THADDEUS O. BROWNELL, the present efficient supervisor of his native township of Plainfield, Kent county, 'Mich., was born July 6, I852, and is the third son in the family of eight children born to Philo and Sarah (Rood) Brownell, the other seven being as follows: James, who is a farmer of Ada township; Robert is a fruit grower of Plainfield township; Samuel, who is a farmer of Courtland township; Myrtie is the wife of W. W. Forrest, druggist of Rockford; Harry and Frank reside on and operate the old homestead and are interested in fruit growing; Minnie, the youngest of the family, is the wife of Willis Hutchings, of Marinette, Wis. Philo Brownell, father of the above family, was born in Genesee county, N. Y., September 21, 1818, and was one of the early pioneers of Plainfield township, as he came here in 1847, and he and one of his neighbors were compelled to cut their way through the forest from where Belmont now stands to his eighty acre tract on section No. 3. Not a stick of the natural growth of the timber on the place had ever been cut until he began the work. His firs habitation here was of course a cabin of logs, and in this structure his son, Thaddeus 0., was born and distinctly still remembers. Indians were by no means curiosities, although somewhat curious themselves, for they would sometimes walk into the cabin without invitation, pick up the babe from its cradle, and fondle it in a manner of their own. Agricultural implements were comparatively crude, churches and school-houses were unknown in the neighborhood, and Grand Rapids, with a present population of 00,ooo000, was then little more than a trading post. Wild-cat bank notes constituted the currency of those early days, but Mr. Brownell and his worthy wife endured all the inconveniences of pioneer life for the sake of the ample reward which afterward became theirs. Mrs. Sarah (Rood) Brownell was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in I825, and still survives her husband, who passed away April 20, I895. She is highly respected and her life has been devoted to the interest of her family. Thaddeus O. Brownell has been reared an agriculturist and fruit grower, and these industries still claim his attention. He was educated in the common school of his township, and also attended one short term the school at the corner of Broadway and Turner street, Grand Rapids, but never desired a better occupation than that of farmer and fruit grower. May 19, 1875, he married Miss Frances, daughter of William and Emily (Dole) Chase, an amiable young lady of English extraction, but a native of Kent county, born December 31, I852. Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Brownell, four of whom are still living, viz: Gertrude, Luella, Ozella and Ora, all endowed with excellent traits of character and improved with sound common-school educations. Mrs. Brownell has two brothers living-one, Corydon N. Chase, in Montcalm county, Mich., and one, Erwin E., in Washington. In politics, Mr. Brownell has been a republican from early manhood and cast his first presidential vote for Rutherford B. Hayes. He is very popular with his party, has served as tax-collector four years, and in I895 was elected supervisor. He has frequently served as the party's delegate from Plainfield to the county conventions. Fraternally, he is a member of the Court of Honor of Rockford; also of Rockford lodge, No. 247, I. O. O. F. Mr. Brownell's farm comprises100 acres of good land, all well improved, but peaches and apples claim his chief attention among the former being found the favorite Albertas, Barnards, Smocks and Reed's Early Golden, and among the latter, chiefly, Baldwins and Greenings. Mr. and Mrs. Brownell stand very high socially, and Mrs. Brownell is renowned as being one of the best housekeepers of the neighborhood.