William Henry Walling

 

Prominent among the old and well-known residents of Isabella county is William Henry Walling, who has been identified with this part of Michigan about forty years, during which time he has not only seen the country developed from its original wilderness condition to a very garden of beauty and plenty, but to the extent of his ability has contributed towards making the township in which he resides among the finest and most prosperous communities in the commonwealth.  Mr. Walling is a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, born in the town of Gouverneur January 17, 1831. His father, William Walling, also a New Yorker, was born in Hartford, Washington county, March 27, 1798, and on October 30, 1824, married Polly Smith, whose birth occurred in the same county and state, August 21, 1808. William Walling was a farmer by occupation and lived a long and useful life, dying in St. Lawrence county, New York, October 30, 1878, in his seventy-ninth year, his wife surviving him until 1883, when she too was called to her eternal rest, dying in Fort Edward, Washington county, New York. William Henry Walling spent his childhood and youth on the family homestead in his native state where in early life he became familiar with the duties of the farm, and later learned the trade of shoemaking, which trade he followed during the winter months, and at other times when the weather would not admit of outdoor labor. In the meantime, as opportunities afforded, he attended the schools of the neighborhood until acquiring a fair knowledge of the common branches. On arriving at an age to begin the struggle of life for himself he chose agriculture for his vocation, which, with his trade, afforded him a comfortable, though by no means an affluent, livelihood as long as he remained in the state of  his birth. Thinking to better his condition in the West, where land was cheap, he disposed of  his interests in New York in 1866;and came to Isabella county, Michigan, purchasing, in partnership with his brother-in-law, A. J. Gibbs, a quarter section of land in Coe township, which in due time he cleared and otherwise improved   and on which he lived and prospered during the twenty five years ensuing.   At the expiration of that time he sold his farm and moved to  the town of Salt River (now Shepherd), where for a period of twenty-five years he carried on the grocery trade. with success and financial profit, building up a large and lucrative business in the meantime and taking high rank among the leading merchants of the county. Disposing of his business at the end of the time indicated, he discontinued active pursuits and since then has been living in retirement at Shepherd in the enjoyment of all the material blessings which came to him as a result. of his capable management and well directed thrift. Mr. Walling early manifested an interest in the public affairs of his township and county,-and at intervals was elected to various local offices, in all of which he discharged his duty with commendable fidelity and proved worthy the confidence of his fellow citizens. He was the first drainage commissioner of Isabella county, served several years as justice of ..the peace, .and as a local school officer did much to promote the cause of education in the township in which he resided. In politics he was originally a Republican, and  for many years labored earnestly for the success of that party, but becoming dissatisfied with its attitude on the liquor question, he subsequently became. a Prohibitionist and is now an uncompromising supporter of the principles which he espouses and an unyielding foe of the saloon, which he looks upon as the crying evil of the age, to be gotten rid of only by stringent legislation.

Mr. Walling was married in Hartford, New York, February 10, 1860, to Anzolettie Brayton, who was born September 16, 1841, in Washington county, New York, the daughter of Amby and Lydia Ann Brayton, natives of that state, the union resulting in the birth of one child, a son, Charles H., who first saw the light of day in Hartford, New York, October 12, 1861, and who is now a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of Coe township, Isabella county. He has been twice married, the first time to Halley Stahlman; subsequently he contracted a matrimonial alliance with his present wife, whose name was formerly Anna Babber.

Mr. Walling. is essentially a man of the people, deeply interested in all that concerns the welfare of the community, and although in his eighty- first year, he retains to a marked degree the possession of his faculties, both physical and mental, and keeps abreast of the times on the leading questions and issues before the public, being ever ready to defend the principles to which he has pledged allegiance. Among his neighbors and friends he is held in great respect, as his life has ever been along the  lines -of integrity and probity and Ire always maintained inviolate the honorable, reputation for which his family have always been distinguished.

 

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