|
FRANCIS HOCKINS
A score of years has elapsed since the
subject of this resume took up his residence
in Antrim county, and it is due entirely to his own assiduous efforts and undaunted ambition that he has
here gained so signal success, having come here as a poor man
and being now the owner of one of the best
farms in the county, while he is held in unqualified esteem as a
citizen and as a progressive and prosperous man of business.
Mr. Hockins is a native of Devonshire.
England, where he was born in the year
1847, being a son of Richard and Emma
(Caldwell) Hockins, who came to America
in 1852, locating in the province of Ontario,
Canada, where they passed the remainder
of their lives, the father having there been
engaged in farming. He was summoned to
that "undiscovered country from whose
bourne no traveler returns" in the year 1865
and his cherished and devoted wife passed
away in 1871. They became the parents of
nine children, all of whom are living except
two.
The subject of this sketch was a lad of
about five years at the time of his parents'
immigration from England to Canada, and
in the province of Ontario he was reared to
manhood, early beginning to assist in the
work of the home farm and thus learning
the lessons of practical industry, while he
also duly availed himself of the privileges
afforded in the local schools. He continued
to reside in Ontario until 1885, when lie
came to Michigan, and in 1885 he came to Antrim county, settling in
Milton township. For the first two years lie worked at farming and other
occupations in the employ of
others, thus providing for the support of
his wife and children, and he was compelled
to borrow the money to pay for even executing the papers for the
first land which he
purchased here. Thus it may be seen that he
began at the foot of the ladder, having had
no financial reinforcement, while the pronounced prosperity
which he today enjoys
not only bespeaks his personal energy and
well ordered industry in the past years, but also indicates that
he has made proper
utilization of the great natural resources of
this section, since his prestige and advancement have been
gained through his active
identification with the great basic art of agriculture. To his
original purchase, in Milton Township, Mr. Hockins has added until he
now has a finely improved landed estate of
two hundred and eighty-five acres, constituting one of the
largest farms in the county,
and of this area one hundred and eighty five acres have been
brought under a high
state of cultivation, while sixty acres of the
farm were reclaimed from the forest by the
present owner. Mr. Hockins gives his attention to diversified
agriculture and to the
raising of a considerable amount of live stock
of the best type, preference being given to
Durham cattle and Chester White hogs. In
the field of horticulture, also, he has been
successful in his operations, and he makes
a specialty of raising beans and potatoes, in
which latter line his average annual crop aggregates about eight
hundred bushels. Mr.
Hockins has made many substantial improvements of a permanent
nature, aside
from the erection of his well equipped residence and other farm
buildings, for he has
put up the best of fences and given such
careful attention to every portion of his farm
and its work that it is recognized as one
of the model places of this section. In politics he accords an
unqualified allegiance to
the Republican party, and while he has never
sought public office he has consented to serve
as constable and as a director of his school
district. His wife is a member of the
Methodist church.
In 1870 was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Hockins to Miss Caroline McClintock,
who was born in Canada, and of this happy
union have been born eight children, namely:
Francis, Jr., William J., George H., James
J., Eliza S., Caroline, Emma L. and Nellie
R. Eliza S. is the wife of George Odell, a
prosperous farmer of this county; Caroline
is the wife of Frank Russell, who is successfully engaged in
farming in Milton township; and the youngest daughter still
remains at the parental home. The children
are numbered among the popular young
folk of the community, and the pleasant
home has long been recognized as one in which hospitality and good cheer at all times
pervade.
Title:
Biographical history of Northern Michigan, containing biographies of
prominent pioneer citizens ...Publication
date:
1905.
|