Samuel Maffett, the affable and energetic Treasurer
of the city of Muskegon Heights, is a prominent real-estate man, and possesses
extended information and thorough knowledge of outside and inside properties.
From his early youth a resident of the Wolverine State, he enjoys a wide
acquaintance and intimate association with the leading interests of his
present locality. Our subject is a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., and
was born June 25, 1831. His paternal grandfather, Robert Maffett, emigrated
from Ireland to America at an early day, and settled in the Sate of New
York, where he reared his family.
The father of our subject, Samuel Maffett, Sr., was
born in the Empire State, where he passed his entire life, dying in the
natal year of our subject, 1831. By trade a miller, he was successful in
his business enterprises and gained a competency. He was a man of ability,
industrious and upright, and was highly respected by all who knew him.
At his demise he left to the care of his wife, Mary (Frost) Maffett, their
son , Samuel, then an infant. The mother, also a native of New York, grew
to womanhood amid the associations of childhood, and remained in that State
until after her second marriage.
During the childhood of our subject, he remained
in the New York home and attended the excellent public schools of the neighborhood.
In 1844, when thirteen years of age, he journeyed to the West with his
mother and step-father, and, settling in Jackson County, Mich., enjoyed
the advantages of more extended study. Later he learned the trade of millwright,
which business he prosperously conducted for more than two-score years.
In 1868, locating in Muskegon, he secured employment as a millwright, in
which occupation he achieved a comfortable competency and laid the foundation
for greater prosperity. For some time he has been interested in the handling
of a large variety of real-estate deals and has been prominently connected
with the promotion of numerous enterprises tending to the development and
upbuilding of Muskegon Heights.
In 1852 were united in marriage Samuel Maffett and
Miss Ruth Holmes, a native of New York, and the daughter of John Holmes,
a long-time and highly esteemed resident of the Empire State. The union
of our subject and his most estimable wife was blessed by the birth of
three children, two sons and one daughter. Charles and John are both deceased;
Nellie is the wife of C. B. Dawes, of Muskegon. The pleasant family residence
of Mr. and Mrs. Maffett is desirably located upon the corner of Maffett
and Delano Streets. Politically a Republican, Mr. Maffett has taken a high
place in the local councils of the party and has occupied with distinction
various offices of trust. As a member of the School Board he has materially
aided in the advancement of educational progress by encouraging the development
of a higher grade of instruction and scholarship. In 1892 he was elected
Village Treasurer of Muskegon Heights, and through his faithful discharge
of official duties has won the confidence of the entire community.
William M. McKillip
William M. McKillip,
an enterprising and prominent citizen and a retired lumberman of Muskegon,
Mich., who for two-score years actively engaged in business in the Wolverine
State, has acquired a handsome competence and materially aided in the rapid
growth of the vital interests of Muskegon County. The early home of our
subject was i Washington County, N. Y., where he was born February 12,
1822. His parents, David and Mary (Mc Lean) McKillip, long-time and well-known
residents of the Empire State, were od Scotch ancestry, the families having
early emigrated to the United States, where they took a leading place among
the honest, industrious and law-abiding citizens to whom the prosperity
of our country is due. The father was born in New York, and received his
education and youthful training in his native State, where he married and
passed many years of usefulness, engaged in the occupation of a carpenter
and builder. The maternal ancestors of Mr. McKillip came from the Old Country
to New Jersey about a century ago, the grandfather, James McLean, having
been born in that State. Our subject passed the days of boyhood upon his
father's farm and, attending the district school of the home neighborhood,
obtained a good rudimentary education.
Energetic and self-reliant,
Mr. McKillip at the age of fourteen began life for himself, and determined
to make his own way in the world, set about acquiring a trade. Having learned
coopering, he decided to try his fortune in the broader fields of the West
and, journeying to Ohio, settled in Summit County, working at his trade
in that locality for the succeeding two years. In 1846, attracted by the
business prospects of Chicago, our subject made his home in the Garden
City, where he continued for five years, meeting with ready and remunerative
employment. In 1851, Mr. McKillip located in Traverse City, Mich., and
was superintendent of a lumbering company until the fall of 1861, when
he returned to Chicago and for four years resided in the Western metropolis.
In the spring of 1865, our subject went to the Upper Peninsula and took
charge of several sawmills, continuing there for two years, handling the
extensive lumber interests of John S. Reed & Co., a pioneer lumber
firm, with headquarters at Chicago. In the early part of 1867, locating
in Muskegon, Mr. McKillip became superintendent of Chapin, Marsh &
Co.'s Mills, manufacturers of lumber, and for fifteen years retaining his
responsible position gave great satisfaction to the firm, who thoroughly
appreciated his business ability and energy. From 1881 to 1891 he was a
member of the firm of McKillip & Co., of Manistee, Mich., engaged extensively
in manufacturing lumber.
In 1853 were united
in marriage William M. McKillip and Miss Emma J. Hopper, of Chicago, daughter
of George Hopper. The union was blessed by the birth of four children,
three of whom survive. George H., a leading citizen, is the present Recorder
of Muskegon; Mary J. is the wife of C. O. Padly; Hattie is married to W.
H. Mann, of Muskegon. Financially prospered, our subject is a stockholder
and Director of the Lumberman's National Bank of Muskegon, and is likewise
a stockholder and Director of the Muskegon Booming Company, having been
prominently connected with the latter organization for many years. The
home of Mr. and Mrs. McKillip, one of the best in the city and located
at No. 111 W. Webster Street, is the abode of hospitality and the scene
of many a reunion of old-time friends. Politically a stanch Republican,
our subject takes an active interest in both local and national issues,
but has never been in any sense of the word a politician, his earnest efforts
throughout his successful career having bee devoted to the demands of a
large and prosperous business.
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Copyright © 2000 by Patti Norton. All rights reserved.