John Gillhespy Pages 167-168 - JOHN GILLHESPY, a prosperous general agriculturist, a memberof the Township Board of Equalization and one of the oldest living Englishsettlers of Chester Township, Ottawa County, Mich., was born in Westmoreland,England, November 18, 1828. He was the fifth of the eight children born unto theunion of Thomas and Mary (Cass) Gillhespy, natives of England and descendants ofa long line of British ancestry. The father was a steward for a Mr. Wilson, andheld the position until his death. A part of the Cass family early made theirhome in America, some of them settling here before the War for Independence. Thematernal grandfather of our subject, John Cass, removed to Canada, where hedied, but two of his brothers had preceded him to America long before hisarrival in Canada. The father of Mr. Gillhespy died when our subject was but tenyears of age. Of the children in the parental family, Thomas, deceased, was theeldest; Ann, deceased, was the wife of John Boynton; Mary is the widow of JosephFitchett; Thomas (second) is deceased; John is our subject; James was killed in1862, at the battle of Murfreesboro; Barbara is the widow of John Boozer, whowas killed at the battle of Bentonville, N.C.; and Thomas (third) is a citizenof this township. After the death of her husband, the mother, in 1845, emigratedto Canada, and in 1850, removing to the States, located on the same section ofland where our subject now resides, and where she improved a farm. She died onthe place in 1857. John Gillhespy, a little lad when his father died, attended school untileleven years of age, when he went on a farm in England and worked for three anda-half years. His employer, Mr. Manzer, paid him about $35 per year. When nearlyfifteen years of age our subject accompanied his mother and family to Canada,and there assisted in the care of the home farm for two and a-half years. Uponthe 19th of March, 1848, Mr. Gillhespy came to Michigan, but soonafter journeyed to northern Wisconsin, where he engaged in lumbering, runningrafts and doing similar work for one and a-half years. In the fall of 1849,again arriving in Michigan, our subject lumbered on Mill Creek for a while, andin the spring of 1850 ran logs from Port Huron to Detroit. He then went toCanada for his mother and family, and after returning with them for thesucceeding three years was employed in lumbering. He also jobbed for some timefor Mr. Cole, and during the winter and summer was engaged in taking the minutesof pine land for various firms. In 1855, resigning from the timber business, Mr.Gillhespy removed to his present farm, which then consisted of eighty acres ofwild land, to which he has since added forty acres. A log house, hewn smooth inthe inside, was his first improvement, and in this primitive building he residedfor some time after his marriage. August 15, 1855, were united in marriage John Gillhespy and Miss LovinaField, a native of St. Lawrence County, N.Y., and daughter of Edward and Eliza(Fuller) Field, who emigrated from the East to Michigan in 1850, and settled inOttawa County. Mr. Field and his family were numbered among the prominentsettlers, and both the father and mother of Mr. Gillhespy passed away in thiscounty, deeply mourned by all who knew them. Mrs. Field died in 1854, but Mr.Field survived until 1890, reaching the advanced age of eighty-three. He and hisexcellent wife were the parents of five children. Lovina was the eldest;Harriet, deceased, was the wife of H. Hilliard; John H., deceased, died in thearmy during the late war; the fourth child died in infancy; and Albert is alsodeceased. In 1859 our subject and a Mr. Patterson erected on the farm a sawmill,which had water power and carried an upright saw. This mill Mr. Gillhespyconducted until 1887. In 1875 he built his present attractive and commodiousresidence. Mr. and Mrs. Gillhespy began life on the farm with but very little capitalsave their hope, courage and stout wills, and could sum up their possessions inthe land, a log house and yoke of oxen. At first the wife assisted her husbandin the out-door work, and aided him in clearing until the country became morethickly settled and they could afford to hire hands. Of their home farm of onehundred and twenty acres, one hundred and five are in a high state ofcultivation, and, aside from this property, Mr. Gillhespy has one hundred andforty acres of land in Chester Township, eighty of which are under profitablecultivation. Eleven children have with their bright presence blessed the home.The sons and daughters are: Ann, wife of William Pierce; Franklin; Ellen, wifeof Thomas Morley; Eleanor, wife of Adam River; Ethlenia, the wife of Jacob Host;John; James; Amelia, wife of Edward Kelly; Lovina, wife of George Joblonski;William and George. Ellen and Eleanor are twins. Our subject and his good wifeare members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are prominent in the socialand benevolent work of the denomination. They are also both worthy members ofthe Patrons of Industry. Fraternally, Mr. Gillhespy is associated with RavennaLodge No. 355, I. O. O. F.; he has filled all the chairs of the order, and isnow Representative of the lodge to the Grand Lodge at Lansing. Mrs. Gillhespy isa Rebecca degree member. Aside from his present public work as a member of theBoard of Equalization, our subject has efficiently discharged the duties ofHighway Commissioner, and fully commands the high regard of all hisfellow-townsmen.

Portrait & Biographical Record of Muskegon & OttawaCounties, Michigan 1893, Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company

Transcriber: Susan Gates Davis
Created: 22 March 2003
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