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Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 132 |
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NELSON MCBRIAN
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Luxury and longevity on this earth rarely fall to the lot of the same individual. Hard work, rough fare and exposure to the elements are more frequently followed by a good old age than are downy couches, soft rugs and dainty food. The average hod carrier has more years to his score when he comes to face the grim destroyer than has the average banker. All of the years of Nelson McBrian, of Cedar Creek township, more than half a century, have been years of almost incessant toil. Yet he is physically and mentally well preserved. The hard work and exposure and the rough fare incident to the lumber camps, where he worked for many years, have left none of their traces upon a constitution that seems equal to the ravages of another half century. Nelson McBrian was born in Northumberland county, Ontario, Canada, August 17, 1850. His parents were Robert and Mary (Collins) McBrian, whose entire lives were spent in Canada, both having died there a number of years ago. He was reared upon his father's farm in his native county until he arrived at the age of nineteen years, having had plenty of hard work to do and little opportunity of securing an education. In I869, blessed with good health and an abundance of physical strength, he came to Michigan and secured employment on the river, logging. This he followed during the summer and in the winter went into the woods and worked in the lumber camps. For twelve years he followed this business and, although the work was hard and the exposure great, so far from suffering physically by what he endured, he gained strength and a sturdy physique as a result of his labors. Unlike many of those employed with him, he was prudent with his earnings and as soon as he had means enough to enable him to purchase a tract of land he gladly retired from the calling. In I88I he bought a tract of forty acres of land, a part of section 8, Cedar Creek township, and located thereon a year later. From that time until the present he has been a resident of the township. Farming has been exclusively his occupation since he ceased lumbering and he has made it satisfactorily remunerative. He is now the owner of an eighty-acre farm, seventy of which is improved and under cultivation. August 2, 1885, Nelson McBrian was united in marriage to Miss Linnie Priest, a native of Orange, Ionia county, Michigan, born August 22, 1867. Her parents were Eliphalet and Cornelia (Dunsmore) Priest, natives of New York, who were among the early pioneers of the state of Michigan. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Priest, Mrs. McBrian was the third. The subject and his wife are the parents of two children, Nellie M. and Ralph. The family attends divine service at the Free Methodist church and Mr. and Mrs. McBrian are members of that religious denomination. The only public position which the subject has ever filled was that of school director, in which capacity he served a number of years. With limited opportunities, the life of Nelson McBrian has been a far more successful, exemplary and worthy one than that of many a man born to riches and influence. |