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

1680

HISTORY OF MICHIGAN

sympathy, expressed in many unostentatious acts of practical charity.
While personally a modest man, he was aggressive and public-spirited in
business and in his support of everything pertaining to the general welfare of Grand Rapids. He was an active member of the Association of
Commerce and belonged to the Peninsular Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Plainfield Country Club. Apart from his
immediate interests in the furniture store he had considerable money invested in the development of an apple orchard tract in the famous Rogue
River valley near Medford, Oregon. His two brothers, Burt K. and
Glenn D., were both identified with the Young & Chaffee Furniture Company, and another brother, Owen, lives in Medford, Oregon, and is interested in the orchard industry in that state.
In I895 Mr. Chaffee married Laila Cain, a daughter of C. 0. and
Anna S. (Seaver) Cain. Her mother was born in Maryland and her
father in Vermont, and the latter was a retail dry goods merchant who
came to Michigan when a child, and he and his wife are still living in
Grand Rapids. Mrs. Chaffee was their only child. Mr. Chaffee and
wife had two children: Wendell and Guy, both now in school.
A concise tribute to the life and character of the late Guy W. Chaffee
was thus rendered editorally by the Grand Rapids Herald: "No man
lived in vain or crosses the bar with life work undone who leaves the
memories that are cherished by Guy Chaffee's friends and by his city."
HUGH R. MELLEN. One of the oldest residents of Alpena is Hugh
R. Mellen, who established a home there forty-five years ago, and has not
only been closely identified with business affairs, but has also become
known for his faithful public services. He is a progressive citizen, and
his influence can be counted upon to favor any movement calculated to
bring greater development and improvement to his section.
Hugh R. Mellen was born November I3, I843, in county Argenteuil,
Province of Quebec, Canada, the only son and child of James and Martha
Ann (McNeil) Mellen. The father died about I868, the mother lived
with her son until her death, and he was not married until after she had
passed away.
Hugh R. Mellen had a very limited education as a boy, and his uncle
being a carpenter took him in and gave him a thorough training in that
trade. That was Mr. Mellen's regular line of work until about I884, and
he then turned his attention to the construction of mills as a millwright.
Mr. Mellen arrived in Alpena June 26, I868, and in the subsequent years
has witnessed practically every improvement in this part of the state, including the building of railroads, the growth of commerce and industry,
and many other changes too numerous to describe. For about five years
he was engaged in the general merchandise business at Alpena.
Mr. Mellen married Mary McNeil, daughter of Philip McNeil. They
are the parents of one son, William Harlow Mellen. Mr. Mellen has
served Alpena as a member of the school board, belongs to the Congregational church, and has affiliation with Alpena Lodge No. I99, A. F. &
A. M. In politics he has always been a Republican in national affairs,
but labors effectively for progressive government and improvement in
local matters irrespective of party affiliations.
MELVIN E. TROTTER. Some fourteen years ago, in a dingy, little
room at No. 95 Canal street, there was established in Grand Rapids the
first home of the City Rescue Mission. Its allurements were few; the
furniture of which it could boast was necessarily of the plainest and
cheapest kind. The financial resources of its founders were meagre; the
idea was a new one, and the people who were in a position to aid had not