Compendium of history and biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan Elon G. Reynolds, editor.

182

HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

held the position of hospital steward. He returned to his New York home, but, in the fall of
the same year, 1865, came to Michigan and settled at Osseo. Here he started the mercantile enterprise in which he is still engaged, having
been continuously occupied in its operations from
that time except three years, during which time
he was engaged in buying and selling stock at
Hillsdale. On June ii, 1871, in this county, Mr.
Phillips was united in marriage with Miss Mary
McDonough, a native of Ireland. They have
had seven children, all sons but one, and four
of them are living, Stanley D., Eber B., John W.
and A. Ray. Mr. Phillips is a Republican in
politics, but not an active partisan or an officeseeker. But, although averse to holding official
position of any kind, he has served the township
as treasurer, and in this position he rendered
good service. He belongs to the Masonic order,
holding membership in the lodge at Osseo. He
is highly respected as a business man and a representative citizen and has the good will of all
classes of the people.
GEORGE W. RUMSEY.
During his lifetime one of the representative
citizens and leading farmers of Jefferson township, Hillsdale county, George W. Rumsey was
a native of Yates county, New York, where he
was born on March I6, I830. His parents,
Thomas and Sophia (Dancingberg) Rumsey,
were married in the state of New York, where
they resided for many years. The father was a
native of that state, the mother, born in Germany,
coming with her parents to America when she
was four years of age. In 1834 the parents of
Mr. Rumsey removed their residence to Lorain
county, Ohio, where they remained until 1846,
when the family came to Hillsdale county, Michigan, and settled on a tract of wild land in what
was then Florida township. The subject of this
sketch assisted in clearing the paternal homestead and in building a home for the family, assisting in their support up to the age of thirty
years. During this time he availed himself of
such limited opportunities for acquiring an edu

cation as were at hand by attending the district
schools in the vicinity of his home. In I86o, desiring to branch out for himself, he purchased
about seventy-five acres of the old homestead,
then owned by his brothers, and subsequently
added to it about forty acres more lying in section I2, Jefferson township. This property he
improved and continued to make his residence up
to the time of his death, which occurred on October 30, I892. The first home on this place was
a log cabin, this in time was succeeded by a
framed building, in which he lived until I89o,
when it was destroyed by fire. He then erected
the fine dwelling of modern style and architecture in which he maintained his home until his
death, and in which the family now reside. It
is one of the finest places in that section.
On November 2, 1855, Mr. Rumsey was
joined in wedlock with Miss Laura L. Knight, a
daughter of Arnold and Harrie (Harkness)
Knight, who were pioneer citizens of Jefferson
township. Coming hither in 1853, they 'settled
half a mile north of Pittsford. They continued
to reside in Jefferson township up to their
deaths. One adopted son, William G. Rumsey,
comprised the family of Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey.
Politically, he was identified with the Republican
party, an earnest advocate of the principles of
that political organization, although never a seeker after office. He was a great reader, and was
well known as a man of wide information, especially in that relating to public affairs. Fraternally, he was affiliated with the Masonic order, being chapter Mason, and took an active interest in
social and fraternal work. He was a member of
the Free Baptist church of Osseo, ever taking
a leading part in building up the moral well-being of the people. In his death the county lost
one of its most valued citizens. During all of
the years of his useful life he was a generous
supporter of schools and churches, contributing
largely of both his time and means in the promotion of every movement calculated to be of benefit to the public or to uplift the cause of humanity. By all classes of his fellow citizens he was
held in high esteem, honored for his many admirable traits of character.