(Luman and Lucius Jenison, twin brothers, for whom
the Village of Jenison is named.)
Luman Jenison, in whose honor the village of Jenison was named, and who is the most prominent citizen of that thriving town, has extensive and valuable real-estate interests in various portions of the State, and may properly be termed one of the eminent men of Michigan. His ancestors were for several generations residents of the Green Mountain State, where his father, Lemuel, and his grandfather, Josiah, were both born. The first-named was there married to Miss Sarah Sanderson, and shortly afterward removed to New York, becoming a pioneer of St. Lawrence County.
In the fall of 1843 Lemuel Jenison became a resident of Michigan, and after a very short sojourn in Ann Arbor came to Kent County, settling in a pinery three miles south of Grandville. Here he assisted his cousin, N.J. Brown, in the erection of a sawmill, and afterward cut logs and did other pioneer work, making his home in that locality for two years. From there he removed to Georgetown Township and located on section 24, where he purchased an unimproved tract of land and made his home. Three years after going to that place he was killed by a falling tree. His wife passed away June 26, 1841. They were the parents of a large family of children, three of whom are now living, Luman and Lucius (twins) and Betsey. The latter married Benjamin S. Hanchett, of Grand Rapids, and became the mother of three children; Lizzie, Benjamin S. Jr. and Castella, Mrs. Priestley, who died in 1879. In St. Lawrence County, New York, our subject was born April 25, 1823.
He attended school occasionally prior to the age of eleven, but afterward had no educational advantages, expecting such as he gained by self self-culture and observation. He accompanied his parents to Michigan, and as the family was in reduced circumstances he was obliged to aid in the maintenance of the other children. In 1842 he commenced to traffic with the Hollanders, and met with unexpected success, meantime also operating the home farm.
Having accumulated a small amount of money, Mr. Jenison purchased sixteen hundred acres where the village of Jenison now stands, paying twelve shillings per acre for the property. As the water power was excellent and the facilities for milling all that could be desired, he built a mill, and for twenty years superintended its management. In 1863 he tore down the old sawmill and began preparations for his present fine flour-mill, which was finished in the fall of 1864. This mill has a capacity of fifty barrels, is furnished with six rollers and all the modern conveniences, and cost when completed $18,000. Steady employment is given to a force of five hands.
Upon the second water power, located a little below the first, Mr. Jenison built a steam sawmill, where he now employs twenty-five or thirty men. This mill also contains first-class modern improvements and cost $15,000. Although his milling interests are extensive and have demanded his close attention, he has also found time for other large enterprises. For ten years he conducted a general store, doing an annual business of $25,000, and carrying a stock valued at $6,000. He also owns and operates a factory, machine-shop and a foundry, where he manufactures railroad gates, frogs, switches, switch stands, radiators, etc. The plant is worth $25,000, and employment is furnished to a large number of men.
Mr. Jenison is the owner of a large boarding house in Jenison, and a blacksmith shop. He superintends the management of two hundred acres of farming land near the village of Jenison, on which he usually raises large crops of hay. He is the owner of four hundred and eighty acres where Jenison now stands, and also owns fifteen of the building in the village. His property interests in other places includes the ownership of the Day Plaster Mill at Grandville, valued at $30,000; the flour and feed store at Grandville, as well as an elegant residence in that city; a large amount of real estate in Grand Rapids; forty acres on Fisk Lake, upon which improvements have been placed at amounting to $15,000, the property itself being worth $40,000; eight and one-fourth acres on Reed’s Lake, valued at $15,000; twenty lots on the west side of Grand Rapids, the estimated value of which is $20,000; nine hundreds acres of land in Blendon Township, Ottawa County; and the home farm of two hundred and sixty acres, of which two hundred acres have been brought to a high state of cultivation.
Upon his homestead Mr. Jenison platted the cemetery which bears his name and around which he has placed an iron fence costing $1,000. Here all the deceased members of his father’s family lie buried, and here he and his twin brother (who has been associated with him in all his business enterprises) are building a mausoleum, to cost at completion $12,000. It is constructed of Barre granite, and contains the family name in raised letters upon the front. The dimensions of the base are 16x18 feet, and the height is fifteen and one half feet. The sarcophagus will contain the inscription, in sunken letters, "Built and designed by J.E. Harrison & son, Adrian, Michigan." The floor is inlaid with a neat pattern of black and white marble tile, with black border. The wainscoting is of red Tennessee marble, while the walls are of light veined Italian marble. There is a frieze of light cream and blue enameled tiles, and the ceiling is finished in white veined Italian marble. The sarcophagi, two in number, are composed of light Italian marble, properly inscribed. The inside doors are of granite, with fixtures of standard copper bronze. The guards are strong brass tubes, each containing a bar of steel.
The career of these twin brothers has in many respects been identical. Both started poor in purse but rich in hope, and both have worked their way steadily onward and upward to positions of prominence in the State. Both have remained unmarried, content to live the independent, though lonely, life of bachelors. Both are Democratic in party principle, voting for the candidates of that party at every local or national election. Lucius gives his exclusive attention to the home farm, while Luman looks after the other large and valuable interests. Both are generous, kind-hearted and philanthropic, and contribute liberally to every worth enterprise. One subject gave $1,000 to the Universalist Church at Grand Rapids upon the occasion of the building of the new edifice, and has also contributed generously to other religious projects. During the late war he paid out $800 to secure substitutes for a number of poor men who had been drafted into the army. Socially, he affiliates with the Masonic fraternity.