 1911; Marie M., 1913; Rita R., 1915; Armella L., 1917; Geraldine A., 1920; Genevieve E., 1922; and Joseph A., 1924. Edmund William Murphy.-Mr. Murphy came to Royal Oak June 27, 1917, to assume the superintendency of the Royal Oak waterworks, the position he retains up to the present and which he fills with credit to himself and the municipality. Mr. Murphy was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1864, a son of J. Scott and Margaret (Bishop) Murphy. J. Scott Murphy was an oil driller and spent his life in the Keystone state, dying in 1914. Mrs. Murphy died in 1889. Edmund William Murphy received his early education in the public schools of Oil City, Pennsylvania, and then applied himself to the art and trade of oil drilling, which he followed for twenty-seven years. During the course of this long career, Mr. Murphy worked in thirteen states and in Canada, obtaining a valuable experience and a vast fund of information. On June 27, 1917, he came to Royal Oak to superintend the operation of the waterworks. On August 19, 1901, Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Alice Geouralde, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anson Geouralde, of Mount Clemens, Michigan. To them was born a daughter, Margaret Alice, in Toledo, November 25, 1903. She attended the grade and high schools of Royal Oak but died in March, 1921. Mr. Murphy has three brothers and two sisters, the brothers being T. G., of Junction City, Ohio; J. H., of Shreveport, Louisiana; E. B., of Redding, Pennsylvania, while a fourth, William N., of Braddock, died in 1920. The sisters are Mrs. Jennie Frost, of Bowling Green, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California, and Mrs. Margaret Sen Clair, of Boston. Another sister, Jessie, is deceased. Mr. Murphy by political persuasion is a Republican. Robert H. Newman has developed a substantial and prosperous business as a manufacturer of cement blocks and as a dealer in the same and also in other building supplies. His well-ordered and thoroughly modern manufacturing plant and general business offices are situated at the corner of Jacokes and Murray streets in the city of Pontiac, and he is a scion of the third generation of the Newman family in Oakland county, his paternal grandparents, Justin and Hanhnah Ann (Fisher), Newman, having come to this county in the early '30s, prior to the admission of Michigan to statehood. Justin Newman here acquired 160 acres of heavily timbered land, in the locality now known as Five Points. He reclaimed from the wilds a productive farm, here he and his wife lived up to the full tension of pioneer labors and hardships, and here they passed the remainder of their fives. Robert H. Newman was born on his father's homestead farm at Five Points, this county, and the date of his birth was May 17, 1881. He is a son of Alfred F. and Ellen (Brode) Newman, the former of whom was born on the pioneer farm of his parents, near Ball Mountain, this county, June 24, 1845, and the latter having been born in Pennsylvania, she having been young when she accompanied her parents on their removal to Oakland county, Michigan, and later having PERSONAL SKETCHES 335 accompanied them to the state of Texas, where eventually was solemnized her marriage to Alfred F. Newman, with whom she returned to Oakland county. Mr. Newman was long numbered among the progressive and successful representatives of farm enterprise in Oakland county, and he and his wife now reside in Pontiac, where he is living virtually retired. While residing on his farm Mr. Newman gave twenty-five years of service as school director of his district, and he has ever stood exponent of loyal and appreciative citizenship, with deep interest in all that has concerned the well-being of his native county and state. He and his wife were for many years members of the Baptist church not far distant from their homestead farm, and they are now numbered among the zealous and loved members of the First Baptist Church of Pontiac. Of the four children Robert H., of this review, is the eldest; Lewis S., born November 11, 1882, is now in the employ of his older brother; Nellie Mabel was born October 17, 1884, and Margaret Ann was born June 12, 1886, both being members of the parental home circle. Robert H. Newman acquired his early education in the Five Points public school, and it is interesting to record that it was in the same school that his father received youthful educational discipline. Mr. Newman continued his alliance with farm industry until 1907, and during the ensuing three years he was in the employ of the Slater Construction Company, of Pontiac. In 1910 he began the manufacturing of cement blocks, and from a very modest inception he has built up a substantial and prosperous business that is now one of the most important of its kind in Pontiac. In 1920 Mr. Newman erected a substantial building for the accommodation of his constantly expanding business, and in 1924 he found it requisite to make an addition, so that his building is now 50 by 114 feet in dimensions. He is doing an extensive business and supplies in his line much material for some of the leading construction companies of Oakland county. In December, 1910, Mr. Newman wedded Miss Mae Wells, of Pontiac, and they have two children; Pauline Elizabeth, born June 22, 1913, and Maynard Burton, born November 26, 1917. Wilber Byron Newman, who is serving as justice of the peace in Royal Oak township, with residence and official headquarters in Hazel Park, and Ferndale, respectively, was born at Big Beaver, Troy township, Oakland county, July 20, 1878, and is a scion of the third generation of the Newman family in this county, where his paternal grandfather, Ezra Newman, a native of New York state, took up his residence in 1805, more than thirty years before Michigan became a state, his first selection of land in this county having included the site of the present Kenwood hotel at Pontiac, and he later having acquired 200 acres of land in Oakland township, this old territorial homestead being now owned and occupied by his youngest son, Samuel. To this property Ezra Newman perfected his title in 1820, and the land has remained in possession of the family to the present time, with the ancient government deed as the basis of ownership. Ezra Newman here reclaimed and developed one of the first productive farms within the area of the present county of Oakland, and here he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. They bore the full tension of 336 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY frontier life and aided in laying the firm foundation for later-day prosperity in this now opulent and beautiful section of the Wolverine state. Ezra Newman married Miss Comfort Morrill, at Canandaigua, New York, she having been born in Vermont, of the staunchest New England colonial ancestry and having exemplified the resourcefulness and high purpose so essential in bearing the burdens and meeting the varied exigencies of pioneer life. Benjamin Franklin Lane, the maternal grandfather of Wilber B. Newman of this review, was born in Vermont, and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Ella Fisher; was born in Pontiac township, Oakland county, where her parents were very early settlers. Wilber B. Newman is a son of Edward Byron Newman and Alice (Lane) Newman, the former of whom was born on the ancestral homestead in Oakland township, in 1846, and the latter of whom was born in Pontiac township, in 1856. They were farming people, but are now both deceased and buried in the cemetery at Union Corner. Wilber B. Newman attended the public schools of Pontiac and was a youth at the time of his parents' removal to Berrien county, where he attended the high school in the village of New Buffalo. He profited also by the advantages of the Grand Rapids Business University, and later was for a time a student in Toledo (Ohio) University. He studied law under the effective preceptorship of Senator John Patten, of Grand Rapids, and later with the representative law firm of Hatch & Anderson, of Battle Creek. His first marriage was with Miss Frances Fuller, and the one child of this union is a son, Percival Edward, who was graduated in the high school at Toledo, Ohio, and who married Miss Verona Moore, of Temperance, Monroe county, Michigan, their home being at Hazel Park, Michigan, and their two children being Joyce Olive and J. Byron. The second marriage of Mr. Newman was solemnized in 1904, when Miss Mabel Ann Bunnell, daughter of A. Dewight Bunnell, of Battle Creek, became his wife. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Newman established their residence in Toledo, Ohio, where they maintained their home seventeen years, and where he not only practiced law and served in the office of county judge, but where he served also as deputy county auditor and deputy city clerk. When the health of Mr. Newman became much impaired, he decided to abate his activities and to return to his native county. He returned to Oakland county May 27, 1920, and he now has a semi-rural home of much attractiveness, in Royal Oak township, at Hazel Park, near the vital little city of Ferndale, which is his postoffice address. In the spring of 1923 'Mr. Newman was elected justice of the peace, and in his administration he maintains his office at Ferndale. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Ferndale lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which fraternity his affiliation is extended also to Old Glory encampment. He is a member of the Hazel Park Athletic Club and of the United Oaks Commerce Club of Hazel Park, besides having membership in the Oakland County Automobile Club. He is eligible for affiliation with the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, as his paternal great-grandfather was a patriot soldier in the war for national independence. Mr. and PERSONAL SKETCHES 337 Mrs. Newman hold membership in the Congregational church, and they are leaders in the representative social activities of their home community. Their o'nly child, Margaret Lucile, is, in 1925, a student in the Hazel Park high school. Arthur G. Nicholie was born in Bay City, Michigan, August 3, 1890, and the public schools of his native state afforded him his early education, he having been graduated in the high school of Bay City and having in the meanwhile been with his parents on a farm near Port Huron during an interval of ten years. After his graduation in the Bay City Business Institute he was for some time employed in the Bay City offices of the American Express Company, and in 1914 he came to Pontiac and assumed the position of note teller in the Oakland County Savings Bank. In 1920 he was made assistant cashier of the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank, and on January 1, 1922, he became cashier of this important institution, his promotion to this position bearing its own significance as indicating his efficiency and the estimate placed upon him by the stockholders of the bank. On March 1, 1925, Mr. Nicholie tendered his resignation as cashier of the bank to take effect May 1, and on that date he entered into partnership with Fred L. Harger, under the name of Nicholie-Harger Company, with offices at 51 North Saginaw street, Pontiac. This firm is engaged in the business of real estate. Mr. Nicholie is distinctly progressive and loyal as a citizen, is an influential member of the Kiwanis club, of which he has served as president, and he is serving as district trustee of the Kiwanis club organization of this district of Michigan. He is chairman of' the board of trustees of the Pontiac Y. M. C. A., is assistant secretary of the Pontiac Trust Company, and is secretary and treasurer of the local Welfare league. Mr. Nicholie is affiliated with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, and is serving as treasurer of three of the Masonic bodies of his home city. His political alignment is with the Republican party, he is a member of the Pine Lake Country Club, is a director of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, has membership in the Bankers' Club of Detroit, and he and his wife are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pontiac. The family home in this city is at 117 Washington street and the country home is an attractice cottage at Cass Lake. In the year 1914 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Nicholie and Miss Flora M. McDonald, of Smith's Creek, St. Clair county, and they have five children: Donald A., Margaret F., E. Jean, Barbara M., and Virginia Ruth. Floyd H. Nichols, well known business man of Farmington, Michigan, was born on the Nichols farm in Farmington township September 19, 1874. He is the son of Gilbert C. and Nellie Nichols, who were married in March, 1871, and spent their entire lives upon this farm. Gilbert C. died in December, 1908, at the age of sixty years and Nellie, his wife, in February, 1905, aged fifty-three. He is also the grandson of Truman and Hannah Nichols, among the first pioneers of Farmington township, who settled upon the Nichols farm in 1832. Floyd H. Nichols, the subject of this sketch, attended the township schools and Michigan State Normal at Ypsilanti and in 1896 graduated from 338 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the Cleary Business College in Ypsilanti. October 15, 1896, he entered the services of Fred M. Warner and in March, 1907, when the Warner Dairy Company was organized became a partner and at the present time is secretary and treasurer of that company. He was united in marriage April 23, 1902, to Grace Voorheis, daughter of John and Sarah Voorheis, of West Bloomfield. One child is the issue of this union, Hinman G. Nichols, a graduate of the University of Michigan and assistant cashier of the Farmington State Savings Bank. Mr. Nichols is a consistent member of the Methodist church and a faithful supporter of Republican policies and doctrines. He is also a Pythian and a member of the Exchange Club of Farmington. Thomas E. Nichols.-One of the thoroughly modern and well ordered furniture and undertaking establishments of Oakland county is that owned and conducted in the village of Rochester by the popular citizen whose name initiates this paragraph and who reverts to the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity. Mr. Nichols was born in Erie county, Ohio, September 27, 1871, and was a lad of six years at the time of the family removal to Montcalm county, Michigan, where he was reared to adult age and where his public school discipline included that of the high school at Lakeview. He continued to be identified with the activities of the home farm until he had attained to the age of seventeen years, when he went to the city of Grand Rapids, where for ten years he was employed in a leading furniture factory. He then entered the employ of a leading undertaker and funeral director at Cedar Springs, Kent county, where he learned all details of that line of business enterprise and where he eventually established himself independently in the undertaking business, which he there conducted three years. He then sold his business and, in 1910, with but modest capitalistic resources, established his present furniture and undertaking business in Rochester, where he has developed a substantial and prosperous business in both departments of the enterprise, with a large and comprehensive stock of furniture, and with the mosts approved of modern facilities in the undertaking department of his business. Upon coming to Rochester he purchased an interest in the business conducted by E. A. Tuttle, and two years later he purchased his partner's interest. Since that time he has continued the business in an individual way, and he is known and valued as one of the loyal citizens and progressive business men of this thriving community. He is an active member of the Rochester Board of Commerce, is a Republican in his political allegiance, and he and his wife are zealous members of the local Baptist church, in which he is serving as deacon. Mr. Nichols is affiliated with Rochester Lodge No.5, F. & A. M.; Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M.; and the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are popular factors in the representative social circles of their home community. They have no children. The marriage of Mr. Nichols to Miss Helen Skutt, of Grand Rapids, was solemnized in 1895, and she is the gracious and popular chatelaine of their pleasant home in Rochester. Mr. Nichols is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Oakland county, though he himself was born in PERSONAL SKETCHES 339 Ohio, as already noted. His father, Ira J. Nichols, was born and reared in Oakland county and was a gallant young soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he participated in various battles of importance, including the first battle of Bull Run, in which he was wounded somewhat severely. His father was a native of England and became a pioneer settler in Oakland county, Michigan, where he passed the remainder of his life. After the close of the Civil war Ira J. Nichols was for a time a resident of the state of New York, where his marriage was solemnized, the family name of his wife having been Jones. Thereafter he resided in Ohio until the late '70s, when he returned to Michigan and established the family home in Montcalm county. His death occurred about twenty years ago, and his widow died in 1907, aged fifty-eight years. They are survived by one son and two daughters. The maternal grandparents of the subject of this review were Robert and Sarah Jones, and both were born in England. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Nichols was a native of Scotland and had attained to the remarkable age of 103 years at the time of his death. On both the paternal and maternal sides Mr. Nichols is a scion of long-lived ancestry, all of his grandparents having lived to pass the eightieth milestone on the journey of life. Ralph A. Norris, M.D.-The attractive and progressive village of Ferndale, virtually in the metropolitan district of the city of Detroit, claims its due quota of well fortified physicians and surgeons, and among the number is Dr. Norris, who has worthily won place as one of the representative members of his profession in this section of Oakland county. Dr. Norris was born in the city of Detroit, July 13, 1885, and there he gained in the public schools his early education, he having later been graduated in the high school at Pioneer, Ohio, to which state his parents had removed. In preparation for his chosen profession he returned to his native city and entered the Detroit College of Medicine, and in this old and admirable institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1911 and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He established himself in the practice of his profession in the city of Hillsdale, he having previously served one year as an interne in Grace Hospital, Detroit. He was residing in Hillsdale at the time when the nation became involved in the World war, and he forthwith enlisted for service in the medical corps of the United States Army, in which he remained until the armistice brought the war to a close, after which he received his honorable discharge, he having gained commission as first lieutenant, and his service having covered a period of eighteen months. In 1918 Dr. Norris engaged in practice at Seven Mile Road, in Wayne county, Michigan, and since 1920 he has been established in successful general practice at Ferndale, where he owns an attractive home at 151 Vista avenue. The Doctor has membership in the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is affiliated with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, in the latter of which he has received the thirty-second degree, besides which he is a noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is affiliated also with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the Inde 340 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of the Maccabees. In 1919 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Norris to Mrs. Elizabeth Gardner, of Oneida county, New York, and the two children of this union are Aurelia, born February 9, 1922, and Louise, born January 1, 1924. By her former marriage Mrs. Norris became the mother of two children, Elsie, who died February 4, 1924, at the age of twelve years, and Roberta, who is now (1925) eleven years of age and a student in the Ferndale public schools. E. Josephine Nott is a popular young woman whose stewardship is one of important community service in the city of Pontiac, where she is the efficient superintendent of the City Hospital, a well ordered institution that is a credit to the city and to Oakland county. Miss Nott was born in the village of Troy, this county, April 24, 1893, and is a daughter of Stephen and Minnie (Frank) Nott, the former of whom was born in Pontiac township, this county, May 27, 1863, and the latter of whom was born in Troy township, January 17, 1869. The paternal grandparents of Miss Nott were William Richard and Electa (Cook) Nott, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they came to Michigan in an early day and became pioneer settlers in Pontiac township, Oakland county, their original habitation having been a log house of the type common to the locality and period, and the same having later been abandoned for a more pretentious dwelling of frame construction. Mr. Nott developed one of the productive farms of the county and here his death occurred in 1869, his widow having long survived him and having been one of the venerable and loved pioneer women of Oakland county at the time of her death in 1911. John C. and Sarah (Trowbridge) Frank, the maternal grandparents of Miss Nott, were born in Oakland county, their home having been established in Troy township, but later resided in Pontiac, where their deaths occurred. Stephen Nott long held precedence as one of the progressive and representative dairy farmers of Oakland county, was known as a loyal and liberal citizen and successful business man, was a staunch Republican in politics. Mr. Nott continued to reside in Pontiac township until his death. They are survived by all except one of their fine family of ten children. The names of the children are here recorded in the respective order of birth: Nora (Mrs. H. W. Jadwin), E. Josephine, Russell, Mildred (Mrs. D. C. Porritt), Perry, Stephen Stanley (deceased), William, Wesley, John, and Douglas. The preliminary educational discipline of Miss E. Josephine Nott was obtained in the district schools of her native township, and thereafter she attended the Pontiac high school. In 1915 she was graduated in the Michigan State Normal College, at Ypsilanti, and her experience included one year of effective service as a teacher in the public schools. In 1916 she became a student in the school of nursing maintained in connection with the medical department of the University of Michigan, and in the same she was graduated as a member of the class of 1919. Thereafter she continued in service as assistant superintendent of nurses at the University Hospital, Ann Arbor, until she came to Pontiac, in January, 1923, and assumed her present responsible office PERSONAL SKETCHES 341 of superintendent of the Pontiac City Hospital. Miss Nott is an enthusiast in her profession, one of maximum human helpfulness, and is giving a most successful administration of the affairs and service of the hospital at Pontiac. She is a member of the alumnae association of the Michigan State Normal College and that of the nursing school of the University of Michigan, besides having membership in the Michigan and the National association of trained nurses and the Michigan State League of Nursing Education. She is an active member of the American Red Cross and has given to the same valuable service. Miss Nott is affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star, the White Shrine and the Daughters of Rebekah. She is popular in the circles of her profession and also in those of social order in her home city and native county. P. J. O'Brien, the second vice-president of the Rochester Savings Bank, one of the substantial financial institutions of Oakland county, has been one of the representative business men of Rochester, where he is now living virtually retired, save for his executive service in connection with the bank. Mr. O'Brien was born in Waterford township, this county, January 17, 1875, and is a son of Anthony and Stella (Reynolds) O'Brien, both natives of the state of New York, where the former was born February 17, 1843, and the latter in the year 1848. Anthony O'Brien passed the closing years of his life at Rochester, Michigan, where he died June 5, 1918, and where the death of his widow occurred on the 8th of the following October. Anthony O'Brien was a son of Timothy and Lucy O'Brien, and was a child when he came with his widowed mother from the old home in New York state and established residence in Oakland county, Michigan, he having here received the advantages of the public schools at Pontiac. He became one of the successful representatives of farm enterprise in Oakland county, where he was the owner of a well improved farm three miles south and one mile east of Rochester. He went forth as a gallant young soldier of the Union in the Civil war, and his service of three years and six months covered virtually the entire period of conflict. He enlisted as a private in the Fifth Michigan Cavalry, August 19, 1862, and the history of this valiant regiment constitutes a veritable record of his military career, which involved his participation in many of the important battles and campaigns of the war that perpetuated the integrity of the nation. In later years he found satisfaction in his active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, he having been first sergeant of his company at the time of receiving his honorable discharge, May 15, 1865. Mr. O'Brien was a staunch advocate and supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and was affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees. His wife came to Michigan with her parents, John and Elizabeth Reynolds, who here established their residence in Shiawassee county, where the father became a substantial farmer, he having lived retired for a number of years prior to his death, and both he and his wife died in Shiawassee county. P. J. O'Brien was three years of age at the time of the family removal to the farm near Rochester, and here he was reared to manhood, the while he duly profited by the advantages of the public schools. He 342 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY remained on the old home farm until he was twenty-three years of age, when, in 1898, he became associated with his older brother, S. B. O'Brien in the business that is now conducted at Oxford, this county, by the James Olsen Lumber & Coal Company. He remained at Oxford one year and then, in 1899, established himself independently i'n the lumber and coal business at Rochester. He built up a substantial and prosperous business and continued in the active management thereof until he sold the same, in 1920. He has been a stockholder of the Rochester Savings Bank since 1912, and is now its second vice-president, besides which he is vice-president of the Rochester Development Company, which was organized in 1919. Mr. O'Brien has proved himself one of the loyal, liberal and public-spirited citizens of Rochester, and has given effective service as a member of the village cou'ncil, the local board of education and the volunteer fire department. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Rochester, and he is a member of its board of trustees. His political alignment is with the Democratic party, and his fraternal affiliations are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., with Rochester Lodge No. 68, I. O. O. F., and of which he is secretary; Court Pingree No. 61, Foresters of America, in which latter fraternity he is a grand trustee of the grand court of Michigan. December 24, 1895, was the date that marked the marriage of Mr. O'Brien to Miss Matilda Emery, of Rochester, and the children of this gracious union are one son and one daughter: Thomas A., who was born September 28th, 1896, and whose early educational advantages included those of the Rochester high school, is now engaged in the automobile garage business in Rochester. He married Miss Lila Gaylord, of Williamston, Michigan, and they have one child, Thomas A., Jr. Lillian, the younger of the two children, was born November 24th, 1905, and was graduated in the Rochester high school in 1924 as president of her class, she being a popular factor in the representative social life of her home community. James Olson is successfully engaged in the lumber and coal business in the thriving little city of Oxford, and his advancement in connection with business affairs has been gained entirely through his own ability and well ordered efforts. Mr. Olson was born in the state of Minnesota and was a lad of five years at the time of the family removal to Grayling, Crawford county, Michigan, the date of his nativity having been August 21, 1887. In the public schools of Grayling he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1903. At the age of sixteen years he began working in the lumber woods of that section of the state, and later he advanced his education by the completion of a six months' course in the Ferris Institute, at Big Rapids. He then became a bookkeeper for a lumbering concern, and at the age of twenty-one years he won promotion to the position of log superintendent, at an annual salary of $5,000. His service in this capacity continued until 1919, when he established his present lumber and coal business at Oxford, besides which he owns and operates a well equipped lumber yard at Grand Blanc, Genesee county. He was reared on a farm, and his sterling Danish parents PERSONAL SKETCHES 343 early taught him to appreciate the dignity and value of honest toil. He has never been afraid of hard work, and it is as one of the world's constructive workers that he has achieved success and substantial prosperity, as well as secure place in popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Olson relates that when he was promoted to the position of bookkeeper he celebrated the advancement by appearing at the office appareled in his best suit of clothes. His employer told him to take a shovel and grubhoe and fill some holes on the grounds of the concern. He said to the manager that if he was to be assigned to work of that order he would put on his old clothes, but the manager told him to wear the suit which he already had on. About a year later the manager explained to him that he had taken this action to try him out, and stated that the average youth would have said, under the circumstances, that he was hired as a bookkeeper and not for manual labor. After he had been promoted to the authoritative position of log superintendent, one of the head men attempted to give to Mr. Olson a similar test, but the latter felt that at this period in his career such a trial was uncalled for and promptly gave the man assurance that he himself was the boss of the business that had been assigned to him. He thus showed his appreciation of proportions, values and consistencies, and no further attempt was made to interfere with his affairs. The Masonic affiliations of Mr. Olson include his membership in the Order of the Eastern Star, and he has alliance also with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Daughters of Rebekah. April 7, 1913, Mr. Olson married Miss Lena Peterson, of Manistee, Michigan, and of this union were born five children: Joy Virginia, Clayton James, Ruth Louise, Neva (died at the age of two years), and June Marie. Mr. Olson is known as one of the progressive and resourceful business men of Oakland county, and his business is conducted under the title of the James Olson Lumber & Coal Company. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church. Ellsworth Orton, M.D.-Save for a period of about fifteen months given to service in the medical corps of the United States Army in connection with the World war, Dr. Orton has been continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac for more than thirty years, and his is secure prestige as one of the able and representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county. Dr. Orton was born in Essex county, province of Ontario, Canada, December 16, 1865, but he is a scion of an American family that was founded in New England in the colonial period of our national history and that gave patriot soldiers to the war of the Revolution, on which score the Doctor is eligible for and maintains affiliation with the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Doctor Orton received in the city of Toronto, Canada, the major portion of his early education, and there also he gained his initial discipline for his chosen profession, as a student in the medical department of the University of Toronto. Thereafter he continued his technical studies in the Detroit College of Medicine, and in this admirable Michigan institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1892. Since thus receiving his degree of 344 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Doctor of Medicine he has, as previously stated, been continuously engaged in practice at Waterford and Pontiac, except for the interval of his World war service. February 26, 1917, he assumed charge of a military training-camp association, this being a few months prior to the formal entry of the United States into war against Germany. He was commissioned first lieutenant and was assigned to administrative service. In December, 1918, the Doctor was discharged from service, lalter being commissioned major it the medical reserve corps of the United States Army, and in this reserve he still retains the rank of major, though he was not called to the stage of conflict. Doctor Orton has long held place as one of the advanced exponents of medical and surgical science in his home county, and recognition of his ability came when he was placed in charge of the work of eliminating and controlling contagious diseases in Oakland county, which responsible post he has held since 1921. He has been a close student of his profession a'nd has kept in touch with the advances made in both medicine and surgery. He is an honored and influential member of the Oakland County Medical Society, besides being a member of the Michigan State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the Association of Military Surgeons. His civic loyalty is unstinted, and he gave a characteristically progressive and effective administration while serving as mayor of Pontiac, in 1907-8. September 12, 1924, Doctor Orton delivered the National Defense Day oration at Pontiac, and the large audience marked its approval of his patriotic address on this occasion. In the Masonic fraternity Doctor Orton has received the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite, besides being a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and his maximum York Rite affiliation is with Pontiac Commandery of Knights Templar. He is one of the active members of the local post of the American Legion, is affiliated also with the Knights of Pythias, and he is a member and loyal supporter of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce. Melville S. Osgood, who is engaged in the real estate and building business at Royal Oak, a fair and progressive little city of Oakland county, was born at Seneca Lake, in picturesque Seneca county, New York, July 11, 1853, and he was a child at the time when the family left that beautiful lake district of the Empire state to establish their home in Michigan. The parents, William L. and Bridget (Hefron) Osgood, first established their Michigan home in Hillsdale county, and in this state they passed the remainder of their lives, William L. Osgood having died, in the city of Detroit, at the age of seventy-two years, and his wife having passed away at the age of sixty-five years, in Dewitt, Clinton county. In Hillsdale county the public school advantages of Melville S. Osgood included those of the high school at Jonesville. As a young man he engaged in the flour milling business at Dewitt, Clinton county, arnd later he was for ten years actively engaged in the lumber business at Cheboygan, in the great timber district of northern Michigan. He next passed about three years in the city of Detroit, and in 1906 he established his home at Royal Oak, where for three years he was station agent and telegraph operator for the Grand Trunk railroad. He gave five years of characteristically WM. OSMUN MRS. WM. OSMUN PERSONAL SKETCHES 345 loyal and effective service as clerk of Royal Oak township, and in his present real estate and building business he is doing much to advance the interests of his home city and county. He is an honored member of the Royal Oak board of realtors, and the Michigan Real Estate Board, his political alignment is with the Republican party, he is affiliated with Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, F. & A. M., and the local lodge of Odd Fellows, with which latter fraternity he has been identified fully half a century. In the year 1882 Mr. Osgood wedded Miss M. Adele Pike, of Belmont, New York, and they have two children: Ruth G. was born at Dewitt, Clinton county, in 1884, and is now the wife of Walter J. Rhodes, of Royal Oak, she having been graduated in the Central high school of Detroit; John S., a graduate of the Royal Oak high school, is a certified public accountant and is engaged in the successful practice of his profession at Royal Oak. William H. Osmun is one of the venerable native sons still residing in Oakland county, and it may consistently be said that in this county not to know William H. Osmun is virtually to argue one's self unknown here. He is a representative of a family that made settlement in Oakland county in the year prior to the admission of Michigan as a state. Here he has lived and wrought, and though he is now (spring of 1925) eighty-four years of age, his mental and physical alertness gives denial to the years, and he is still actively concerned with business affairs, as well as those of civic order. Mr. Osmun is one of the grand old men of Michigan, has done large service in advancing the civic and material progress and prosperity of his native county and his home city of Pontiac, and none is more worthy of appreciative recognition in this history. William H. Osmun was born on the pioneer homestead farm of his parents, in Brandon township, Oakland county, October 27, 1841, and is a son of the late William Henry Harrison and Mary Ann (Linderman) Osmun, who came to Michigan Territory from Tompkins county, New York, in the year 1836 and who made settlement in the forest wilds of Brandon township, Oakland county, where the father reclaimed and developed a productive farm and where he was influential in public affairs in the pioneer community. When his son was seven years old the family returned to New York to settle his father's estate and lived there fourteen years. Returning to Oakland county he a'nd his wife here passed the remainder of their lives, their names meriting high place on the roll of those who figured as founders and builders of Oakland county. William H. Osmun attended school in New York in the winter, working on the farm in summer. He attended high school one year. When twenty-one he came back to the farm in Oakland county, and there remain few other native sons of Oakland county whose memory rtris back to an earlier period in the history of the county than does his. He remained on his father's farm until his marriage at twentythree years of age, when he initiated his independent career. Within the long period of his resourceful business life, Mr. Osmun has purchased three farms and parts of four others and platted the tracts into city lots, this successful exploitation having proved a valuable contribution to civic advancement and material upbuilding of Pontiac. Mr. 346 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Osmun early directed his attention to the manufacturing of brick, and likewise became a Michigan pioneer in the manufacturing of drain tile, he having been the first representative of this line of industry in Michigan to make use of steam power in operation. At Pontiac he owned and operated a brick and drain tile manufacturing plant for the long period of forty years-1865-1905. In his real estate operations he has sold in Pontiac more than seven hundred city lots at less than $100 each. He manufactured more than 24,000,000 brick, utilized in the construction of the buildings of the Pontiac State Hospital for the Insane. He manufactured also the brick for the erection of the fine old residence, at the corner of Sanford and Auburn streets, that has been the home of himself and his wife since 1867-a period of more than half a century. He shipped carloads from his drain tile factory to points as far east as Vermont and as far west as Minnesota, and he was a leader in the development of this line of industrial enterprise in Michigan, with incidental service that has had great influence in advancing the progress of farm enterprise in Michigan and other states. Mr. Osmun may justly be said to have given to Pontiac more manufacturing sites than any other one man in Pontiac, even as he has the record of having here erected and sold more houses than any other one citizen, the year 1924 having been marked by his institution of the erection of five or more houses-an enterprise that shows that he regards his advanced age as no handicap to continued business activity. He has owned and operated two sawmills in Pontiac, and he is at the present time owner of a flour and feed mill at Auburn Heights. Mr. Osmun has ever taken deep interest in all things touching the welfare of his home city and county, and in the later '70s he was elected a member of the city council, in which he served four terms. When Pontiac adopted the commission system of municipal government Mr. Osmun was elected one of the first commissioners, and this office he retained two terms. For fully seventy years he has been known as an expert shot with rifle and shotgun, the accuracy of his markmanship having been early acquired, as he became proficient in the use of bow and arrow when he was a mere boy and when Indian boys were his playmates. He was one of the organizers of the first Michigan league of trapshooters, and in the same he held the championship medal at the time when the organization lapsed. This medal he still retains. Notwithstanding that he is an octogenarian, he still can hold his own in competition with other expert shots, and it is safe to say that in the entire United States there is no man of his age that can excel him in marksmanship with rifle or shotgun. In fact, a number of persons interested in such sports have recently attempted to find another man of his approximate age to compete with him, but have found no one eligible for the challenge. He attributes his excellent health largely to the fact that he has never used tobacco or intoxicating liquors. On the 22d of March, 1864, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Osmun to Miss Frances Chaffee, and thus their devoted companionship has now covered a period of sixtyone years, the while they have occupied their present home continuously since 1867. Mrs. Osmun was born in Pontiac township, this PERSONAL SKETCHES 347 county, August 10, 1845, and is a daughter of Stephen and Melle Tiah (Leonard) Chaffee, who were born in Vermont and who were pioneer settlers in Pontiac township, the closing years of their lives having been passed in Lapeer county. Mr. an d Mrs. Osmun became the parents of three children: Mabel is the wife of Milton G. Robertson, of Pontiac, and they have two children, Gray and Bruce. Alice died at the age of eleven years. Florence is the wife of Herbert H. Crisp, of Auburn Heights, who operates the flour and feed mill owned by Mr. Osmun, as previously noted in this review, this mill being operated with water power, the dam for which was constructed in 1823. Mr. and Mrs. Crisp have two children, Kenneth 0. and Wendell 0., who are associated with their father in the mill business. Kenneth O. Crisp early became a member of the Michigan National Guard, and with the same he entered service on the Mexican border. In March, 1917, he returned from Texas to Pontiac and volunteered for service in the World war. His enlistment in the United States Army occurred in August of that year, and he returned to Texas for preliminary training. In 1918 he accompanied his command over seas and joined the American Expeditionary Forces in France. There he was in active service six months, and he was with the allied army of occupation in Germany after the signing of the armistice. He returned home with his regiment and received his honorable discharge in the early part of 1919. To few is it given to pass the gracious evening of life under so pleasing conditions and influences as those that compass Mr. and Mrs. Osmun, honored and venerable pioneer citizens whose circle of friends in Oakland county is limited only by that of their acquaintance. Carl Ostrander, of the Pontiac Planing Mill, 10-24 Patterson, Pontiac, was born April 27, 1887, a son of William and Clara Ostrander. He was born in Pontiac. The son received his early education in his native city and began work for James A. O'Riley at Water and Perry streets in the old Heitsch Planing Mill. This was at the age of eighteen years. In 1911 he and his brother Eugene went into business for themselves on Orchard Lake avenue and in 1916 sold to Roy F. Wright and purchased the ground and buildings that stood at 10-24 Patterson street. The last of the buildings was six feet below the surrounding land, so in 1923 the Messrs. Ostrander erected a new building to supplant the old, the new structure being two stories high, 154 by 70 feet. The mill does interior finish work of all kinds and since the establishment was started, thirteen years ago, the volume of business has increased six times. The mill serves a patronage within a radius of twenty miles. Eleven men are employed by the plant. Carl Ostrander was married September 27, 1919, to Miss Leata Baker, of Pontiac. Mr. Ostrander is a communicant of the Methodist church. Eugene Ostrander.-In partnership with his brother Carl Mr. Ostrander owns and operates one of the important industrial plants in the city of Pontiac, where his planing mill, with most modern equipment, is situated at 10-24 Patterson street. Mr. Ostrander is a native son of Pontiac, where he was born August 29, 1876, and he is 348 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY a representative of one of the well known families of Oakland county. In the public schools he continued his studies until he had profited by the advantages of the Pontiac high school, and he has been continuously identified with the planing mill business in his native city since he attained to the age of twenty-three years. After he had operated a planing mill nine years his brother Carl, who is mentioned individually elsewhere in this volume, became his partner in the business, and they are the owners of the excellent mill property, in the business center of Pontiac, the building being 70 by 154 feet in dimensions and its mechanical equipment and accessories being of the best modern type, the while the service given plays an important part in connection with building operations in the city and elsewhere in the county. The two brothers are numbered among the alert and progressive business men of their native city. June 14, 1900, Eugene Ostrander was united in marriage to Miss Emma Gilette, of Detroit, They have no children. Wilford E. Ostrander is one of the vital and successful exponents of the real estate business in the progressive little city of Ferndale, a place whose rapid and substantial development have been one of the marvels of such progress in the metropolitan district of Detroit. Mr. Ostrander, one of the popular and influential realtors at Ferndale, here maintains his office headquarters at 164 Rockwell avenue, and his attractive home is at 445 Drayton avenue west. Mr. Ostrander served in 1924 as president of the Ferndale Board of Commerce, is an active and valued member of the local Exchange Club, and is president of the Royal Oak Real Estate Board. The lineage of the Ostrander family traces back to staunch Holland Dutch origin, and its first American representatives settled in Pennsylvania in the year 1666. Wilford E. Ostrander was born on a farm six miles distant from Cass City, Tuscola county, Michigan, September 25, 1882, and when he was about one year old the family home was established in Cass City, in the public schools of which place he acquired his rudimentary education, he having been a lad of eight years when his parents removed to the city of Allegan, where the home was maintained three years and where he continued to attend school, the while he proved his practical resourcefulness by selling newspapers and popcorn, this representing his initial business experience. After the family removal to the city of Grand Rapids, the selling of newspapers, the cutting of lawns and the rendering of varied errand services engrossed no little of his attention during the hours he was not in school, and when, after two years of residence in Grand Rapids, the family removed to Detroit, Mr. Ostrander continued to combine practical work with school attendance, he having assisted his father in carpenter work during vacation periods, and having worked as a cashboy in the great J. L. Hudson mercantile establishment during Christmas holidays. He left school when he was fourteen years old, and after holding the dignified position of laundry wagon driver nine months, he began working at the carpenter trade, in which he had gained no minor skill through his service under the direction of his PERSONAL SKETCHES 349 father. He was but twenty years of age when he instituted independent operations as a contractor and builder, but in 1910 he made a radical change of vocation, by engaging in farm enterprise near Davisburg, Oakland county. His alliance with this basic line of industry was not long continued, for in 1912 he went to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he resumed his activities as a builder. In 1914, by an exchange of properties, he acquired a tract of farm land in that northwestern province, and engaged in the raising of wheat-an enterprise of important order at that time, when the World war was in progress and when food production represented as genuine and valuable patriotic contribution as military service. Mr. Ostrander remained in Alberta until 1920, when he returned to Michigan. Within a short time thereafter he established his residence at Ferndale, where he has since continued a successful, reliable and progressive representative of the real estate business. He is independent in politics, and thus gives his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, without heed to partisan dictates. Mr. Ostrander has taken lively interest in educational affairs, and has served as an official of several parent-teacher associations, both in Canada and Michigan. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church in their home community, and he is serving as a member of its board of trustees. Mr. Ostrander is affiliated with the Ferndale lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, the Highland Park chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and the Ferndale lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1903 he married Miss Floss M. Hutchins, and of the four children of this union two are living, the other two having been twins and having died shortly after their birth. Fred W. Parmeter.-Mr. Parmeter, who is engaged in the hardware business at 28 East Huron street, Pontiac, is a native of Michigan and was born in Genesee county, on a farm, six miles from Flint, November 14, 1868. Up to the age of fifteen he attended public school and for the next thirteen years was engrossed in the manifold duties incident to farm life. For the next ten years he was in the employ of Foot &- Church, hardware dealers in Flint. He then decided to come to Pontiac and engage in business for himself, which he did, applied himself assiduously and succeeded. Mr. Parmeter is a stockholder of the Nelson Boode Trap Company, of Pontiac. He is a member of the city commission, serving with credit to himself and the community. Fraternally, Mr. Parmeter is affiliated with the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. On July 2, 1895, he was united in marriage to Miss May B. Stadler, who was born in Genesee county May 7, 1870. The issue of the union is one daughter, Virginia, born June 4, 1908, a high school student. The Parmeters are members of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. John Hadley Patterson is senior member of the law firm of Patterson & Patterson, one of the foremost at the bar of Oakland county, and in the same his associate is his son, Clarence K. The history of this representative Pontiac. law firm is. one of interesting order, and 350 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the name of Patterson has long been one of distinction in the legal profession in this part of Michigan. The original members of the firm of Patterson & Patterson were Thomas L. and James K. Patterson, the former having been the father of him whose name initiates this paragraph and who is now senior member of the firm. Thomas L. Patterson was born March 22, 1836, at Clarkston, Monroe county, New York, and of sterling Scotch-Irish ancestry. His father, James Patterson, was born in Rock Bottom valley, York county, Pennsylvania, not far distant from Gettysburg, and the latter's father, who likewise bore the name of James, having been a patriot soldier in the war of the Revolution. James Patterson II, grandfather of the subject of this review, followed in his youth the trade of blacksmith, and after his marriage he turned his attention to the lumber business, in Monroe county, New York. In 1846, he came with his family to Michigan and obtained from the government a tract of wild land near the present village of Holly, Oakland county, where he reclaimed from the wilderness a productive farm: It is interesting to record that across this pioneer farm was built, in 1857, the line of the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad, which played large part in Michigan development. James Patterson became one of the influential pioneer citizens of Oakland county, which he represented in the first session of the state legislature to be held in the present capital city of Lansing. He held various offices of local trust, including that of justice of the peace, and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of his death, in 1865. He married Miss Elizabeth Patton, of York county, Pennsylvania, and she likewise died at the age of sixty-nine years. Concerning their children the following brief data are available: James C. became a successful merchant and passed the closing years of his life at Holly, where he died at the patriarchal age of ninety-one years. Andrew J., who became one of the prosperous farmers of Oakland county, continued his residence in Michigan until his death, in 1908. Simeon B. was a valiant young soldier in the Civil war, as a sergeant of Company C, Eighth Michigan Cavalry, and after the war he resumed his association with farm enterprise in Oakland county, his death having occurred, in Holly, when he was fifty-six years of age. William F. continued his residence in Michigan until his death, at the age of sixty-nine years. Eliza J. became the wife of Harrison Smith, and was eighty-two years of age at the time of her death, in Detroit. Theresa became the wife of Oscar Holmes and was a resident of Holly at the time of her death, at the age of seventy years. Salome, the wife of James W. Keith, died in middle life. Thomas L., the other son, was the father of him whose name introduces this sketch. Thomas L. Patterson was a lad of ten years at the time of the family removal to Oakland county, Michigan. He gained youthful experience in connection with the affairs of the pioneer farm near Holly, and in the meanwhile attended the early schools of Oakland county. In 1851 he returned to New York state, for further educational training, and there, in 1855, he was graduated in Brockport Collegiate Institute. He later was for some time a PERSONAL SKETCHES 351 successful teacher in the schools of Holly and in his study of law he received both private preceptorship and the advantages of the law department of the University of Michigan. He was admitted to the bar in 1863, and thereafter became associated with his nephew, James K. Patterson, in establishing the law firm of Patterson & Patterson, which has ever since continued, though now with different personnel, as one of the foremost not only in Pontiac and Oakland county but also in this section of the state. Thomas L. Patterson applied himself diligently and successfully to the work of his profession until 1884, when he was elected judge of the probate court of the county, his law partner, James K., having in the meantime served, 1874-9, as prosecuting attorney of the county and dying in 1880. Judge Patterson continued his service in the probate court during a period of sixteen years, and thereafter continued his residence in Pontiac and Holly as one of the leading members of the Oakland county bar, until his death, in 1922, in the fulness of years and well earned honors. In the Civil war period Mr. Patterson was instrumental in raising the full quota of troops demanded from his township, and his father likewise assisted loyally in the support of the government war activities. Mr. Patterson was a forceful advocate of the principles and cause of the Democratic party, was influential in its councils and campaign work in his county, and was called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust, in addition to that of probate judge. He was a Knight Templar Mason, and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. January 1, 1865, Thomas L. Patterson married Miss Eunice A. Hadley, who was born in Rose township, this county, a daughter of John and Sophia Hadley. Mrs. Patterson was summoned to the life eternal on the 5th of August, 1902, and is survived by three sons: John H., Stuart D., and William F. John H. is the immediate subject of this sketch. William F., who attended the University of Michigan, is now one of the progressive agriculturists and stock growers of Oakland county. He married Miss Florence Donovan, of Holly, and they have three sons, Donovan, Samuel and Stuart. Stuart D. Patterson, second of the three sons of the late Thomas L. Patterson, likewise is numbered among the substantial exponents of farm industry in Oakland county. He married Miss Etta Addis, and they have two daughters, Gladys and Margaret. In 1914 Thomas L. Patterson contracted a second marriage, when Miss Alice I. Allen became his wife. She was born at Holly, a daughter of Ira Allen and a granddaughter of Jonathan T. Allen, who came from New Jersey to Michigan prior to the admission of the latter state to the Union. John Hadley Patterson, who is well upholding both the civic and professional prestige of the family name, was born at Holly, this county, October 22, 1865. In the public schools of Holly his discipline included that of the high school, and thereafter he was a student in the academic literary department of the University of Michigan, where he simultaneously attended lectures in the lawdepartment. In 1887 he passed the required examination that gave him admission to the Michigan bar, and he early became a member 352 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY of the law firm of Patterson & Patterson, together with Samuel J. Patterson, son of the late James K. Patterson. Samuel J. withdrew from the firm in 1920. John H. Patterson is now the senior member and his son, Clarence K., is junior member, as a representative of the third generation of the family in this old established and important law firm, the record of which is an integral part of the history of jurisprudence in Oakland county. Patterson & Patterson control a large and substantial general law business, and the clientele includes many of the leading corporations and business concerns in Oakland county. John H. Patterson served several years as clerk of the probate court, but otherwise has given his undivided time and attention to his profession. About twenty-five years ago he became a director in the First Commercial Bank of Pontiac, and subsequently of its successor, the Pontiac Commercial & Savings Bank of which he is counsel, as well as chairman of the board of directors. He is a director also of the Oxford Savings Bank, at Oxford, this county. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and protective Order of Elks. The marriage of Mr. Patterson to Miss Ella Stanton, of Pontiac, was solemnized in 1889, and they have three children: Donald S., Clarence K., of Pontiac, and Marion, the wife of Carlton C. Patterson, of Birmingham, this county. Mr. Patterson is a sterling and honored native son who may well take pride alike in his personal achievement and his ancestral history as touching Oakland county. John R. Pawloski is the senior member of the firm of John R. Pawloski & Son, which owns and conducts in the city of Pontiac the Cadillac meat market, at 42 South Saginaw street, this establishment being one of the most modern in.equipment and service to be found in this city and community appreciation being shown in the substantial and representative supporting patronage. Mr. Pawloski was born in Huron county, Michigan, August 30, 1874, and is. a son of Frank and Frances (Vitkowski) Pawloski, whose marriage was solemnized in Detroit, in the year 1865. Frank Pawloski was born in Poland and was twelve years old when he accompanied his parents to the United States, in 1852, his wife having been a child when her parents came to this country and established their home in Michigan, she having been born in 1842. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pawloski soon made settlement in Huron county, where he became a pioneer farmer and where later he was engaged for some time in the meat market business, at Harbor Beach. He and his wife, now of venerable age, reside in Detroit, and he has lived virtually retired during the past thirty years, his former well ordered activities having brought to him substantial prosperity. Of the eleven children only four are living. The public schools of Harbor Beach were the medium through which John R. Pawloski acquired his youthful education, and thereafter he was associated with his father in the meat market business at that place until 1894. Thereafter he was employed in the same line of business in the city of Detroit until 1909, PERSONAL SKETCHES 353 when he came to Pontiac and established a meat market in the old Clinton Hotel building. In 1911 he purchased the land on which he erected his present modern building, and here he has since continued to conduct one of the best equipped meat markets in the city. In 1924 -he admitted to partnership his only son, Frederick P., and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of John R. Pawloski & Son. Mr. Pawloski and his family are communicants of the Catholic church, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. September 29, 1896, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Catherine Mauren, of Wyandotte, Wayne county, and they have four daughters and one son: Anna is the wife of Roy DeWitt, of Pontiac, and they have five children, namely: William, Ruth, Catherine, James and Mary Ann. Margaret is the wife of John Thomas, of Pontiac, and their one child is a son, John William. Ruth is the wife of William Daniels, of Detroit, and they have one child, Phyllis Ann. Marie is the wife of Darrin O'Brien, of Detroit. Frederick P., the only son, was born in Detroit, June 22, 1906, was educated in the parochial school of St. Frederick's church, Pontiac, and he is now associated with his father in business, as previously stated. He is actively affiliated with the Knights of Columbus. John R. Pawloski has won through his own ability and efforts not only substantial success, but has also proved himself a loyal and progressive citizen who is well worthy of the popular confidence and esteem in which he is uniformly held. L. D. Payne, who is manager of the Packing House meat market, at 19 South Saginaw street, and also of the Bagley meat market, at 78 North Saginaw street, in the city of Po'ntiac, was born in Gratiot county, Michigan, October 21, 1880, and his public school discipline was continued until his graduation in the high school at Lansing, the capital city of the state. As a youth he initiated his association with the livestock industry, and as a buyer he gained a comprehensive and accurate knowledge of livestock values, his experience in this connection having done much to qualify him for the line of business enterprise of which he is now a successful and popular representative in the city of Pontiac. Mr. Payne has been a resident of Pontiac since 1913, in which year he here assumed the management of the Bagley meat market. His record in this connection was such that in 1920 Mr. Bagley made him manager also of the Packing House meat market, both establishments being under the same ownership and control. Mr. Payne is a careful and efficient executive and progressive business man, is a Democrat in politics, is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in their home city he and his family are communicants of the Catholic church of St. Vincent de Paul. Mrs. Payne, whose maiden name was Mabel Sweet, was a resident of Ingham county, near Lansing, at the time of her marriage. Laurine, eldest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Payne, was born July 19, 1906, and was graduated in the parochial school of St. Frederick's church, Pontiac, as a member of the class of 1923; Agnes was born May 6, 1910, and is a student (1925) in the parish school of St. Michael's. 354 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY church, Pontiac; and John Douglas, youngest of the children, was born January 19, 1919. W. J. Pearce.-Mr. Pearce, the florist, in 1891 with Franklin B. Ward, and Fred L. Ward, entered the floral business and in 1893 the former purchased the holdings of Mrs. Henry C. Ward and since then has conducted the business as an individual enterprise. In the beginning 10,000 square feet of floor space was used. The establishment has grown to utilize 75,000 square feet. An extensive wholesale business is done, principally in Detroit, and the concern so ably headed by Mr. Pearce specializes in the cultivation of roses.' Long years of patient training and experience are back of Mr. Pearce, who has given a half century to the cultivation of flowers and plants and has come to be known as one of the best rosarians and florists in the state of Michigan. On February 21, 1882, Mr. Pearce was joined in wedlock to Miriam K. Martin, a native of Canada. There are two children, Hulbert V., living in Detroit, and Harry, who is associated with his father in business and as general manager of the Pearce establishment looks after the financial end of the business. Mr. Pearce, who is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Board of Commerce, is a Republican and from 1906 to 1913 served as a member of the board of public works. The last year of his tenure he was the president. Carl H. Pelton has gained definite precedence as one of the able and successful members of the bar of his native county and is one of the leading lawyers in the city of Pontiac, the fair metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county. It is a matter of pride to him that he is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Michigan and of one that was founded in America in the early colonial period of our national history. Mr. Pelton was born at Oakwood, Oakland county, Michigan, July 23, 1879, and is a son of Homer J. and Frances C. (Bunnell) Pelton, the one other child being Dr. Roy J., a representative physician and surgeon at Detroit, Michigan. Homer J. Pelton was born in Hadley, Lapeer county, Michigan, July 1, 1852, and is a son of Joseph W. and Mary (Farmington) Pelton, who gained pioneer honors in that county. Joseph W. Pelton came to Michigan Territory in 1835, and was one of the early settlers in Lapeer county, he having later removed to Oakland county and established his home at Oxford, where his death occurred in 1897, his wife having passed away in 1871. Of their seven children only one is living and she resides at Hadley, Lapeer county, in the locality where her parents settled in the early pioneer days. She is Elizabeth, wife of Frederick Bullock. The Pelton family was founded in New England shortly after the historic first voyage of the ship Mayflower, and the family name has been worthily identified with American annals in that and all succeeding generations. Homer J. Pelton was reared and educated in Lapeer county, and in 1879, at the age of eighteen years, he became associated with mercantile enterprise at Lapeer, the county seat. Later he came to Oakland county and erected a store building at Oakwood, where he built up a large and prosperous general merchandise business. In 1896 the building and stock were swept away in the disastrous cyclone that PERSONAL SKETCHES 355 wreaked havoc in that section. He immediately rebuilt and continued in business till 1913, when he moved to Pontiac, where he died in 1919. His marriage to Miss Frances Bunnell, who came with her parents to Michigan from her native Nova Scotia, was solemnized April 12, 1876, and they have two sons, as previously recorded in this context. Homer J. Pelton has always wielded large and worthy influence in community affairs, is a Democrat in politics, and he has served as city treasurer of Lapeer and also as justice of the peace. He was for thirty years president of the Oakwood Cemetery Association, which has developed the fine cemetery in which rest the remains of his parents. His religious faith is that of the Universalist church, and his wife holds membership in the Congregational church. In the public schools Carl H. Pelton continued his studies until his graduation in the Pontiac high school, in 1896, and thereafter he completed a course in the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1900 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. This fortified him along academic lines, and he thus was able to make the most of the advantages of the law department of the same university, from which he received, in 1902, the dedegree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and started practice at Pontiac in 1902 in the office of James H. Lynch. In 1903 he formed a professional partnership with Clinton McGee, the law firm of Pelton & McGee being now the oldest engaged in practice in Oakland county. While still continuing his work with this law firm, Mr. Pelton was from 1912 to 1920 assistant to the president of the Maxwell Motor Company and head of its legal department, with headquarters in the city of Detroit. In 1911-12 he gave a characteristically vigorous and effective administration as prosecuting attorney of Oakland county, besides having had the distinction of being the first Democrat to be elected to this office in a period of forty years. From June, 1921, to April of the following year he was director of the municipal law department of Pontiac. He is one of the liberal and progressive citizens of Pontiac, is affiliated with the Masonic fraterntiy, and has membership in the Aviation Town and Country Club, and the Pine Lake Country Club. He attends and supports the Congregational church, of which his wife is an active member. June 15, 1910, Mr. Pelton wedded Miss Ethel Allshouse, daughter of John C. and Sarah M. Allshouse, of Pontiac. The two children of this union are Carol H. and Joseph A. Martin J. Peterson has the technical skill and the business ability that well fortify him for the effective service that is being given by him as proprietor of the Oakland Granite Works, the well ordered establishment of which is situated at the juncture of Woodward avenue and Twelve Mile road in the village of Royal Oak. In the production of the highest grade of cemetery memorial work Mr. Peterson has gained high reputation and has built up a prosperous business in which he has a representative and appreciative supporting patronage in Oakland county. His residence is at 1819 Sycamore street. Mr. Peterson was born in Sweden, January 4, 1890, and he is a son of Peter and 356 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Marie (Danielson) Magnuson, his surname being taken from the personal or Christian name of his father, in accord with the ancient Scandinavian custom. Peter Magnuson still resides on his home farm in Sweden, he having been born in the year 1856, and his wife, who was born in 1853, having passed to the life eternal on the 20th of February, 1924. The other three surviving children are all daughters, all are married and all still reside in Sweden, so that of the immediate family the subject of this review is the only representative in the United States. Mr. Peterson gained his early education in the excellent schools of his native land, and was twenty years of age when he severed the home ties and came to the United States, in 1910. Here he advanced his education by attending for one year the BaldwinWallace college in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and as a skilled granite cutter he thereafter was employed at his trade in Minnesota, for several years. Mr. Peterson represented his adopted country in connection with the nation's participation in the World war, he having been in active service in France during a period of fourteen months, and having been assigned to guard and construction work, as well as to a considerable amount of detached service with the Twentieth United States Engineers. He enlisted February 20, 1918, and received his honorable discharge June 20, 1920. After the close of his war service he passed one year at the old home in Sweden, and in the latter part of 1920 he established his residence at Royal Oak, Michigan, where he has since followed his trade and is now the owner of the Oakland Granite Works. He is affiliated with the local post of the American Legion and also with the Royal Oak Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are earnest communicants of the Lutheran church. The marriage of Mr. Peterson to Miss Hermine E. Schreij, of Sweden, was solemnized November 4, 1922, and they have won many friends in their home community. Charles Burton Pettibone was born April 29, 1873, a son of John B. and Kate (Simmons) Pettibone. The father was born September 3, 1831, in Vermont and at the age of ten accompanied his parents, Levy and Hulda Pettibone, who settled on a farm of 160 acres near Walled lake, later moving to Farmington township. Kate (Simmons) Pettibone was born in New York. Her family settled around Southfield, Oakland county, and there the daughter lived until she married John B. Pettibone, January 1, 1853. There were four children, Clarence, of Detroit; Levi, deceased; Lena B., of Detroit and Charles Burton. Mrs. Kate Pettibone is ninety-one years old and one of two persons living who for fifty years have attended the reunions of the Orchard Lake Picnic Association. The original membership of the association comprised sixteen persons and was made up of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Wilbur, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis J. Green, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Nichols, Mr. and Mrs. W. Lester Coonley, Mr. and Mrs. Wellington Simmons, Mr. and Mrs. John B. Pettibone, Mr. and Mrs. John V. Seely and Mr. and Mrs. Atwell A. Durgy. The picnic association was organized before the Civil war. Charles Burton Pettibone attended public school and Purdue university at Lafayette, Indiana, and was graduated from PERSONAL SKETCHES 357 the University of Michigan in 1899. He studied chemistry. After leaving school Mr. Pettibone took up farming and achieved success. He owns a beautiful eighty-acre fruit farm with modern buildings and of this tract thirty acres is in apples. On July 29, 1914, Mr. Pettibone was married to Gladys Hazelton, of Pontiac. Mrs. Pettibone died June 26, 1916, so Mr. Pettibone and his venerable mother live together in the village of Farmington. Mr. Pettibone is a communicant of the Methodist church. He is a strong supporter of Republican principles. Earl E. Phelps is one of the salesmen of beautiful Roseland Park cemetery, near Royal Oak, Oakland county, and is engaged also in the real estate business. He resides at Berkley and has the distinction of having been the only member of the charter committee that obtained the village charter for Berkley, in 1923, to have thereafter been erected a member of the municipal board of commissioners of the village, an office in which he served one term, with characteristic loyalty and efficiency. Mr. Phelps was born on the old Phelps homestead farm, in Bloomfield township, Oakland county, and the date of his nativity was January 5, 1876. He is a representative of a family that was founded in Oakland county fully seventy years ago, his paternal grandfather, Ezra Phelps, having come with his family to this county in the year 1854 and having become one of the substantial pioneer farmers in Bloomfield township, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Mortimer E. and Mary A. (Clark) Phelps, parents of the subject of this review, still reside on their old homestead farm, of which their son James has the active managament. The father was born in the state of New York, August 11, 1847, and thus was a lad of about seven years at the time when the family home was established in Oakland county, in 1854, he having here been reared to maturity and having received the advantages of the common schools of the period. His active career was here marked by close and successful association with productive farm industry, and he is now one of the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county. Earl E. Phelps was reared on the old home farm and gained in the neighboring district school his early education. He continued to be identified with the work and management of the old farm homestead until he attained to his legal majority, and thereafter he was employed in office work for several different motor companies in the city of Detroit. Since 1919 he has been a representative of the Roseland Park cemetery, and he has maintained his home at Berkley since March, 1921. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. March 11, 1921, Mr. Phelps wedded Mrs. Evelyn Tonkin, of Royal Oak township. By her former marriage Mrs. Phelps has four children: Floyd A., Varnell A., Regina M., and Noreen J. Earl L. Phillips.-Mr. Phillips, well known attorney of Pontiac, was born in Sanilac county, Michigan, December 27, 1891, a son of Richard and Sarah (Leader) Phillips, the father a farmer. Earl L. was educated in Marlette, where he attended high school. In 1916 he received the Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Michi 358 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY gan. He located in Detroit in practice of law where on September 20, 1917, he entered military service and was in Company E, 334th infantry, 85th division, and was taken sick and discharged from Camp Custer in February, 1918. Upon recovering, he entered the service of the United States Shipping Board, having charge of the employment office. There he remained until September 15, 1919, when he came to Pontiac to resume the practice of law. On June 12, 1918, Mr. Phillips was united in marriage to Miss Zoe Shields, of Marlette. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are communicants of the Methodist church. Mr. Phillips belongs to the Pythians and Loyal Order of Moose. He is highly regarded for his ability, zeal and high standard of professional conduct. M. Byron Pierce, widely known and estimable citizen of Farmington, Michigan, was born June 6, 1860, in Lyons, New York, a son of Humboldt and Cynthia Pierce. The father was a farmer in New York, moving to Farmington and engaging in painting. He died in 1873, his widow in 1895. Both are buried in the Quaker cemetery. The elder Pierce was rather inclined to general support of the Democratic party. M. Byron Pierce attended public school and his first job was in a general store where he worked five years. He moved to Novi and operated a general store there, sold out and went to New York state in the summer of 1878 and worked in a mercantile establishment until autumn, when he went to Birmingham and learned the tonsorial art in the shop of his brother-in-law. Mr. Pierce went to Pontiac but only stayed two months, returned to Farmington, started a barber shop before the close of 1878 and continued the shop until the Harrison campaign. He was appointed postmaster, served four years and after a gap of four years (during the Cleveland administration) became postmaster again under William McKinley, then President. He served until the administration of Woodrow Wilson, a total of twenty-one years and several months. Mr. Pierce spent some time in an effort to regain his health but to accommodate the son of an old friend, Mr. Pierce established him in the barber business but the arrangement lasted only about six months and since then Mr. Pierce to occupy his time has conducted the shop himself. He maintains no regular hours in the shop but aims to serve those who call while he is there. Fred M. Warner, former governor of Michigan, and Mr. Pierce were instrumental in starting the Farmington State Savings Bank, which now has deposits in excess of a million dollars. He is the only living member of the body of organizers of the bank and is a director of the institution. The bank was founded in 1898. He is one of the three living of the seven organizers of the Redford State Bank, formed in 1911, and Mr. Pierce is also a director of that institution. On October 19, 1881, Mr. Pierce was united in marriage to Miss Lettie Sprague, of Farmington, who died four years after the marriage. On July 31, 1889, Mr. Pierce was married to Ann Ernstine Kennedy. There are two children, Edgar S., cashier of the Farmington State Savings Bank, who married Eva McFerson, of Detroit, and is the father of two children, and Cynthia PERSONAL SKETCHES 359 Ernstine Pierce, who is at home. Mr. Pierce, a Republican, has been in the village council nine years. He is a gentleman of refinement and complaisance, is in enjoyment of good health and has innumerable friends. Dave C. Pipe.-"Any man can be successful. Service and work are the essentials to success." And Mr. Pipe knows intimately the philosophy of hard work. He is on intimate terms with his desk until midnight and as late as two in the morning, but ready for a full day's work the succeeding hours. He is indefatigable. And he is the head of the Pontiac and Flint offices of the American Life Insurance Company. When Mr. Pipe connected with the company he firmly and confidently told the president of the company that he did not expect to do a great deal of business the first year but that he did expect to do a million dollars' worth of business the second year. Rather quizzically did the august executive regard him, terming him a sort of "nut" but half-way feeling there may be meat in him. That there is has been amply demonstrated. Mr. Pipe was born in Kingston, Ontario, a grandson of William and Margaret Pipe. William Pipe was a druggist and the first to make sweet soda water in Canada. The father of Dave C. Pipe was William Pipe, a wholesale liquor dealer in Kingston. There were eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. William Pipe-Dave C.; Jessie, wife of Charles Moore, who works at the Ford motor plant in Toronto; Florence, wife of H. B. Baker, a grocer at Kingston; William M., with the American Life Insurance Company; Kate, who married Charles McClelland, an engineer residing in Kingston; Kenneth C., auto dealer and garage operator in Kingston. Two children died in infancy. The parents of Mr. Pipe attended the Episcopal church. The son, Dave C., obtained his early education in the common and high schools and for three years was engaged in the wholesale liquor and ice business, then served a drug apprenticeship and traveled ten years for a Canadian firm. In 1915 he went with the London Life as salesman in eastern Ontario and in four years became manager for that territory. Shortly after, however, he went with the American Life Insurance Company as salesman, came to Pontiac, unhesitatingly informed the president of the company what he felt confident he could do and in two years he has built up a fine organization of "fine fellows" as he refers to them. The agency occupies a fine suite of offices on the second floor of the First National Bank building in Pontiac, has eighteen full time men attached, and the first half of 1924 has done a million dollars worth of business. The Flint office is large, having twenty-four windows along Main street. The Pontiac branch led all offices last year and every month this year so far. The American Banner, a publication issued by the insurance company, tributes the branch of Pontiac by printing the pictures of all the salesmen. The Banner said in one of its issues: "On another page of this issue appears a group photo of a little band of loyal fellows, members of the Dave C. Pipe agency of Pontiac and Flint. Some have not served one year yet but the agency leads all branch offices in production for the year. Both our 360 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY sincere appreciation and congratulations are extended to them for their services in the past and earnest best wishes to each and all for the New Year." On April 24, 1901, Mr. Pipe was joined in marriage to Miss Sara Bennett, best known as Darl Bennett, of Kingston. They have two children, Florence, aged twenty-one, studying dental nursing in Toronto, and W. Leslie, who is associated with his father. Mr. Pipe attends All Saints' Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity of Toronto, and of the Credit Bureau, of Pontiac. Charles Pither.-Although more than fifty years have come and gone since the subject of this record passed from the scenes of earthly activities, he is still remembered by many of the older citizens, while his name. is a familiar one because members of his family are still residents of Pontiac. Charles Pither was born in Hampshire, England, May 9, 1828, and came to the United States in 1847. The vessel on which he was a passenger was damaged on the rocks in the E nglish Channel, but rather than turn back they continued the journey while the men on board found it necessary to man the pumps all the way over. Among those on board was Miss Mary A. Cannons, whom he had known in England, and a few months after landing in this country they were married in Pontiac in the Episcopal church and settled on a farm three and one-half miles northwest of Pontiac on what is now called Baldwin avenue, but was then called the Steam Mill road, and here he became one of the pioneer farmers of Oakland county. Some years later he went to Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he resided until 1864, when he returned to Oakland county and established his home in Pontiac. Here he became a member of the firm of Page & Pither, conducting a shop on West Lawrence street where the Burlingham building now stands, and engaging in the manufacture of buggies and sleighs, with offices in the old National block. He purchased land in the eastern part of the village and donated the land for Seneca street. His old home was what is now 149 Mt. Clemens street, which has been the home of his daughter, Mrs. Elmer R. Webster, since she was eleven months old, her husband having bought the place soon after their marriage. Charles Pither was a successful man in business and honest and honorable in all of his dealings. His death occurred at Abilene, Kansas, February 7, 1871, at the early age of fortytwo. Mrs. Pither was born in England March 3, 1825, and died in Pontiac February 9, 1894. They became the parents of nine children, as follows: Frederick, died at the age of ten; Margaret, died in infancy; Margaret (2d), is now Mrs. William G. Irwin, residing in Pontiac; Charley, died at the age of three; Ada, died in 1923; Jessie, now Mrs. A. F. Sharp, resides in Pontiac; Fannie, died in childhood; Birdie J., Mrs. Elmer R. Webster, resides in Pontiac, and Marian G., deceased. The mother of Charles Pither died in England, after which the father, John Pither, came to the United States and died in Oakland county ten days after his arrival here. He brought with him a daughter, Margaret, who when she became an orphan became a mem CHARLES PITHER PERSONAL SKETCHES 361 ber of her brother's household and died of scarlet fever while yet a child. Roy S. Pittenger has many interests that identify him with Milford township and the village of Milford, in Oakland county. He is a native of this township, where he is a scion of the third generation of the Pittenger family; here he has continuously maintained his home, his local educational advantages having included those of the high school at Milford, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1912; he has been prominently identified with civic and business affairs in Milford, where he is now engaged in business as an electrical contractor and a dealer in electrical supplies; and he represented Oakland county in the nation's military service in the World war period, he having been stationed at Camp Custer, near Battle Creek, this state, from July, 1918, until March, 1919, when he received his honorable discharge, he having held the position of bugler of his command. Mr. Pittenger was born on the old home farm of the family, in Milford township, and the date of his nativity was December 31, 1893, his parents, Charles H. and Abbie (Steele) Pittenger, being still residents of that township and both having been born in Ontario county, New York. Charles H. Pittenger has long bee'n one of the substantial farmers and influential citizens of Milford township, is a Republican in politics, is affiliated with the Blue Lodge and Chapter organizations of York Rite Masonry, and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. J. J. Pittenger, grandfather of the subject of this review, came with his family to Milford township in the year 1862, and he passed the remainder of his life on his old homestead farm in that township, where he died in 1886, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was one of the early members of Milford Lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M. It has already been noted that Roy S. Pittenger was graduated in the Milford high school, and thereafter he took a course in engineering at Michigan Agricultural College. For three years he had charge of the plant and service of the Milford Electric Company, and after his World war service he established himself in the electrical contracting business at Milford, where he has built up a prosperous enterprise as a contractor and as a dealer in electrical fixtures and supplies. His political alignment is with the Republican party, and in 1920 he held the office of village clerk of Milford. He is affiliated with Milford Lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M., of which he served as master in 1921, and in 1922 he was commander of Ernest Olbenbird Post No. 216, American Legion, in the affairs of which local post he is still one of the most influential factors. He has membership also in the R. A. C., and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church in their home village. June 30, 1920, Mr. Pittenger married Miss Lucille Best, daughter of Charles W. and Cornetia (Wallace) Best. The mother being dead, the father now resides in the city of Kalamazoo. Mr. and Mrs. Pittenger have a winsome little daughter, Margery May, born April 11, 1923. Charles E. Plumstead.-In May, 1922, Mr. Plumstead became treasurer of Birmingham, Oakland county, Michigan, a position he fills with credit to himself and the prosperous community i'n which he lives. 362 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Mr. Plumstead was born in Detroit, February 13, 1891, being the date of his birth. He is a son of Ellsworth and Belle (McDonald) Plumstead, both natives of Michigan and both living in Birmingham. The father is an impersonator and is on the road the entire time. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a man of liberal political views. The son came to Birmingham in 1903 and was graduated from high school in 1909 and from Michigan Agricultural College in 1915, receiving the Bachelor of Science degree. For five years he was with the Ford Motor Company, engaged in clerical work, and while in the employ of the Ford company studied accounting. Leaving the Ford company, Mr. Plumstead worked for the Wolverine garage more than a year and then went to the Birmingham garage, with which he was associated two years. In May, 1922, he entered public service. On March 3, 1919, Mr. Plumstead was united in marriage to Miss Carolyn Hays, of Birmingham. They have two children, Millard Conklin, born May 24, 1919, and Nancy Juanita, born December 25, 1923. Mr. Plumstead is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican. Donald C. Porritt was born in Orion township, January 10, 1895, a son of Bert and Arristine (McDonald) Porritt. The parents lived in Orion township until the son was a year old, then moved to Pontiac township. Donald C. attended township school and in 1909 entered Pontiac high school, from which he was graduated in 1913. In 1914 he matriculated in Ohio Northern University and was graduated in 1918 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. From May, 1918, to October of the same year he was in an infantry officers' training school. In February, 1919, he became a student in the University of Detroit. In 1921 he was graduated from the University of Michigan with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and on December 5, that year, was admitted to the Oakland county bar. Until October, 1922, he was associated with A. L. Moore. In that month he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney and since has maintained offices at 316 First National Bank building, Pontiac, in association with Attorneys Blakslee and Underwood. On June 29, 1921, Mr. Porritt was united in marriage to Mildred A. Nott, daughter of Stephen and Minnie Nott, residents of Oakland county. A child, Jo-Ann, was born August 6, 1924. Mr. Porritt is a member of Central Methodist church. He is a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity at Ada, Ohio, of which chapter he was president during his senior year at Ohio Northern. He was also cadet major of the battalion during senior year at Ohio Northern University and had charge of military training. He is president of the Ohio Northern Oratorical and Debating Association and was winner in the Hoskins-Axaline-lIeeds oratorical contest in the spring of 1917. He worked most of the time during his college course, earning his way. Mr. Porritt is also a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is Republican. Frederick E. Pound was a youth of nineteen years when he established his residence in Oakland county, and he has been closely and worthily associated with business enterprise in the city of Pontiac nearly forty years. He is now one of the partners of the firm of P. PERSONAL SKETCHES 363 H. Struthers & Company, of which he is the manager, and with which he has been connected from the time of its inception, nearly thirty years ago. This is one of the leading drygoods concerns of the Oakiand county metropolis, controls a substantial and representative business and its headquarters have been maintained at 24 North Saginaw street during the entire period of the firm's history as one of the promiitent exponents of mercantile enterprise in Pontiac. Mr. Pound was born at Colaton Raleigh, Devonshire, England, January 1, 1863, and was there reared to adult age, the while he received excellent educational advantages, including those of the national school in his native place. In 1882 he came to the United States, and he has continuously maintained his home in Oakland county during the long intervening years, which have been marked by worthy achievement on his part and which have brought to him secure standing as one of the representative business men of one of the most vital and progressive of Michigan cities. Mr. Pound came to Pontiac in 1886, and here was a salesman in the drygoods establishment of John Pound about eight years, or until the opening of the drygoods establishment of P. H. Struthers & Company, when he took a position with the new firm, his alliance with which has since continued without interruptio'n. Mr. Pound has been a zealous and effective worker in the upbuilding of the substantial business of this firm, and is now general manager of the business, as well as a member of the firm. Mr. Pound gives his political support to the Democratic party, is affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and Court Mayflower No. 21, Foresters of America, and he is a communicant of the All Saints Episcopal church, while Mrs. Pound is a member of the Catholic church. On the 6th of January, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pound to Miss Mary Sue O'Brien, of Oakland county, and the one child of this union is John Frederick. Walter P. Pratte has been a representative of the automobile business at Rochester, Oakland county, since 1921, and in this line of enterprise he is now associated with Walter C. Cole, under the title of the Pratte-Cole Automobile Company. This concern has the agency for the Chevrolet and Oakland automobiles, maintains a well equipped garage, with commodious display and sales rooms and with a department devoted to accessories and repairs. Mr. Pratte was born on a farm in St. Francis county, Missouri, July 16, 1883, and is a son of Byron and Susan (Compton) Pratte, who continued their residence in that state until the time of their death. The education that Walter P. Pratte received in the district schools of his native county was supplemened by an effective course in the great International Correspondence School at Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was for six years in the employ of the street car company in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1914 he came to Oakland county, Michigan, and established his residence at Rochester, after having previously served five years as a conductor on the lines of the Detroit United Railways. In 1921 Mr. Pratte engaged independently in the automobile garage and repair business at Rochester, and in the passing years of his close application and effective service he has built up a substantial and prosperous busi 364 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ness, Mr. Cole having been admitted to partnership in 1922 and the enterprise having since been continued under the title of the PratteCole Automobile Company. September 20, 1905, Mr. Pratte wedded Miss Bertha Bradley, daughter of Thomas Bradley, of Farmington, Missouri, and she died February 9, 1908. On the 23d of September, 1911, Mr. Pratte was united in marriage to Miss Mollie Benham, daughter of William Benham, of St. Francis county, Missouri. Harry M. Pryale.-Mr. Pryale is the president and directing genius of the Pryale Construction Company, 701-702 Commercial Savings Bank building, Pontiac, a concern that has gained a commanding position in the field of construction. Mr. Pryale was born in Pittsburgh, July 14, 1890. He attended the grade and high schools of Pittsburgh and was graduated from Staunton Military academy in 1908. In 1912 Mr. Pryale came to Pontiac and began a general contracting business. In 1919 the Pryale Construction Company, as a matter of expansion, was chartered with Harry M. Pryale as president, J. E. Pryale vicepresident, and H. S. Smith secretary and treasurer. The company does a general contracting business and ranks among the foremost in this section of the state. A few of the leading contracts executed by the Pryale company include the Ford service building, First National Bank building, Junior high school (built in 1924), fine residence built for Edsel Ford, near Highland Park, Oakland county, and a number of fine residences in exclusive Bloomfield Hills. Mr. Pryale is a director of the First National Bank of Pontiac. He is a member of the Board of Commerce and of the Masonic order. In September, 1917, Mr. Pryale enlisted to serve Uncle Sam in his contest with the central powers. He received training at Camp Custer and in July, 1918, was sent over seas, where he spent about a year. Final discharge came in August, 1919. In December, 1911, Mr. Pryale was united in marriage to Miss Jeane Walker, of Covington, Kentucky. Mr. Pryale is active in supporting all movements and enterprises that have for their objective the general improvement of the community. John A. Race.-Coming to Pontiac in 1910, John A. Race became a general contractor in 1912 and has since successfully prosecuted that vocation. He is widely known and much esteemed in business circles. Mr. Race is located at 125 Summit avenue. He was born in Cass City, Tuscola county, Michigan, November 8, 1884, a son of Michael and Margaret (Paul) Race. The father was born in Germany in 1851, the mother in Canada in 1858. When Michael Race was six months old his parents moved to Canada and in 1878 they came to Tuscola county, Michigan. Michael Race was a farmer. He died October 19, 1918, his widow on October 20, 1921. Besides John A., there are two other children in the family, Miss Mary Race, who was born in Cass City in 1881, and Mrs. Walter Anthes, Cass City, born in 1886. John A. Race attended grammar and high school at Cass City while living on the paternal farm a few miles out. For six years he worked as a carpenter. In 1910 he came to Pontiac and in 1912 set out as a general contractor. Mr. Race is the owner of the Race homestead and farm of 120 acres near Cass City. On September 1, 1909, he was united in marriage to Miss Eva M. Rowe, daughter of PERSONAL SKETCHES 365 Mr. and Mrs. William Rowe, of Applegate, Michigan. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Race-Elizabeth M. died in infancy; A. Margaret, May 7, 1914; Dorothy L., February 22, 1918; Mary E., September 12, 1919, and Betty R., November 20, 1921. Mr. Race is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having affiliation with Pontiac Lodge No. 21. He and Mrs. Race are members of the Baptist church. In civic movements and measures set forth to advance the material interests of Pontiac and environs, Mr. Race is genuinely interested. James G. Randolph, who is one of the principals of the Berkley Mantel & Tile Company, in the city of Detroit, and who maintains his residence at Berkley, Oakland county, a community that is virtually in the Detroit metropolitan district, is to be consistently designated as one of the pioneer citizens of Berkley, where he established his home in 1918, when this now thriving and attractive community had its physical improvements represented in one mercantile establishment and four or five houses. The village was incorporated in 1923, and Mr. Randolph was one of the influential members of its charter committee that brought about this incorporation. Mr. Randolph was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, May 10, 1888, and there his father, James Randolph, was born in July, 1855. His mother, whose maiden name was Louise Witt, was born in the year 1851, and died in 1913. James Randolph was for many years one of the substantial farmers and representative citizens of Royal Oak township, Oakland county, and he is now living retired in his native city of Detroit. To the public schools of Detroit, including the high school, James G. Randolph is indebted for his youthful education, and after leaving school he learned the trade of tile-setting, his experience covering all details of the tile business and eventually leading to his becoming independently engaged in this line of business, in which, as previously stated, he is one of the constituent principals of the Berkley Mantel & Tile Company, which controls in the city of Detroit a substantial and prosperous business. Mr. Randolph has had no ambitions to enter the arena of so-called practical politics, but is well fortified in his political convictions and is a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party. He is affiliated with the Berkley Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in the city of Detroit has membership in a lodge of the Knights of Pythias. June 12, 1912, was the date marking the marriage of Mr. Randolph to Miss Emma Klug, daughter of the late Henry Klug, whose death occurred in 1914 and whose widow resides in the city of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Randolph became the parents of twin daughters, Ileene and Ellene, born April 21, 1915, the former of whom remains at the parental home and the latter of whom died December 12, 1919. The home circle includes also one son, James, who was born in 1917. George P. Raynale, M.D., has the personality and the effective professional stewardship that give him definite place as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of his native county of Oakland, and in the vital little city of Birmingham, where his birth occurred May 31, 1880, he is established in the successful general practice of his profession. Here he is splendidly upbearing the professional and civic 366 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY prestige of the family name, both his father, Dr. Charles M. Raynale, and his paternal grandfather, Dr. Ebenezer Raynale, having been established in the practice of medicine at Birmingham and having gained rank among the leaders in the medical profession in Oakland county. Dr. Ebenezer Raynale was born in the state of Vermont, of colonial New England ancestry, and became one of the very early territorial pioneer settlers in Oakland county, Michigan, where, in the year 1828, he first located at Franklin, whence he soon moved to the little frontier settlement of Birmingham. He was excellently fortified for the work of his profession, as gauged by the standards of that period, and bore faithfully the arduous burdens that normally fell to the lot of the physician engaged in service in a frontier community. He was a pioneer citizen of prominence and influence along other lines also, and it is to be recorded that he was a delegate to the convention that formulated the constitution of Michigan when the territory made claim for admission to statehood, besides which he served as a member of the first senate of the Michigan state legislature. He gave the greater part of his active life to the practice of his profession, with residence at Birmingham, and he was one of the venerable and revered pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1881, when he was seventy-eight years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Cassidy, likewise was born in Vermont, and she survived him by about three years, her death having occurred in 1884. The names of both have high place on the roster of the honored and loved pioneers of Oakland county. Dr. Charles M. Raynale was born and reared in Oakland county, was given the advantages of the pioneer schools, including Birmingham academy, and in 1869 he gained the distinction of being graduated as a member of the first class thus sent forth from the newly established Detroit Medical College. After receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he becam associated with his father in active general practice at Birmingham, and here he continued his able and self-abnegating service as one of the honored and influential physicians and surgeons of Oakland county until the close of his long and useful life, he having been seventy-six years of age at the time of his death, in 1922. His widow passed away in the following year, likewise aged seventy-six years. Her maiden name was Hannah Bodine and she was born in Dansville, Pennsylvania, both she and her husband having been devout communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church and both having been held in affectionate regard by all who came within the sphere of their kindly and gracious influence. Dr. Charles M. Raynale was long an influential member of the Oakland County Medical Society, and held membership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, besides which he was for many years affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Dr. George P. Raynale was, graduated in the Birmingham high school in the year 1898, and in preparation for the profession that had been signally honored and dignified by the services of his father and grandfather, he entered the former's alma mater, the Detroit College of Medicine, in which fine old institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1902 and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He PERSONAL SKETCHES 367 thereafter fortified himself by the valuable clinical experience that he gained in his one year of service as an interne in St. Mary's hospital, -Detroit, and he then established himself in practice at Palmer, Marquette county. After remaining for some time on the upper peninsula of Michigan Doctor Raynale returned to Oakland county, became a member of the staff of physicians at the Michigan State Hospital for the Insane established at Pontiac, and since 1912 he has been engaged in successful general practice in his native city of Birmingham, where his professional business is of distinctively representative scope and importance. The Doctor has active membership in the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, is a Republican in political alignment, is a member of the local Rotary club, and he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church at Birmingham. When, in the spring of 1917, the nation became involved in the great World war, Doctor Raynale promptly subordinated all other interests to the call of patriotism and enlisted for service in the medical corps of the United States Army, in which he was first commissioned a first lieutenant, and in which he later received promotion to the grade of captain. He gave eighteen months of loyal and effective over seas service with the American Expeditionary Forces, and since receiving his honorable discharge he has continued a member of the Medical Reserve Corps, in which he has the rank of major. Dr. Raynale wedded Miss Edna Brooks, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and she is a popular figure in the representative social, cultural and church circles of her home community. Clayton 'E. Ream.-Mr. Ream, plumber, and esteemed business man of Royal Oak, Michigan, was born in York, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1883, a son of William and Amanda Ream. The father, a railroad man, is dead but the mother is living in the Keystone state. For several years the son worked at the plumbing trade in Pennsylvania, then went to Iowa. He was also in Chicago engaged in plumbing service in its various ramifications and worked for William Chatterson in Pontiac. In 1913 he came to Royal Oak and started in business in a small way. He did all his work for a while, prospered, and shortly two men were put on the payroll. Now the Ream establishment has ten high grade operatives on its rolls and the concern does a business in excess of $75,000 a year. Mr. Ream specializes in the plumbing and heating contracts for commercial buildings and residences and does a great deal of installation in connection with school buildings. He has supplied the plumbing equipment for a school in Ferndale, in Berkley and is engaged in two such buildings in Royal Oak. He did all the work in plumbing and ventilation in the Royal Oak Savings Bank building. His field of normal operations not only covers Royal Oak but extends throughout a radius of from thirty to forty miles from the city and the establishment is well known for its thoroughness, its technical equipment and Mr. Ream's subscription to a high standard of business ethics. Mr. Ream was married on January 13, 1909, to Miss H. Hartman, of York. He is a member of the Reformed church and of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the Scottish Rite con 368 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY sistory, having reached the thirty-second degree of that rite. He is also a member of the local and state associations of master plumbers. In politics Mr. Ream is a Republican. Leslie H. Redmond owns and conducts in the city of Pontiac, judicial center of Oakland county, a jewelry establishment of metropolitan equipment and service, the same being located at 81 North Saginaw street. Mr. Redmond was born at Marlette, Sanilac county, Michigan, September 29, 1888, and the public schools of that place were the medium through which he acquired his early education. In the meanwhile he gained also a good experience of practical order, as he was a lad of but nine years when he began working in a drug store, his apprenticeship in connection with the jewelry business having been initiated when he was fourteen years of age. At the age of sixteen he obtained a position in a jewelry store at Hillsdale, and after remaining in that city about one year he amplified his technical skill by attending a watchmaking school at Peoria, Illinois, with later reception of instruction in a watchmakers' school at Elgin, that state, one of the greatest of American centers of watch manufacturing. Upon his return to Marlette he was there given charge of a jewelry store, and after retaining this position eight months he was a short time associated with the jewelry establishment of W. W. Bridges, of Marine City. April 4, 1910, Mr. Redmond entered the employ of John Eddington, the pioneer jeweler of Pontiac, and this alliance he continued exactly three years. He then, in 1913, established himself independently in the jewelry business in this city, and his technical skill, his progressive policies and his careful consideration of the requirements of his patrons have gained to his establishment a substantial and representative support, with the result that he is now one of the prosperous and popular business men of his adopted city. Here he is a charter member of Roosevelt lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, and his Masonic affiliations are here extended to include his membership in the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, the council of Royal & Select Masters, and Pontiac Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, so that he has completed the entire circle of the York Rite. He is a member of the local lodge and uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias, is an active member of the Kiwanis club, is a Republican in political alignment, and he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. August 25, 1914, was the date of the marriage that united the life destinies of Mr. Redmond and Miss Iva Wadell, of Pontiac, and their one child is a son, Robert William, born May 4, 1920, and already exerting much of autocratic sway in the home circle. Marvin A. Redmond thoroughly prepared himself for his profession, that of scientific optometrist, and in its successful practice he maintains his headquarters in the jewelry establishment of his brother, Leslie H., at 81 North Saginaw street, Pontiac, a personal sketch of the brother appearing on another page of this volume. Mr. Redmond was born at Marlette, Sanilac county, Michigan, December 9, 1898, and after his graduation in the Marlette high school he carried forward the study that qualified him fully for the profession of his choice, he having passed the Michigan required examination and been granted PERSONAL SKETCHES 369 license to practice as an optometrist October 15, 1920. In the same year he established his residence in Pontiac, and in this city he has built up a prosperous business in his profession, with offices equipped with the most approved of modern scientific facilities and accessories. Mr. Redmond is affiliated with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, A. F. & A. M.; the local chapter of Royal Arch Masons; the Grotto of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm; the lodge and uniform rank bodies of the Knights of Pythias, and the local Lions club. He and his wife have membership in the Congregational church in their home city. Mr. Redmond was a student in the University of Michigan at the time when the nation became involved in the World war, and there, in 1918, he became a member of the Students Army Training Corps, in which he continued his service until the armistice brought the war to a close, his honorable discharge coming in December, 1918. The marriage of Mr. Redmond to Miss Josephine Bardslee, of Pontiac, was solemnized April 19, 1922. Guy L. Rice, senior member of the firm of Rice & Roberts, which owns and conducts the Oakland meat market at 158 Oakland avenue in the city of Pontiac, has as his partner in this prosperous enterprise LeRoy Roberts. Mr. Rice was born in Huron county, Michigan, June 1, 1890, and was a boy at the time of the family removal to Sanilac county, where his youthful education was obtained in the public schools. He was but fourteen years of age when he gained his initial experience in the meat market business. In this connection he was for four years in the employ of Sam Holloway, and thereafter he was for two and one-half years independently engaged in the meat market business at Washington, Macomb county. During the ensuing three years he was connected with the Cadillac meat market in Pontiac, and thereafter he was connected with the Packing House meat market in this city until February, 1923, when he and LeRoy Roberts formed a partnership and established their present well equipped Oakland market, which has built up a large and representative business in the community that it serves with careful effectiveness. February 7, 1910, Mr. Rice married Miss Rubie Carpenter, of New Baltimore, Macomb county, and they have four children: James, Pearl, Guy L., Jr., and Robert Irvin. The attractive home of the Rice family is at 259 Chamberlin street. Aaron D. Riker, M.D., has not found it necessary to seek outside of his native city a field for successful service in the work of his profession, and he is numbered among the representative physicians and surgeons of the younger generation in Pontiac, judicial center of Oakland county. In this city his birth occurred March 21, 1895, and he is a son of Dr. John D. Riker, who was for thirty years established in the active and successful practice of medicine at Pontiac, his father, Dr. Aaron W. Riker, a native of the state of New York, having been one of the early physicians and surgeons in Genesee and Oakland counties, in the former of which he first practiced at Fenton, and in the latter of which he was for many years engaged in practice at White Lake, where occurred, in 1866 the birth of his son, Dr. John D., both having attended the medical department of the University of Michigan, 370 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY while the latter graduated there. He whose name initiates this review was graduated in the Pontiac high school in 1913, and he forthwith entered the University of Michigan, where he completed a full academic course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1917. After thus receiving his degree of Bachelor of Arts he matriculated in the medical department of the university, and in the same he was graduated in 1921. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he gained valuable clinical experience by serving as an interne in the university hospital, and from this position he was called home to assist his father in practice, the latter's health having become much impaired. This professional alliance of father and son was continued until the death of Dr. John D. Riker, and it speaks well for the son that he is well upholding the professional civic prestige of the family name and has continued in successful practice in his native city, where he now specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, his office being at 33 West Huron street. Doctor Riker has membership in the Oakland County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, besides being affiliated with Nu Sigma Nu medical college fraternity. He is a member of Pontiac Lodge No. 21, A. F. & A. M., Pontiac Lodge No. 19, Knights of Pythias, and of the local Kiwanis club and Pine Lake Country Club. His political.alignment is with the Republican party, and he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. In the World war period he was a student in the medical department of the University of Michigan, and there enlisted as a member of the medical corps of the United States Army. He was hot called into active service and he received his honorable discharge in March, 1919. October 11, 1921, Doctor Riker wedded Miss Mary Louise Alexander, of Port Clinton, Ohio, and they are popular figures in the social circles of their home city. Doctor Riker has the distinction of being not only a representative of the third generation of the Riker family to be established in the practice of medicine in Oakland county, but also a direct scion of the third generation to have been graduated in the medical department of the great University of Michigan. John D. Riker, M.D.-In the death of Dr. John D. Riker the city of Pontiac lost one of its honored and influential citizens. Doctor Riker was born in White Lake township, Oakland county, March 21, 1866, a son of Dr. Aaron W. and Mary (Winiate) Riker. The father was a native of New York state and became one of the early physicians and surgeons of Genesee and Oakland counties. Both father and son attended the medical department of the University of Michigan, the son graduating therefrom. In the summer of 1891 Dr. John D. Riker established himself for the practice of medicine in Pontiac and for thirty years he continued as a successful physician and representative citizen. In 1904 he ably served as mayor of Pontiac and in every relation of life he lived up to the full standard of manhood. July 1, 1891, Doctor Riker was united in marriage with Miss Mittie Adams, who was born at Grand Blanc, Genesee county, September 8, 1868, a daughter of Jano and Helen (Ellis) Adams. Mrs. Riker was edu PERSONAL SKETCHES 371 cated in the public schools of her native county and came with her husband to Pontiac the same year of their marriage. Mrs. Riker has secured a popular place in this city through her efficient management of Huron Hotel, modem in equipment and service, the same erected by the late Dr. John D. Riker in 1913. Mrs. Riker is a member of the Presbyterian church, the Woman's Literary Club, the local chapter of the Order of Eastern Star, the Pontiac Board of Commerce and is a director of the Pontiac Public Library. By her marriage to Doctor Riker she became the mother of five children: Dahue Adams, a graduate of the Pontiac high school and also Michigan Agricultural College, resides at Chelsea, Michigan; Aaron Dudley, M.D., a physician of Pontiac; Robert Mansel is a student in Pratt institute, Brooklyn, New York; John Henry received the advantages of the Pontiac high school and resides in Pontiac, Michigan; Eleanor Jane, aged fourteen, remains with her mother. The death of Dr. John D. Riker occurred October 8, 1921. Roy Roat has been a resident of Royal Oak, Oakland county, since 1915, and that he has here gained secure place in popular confidence and esteem is indicated in his incumbency of the office of township clerk of Royal Oak township, in which position he is now serving his second term, his first election having occurred in April, 1923. Mr. Roat claims the old Keystone state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Kingston, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1885, and he having there been graduated in the high school, as a member of the class of 1902. There also he served a practical apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter, and this trade he continued to follow as a vocation about fifteen years. In 1914 Mr. Roat came to Detroit, Michigan, in the following year he established his residence at Royal Oak, and here he continued in the work of his trade until his election to the office of township clerk, as already noted in this review. Mr. Roat gives his political allegiance to the Republican party and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. In 1910 he married Miss Nellie Dexter, who is likewise a native of Pennsylvania, and of this union have been born six children, all of whom are living except one, their names being here entered in respective order of birth: Virginia, Harold, Marian, Robert, Dorothy (died at the age of four years), and Ruth. LeRoy Roberts, junior member of the firm of Rice & Roberts, which conducts the Oakland meat market, at 158 Oakland avenue in the city of Pontiac, is recognized as one of the progressive business men of the younger generation in Oakland county. Of his associate, Guy L. Rice, individual mention is made on other pages of this work. Mr. Roberts was born in Chemung county, New York, six miles distant from the city of Elmira, and the date of his birth was March 9, 1895. He is a son of Samuel R. and Augusta (Halstead) Roberts, both likewise natives of the old Empire state. Samuel R. Roberts was visiting in Michigan at the time when he attained to his legal majority, but he passed the greater part of his active life in his native state of 372 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY New York. He and his wife now reside in Pontiac, Michigan, where he is living retired, at the age of seventy-six years. In the public schools of his native county LeRoy Roberts continued his studies until his graduation in the Elmira high school, and thereafter he continued to be associated with his father's meat market business until 1921, when he came to Pontiac, Michigan, and found employment in the Packing House meat market. He continued this connection until February, 1923, when he and a fellow employe, Guy L. Rice, entered into an effective partnership and opened the Oakland meat market, the excellent service of which has gained to them a substantial and appreciative patronage, the while the personal popularity of the members of the firm has played large part in the developing of the business. February, 1923, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Roberts to Miss Anna Ritchie, of Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada, and in Pontiac their pleasant home is situated at 134 North Perry street. Charles L. Rockwell has been a member of the city commission of Pontiac since the autumn of 1923, and April 13, 1925, the members of the municipal commission elected him to the office of mayor. Mayor Rockwell was born on the parental homestead farm, in Bloomfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, February 1, 1862, and thus his interest in all that concerns the welfare of the county and its judicial center, the city of Pontiac, is marked by the loyalty and appreciation of a native son. He is a representative of a family whose name has been worthily linked with civic and industrial progress in Oakland county since the pioneer period, and is a son of the late James M. and Zadie A. (Adams) Rockwell. The present mayor of Pontiac was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and profited by the advantages of the district school. He continued his association with farm enterprise in his native township until 1909, when he purchased and removed to a farm on Franklin road, in the city of Pontiac. Here he continued his productive agricultural and live stock enterprise until 1916, when he sold the farm for subdivision development and removed with his family to his present attractive home, 65 Franklin boulevard. He is associated with his son-in-law, Donald C. Peruchi, in the conducting of a prosperous business on South Saginaw street, under the title of the Rockwell Coal & Feed Company. Mr. Rockwell is the owner of valuable realty in his home city and elsewhere in the county, and gives considerable attention to the real estate business. Within the twelve years that Mr. Rockwell served as a member of the Pontiac board of education were erected the fine high school and other school buildings, and he was president of the board four years. In September, 1923, he was appointed a member of the city commission, to fill out an unexpired term, and in April, 1924, he was elected to this office for the regular term of three years. That his fellow members place high estimate upon him and his civic loyalty and progressiveness was shown in his selection for the office of mayor, in which he is giving a characteristically careful and effective administration. He is a Republican in politics and Mrs. Rockwell is a member of the First Methodist Church. He is an active member of the PERSONAL SKETCHES 373 local Kiwanis Club, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna May Harrison, likewise was born and reared in Pontiac, and they have one child, Julia M., who is the wife of Donald C. Peruchi, who has the active management of the business of the Rockwell Coal & Feed Company. They have a child named Carrol Jean. Mrs. Rockwell was a daughter of John and Margaret (Yerkes) Harrison, pioneers of this county, both now deceased. Stanley C. Rogers.-Mr. Rogers is engaged in the sporting goods business in Pontiac, and is widely known. He has been prominent in Republican politics and from January 24, 1910, to December 31, 1918, was deputy county clerk. From January 1, 1919, to December 31, 1922, he was registrar of deeds for Oakland county. Mr. Rogers is located at 15-17 East Lawrence street. He was born in Detroit, September 16, 1887, a son of Alexander T. and Mary Rogers. The father was a railway mail clerk for more than thirty years, serving on the Detroit and Chicago and Lenox and Jackson railroads. He retired in 1922 from this long, faithful career of federal service and died on July 21, 1923. The family of Alexander T. Rogers is a large one, comprising seven sons and six daughters as follows: James, Allen C., Lawrence T., Goodloe H., Russell S., McKinley W. and Stanley C.; Olive A., Florence E., wife of Joseph S. Fenely, of Toledo; Edith M., wife of Henry Cotcher, of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Ruth B., who is Mrs. Roy Perkheiser, of Monroe, Michigan; Kathleen, and Marian, the wife of Raymond M. Tubbs. Stanley C. Rogers received his early education in the public schools. On December 14, 1914, Mr. Rogers was united in marriage to Miss Edith G. Gilloe, daughter of John G. and Mary (Bentley) Gilloe, of Pontiac. Three children have entered the Rogers family circle, all boys, Edmund Stanley, born June 20, 1916; Charles Alexander, born August 18, 1918, and William Copeland, born October 20, 1921. Mr. Rogers is affiliated with the Presbyterian church. He is a member of Pontiac Lodge No. 21 Free and Accepted Masons; of Oakland Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons; Pontiac Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar; Moslem temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Detroit; Lodge No. 810 of the Elks and Lodge No. 19 of the Knights of Pythias. Stanley T. Ross.-Widely known in his field, Stanley T. Ross did a business of more than $75,000 last year in plumbing and the volume of business this year will exceed that by fully one-third. Mr. Ross is located at 726 South Main street, Royal Oak, which has been his location since 1921. Mr. Ross is a native of New York state and was born on January 15, 1893, a son of Thomas and Margaret Ross, both of whom are living in Canada. The father was a clothing merchant, but has relinquished the active cares of business. Stanley T. attended grade school and was graduated from high school in 1909 and immediately set about to earn his own living and be dependent upon no one. He chose a trade rather than a mercantile line and diligently applied himself to plumbing. Four years were given over to the 374 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY apprenticeship and for three years he worked at the craft as a journeyman and in 1916 he was enabled to establish himself in a business of his own in Royal Oak and in 1921 established his growing business at 726 South Main street, occupying a structure 20 by 50 feet. Ten men are employed. Mr. Ross does a general heating and plumbing business in all branches for commercial and residential structures and retails his own supplies. He has constructed in Royal Oak six homes, which he sold. In 1914 Mr. Ross married Miss Welsh, of Saginaw. Mr. and Mrs. Ross are the parents of four children, Marian, Thomas, Helen and Jean. Mr. Ross by religious preferment is a Methodist and in politics he is thoroughly independent. Fraternally he holds allegiance to Odd Fellowship. He is a member of the Michigan State Association of Master Plumbers and in 1923 was president of the Royal Oak organization. Benson F. Roszel.-Mr. Roszel is engaged in the painting and decorating business in Royal Oak. He was born in Grand Rapids February 9, 1895, a son of William R. and Hattie Roszel. The father was born December 28, 1864, and was a painter and decorator. He died in February, 1922. Mrs. Roszel was born May 5, 1866, and is living. Benson F. attended grade and high schools in Detroit and for four years was engaged in clerical work in that city. For service in the World war he enlisted in Company B, 59th regiment, fourth division, on September 19, 1918. He enlisted as a private and was promoted to corporal, sustained an excellent record and was honorably discharged from the service April 9, 1919. Mr. Roszel participated in Aisne-Marne and was gassed at St. Mihiel. In the Meuse-Argonne, he was badly wounded in the leg by a one-pound shell. Shortly after the war, Mr. Roszell engaged in the painting and decorating business with his father. Mr. Roszell married Miss Josephine Backert, of Detroit, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Backert. To them has been born one child, Jeannetta L. Roszell, whose advent was on August 20, 1922. Mr. Roszell in matters of politics is Republican. He is a communicant of the Baptist church. He is a member of the American Legion and of Royal Oak Lodge No. 124, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Royal Oak Public Library.-Elizabeth V. Briggs, librarian, Royal Oak, Michigan, was born in Macomb county, a daughter of John and Ann Eliza (Potter) Briggs, who came from Massachusetts to Macomb county in 1854. Miss Briggs attended school in Romeo and the University of Michigan and was enrolled in the library school of New York Public Library. She was engaged in library work in Detroit and in New York for ten years. In December, 1916, Miss Briggs came to Royal Oak and reorganized the old township library and has served as librarian since. The Royal Oak collection is declared to be as fine as any in Oakland county and its status as a community asset is firmly established. Miss Briggs, capable and cultured, is doing all within her power to popularize the library and to place its resources at the disposal of every man, woman and child in the community. She PERSONAL SKETCHES 375 is doing much to promote interest in systematic reading and to cultivate public taste for good literature. Julius F. Rundel is one of the venerable native sons of Oakland county, and though he is now somewhat more than eighty years of age he still continues his activities in the real estate business, with which he has been identified many years. He maintains his residence and business headquarters in the fine little city of Birmingham, where his attractive home is at 175 East Maple avenue. Mr. Rundel was born on the parental homestead farm in West Bloomfield township, this county, January 26, 1844, a date that shows that his parents here gained a goodly measure of pioneer prestige. He is a son of Warren and Evelyn (Button) Rundel, who were born and reared in Pennsylvania, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they came to Michigan and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers in Oakland county. Warren Rundel obtained land in West Bloomfield township and there erected one of the pioneer hotels of the county, he and his wife having conducted this hotel many years, besides which he engaged in farming on a minor scale. The old Rundel hotel long figured as one of the landmarks of the county and was for many years a popular place of entertainment for those passing through the county, besides which it was the center of much social activity in the early days. Warren Rundel continued in the hotel business during the early days. He was a carpenter, builder and farmer, cleared and improved his farm, built houses and barns for others and in this county he and his wife passed their remaining days. The names of this sterling couple merit enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Oakland county. Julius F. Rundel acquired his earlier education in the rural schools of West Bloomfield township, and thereafter attended school at Pontiac. He assisted in the work and management of his father's hotel and farm and when a young man spent some time in Pennsylvania, where he was employed in the oil producing district of the Keystone state. He returned to Oakland county and purchased the old homestead place in West Bloomfield township, where he continued his productive enterprise as an agriculturist and stock grower until 1890, since which year he has maintained his residence at Birmingham. While on his farm he gave special attention to the raising of pure-blood and registered live stock, was engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock on a large scale, and also owned a number of fine standard bred racing horses. He served several years as supervisor of Bloomfield township, and at Birmingham he was president of the council and also city assessor a number of years. He has been a director of the First National Bank of Birmingham from the time of its incorporation, and is one of the substantial and honored citizens of his native county, where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. His real estate operations have covered a period of fully thirty-five years, and within this period he has bought and sold many farms in Oakland county. Mr. Rundel takes deep interest in all that touches the welfare and advancement of his native county and has witnessed 376 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY and taken part in much of its splendid development and progress. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. On the 27th of December, 1870, Mr. Rundel was united in marriage to Miss Julia C. Adams, who likewise was born in Oakland county, where she passed her entire life. She was a daughter of the late Reuben Adams, of Southfield township, this county, and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of her death, in 1915, her two surviving children being Morgan W., who is now engaged in the real estate business at Tampa, Florida, is married and having two sons, Thurlby and Carl; and Stella E., wife of Robert Fisher, of Detroit. She is the mother of a daughter, Lucille. Rev. Thomas J. Ryan was for nearly thirty years the revered pastor of the Catholic parish of St. Vincent de Paul Church in the city of Pontiac, and his consecrated zeal and devotion, as combined with his splendid initiative and administrative ability, brought to the parish the fullest measure of spiritual and temporal progress and prosperity, while as a citizen Father Ryan represented the utmost loyalty, with deep interest in all that concerned the communal welfare, and with inviolable place in the esteem of all who knew him. Father Thomas J. Ryan was born in the city of Deptford, a virtual suburb of London, England, and the date of his nativity was July 20, 1858. An attack of pneumonia brought a close to the earnest and benignant life of Father Ryan, whose death occurred December 15, 1923, with attendant sorrow to the entire community in which he had long lived and wrought to goodly ends. His parents were in humble circumstances his father having been born in England and his mother having been born in Ireland, in 1817. He received his early education in the parish school of his native city, and concerning this phase of his career the following statement has been given: "It was at this period that he acquired a love of reading that always remained with him and that developed his exceptional taste for masterpieces of ancient and contemporaneous literature." He was a lad of about twelve years when he accompanied his parents to America, the family home having been established in Toronto, Canada, but removal having been made in the following year to Port Huron, Michigan, where his father found employment at his trade, that of boilermaker. The subject of this memoir there attended a select school and for two years he made his home much of the time with Father Van Lauwe, pastor of St. Stephen's parish. It was through the counsel and aid of this noble and unselfish priest that Thomas J. Ryan entered St. Francis Seminary in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1874, he having been transferred to a seminary at Sandwich, Ontario, where he remained in 1875-6. He then resumed his studies in the seminary at Milwaukee, in which he was graduated in 1880, he having later pursued his philosophical and theological studies also at St. Mary's Seminary in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, and his ordination to the priesthood having occurred in the city of Detroit, Michigan, under the ministration of the late Bishop Borgess. He thus received holy orders June 29, 1885, and he celebrated his first mass in St. Stephen's Church in Port Huron. REV'. T. J. RYAN PERSONAL SKETCHES 377 Thereafter he was for two months assistant priest of St. John's church at Monroe, Michigan, and his first regular assignment was to the position of the Catholic parish that then included all of Kalamazoo, Van Buren and St. Joseph counties, as well as parts of Allegan and Barry counties. The work assigned to the young priest in this extensive field was of true pioneer order, and involved no little hardship. The poverty in what are now prosperous parishes was in later years recalled by Father Ryan in his relating the story that in that early period of his ministry he sat in the dining room of a primitive rectory and held an umbrella over his head to protect himself from rain falling through a leaky roof. In 1892 he was given charge of the newly established parish of St. Augustine, at Lennox, St. Clair county, where he built a rectory, besides rebuilding the church edifice at Columbus. In 1894 Bishop Foley appointed to the office of chancellor Father F. J. Baumgartner, who was then pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Pontiac, and in the summer of that year Father Ryan was assigned to this parish, where he met a gracious welcome and where he was destined to continue his service during the remainder of his life. In his first sermon he announced the need for a parish school, but the church committee prevailed upon him to permit first the building of a rectory, this being followed by the erection of St. Frederick's parish school. The school building continued in service until 1923, when the present fine building was constructed, at a cost of $150,000. Under the administration of Father Ryan was brought into being the large convent of the parish, on Cottage street. Under his pastorate the parish property was further expanded by the establishing of St. Thomas Hall as a parish community hall and gymnasium. In 1910 Father Ryan celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, and the jubilee occasion was one of much importance and generous felicitation in the communityparticipated in by all classes of citizens, irrespective of sectarian faith. Concerning the noble service of Father Ryan the following estimate has been written, and it is well worthy of perpetuation in this connection: "His entire career was marked by stalwart patriotism, some of his early patriotic sermons having been put in pamphlet form and given wide circulation. He had a keen interest in all civic affairs, and his part was quietly but effectively played in all matters of public concern. His activities in charitable work were most generous and were generally unknown to others than those made recipients. As a preacher he was enthusiastic, fervent and sincere, and he could always move an audience. He had many penitents and always an attentive congregation. His interest in education remained with him to the last, and almost his final concern with his church committeemen had to do with the affairs of St. Frederick school. Always interested in the well being of others, Father Ryan evolved a philosophy that life is made up of small circumstances, and he was consequently punctilious in matters of detail, to which he attributed much of his success. During all this period of activity Father Ryan took little rest. A trip around the world and a sojourn in Florida, 378 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY during later years, were his outstanding bits of recreation. He was always interested in outdoor life, and in this connection it is to be recorded that in the early period of his residence in Pontiac he here organized one of the first bicycle clubs in the state. Until the day of his death he served as chaplain of Pontiac Council, No. 600, Knights of Columbus, and he did much to advance the work and interests of this organization. Among his manifold other activities was the founding and publishing of the parish paper known as the Catholic Guardian, and his benignant influence was large also in promoting the organization of the Holy Name Society, the Knights of Columbus, the League of Catholic Women, and St. Frederick Alumni Association. He was always foremost in urging support of the community fund and the associated charities of the city, and he took special pride in the service flag of his parish in the World war period-gently pushing it among his people and displaying one prominently in the church." Father Ryan gave thirty-nine years to the priesthood of the great mother church of Christendom, and during virtually thirty years of this period Pontiac figured as the stage of his earnest labors. He was sixty-six years of age at the time of his death, and his mortal remains rest beside those of his father and mother in Mount Hope cemetery at Pontiac. Tolerant and kindly in judgment, knowing the well springs of human thought and action, Father Ryan consecrated his splendid powers to service in the vineyard of the Divine Master and to helpful service to his fellow men. His name shall long be held in reverent memory in Pontiac and Oakland county. Arthur E. St. Clair has been a resident of Pontiac since 1913, is one of the substantial and progressive business men of this city, and is here vice-president of the J. L. Marcero Company, one of Oakland county's leading concerns in the cigar and candy business. Mr. St. Clair reverts to the fine old Hoosier state as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Henry county, Indiana, July 8, 1885, and his public school discipline having there continued until his graduation in the high school at Knightstown, as a member of the class of 1903. During the ensuing eleven years he was in the employ of the American Tobacco Compafiy, and it was upon severing his association with this great corporation that he came to Pontiac, in 1914, and allied himself with the J. L. Marcero Company, of which he has been the vice-president since 1919. Mr. St. Clair is affiliated with a local lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity, in which his maximum York Rite association is with Pontiac Commandery of Knights Templar, and he has membership also in Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Detroit. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and is one of the loyal and progressive members of the Pontiac Board of Commerce. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. The marriage of Mr. St. Clair was solemnized in the year 1908, when Miss Gertrude McBride, of Knightstown, Indiana, became his wife, and at Pontiac they maintain their residence at 51 Pine Grove avenue, the autocrat of the home circle being their one child, Robert J., who was born November 9, 1912. PERSONAL SKETCHES 379 Walter S. Saunders, vice-president of the American Forging & Socket Company, one of the important industrial concerns of the city of Pontiac, has been actively identified with the progress of this company since 1915, save for the period of his service in the World war. He was in the nation's military service from May 29, 1918, to April 20, 1919, when he received his honorable discharge, he having been with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during a period of eight months, and having there served as a corporal at the Second Army Headquarters. Mr. Saunders was born at Mystic, Connecticut, August 5, 1888, and on both the paternal and maternal sides he is a scion of colonial New England ancestry. He is a son of Edwin E. and Fanny R. (Rathbun) Saunders, representatives of the Saunders family having been founders of Saunderstown, Rhode Island, and the Rathbun family having been established in Connecticut in the colonial period of our national history. Edwin E. Saunders became a prominent wholesale merchant in New York city, where his concern was engaged in the handling of general merchandise, and he continued his residence in New York until his death. His widow took up her residence in Pontiac in 1919 and resided there until her death in September, 1923. Of the other children of the family it is to be recorded that John A. is deceased; that Dr. E. Elmer is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Pontiac; that Stuart B. was killed in an accident that occurred while he was serving in the flying corps of the United States Navy, at Pensacola, Florida, September 24, 1918; and that Stanley R. is, in 1925, a student in the University of Michigan. In the public schools of Brooklyn, New York, Walter S. Saunders continued his studies until he had profited by the curriculum of the high school, and there also he attended the Adelphi Institute, in which institution he specialized in architecture. Thereafter he was employed one year in an architect office in New York city, and during the next four years he was there employed in the wholesale merchandise house of Butler Brothers. In 1915 he came to Pontiac, Michigan, and became associated with the American Forging & Socket Company, of which he was made the secretary in the following year. Of this executive office he continued the efficient and valued incumbent until April, 1925, when elected vice-president and general manager and his active service therein has been interrupted only by that of his World war service, as previously noted in this context. Mr. Saunders is an active member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, is affiliated with the local post of the American Legion and with Pontiac Lodge No. 21, Free & Accepted Masons, and a member of Brooklands Golf and Country Club. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. October 1, 1921, Mr. Saunders wedded Miss Jane K. Lawrence, who was at that time a resident of Detroit and who is a daughter of Ralph Lawrence, of St. Mary's, Pennsylvania. Oren V. Sayre resides at 718 West street in the attractive little Oakland county city of Royal Oak, and his business headquarters are maintained at Clawson, in which village he is the efficient manager of the Clawson Lumber Company. On a farm not far distant from 380 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Traverse City, Grand Traverse county, Michigan, Oren V. Sayre was born August 21, 1890, and his parents, Bradley and Eunice (Jarrett) Sayre, now reside in the city of Detroit. Bradley Sayre was born in the state of New York, September 19, 1854, and was a boy when he came with his parents to Grand Traverse county, Michigan, where he was reared and educated. His wife was born in West Virginia, December 7, 1852, and their marriage was solemnized in Michigan. Oren V. Sayre profited by the advantages of the public schools of his native county, including the high school, in which he was graduated, and his higher education was acquired in Olivet College. Thereafter he was engaged in clerical work in the city of Detroit during a period of six years, and since 1920 he has been the manager of the Clawson Lumber Company, one of the well ordered lumber concerns of Oakland county. He is a vital and progressive young business man, is a Republican in his political adherency, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. On the 15th of January, 1915, Mr. Sayre wedded Miss Jeanette Upton, daughter of Frank E. and Alice (Fox) Upton, who own and reside upon one of the excellent farms of Macomb county. Mr. and Mrs. Sayre have two children-Marjorie, born August 21, 1917, and Jeanette, born December 2, 1923. William B. Schad.-Mr. Schad, who is the secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Royal Oak Ice and Coal Company, was born in Livingston county, Michigan, in 1864, a son of Peter and Sarah Schad. Peter Schad was a farmer but retired from farm work twenty years before his death in 1912. He was an ardent Prohibitionist and was widely known. Mrs. Schad has also passed away. The son attended commercial school in Fort Wayne and then engaged in clerical work in New Haven, Indiana, and Byron, Michigan, after which he engaged in farm work but left the farm in 1909 and entered the real estate business in Pontiac in which he operated four years. In September, 1913, Mr. Schad came to Royal Oak and founded the Royal Oak Ice and Coal Company, the only ice concern in the city. The business has increased with the community and today represents a volume ten times as great as at the inception. Mr. Schad also operates in real estate, in residential and commercial property, and has an interest in a sub-division. On September 27, 1913, he was married to Miss Bernice E. Phipps. Mrs. Schad is the president of the Royal Oak Ice and Coal Company, is a member of the Royal Oak Woman's Club and of the Business and Professional Women's Club. Mr. Schad is president of the First National Bank of Royal Oak, a Mason and holds membership in the commandery, temple of Shriners and the consistory of the Scottish Rite. Mr. and Mrs. Schad have one daughter, Katherine M., the wife of William H. Austin, and they reside in Detroit. George J. Scott.-A creditable record of public service is attached to the name of George J. Scott, city assessor of Royal Oak, Michigan, a member of various city, township and county boards and a citizen of great activity. Mr. Scott was born in Weathersfield, New York, and when nine years old came to Pontiac, remained in that city two PERSONAL SKETCHES 381 years and was in Orion two years. He then returned to Pontiac where he attended high school. Subsequently moving to Troy township, Mr. Scott worked as a painter and did considerable work for the Detroit United Railway Company, also serving that corporation three years as a conductor. In 1908 he came to Royal Oak and for seven years was president of the fire department. He holds from this municipal body the credentials and authority accompanying that of a building and plumbing inspector. In 1916 Mr. Scott was elected city assessor and at the next election was again chosen to that office without opposition, a circumstance that emphasizes his probity and the satisfactory character of his public service. When the commission form of government was adopted Mr. Scott was appointed assessor by the first commission and in that capacity has served seven years. August 8, 1917, to May, 1919, he served as secretary of the draft board of District No. 2, with headquarters in Clarkston, and this necessitated driving twenty-five miles to and from the office. Later for Mr. Scott's convenience the office was removed to Royal Oak. Royal Oak township was never represented on the equalization committee until three years ago, when Mr. Scott was placed on that board for the term 1922-23 and 24. In 1923 he was a member of the poorhouse farm committee and of the township expense committee and in 1924 became a member of the county drains committee. In Pontiac for three years he was a member of the board of supervisors. Mr. Scott was married to Elizabeth Desmond, of Romeo, and two children have come into the family, Jason and Ogle. Politically Mr. Scott shares Republican views. In addition to his public duties he is a director of the Royal Oak Savings Bank and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He is a Maso'n and belongs to the chapter of the Royal Arch, commandery of the Knights Templar, temple of the Mystic Shrine and grotto of the Veiled Prophets, and is head of the grotto in Royal Oak. Morton T. Scott, manager of the United Appliance Company, 26-28 West Lawrence street, Pontiac, was born in Manistee, Michigan, September 26, 1898. In 1917 he was graduated from Manistee high school and entered the employ of the Consumers' Power Company of that city and later went to the Illinois Power Company in DeKalb, Illinois, remaining with this corporation until 1922 when he came to Pontiac to take the position of manager of the United Appliance Company, a post he fills with consummate care and credit to himself and employer. In the general promotion of community life and civic development Mr. Scott gives freely of his time and support. On June 1, 1919, he was married to Ada L. Mann, of Manistee. The Scott home is at 9 Union Court. Mr. Scott is a member of the Masonic order and of the Lions club, in both of which he is sincerely interested and helpful. Thaddeus Dewitt Seeley, a native son of Oakland county, is one of the most enterprising and successful exponents of the real estate and investment business, being the executive head of the firm of Seeley & Linton, the offices of which are at 514 Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank building. The civic loyalty of Mr. Seeley has been shown in his progressive administration while he was serving as mayor 382 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY of Pontiac, and his constructive activities while representative of his native county in the state legislature. On a farm that is now a part of the farm estate of the Michigan State Hospital for the Insane in Pontiac township, Mr. Seeley was born August 26, 1867. He was four years of age at the time the family moved to Waterford township, and in this county his parents, George H. and Sarah (Prall) Seeley passed the remainder of their lives, the father having long been one of the substantial farmers of this county. Thaddeus D. Seeley received his education in the district schools and the Pontiac high school, and about the time of attaining his legal majority he married and with his young wife he moved to Bay county, where he turned his attention to the operation of a large dairy farm and to the raising of pure bred Holstein cattle. Continuing here for five years he returned to Oakland county and after one year spent in Groveland township he moved to a fine farm on the east branch of Long lake, in Bloomfield township, three miles south of Pontiac. There he remained for fourteen years and made a record of successful achievement as a representative of agriculture and live-stock industry. In 1908 Mr. Seeley sold this property and moved to Pontiac where for the ensuing two years he associated himself with Ralph D. Tobin in the hardware business. He then disposed of his interest in this and since that time has given most of his attention to the real estate and insurance business in Oakland county. In 1920 Mr. Seeley formed a partnership with Lloyd S. Linton, and the firm of Seeley & Linton has assumed a foremost place in connection with diversified and carefully conducted real estate operations in this county. This firm gives special attention to the platting and exploiting of city subdivisions and to the handling of property on the attractive resort lakes of the county. Mr. Seeley has been unsparing of his time and energy in recent service in obtaining the right of way between the city limits of Detroit and the Pontiac city limits for the extension of a "wider Woodward" and making the same one of the finest intra-state highways of Michigan. Mr. Seeley has had no minor leadership in the councils of the Republican party in Michigan, as shown when elected to represent Oakland county in the lower house of the state legislature in 1900. The estimate placed upon his services in the house of representatives is shown in his re-election in 1902, and in 1904 still further honors came to him when he was elected to the senate from the Twelfth district. In 1906 he was re-elected to the senate so that his legislative career covered a period of eight consecutive years-a record that has not been equaled by any other citizen of Oakland county. In both branches of the legislature Mr. Seeley was one of the most vigorous of advocates and supporters of wise and progressive legislation, and his was large influence in the deliberations of both the house and senate. In 1907 he was chairman of the railroad committee of the senate, and it will be recalled that it was this committee that formulated much of the important legislation pertaining to railroads, including the railroad commission act and the law providing for two cent fares in the state. In 1910 Mr. Seeley was a member of the charter-revision committee that drafted the three man commission charter of Pontiac and gained to the r:::-: -::i:_::::: *-:-li i::::::,;:_:;,:-i::;~::~si:-:li j:-:_i-':; ii:,:::i_:-::j-i:::i:::::i~i:(::*:; -::::::: _i:i:::::;~:::li::::ii::_:: ::::~::::::::::::::: ii::; -: -:s:::::::~c:ii:l:i:i-i:~:il':'::: -:-:.:::::::::-i::~:--~::i _-::: I:,.i-:a::a:-i::: ~::::::i;-_- ~ i::r::::;i:i::ii —,-i- ::i ri;::_ g -:-:::::::':-::-_-: i 9i:I.^-::::::j::_:-:j;:::~l::-:ii-::a-:.:::-,:::::i-:;:::::,:::::: I::~_:::::-:~_:I -::-::::''j:-:-;:::::i::,::;::::::i::-'j-'i * —.:i:8n~9n:i':a: —::::::-'~::li,-.:-;:'-::i: i:::-;:i:;: ': i-~_ ~:::::~i-::' i: i;: I:: i-; 'l-::::i: I: i:::__-:::: i:-:::::: F:_::;:: -:_:: i:::,::i::::::: —:iZ1S-i;i:~:-:_::::::::::::::i::::::::,,: i ~: as I -~ ~:::::~:_::::-:: i:::: I:i::;:::::::::-l:~::::ii::-l-,i::-i:::::::::-~~:::~:::,:,:::: i::-::;:::::~1::i:::-,::::: -::::::: 5~1:i:::.:;:::i:.::i,-::i:::c::l-::::::::-::-::~ -::;::::::::::: ~ISi' r-:::::-i:::;-:: -;: —i-li: —::::: -::;i::- 1':-:i- --:ia-i i::~::~::':::::::::- i-~i~i —::":I:"dW -:i~-i::: i: I::::::_:::::: i~:::::::::::::~:::i:::::: _::, -:~:::::::::::iii "-i:a_~_;:~::_~ —:~:.:::::::-::-,~j:-: -i~~-;::::'-":::i_::::: —::::i::: -i::-::: —;:I: ~i:::::-I-::::i:lii:-:-'::::i i -::i::-"ii-:::::'::'_i: I~':::-.j;:_::::::::::::ji-.:::;i:::-:::.i: ::::::d:::i_ ---i:::: ir:::::i-:-:.:iBii:;-:-aii~i;:~ i~: -: -: i:::::::.:: ---: -::i:::::.li: ~::: L:-:~ '-::::i'i:~.i~-l-i':-:t:-l:;;: i:::-:::i::::: :.-::i':-_::"~':;..:::::: j: ~::::: ' -::::::-::::: -:ii;-i::l.::::"":':::::::-:i-::::::: -i i:-::::::"':i:'i ::: -::;:::: s::rx:~: ::s::r :':"-":7 ~B:I"l; - I PERSONAL SKETCHES 383 city the commission form of municipal government. Under the present charter he had the distinction of serving as mayor of Pontiac during the period of 1920 and 1923, and his administration has passed on to record as one of the most progressive and sane in the history of the city. Mr. Seeley was a delegate to the Republican national convention of 1920, and in 1922 was a candidate of his party for representative of the Sixth district of Michigan in the United States congress. Mr. Seeley was vitally concerned in the various patriotic movements during the World war period, and he was chairman of the committees in the various drives in support of government war loans except the first. For thirteen years he has been a director of the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank and he is also a director of the Pontiac Trust Company and the Pontiac Finance Corporation, and is president of the Pontiac Mortgage and Investment Company. Mr. Seeley is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in the latter of which he was district deputy for eastern Michigan in 1911, and the following year a representative of Michigan to the meeting of the supreme grand lodge of the order at Portland, Oregon. In 1888 Mr. Seeley was united in marriage to Miss Eva M. Palmer, a daughter of Samuel A. and Mary (Kimball) Palmer, of Pontiac. The three children of this union are: Florence L., the wife of Arthur W. Seldon; Mabel J., who is the wife of Maurice G. Reeves; and George Palmer. The mother of the children died in 1914 and in 1917 Mr. Seeley married Miss Lillian Webb Healy and the home of the family is at Elizabeth Lake. Mr. Seeley is a member of the Congregational church as have been five generations of the family. John T. Schroyer.-Mr. Schroyer was formerly a well known resident of Canton, Ohio, in which city he was born in 1860 and who located in Pontiac largely because of the excellence of its schools. He has a son in high school in this city. Mr. Schroyer received his education in Canton and was with the federal government six years in statistical work. He came to Pontiac May 15, 1922, and bought the store at 224 Oakland avenue and there conducts a strictly up-to-theminute establishment handling groceries, meats and allied merchandise, and operating a soda fountain. In 1922 Mr. Schroyer started to manufacture the Norwalk Burial Vault, the original cement burial vault. He possesses the sole manufacturing rights in this territory, operating under the name of the Norwalk Burial Vault Company, of Pontiac. While a resident of Canton, Mr. Schroyer was a member of the city council for eight years. He is a Pythian and a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is active in support of civic development plans and movements and is a loyal supporter of Pontiac. Judson L. Sibley was one of the venerable and honored native sons of Oakland county at the time of his death, which occurred in the city of Pontiac, February 20, 1920. His activities and loyal service touched closely and worthily the civic, industrial and business inter 384 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY ests of his native county, and no citizen had more secure place in popular confidence and esteem, for his life was ordered on the highest plane of integrity and honor, the while it was prolific in successful achievement. Judson L. Sibley was born on the old homestead farm in the locality known as Sibley Comers, in Commerce township, Oakland county, and the date of his nativity was October 28, 1846, so that he was seventy-three years of age at the time of his death. He was a son of Alonzo and Sarah A. (Heath) Sibley, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, where the former was born in 1810 and the latter in 1812. In 1831 Alonzo Sibley came to Michigan territory, about six years before the admission of the state to the Union, and the government land which he obtained in Oakland county was by him developed into one of the productive farms of the county, a part of this pioneer landed estate, which he reclaimed from the forest wilderness, being still in possession of the family. On this old homestead Alonzo Sibley remained until his death, in 1896, and he played a worthy part in the civic and industrial development of Oakland county, his wife having passed away in 1873, and both having been zealous and devout members of the old Free Will Baptist church at Sibley Corners, in which he served as deacon for the long period of fiftysix years. Judson L. Sibley was reared on the pioneer farm and gained his early education in the common schools of the locality and period. In the advancing of his education he entered Hillsdale College, and in this staunch Baptist institution of Michigan he was graduated as a member of the class of 1871, the summer of that year having marked his completion of a course in Mayhew Business College. In June of that same year he became associated with Willard Wixom in the produce business at Wixom, under the title of Wixom & Sibley, and this alliance was continued thirty years-until Mr. Wixom was killed, in an accident, in 1901. In the meanwhile he had resided upon and had the active management of his well improved farm, in Commerce township, and it was not until his election to the office of county treasurer, in 1903, that he removed from his farm to Pontiac, judicial center of the county. He continued his careful and efficient administration as county treasurer until 1907, and upon his retirement from office he organized the firm of J. L. Sibley & Company, for the handling of building materials, coal and wood. With this firm, now one of the largest concerns of its kind in the city, he continued his connection until his death. He gave seven years of characteristically loyal and effective service as a member of the county board of supervisors, and all that concerned the welfare of his native county was ever a matter of deep moment to him. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party, and he never wavered in the religious faith in which he had been reared, that of the Free Will Baptist church. In Pontiac he became superintendent of the Sunday school of the First Baptist church, in 1903, and this position he retained nine years, his widow likewise being a zealous member of this church. In the period of 1903-1907 Mr. Sibley served as secretary of the Pontiac Y. M. C. A., and upon his retirement from PERSONAL SKETCHES 385 this position he was elected president of the association, an office which he retained until 1909. He did much to vitalize and expand the work and service of this admirable organization. In September, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sibley to Miss Lucia E. Banks, who was born in Commerce township, this county, September 27, 1850, and who is a daughter of the late Freeborn Henry Banks and Amanda (Bassett) Banks, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, in 1800, and the latter of whom was born in 1811, a representative of a sterling New England colonial family. Mr. Banks was one of the territorial pioneers in Oakland county, where he established his home in 1833 and where he passed the remaindet of his long and useful life, he having been nearly ninety-five years of age at the time of his death, in 1895, and his wife having passed away in 1892, so that in death they were not long divided, their devoted companionship having continued during the many years that marked the march of development and progress in Oakland county, where he had reclaimed and improved one of the fine farm estates of Commerce township. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Sibley has continued to reside in Pontiac, where her attractive and hospitable home is at 25 Mathews street, and she is sustained and comforted by the filial devotion of her children and by the companionship of a host of friends who are tried and true. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Sibley: Gertrude is the wife of James W. Clapp, of Pontiac; Dr. Harry Sibley is a representative physician and surgeon of Pontiac; Wesley resides in the city of Detroit, and Judson Standish is now sojourning in Tucson, Arizona. Judson S. Sibley had gained special skill in forestry, and in the World war period he was sent by the government into the lumber woods of Vancouver, Washington, as inspector of lumber to be used in the manufacturing of aeroplanes. The exposure that he endured in this service definitely impaired his health, and to recuperate his energies he is now sojourning in Arizona. George Simenton, M.D.-Doctor Simenton, among the best known of Pontiac's professional men, is a native of Haldemond county, Ontario, born in March, 1862. He attended the public schools of his native country and Toronto School of Medicine, and in 1885 received the medical degree from Victoria College. Coming to Michigan, he practiced his profession seven years in Kingston, Tuscola county, and then located in Marlette, Sanilac county, where he practiced twentyseven years. In the fall of 1919 to reduce the strain under which he had been laboring, Doctor Simenton came to Pontiac and has practiced in this city since. The Doctor is a member of the county, state and national medical organizations of his school. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is past master of his Masonic lodge. In 1887, Doctor Simenton and Miss Minnie Hartt, of Tuscola county, met upon the marriage altar to exchange vows. Three children were the issue of the union, one of whom, Murel, died in infancy. Arthur Simenton, who was graduated from Alma College, is assistant credit man for the Republic Motor Truck Company. In the 386 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY fall of 1917 he enlisted for service in the World war and was stationed on the Great Lakes. He served his country thirteen months and was discharged in December, 1918. George E. Simenton attended Alma College and is now in charge of the establishment of branch offices for the Rickenbacker Motor Company. Doctor Simenton commands the respect and esteem of innumerable friends outside as well as inside the medical profession. Stacy Stuart Skelton, member of the Smith-Skelton organization, printers, Pontiac, is a Wolverine by birth and interest. He was born in Big Rapids, August 13, 1888, a son of Thomas J. Skelton, a clothing merchant, now deceased. The early education of the son was obtained in Muskegon, Michigan, in which city he was graduated from high school and later he engaged in the grocery business in Hart, then went with the Muskegon Boiler works and later was employed in a general store in Muskegon Heights. His next connection was with the Employees' Mutual Benefit Association at Flint and on May 5, 1919, Mr. Skelton organized the Pontiac Employees' Mutual Benefit Association, a similar organization, and served as its manager until August 1, 1923, when the Smith-Skelton company was formed, Mr. Skelton becoming a partner. The establishment has been operating as a printery for fifteen years and is well known. On November 12, 1913, Mr. Skelton was married to Miss Ella (Beaverly) Christeansen. There is one daughter, Ella Louise. Mr. Skelton is state secretary of the Kiwanis Clubs of Michigan and is a member of the Board of Commerce, the Knights of Columbus and the Elks. Franklin Augustus Slater, a man of high intellectual and technical attainments, author, educator, and constructive worker,-the career of this venerable and honored citizen of Pontiac has been one of most interesting order. Though he has passed the eighty-first milestone on the journey of life and has made the passing years count in worthy achievement, he retains splendid mental and physical ability and manifests no desire to emancipate himself from a share in the world's work, as is evident when it is stated that he is still active and efficient in service as a surveyor in Oakland county, having held the office of deputy and county surveyor for twenty-six years, or more than a quarter of a-century. Mr. Slater is a scion of colonial and Revolutionary stock, and of a family that gained a goodly measure of pioneer prestige in Ohio, his birth having occurred at Chardon, Geauga county, that state, November 6, 1843. He is a son of John Madison and Welthy (Wilder) Slater, who continued to reside in the old Buckeye state until Madison Slater's death, in the fullness of years and honors. The mother was more recently buried in Oakland county. The lineage of the Slater family traces back to John Slafter (original spelling of the patronymic), who came from Great Britain to America in 1660 and established his residence in Massachusetts, he having been the founder of the family in this country. Abel Wilder, maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in historical old alem, Massachusetts, in 1760, and was a youthful and gallant soldier of the Continental Line during the greater part of the Revolutionary PERSONAL SKETCHES 387 war, on which score Mr. Slater of this sketch is eligible for and is affiliated with the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. That Mr. Slater had no small measure of precocity in his youthful studies needs no further voucher than the statement that when he was but fourteen years of age he was granted a teacher's certificate in Ohio. In the year 1871 he was graduated from Denison University, at Granville, Ohio. For several years he gave his time intermittently to teaching school and advancing his own education, and in this connection it is to be noted that he took in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology a post graduate course in civil engineering, field work and calculus. As a student and as a tutor in mathematics he was connected with Denison University ten years, having previously, in 1865, taken a course in experimental chemistry at Oberlin College. He was professor of mathematics at Judson University, Judsonia, Arkansas, for a period of ten years, and he served as deputy United States engineer in the surveying, platting and sounding of Arkansas, White, and Languel rivers, a work to which he devoted three seasons. During one season he had charge of government boats on Languel river. In Fenton, Michigan, he did effective work during six years as assistant principal and teacher of science in Fenton Normal. Thereafter he was for two years professor of mathematics in Mountain Home College, in Baxter county, Arkansas, and in 1898 he established his home in Pontiac, Michigan, with the idea of retiring from active teaching and engineering service, but he was deflected from this course, for immediately he was appointed deputy county surveyor of Oakland county. He was elected county surveyor in 1900, and by successive re-elections he was retained in service until January 1, 1925. Notwithstanding his advanced age he has all matters pertaining to his office well in hand, and his work at the present time continues to be marked by his characteristic loyalty and vital efficiency. He is a registered civil engineer and an honored member of the American Association of Civil Engineers. In a busy and useful life he has found time to make various contributions to scientific periodicals and to do other writing, including the compilation of two published works entitled, respectively, "Creator and Evolution," and "Conditional Immortality." He has ever been a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and on his twenty-first birthday anniversary, November 6, 1864, he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He is one of the principals of the Slater Construction Company, of which mention will be made further on in this review. He and his wife are earnest members of the Baptist church, and the crown of their long and worthy lives is that given by their children, all of whom have conferred honor on the family name. On the 25th of December, 1871, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Slater to Miss Ada C. Hall, of LaSalle, Monroe county, Michigan, and of the eight children of this union five are living. The first two children, both sons, were born in Ohio, and the others at Judsonia, Arkansas. Olney A., the eldest of the children, was born in Ohio, October 7, 1873, and received the best of educational advantages as have the other children also. The brothers were for thirty years contractors and builders, 388 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY erecting factory buildings and concrete bridges, etc., in Detroit, Ypsilanti, Muir, Big Rapids and other places. In 1894 they organized the Slater Construction Company, of which Olney A. is president and general manager. This company operates the largest planing mill in Pontiac, figures as a pioneer in reinforced concrete bridge construction and has built many large and important structures, including eight city and parochial school buildings in Detroit. The company is one of the large concerns of its kind in Michigan. This progressive corporation erected and owns four modern apartment buildings in Pontiac, and has operated since 1905 a retail supply store, its president giving no minor attention to real estate operations. In 1895 Olney A. Slater married Miss Leila Jean Montros, of Pontiac, and they have three children, Maynard H., Glenn H., and Erwin. The eldest of these sons is now superintendent of the planing mill. Olney A. Slater is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, is a member of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, the Michigan Retail Lumbermen's Association and the Michigan Gravel Producers' Association. Albert M. Slater, the second son, was born at Granville, Ohio, and he is now one of the principals in the Slater Construction Company. He married Miss Edna May Klump, and they became the parents of three children, Roland J. (who was accidentally killed on a railroad), Dorothy Isabelle, and Edna Alberts. Franklin A. Slater, Jr., the youngest of the surviving sons, is likewise one of the constituent members of the Slater Construction Company. He married Miss Inez May Smith, who became the mother of two children, Kenneth LeRoy and Beth '(who died in 1924). After the death of his wife he married Miss Tressie Pearl Smith, a sister of the first wife, and they have an adopted daughter, Wilma. Alice M. was graduated from the University of Michigan as was also her husband, Ralph H. Pardee, who is now an executive of the Slater Construction Company. At the university Mrs. Pardee not only received the degree of Bachelor of Arts but also completed a course in architecture. Mr. and Mrs. Pardee have five adopted children: Lee Remington, Raymond LeRoy, Janice Rosalind, Barbara Ann and Betty. Inez May, the youngest member of the family, is a teacher of shorthand and typewriting in the Detroit High School of Commerce. The foregoing brief record of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin A. Slater, Sr., indicates how well justified is the parental pride in the character and achievement of their children. Alva W. Smith.-Alva W. Smith is treasurer of the Auto Electric Equipment Company, 15 North Perry street, Pontiac. He was born in Marine City, Michigan, February 2, 1881, and received his early education in the grade and high schools of Saginaw. A course in marine engineering was taken at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, and he was graduated in 1916. Post-graduate work was done at Tulane University in 1920. Predilection for machinery, coupled with special training in marine engineering, gave Mr. Smith valuable equipment and for a period he was associated with Warner & Phliderer, of Marine City, but his longest association was with the Pillsbury Steamship Company. This covered a period of about PERSONAL SKETCHES 389 twenty-five years. During the World war Mr. Smith was chief inspector, machine department, United States Shipping Board for the Southern states, and for a year and a half was abroad, in England, France and Germany. In 1922 Mr. Smith located in Pontiac and assisted in the organization of the Auto Electric Equipment Company, of which he was made treasurer. In 1906 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Mary Endelman, of Algonac, Michigan. They have three children, Adalane, aged sixteen, student at Pontiac high school; Edward, ten, attending Webster school, and Shirley, aged six. Clarence L. Smith was fortunate in being associated in the early period of his professional novitiate with so able and influential a lawyer as James Lynch, who is one of the leading members of the bar of Pontiac. In this alliance Mr. Smith gave excellent account for himself as a resourceful young trial lawyer and counselor well equipped for the service of his chosen professio'n, this association continuing until January 1, 1925, when he was made chief assistant prosecuting attorney with offices at 316 First National Bank building. Mr. Smith was born on a farm in Lyon township, Oakland county, May 25, 1898, and his public school discipline came to a close when he was graduated in the high school at South Lyon, in 1916. In the period of American participation in the World war he was a student in the academic or literary department of the University of Michigan, and there he served as a member of Students Army Training Corps. In 1920 he was graduated in the university with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in the law department of the same institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1922 and with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, his admission to the bar having occurred in September of the same year, and his professional work since that time having been in association with the large law practice of James H. Lynch. Mr. Smith is found loyally aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, is a member of the Presbyterian church, was the first president of Pontiac's Junior Chamber of Commerce, and his fraternal affiliations are with South Lyon Lodge No. 319, A. F. & A. M.; Pontiac Lodge No. 19, Knights of Pythias, and the Delta Theta Phi law fraternity. His name is still enrolled on the roster of popular young bachelors in his native county. Edward R. Smith, Sr., was an infant at the time when the family home was established on a farm one and one-half miles northwest of Birmingham, in Bloomfield township, Oakland county, and in this county he has maintained his home during the long intervening period of more than half a century. He has marked the passing years with large and worthy achievement, was long numbered among the representative business men of Birmingham, where he has lived virtually retired since 1918. The birthplace of Mr. Smith was a fine old farm on the Delaware river, 'near Portland, Pennsylvania, and the date of his nativity was September 17, 1864. He is a son of William H. and Rachel G. (Hagerman) Smith, both likewise natives of the old Keystone state, where the former was born September 23, 1833, and the latter January 28, 1839. The devoted companionship of the parents covered a period of more than fifty years, and in death they were not long divided, Mrs. Smith having passed away February 8, 1919, and 390 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the death of her husband having occurred on the 23d of the following October. They were honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county, and William H. Smith gave virtually his entire active life to farm industry. Edward R. Smith, Sr., was reared to manhood in Oakland county and the memories of his boyhood touch in pleasing retrospect the environment and activities of the home farm. In the public schools at Birmingham he continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, as a member of the class of 1883, and thereafter he took a course in the Detroit Business College. He then assumed the position of bookkeeper and accountant in the office of Ira Slade, who was engaged in the lumber, fuel and grain business at Birmingham. He was thus employed from September 23, 1885, until the year 1892, when he and his cousin, T. B. Smith, purchased the business of Mr. Slade. In 1910 Edward R. Smith assumed full control of the business, which he successfully continued until 1915, when he sold the same to the firm of Mellen & Wright, with whom he consented to remain in the capacity of manager of the business, until 1918, since which year he has lived retired from active business. Mr. Smith has been one of the loyal, appreciative and progressive citizens and business men of Birmingham, served as village clerk in 1890, was a member of the village council three years, and for nine years was a valued member of the local board of education. His political views are expressed in the staunch allegiance which he accords to the Republican party; he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and his wife holds membership in the Episcopal church, of which she was one of the organizers. January 30, 1895, Mr. Smith wedded Miss Zilpha N. Bayley, who was born in Aurora, Illinois, and reared in Oakland county and who is a representative of one of the earliest pioneer families of this county, her paternal grandfather, James Bayley, who was born July 7, 1802, having come from the state of New York to Michigan Territory in the year 1824 and having taken up a tract of land in what is now Troy township, Oakland county, where he instituted the reclamation of a farm from the forest wilderness. Mr. Bayley became one of the influential pioneer citizens of Oakland county, which he represented in the state legislature, and in this county he continued his residence until his death, in 1887, his widow, who was born August 26, 1804, having survived him by about two years and having passed away July 14, 1889. Mrs. Smith was born in Aurora, Illinois, and is a daughter of Adams and Jane (Davis) Bayley, the former of whom was born on the old pioneer homestead farm in Troy township, September 2, 1839, and the latter of whom was born in the state of New York, March 25, 1841, both having been well known and highly esteemed pio'neer citizens of Oakland county at the time of their death. Mrs. Smith received good educational advantages, and that she profited fully by the same is shown in the statement that from 1886 to 1890 she was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son, Edward R., Jr., who was born April 25, 1898, and whose early education was acquired in the Birmingham public schools and in the Culver Military Academy, at Culver, Indiana. His military training proved of special value to him in his service in con PERSONAL SKETCHES 391 nection with the nation's participation in the World war, and was in S. A. T. Camp during a period of three months. As an expert accountant Edward R. Smith, Jr., now holds a position in the city of Detroit, but he and his wife still maintain their home at Birmingham, which is well within the suburban metropolitan district of Detroit. Edward R., Jr., married Miss Derua D. Davenport, daughter of William Davenport, of Birmingham, and the one child of this union is a fine little son, Hartland Bayley Smith, who was born November 28, 1922. Edward R. Jr., is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and also with the Knights of Pythias. George W. Smith, of Ferndale, Oakland county, is assigned to a large share of official responsibility and service in this progressive village, and is measuring up to all requirements in his able administration as chief of the fire department and also chief of the police department. Mr. Smith was born in the north of Ireland, May 27, 1890, and in the schools of the fair old Emerald Isle he received his early education. He was a lad of fourteen years when he accompanied his paternal uncle, Sidney Smith, to the United States, and to Detroit, Michigan. The subject of this sketch had an ambition to extend his education, and this ambition was one of action and application that brought results. He finally completed a correspondence course through the medium of the University of Applied Science in the city of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1919, his work having been specially directed to the study of criminology and identifying finger-marks. At the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-25, Mr. Smith is pursuing a correspondence course in law, through the LaSalle Extension University, Chicago, and this shows that his ambition is not yet satisfied and is directing him to broader knowledge and individual capacity for achievement. Mr. Smith has been associated with various lines of business, but has long had a special predilection for police work. In 1914 he came to Oakland county and became the first policeman to wear a uniform in the city of Royal Oak, he having made an excellent record there, as has he also as head of the police department of Ferndale, where he established his residence in 1918, the year this village was incorporated. In the following year he was made chief of police, and since 1920 he has held also the office of chief of the local fire department. When he joined the Ferndale police department the members of the same were only three in number, but the department has kept pace with the splendid development and progress of the village and seventeen persons are now represented on its payroll. Chief Smith is a valued and popular member of the Ferndale Board of Commerce, and is a charter member of Ferndale Lodge, I. 0. O. F. He and his family have a pleasant home on Hazlehurst avenue west. In April, 1913, Mr. Smith wedded Miss Iva Flora Boughton, of Battle Creek, this state, and of this union have been born five children: Ruth, June, George W., Jr., Lillian (died in infancy), and Jane. Harlan S. Smith.-With offices at 701-2 Pontiac Bank building in the city of Pontiac, Mr. Smith is giving effective administration as secretary and treasurer of the Pryale Construction Company, one of 392 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the leading concerns of its kind in Oakland county and one of which more specific record is given on other pages of this volume, in the personal sketch of Harry M. Pryale, who is president of the company. Mr. Smith has won definite prestige as one of the progressive young business men of his native city, his birth having occurred at Pontiac September 28, 1890. He is a son of Hon. Samuel W. Smith, who was long engaged in the practice of law at Pontiac and who is not only one of the representative members of the Michigan bar but who has also represented Michigan in the United States congress during a period of eighteen years, he being now a resident of the city of Detroit, and being a scion of an honored pioneer family of Oakland county, where he was born and reared. In the public schools Harlan S. Smith pursued his studies until his graduation in the high school in Washington, D. C., as a member of the class of 1908. In 1912 he was graduated in the University of Michigan, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in the following year he became associated with Harry M. Pryale in the organization of the Pryale Construction Company, of which he has since continued the secretary and treasurer. This company, with progressive policies and effective service, has developed a large and important business in the handling of construction projects of major order, and it ranks high among similar concerns in this part of Michigan. Mr. Smith, like his father, is a stalwart advocate and supporter of the principles for which the Republican party has ever stood sponsor, and he maintains affiliation with the Delta Tau Delta college fraternity. April 5, 1924, Mr. Smith wedded Miss Muriel Hodges, of Pine Lake, Oakland county, and they are popular integers in the representative social activities of Pontiac. Morris H. Spangler, the efficient clerk of the board of trustees or common council of the village of Clawson, was born in the city of Wyandotte, Wayne county, Michigan, November 18, 1894, and he was a lad of seven years when the family moved to Detroit, where he continued his studies in the public schools until he was graduated from the Central high school, as a member of the class of 1913. Thereafter for one year he held a position in the National Bank of Commerce, one of the leading institutions in the Michigan metropolis, and he passed the ensuing two years as an executive in the Detroit office of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, the great factory of which is established in that city. In the World war period he gave effective service of patriotic order, though not through an enlistment in the army or navy. He was in the employ of Porter Brothers, a concern which held contract for encampment construction work for the government at Norfolk, Virginia where he was thus engaged at the time when the signing of the armistice brought the great conflict to a close. Soon after his return to Michigan Mr. Spangler established his residence at Clawson, and he was engaged in the plumbing and heating business here and at Royal Oak until he assumed his present municipal office, that of clerk of the village of Clawson, a position of which he has been the popular and efficient encumbent since 1923. He is an active member of the Clawson Chamber of Commerce and is an appreciative and enthusiastic member of the Izaak Walton PERSONAL SKETCHES 393 League, through the medium of which he visualizes his interest in the sport of fishing. On the 24th of January, 1917, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Spangler to Miss Elsie Bush, of Essex, Province of Ontario, Canada, where her father gave thirty-two years of active service as postmaster. Mr. and Mrs. Spangler have three children: Jessie, Catherine Belle and Arnold John. Arthur W. Spencer is one of the popular members of Oakland county's official coterie at the court house in the city of Pontiac, where he is giving an effective administration as drain commissioner of the county. Mr. Spencer was born on a farm in Bruce township, Macomb county, Michigan, October 17, 1875, and is a son of J. Montrose and Matilda (Voorhees) Spencer, the former of whom was born in Macomb county and the latter in Oakland county, she having been a daughter of Hiram Voorhees, who came from New Jersey a'nd settled in Orion township, Oakland county, Michigan, in the early days, he having become one of the representative farmers and influential citizens of this section of the state and having held for four years the office of county treasurer. Mr. Voorhees was one of the honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1888. J. Montrose Spencer was born in the year 1849, and was reared and educated in Macomb county, where he was born and where his parents settled in the pioneer days. He was a son of Joseph and Jane Spencer, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter of whom was a native of England. Joseph Spencer passed the closing years of his life at Lakeville, Oakland county, and there his widow remained until her death, in 1922. J. Montrose Spencer devoted his attention to successful farm industry from his youth until he retired to enjoy the rewards of former years of earnest endeavor, and he now maintains his residence in the city of Pontiac, his wife having died when about seventy years of age and having been survived by three children. Arthur W. Spencer was a child at the time of the family removal from Macomb county to Oakland county, and in the latter county his educational advantages included those of the Pontiac high school. As a youth he went to Wyoming, where he passed five years on an extensive cattle ranch and where he gained his full share of experience in the life of the great west. After his return to Oakland county he was engaged in farming and remained on a farm in Oakland township until 1911, when he removed to the township of Avon, where he continued his activities as a progressive agriculturist and stock-grower. In 1916 he was there elected township supervisor, and this office he retained, as a valued member of the county board of supervisors, until 1924, when he was elected to his present office, that of county drain commissioner. His political alignment is with the Republican party, he is a member of the lodge of Knights of Pythias at Pontiac, and his Masonic affiliations are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, A. F. & A. M.; Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M.; and the commandery of Knights Templar in the village of Romeo. December 24, 1902, Mr. Spencer wedded Miss Lena Brown, daughter of Willard Brown, of Oakland township, Mr. Brown likewise having been born and reared in Oakland county. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have 394 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY two daughters: Myrtle Grayce was graduated in the high school at Rochester and at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1925, she is a student in the Michigan State Normal College, at Ypsilanti; Leah May is a member of the class of 1925 in the Rochester high school. Barnard D. Spinney is successfully established in the sign painting and commercial art business in the city of Royal Oak, with headquarters at 302 South Main street, and is one of the representative exponents of this line of enterprise in Oakland county. His ancestral history and personal career have many points of exceptional interest. He was born in Yorkshire, England, January 3, 1883, and is a son of Walter and Alice Spinney. Walter Spinney, whose death occurred in 1894, was a talented musician and was the composer of many musical scores, especially church hymns, he having been a successful and popular member of the faculty of the London Conservatory of Music. His widow still maintains her home in Yorkshire. After due preliminary discipline Barnard D. Spinney pursued a higher course of academic study by attending Leamington College, in Warwickshire, England, and as a youth he served with the English army in the Boer war in Africa, in which connection he held the rank of corporal in his regiment. He continued his residence in his native land until he had attained to the age of twenty-eight years, when, in March, 1911, he severed the home ties and came to the United States. He soon established his residence at Detroit, Michigan, where for nearly five years he held a position as an automobile engineer at the factory of the Chalmers Motor Company. In the meanwhile he had developed his exceptional talent in art and lettering work, and in 1915 he initiated his independent career in this line of enterprise, at Jacksonville, Florida. He devoted nearly two years to work as a traveling sign writer, and in this connection visited many different states of the Union, as well as other countries. In 1916 he established his residence at Royal Oak, where he has since followed his profession and art in a most successful way. In the production of sign painting of the highest grade and also on commercial art service he had made a record of specially successful achievement that has gained to him more than local prestige and reputation. Upon becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States Mr. Spinney aligned himself in the ranks of the Republican party, and while not ambitious for public office his civic loyalty was shown during his one term of service as a member of the municipal board of commissioners at Clarkston, Oakland county. He is an active member of the Royal Oak Board of Commerce, is a member of the Oakland County Automobile Club, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, the American representative of the Anglican church faith in which they were reared. A brother of Mr. Spinney is consulting engineer for the celebrated RollsRoyce Automobile Company, and his sister is the wife of Leonard Stubbs, who is general manager of the government railways of Australia. On the 7th of April, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Spinney to Miss Grace Wragg, who likewise was born and PERSONAL SKETCHES 395 reared in Yorkshire, England. Of the three children of this union the first, Dennis, died at the age of six years, while the family were residing in Florida; Grace was born in 1911, and Donald was born June 28, 1923. Mr. and Mrs. Spinney are popular figures in the representative social activities of their home community. William F. Staudenraus has had the preliminary training and the practical experience that make him an expert and authority in his chosen vocation, and he is one of the progressive young business men in the village of Berkley, where he conducts his business under the title of the Berkley Plumbing & Heating Company, with headquarters at 2796 Gardner avenue. Mr. Staudenraus is able to revert to the national metropolis as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in New York city on the 19th of September, 1893, and the old Empire state having likewise been the birthplace of his parents, Joseph and Mary (Goggins) Staudenraus, who now maintain their home at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The subject of this sketch was a child at the time of the family removal to Oshkosh, and in the public schools of that thriving Wisconsin city he acquired his youthful education, besides which he there gained practical training and experience through his association with the work of his father, who was there engaged in the plumbing business. He began this service when he was a mere boy, and in due time became a skilled artisan in all details of the plumbing and heating business. He was employed at his trade, for varying intervals, in several of the eastern states, and in the World war period he did well his part by engaging in plumbing work for the government, in Washington, D. C. In 1919 he established his residence at Berkley, and in the spring of 1924 he here engaged independently in business, under the title of the Berkley Plumbing & Heating Company. He has modern equipment and gives the highest grade of service, so that his business is constantly expanding in scope and importance. He has membership in the Master Plumbers Association of Royal Oak, this county, and is a loyal and popular member of the Berkley Business Men's Association. On the 15th of February, 1915, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Staudenraus to Miss Isabelle Engle, daughter of August and Ida (Mack) Engle, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the children of this union are three in number, their names and respective years of birth being here designated: Francis, 1916; William F., Jr., 1918, and Melvin, 1920. Alvin H. Stevens.-Alvin H. Stevens, successful real estate man of Pontiac, was formerly engaged in farming. His agricultural career extended from 1870 to 1888 when Mr. Stevens decided to give his time and attention to the real estate business, a decision he has never had cause to regret. Mr. Stevens is located at 402 Oakland avenue. He was born in Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, November 20, 1850. His father was Daniel Stevens, born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1823, and his mother, Julia Thorpe, was also a native of Glasgow. She was born in 1821. The father and two sons, James and Frank, enlisted for service in the Civil war at its inception. They enlisted in Warren, Ohio. James was killed in the Battle of Bull Run and 396 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the father sustained injuries in the same sanguinary battle from which he succumbed shortly after returning to his home in Warren. Frank served throughout the war and died in Linden, Michigan, in 1900. In 1917, Julia Thorpe Stevens, the mother of Alvin H., died at the unusual age of ninety-six. Alvin H. received his early education in the public schools of Warren and devoted his attention to farming in Oakland county from 1870 to 1888, later turning to real estate operation. On October 27, 1881, Mr. Stevens married Miss Jennie Palmer. Mrs. Stevens is a daughter of Anthony and Rebecca Bignell Palmer, of Highlanfd, Michigan. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, both of whom are deceased. Lena, who became the wife of Warren Troup, of Norwalk, Ohio, died in 1918. Alice, who was Mrs. Roy Davidson, of Canada, passed away in 1916. Frederick William Stieler is associated with Stephen E. Hurd and Scott De Neen in the plumbing and heating business at Berkley, and the substantial business that has since been built up by the firm of Stieler, Hurd & De Neen stands in evidence of the effective service given. Of Mr. Hurd individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Stieler, whose attractive home is situated on Larkmoor boulevard, was born at Waterbury, Connecticut, March 13, 1888, and is a son of Ernest and Augusta (Weber) Stieler, both of whom are now deceased. In the public schools of his native city the discipline of Mr. Stieler included that of the high school, and after leaving school he was for two years associated with his brother Henry Martin Stieler in giving service on a milk route in Waterbury, where his brother is now successfully established in the creamery business. In his native city Mr. Stieler likewise gained his initial experience in work at the plumber's trade, which he there followed until he came to Michigan and established his residence in Detroit, where he remained one year. Since 1914 he has been a resident of Berkley, where he established his home fully ten years before the community had sufficiently increased in population to gain a village charter, and thus he may consistently be termed the pioneer in the plumbing and heating business in this village, his partnership alliance with Mr. Hurd having been formed in 1924, and Mr. DeNeen joined the firm in 1925. In the World war period Mr. Stieler was able to "do his bit" in genuine patriotic service, through his service in the installing of plumbing facilities at Camp Custer, the great military headquarters near Battle Creek, Michigan. He has had no desire for political activity but has the highest type of civic loyalty and his political convictions are indicated in his support of the cause of the Republican party. He is affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is one of the substantial and popular business men of Berkley. February 6, 1914, was the date of the marriage of Mr. Stieler to Miss Ellen S. Goldsmith, daughter of Frederick Goldsmith, of Birmingham, this county, and the children of this union are six in number, namely: Augusta, William, Alice, Scott, Frederick and Elizabeth. Ross Stockwell has proved in his administration as judge of the PERSONAL SKETCHES 397 probate court of Oakland county not only his personal ability and resourcefulness but also his worthiness to fill the important office in which his father had previously given eight years of effective service. Judge Stockwell is a son of the late Judge Joseph S. Stockwell, who was one of the revered and honored citizens of the county at the time of his recent death, and to whom a memoir, with due record of the family history, is dedicated on other pages of this volume, so that a repetition of the family data is not here demanded. Judge Ross Stockwell was born in Birmingham, in Bloomfield township, Oakland county, and the date of his nativity was December 19, 1876, he being a son of Judge Joseph S. and Mary E. (Wiley) Stockwell, both families having been founded in America in the colonial period of our national history and both having given patriot soldiers to the war of the Revolution and also to the war of 1812. The Stockwell family was long established in Vermont, but it was from the state of New York that Alvah Stockwell, grandfather of the subject of this review, came to Michigan territory about the year 1830 and numbered itself among the pioneer settlers in Oakland county, where he wrought the herculean task of reclaiming a farm from the forest wilderness. Judge Ross Stockwell profited by the advantages of the public schools of Pontiac and those of the Ferris Institute, at Big Rapids. He finally entered the law department of the University of Michigan, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901. After thus receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws and gaining admission to the Michigan bar, he established himself in the practice of law at Pontiac, where he developed a substantial and representative law business of general order. From 1910 to 1917 he served on the bench of the municipal court of Pontiac, and in the latter year he was appointed to fill out an unexpired term as judge of the probate court of the county, popular election having since retained him in this office. The Judge is known as one of the loyal and progressive citizens of his native county and has given co-operation in the furtherance of measures and enterprises tending to advance the civic and material welfare of his home city and county. He is a director of the Pontiac Commercial & Savings Bank, is a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. On the 23d of June, 1903, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Stockwell to Miss Lizzie Belle Sawyer, who was born and reared in Michigan and who is a daughter of Joseph E. and Lizzie V. Sawyer, her father having been born in New Hampshire and having long been a substantial citizen of Pontiac, Michigan. Judge and Mrs. Stockwell have four children: Joseph S., Eleanor, Frederick and Isabell, the elder son having been named in honor of his paternal and maternal grandfather. Joseph S. Stockwell.-In the death of Judge Stockwell, on the morning of January 17, 1925, Oakland county was called upon to mourn the passing of one of its most honored and distinguished pioneer citizens-a native son of Michigan and a representative of a 398 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY family that was here founded more than a decade prior to the admission of the state to the Union. The strong and noble character of Judge Stockwell found expression in leadership along various avenues of civic and social usefulness, and in the advancing of material and moral interests touching closely the communal welfare. A resident of Oakland county nearly three-fourths of a century, and in his eighty-second year at the time of his death, the honored subject of this memoir was in every sense one of the grand old men of Michigan, and to him a tribute is eminently due in this history. Judge Stockwell was born at Redford, Wayne county, Michigan, near the Oakland county line, and the date of his nativity was May 16, 1843. The house in which he was born is still standing and is one of the landmarks of this section of Michigan. Alvah and Samantha Stockwell, the parents of Judge Stockwell, were born and reared in the state of New York, and thence came, from Cayuga county, to Michigan Territory in the year 1825, almost immediately after their marriage. The family home was established in the pioneer wilds of Wayne county, near the line dividing the same from the present county of Oakland, and here the parents passed the remainder of their lives, known and honored as sterling citizens who contributed their quota to the civic and industrial development of a great state. Joseph S. Stockwell was the youngest in a family of nine children, and all of the others preceded him to the life eternal, several of his brothers having become pioneer settlers in Kansas, after having participated in the 1849 gold rush to California. Judge Stockwell attended the pioneer schools of Redford, Farmington, Oxford and Birmingham, in which last mentioned place the family home was established in 1855, when he was about twelve years old. As a youth Judge Stockwell clerked nearly five years in a Birmingham store, and thereafter he was for three years associated with his father in the ownership and conducting of a general store at Highland. He then returned to Birmingham, where he was engaged in the dry goods business until 1881, when he removed to Pontiac and became a member of the dry goods firm of Axford, Stockwell & Company. Three years later he purchased the interests of his partners, and thereafter he conducted the business in an individual way until 1895, when he sold a part interest to the firm of Waite Brothers, Robertson & Company, he having remained a silent partner of the firm until 1901, when he sold his interest, at the time of his assumption of the office of judge of the Oakland county probate court. Judge Stockwell cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and ever afterward continued to give loyal allegiance to the Republican party. While residing at Highland he served as justice of the peace and town treasurer, and thereafter he held no public office until 1900, when he was elected judge of the probate court of the county. He assumed this office January 1, 1901, and in the same he served eight years, besides which he had given equally effective stewardship as county superintendent of the poor. During the entire course of his long and useful life Judge Stockwell manifested the most lively interest in all community affairs, and PERSONAL SKETCHES 399 his influence was always generous and helpful. In his later years his memory was a veritable treasure trove of information pertaining to the history of Oakland county, in whose development and progress he had played an effective part. He took a leading part in organizing the first Pontiac baseball club, and contributed liberally to the equipping of its grounds. He first rented and later purchased a house that stood on the site of the present county jail, the land across the street to the westward having at that time been a pasture. At the time he entered business in Pontiac there were only three other dry goods merchants here, and it has well been said that "He watched the development of the business district from the small town stage to that of a thriving and rapidly growing city, with a later industrial development not dreamed of by the residents of the earlier days." It is but consistent to perpetuate in this connection the following appreciative estimate that appeared in a Pontiac newspaper at the time of the death of Judge Stockwell, minor paraphrase being indulged in the reproduction of the extracts: "Judge Stockwell was in a very real sense a pioneer of Oakland county, for he had not only lived a great many years in Pontiac, Birmingham and Highland, but he had also been a leader in county affairs-a man who had lighted the way for his fellow men in times when leadership was needed. Possessed of a strong personality, he became a leader in the business, religious and official life of Pontiac and Oakland county. He was a lifelong member of the Baptist church, and for many years was superintendent of the Sunday school, as well as a trustee of the church. He was a member of Pontiac Lodge No. 2, F. & A. M.; Oakland Chapter No. 5, R. A. M.; Pontiac Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, and the Mystic Shrine. For more than thirty years he served as treasurer of the Pontiac Commandery. He helped to organize and was the first president of the Associated Charities of Pontiac, and was a moving spirit also in the organization of Pontiac's first Y. M. C. A., which flourished and did splendid work for many years. * * * As he had lived his long life serenely and in a manner that enabled him to look back with satisfaction over its many years of interesting events, so he met death as he had wished to do, quietly and quickly, enjoying to the last the daily visits of his sons, his grandsons and other relatives. He retained all his faculties until his death, resulting from a heart attack attended by no previous illness, and continued to go down town every few days. He still knew many of the older residents of the city, and enjoyed meeting them." The domestic chapter in the life of Judge Stockwell was one of ideal relations and influences. On the 8th of October, 1866, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Mary E. Wiley, of Birmingham, and the supreme loss and bereavement in his life came when his loved and devoted wife was called to eternal rest, her death having occurred in August, 1920. Judge and Mrs. Stockwell are survived by four sons and eight grandchildren. Of the sons, Frederick and Dr. Glenn W. are residents of Detroit, and Joseph S., Jr., and Ross still maintain their home in 400 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Pontiac, where the latter is serving as judge of the probate court of Oakland county, an office previously held by his honored father. Francis A. Stormer.-Mr. Stormer, plumber, located at 60 Lincoln avenue, Pontiac, Michigan, was born in Westmoreland county, near Blairsville, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1883, a son of John F. Stormer, an employe of the Pennsylvania railroad. The father is yet active in railroad work and resides in Derry, Pennsylvania. Francis A. received his early education in the public schools of Westmoreland county and became an employe of the Pennsylvania railroad, learning plumbing. He was advanced to foreman and for five years was plumbing foreman, stationed in Pittsburgh. He came to Farmington, Michigan, and worked as a motorman. In 1916 Mr. Stormer came to Pontiac and for two and a half years worked for Eames & Brown, plumbers, and has since been in business for himself and has met with deserved success. In 1908 Mr. Stormer became the husband of Miss Grace Harding. Two children have come to bless the union, Grace and Eugene. Mr. Stormer is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and of the Odd Fellows. Harold E. Storz is one of the well fortified and popular young members of the bar of his native county, and is engaged in the practice of his profession in his native city of Royal Oak, Oakland county, his birth having occurred July 6, 1897, and the family home at the time having been maintained in a house that stood on the present site of the Royal Oak city hall. He is a son of Louis and Catherine (Landau) Storz, the former of whom was born in Germany, in 1854, and the latter of whom was born at Royal Oak, Michigan, in 1858, she having been a daughter of the late Christian Landau, who was one of the sterling pioneers of Royal Oak township and who was eighty-one years of age at the time of his death, about 1910, his wife having died at the age of seventy-six years and both having been earnest members of the Evangelical church. Mr. Landau developed and improved one of the fine farm estates of Oakland county. Louis Storz engaged in the general mercantile business at Royal Oak a number of years, the store building which he first purchased being now occupied by the Fisher Tire Company. He was long a prominent figure in the local councils of the Democratic party. Louis Storz was ieared and educated in his native land, and about the time of attaining to his legal majority he became a resident of Oakland county, in 1875, the remainder of his life having been here passed, and his having been high vantage place in popular confidence and good will. He served eight years as postmaster at Royal Oak, was township supervisor four years, served two terms, or eight years, as township treasurer, and for an equal period he held the office of justice of the peace, besides which he was a member of the village council of Royal Oak from 1891 to 1908, he having assumed this office at the time when the village was incorporated. He was affiliated with the local blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity, served as treasurer of the local lodge of Odd Fellows, and was affiliated also with the Independent Order of Foresters. He was one of the honored and influential citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1921, his wife PERSONAL SKETCHES 401 having passed to eternal rest in 1907. Harold E. Storz was graduated in the Royal Oak high school as a member of the class of 1915, and thereafter was for three years a student in the academic or literary department of the University of Michigan. In 1923 he was graduated in the law department of this great institution, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws, his admission to the bar having been granted in November of that year, after which he had engaged in the active work of his profession at Royal Oak. In the month of his admission to the bar he was elected a member of the city commission of Royal Oak, and he assumed the duties of this municipal office in December, 1923. He is secretary of the local Rotary Club, is president of the University of Michigan Club at Royal Oak, is a member of the Red Run Golf Club, and his local Masonic affiliations are with the same bodies in which his father has membership-Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, A. F. & A. M., and Royal Oak Chapter No. 167, R. A. M. He is affiliated also with the Delta Chi college fraternity, is vice-president of the Royal Oak Bar Association at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-5, and holds membership in the Oakland County Bar Association. He is an active member of the Detroit Athletic Association, was manager of intramural athletics for the University of Michigan, and is a member of the Michigan Managers Athletic Club, as is he also of the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. The marriage of Mr. Storz to Miss Melva Dean, of Royal Oak, was solemnized November 28, 1923, and they are popular factors in the social activities of their home community. Mr. Storz is making a record of excellent achievement in his profession and has proved himself a resourceful trial lawyer and well equipped counselor. Simon Stowell was a lad of about five years at the time when his parents established the family home in Oakland county, Michigan, in 1826,-fully ten years prior to the admission of the state to the Union, -and here he continued to maintain his home until the close of his long and worthy life, he having contributed in generous measure to the civic and industrial development of this now beautiful and opulent county, which was little more than a forest wilderness when the Stowell family here gained pioneer priority. Simon Stowell was born in the town of Gates, Monroe county, New York, January 2, 1821, and was one of the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, which occurred at his beautiful home on Clark street in the city of Pontiac. He was a son of Ira and Eunice (Coburn) Stowell, the former of whom was born in New Hampshire, August 22, 1785, and the latter of whom was born in Sullivan county, New York, April 23, 1790. The marriage of the parents was solemnized October 4, 1814, and in the following year they established their residence in Gates township, Monroe county, New York, not far distant from Rochester. There they remained on their farm until the autumn of 1826, when they came to the territory of Michigan, and numbered themselves among the earliest settlers in 402 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Pontiac township, Oakland county, where Mr. Stowell essayed the herculean task of reclaiming a farm from the forest wilds. In 1835 he sold this land, which he had obtained from the government, and removed to White Lake township, where he cleared the timber from his newly acquired tract of land, applied himself diligently to the development and improving of his farm, upon which he eventually erected good buildings, and on this homestead he continued to reside until his death, April 7, 1861. He had been influential in community affairs, has served as justice of the peace, and after the admission of Michigan to the Union he served as captain in the state militia. Mrs. Stowell passed the closing years of her life in the home of her son Simon, of this memoir, and she was nearly ninety years of age at the time of her death, November 4, 1879, her religious faith having been that of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Stowell became the parents of three children, of whom Ira J. and Simon attained to maturity. Simon Stowell, youngest of the children, attended the pioneer schools of Oakland county, and he remained at the parental home until he was about twenty-six years of age. May 1, 1844, he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Webster, who was born in Pontiac township, this county, October 6, 1824, a daughter of Chester Webster, who was among the very early settlers of the county and to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this volume, so that further review of the family history is not here demanded. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stowell established their home on a new farm in White Lake township, he having reclaimed much of this land from the forest, and the family home having been there maintained for twenty years. Mr. Stowell then sold this farm and purchased a well improved place of 220 acres in Pontiac township. On this latter farm, which he made the stage of specially successful agricultural and live stock industry, he continued to reside until 1887, when he purchased in the city of Pontiac the fine residence property that represented his home during the remainder of his life. Here he died at the age of eighty-three, and his wife passed away at the age of seventy-two years. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Stowell two died in infancy, and two daughters attained to maturity-Mary M., who became the wife of John R. Taylor, of Pontiac, and Eunice, who married Albert J. Kelly and she died March 3, 1922. Mr. Stowell was a lifelong Democrat and cast his first presidential vote for Martin Van Buren. He was a man of sterling character, a loyal and honored citizen, and a member of one of the worthiest of the early pioneer families of Oakland county. George A. Sutton.-Mr. Sutton, attorney, son of John G. and Mary A. (Slater) Sutton, is a native of Oakland county, born in 1888. The father was also born in Oakland county, the mother in Canada. The paternal grandparents were James A. and Sarah Curry Sutton. James A. Sutton was reared in England, Mrs. Sutton near Drumbo, Ontario. The maternal grandparents were James and Ellen Slater. The former was a farmer. Mr. James Sutton lives in Los Angeles and his son, John G., and his wife, are in Pontiac. George A. Sutton was PERSONAL SKETCHES 403 graduated from Pontiac high school and from the University of Michigan in 1911 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Two years later from the same institution he received the Bachelor of Laws degree and has since practiced in Pontiac. Mr. Sutton was assistant county prosecutor under Glenn C. Gillespie. In 1915 Mr. Sutton was married to Miss Hazel Allshouse, daughter of John C. Allshouse. There is one son, Max. Mr. Sutton, who is widely and favorably known outside as well as within the legal profession, is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Federal, State and County Bar Associations. William Sullivan.-At the corner of Main and Third streets in the thriving little city of Royal Oak, Oakland county, is located the well equipped establishment of William Sullivan, who is here engaged in business as an undertaker and funeral director. He is a native son of Oakland county, where he was born November 4, 1876, and he was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm, the while he made good use of the advantages afforded by the public schools. He continued his active alliance with farm industry in this county until 1903, when he took a position in the employ of the A. H. Thompson Company, which had developed one of the leading undertaking enterprises at Royal Oak. Mr. Sullivan continued with this concern until 1907, since which year he has been here independently established in the same line of business, his success offering the best evidence of the effective service given and the high popular estimate placed upon the same. Mr. Sullivan erected the first three-story brick in the city of Royal Oak where he now has his business. Mr. Sullivan has been a member of the volunteer fire department of Royal Oak since 1912 and had the distinction of being chosen its first chief, at the time of its organization. Mr. Sullivan is a director of the First State Bank of Royal Oak. He and his family are communicants of the Catholic church, he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Independent Order of Foresters, besides which he is an active and valued member of the Exchange Club of Royal Oak. The marriage of Mr. Sullivan to Miss Nancy May Richards was solemnized June 18, 1907, and their only child, James, is, in 1925, a student in the Royal Oak high school. Mr. Sullivan is a son of Jeremiah and Ellen (O'Hair) Sullivan, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. James Sullivan was but a boy when he came to Detroit, Michigan, and he later became one of the substantial farmers and highly respected citizens of Oakland county, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, his death having occurred in 1909, when he was seventy-seven years of age, and his wife having passed away February 3, 1902, at the age of sixty-three years. Both were devout communicants of.the Catholic church, and were active in the affairs of the parish in which they had membership. Of their twelve children only four are now living. Winona R. Swain.-The village of Sylvan Lake, Oakland county, has divers attractions, as its name implies, and not the least of these is the popular village treasurer, Miss Winona R. Swain, whose execu 404 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY tive ability is on a parity with her personal popularity. Miss Swain was born in the city of Chicago, Illinois, February 7, 1894, and is a daughter of Edward M. and Ellen (Edwards) Swain, who now maintain their home at Sylvan Lake. Edward M. Swain was born at Hesperia, Oceana county, Michigan, March 5, 1866, and his wife was born at Hudson, Lenawee county, this state, January 1, 1867. Mr. Swain passed the period of his boyhood and youth mainly at Hillsdale, Michigan, and there received the advantages of the public schools. He early learned the carpenter's trade, and his entire business career has been associated with the work of this trade, he having long been successfully engaged in business as a contractor and builder. After a residence of'nineteen years in the city of Chicago he came with his family to Oakland county, in 1912, and established the family home in the city of Pontiac. There he continued his contracting business until 1919, when he removed with his family to Sylvan Lake, he having since remained one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of this place and having been specially influential in the movement that led to the incorporation of the village. He is at the present time a member of the board of review of the village, still continues his activities as a contractor and builder, is secretary and treasurer of the Oakland county Boat Club, is a Republican in politics, and he and his family are communicants of St. Vincent de Paul church in the city of Pontiac. Miss Winona R. Swain is one of a family of three children. The other daughter, Juanita, is the wife of William A. Kennedy, of Pontiac, and the one son, John M., remains at the parental home, as does also the subject of this sketch. The public schools and parochial schools of Chicago afforded Miss Swain her early education, and there also she attended St. Jarloth's Academy, in which she was graduated as a member of the class of 1909, besides which she is a graduate of a school of nursing at Jamestown, New York. In the World war period Miss Swain was actively engaged in Red Cross. work, in connection with which she traveled extensively through the United States. She has been treasurer of the village of Sylvan Lake since 1922, is giving a most efficient administration of the fiscal affairs of the village, is a popular factor in the social life of the community and is an active member of the Sylvan Lake Country Club, of which she was formerly the secretary. Dur M. Taylor is one of the successful representatives of the real estate business in Oakland county, where he maintains his residence and business headquarters in the village of Orion. Mr. Taylor was born in Macomb county, Michigan, October 16, 1869, and is a son of Jay and Mary Naomi (Giddings) Taylor, the former of whom was born at Stony Creek, Oakland eounty, and the latter of whom was born in Macomb county, both families having been established in Michigan in the pioneer period of its history. Joshua B, Taylor, paternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was one of the early settlers of the Stony Creek district of Oakland county, where he developed a productive farm and whqr~ also ho tollowed his tral9, PERSONAL SKETCHES 405 that of millwright. His old homestead farm is now owned by George Flumerfelt, and is one of the valuable properties of the county. Joshua B. Taylor continued his residence in Oakland county until his death, and was a citizen of prominence and influence in his community. As a Master Mason he was a member of the lodge at Stony Creek when it figured as the only blue lodge in Michigan, and was master of the lodge, and once was grand junior warden, the celebrated Morgan case having led to much, and entirely unjust, popular opposition to the Masonic fraternity and this having caused the dissolution of all other lodges that had been established in Michigan. Joshua B. Taylor was a son of Lemuel Taylor, Who became one of the very early settlers of Oakland county and who here served a number of years as justice of the peace. Dur Giddings, maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in the state of New York, and his wife, whose maiden name was Harriet Kniffin, was born in Macomb county, Michigan, where she and her husband maintained their home from the time of their marriage until that of their death. Jay Taylor was reared and educated in Oakland county, under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days, and at the inception of the Civil war he was in the state of Illinois, where he enlisted as a member of the Thirty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, his service having covered somewhat more than three years, having involved his participation in many engagements and he having received in one of these a slight wound. After the close of the war he returned to Michigan, and his marriage was solemnized in Macomb county, where he continued his residence until 1885, when he removed with his family to Lapeer county, both he and his wife having there remained until their death, and the major part of his active career having been marked by his close and successful alliance with farm industry. Mr. Taylor was a Republican in politics, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the family of six sons and one daughter all are living except one son. Dur M. Taylor acquired his early education by due application to study in the public schools of Macomb county, and he was about twenty years of age when, in 1889, he came to Oakland county, where he assumed inherent prestige as a scion of the third generation of the Taylor family in this county. In 1894 he engaged in independent farm enterprise in this county, and he continued his successful association with the basic industries of agriculture and stock growing until 1919, when he removed with his family to Lapeer and engaged in the real estate business. He there remained until September, 1923, when he returned to Oakland county and established himself in the real estate business at Orion. Mr. Taylor here handles both farm and village properties, and he has developed a substantial ard prosperous general real estate business. Mr. Taylor's political alignment is with the Republican party and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and is now master of the lodge. He is a popular representative of one of the old and honored families of Oakland county. October 31, 1894, 406 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Mr. Taylor.married Miss Ella Tedford, of Lapeer county, and her death occurred in February, 1900. The two children of this union are Fern and Clarence J. Fern was graduated in the Orion high school and is now the wife of Schuyler C. Broomfield, M.D., who is engaged in the practice of his profession at Royal Oak, this county. The public school discipline of Clarence J. Taylor included that of the Orion high school and he now resides at Orion. On the 9th of March, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Dur M. Taylor to Miss Mary Tedford, a sister of his first wife, and the one child of this union is Walter S., who was born in December, 1907, and who is, in 1925, a student in the high school at Lapeer. Harvey J. Taylor, first vice-president of the Rochester Savings Bank in the thriving little city of Rochester, Oakland county, is a native son of this county and a representative of one of its honored pioneer families. He was born on the parental homestead farm, in (Oakland township, July 19, 1849, and is a son of William G. and Ann (Axford) Taylor, the former of whom was born in the state of New Jersey, in 1816, and the latter of whom was born in the same state, in 1826. With his father William G. Taylor came to Michigan about the year 1835, prior to the admission of the state to the Union, and the father, Abraham Taylor, became one of the early settlers in Oakland county, his wife having died in Warren county, New Jersey, prior to his removal to Michigan territory. Abraham Taylor instituted the reclamation and development of one of the pioneer farms in what is now Oakland township, and here he continued to reside until his death, about 1864, when he was seventy years of age. William G. Taylor gained his youthful education in the common schools of New Jersey and Michigan, he having been about eighteen years of age when he came with his father to Oakland county, where he gave his attention to farm industry during the remainder of his earnest and useful life, both he and his wife having remained on their old homestead farm, in Brandon township, until their death and both having been zealous members of the Presbyterian church. Concerning their children the following brief data are available: Charles, who is now living retired in the city of Detroit, was engaged in manufacturing of buggies at Pontiac from 1886 to 1910; Charlotte is the wife of Joseph Case, of Orion, Oakland county; Harvey J., immediate subject of this review, was the next in order of birth; William A. and his sister Miss Alice remain on the fine old homestead farm, in Brandon township; Nellie is the wife of Edward W. Sutton, of Armada, Macomb county. William G. Taylor was one of the honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, in 1888, and here his widow remained until she too passed away, in 1898. Harvey J. Taylor was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm and gained in the common schools of Oakland county his early education. Thereafter he continued his active association with farm enterprise until he had attained to the age of forty years, when he established his residence at Rochester. Here he was engaged in the hardware business during a period of twelve years, and in 1900 he PERSONAL SKETCHES 407 became one of the organizers of the Rochester Savings Bank. He has been one of the most influential executives in the development of the substantial and well ordered business of this institution, of which he became the first cashier, his service in that capacity having continued eighteen years, at the expiration of which he assumed his present office, that of first vice-president. He was actively concerned also in the organizing and incorporating of the Rochester Building Association, of which he is the secretary and treasurer, besides which he is a director of the Rochester Development Company. In the Masonic fraternity his affiliations are with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. On the 21st of December, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Taylor to Miss Florence May Anderson, who was born and reared in Oakland township. Of the children of this union the following brief record is consistently entered: Seneca V., who was born April 13, 1887, was graduated in the Rochester high school and in 1911 was graduated in the department of civil engineering at the University of Michigan. He is now president of the Detroit Concrete Steel Fire Roofing Company, the general offices of which are in the Lincoln building in the city of Detroit. He married Miss Marjorie Green, of Rochester, Oakland county, and they have two children, Katherine May, born in 1916, and Marjorie Joyce, born in 1920. Seneca V. Taylor promptly volunteered for service when the nation became involved in the World war, in 1917, and he received his technical training at Old Point Comfort, Virginia, where he received commission as captain in the coast artillery. He accompanied his command over seas and thereafter continued in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces until the armistice brought the war to a close, he having received his honorable discharge in January, 1919. Cyrus Jesse was born October 29, 1889, and after his graduation in the Rochester high school he entered the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated, as a mechanical engineer, in 1914, he being now a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, where he is purchasing agent for the Bemiss Brothers Bag Company. He married Miss Beulah Parsons, of Buffalo, New York, and they have two children, Arlene Rae, born in 1921, and Bettie Jean, born in 1924. Cyrus J. Taylor likewise rendered patriotic service in the World war period, as an early volunteer. He enlisted in 1917, at Newark, New Jersey, received training at Cambridge, Massachusetts, gained the rank of ensign in the United States Navy and thereafter served as aeroplane inspector for the government, at Buffalo, New York, until the close of the war and his reception of his honorable discharge. Harold A., the youngest of the sons, was born March 14, 1894, was graduated in the Central high school of Detroit, and in 1917 he was graduated in the civil engineering department of the University of Michigan, he being now a resident of New York, where he holds the position of sales manager for the New York Concrete Steel Company. Shortly after his graduation 408 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY in the university he enlisted for service inf the United States Army and wag ~ent to Camp Meade, Maryland, where he gained commission as first lieutenant in the First Engineer Corps. He accompanied his command to France, was there in active service until the signing of the armistice, and thereafter was with the allied army of occupation in Germany nearly two years. He then returted home and received his honorable discharge. The now venerable and honored citizen to whom this review is dedicated has ever shown loyal and helpful interest in all things touching the welfare of his native county, and its history is a subject that never fails to enlist his attention, as much of the development and progress of Oakland county and the state of Michigan has been compassed within the period of his personal memory. He has played well his part in the advancing of the civic and material prosperity of his native county, was liberal and active in supporting patriotic measures and enterprises in the World war period, and took pride in sending forth his sons to the nation's service. In excellent health, vigorous of mind and physical powers, Mr. Taylor is one of the influential and highly esteemed citizens of the county that has ever represented his home and been the stage of his well ordered activities. James M. Taylor.-Mr. Taylor is a manufacturer and dealer in builders' supplies and has achieved outstanding success as the manufacturer of the Taylor-made cement block, a product extensively used in construction. He is located at 1120 South Main street, Royal Oak, Michigan, has a wide acquaintance and is held in the highest esteem. Mr. Taylor was born January 7, 1889, in Detroit, a son of James M. and Ella (Benson) Taylor, and received his early education in the public schools of Royal Oak. For five years Mr. Taylor worked in the great Ford plant in Detroit and then determined upon a business course with himself as the directing agency. His success is predicated upon ability and close application to which is added the unvarying desire to be of service. On June 25, 1907, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Eugunisa Roszel, daughter of William R. and Hattie (Schuictma), Roszel, of Royal Oak. Mr. Taylor is a member of the Masonic order, of the Odd Fellows and of the Royal Oak Board of Commerce. By religious profession he is a Baptist. John R. Taylor was one of the principals in the Purser Fruit Company, engaged in the wholesale fruit business in the city of Pontiac, and his associates in the substantial enterprise were Salem W. Purser and Edward L. Groner. The large and well equipped establishment of this progressive company is located at 25 West Pike street. Mr. Taylor takes due satisfaction in claiming Oakland county as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred at Rochester, this county, July 5, 1885, and his educational advantages having included those of the high school at Rochester. His earlier practical activities were in connection with farm industry, and later he was engaged three years in the retail grocery business at Rochester. In 1912 he entered the employ of Salem W. Purser, wholesale fruit merchant at Pontiac, and after May 4,. 1920, he was a partner in the business, which is PERSONAL SKETCHES 409 one of the largest of its kind in Oakland county. Mr. Taylor is a Republican in politics, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and in their home city he and his wife hold membership in the Cenitral Methodist Episcopal Church. April 14, 1906, was the date on which was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Taylor to Miss Nancy J. Ritter, of Oxford, this county, and they have four children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: Everett R., February 25, 1907; Laurence, January 13, 1911; Clark, July 14, 1915, and Lowell, September 28, 1916. February 10, 1925, Mr. Taylor severed connection with the above concern and February 12, became associated with F. C. Wood in the real estate business with offices in Room No. 1, New Turk building. John R. Taylor was a child of about four years at the time when the family home was established in Oakland county, in 1849; here he was reared and educated; from this county he went forth as a gallant young soldier of the Union in the Civil war; here was the stage of his successful achievement as a farmer and dairyman, and here he continued to maintain his home until his death, September 25, 1916, about three months prior to the sixty-ninth anniversary of his birth. Mr. Taylor made good account for himself in all of the relations of life and was one of the sterling pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death. His character and his service as one of the world's constructive workers well justify in this publication an appreciative tribute to his memory. Mr. Taylor was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 4, 1847, and was a son of Conrad and Susan (Rosenburg) Taylor, the former of whom was born in Warren county, New Jersey, January 5, 1823, and the latter of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1825, a representative of one of the staunch German families early founded in the old Keystone state. Conrad Taylor was the fifth son of Benjamin and Mary (VanKirk) Taylor, who became the parents of sixteen children. The subject of this memoir was but two years old at the time of his mother's death, and his father later married Miss Rebecca Jones, who was at that time a resident of Oakland township, Oakland county, Michigan, but who was born in the state of New Jersey. The one child of the second marriage was Alice M., who became the wife of Albert Brewster and who eventually became a resident of Denver, Colorado. Of the three children of the first marriage two were sons, John R. (of this review) and Irving, and the third was a daughter, Mary, now deceased. In 1849 Conrad Taylor came with his family to Oakland county and engaged in farm enterprise in Addison township, where he developed and effectively improved his land. In 1865 he engaged in the meat market business at Pontiac, and after continuing this enterprise four years he purchased a farm of 180 acres in Avon township, where he continued his activities until he retired to the village of Rochester, he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives in this county and both having been members of the Presbyterian church. In politics Mr. Taylor was a Democrat. The youthful education of John R. Taylor was acquired principally in 410 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY the public schools of Pontiac. He was fourteen years of age at the inception of the Civil war, and when he had attained sufficient age to be eligible for military service he promptly gave expression to his youthful patriotism by enlisting, in the autumn of 1864, as a member of Company B, Thirtieth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Warner. He continued in active service with this command until the close of the war, and received his honorable discharge June 24, 1865. After the war Mr. Taylor soon engaged in independent farm enterprise in Troy township, where he remained five years. After selling this property he purchased a tract of sixty-five acres lying within the city limits of Pontiac, and during the remainder of his active career he here gave his attention principally to the dairy business, with a large herd of high grade milch cows, through the medium of which he supplied milk to a large number of appreciative patrons throughout the city. He made good improvements on his farm and long continued as one of the leading exponents of the dairy business in Pontiac. About seven years prior to his death he retired from the business that had so long engrossed his attention, and he died in the attractive home, at the corner of Mount Clemens and Paddock streets, Pontiac, that had been his place of residence forty-two years and that is still the home of his widow. In 1868 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Taylor to Miss Mary Stowell, who was born in this county June 4, 1849, a daughter of the late Simon Stowell, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this volume. Mrs. Taylor is now one of the venerable pioneer women of Oakland county, where her father was one of the earliest settlers, and here she is known and loved by a wide circle of friends who are tried and true. Irving S., the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, died in 1924 as did also his wife. John R. Taylor was a loyal and public spirited citizen who took deep interest in all that concerned the communal welfare. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, and he gave more than ten years of characteristically effective service as alderman from the Third ward of his home city. He was a zealous member of the Presbyterian church, as is also his widow, and was affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and with Dick Richard Post, No. 147, Grand Army of the Republic. Morton Greenwood Taylor, doing a general business in electrical contracting and supplies, is not only one of the representative business metn of Pontiac but is also a descendant of one of the earliest families of Oakland county, being the fifth generation to reside within its borders, Mr. Taylor's grandmother, Mrs. John R. Taylor, being a granddaughter of Chester Webster, who settled in this county at a very early date and of whom a record will be found on other pages of this volume. Morton G. was born in Pontiac, a son of Irving S. and Emma (Greenwood) Taylor, both of whom died in the year 1924, the mother on February 25 and the father July 16. Irving S. Taylor was in the dairy business for more than thirty years and he and his wife were the parents of six children: Morton G. of this record; Merrill, Clyde, both of whom were participants in the World war; Vernon, who had two PERSONAL SKETCHES 411 and one-half years' service after the war, and Irving, who is now in the United States regular army, and Ethel. Morton G. attended the Pontiac high school, after which he acquired an experience in electrical work, and in 1914 he and his brother Merrill established themselves in business at 260 Mt. Clemens street; also they conducted business for five years in Royal Oak. He now conducts-business at 106 Mt. Clemens street. He employs from twelve to fifteen men and handles everything electrical and his construction work covers a wide range. Mr. Taylor did the electrical work on the county jail, Elks' Temple, S. L. Bird and Sons building, Benter Ford Sales Service building, St. Michael's Catholic school, the consolidated school building at Mt. Morris, Michigan, school buildings in Ferndale and Royal Oak as well as other buildings and residences throughout the city and county. September 7, 1914, Mr. Taylor married Miss Lavina Mann, of Toledo, Ohio, and they have one child, a son named Morton Gerald. Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Methodist church, while Mr. Taylor adheres to the religious and political beliefs of his parents, being a member of the Baptist church and in politics is a Democrat. He is also a member of the Uniform Rank of Knights of Pythias. Ward L. Taylor.-Engaging in business on his own account in May 23, 1923, Ward L. Taylor established the Ward L. Taylor Company, Incorporated, dealing in stocks, bonds and various securities. The company is located at 409 Pontiac Bank building. Insurance is also carried by the concern. Mr. Taylor was born in Port Huron, Michigan, July 8, 1884, and was graduated from high school in 1901. He attended the University of Michigan and was graduated from that institution in 1906 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Mr. Taylor became associated with his father, C. F. Taylor, in the furniture and hardware business and the firm later became C. F. Taylor and Son. The younger Taylor retained this association until 1911 when he accepted a position as manager of a hardware company in Alpena, Michigan. Later he accepted a position with the Fletcher Paper Company, was in the efficiency department and had charge of the welfare work. Mr. Taylor also served as head chemist and was editor of the mill magazine. He remained until 1920 when he became stock salesman for the Michigan Finance Corporation and was sent to Pontiac in March, 1921, as district sales manager. In May, 1923, he entered business for himself. In 1916, Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Clara Wilhelmy, of Cincinnati. They have one son, Robert W., born in March, 1922. Mr. Taylor, zealous in his support of all general movements affecting the development of the city, is a loyal supporter of the Board of Commerce. He is a member of the Lions Club and of the Masonic fraternity. Josiah P. Terry has always maintained his home in Oakland county, was long and successfully associated with progressive farm industry in this county, and since his retirement from the old homestead farm on which he was born and reared he has maintained his residence in the city of Pontiac. He is a scion of a sterling family that gained a distinct measure of pioneer honors in Oakland county, and it was on the parental homestead farm, in Pontiac township, that he was born, the date of his nativity having been April 16, 1865. He is a son of Joseph 412 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY Preston Terry and Margaret E. (Buckbee) Terry, and is a representative of the third generation of the Terry family in Oakland county, his parental grandparents having come from the state of New York and established their home in this county in the year 1840, about four years after the admission of the Territory of Michigan as one of the sovereign states of the Union. Here the first year was passed by the family in Commerce township, and then was effected the purchase of 240 acres in section 13, Pontiac township, where was instituted the development of a productive farm in the midst of the forest wilds. It was on this pioneer homestead that the grandparents passed the remainder of their lives. Joseph P. Terry was reared and educated in the old Empire state and was a young man when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Oakland county, Michigan. He eventually came into possession of the old home farm, and there he continued his productive activities as one of the substantial agriculturists and stock growers of Pontiac township during the remainder of his life; he having been one of the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, February 21, 1905, and his wife having passed away January 17, 1880. Of their two children one died in infancy, and thus the subject of this review is now the only representative of his generation of the family in this county, where he has lived and wrought to goodly ends and where he has gained substantial prosperity through his well ordered farm industry. Josiah P. Terry early began to aid in the work of the home farm, and his early education was obtained in the public schools of the locality and period. At the age of eighteen years he began independent farm operations on a tract of forty acres that he had inherited from his mother at the time of her death, about three years previously. Upon the death of his father, in 1905, he inherited the fine old homestead, and this valuable property remained in his possession until 1916. The substantial two-story stone house on this place was erected by his father many years ago, when this section of Michigan was in process of reclamation from the forest wilds, and the cobblestones from which the building was constructed were collected on the farm itself. This building now stands as one of the interesting landmarks of the county. Mr. Terry made numerous improvements on the old home place, including the erection of one of the largest and best cattle barns in Pontiac township, and he co'ntinued as one of the successful agriculturists and dairy farmers of his native county until 1916, when he retired and removed to Pontiac, where he and his wife have an attractive home and are enjoying the rewards of former years of earnest endeavor. Mr. Terry has been a loyal and public-spirited citizen, and has served as justice of the peace, constable and member of the school board. He is the owner of several farms in Oakland county, and is one of the substantial and much respected citizens of Pontiac. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, and his wife holds membership in the Congregational church. February 22, 1887, Mr. Terry wedded Miss Mary E. Ross, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county, she being a daughter of David and Lydia (Knight) Ross, who were residents of Rochester, this county, at the time of their death, the former having been born in Pennsylvania and PERSONAL SKETCHES 413 the latter in the state of New York. Mr. Ross was a young man when he came to Oakland county, and for many years he was a prosperous farmer in Avon township. Of the three children Mrs. Terry is the eldest, the other two being Alice E. and William J. Mr. and Mrs. Terry have two children: Margaret N. is the wife of Harry H. Hiltz, of Pontiac, of whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume, and Ernestine B. is the wife of William Roy Thompsop, of Pontiac. Hiland H. Thatcher.-One of the most important general insurance agencies in the city of Pontiac is that conducted by Mr. Thatcher, who has here built up a business of broad scope and representative order, his offices being in suite 609-612 of the Pontiac Bank building. Mr. Thatcher has reason to take pride not only in the fact that he is a native son of Michigan but also in the prominent part played by his father as one of the early and influential members of the bar of Oakland county and also as the first mayor of Pontiac after its incorporation as a city. Mr. Thatcher was born at Saginaw, Michigan, November 24, 1865, and is a son of Erastus and Fannie E. (Richardson) Thatcher, who were honored residents of Oakland county for many years prior to their death and both of whom died at their home in the city of Pontiac, where the father had long been engaged in the successful practice of law and been a citizen of prominence and influence. Erastus Thacther was a stalwart Republican in his political allegiance, and was a leader in the local councils of his party. He was long and actively affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Fannie E. (Richardson) Thatcher was born at Walnut Lake, West Bloomfield township, Oakland county, and her father, Peter Richardson, was one of the sterling pioneer settlers of this county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Erastus Thatcher was solemnized in Oakland county, whence they subsequently removed to Saginaw, where their son Hiland H., of this review, was born, he having been seven years of age at the time of the family removal to Ann Arbor, where he received his early education. The parents eventually returned to Oakland county and here they continued to maintain their home at Pontiac during the remainder of their lives. Hiland H. Thatcher was fourteen years old at the time when the family home was established in Pontiac, and here he continued his studies in the public schools until he had duly profited by the advantages of the high school. His initial business experience was acquired through his employment in the old-time and leading Pontiac clothing establishment of C. R. Mably, who wrote his name large upon the history of Michigan retail merchandising. With this concern Mr. Thatcher remained five years, and it was in 1889 he here estbalished himself in the general insurance business, in which he has continued during the intervening period of more than thirty-five years. He has standing as one of the best known and most successful insurance men in this section of the state, retains a representative clientage and has the agency for leading insurance companies in the various lines of indemnity underwriting. During a period of twenty years Mr. Thatcher traveled extensively asa an insurance adjuster for five leading insurance companies, and he is a recognized authority in all departments. of insur4nge. The year 1925 finds 414 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY him serving as president of the Pontiac Board of Commerce, and the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county can claim no citizen of greater loyalty and public spirit. Mr. Thatcher is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is affiliated with the local blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery of York Rite Masotary, and in the city of Detroit is a noble of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, besides which he has membership in the Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Thatcher, whose maiden name was Grace Blakes, was born and reared in Farmington township, this county, as was also her father, the late David Blakes, who married Ellen M. Button, whose parents likewise were pioneer settlers in Oakland county. In the public schools of her native county Mrs. Thatcher continued her studies until her graduation in the Pontiac high school, and she has long been a gracious and popular figure in the representative social, church and cultural circles of her home city. Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher have one son, Hiland Morris, who was born in 1891, who attended the public schools, including the Pontiac high school, and who still maintains his home in his native city, he having chosen as his wife Miss Neva Spalding, of Lansing, this state. William D. Thomas.-Mr. Thomas was born in Detroit, July 25, 1887, a son of Daniel and Allen Thomas, both of whom are living in California. Daniel Thomas established the well known Thomas Furniture Company in Pontiac which he personally directed until his removal to California. William D. Thomas received his education in the schools of Pontiac and worked in various factories and other establishments until 1913 when he established the Economy Furniture Company. The small store he started was burned on December 11, 1922, and Mr. Thomas erected a new brick building containing 10,000 square feet of floor space, one of the largest concerns of the kind in Pontiac, and certainly among the most creditable. The establishment handles all kinds of household supplies and furnishings, including a line of talking machines. On May 26, 1910, Mr. Thomas was married to Katherine Van Hooven, of Pontiac. They have three children, Wilma, Don Frederick and William D., Jr. Mr. Thomas is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church. He is genuinely interested i'n all movements and policies advanced for the improvement of Pontiac and vicinity. George A. Thompson is a reliable and enterprising young business man who is making in the city of Pontiac a record of successful achievement as a purveyor of groceries and meats, his modern establishment being at 446 Oakland avenue and being known for the high grade of its equipment and service. Mr. Thompson was born at South Branch, Ogemaw county, Michigan, August 15, 1896, and was a child at the time of the family removal to Crawford county, where he profited by the advantages of the district schools and where he began to clerk in a grocery store when he was a lad of but fourteen years. He remained in Crawford county the major part of the time until 1916, when, at the age of twenty years, he came to Pontiac and took a position in the grocery store of Maurice E. Newman. In 1918 he found employment with the General Motor Truck Company in this city, and in 1922 he estab PERSONAL SKETCHES 415 lished his present grocery and meat market business, the substantial success of which has been due alike to his personal popularity and the effectiveness of the service of his establishment. May 17, 1918, Mr. Thompson wedded Miss Claudia Newman, who was born in Oakland county, October 29, 1891, and who is a daughter of William and Lavangy (Ellenwood) Newman, honored and well known citizens of Pontiac. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have a host of friends in their home community. G. Ross Thompson.-One of the popular and efficient members of the Oakland county official coterie at the court house in the city of Pontiac is he whose name initiates this paragraph and who is giving a vigorous administration as road commissioner of the county, an office in which he has been able to render valuable service in furthering the civic and material interests of his constituent county. Mr. Thompson was born in Hartland township, Livingston county, Michigan, September 6, 1871, his father having at the time been one of the representative farmers of that county. Mr. Thompson attended the public schools of Highland, Oakland county, and supplemented this discipline by a course in the Fenton Normal and Business College, at Fenton, Genessee county. He eventually established his residence at Vassar, Tuscola county, where he engaged in the feed business and where he served four years as a member of the village council. He gave three years of time to traveling as a collector for the Champion Harvesting Machine Company, and thereafter he was for five years engaged in the retail hardware and implement business at Alma, Gratiot county. Upon disposing of his business at Alma he returned to Highland, Oakland county, where he engaged in farming. There he was elected supervisor of Highland township, an office in which he was retained thirteen consecutive years, he having been for two terms chairman of the county board of supervisors, and his loyal and efficient work in behalf of the interests of the county marked him as specially eligible for the office of county road commissioner, of which he became the incumbent in 1920 and in which he has since continued his able and valuable service, he being now the chairman of the county board of road commissioners. It was in the year 1892 that Mr. Thompson established his residence at Highland, and during the long intervening years he has been known and valued as one of the loyal and public spirited citizens of Oakland county, where his circle of friends is virtually coincident with that of his acquaintances. He is a staunch advocate of the principles of the Republican party and has been influential in its local councils and campaigns. Mr. Thompson is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The marriage of Mr. Thompson to Miss Rena Wilson, of Pontiac, was solemnized in the year 1891, Mrs. Thompson being a daughter of Henry H. Wilson, long a representative business man of this city. Marian, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, was born in the year 1911 and at the time of this writing, in 1925, is attending the public schools of Highland. Mrs. Eva Iola Thornhill proved her courage and resourcefulness 416 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY in no uncertain way when she assumed control and management of the mercantile business that had been conducted by her husband, the late Henry Thornhill, up to the time of his death, and she thus continued successfully in the dry goods business in the village of Milford, Oakland county, until 1916, when she sold the stock and business. Mrs. Thornhill made in this connection a record of successful business achievement, and since her retirement from mercantile enterprise she has continued, since 1917, a member of the directorate of the First State Bank of Milford, in which institution she became a stockholder at the time of its organization. Mrs. Thornhill was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, on the site of the present post office, and is a daughter of Joseph P. and Jane (Burnham) Whiting, the former of whom was born in Connecticut and the latter in Vermont. Both the Whiting and the Burnham families were founded in New England in the colonial period of our national history. Ancestors of Mrs. Thornhill were patriot soldiers in the war of the Revolution, and thus she is eligible for and affiliated with the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Joseph P. Whiting was reared and educated in his native New England and was an ambitious youth of eighteen years when he came to Michigan and established his residence in the city of Detroit. There he engaged in the meat market business, and that he impressed himself most favorably on the community is shown in his having been called upon to serve several terms as sheriff of Wayne county and for a number of years as inspector of customs at the port of Detroit besides which he was made special government inspector of sugar and tobacco for the district, and in the period of the Civil war held the office of deputy United States marshal. He aided in establishing Grand Circus Park, at that time on the outskirts of the city. Mr. Whiting continued his residence in the Michigan metropolis until 1875, when, largely by reason of his impaired health, he removed with his wife and their three children, Eva Iola, Nellie and Albert, to Oakland county and established the family home on the farm which he had purchased, in Milford township. Op this attractive rural homestead he passed the remainder of his life, one of the substantial and honored citizens of the county, and there his death occurred in 1887, his widow having survived him by about fifteen years and having passed to the life eternal in 1902, at a venerable age. Albert E. lives in Denver, Colorado, and Nellie, Mrs. E. M. Leayitt, lives in San Francisco, California. Mr. Thorphill acquired her earlier education by attending the public schools of Detroit, and after the family removal to Oakland county she continued her studies, in the Milford high school. In the year 1887 was solemnized her marriage to William C. $tohart, a prosperous young farmer of Milford township, and the death of Mr. Stobart occurred about four years later, in 1891, no children having been horn of this, onion. In the year 1894 Mrs. Stobart became the wife of Henry Thornhill, who was engaged in the. mercantile business at Milford. Mr. Thornhill was born in Milford township, this county, and was a son of Edward and Eliza (Lee) Thorohill, who were born - U-c/tt k~rL4 0q PERSONAL SKETCHES 417 and reared in Lincolnshire, England, where their marriage was solemnized and whence, as young folk, they came to the United States and settled in Milford township, Oakland county, they later having purchased land in Commerce township, this county, where they passed the remainder of their lives and where Mr. Thornhill was a successful exponent of farm industry. Henry Thornhill and his older brothers, Edward and John, continued in the management of the old home farm until the death of their widowed mother, and in 1872 they erected in the village of Milford a brick store building, which they rented to P. A. Shepard. They later purchased the stock and business of Mr. Shepard and thereafter the mercantile enterprise was continued several years under the firm name of Thornhill Brothers. Eventually Henry Thornhill purchased the interests of his two brothers, and thereafter he individually continued the business until his death, in 1907, the enterprise having originally been of general mercantile order but finally having been made more specifically a dry goods business. Upon the death of her husband Mrs. Thornhill assumed the active management of the business, and under her administration it was definitely expanded in scope and importance, the stock of dry goods, carpets, wall paper, etc., having been brought up to a valuation of approximately $20,000 before she finally sold the business, in 1916. Mrs. Thornhill has thus figured prominently in the directing of important business interests in this community, and besides this she has been graciously influential in the social, church, cultural and civic affairs of her home village. She is an active member of the local Methodist Episcopal church, is affiliated with the Milford Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, and in the city of Pontiac she has membership in the White Shrine. Mrs. Thornhill continues to give personal supervision to the affairs of her substantial estate, which marks her as one of the heaviest tax payers in Milford township. Rev. James P. Thoraton.-One of the important parishes of the Catholic church in Oakland county is that of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, in Pontiac, the metropolis and judicial center of the county. Father Thornton, whose service in the priesthood has covered a period of approximately a quarter of a century, assumed the pastorate of this Pontiac parish January 19, 1924, and is uniformly recognized as a faithful and able servitor who is admirably fortified for carrying successfully forward the spiritual and temporal activities of this parish, in which he became the successor of the late and revered Father Thomas J. Ryan, whose pastorate here had been one of thirty years' duration and whose administration was marked by the highest of consecrated zeal and devotion, so that his passing was deeply mourned in the community whose interests and welfare had ever been close to his heart. Father Thornton was born on the parental homestead farm in Sanilac county, Michigan, and the date of his nativity was August 29, 1871. His rudimentary education was obtained in the district schools of his native county, and thereafter he was for one year a student in St. Francis College at Monroe, Michigan. With the high ambition of preparing himself thoroughly for the service of the priest 418 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY hood, he directed his further studies specifically to that end. He was a student at St. Charles College, near the city of Baltimore, Maryland, and completed his philosophical and ecclesiastical studies in fine old Assumption College at Sandwich, Ontario, Canada, in which he was graduated, with virtually coincident ordination to the priesthood of the great mother church of Christendom, his reception of holy orders having occurred July 3, 1898. His first pastoral assignment was as assistant priest at historic Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in the city of Detroit, where he remained six and one-half years. Thereafter he served in turn, and with characteristic zeal and success, as pastor of St. Joseph's church at Howell, Michigan, and of St. John's church at Monroe, which city has been since the early days a central stage of Catholic interests and service in Michigan. It was from this Monroe charge that Father Thornton came, January 19, 1924, to the pastorate of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, in Pontiac, where he is making his benignant influence felt not only in advancing the interests of his parish but also those of the community at large. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and is a popular and appreciative member of the Pine Lake Country Club. William Tienken has not found it necessary to go outside the borders of his native county to find a field for successful business enterprise, and in the vital little city of Rochester, Oakland county, he conducts a substantial plumbing and heating business, with an establishment of the best modern facilities and service. Mr. Tienken was born in Avon township, this county, July 15, 1870, and is a son of Henry and Meda Tienken, whose marriage was solemnized in the state of New York and who thence came to Oakland county, Michigan, and settled in Avon township, in the '60s. Henry Tienken, the father, was long numbered among the representative farmers of Avon township, where he passed the remainder of his life and here he died when about seventy-five years of age, his wife likewise having died in that township at the age of seventy-two. Of their six children four are living. William Tienken early gained a full share of experience in connection with the work of the home farm, and his public school advantages included those of the Rochester high school. In his independent activities he was engaged in the hardware and plumbing business at Rochester about nineteen years, and he then sold the hardware department of his business, to give his attention exclusively to plumbing and heating business, of which he is now the leading exponent in Rochester, with status as one of the progressive and public spirited citizens and business men of this favored section of his native county. He is a member of the board of directors of the Rochester Savings Bank, and he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. In the Masonic fraternity he has received the thirty-second degree, his York Rite affiliations being with Rochester Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and Rochester Chapter No. 137, R. A. M. His Masonic alliances have been further extended to include his membership in Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine by way of Commandery, in the city of Detroit. His wife, whose maiden name was Minnie Garling, was born in Orion township, Oakland county. The one child of PERSONAL SKETCHES 419 this union is a daughter, June Winifred, born in the year 1916. Mr. Tienken takes loyal interest in all that touches the welfare of his home community and is an active member of the Rochester Board of Commerce. Freeman J. Titsworth, head of a large insurance agency in Pontiac, is a son of Freeman W. and Sophronia Titsworth, and was born August 12, 1871. Both parents are dead. The father, a veteran of the Civil war, participated in many engagements of that sanguinary conflict and was in the Siege of Richmond and the Battle of Shiloh. He was a farmer and served as a justice of the peace and as a supervisor and was quite active in the life of his community. The son, Freeman J., attended public school and obtained his first job in a shingle mill, packing, and to this day possesses his first pay check, an evidence of thrift that his mother carefully preserved. In his early life Mr. Titsworth obtained the thrills and with them the onerous burdens of lumber camp operation. For three years he worked as a salesman in a store and then became a commercial traveler for A. H. Krum and Company, of Detroit, serving five years. For sixteen years he was in the employ of a shoe concern of Toledo. He lived in Fort Wayne and covered the state of Indiana. In 1917 Mr. Titsworth began as salesman for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, in Fort Wayne, was advanced to district agent in that city, and in December, 1920, came to Pontiac to establish a district agency and has met with unqualified success. O'n April 28, 1898, Mr. Titsworth and Miss Mamie Ensworth, of Flint, were united in marriage. Mr. Titsworth is a member of the Masonic fraternity and has taken all the degrees of the Scottish Rite up to and including the thirtysecond, or Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. He also belongs to the commandery of the Knights Templar. He is a Kiwanian and a member of the Central Methodist church. In politics Mr. Titsworth inclines toward Republicanism. Rolph D. Tobin is a progressive and successful exponent of the real estate and insurance business in the thriving little city of Holly, and has been a resident of Oakland county almost continuously since he was a youth of sixteen years. Mr. Tobin was born at Boston, Province of Ontario, Canada, February 2, 1876, and gained his early education in the public schools of his native province. At the age of sixteen years he became a resident of Pontiac, Michigan, and there he eventually became associated with William A. Beattie in the hardware business. He continued his connection with this enterprise twelve years, at the expiration of which he sold his interest in the business and established himself in business at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where he remained one year. He then returned to Oakland county and resumed his connection with the retail hardware business in the city of Pontiac, where he was associated in this business with Thaddeus D. Seeley during a period of five years. He then removed to Holly, in 1909, and here he has since continued to be successfully engaged in the real estate and insurance business, in which his operations have done much to advance community progress and prosperity, the while he has long retained a representative position in this line of 420 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY enterprise in Oakland county. He is also vice-president of the American Spring Company, one of the important industrial concerns of Holly. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. April 9, 1901, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Tobin to Miss Pearl Oren, who was born at Holly, September 14, 1881, and who is a representative of old and honored families of Oakland county. Mrs. Tobin is a daughter of Daniel W. and Mary Jeanette (Newell) Oren, the former of whom was born in the state of Ohio, in 1844, and the latter of whom was born in Rose township, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1845, a daughter of Silas N. and Sallie (Rundell) Newell, who came to this county in the pioneer days from Greene county, New York, and who were early settlers in Rose township, Mr. Newell having passed the remainder of his life in Oakland county, where he died at the patriarchal age of ninety-three years, his wife having passed away about the year 1879, when somewhat more than fifty years of age. Daniel W. Oren was reared and educated in the old Buckeye state and came to Oakland county, Michigan, in 1866. Here he long held precedence as a substantial farmer and here he is now living retired at the venerable age of eighty-one years (1925), his wife having passed away in 1921 at the age of seventy-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Tobin have two children: Roeberta Pearl, who was born February 13, 1902, and who is a graduate of the Holly high school, and Ralph D., Jr., who was born July 22, 1918. Otto Tode was born in Germany October 11, 1882, and he was there reared and educated, his advantages having included the "gymnazium," which corresponds to the high school in the United States. In determined pursuit of his youthful ambition to become a resident of the United States, Mr. Tode borrowed the sum of fifty dollars from one of his older brothers and used this to defray the expenses of transportation to America, and here he found employment on a farm and later rented a farm, and with characteristic energy and industry he gained such success that he was enabled to purchase the George Crainer farm. Three years later he traded this for one three miles south of Ortonville, and there he continued his vigorous operations as a farmer and stock grower six years. In 1917 he purchased ground in Ortonville and erected a business block twenty-five by fifty-eight feet in dimensions. Here he built up a most prosperous automobile business and through his own efforts and ability won a worthy success and independence. In connection with his original building he erected an annex which he rents. He also owns other property in Ortonville and has stock in the bank and telephone company. In December, 1924, he sold his auto business and purchased a farm in Oxford township to which he recently moved and where he is again engaged in farming operations. His brothers W. and Herman, had preceded him to this country and were working on the Jassman farm when he arrived and they are still prosperous residents of the county. In 1905 Mr. Tode married Miss Emma Heins, who was born in 1882 and who came to America on the same boat with her future husband, their acquaintanceship having been formed 0 RO W LA E i:. T ROW RfD — R G PERSONAL SKETCHES 421 on board the vessel and having later led to the marriage altar. Mr. and Mrs. Tode have three children; Agnes, Florence and Elmer. Miss Agnes was graduated from the Ortonville high school in the class of 1925 and is a student in the business college at Flint. The younger daughter is a student in the home high school, and the son is in the grade school. When Mr. Tode arrived in Oakland county he could not speak a word of English and he had a difficult time making himself understood when he applied for work on the farm of Harrison Walters near Clarkston. Mr. Tode has overcome many obstacles, but has pressed steadily forward and has achieved worthy success so that he is doubly appreciative of the land and county of his adoption. Mr. Tode belongs to Lodge 337, F. and A. M. Rowland Ebenezer Trowbridge was not yet one year old when his parents became territorial pioneer settlers in Oakland county, Michigan, and in this county he maintained his home during the remainder of his long and useful life. That he played an influential part in the civic and public affairs of this section of Michigan needs no further voucher than the statement that he represented his Michigan district in the United States congress. He was one of the distinguished and honored citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death. Mr. Trowbridge was born at Horseheads, Chemung county, New York, June 18, 1821, and in the same year his parents set forth with wagon and ox team to establish a new home in the frontier wilds of Michigan territory. The father took up a tract of government land in what is now Troy township, Oakland county, and here instituted the development of a farm from the forest wilderness, he having been one of the earliest settlers of the county, having been an influential figure in the affairs of the pioneer community, and having here continued his residence until his death, in 1858, his widow having passed away in 1873. The subject of this memoir was a son of Stephen Van Rensselaer Trowbridge and Elizabeth (Conkling) Trowbridge, both natives of New York state and representatives of prominent old colonial families of America. Stephen Van Rensselaer Trowbridge served as government paymaster to the Indians in the early period of his residence in Michigan, and in this connection he frequently had occasion to make trips on horseback to Saginaw. Rowland E. Trowbridge gained his earlier education in the pioneer schools of Michigan, and later he attended in Ohio the Kenyon College in which his room-mate was Rutherford B. Hayes, later president of the United States. Mr. Trowbridge was reared in the faith of the Protestant Episcopal church, and as a young man he directed his studies with a view to becoming a clergyman of that church, but an impaired condition of his eyes deflected him from this course, with the result that he resumed his association with farm industry in Oakland county. After his marriage he and his wife maintained their home on his farm near Gilbert lake, in Bloomfield township, and in 1859 he traded this property for a grist mill at -Birmingham, which place thereafter continued to represent his home until the close of his life. He was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and his 422 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY first political office was that of supervisor of Bloomfield township. Mr. Trowbridge represented his district in the United States congress during the period of 1861-3, and had much to do with formulating national policies in this important Civil war period. He later was again called to service in congress, and his record in the national house of representatives is one that shall ever reflect honor upon his name and upon the state of Michigan. He served three terms. His old and valued friend of college days, Rutherford B. Hayes, became president of the United States and incidentally conferred upon Mr. Trowbridge appointment to the government office of Indian commissioner, and of this position he was the incumbent at the time of his death, in 1881. As a young man, Mr. Trowbridge wedded Miss Mary A. Satterlee, who was born in Bloomfield township, in February, 1823, and who here remained until the close of her gentle and gracious life. Mrs. Trowbridge was a daughter of Samuel and Susan (West) Satterlee, who came from the state of New York to Oakland county in 1822, fifteen years Drior to the admission of Michigan to statehood. Mr.'Satterlee obtained government land two and three-fourths miles north of the present city of Birmingham, and it was on this territorial pioneer homestead that he and his wife passed the rest of their lives. Mrs. Trowbridge survived her husband by more than a decade, and passed to eternal rest in 1893, both having stood exponent of fine intellectual and civic ideals, theirs having been the gracious personalities typical of the "old school" regime. Mrs. Trowbridge was president of the Birmingham Library Board. In conclusion of this memoir is entered'brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Trowbridge. Susan E., who resides at Birmingham and is the only surviving member of the family of four children, gained her early education in the schools of Birmingham, including the Hill school, and to her Oakland county is rich in gracious and hallowed memories and associations. She became the owner of the place known as the Barber farm, near Birmingham, and there she maintained her home from 1883 until 1915, since which latter years she has resided in Birmingham, a gracious and popular figure in the social and cultural circles of this community. Miss Trowbridge has ever been an appreciative student and reader, and has kept pace with the trend of modern thought and action. She is one of the active members of the Woman's Club in her home city, and is a zealous communicant of the Presbyterian church. Stephen Van Rensselaer Trowbridge, the eldest son, became a successful member of the Michigan bar and was engaged in the practice of law at Ionia at the time of his death, in 1891, when he was but thirty-seven years of age. Tillman Conkling, the next younger son, was born in 1857 and died in 1913, he having been one of the representative farmers of Oakland county and having also gained wide reputation as a breeder of and dealer in thoroughbred horses. Samuel Satterlee, youngest of the children, was born in 1860, and was graduated in Michigan Agricultural College, he having held a position in the United States Land Office at Washington at the time when his father was there serving as commissioner of Indian affairs. There MFRS. MARY A. TROWE3RIDC' I PERSONAL SKETCHES 423 after he was for ten years a progressive farmer and breeder of horses in his native county, and here his death occurred in the year 1914. It is a privilege to offer in this publication a tribute to members of one of the oldest and most honored of the pioneer families of Oakland county, and here Miss Susan Trowbridge, now the one surviving member of the immediate family, has a circle of friends that is limited only by that of her acquaintances. Guy L. Tubbs is general manager of the plant of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company, of which progressive concern in the city of Pontiac adequate record is given on other pages of this work, in the personal sketch of his father, G. Lafayette Tubbs, who is president of the company. Guy L. Tubbs was born at Ovid, Shiawassee county, Michigan, October 10, 1887, and in addition to profiting by the advantages of the public schools he was able also to develop most effectively his exceptional musical talent. As a pianist he was for seven years engaged in traveling in concert work, and as a member of road companies organized for public entertainment enterprise. In 1916 he took a position in the factory of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company, in order to fortify himself in the technical work of manufacturing paints and also to gain direct knowledge of other details of the business. He has held his present position of general manager of the company since 1921, and is one of the progressive and popular business men of the younger generation at Pontiac, the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county. Mr. Tubbs is found loyally aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. September 30, 1916, Mr. Tubbs wedded Miss Vivian Loucks, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and they are popular factors in the social life of their home city. Mr. Tubbs still retains his lively interest in musical art, and as a talented pianist is able to contribute much to the entertainment of friends in his attractive and hospitable home. G. Lafayette Tubbs, the executive head of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company, has developed the business of this concern from one of very modest order to the scope and importance that mark it as a definite contribution to the industrial and commercial prestige of the city of Pontiac. This company now controls a substantial business in the manufacturing of paints of the highest grade, and the products are used mainly in the painting of houses and automobiles, the while enamels and varnishes likewise are a part of the output of the well equipped factory. The manufacturing plant of the company has an output capacity of approximately 300,000 gallons annually, and such is the demand for the products that the daily output is kept up to an average of 1,000 gallons. Sales are made direct from factory to consumer, and the clientage of the company includes many of the important automobile manufacturing concerns, including the Studebaker corporation, which stipulates that the paints of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company shall be used on all metal 424 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY parts of its motor cars. The business of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company has increased threefold in volume since 1918, in which year was constructed and equipped the present modern plant, the building of which is thirty-three by one hundred forty feet in dimensions. The company retains an average corps of about seven employes, many of whom are skilled workmen in their technical assignments. G. Lafayette Tubbs was born in Shiawassee county, Michigan, November 28, 1860, and is a son of the late Aaron and Elizabeth Tubbs. He attended the public schools of his native county until he had attained to the age of thirteen years, and during the ensuing five years he continued his alliance with farm industry. He then became associated with the operation of a flour mill in the village of Ovid, Clinton county, where he remained eight years. Thereafter he was engaged in the house painting business about seven years, and in 1900 he took charge of the painting department in a leading carriage manufactory in the city of Owosso, metropolis of his native county. In this service he continued until 1907, when he came to Pontiac to assume the superintendency of the painting department of the Pontiac Spring Wagon Works, and he has since continued to make this city the central stage of his productive activities, in which his ability and progressiveness have gained to him advancement and substantial prosperity. In 1911 the Pontiac Paint Company was organized and in 1917 Mr. Tubbs purchased the interest of his partner, Mr. Van Horn and from a small enterprise he has developed this business to the important industry now represented in the operations of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company. A statement concerning the output of the company's plant at the present time has already been given, and in significant contrast is the statement that when Mr. Tubbs assumed control of the business the production of his factory the first year did not exceed 100 gallons a day. Mr. Tubbs is a liberal and public spirited citizen who is thoroughly appreciative of the advantages and opportunities that have been afforded him in his present home city. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he is a Knight Templar Mason, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1882 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tubbs to Miss Mary A. Broadrent, and they have four children: Guy L., Hazel (Mrs. Gerald Guinan), Raymond A., and Neva Helen. The two sons are actively identified with the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company, as is also the sonin-law, Gerald Guinan and of each of them individual record is given on other pages of this volume. Raymond A. Tubbs is the younger of the two sons of G. Lafayette Tubbs, who is executive head of the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company and whose splendid achievement in the upbuilding of the substantial industrial enterprise controlled by this company is made the subject of due record in the personal sketch of his career that appears on other pages of this work. Both of the sons are proving valued coadjutors of their father in connection with this business, and Raymond A. has been the store manager of the concern since 1921. PERSONAL SKETCHES 425 Of the company adequate record is given in the sketch of G. Lafayette Tubbs. Raymond A. Tubbs was born at Ovid, Clinton county, Michigan, August 4, 1900, and in the public schools of Pontiac he was educated. Here he was graduated in the high school, as a member of the class of 1918, and in the following year he became associated with the Pontiac Paint Manufacturing Company, with which he has since continued his connection, this being one of the well organized and progressive industrial concerns of Pontiac. Mr. Tubbs is a loyal member of the Pontiac Board of CQmmerce, there is naught of feebleness in his support of the principles of the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and his religious faith is that of the Protestant Episcopal church, of which he is a communicant, as is also his wife. January 19, 1921, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Tubbs to Miss Marian Rogers, of Pontiac, and they have secure place as popular factors in the social life of their home city. Ralph D. Tyler.-Mr. Tyler is head of the R. D. Tyler agency, handling real estate and insurance and maintaining headquarters in the Strand Theater building in Pontiac. He is one of Pontiac's best known business men, embodying in his service a long and valuable experience to which is added subscription to the highest standard of business practice. Mr. Tyler is a Hoosier and was born in Noble county, Indiana, December 18, 1882, a son of George W. Tyler, a farmer of Noble county. The son obtained his first insurance experience in Detroit and in 1919 became a member of the Wood and Tyler agency. In March 1921 he bought the interest of Mr. Wood and changed the name to the R. D. Tyler agency which has been under his personal direction since. The agency handles everything in the way of insurance, carrying a great diversity of protective policies, and a general line of real estate. The volume of business has shown steady increase and is today sixteen times what it was when the business was started. Five salesmen and three persons in the office constitute the efficient staff of Mr. Tyler, who started with little capital other than a discriminating mind, pluck and indomitable courage. On October 3, 1905, Mr. Tyler was united in marriage to Miss Dora Mooney, of Lindsey, Ohio. There are two children, Dorothy L. and Desmond K., both students. Logically, as befits his business, Mr. Tyler is genuinely interested in the civic and material prosperity of his city and aids in the promotion of all movements looking to the expansion of Pontiac. He is a member of the Congregational church, of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Board of Commerce and a loyal supporter of that organization. He is a member of Oak Hill Cemetery Association and is secretary of the same. He is a director of the Kiwanis Club and is secretary and treasurer of the Knights of Pythias Building Association. Politically, at least in national affairs, he casts his lot with the Republican party. Clyde D. Underwood.-Mr. Underwood was born in Pontiac May 26, 1890, a son of William J. and Mary E. (Derewitt) Underwood, who were originally of Delaware. The parents located in Pontiac about 426 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY 1864. William J. Underwood was a contractor and builder and died July 5, 1924. Mrs. Underwood passed away in 1919. Clyde D. received his early education in Pontiac, attended the University of Detroit and the Detroit College of Law studying law at both institutions. At the Detroit College of Law in 1916 he received the degree, Bachelor of Laws. Since leaving school, Mr. Underwood has practiced law in Pontiac. For the past four years he has been the assistant prosecutor of Oakland county and fills the office with credit to himself and to the community. Mr. Underwood is fraternally minded, as is evidenced by membership in the Masonic order, the Royal Arch Chapter, the Elks and Knights of Pythias. The maternal grandparents of Mr. Underwood were William and Fannie (Clift) Derewitt, of England, who located early in Pontiac and amassed considerable land in what is now the very heart of the city. Part of their holdings was what is the site of the present county jail. The Derewitts were influentially identified with the development of Pontiac. Milton J. Uloth, M.D., who is established in the successful general practice of his profession in the city of Pontiac, was born in Ragi township, Lenawee county, Michigan, November 10, 1876, and is a son of Adam H. and Abbie J. (Santee) Uloth, the former of whom was born in Cassell, Germany, February 2, 1853, and the latter in Fulton county, Ohio, January 26, 1859. In the public schools Dr. Uloth continued his studies until he had profited by the advantages of the high school at Delta, Ohio, and thereafter he completed a course in the Adrian Business College, at Adrian, Michigan, the judicial center of his native county. In preparation for his chosen profession, he entered the Detroit College of Medicine, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1902 and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the city of Pontiac he has built up a substantial general practice, and he has membership in both the Oakland County and Genesee County Medical Societies, besides being a member of the American Medical Association and the Michigan State Medical Society. The Doctor is a Republican in political adherency, and while not a seeker of public office he has shown his civic loyalty in no uncertain way, including effective service as a member of the Ortonville board of education. At Ortonville his basic Masonic affiliation is with Ortonville Lodge No. 339, A. F. & A. M.; at Oxford he has membership in the chapter No. 94, Royal Arch Masons, and at the county seat he is a member of Pontiac Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar. June 28, 1905, Doctor Uloth married Miss May Grace Everett, daughter of John J. and Melissa (Markham) Everett, of Ortonville, this county. Doctor and Mrs. Uloth have two children: Everett J., born July, 1907, and Donald G., born in August, 1912. Robert W. Unger is a recognized authority in his chosen sphere of enterprise and is one of the successful horticulturists and florists of Oakland county, his large and well equipped grounds and green houses being established at Oxford. Mr. Unger was born in Germany, September 20, 1862, and besides receiving the advantages of PERSONAL SKETCHES 427 the excellent schools of his native land he also fortified himself by a thorough apprenticeship in scientific and practical horticulture, in the botanical gardens, city of Metz. Thereafter he was employed for some time in the Royal parks of Wurtemburg, and his early experience included also his service in some of the finest parks in Switzerland and France. In 1890 Mr. Unger came to the United iStates, and after remaining for a time in the state of Nebraska he established his residence in the city of Chicago, he having found employment at his profession in some of the magnificent parks of that great metropolis. In 1903 he came to Michigan, and for ten years he was employed as horticulturist in the city parks of Detroit, including the beautiful Belle Isle park. He then came to Oxford, Oakland county, and purchased the green houses and business of Otto A. Stoll. Here he has about one-half acre under glass, and his broad experience and thorough technical knowledge have here come into effective play in his building up a substantial business as a horticulturist and as a grower of the finest types and varieties of flowers for the local and metropolitan markets. Mr. Unger is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, and he and his family are zealous members of the Congregational church. June 29, 1898, Mr. Unger married Miss Henrietta Schmidt, who was born in the city of Chicago, Illinois, March 14, 1867, and who was there reared and educated. Mrs. Unger, a woman of most gentle and gracious personality, is an unassuming but popular figure in the church and social circles of her home community, where she is a member of the Woman's Library Club and is affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star and the Pythian Sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Unger have three children: Robert W., Jr., was graduated in the Oxford high school as a member of the class of 1919 and is now a valued assistant in his father's business; Mildred was graduated in the local high school in the year 1921, and the following year was there marked by the graduation also of Edmund, the youngest of the children. William W. Van Every has long been established in business as one of the leading contractors and builders in the fine little city of Birmingham, is a native son of Oakland county, and is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Michigan. His paternal grandparents, William and Lydia (Ladson) Van Every became early settlers in Oakland county. William Van Every was born in Wayne county, Michigan, and his father at that time owned and resided upon the land where the Detroit city waterworks are now established, on the banks of the Detroit river. The Van Every family eventually traded this land for a tract of 1,300 acres in Southfield township, Oakland county, and here William Van Every and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, he having operated a grist mill in the early days and having also conducted a hotel at Franklin. William W. Van Every was born at Southfield, Oakland county, February 22, 1879, and is a son of John D. and Lydia (White) Van Every, who established their hone at Birmingham in the year 1894. John D. Van Every was born at Milford, this county, September 30, 1854, and 428 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY gained his early education in the public school at Franklin. He early engaged in business as a painter and decorator, and to this line of enterprise he has continued to give his attention during his residence of more than twenty years at Birmingham, his wife having here died in March, 1923. William W. Van Every is indebted to the public schools of Franklin for his youthful educational discipline, and he early served an apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter, in which he became a skilled workman, he having been a lad of about fifteen at the time of the family removal to Birmingham, and he having long held precedence as one of the representative contractors and builders in this community, where his constructive activities have done much to advance both civic and material progress. His two sisters likewise reside at Birmingham, namely: Mrs. Carrie Aldridge and Mrs. Winifred Shattuck. Mr. Van Every married Miss Adelaide Fisher, daughter of Albert Fisher of Birmingham, and the children of this union are three in number: Frances was born April 19, 1909, and Margaret and William, twins, were born June 7, 1914. Rev. Orrin Van Loon has the personality and the ability that splendidly fortify him for the leadership that is distinctly his in religious, civic and general community affairs in the attractive and vital village of Berkley, which received its corporate charter in 1923. He is pastor of the Berkley Community church, and is serving also as village commissioner. Mr. Van Loon was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, January 1, 1882, and in the public schools of the Michigan metropolis he continued his studies until he had duly profited by the curriculum of the high school. At the age of eighteen years he became superintendent of a manufacturing establishment in his native city, and there he was later engaged in turn in the insurance business and the furniture business. His earnest religious convictions early suggested to him the thought of preparing himself for the ministry, and while still residing in Detroit he came to Berkley, Oakland county, in 1919, and organized its first Sunday school, the local school house having been used as a place of assembly and the school having been ordered along non-sectarian lines. Mr. Van Loon thereafter continued his earnest religious activities with headquarters at Orion, this county, with special care given to his Sunday school and other religious and community service at Berkley. While residing in Orion he was ordained a clergyman of the Baptist denomination, and became a member of the Orion-Flint Rivers Association of Baptist Ministers. In 1920 he organized the Berkley Community church, of which he has since been the honored and able pastor, the church being established on a non-sectarian basis and being an important medium of general community service and betterment. Mr. Van Loon is a man of broad intellectual ken, of fervent faith and of high ideals, and all these find constructive application in his zealous executive and ecclesiastical service as pastor of this vital church organization, the growth of which has been remarkable, along both spiritual and temporal lines. In the spring of 1923 Mr. Van Loon was elected a member of the municipal board of commissioners of Berkley, and in PERSONAL SKETCHES 429 this office he has since continued to serve with characteristic loyalty and efficiency, as one of the progressive and public spirited citizens who are doing their utmost to advance all community interests. In 1905 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Van Loon to Miss Lura DePond, of Detroit,who has been and is a leading factor of many branches of the church and Sunday school activities, a devoted wife and wise mother, and the children of this union are three in number: M. Elvira, who was born June 29, 1906, was graduated in the Royal Oak high school as a member of the class of 1924, and the year 1925 finds her in service at Nichol's Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan, where she is gaining a preliminary experience essential to the missionary service to which she expects to devote herself; Lura Etta was born May 2, 1910, was afforded the advantages of the Berkley public schools and is giving special attention to the study of music, in which art she has manifested marked talent; Orrin, Jr., was born December 21, 1911, and is attending the Berkley public schools. Joseph H. Varion.-Mr. Varion, as manager or director of the laboratory division of the Department of Public Health, has brought to the position a fine experience and a careful preparation. Mr. Varion was born in Danville, Pennsylvania, October 12, 1890, and in 1907 was graduated from the high school of his home town. He entered the Michigan state hospital at Pontiac in 1913 and until 1917 was at the head of the institution's laboratory. May 31, 1917, he enlisted in the World war, base hospital No. 36, Detroit, and October 26, sailed for France by way of England. He was over seas eighteen months, sergeant, first class, and was in charge of laboratory work in a hospital center. Mr. Varion received his discharge May 2, 1919, and in June came to Pontiac to assume the position he now holds. A communicant of the Catholic church, Mr. Varion is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a member of the American Legion. In May, 1919, he was united in marriage to Miss Neva Colter, of Dickerville. For four years Mrs. Varion was public health nurse in Pontiac, the first to hold that position in the city. Frank L. Vasbinder.-Dipping into mechanics at the age of fourteen, Mr. Vasbinder early in life developed skill and dexterity in the use of tools. And he also acquired a comprehensive knowledge of what it really means to work and earn one's living. The knowledge that has been acquired by dint of hard work, has been successfully capitalized and Mr. Vasbinder has become one of Pontiac's most successful contractors. He is located at 98 South Saginaw street. Electrical work and installations are Mr. Vasbinder's specialty. Mr. Vasbinder was born November 8, 1870, in Ontario, attended public school but at the age of fourteen was thrown upon his own resources and was obliged to make his own living. He obtained tools and started to work at blacksmithing and continued at such work three years. He then turned to engineering work and continued in that field for many years. From July 5, 1899, to October 15, 1916, he was employed by the Bay City Consumers' Railway Company and successive concerns closing as superintendent of the Consumers' Power Company 430 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY at Pontiac. In 1908 Mr. Vasbinder came to Pontiac and in 1916 engaged in business for himself. On April 17, 1898, Mr. Vasbinder and Laura Ginsiver, of Saginaw, were united in marriage. One son has been born,,Lorenz, whose birthdate was November 26, 1904. He was graduated from Pontiac high school and in 1922 entered the University of Michigan. When not in school Mr. Vasbinder assists his father. The members of the family are communicants of the Congregational church. Frank L. Vashbinder is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner and belongs to the commandery of the Knights Templar; also a member of the Aviation Country Club and the Kiwanis Club. R. M. Vincent, M.D.-Doctor Vincent is the efficient health officer of Royal Oak, Michigan, appointed to the post in January, 1922, and his tenure has been marked by energetic and intelligent effort to improve the health conditions of the community. In his official relationship, Doctor Vincent asks the co-operation of every individual within the community knowing that, after all, the health of the city depends upon the care and the watchfulness of each family and individual in the community. Doctor Vincent came to Royal Oak in January, 1920, and began practice in that city. He is a native of New York state and his birth date was March 17, 1892. He was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1915 with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and in 1917 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. An interneship was served in Bellevue hospital, New York City, and during the World war Doctor Vincent was with Base Hospital No. 69, in Maryland and in Saveney, France. He was in France ten months and in the service of his government altogether for a period of thirteen months and received his honorable discharge on July 2, 1919. In January of the following year the Doctor came to Royal Oak, ingratiated himself into the hearts of the citizens and has developed a splendid practice. His public service has been of the highest character. On March 8, 1920, Doctor Vincent was united in marriage to Miss Julia Skladany, of Beatrice, Nebraska, who also served valiantly for defense of country as a nurse in Base Hospital No. 69 in Saveney. The issue of the union is one son, Ralph M. Vincent, Jr., and one daughter, Helen PR Vincent. Doctor Vincent is a Mason and a member of the Exchange Club. He is a member of the Oakland County Medical Society and of the Michigan State Medical Society; is a Republican by political persuasion and in religious adherence is Presbyterian. Roy Voorhees, who holds the office of sergeant in the police department of the city of Pontiac, was born at Orleans, Ionia county, Michigan, February 16, 1895, and is a son of Frederick Voorhees, who was a resident of Milton, Pennsylvania, at time of his death in 1910, and whose widow died in this city in 1922. The public schools afforded Roy Voorhees his early education, and he was a youth of seventeen years when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, his service in which continued from June 14, 1912, until March, 1915, when he received his honorable discharge. He was not long to re PERSONAL SKETCHES 431 main out of service, however, for when the nation became involved in the World war he promptly volunteered. May 21, 1917, he enlisted as a private in Company E, Thirty-third Michigan Volunteer Infantry, as a mechanic, and on the 10th of the following October he was assigned to Company A of the One Hundred and Twentieth Machine Gun Battalion, which, as a part of the Thirty-second Division, embarked February 10, 1918, for overseas service. Mr. Voorhees endured the full tension of conflict on the battlefields of France, where he participated in the engagements of the Meuse-Argonne, those of the Lorraine sector, and the now historic battling at Soisson. In the Aisne-Marne campaign he was wounded, but he recuperated sufficiently to go with the allied army of occupation into Germany after the armistice brought active hostilities to a close. He disembarked in the port of New York City May 10, 1919, and at Camp Custer, Michigan, he received his honorable discharge on the 21st of that month. He shortly afterward became a member of the police force of Pontiac, and in 1921 he was transferred to the traffic department of the police service, with which he has since continued his efficient administration, he having been in command of the street traffic division of the Pontiac police department since August, 1922, at which time he was advanced to the rank of sergeant. He is known as a careful and efficient official of unfailing courtesy and consideration, and his present position has brought him into specially close contact with the public, with the result that he has gained a host of friends in his home city. Sergeant Voorhees is aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, he and his wife hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pontiac, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the American Legion, Mrs. Vo6rhees having membership in the Order of the Eastern Star and also the White Shrine. December 12, 1923, was the date of the marriage of Sergeant Voorhees to Miss Ethel M. Wright, daughter of Norman A. Wright, of Cass Lake, Oakland county, who is president of the Pontiac Tractor Company. Charles E. Warcup.-One of the well equipped and well ordered mercantile establishments in the vital little city of Ferndale, Oakland county, is the hardware store owned and conducted by Mr. Warcup, who here established his residence in 1920, about two years after Ferndale received its charter as a village, its splendid growth since that time having given to it a population of approximately 12,000. The birth of Mr. Warcup occurred January 2, 1893, in the fine little city of London, Ontario, Canada, and there his youthful educational advantages included those of the high school. There, at the age of sixteen years, he gained his initial experience of business order, as clerk in a hardware store. In 1919 he took a position in the large hardware establishment of the T. B. Rayl Hardware Company of Detroit, Michigan, and in the following year he came to Ferndale and opened a modest hardware business in a local garage, whence, later in the same year, he removed to his present headquarters, at 22837 Woodward avenue, this thoroughfare being a continuation of the celebrated Detroit avenue of that name. Comprehensive stock and 432 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY effective service have caused the business of Mr. Warcup to show a constantly cumulative tendency, and he is one of the progressive and popular young business men of the fair city that-is one of the most vital and attractive in Oakland county. In the Masonic fraternity his ancient-craft affiliation is with Ferndale Lodge No. 506, A. F. & A. M., and in his native city of London, Ontario, he is a life member of St. John's Chapter, R. A. M. His Masonic connections include membership in Shadukiam Grotto of the Veiled Prophets, in the city of Detroit. He is affiliated also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with its adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah. He is an active and appreciative member of the Ferndale Board of Commerce, and in their home city he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1913 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Warcup to Miss Anna E. Armes, of Dorchester, Ontario, Canada, and their one child, George Charles, was born December 11, 1915. Harley D. Warner.-Mr. Warner is widely known in this section of Michigan through his association with the dairy products concern bearing the name. He was born March 4, 1894, in Farmington, a son of Fred M. Warner. The son attended school in Farmington, Lansing high school and in 1912 was graduated from Detroit Central high school. In 1916 he was graduated from the University of Michigan in the department of mechanical engineering but had taken all the elective studies offered in business administration, so his equipment is both scientific and commercial. During the World war Mr. Warner was in the aircraft armament section being in the first officers' training camp. Commissioned a first lieutenant, he served over seas from January, 1918, to December of that year and was stationed most of the time around Metz and was in the battle of ChateauThierry and in the engagement of Stenay. He was discharged in February, 1919, and returned at once to the Warner Dairy Company, of which he is now the vice-president. The Warner Dairy Company is the outgrowth of the Fred M. Warner Cheese Company, founded thirty-two years ago, and which increased to the extent that it operated a dozen cheese plants, most of which were around Detroit. The new company manufactures cheese and buys dairy products from farmers and sells to creameries in Detroit, handling 7,500 gallons of milk and cream per day. The company has cooling stations at Novi, Walled Lake and Farmington. On August 16, 1917, Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Dorothy Slocum, who was born in Caro, Michigan, and two children are the issue of the marriage, Frederick Maltby, and Dorothy Susan. Mr. Warner is very active in the promotion of community and civic improvement. He is a director of the Farmington State Savings Bank, a director of the First National Bank in Pontiac, a director of the Oakland Orchard Land Company, is treasurer of the school board and secretary and treasurer of the Farmington Improvement Company, president of the Wolverine Storage, Company, Detroit; vice-president of the Leather Parts and Golf Manufacturing Company, Detroit, an!d secretary-treasutrer of the PERSONAL SKETCHES 433 Suburban Land Company. He is a Mason and a member of the Farmington Exchange Club, the American Legion, Meadowbrook Golf Club, the Aviation Town and Country Club, Pine Lake Country Club, also of the Zeta Psi college fraternity. While in college Mr. Warner was active in baseball and basketball. Fred M. Warner.-Virtually the entire life of Hon. Fred M. Warner was passed in Michigan, and few have left a more benignant and influential impress on the history of the state than this man, its former governor and its former secretary of state. Mr. Warner was born at Hickling, Nottinghamshire, England, July 21, 1865, and was but three months old when his parents came to the United States, his mother having died a few months later and he having then been adopted by Hon. P, Dean and Rhoda E. Warner, of Farmington, Oakland county, Michigan, a place that was destined to be his home and the center of his interests during the remainder of his life. This honored citizen of Oakland county was sojourning in Florida at the time of his death, April 18th, 1923, and his widow still maintains her home at Farmington. In the public schools of Farmington Mr. Warner continued his studies until his graduation in the high school, and thereafter he was for a time a student in Michigan Agricultural College. In the general mercantile store of his foster father, at Farmington, he gained his early business experience, and after the father retired he himself assumed control of the business, which under his vigorous management was expanded into one of broad scope and importance. In 1889 Mr. Warner established a cheese factory at Farmington, and he became one of the foremost in this important line of industrial enterprise in Michigan, the while his association with the same brought to him a substantial fortune. He later established other cheese factories, at different places in this section of the state, and became the executive head of twelve such well ordered manufacturing establishments that gave distinct impetus to the dairy interests of Michigan, the while he had much of leadership in the national cheese making industry of the United States. He established factories at Farmington, Franklin, Novi and Powers Station, Oakland county, and the eight other factories were in Huron, Clinton and Ingham counties. In 1905 the business was incorporated under the title of the Fred M. Warner Cheese Company. The output of the factories was brought up to 2,000,000 pounds annually, and in later years a general dairy business was made a supplement to the manufacturing. Fully 15,000 pounds of pasteurized milk are now produced in busy seasons and the output is marketed prinipally in the city of Detroit. Since the death of Governor Warner this branch of the business has been continued by his sons, under the title of the Farmington Dairy Company: P. Dean Warner was the founder of the Warner Exchange Bank at Farmington, and the lineal successor of the same was the present Farmers Exchange Bank, of which the subject of this memoir was one of the organizers and of which he was the president at the time of his death, the same having been incorporated as a state bank in the year 1910. Mr. Warner likewise became vice-preaienat of the Do 434 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY troit United Bank, one of the solid financial institutions of the Michigan metropolis. He was one of the founders of the Farmington Improvement Association, and was a leader in the movement that resulted in the erection of the modern business block in which is established the Farmers Exchange Bank. In 1890 Mr. Warner was elected a trustee of the municipal council of the village of Farmington, and of this position he continued the incumbent nine years. From 1895 to 1898 he was representative of the Twelfth district in the Michigan state senate, and in this connection he so proved his value as a public official of utmost loyalty and efficiency that in 1900 he was made the Republican nominee for the office of secretary of state. He was nominated by acclamation, was elected in November of that year, and in 1902 he was re-elected. In 1904 he was nominated and elected governor of Michigan, and he had the distinction of being the youngest man to be called to this office from the time of the adoption of the state constitution of 1850, the while the only other Oakland county man to be elected governor was the late Moses Wisner, who served in 1859-61. Mr. Warner was a good governor, in all that the word implies. He worked diligently and loyally in advancing the best interests of Michigan, and the popular estimate placed upon his service is best shown in his having had the unique honor of serving three consecutive terms as governor-January, 1905, to January, 1911. The record of his administration has become an integral part of the history of the state, and it is unnecessary to enter details here. It may be stated, however, that Governor Warner was the staunch champion of such measures as the good roads movement, the primary election law, the popular nomination of United States senators, the twocent railroad passenger law, and the uniform taxation of corporations. He later became the storm center in connection with the Republican nomination for United States senator from his district, but withdrew his name, he having been an implacable opponent of what has been termed Newberryism, in connection -with Michigan representation in the national senate. Mr. Warner was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Pontiac, of which he was vice-president at the time of his death, as was he also of the United States Savings Bank of Detroit, besides having been a director of the Bank of Redford. He was a member of the official board of the Methodist Episcopal church at Farmington, and at his death the pastor of this church gave the following appreciative estimate: "It is hardly possible to realize what the death of Fred M. Warner means to his home community and friends. His place in affairs of state is known to all, but the intimate personal life of Mr. Warner belongs to those who shared the fellowship of his home and neighborhood. In this connection Mr. Warner revealed a kindly, wholesome nature, which commanded the affection of those who were privileged to know him in such relation. He carried the same manly characteristics into public life. He was not only a member of the official board of the church but also gave a sincere devotion to its highest interests." On the 19th of September, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Warner to Miss Martha M. Davis, PERSONAL SKETCHES! 435 who was born in Far nmgton township, this county, a daughter of Samuel and Susan oft) Davis. The Davis family was founded in Pennsylvania in the colonial period of American history. Mrs. Warner still maintains her home at Farmington, and all of the four children likewise survive the honored father: Susan Edessa, Howard Maltby, Harley Davis, and Helen Rhoda. The sons continue the business established by their father and are well upholding the prestige of the family name. Philip J. Watson. That the village of Ferndale, one of the most modern and attractive in Oakland county, and in a large sense identified with the metropolitan district of Detroit, has grown from a population of about 1,500 to approximately 12,000 within the short period since it received its village charter, in 1918, marks the place as the stage of loyal civic progressiveness. Here the firm of Watson & Hassberger has a place of prominence in real estate and building operations, and controls a substantial and important general real estate business that contributes materially to the continuous advancement of the community interests. The interested principals in this firm are Philip J. Watson and William A. Hassberger. Mr. Watson was born at Elmer, Sanilac county, Michigan, September 8, 1890, and in the public schools of that village he acquired his early education, which was advanced by his course in the high school at Marlette, that county. As a youth he established his residence in the Michigan metropolis, and there, during a period of seven years, he had charge of accounts for the Detroit Butcher Supply Company. In 1919 he wisely cast in his lot with the newly incorporated village of Ferndale, where he engaged in the real estate and building business, with which line of constructive enterprise he has since continued his association, as one of the progressive and resourceful young business men of Oakland county. The present firm of Watson & Hassberger was formed in 1923, and it now controls a business of broad scope, in the handling of local realty, acting as rental agents, and in extending loans oh approved real estate security. Mr. Watson is a director of the Ferndale State Bank, and that his civic loyalty and liberality have gained him special recognition is shown in the fact that at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1924-25, he is serving as president of the municipal board of trustees, or common council, of Ferndale, in which office he is giving a characteristically vigorous and progressive administration, he being, in line of succession, the fifth to serve as president of the village since its incorporation. Mr. Watson is affiliated with Zion Lodge No. 1, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is an influential member of the Ferndale Board of Commerce and the Exchange Club. February 28, 1915, Mr. Watson wedded Miss Olive E. Thomas, of Kingsville, Ontario, Canada, and their one child, Mabel L., was born in January, 1919. Edwin M. Weatherhead. Mr. Weatherhead is the proprietor of the Michigan Printing Company, 8 North Perry street, Pontiac. He was born in Green Oak, Livingston county, Michigan, April 18, 1874. His father was Captain William A. Weatherhead, a Civil war veteran 430 HISTORY OF OAKIAND COUNTY of the Eighteenth Michigan infantry. The senior Weatherhead built the frst grist mill in Green Oak, and the old mill is still standing. Mr. Weatherhead also went to South Lyon, Oakland cou'nty, and constructed the first flour mill in that community. He died in South Lyon in 1889. Edwin M. Weatherhead attended grade and high school at South Lyon and obtained employment on the old South Lyon "Picket," then published by E. V. Chillson, now deputy secretary of state. He also worked at various other places, in printing, and on coming to Pontiac worked on the Weekly Gazette, published by Kimball and Turner. He was on that paper about five years and then went with Mr. English and became part owner in the Daily Gazette. This publication was sold to Harry Coleman and Mr. Weatherhead purchased a small job printery and from a rather unpretentious beginning has evolved the Michigan Printing Company. Mr. Weatherhead owns the building occupied, possesses strictly modern equipment in the way of presses, type, furniture, etc., and has developed a large business. He is a stockholder of the Pontiac Commercial and Savings Bank. Membership is held in the Masonic fraternity and Mr. Weatherhead is a member of the consistory of the Scottish Rite, of the Knights Templar and of the Shrine. On June 29, 1910, he was united in marriage to Miss Beryl Wood, of Memphis, Michigan. Two daughters are the issue of the union, Betty and Peggy. In the support of civic and community expansion movements, Mr. Weatherhead is zealous and his support is always to be depended upon. William P. Webb passed his entire life in the city of Pontiac and was one of its successful and representative exponents of the meat market business at the time of his death, the family name having long been one of major prominence in this line of enterprise in the fair city that is the metropolis and judicial center of Oakland county. Mr. Webb was born in Pontiac March 18, 1876, and here his death occurred February 5, 1921, the intervening years having recorded worthy achievement on his part and having recorded him as one of the sterling citizens and enterprising business men of his native city. Mr. Webb was a son of Alfred and Harriet (Plank) Webb, both natives of England, where the former was born in 1842 and the latter in 1839. Alfred Webb was still a young man when he established his residence in Pontiac, and he opened one of the first meat markets in this city, which was then little more than a village. He continued as one of the leading representatives of this line of business in Pontiac during the remainder of his active career, and here his death occurred in 1901, his widow having passed away in 1911. To the public schools of Pontiac the subject of this memoir was indebted for his youthful education, and while still attending school he began to assist in his father's meat market, where he thus early familiarized himself with all practical and executive details, of the business. He and his brother, Giles A., were eventually admitted to partnership with their father, and later William P, engaged in the sae line of busines in an independent way. HIe conducted oae of the metropolitan meat markets of the city, gave aR wviw that brought to him a large pad appreciative patronage and aince his death the W. P, Webb establishment has continued to be one PERSONAL SKETCHES 437 of the leading meat markets of the city, the same being how in charge of his brother-in-law, Frank R. Whitfield, with the ownership of the property and business vested in his widow and children. Mr. Webb had a wide circle of friends in his hative city and coiinty, and was actively affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the local lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. On the 16th of October, 1901, Mr. Webb was united in marriage to Miss Katherine E. Greer, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county, as wete also her parents, William and Genevieve (Simpson) Greer. Mr. Greer was born in' the year 1852 and the greater part of his active life was devoted to farming, he having died in 1911 and his widow having her home at present in the city of Pontiac. Besides his widow Mr. Webb is survived also by their five children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: Alfred, August 22, 1902; Thelma, January 31, 1904; Bernice, April 1, 1905; Beryl, August 7, 1908; and Edith, January 12, 1911. With her children Mrs. Webb resides at 14 Mathew street, and in her native county her circle of friends is coextensive with that of her acquaintances. Mr. Webb was a thoroughgoing and progressive business man and his loyalty to his native city and county found expression in his support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the general communal welfare, both civic and material. Charles P. Webster, who is engaged in the practice of law in his native city of Pontiac, is a scion of the fourth generation of the Webster family in Oakland county, where his paternal great-grandfather settled in the early territorial period-more than a decade before Michigan became one of the sovereign states of the Union. Of the family history more specific record is given on other pages of this volume, in the memoir dedicated to the late Elmer R. Webster. Charles P. Webster was born in Pontiac July 18, 1886, and is a son of Elmer R. and Birdie J. (Pither), Webster, individual record of whom is given elsewhere in this publication, so that repetition of the data is not here required. The Pontiac public schools gave to Charles P. Webster his earlier education, which included the curriculum of the high school, and in preparation for his chosen profession he completed a course in the law department of the University of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1908. After thus receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws he passed the examination that gained him admission to the bar of his native state, and he forthwith became associated with his father in the practice of law in Pontiac, as junior member of the firm of E. R. & C.'P. Webster. This professional alliance continued until the death of his father, in 1924, and since that time he has continued in independent practice, with a substantial general law business of important and representative order. He takes loyal interest in all that concerns the welfare and advancement of his native city and of the county in which the Webster family has the maximum of pioneer priority and distinction. Like his father and grandfather, he is a staunch advocate of progressive policies in connection with educa 438 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY tional matters, and is a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he has secure status as one of the representative members of the bar of Oakland county. In the year 1909 Mr. Webster wedded Miss Mary Coleman Hill, of Pontiac, and her death occurred in 1917, the three children who survive her being Mary Ellen, Betty H., and Jane P. In November, 1921, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Webster to Miss Anne Moran, of Pontiac, and they reside in a beautiful home at 127 Wayne street. Elmer Randolph Webster, whose death occurred at the Henry Ford Hospital in the city of Detroit on the 3d of June, 1924, passed his entire life in Oakland county and was a scion of one of its oldest and most honored pioneer families. He was born on the parental homestead farm in White Lake township, this county, February 10, 1855, and was a son of Alanson J. and Delia (Richmond) Webster. Alanson J. Webster was born on what is now Perry street just outside the city of Pontiac, this county, in 1827, and was a son of Chester and Polly Matilda (Whitney) Webster, who were numbered among the very early settlers in the county. They here established their home more than a decade before Michigan territory gained the dignity of independent statehood, the name of the Webster family having been prominently and worthily identified with the civic and industrial development of Oakland county within whose gracious borders have been born representatives of four generations of this sterling pioneer family. Alanson J. Webster became one of the substantial exponents of farm industry in White Lake township, and though specific educational advantages in the pioneer community were necessarily limited, he was a close and ardent student, as is evident when it is stated that he became proficient in the translation of both the Greek and Latin languages. He was one of the able and influential citizens of his day in Oakland county, served as a member of the Michigan legislature, and held the office of township supervisor. He was a vigorous and eloquent public speaker, and as a campaign orator his reputation was more than local. He was a stalwart Democrat, was a vigorous opponent of the doctrine advanced by the Know-Nothing party, and in the campaign in which Hon. Stephen A. Douglas appeared as the Democrat candidate for president of the United States, Mr. Webster toured Michigan in the making of campaign speeches in support of the "Little Giant." He was but forty-four years of age at the time of his death, but had gained much of leadership in advancing the civic interests of his native county-notably those of educational order. Elmer R. Webster, who was the oldest lawyer in active practice at the Oakland county bar at the time of his death, passed the period of his childhood and early youth on the home farm, and supplemented the discipline of the district school by a course in the Pontiac high school. After the completion of his high school studies he entered the University of Michigan, an institution from which he was graduated as a member of the literary class of 1879 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and the law class of 1880,,and was ad /11-1 0.0 PERSONAL SKETCHES 439 mitted to the bar in the same year that marked his graduation from the university. He gave three months effective service as principal of the grammar department of the old Pontiac high school, on a vacancy appointment, and later while engaged in the practice of law he was chosen the first commissioner of schools for Oakland county, an office that he retained many years. He was distinctly a leader in advancing the standard of the public schools of his native county, and as a member of the Pontiac board of education during a period of twenty-eight years he made a record of loyal and constructive service that must ever reflect honor upon his name and stand in evidence of his faithful stewardship. With utmost consistency was named in his honor the Elmer R. Webster school, on West Huron street. He was elected a member of the board of education in 1896, and his service in this capacity was continued until his death. He was president of the board in the period of 1902-05, was its secretary from 1906 to 1921, and was its vice-president during the last three years of his life. Within his period of service were erected most of the present school buildings of Pontiac, and he assisted in an effective way in the designing and constructing of the present fine high school building. Mr. Webster was always conservative in judgment and that judgment caused him to form his opinions only after careful consideration and deliberation, so that his finally expressed decisions were always received with respect by the other members of the board of education and were followed by the board in nearly all instances. In his business affairs and public service Mr. Webster spared himself neither time nor effort, refused to consider indulgence in needed vacations, and applied himself with a diligence that was in itself commendable but that eventually made serious inroads upon his health. His political convictions led him to retain the ancestral faith, that of the Democratic party, and in a fraternal way he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. He was for twelve years a member of the Pontiac board of public works, was for twelve years county school commissioner, besides having served as township school comimissioner, as a member of the board of county supervisors and as justice of the peace. Resolutions adopted by the board of education at the time of his death point out a rare combining of conservativeness and progressiveness in his decisions, and remark his "innate, all-prevailing and ever-present but unostentatious love of fair play and honest for honest's sake." After having given many years of service as justice of the peace, Mr. Webster formed a business partnership with Frank Crawford, who likewise was a justice of the peace, and they purchased the Oakland county abstract books of the late Robert J. Lounsbury. Mr. Crawford later purchased Mr. Webster's interest, and the business is still continued under direction of a son, Harry M. Crawford, under the title of the Crawford Abstract Company. In his law practice Mr. Webster gave special attention to probate matters, and he was a recognized local authority in all matters pertaining to property titles. In the closing years of his professional career he was associated in practice 440 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY with his only son, Charles P., of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. His home in Pontiac was at 149 Mount Clemens street, where he lived during nearly all of his married life and where his widow still resides. His funeral services were held in the auditorium of the Elmer R. Webster school, and the community in general assembled to pay a final tribute to a sterling and honored citizen who had been faithful and true in all of the relations of life. In this connection it may be noted that the funeral of his father was held from the Webster school in White Lake township, a school named in honor of the father. In the year 1884 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Webster to Miss Birdie J. Pither, who was born at Oil City, Pennsylvania, and who still maintains her home in Pontiac, as do also their two children —Charles P., and Eva R., the latter being the wife of Delance J. Brown. Chester Webster was one of the earliest settlers in Oakland county and was one of its most venerable and honored pioneer citizens at the time of his death, at his rural home in Pontiac township, August 28, 1884. He was born in the town of Westfield, Washington county, New York, January 13, 1795, and was five years of age at the time of the family removal to Onondaga county, that state, where he was reared to manhood and where he continued to reside until 1821, when he came to the frontier wilds of Oakland county, Michigan, and became a member of the home circle of his uncle, Aaron Webster, one of the first to make settlement in the county. Later the subject of this memoir participated in a surveying expedition in Genesee county, in the autumn of 1821, and after passing two years in Michigan Territory he returned to New York. He soon returned to Michigan, however, and in Troy township, Oakland county, his marriage to Miss Polly Matilda Whitney was solemnized December 7, 1823. He forthwith purchased the land that was to figure as his homestead farm during the remainder of his long and useful life, and he played a worthy part in the civic and industrial development and progress of Oakland county, and his name and that of his wife merit high place on the rolls of the honored pioneers of Oakland county, the death of Mrs. Webster having occurred November 4, 1887, and her birth having occurred in Granville, Washington county, New York, January 8, 1798. Of the eleven children all but one attained to years of maturity. Alanson J. Webster, a son of the honored subject of this memoir, was one of the influential citizens of Oakland county at the time of his death, January 14, 1876. William Weir, a scion of the staunchest of Scotch ancestry and possessed of the sterling characteristics of the race from which he is sprung, was born and reared in Scotland and in the land of his adoption he has achieved marked success in the vocation for which he trained himself in his native land. In the fine little city of Royal Oak he has built up a prosperous business in the painting of all kinds of high-grade signs, and the enterprise, at 310 West First street, is conducted under the title of the Weir Sign Company. Mr. Weir was born in Dysert, Scotland, June 7, 1889, and is a son of Alexander and PERSONAL 8KETCHES 441 Eliza (King) Weit, the father, a skilled machinist and engineer, hatv ing passed his entire life in Scotland, where he died in 1919, the widowed mother having later come to the United States to make a home with and for her only son, William, of this review, and she being now the gracious chatelaine of their pleasant home in Royal Oak. Hugh King, maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a painter by trade and vocation and long maintained a large sign and art shop in Scotland. The higher education of William Weir was acquired in Herriot Watt College, at Edinburgh, Scotland. He and his mother made a most pleasing visit in 1924 with his sister, Mrs. Robert Stark at Kirkcaldy, besides visiting other places in their beloved native land. Mr. Weir has followed the painting and sign business from his early youth, and has distinctive talent and skill in this vocation. He came to the United States in 1912, and after following the work of his trade and art in several different states he finally established his residence at Royal Oak, in 1915. In 1920 he here engaged independently in the sign business, and the fine standard of the work turned out by his establishment has gained to him a substantial and prosperous business that has been extended through Oakland county and into adjoining counties. He is one of the popular young business men of Royal Oak, is an active member of the local Chamber of Commerce, and is affiliated with Scotland Lodge No. 520, F. & A.M., and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his mother hold membership in the Presbyterian church. The name of Mr. Weir is enrolled on the list of eligible and popular young bachelors in Oakland county. J. A. Wendorph, superintendent of Roseland Park cemetery, Birmingham, Michigan, is a landscape designer under whose skill several "cities of the dead" have been laid out. Mr. Wendorph is a son of John and Dorothy Wendorph, both of whom are dead. The father was a farmer and the head of a large family in which were, besides J. A., Mrs. George Snyder, of Sacramento, California; Mrs. John Shibley, of Troy, New York; Miss Marie Wendorph, of West Sand Lake, New York; and Lena, Gertrude and Rose Wendorph, deceased. On June 27, 1888, Mr. Wendorph was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Wicks, of West Sand Lake. There are five children, Hazel, who is Mrs. Richard W. Lawler, city clerk of Birmingham; Stella, who is the wife of Joseph Edgan; Florence, who is engaged in office work; Beulla, who is living at home, and J. Howard, who is in direct supervision of interments at Roseland Park cemetery. Mr. Wendorph, a Republican in politics, was police judge in Linden, New Jersey, and is a member of the council of Birmingham. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias. Roseland Park cemetery is one of the distinctive burial places of the country, a beautifully landscaped cemetery of 220 acres to which Mr. Wendorph came in 1908. It contains the largest mausoleum west of New York and cost at the time of its construction ten years ago $185,000. The mausoleum is two stories high and has capacity for 2,000 bodies. The Wayne County American Legion and the Spanish-American War Veterans have plots in the cemetery and so have the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The 442 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY cemetery gates, costing $18,000, are declared to be the most expensive and imposing of the character in the United States. Largely through Mr. Wendorph has the cemetery been brought to a high standard, from the aesthetic as well as practical standpoint. Mr. Wendorph, born on a farm in New York state, spent his early childhood on the farm and at the age of fourteen applied for a job at the Albany rural cemetery. He was at once employed as a cart driver, worked faithfully and in the course of four years the superintendent of the cemetery, J. A. Burns, assigned him to the laborious task of digging graves. But he liked the work, became adept and served the cemetery in every possible capacity. A predilection for landscaping early manifested itself and enhanced his usefulness. Later Mr. Wendorph was engaged to lay out a 185-acre burial ground at Glen Falls, New York, at which place he spent five years, moving to New Jersey, in which state he laid out three cemeteries. He then came to Michigan and developed and landscaped Roseland Park cemetery, which conforms to the highest known standards of cemetery maintenance, with respect to design, drainage, ornamentation, arrangement and service. Up to the present more than 4,000 interments have been made in Roseland Park. Philip L. Werner.-Mr. Werner is the secretary of the Main Plumbing and Heating Company, 117 West Third street, Royal Oak, and has contributed much to the success of this well known establishment. Mr. Werner is a native of Joliet, Illinois, where he was born January 18, 1893. He is a son of John Werner, a carpenter contractor, now deceased. The mother, Emma Werner, is living in Joliet. In the public schools of Joliet Philip Werner obtained his early education and mental drilling before entering into the more stern and serious duty of earning his own livelihood. Work was no barrier. He enjoyed it and for a year and a half was engaged in the humble but honorable vocation of delivering groceries. Then he turned to plumbing as his life work and became associated with the Royal Sheet Metal Company where he met Ernest K. Elliott. The association was mutually helpful for Mr. Werner, Mr. Elliott and Sid Pattingill formed the Main Plumbing andHeating Company and prospered beyond expectation. This business was launched in the winter of 1915 and soon it was incorporated with Mr. Werner as the secretary. Mr. Werner does most of the estimating in plumbing and heating and the very nature of his work is such as to command a constantly enlarging knowledge of materials and equipment. On June 30, 1914, Mr. Werner was united in marriage to Miss Emma L. Brown, of Joliet. There are two children, Robert and Lester, both of whom are in school. Mr. Werner is a Lutheran by religious conviction. In politics he is liberal. He is a member of the Detroit Master Plumbers' Association. In civic matters and the various movements conceived and executed to advance the general interests of the city, Mr. Werner is keenly alive and helpful. Ward W. Wiers, M.D., has the ability and has accorded the service that mark him as one of the able and representative physicians and surgeons of Oakland county, where he maintains his home and pro PERSONAL SKETCHES 443 fessional headquarters in the city of Royal Oak. He was born at Davis, Macomb county, Michigan, Ju'ne 2, 1876, and attended the public schools of his native county. In preparation for his chosen profession he wisely availed himself of the advantages of the Detroit College of Medicine, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1911. For six years after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he was engaged in practice at Marlette, Sanilac county, and he then removed to Royal Oak, where he has since continued his ministrations and where he has built up a substantial and representative general practice. Doctor Wiers is an active and valued member of the Oakland County Medical Society, has membership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, he has received the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite of the Masonic fraternity, besides being a noble of the Mystic Shrine, and he is affiliated also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political support is given to the Republican party. The year 1904 was that in which was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Wiers to Miss Grace McVean, of North Branch, Lapeer county, and of this union have been born three children: Montie was born December 3, 1909, and is a member of the class of 1928 in the Royal Oak high school; Margaret was born August 23, 1916, and Marian was born March 2, 1918, and died in infancy. Gale L. Wessinger.-The vital and attractive village of Pleasant Ridge, Oakland county, has shown its modern progressiveness by retaining the service of a village-manager as a part of its system of municipal government, and has made wise choice in selecting for this office the loyal and efficient executive whose name initiates this review. The incorporation of the village of Pleasant Ridge occurred in 1919, and since 1922 its municipal affairs have been directed under the village-manager form of government. Mr. Wessinger was born at Howell, judicial center of Livingston county, Michigan, December 15, 1898, and his public school advantages included those of the high school at Davison, Genesee county, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1916. He was for two years a student in Kalamazoo college. In the year 1917 the nation became involved in the World war, and before the great conflict came to a close Mr. Wessinger had given three months of service in the United States Army, as a member of the Students Army Training Corps at Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1921 he was graduated in the University of Michigan, with the degree of Civil Engineer, besides which he received also the degree of Bachelor of Science. Thereafter he was a short time in the employ of one of the great steel corporations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 1922 he had the distinction of being one of the first to receive from the University of Michigan the degree of Master of Municipal Administration, in which connection also it is to be noted that this university was the first educational institution of the United States to confer such degree. Mr. Wessinger naturally takes much pride in having received this special and previously unprecedented degree, which involved also his reception of the degree 444 HISTORY OPF OAKLANDt COUNTY of Master of Arts. Almnst immediately after receiving his deg're of Master of Municipal Administration, Mr. Wessinger established his residence at Pleasant Ridge, where his technical knowledge and marked administrative ability have come effectively into service in his regime as village manager, a position which he has here held since June 19, 1922. His political alignment is with the Republican party, he has membership in the Baptist church, and he is a member of the Royal Oak Exchange Club and the Pleasant Ridge Country Club. Mr. Wessinger is a son of George and Etoile (Kent) Wessinger, who now maintain their home in the city of Ann Arbor. George Wessinger was born at Howell, Livingston county, in the year 1869, his father, Joseph Wessinger, having been born in Germany and having been an early settler at Howell, Michigan, where he passed the remainder of his life. The mother of the subject of this review was born at Fowlerville, Livingston county, in 1873, and is a representative of colonial American ancestry, four of her ancestors having been patriot soldiers in the Revolution, so that she is entitled to the insignia of four bars in her affiliation with the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Gale L. Wessinger is one of the progressive young citizens of Oakland county, and his popularity in his home community is without limits or reservations. Thomas Weston is one of the representative citizens and business men of Berkley, where he has been established in the general merchandise business since 1919 and where he has served since 1922 as a member of the board of commissioners of the village, which is being well served under the commission system of municipal government. Mr. Weston was born in Lincolnshire, England, August 1, 1870, and is a son of the late Thomas and Hanna Weston, who passed their entire lives in England. The schools of his native land afforded to the subject of this review his early educational discipline, and he was about twenty years of age when he came to the United States, in 1890, and established his residence in New York city, where he continued to maintain his home during a period of twenty-five years, and where he gained broad and varied business experience. From the national metropolis he came to Michigan, and in 1919 he opened his present general merchandise establishment at Berkley. Effective service, as combined with his personal hold upon community confidence and esteem, have enabled Mr. Weston to build up a substantial and prosperous business, and his store is o'ne of the leading mercantile establishments of Berkley. His political alignment is with the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and his religious faith is that of the Protestant church. While he was residing in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Weston wedded Miss Elizabeth Wintle, and she died when about forty-five years of age, the surviving children being three in number: Raymond, who was in service in the United States Navy during the World war period, now resides in the city of Detroit. Ruby is the wife of William Tomb and they reside in the city of Brooklyn, New York. John is associated with his father in the mercantile business at Berkley. John Weston was born March 13, PERSOJNAl S$KETCHF4 445 1896, and is one of the progressive young business men of Berkley. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. November 13, 1921, he married Miss Florence E. Fink, daughter of Charles Fink, of New York city, and the one child of this union is a fine little son, Robert B, who was born March 19, 1924. Joseph Whims has been a resident of Oakland county nearly forty years and is now one of the substantial and highly esteemed citizens of the village of Orion, where he is living retired. He is a representative of a family that was early founded in New Jersey, in which state he was born and reared, as were also his parents, George and Sarah Whims, the former of whom was born in the year 1828 and the latter on the 3d of October, 1834. George Whims gave the greater part of his active life to farm enterprise in New Jersey, and from that state went forth as a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. In 1861 he enlisted in a New Jersey regiment of cavalry, and he continued in service until the close of the war, in the spring of 1865. Though he was never wounded, he was rather severely injured by being thrown from his horse, near the close of his period of service. He fully recuperated from this injury and lived to attain the venerable age of eighty years, his death having occurred in 1908, and his wife having passed away in 1898. Joseph Whims was born on a farm near Newton, New Jersey, March 20, 1859, and his youthful education was obtained mainly in the public schools of Andover, that state. In his native state he became a successful exponent of farm enterprise, and there he continued his residence until 1880, when, at the age of twentyone years, he came to Oakland county, Michigan, and engaged in farming in Brandon township, he having there become the owner of a fine farm of eighty acres and having made the same the stage of successful agricultural and live-stock industry. He still owns this property, and on the homestead he continued his residence until 1918, when he removed to the village of Orion and purchased the Orion feed and implement store, the business of which he successfully continued until the spring of 1924, when he sold the business and retired from the activities that had long been his portion as one of the world's sterling army of workers. Mr. Whims is a Republican in politics, and as a citizen he has eer been rady to do his part in supporting measures and enterprises projected for the general commutnal benefit. In 1882 he married Miss Hannah A. Bird, daughter of the late Edward E. Bird, of Brandon township, this county, and the death of Mrs. Whims occurred in 1921. Of this union were born seven children, all sons. Milo W. is now a resident of Grand Rapids,, this state; George maintains his residence in Detroit; E. Roy is a successful farmer near Rochester, Oakland county; Joseph resides at Pontiac; Rev. S. Ray Whims is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and is now (1925) pastor of the church at Mayville, Tuscola county; Leslie L. resides at Rochester, Oakland county; and Francis D. is g resident of Detroit, The second marriage of Mr. Whims occurred October 1a3 19W3, wbe Mrs. Nellie French, of. Sndusky, Saniace county, Miehigan, became his wife, she being the mother of two. cildren by her former a r-. 446 HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY riage-Ervin Hillaker, of Flint, this state, and Mrs. Alma Kennedy, who resides in Pontiac. Leslie L. Whims is a native son of Oakland county and concerning the family history adequate record is given on other pages of this work, in the personal sketch of his father, Joseph Whims, who is living retired, at Orion, this county. Mr. Whims was born on the old homestead farm in Brandon township, November 3, 1892, and he is now one of the progressive young business men in the thriving little city of Rochester. He supplemented the discipline of the district school by attending the high school at Orion, and it was not long after he had attained to his legal majority that he engaged independently in the implement and feed business at Rochester, in March, 1914. This enterprise he has since continued with marked success, but since 1915 he has given much of his time to the management of his garage and automobile business, as local agent for the Dodge automobiles. He is the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred nine acres, near Orion, is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. August 20, 1914, Mr. Whims was united in marriage to Miss Lyla L. Scott, who likewise was born and reared in Oakland county and who is a daughter of the late Robert Scott, her parents having been residents of Rochester, this county, at the time of their death. To Mr. and Mrs. Whims have been born two children: Frances L. was born September 15, 1917, and Vern L. was born December 15, 1920. The Wiggs' Fair, at 45 North Saginaw street, is one of the metropolitan mercantile establishments of the city of Pontiac and controls a substantial and representative trade in the handling of crockery and varied lines of house furnishings. The principals concerned in the conducting of this well ordered establishment are Harry Eugene Wigg and Osmond Wigg, these two brothers being native sons of Oakland county. Osmond Wigg, younger of the two brothers, was born at Square Lake, this county, in the year 1877, and his early education was acquired in the public schools, including the Pontiac high school. In the employ of the great Chicago mercantile concern of Marshall Field & Company, Mr. Wigg initiated his business career, and there he remained three years, as a salesman in the retail establishment. Thereafter he held clerical positions in leading mercantile establishments at Flint, Michigan, and he next passed ten years as a salesman in the Pontiac dry goods store of Huttan, Church & Linabury, with which leading local mercantile house he remained until 1903. In that year Mr. Wigg became associated with his brother, Harry E. in purchasing the old-established crockery and house furnishings business of Turk Brothers, one of the pioneer concerns of Pontiac, and they have since conducted the enterprise with marked success. They have not only upheld the high reputation which the establishment had previously maintained, but they have also augmented its prestige and expanded the scope and importance of the business. Osmund Wigg likewise has developed a prosperous enterprise in providing summer resort accommodations of excellent order, PERSONAL SKETCHES 447 he being the owner of a number of summer cottages at Orion, Oakland county, on Orion lake. Harry Eugene Wigg, elder member of the firm of Wigg Brothers, became associated with the Turk Brothers' business in 1888, and thus he has been actively identified with his present establishment for the long period of thirty-six years. The public schools of Pontiac afforded him an educational discipline that included the curriculum of the high school, his birth having occurred in 1872, at the family home at Square Lake. He married Miss Ethel Williams, and they have their attractive home at 20 Clark street, Pontiac. Mr. Wigg is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife hold membership in the Protestant Episcopal church in their home city, as do also his brother and the latter's wife. The marriage of Osmond Wigg to Miss Josephine Graham was solemnized in 1905. The Wigg brothers are enterprising and progressive business men and having gained secure vantage ground in connection with the representative mercantile activities at Pontiac, their circle of friends in their native county being coincident with that of their acquaintances. Charles A. Wilcox.-Mr; Wilcox is a successful manufacturer of cement building blocks and handling supplies in Royal Oak, Michigan, a business in which he started in 1909 and which has been conducted with credit to himself and the community. Prior to engaging in such manufacture Mr. Wilcox was a farmer in Oakland county. His business location is at East Harrison street and the Grand Trunk railway. Mr. Wilcox was born in Rochester, Oakland cou'nty, June 2, 1871, a son of John M. and Marie (Bennett) Wilcox. He received his edu-.cation in the Avon township public schools, devoted his attention to agriculture and in 1909 came to Royal Oak to manufacture and sell cement blocks. In 1894 Mr. Wilcox was married to Miss Mamie Mason, of Oakland county, who died in 1903. Two children were born, Mrs. Grace Sterling, of Detroit, who died in 1919, and a son, Verne Wilcox. Mr. Wilcox was married a second time, his second wife being Mrs. Mary (Owen) Floyd, of Birmingham, Michigan. She died December 23, 1922. Mr. Wilcox is an active member of the Royal Oak Board of Commerce and of Birmingham Lodge No. 149, Knights of Pythias. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of Birmingham, where he now resides. Mandel H. Willer is consistently to be designated as one of the enterprising and successful representatives of the retail jewelry business in the city of Pontiac, and the Willer Jewelry Shop, as his place is known, is one of the attractive mercantile establishments of the Oakland county metropolis, its appointments being of artistic order, its stock in all departments being of select character and its service along all lines giving full justification for the substantial supporting patronage that it receives. Mr. Willer was born in the city of Chicago, Illinois, March 17, 1887, and he was about six years old at the time of the family removal to Buffalo, New York, where he was reared to adult age and received the advantages of the public schools, and where his initial business experience was acquired through his service as clerk in a mercantile establishment. That he made his versatility and effi 448 HISTORY OF OQA]IAND COUNTY ciency manifest is indicated by the statement that for nine years he was advertising manager and assistant sales manager for the M. Melachrino Cigarette Company, in Chicago, this being one of the large and important cigarette manufacturing concerns of the United States. There came to him in 1917 the opportunity for higher service, when the nation entered the World war. He had returned to his native city of Chicago when he was eighteen years of age, and there he volunteered for service in the United States Army, his initial assignment along military lines having been in connection with the troubles on the Mexican border, and he having been with the punitive expedition that made its way to Jurez, Mexico. When the United States entered the World war Mr. Willer was mustered into the Federal service, and thereafter he was stationed with his command at El Paso, Texas. He continued in service until the armistice brought the war to a close, and received his honorable discharge September 2, 1919. It was after this experience that Mr. Willer came to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he remained eighteen months and where he learned the jeweler's trade. In 1921 he came to Pontiac and opened his present unique and attractive jewelry establishment, at 37 South Saginaw street, where his success has amply justified his selection of a stage of business enterprise. Mr. Willer holds in Roosevelt Lodge No. 510, A. F. & A. M., the office of steward (spring of 1925), is affiliated also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a popular member of the local Lions' club. June26, 1921,was marked by the marriage of Mr. Willer to Miss Dorothy Strifling, who was at that time a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, but who was born in the state of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Willer have one child, Marcia Ann, born October 24, 1922. George Williams.-Ferndale, Oakland county, a village that was incorporated as such in the year 1918, has since had a remarkable development and growth, and a medium that has in large degree contributed to this progress, by its effective exploitation of local advantages, attractions and interests, has been the Ferndale Enterprise, a well ordered weekly newspaper that was founded in December, 1919, by George Williams, the present editor and publisher. Mr. Williams, who has had broad and varied experience in the newspaper and printing business, was born in Bristol, England, January 11, 1864, and came to the United States shortly after attaining to his legal majority. In the schools of his native land he received excellent educational discipline in his boyhood ad youth, and completed a course corresponding to that of the high school of the United States. In the city of Birmingham, England, he served his apprenticeship to the printer's trade, and familiarzed himself with the various details of the "art preservative of all arts." In 1885 he severed the ties that bound him to hore and native land and came to the United States. He found employment in a printig establishment in the city of Detroit, and later he purchased the plant and business of the C.rleton Times, at Carleton, Monroe county. He continued as editor and publisher of this paper twenty years, brought the sam to a high standard, and was definitely successftu. His professional sagacity enabled him to realize that in the new village of Ferndae was offered at inviting field {or the estab PERSONAL SKETCHES 449 lishing and developing of a newspaper enterprise, and his confidence in the future of the village was one of action. In December, 1919, Mr. Williams here founded and initiated the publication of the Ferndale Enterprise, and he has made the paper a leader of popular sentiment and action in this community, the village, within the period of his residence here, having grown to a progressive community whose population is now estimated as being between twelve and fifteen thousand. The Enterprise is the pioneer newspaper of the village, has a well equipped plant of modern facilities, has gained a large circulation, and is one of the influential local papers of the Detroit metropolitan contributary district. In connection with the newspaper plant Mr. Williams has developed also a well ordered department devoted to high grade job printing. Mr. Williams gives political allegiance to the Republican party, and while a resident of Carleton he served a number of years as justice of the peace and member of the village council. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1891, at the Central Methodist Episcopal church in the city of Detroit, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Williams to Miss Theresa Nimmert, who was born in Germany and who was a child of three years at the time when her parents came to the United States and established their home in Detroit, where she was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have a fine family of six children, namely: Florence, Beulah, Grace, Thelma, Evelyn, and George. Arthur George, first born of the children, died at the age of six years. Charles A. Wilson.-In the vital little city of Holly the First State & Savings Bank has secure vantage ground as one of the solid and carefully controlled financial institutions of Oakland county, and its prestige and advancement have been in large measure due to the wise administrative policies of Charles A. Wilson, who was formerly its cashier and who is now its president. Mr. Wilson is a native son of Oakland county and has never wavered in his allegiance to and appreciation of this county, one of the fairest and most prosperous in the entire state of Michigan. Here he was born at Birmingham, April 2, 1857, a date that indicates that the family had a goodly measure of pioneer precedence in the county. His public school discipline included that of the Birmingham high school, and he was a youth of nineteen years when, in the Centennial year 1876 he established his residence at Holly. Here he was successfully engaged in the drug business about twelve years, and when, in 1890, the First National Bank of Holly was reorganized as the First State & Savings Bank, his name appeared on the roll of directors of the newly chartered institution. In 1895 he was made cashier of the bank, and of this important office he continued the efficient incumbent until 1917, when he was advanced to the office of president of the institution, a position which he has since retained and in which his administration has been one of progressiveness duly tempered by wise conservatism. The bank controls a large and representative business and has rank among the leading financial institutions of Oakland county. The First State & Savings Bank of Holly owns and occupies its modern building, the HISTdR~t OP OAJKLAN1 MtJNTY f1titfifmfents und fadliti0~ Of Whlih afe bf the best staida, Atd, Wd, with a6pital ~to{t Of $1600 I, with tfpluis ald nfidiVided pf6fit aggreo gating Ufilly $10006, aAd with d0epo4fts totallin $1ISOOOO tat the tie bf this Writilng, it Janliaty, 1925, it is It Vehicle of ltite atd valuable sfVic 1h ill te.nltfflutitfty that fepfeSAflt~ thl stage Of its bUsIftes~ aetflVitid.; For ftlay yrfie Mr. Wil6fjo was iitifestcd ih &a ubjtahtil and iflpOrtant genfital ltfmber bdsifties at Holly, he havilhg sld his ihtOfaste if the aine iti 1923 He hal nott otily ctittibuted Mlich to the Badhvfiem#nt Of the matetial inte#ests of hiA h6bt llige v t ia d fiatite OUnfty) btut has 6Iso stod 6kp6hei t Of lOyal afid public ppiitfed citivetti ship. Ha ig a ~tal*Wrt fepublickti, and tihder the t dthiifisttitont of Pfsidont Befjaijffiti Haffisdti he ~eefted as postmA~ter at Holly, be, sides whigh he wt for fomi tfii Ae ffimebefr 6o the boArd Of educatitoi if his hffie Villag,. He has ptoted a digetfimitinting atd resoutdeful exaeUtitv inf finantiial affaift, has boIei the maih foeie int the tipbUilding of the batik of Which he iA pfersdentj atid ha~ been liberal in the sippHti of tfieBsUf~ alid etfterpriases dvailced for the gftitcrl good of the oiinminnity; That Mr. WllsOf has ih his hative county ah Ifivillable plade ift pOptiliA confldenie and esteem is a niattt that fepie~sntS A Al rial ~eqUttfe: Hde i atffiliated With the MasOnic firtefnity, and i 1hs eligi60i~ c4OhietiOnS afe hi aot6rd With the tteets of the Ptl~byt#eriAr ei dhtirh He:try 0, Wint is the proptietor of the Wiit Dairy, at 264 Nofton rvnehue int the csty of Poetita, ant the scope and Importance of hit business mark him as one of the prominent representatiVes Of this line of eneteprise in the vital fettopolis tf Oakland Cotofity. Mr. Witit Was bofft at Yp~ilati, Miehigan, April 29, 1873, and is a son of Ltwis and Rhoda Wint, the latie of wh6om died iti 1875, when her son, Henfy O;, of this fevieW, was altit tWo years old. Lewis Wint followed the trade of cobper duting the greater part Of his aetive life and was A gallanft aoldier of the Utniof in the Civil Wat, in Whidh he strved from 1861 until 1864 he havitng been vfierable in years at the time of his deatht, tbrdiay 28, 1924. Henty O. Wint gained his early edUdatilnf by attenfding the plblic sch6bil at Williamtstofi6 Inghat county, Wihfe the faffilly h6me was then establihed,. 1e was employed at rAilroad work ten yearf, and in 1915 he established his tesio denee at Pontiac where he waa efplaoyed in the talltrad yards dtthin a pefrid of several years. He WaS ntat eflmployed three years in automobile ~hop in this t tity and sifnce 1921 he hag been established hefr in the dairy buinetts, mt whieh h he davlpotfd oite of the laftgrt flilk distributihg entetprie9s in the eity, He It loyally attayed ifn the nrthtt of the Deffloatic- party. Septemibe 3, 1903, Mr. Wiit was united in marriage to Miss Gertruf e Fisher, dauightr of John H. and Melissa (Fowler) Wisher, the fortier of whot was b6m in Ohio, Detember 3, 1847, and the latter of whomf Was borin ih Michigan, January 8, 1852. John H, iigsher tNeaia a pfOsperoua farmer hear Gaylord, Otsego countyr Michigan, and for & time eontducted a genetal 8t6re at GiAylord. He and his wife how reside in the city of Sagina*, where he is living retiretd Lewis Earl, elder of the tWd Children of Mt. and Mrs. Wint, Was bom August 27, 104,i was graduated in the Pontiat PERSONAL SKETCHES 451 high school as a member of the class of 1922, and in 1925 he is a student in the University of Michigan. Harry 0., the younger son, was born August 10, 1907, and is a student in the Pontiac high school. Roy F. Wright, of the planing mill bearing that name in Pontiac, was born in Aleamington, Ontario, son of James and Caroline Wright. The father died in 1896, the mother in 1922. Mr. and Mrs. Wright had four children, Arvilla R., Henry J., Mary E., and Roy F. Roy attended public school in Pontiac and for eleven years worked in planing mills, being in the employ of H. Heitsch & Sons and for John Bell & Son. For two years Mr. Wright was in Detroit and then, in association with J. Pond and A. J. Johnson, established the Pontiac Planing Mill. Mr. Wright had charge of the interior finishing two years, then returned to Detroit to the concern with which he had been a year, but returned, to Pontiac, this time entering business on his own account, and his two sisters are with him. Mr. Wright attends to the superintendence of the mill while Miss Mary E. attends to the office details. Fifteen men are employed at the plant. On July 2, 1910, Mr. Wright established the planing mill at 133-39 Orchard Lake avenue and in 1920 built a building 50 by 100 feet, the present plant occupying 12,000 square feet of floor space. At the inception there were 3,600 square feet. A considerable business is done throughout Oakland county. On December 31, 1902, Mr. Wright was married to Miss Anna C. Eickler, of Detroit. They have one child, Frank H. Mr. Wright is a Methodist by religious persuasion. He is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Masonic fraternity, having attained the Shrine and the 32d degree of the Scottish Rite. He is held in high esteem in business and fraternal circles. John Yipe is a native son of Oakland county having been born on a farm one and one-half miles east of Royal Oak, October 9, 1870, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Yipe. The father was born in Germany and came to the United States when a young man of twenty years of age. He became a farmer in Oakland county and died in 1907. The mother was born in America and died in 1889. They were the parents of the following children: John and Matthew are residents of Royal Oak; Mrs. Elizabeth Lange, Mrs. Gertrude Henris, and Mrs. Emma Sola, all residents of Detroit; and Mrs. Agnes Kaiser, of Highland Park. John Yipe was educated in the schools of Royal Oak and for fifteen years was engaged in farming. He is now living retired in Royal Oak, his home being at 117 East Fourth street, where he devotes his time to his invested interests. Mr. Yipe operated a hotel at the corner of H street and Washington avenue where the First State Bank now stands, then he moved where he is now. April 28, 1908, Mr. Yipe married Miss Mary Crookedacre, of Greenfield, Michigan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Crookedacre. Mr. and Mrs. Yipe have two children: Nicholas John, born April 13, 1909; and Gladys Elizabeth, born February 7, 1911. The family belong to St. Mary's church and in politics Mr. Yipe is a Democrat. The family have been spending the winter in Florida. I I i I a j I — ~s111 ' IYYILIIYICUe4YIBlblllCrClrLlli sCciTuiL-; _ _ - -- -- --- II IB I II II I II ra s II I sWICil _I_ -~ lii —i -=1,;;;,,,,,, ;-;:;r;"111 111111 '1111 1 rCIIII ilii ii IIIn aipiE - - FIFEIY — I~- - I — iii; I: i ii" " I IniI' III II" I I~nll I111111 1 I III I' 1 II" Ii 'li A1'11I i iiTI r iii nl i i-II '111"61 II '' II I i-I' I