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Source: Pages 687 & 688 of a Book on Kent County, Michigan -
(exact title unknown)
FRANKLIN M. FORCE for over a quarter of a century has been a resident of Spencer township, Kent county, Mich., and is well known as a gentleman of integrity. He was born in Washtenaw county, January 10, 1853, and is the eldest of a family of six sons and five daughters born to Francis and Betsey (Christler) Forece. Those living beside himself are: Frederick, a farmer in Spencer township, Belle, wife of Charles Chamberlain, farmer of Seattle, Wash.; Ella, wife of John Frowley, a native of Sweden and a farmer in Montcalm county, Mich.; Emma, wife of Reuben Wilson, a mechanic at Big Rapids; John, farmer in Pierson, Montcalm county; Hattie, wife of William Small, a hotel-keeper at Big Rapids, and George, farming at Trufant, Montcalm county. The father of this family was born in New York state, came to Michigan as a boy with his father, Obadiah, and settled near Stockbridge, Ingham county. The house he erected in 1832 is still standing. He later lived in Washtenaw county, where he improved a new farm. In 1873 he settled on the land that is now part of his son's farm. He improved a nice little farm and lived here till his death, July 2, 1886. He was a democrat and most thoroughly convinced the principles of that party were what was necessary to the preservation of republican institutions. The mother, also a native of New York, is now seventy years of age and resides with her son, in the full possession of her faculties. The families of both parents were noted for longevity, and two of Mr. Force's uncles served in the Revolutionary war and three brothers in the war of 1812. Franklin M. Force was reared in Washtenaw county until nearly twenty years of age. He received a sound education in the Manchester graded schools, where he was fitted to teach. He came with the family to Spencer township in March, 1873. Their first home was a little board shanty, and the surrounding country almost a wilderness. Trufant was known only as a stopping place: deer were abundant in Spencer township, and it being a logging country there were 18,000,000 feet of logs in Black creek the spring of his arrival. August 27, 1876, Mr. Force wedded Miss Mary Warnock, which marriage has been graced with three sons and one daughter, the latter dying in infancy. The sons are Willie, still residing with his parents; Vernie and Myron. Mrs. Mary Force was born in Eaton, Lorain county, Ohio, November 4, 1867, and is a daughter of William and Eliza (Frisbee) Warnock, who were the parents of five sons and two daughters, of whom Mrs. Force is the youngest, and of whom she and three brothers are the only survivors. Of these, James was a soldier of the Civil war and is now a prosperous mechanic at Elyria, Ohio; David is a thriving farmer in Walker township, Kent county, Mich.; and Willie is prospering in the same line in Spencer township. Mrs. Force was a little girl when brought to Kent county by her parents, and here she has been reared and educated. Her father was of Scotch-Irish extraction, was of benevolent disposition, was devoted in his love for his wife and children was a sincere Methodist, not in name only but in heart and soul. His life was an open volume to all who knew him and honored by all. He departed this life in May, 1881, having survived his wife many years. His remains are interred in the Spencer Mill cemetery, where a beautiful shaft has been erected to his memory by his children. Mr. and Mrs. Force began their matrimonial life without a dollar, but were filled with hop and laudable ambition. They went in debt for a forty-acre tract in section No. 16, Spencer township, where the district school house now stands. The land was covered by the primeval forest and brush, and their home was a little board shanty. Here Mrs. Force united her efforts with those of her husband in clearing up the place and in bringing order out of chaos. Two years later, finding the title was defective, they sacrificed what little they had paid on it, and two years of hard labor. They then purchased forty acres in section No. 21, of which only three acres had been cleared from the dense forest. A little cabin was their dwelling, and many a time, after consuming Mrs. Force's little baking of bread, nothing was left for the next meal. But she was still patient and hopeful, and she said that "the Lord will provide." Mr. Force worked as a day-laborer to earn the means with which to make the payment on the place, and even after all had been met Mrs. Force would go into the field and forest with her husband and help develop their farm. The result of this assiduous toil has been that they now own 145 acres of as finely improved land as can be found in Spencer township and they have the satisfaction of knowing that the improvements have all been made by themselves. In politics Mr. Force is a democrat and cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Force are sincere and devout members of the Disciples church, who have a nice little society of their own in Spencer township, connected with which there is a Sunday-school, with an attendance of about forty scholars. Of this, Mr. Force is the present treasurer and has been superintendent, assistant superintendent, librarian and teacher -- Mrs. Force being the present librarian; she also teaches the small children and has been very successful. Mr. and Mrs. Force have contributed liberally toward building up and supporting this little society. Mrs. Force is likewise president of the Ladies' Aid society. Both Mr. and Mrs. Force are public-spirited, are favorably and warmly inclined toward the public-school system and advocate the employment of the most competent teachers. They stand in the best social circles of the township and are sincerely respected for their personal worth as demonstrated by their useful and industrious life. |