History of Michigan, / by Charles Moore. [Vol. 3]

1552

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN

of Pythias and the Odd Fellows. Mr. Van Sice in his prosperity of later
years uses his money liberally, both for enjoyment and for charity. He
and his wife are especially fond of automobiling, and make long trips,
one of these into Ohio, covering a distance of eight hundred miles. He
is well known for his charitable acts, and gives liberally to charitable
institutions and has taken special pleasure in caring for his foster mother.
EDWIN B. STRONG, M. D. To no profession do greater opportunities
for quiet and effective social service come than to the medical fraternity,
and a physician and surgeon who has well utilized and accepted his privileges for faithful performance of skillful work is Dr. Edwin D. Strong
of Rockford, Kent county. Dr. Strong has practiced medicine for more
than a quarter of a century, and his father before him was an able and
highly respected physician.
Edwin B. Strong was born July 6, I863, at Reading, Michigan, a son
of Dr. Henry W. and Rocela (Butler) Strong. Grandfather Ansel
Strong, who married a Miss Sandborn, was one of the pioneer farmers
of Michigan, having obtained his land directly from the government, and
was a man of both material success and of community influence. Dr.
Henry W. Strong was born at Monroe, Michigan, August 4, 1838, and
died May 9, I904, while his wife passed away in I867. The elder Dr.
Strong was one of the early graduates from the medical department of
the University of Michigan, a member of the class of I863. After six
years practice at Reading he moved to Byron Center in I869, and practiced there until his death in I904. He was a Democrat in politics and
was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. There were
just two children, and the daughter, Celia H. Strong, is now living in
California.
Dr. Edwin B. Strong completed his early education in the Grand
Rapids high schools, and after his freshman year in the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor finished his studies preparatory for the practice
of medicine in Detroit in 1887. For a number of years he was in practice with his father at Byron Center, but in I906 moved to Cannon township in Kent county, and since I9IO has conducted his large general practice from Rockford. Dr. Strong is an esteemed member of the Kent
county Medical Society, in politics is a Democrat, and has affiliations
with the Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Woodmen of the World, and the Knights of the Maccabees. On October
26, I900, he married Pearl Bellows of Rockford. Mrs. Strong is a
graduate of the Butterworth Hospital of Grand Rapids. They have
four children: Lee E., aged thirteen; Grace L., aged seven; Donald L.;
and Hugh B., who was born in I914.
VALENTINE SEBASTIAN Boos. The Saginaw Journal, now in its fourteenth year, while the youngest German paper in the field, has become
one of the strongest among all the German weeklies published in the
northeast section of the state, and in influence and reputation for peerless
discussion of public and current news, stands'in the forefront.
The circulation of the weekly Journal is about three thousand, and its
present position has been won against severe competition and the success of the enterprise is a high tribute to the editorial and business ability
of Mr. Boos, who is now sole proprietor and editor.
Valentine S. Boos was born in Mainz, Germany, July 13, I86o, a son
of Jacob and Anna (Ehrhardt) Boos. The printing and newspaper
business have been a family vocation for at least two generations. Jacob
Boos was a printer and pressman by trade, and his name has a place in
the history of mechanical inventions which have improved and perfected