KELLY BOSWORTH
KELLY
BOSWORTH, a representative farmer and general merchant of Chester township, is
one of those sturdy pioneers who came here in an early day and grappled
vigorously with the forest, strong of heart and willing of hand, and he has won
success through his own toil and endeavor and fully appreciates the value of the
independence and prosperity which he has thus gained, while his life is further
crowned by the confidence and good will of his fellow men. Mr. Bosworth was born
in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, January 1, 1824, being a son of Luther and Lomyra
(Kelly) Bosworth, the latter of whom died at the time of his birth. The parents
were born in the state of New York, where their marriage was solemnized, and in
1824 they removed to Ohio, becoming pioneers of Cuyahoga county, but the wife
and mother survived only, a few months after their arrival in the Buckeye state.
Luther Bosworth later married a second wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Sprague
and who is now deceased. He became a farmer in Cuyahoga county, reclaiming this
land from the wilderness and there remaining until he was of advanced age, when
he came to Eaton county, Michigan, passing the closing years of his life in
Roxand township, where he died at the age of eighty-four years. Kelly Bosworth
was reared on the pioneer farm in Ohio and waxed strong in mind and body under
the strenuous discipline involved. He recalls the scenes and incidents of the
day with pleasurable appreciation, and states that his education was acquired in
a little log school house, with slab benches, puncheon floors and other
primitive equipments common to the place and period. That his memory compasses a
great transition is evident when it is recalled that Cuyahoga county, the scene
of his birth and youthful experiences, is that in which is located the great
city of Cleveland, which was then little more than a village. Mr. Bosworth was
stout and rugged and in 1846, when twenty-two years of age, he decided to strike
out for himself into the woods of Michigan. He arrived in Eaton county in the
fall of that year, his only possessions being an ax and a shovel. He secured one
hundred and thirty acres of heavily timbered land, in Chester township, and
remained on the place two years, felling trees and making ready to reclaim his
land to the uses of civilization. After erecting a log house on the place he
returned to Ohio, where, August 18, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss
Almira Bark, who soon afterward accompanied him to-his rude forest lodge in the
wilds of Chester township. She was born in Ohio, February 25, 1830, and was a daughter of Francis and Lucina (Granger) Bark,
the former native of the state of New York and the latter of the Dominion of
Canada. Mrs. Bosworth proved a true helpmeet and devoted mother; and the great
loss and bereavement of Mr. Bosworth's life was that involved in her death,
which occurred about ten years ago. They became the parents of six children:
Frederick G., born April 9, 1853, is married and resides on a farm in Sunfield
township; Francis F., born July 15, 1856, is likewise married and resides in the
same township; Lomyra S. became the wife of Louis Lemmon, and died in Sunfield
township, leaving three children; Myron K., who was born December 8, 1860,
married Miss Jennie Rogers, and they reside on the old homestead with his
father, he having charge of the same; Charles, who was born October 1, 1862,
died October 2, 1864; Edwin L., born January 16, 1866, is married and occupies a
farm adjoining that of his father. Mr. Bosworth has been markedly successful in
his operations as a farmer, having owned at one time three hundred acres of land
in the county, and now retaining his homestead one hundred and thirty-three
acres. He stands to-day a splendid type of the venerable pioneer, having a
strong constitution, which gives little evidence of the strenuous toil and the
hardships which he endured in past years. He became a true woodsman, endured
trials with fortitude, faced obstacles with courage and equanimity and wrought
out for himself a home in the wilderness. When he located on his farm there were
only three houses between the same and Charlotte, which is ten miles distant. He
gathered in his due share of the wild game which was so plentiful in the day’s
agone, and he had numerous acquaintances
among the Indians who then roamed about in this section. He has been a staunch
supporter of the principles of the Republican party from the time of its
organization, and has taken an active interest in public affairs of a local
nature, attending caucuses and elections invariably and doing all in his power
to further the welfare of the community. He is a man of broad mental ken, well
informed on the topics of the day. In 1901 he and his son Myron erected and
stocked a store on the corner north of the residence, and here they are carrying
on a very successful business in the handling of such general merchandise as is
demanded in the community. Mr. Bosworth enjoys the latter days of peace and
prosperity, but has no regret for the earlier experiences. He is surrounded by
tried and true friends and feels that his "lines are cast in pleasant
places."