A history of Pickford Area Pioneer Families Daniel Morrison

ROWSE

John Worden Rowse was born in 1844 in Cornwall, England, and married Hannah Grose in 1871 in Plymouth, England. They had 7 children: Mary Grose Rowse (the only child born in England), Annie, Augusta Mae, Alfred George, Jane Louise, Etta Fannie, and John Worden. The family emigrated to the United States in the late 1880's, going first to Pennsylvania, then later to the Pickford area. Mr. Rowse homesteaded a farm in Chippewa County. In the early pioneer days, he carried the mail from Pickford to St. Ignace once a week by horseback. The last Rowse farm was at the present location of Huyck Poultry Farm, two miles north of Pickford.

MARY ROWSE never manied. She lived at home with her parents until her death in 1960.

ANNIE married Ashton Roe who was a farmer in Chippewa County and had one son, Clifford. He married Ann Wonnacott. Their children are Fern, Jay, Vern and Donald. They now live on the family homestead.

AUGUSTA MAE married Isaac David (LD.) MacDonald in 1895. They had six children: Colette, Howard, Alfred (died in infancy), Irene, Etta, and Burnett (Bud). Colette married Henry Hermann and they had four childrn: Shirley, Henry, Jr., Donald, and Larry. Howard married Della Cotner; they had no children. His second wife, Lois Armstrong, and he have three children, Hollis, Davis, and Victoria. Irene never married. Etta married J. Norman Loye and they have lived in Chippewa County most of their married life. They have one daughter, Norma. Burnett owned a retail lumber yard in Rudyard until 1969 when it burned to the ground. He was married to Della Howland and they had one son, Robert. He later married Josephine Donnelly and they have one adopted daughter, Diane.

ALFRED GEORGE ROWSE married Lillian MacKenzie. They farmed in the Pickford area and later moved to the Soo where he worked as a carpenter. Their three children are Velma, Glen, and Opal. Velma married Michael Cannon and their two children areWarren and Jane. Glen married Gertrude Hilderly and they now live in California and have one daughter, Glenda. Opal married Gerald VerDeaux and had one son, Jerry. Later she married Ralph Neimi and they had a son, Ronald. She is now married to Edward Hoeft and lives in Sault Ste. Marie.

JANE LOUISE ROWSE died at the age of 19.

ETTA FANNY ROWSE married Lorne Warner. They had three children, Maxine, Murdena, and Lorna. She later married James Hilton Roe. She died in September, 1971.

JOHN WORDEN ROWSE married Mildred Gough. They lived on the Rowse farm north of Pickford and both are deceased.

RUTLEDGE

William Rutledge, a pioneer homesteader in Marquette Township, was born in Tyrone, Ireland, in 1830. He emigrated to Goderich, Ontario, with his parents and here married Betsy Ross in 1861. In 1882 he and his family, except one son, John Thomas, moved to Pickford and homesteaded 80 acres south of the Blairville School in the same section. They were the parents of 7 children.

JAMES ROBERT came to Marquette Township and homesteaded 80 acres next to his father, but when he became ill with consumption, he returned to Goderich where he died.

ESSIE stayed in Goderich and married John Million.

MARY JANE married William Ross who owned the the Brown farm where Denzil Huyck now lives. But soon after their marriage, they moved to Lowell, Michigan, where they have since died.

MATILDA and MARGARET never married. After their father's death in 1910, they moved to the village and lived in the home now occupied by the Marvin McDonald family. Matilda was a seamstress and made beautiful ladies clothing for years. She was a ditector on the Pickford Fair Board. Margaret was a cook and cooked a number of tourist seasons at the Cedar Inn Hotel in Cedarville, Michigan. They were active members of the Pickford Methodist Church.

JOHN THOMAS did not move to Pickford with his parents. He remained in Goderich with an uncle and aunt, Mr. nd Mrs. William Ross, to finish his schooling. He was preparing to be a school teacher, but this goal was never achieved. He, too, came to Pickford in 1890. He took up a homestead three and one-half miles west of Clifford Taylor's (now John Kronemeyer's) farm. In 1895 he married Harriet Leach. Three sons, Leonard (deceased), Elmer, still in Pickford, and Ross, of Lyons, Illinois, were born on this homestead.

John Thomas moved to the village in 1901. He built the house which is now empty and is owned by Harvey Peffers next to the Ivan Leach residence. Hilda Kinnee of Kingsford, Michigan, the late Marie Fraser of St. Ignace, and Esther Rutledge of Grand Rapids, were born in this house. During this time he was a machinery salesman for V. L. Lipsett. This home was sold and he built the house north of the county garage on M-129 where Florence Hudson once lived and which has now been torn down to make room for the Village Inn Motel. Marjorie Mattson and Ruby Murphy Alexander were born here. When the two eldest boys, Leonard and Elmer, were able to assist, he built homes. He built the Pickford Orange Hall which housed Rye Implement and has since been torn down, the V. L. Lipsett house (now owned by William Becks), the Henry Garbe home west of the Methodist Church now owned by Art Reich, and the P. E. Taylor residence now owned by Jaynce Leach.

A few years after John Thomas' father died in 1910, John moved to the farm originally homesteaded. He built a new home there and lived in it, farmed a little, and stayed with his trade. In 1944 he moved to Pickford and built one more home, where Mrs. Sarah Cowell now lives. But while working on this house, he suffered a paralytic stroke. He never fully recovered and died in April, 1947. Mr. Rutledge was active in Marquette Townsbip affairs. He served on the board of review, was township clerk and township treasurer.

Leonard married Margaret Hill and they had 9 children, Glen dying at the age of four. Arla Jean married Reg:inald Wilson and has five children: Marsha*, who is married to Milton Sutton, and has one child, Joanne, Tom, Jim, and Martin* at home. Arla Jean is employed at the Pickford School and lives on the former Henry Clegg farm one mile south of Pickford. Maly Lynn married Vern Huyck and has four children: Bob* who married Beverly Story and lives north of Pickford; and has a daughter, Kelly Ann; Sandra* who married Dan Inglis has a daughter Danielle Lynn; and Cheri and Dave* still at home. Jim Rutledge married Belva Cottle and lives in Pickford. Their children are Gary, Ronnie, Roger, and Leanne*. Jim followed his father's and grandfather's trade as a builder-contractor and is rurrently employed by the Sault Ste. Marie Schools as a teacher of building to high school students. Marjorie married Stanley Schmitigal and has three children, Linda, Lisa, and Christopher*. Glenda married Duane Brown and they have four children: Danny, David, Pat, and Michael*. They live in Pickford and she works at the War Memorial Hospital as a nurse. Jack married Brenda Sims and they have two daughters, Jacqui and Kata Lee*. They live in Pickford and Jack is employed at the Cedarville Limestone Quarry. Bill married Susie Nye and lives in Cedarville. Lauretta married Glenn Atkins and has four children: Bill, Kenny, Richard, and Jeannie*. They live in Barbeau.

Elmer married the former Gladys Wise and is now retired. They lived on the homestead farm until 1971 when they sold it and moved into town. Their daughter, Gloria, is married to Harry Smith and lives on the old Blairville School property. They have two daughters at L.S.S.C., Cathy and Cindy*, and a son, Chris*, attending Pickford School.

Ross, who was a barber, married Alvina Oldenburg. He is retired and lived in Lyons, Illinois until very recently. They have two girls, Mae and Jean, and six grandchildren.

Hilda married William Kinnee and lives in Kingsford Heights, Michigan. They have three children, Jerry, Arvid, and Gail, several grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Marie was married to Dan Fraser and had four children: Armalean, Don, Marjorie Ann, and Lane and several grandchildren. She is deceased.

Esther never married and lives in Grand Rapids where she will be retired soon from Michigan Trust.

Mariorie married William Mattson and lives in the Sault. They have two children, Elva Mattson Quinn and Bill.

Ruby is married to C. R. Alexander and lives in Guam where he is stationed. She has one daughter, Mary.