George Forrester, president of the village of East Grand Rapids and postmaster of Paul, Kent county, Mich., is a native of Rochester, Kent county, England, was born April 21, 1859, a son of John and Charlotte (Summers) Forrester. The father was a mechanic, and died in his native land at the age of sixty-four years; the mother resides in Chicago, Ill. and is now Mrs. Gallier.

Mr. Forrester is the youngest of a family of five children, of whom Ann McClintock is a resident of Chicago, Ill..; Eliza Watts resides in London, England; Charlotte McClintock died in Winnipeg, Manitoba; one brother died at Chatham, England; George is the subject of this sketch. The last named learned the trade of bricklayer in England and came to the United States in 1883, and first located in Traverse City, Mich., but passed the greater part of his time in Grand Rapids, and permanently settled here in 1885.

Mr. Forrester was married in England, in May, 1879, to Miss Jane Clisset, a native of Cardiff, Wales, and this union has resulted in the birth of six children, of whom the eldest, Charlotte, ages nineteen years, is the assistant of her father in the post-office at Paul; Frederick William is also employed by his father at his trade; Earle and Pearl are twins, aged eleven years; Edith Frank is the next in order, and Charlie died in childhood. Miss Charlotte takes excellent care of the younger children, being housekeeper for her father, her mother having died February 20, 1897.

Mr. Forrester is a member of the K. O. T. M., of the B. & P. O. E., and the Bricklayers’ and Masons’ union. In religion he and the family are members of St. Mark’s Episcopal church; in politics he is a democrat, and was appointed postmaster of Paul in 1891, a position he has since satisfactorily filled, aided of late by his estimable daughter.

For five years Mr. Forrester was a member of the board of trustees, and for three years president of the board, and for three years, also, was a school director. He is an especially fine workman in terra cotta and an expert as a bricklayer; he has always been industrious and temperate, frugal and honest, and has well earned the esteem in which he is so highly held by his friends and fellow-citizens in general.