|
Luther Whitney
Luther
Whitney, a retired merchant of Muskegon, was born July 26, 1815, in Gilsum,
Chesire County, N. H. His ancestors came from England to America in 1635.
His grandfather, Samuel Whitney, served as one of the heroes of the Revolution.
The father, Luther Whitney, Sr., was born in Gilsum in 1791, and was a
merchant and manufacturer. He married Betsy Dart, also a native of Gilsum,
and in 1827 removed his family to Lawrence County, N. Y., where he spent
his remaining days.
Our subject was the eldest
child of a family of four. He remained in the old Granite State until twelve
years of age and then accompanied his parents to New York, where he grew
to manhood and completed his education in the district school and by a
two-years course in St. Lawrence Academy. After starting out in life for
himself he came to the West and for a time engaged in clerking at a dry-goods
store in Green Bay, Wis. He afterward spent one winter in a lumber camp,
and subsequently we find him in Kenosha, Wis., where he remained for several
years, engaged in merchandising and in dealing in lumber. He also engaged
in the grain business for a time, then went to Detroit, Mich., where he
devoted his energies to the manufacture of washboards about one year. Returning
to Kenosha, he remained there during the the three succeeding years, and
in 1864 he came to Muskegon. Accepting a position as book-keeper in the
lumber business of Gideon Truesdell, he remained in that business from
1864 until 1873.
Mr. Whitney was married in
November, 1843, the lady of his choice being Miss Rebecca J. Irwin, of
Green Bay, Wis., and a daughter of Robert Irwin. She was born in that city
and there spent the days of her maidenhood. By there union they have become
the parents of three children, of whom two are now living: George B., a
contractor and builder and civil engineer, now residing in Chicago; and
Thomas D., who also resides in Chicago and is now traveling auditor for
Armour & Co.
In early life Mr. Whitney was
an old-line Whig, but on the organization of the Republican party he joined
its ranks and has since fought under its banner. He was one of the members
of Kenosha Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Kenosha, Wis., but has taken no very
prominent part in social and public affairs, preferring to devote his time
and attention to his business interests. In 1875, he was appointed Postmaster
of Muskegon, under Gen. Grant, and held the office for twelve consecutive
years under Presidents Arthur and Hayes. That, he promptly and faithfully
performed his duties, and administered the affairs of the office to the
satisfaction of the general public, is well indicated by his long continued
service. Several other public offices have been tendered him but he has
refused to accept. He is now a stockholder in the Hackley National Bank,
the National Lumberman's and the Muskegon Savings Bank. Mr. Whitney is
now practically living retired in the enjoyment of the rest which he has
so truly earned and richly deserves. His life has been a busy and useful
one and his public and private career are alike above reproach. His success
is due to his own industrious and well-directed efforts, and he may truly
be called a self-made man. Mrs. Whitney is a member of the Congregational
Church.
Charles H. Proctor
Charles H. Proctor, a successful general agriculturist
located on section 3, Holton Township, Muskegon County, Mich., has held
with ability nearly every official position of trust within the gift of
his fellow-townsmen, and, a man of excellent judgement and superior attainments,
has been an especially prominent factor in the educational advancement
of his home neighborhood and vicinity. As a member of the Board of Supervisors,
and as School Inspector, with the exception of two years since the organization
of the township, Mr. Proctor has materially aided in the promotion and
rapid development of the best interests of Muskegon County. Our subject,
a native of Roscoe Township, Ohio, and born in 1836, was the son of Hascal
and Nancy (Shepard) Proctor. The paternal grandparents, Asa and Alice (Dane)
Proctor, were long-time residents of the Green Mountain State. The paternal
great-grandfather died when Asa was was about seven years of age, and the
grandfather was reared by Thomas Parker, of Lowell, Mass. Asa received
a good common-school education and learned the carpenter's trade, being
a wooden-plow and yoke-maker as well as a farmer. He married and settled
in Vermont, and into his peaceful home came nine sons and daughters, all
of whom survived to reach maturity.
The children of the paternal grandparents were, Sarah,
a cripple; Hascal D., the father of our subject; Samuel C. and Alonzo,
deceased; Mandana, wife of Henry Stevens; Orville, deceased; Horatio, a
resident of Ingham County, Mich; and Horace and Merrill, deceased. Serving
bravely in the War of 1812, the grandfather fought at Bennington. Politically,
he was a Whig and a man of strong views. Reared upon a farm, his son Hascal
received but a limited education, and at the age of fourteen was bound
out to learn the trade of a tool-maker and blacksmith. Serving a faithful
apprenticeship for four years, the father then began life for himself,
and at about the age of twenty-one was united in marriage with the daughter
of William and Nancy Shephard. Ambitious and enterprising, he later moved
to Ohio, and in Cleveland worked as a tool-maker. He died in 1847, mourned
by many friends. Politically, he was a strong Democrat, and was esteemed
as a true and loyal citizen. Of his two children, but one survived; the
other died in infancy. The mother passing away three weeks after the death
of the father, our subject was left an orphan at the age of eleven years,
and began life for himself.
A mere lad, cast entirely upon his own resources,
Charles Proctor at once found his way to the country, and for one year
worked upon a farm for his food and clothes. At twelve years of age our
subject joined his grandparents, Proctor, in Stockbridge, Mich., to which
part of the Wolverine State the venerable pioneers had emigrated in a very
early day. Mr. Proctor remained with his grandparents until twenty-three
years of age, and received a good education in the schools of Lansing,
and, possessing musical ability, fitted himself for a teacher, and for
four years gave instruction in vocal music.
Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John Snyder, and a native
of Washtenaw County, Mich., was married to Mr. Proctor in Ann Arbor. Five
children blessed their union. Flora is the wife of George L. Bull, of Wisconsin;
Frank was the second-born; Edith married Herman L. Black, of Laketon, Mich.;
Lewis D. and Monie complete the list of sons and daughters who have brightened
the home. Mr. Proctor having remained upon the farm of his grandparents
until their death, then located in the dense woods of Muskegon County.
There were no roads, but the trees were blazed for section lines. The family
settled in Holton Township in oak openings. At the expiration of two years
Mr. Proctor purchased his present valuable farm of eighty acres, which
our subject cleared, logged and improved himself. Mr. and Mrs. Proctor
were both members of the Presbyterian Church, but the estimable wife of
our subject later joined the Baptist Church. The daughter Flora was graduated
at Fremont, and for years successfully taught in Muskegon County. Fraternally,
Mr. Proctor is associated with the County Grange, and politically is an
ardent Republican. Continuously engaged in the service of the public in
an official capacity, our subject has amply demonstrated his ability to
hold office to the great satisfaction of the community by whom he is surrounded.
When the Civil War broke out he twice endeavored to enlist, but was refused
for physical disablility, and then patriotically gave $75 and later $90
to clear his township of the draft. Although absent by force of circumstances
from the battlefield, the loyalty of our subject was unquestioned, and
no man in his locality to-day has a firmer hold upon the the true esteem
of his friends and neighbors than Charles H. Proctor.
James D. Cheesman
James D. Cheesman, the
enterprising President and Treasurer of the Cheesman-Kelley Manufacturing
Company, of Muskegon, Mich., is a long-time resident and prominent citizen
of his present locality, and for thirty years has been closely indentified
with the progressive interests of the Wolverine State. Born in Jefferson
County, N. Y., April 11, 1842, our subject was but twenty years of age
when independently setting out to seek his fortune in the West, he came
to Muskegon. His father, Francis Cheesman, likewise a native of the Empire
State, was the son of Jeremiah Cheesman, who courageously fought in the
War of the Revolution. The mother, Susan (Kellog) Cheesman, born, reared
and educated in the Empire State, was the descendant of sturdy ancestry,
who made their home in America in a very early day. The father, by occupation
a contractor and builder, was well known and highly respected in his lifetime
home, Mr. Cheesman spent the years of his boyhood in his birthplace, and
received a good, substantial education in the excellent district school
of his home neighborhood. Attaining to mature years, and trained in habits
of self-reliant industry, he determined to enter upon the labor of life
in a newer field of action, and with the tide of emigration journeyed to
Michigan.
Locating in Muskegon
in 1862, our subject received immediate and remunerative empolyment in
a sawmill, where he continued to remain for a number of years. Finally,
in 1887, he organized the Cheesman-Kelley Manufacturing Company, with James
D. Cheesman as President and Treasurer, T. B. McNiff Vice-President, and
M. G. Avery Secretary. The company, financially prospered does a large
and rapidly extending business, the success of the enterprise being mainly
due to the energetic efforts and executive ability of the President and
Treasurer, who is also one of the principal stockholders of the company.
The extensive plant of the Cheesman-Kelley Company is located at the corner
of East Western Avenue and the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad tracks,
and does a general planing-mill business, manufacturing boxes and interior
and exterior finishings, and likewise building stairs, etc. It commands
one of the largest lines of custom given to any similar establishment in
this part of the State. Literally a self-made man, of earnest purpose and
sterling integrity, our subject has in truth won his way upward unaided,
and now, one of the leading business men of Muskegon, has attained a position
of influence, commanding the respect of all who know him.
In the year 1866 were
united in marriage James D. Cheesman and Miss Helen J. Dean, daughter of
Harvey and Abbie (Warren) Dean, both of sturdy New England ancestry. The
mother of Mrs. Cheesman was a native of Connecticut, and was there reared
and educated, but died in the Empire State in 1859. Mr. Dean, also a native
of New England, was a farmer by occupation, and after residing in New York
returned to Massachusetts, and from the old Bay State emigrated in 1862
to Muskegon, Mich. The union of our subject and his accomplished wife has
been blessed by the birth of two children, a son and a daughter, Frank
T. and Addie, now at home. The pleasant and commodious family residence
is located at No. 16 West Webster Avenue, Muskegon, and, desirably situated,
is well known to a large circle of intimate acquaintances and long-time
friends. Occupying positions of useful influence, Mr. and Mrs. Cheesman
take an active part in the social and benevolent enterprises of the locality,
our subject being a ready aid in all matters pertaining to the public welfare.
|