Probably one of the most pleasant family reunions ever held in Muskegon took place 
Thursday at the home of Mrs. Fanny Shepherd 34 E. Muskegon avenue.  There were present 
Mrs. Julia N. Witherell, aged 86; Mrs. Fanny Shepherd, 63; Joel C. Witherell of Six Corners, 
61; Capt. John Whitherell, Menominee, 58 Mrs. Anna Kennicott, Wayland, Allegan county, 56; and Mrs. John Hodge, Walton and Cedar streets, Muskegon, 54 years of age.  At the table 
spread for the occasion were 12 persons, representing four generations.  Mrs. H. B. Miller, of Shelbyville, daughter of Mrs. Kennicott, was the only granddaughter present.  Her 11 year old 
son was great grandson to Mrs. Witherell.  Mrs. Kennicott took advantage of the excursion 
from Kalamazoo Thursday to visit her mother and sister, and with her coming the family reunion, 
the first unbroken circle for a quarter of a century, was provided for. 
     The oldest of the family, Mrs. Julia N. Witherell, a great-grandmother seven times.  Her husband, Joel C. Witherell, came to Muskegon from “York State” in 1843 to build a saw mill 
for a firm, one member of which was named Stronach.  The mill was erected, but one member 
of the firm being drowned by the beaching of a vessel near Racine, the partnership was broken 
and the plant passed into the hands of George Ruddiman.  Mr. Witherell’s next work as 
millwright was in the stream sawmill of Martin Ryerson.  When the enterprise was started Mr. Ryerson had $25 in money and was $7,000 in debt.  The mill started early in February and 
when navigation opened that year the docks were filled with lumber.  With the proceeds Mr. Ryerson paid all his indebtedness and had money in his pocket.
     Mrs. Witherell was the keeper of the old Foss boarding house on Stimson’s point, first 
owned by Henry Lasley and later by a man named Foss.  Later she kept boarders in a large 
house on the south side of Western avenue west of Terrace Street, where she purchased three 
lots for $800.  Her constant labor for many years over heated stoves and in heated kitchens is 
the apparent cause of her blindness, an affliction of 23 years duration.
     Mrs. Fanny Shephard, Mrs. Witherell’s oldest child, although 63 years of age, has a clear recollection of Muskegon in the 40’s.  She remembers when the shore of Muskegon lake was 
well covered with Indian wigwams, to the number of 300 or more from Foss’ point to a trading 
post near where the office of Hackley and Hume now stands.  She recalls, among other things, 
the first school house built in Muskegon.  The lot was on the corner of Clay Avenue and 
Terrace street, where the Smith block now stands.  It was given on condition that the school 
house be erected there.  At a meeting of the people to consider the matter a man named Knickerbocker objected to the location, saying “We might as well send our children to Black 
Lake to school as out there in the woods.”
     “The Fourth of July celebration in Muskegon,” said Mrs. Shepherd, “was in 1847.  The festivities consisted of a dance at Dill’s boarding house.  There were present Martin Ryerson, Thomas Tagney, Mr. Knudson, Edward Hammond, Mr. Joachim, and their wives, a Mr. 
Maxim, a Mr. Blanchard, Mrs. George Ruddiman and our family.  The dance constituted the celebration.  There is but one family here now who was in Muskegon when we came.  They are known as the Dill family.  Mrs. Dill is now Mrs. Susan Bohn, now 84 years of age.”
     Capt. John Witherell was in the tug business in Muskegon many years.  He commenced his career with Capt. William Mees.

***Julia’s middle initial was mis-printed as “N”.  Her middle name was Ann, which would 
sound like “N” causing the mis-print.**
 

SOURCE:  Muskegon Weekly Chronicle—Thursday, Sept. 7, 1893, Page 2, Column 3
 
 

     Taken about 1870 of Capt. John J. Witherell  on his tugboat.  You can just barely make him out but the photo itself shows "Rutherford"  sawmill, which I take was a misprint for "Ruddiman", the booming pens and the old icehouse in the background.
 
 

     Captain John Witherell, the oldest tug captain on Muskegon lake and one of the most 
prominent marine men of this city’s palmiest lumber days, died at 7:15 this morning at North Muskegon.  Hemorrhage of the brain was the cause of his death.  He was 72 year of age.
     In his brief illness he dramatically wandered back to early scenes, talking in the Indian tongue 
and with uplifted arm giving orders for driving piles or some other labor of years ago.

Well Till Last Thursday
     Up to last Thursday Captain Witherell was apparently as well as usual.  That morning he
visited with friends on the streets of Muskegon.  Then he trudged across the bridge to the 
north side of the lake, where he and his wife had been spending the holidays with their son, 
George Adelbert Witherell.
     The next morning he was carried downstairs helpless in his son’s arms.  From that time his 
case was hopeless.
     The funeral will be held at 10 o’clock Friday morning at the Central Methodist Episcopal 
church in Muskegon.

Leaves Three Children
     Besides his wife, there survive him three children, Mrs. Frank Towse of Grand Rapids,  G. A. Witherell of North Muskegon and Mrs. William Kalmbach of Grand Rapids. Mrs. Fanny 
Shepherd of this city is a sister.  There are also a brother, Joel C. Witherell, of Conklin, and 
another sister, Mrs. Anne Kennicott of Shelbyville, Allegan County, who is of present visiting 
in Grand Rapids.  The brothers and sisters of the family all lived to old age, the only other 
member being a sister, Mrs. Jane Hodge, who died in Muskegon two years ago.

Father a Settler in 1843
     The career of Captain Witherell was very nearly as old as that of the history of the city of Muskegon.  His father settled here in 1847, when there were only six white families and 
between 300 and 400 half-breed families.  Originally the family came from the state of New 
York.
     Captain Witherell was born at Sparta, Livingston Co., N.Y., November 16, 1834.  At that 
place his father was a building contractor.  Five years later they moved to St. Charles, Kane County, Ill., where the father erected a large hotel, store buildings and mills.
     Captain Witherell’s father came to Muskegon in advance of his family which did not arrive 
until April 17, 1847.  The former made two trips to Chicago by walking on the beach along
the shore of Lake Michigan.

Built First Mills in Muskegon
     The father was the builder of the first three mills in Muskegon, Stoner’s and those on Green 
creek and Ruddiman’s creek.  For himself he built a dam and water mill on a creek emptying
into the head of what is now known as Mona Lake.
     About the mill and the dam Captain Witherell played as a boy.  Then the family prosperity was clouded. A freshet broke through the dam and drove the mill seven feet off from it’s foundation.
     The damage was repaired at a great loss and the family moved into the village at Christmas 
time 1857.  Mrs. Witherell in the meantime took charge of the Lasley mill boarding house.  In 
the fall they planned to return to Illinois, but the father died on October 9.  The mother lived 
until 1895.
     Because of their misfortune Captain Witherell’s schooling was early followed by employment 
on the lake.

Boy Acts as Captain
     Under the late Captain Mees he worked on a tug and did so well that when Captain Mees 
was obliged to be absent he asked the boy to act as captain.  At that time Captian Witherell 
was about 17 years old.
     That was the beginning of his long activity as a tug captian.  The boats of which he was in 
charge were many.
     The first he ran officially was the Croton on Grand River.  Among others he was captain of the Alice Getty, the H. Warner, the A. C. Waters, (which he took for Captain Waters to Michigan City), the Hackley and the McGord*** for Hackley & Hume for ten years.  The Pony for the Muskegon Booming company and the O. N. Field for the Crosby Transportation Company.
     His work of towing logs was inconsiderable as compared with that of towing vessels.  In those days Muskegon Harbor was not nearly so safely protected as it is now, and it was not easy to 
bring a boat into harbor, especially at night.

Seven Vessels in One Tow
     As many as seven vessels were towed by him at one time up the lake.
     So extended and arduous were the hours of lake traffic that once he and his men worked so 
long without sleep that they literally fell over.  They were returning from taking a vessel out to 
the big lake when Captain Witherell noticed something wrong.  Upon stepping down to the 
engine he found that the engineer and fireman had both fallen back asleep.  He himself could
hardly wait to bring the boat up to the first dock so that he could follow their example.
     Ferryboat travel was another important part of marine life in those days.  Captain Witherell ran ferryboats both between this city and Bay mill and this city and North Muskegon.

Turned to Resort Boats
     When the tug traffic and the ferry boat business waned and he himself grew less vigorous, he 
took charge of one of the little steamers of the Lake Harbor hotel, which ply up the lake where 
he had spent his boyhood.  For a number of seasons he ran boats for Proprietor Swett, not discontinuing his boat career until almost two years ago.
     Since then he had resided with his children in Muskegon and Grand Rapids.
     Mrs. Witherell who survives him, was formerly Miss Cynthia Shepherd, a sister-in-law of Mrs. Fanny Shepherd.  Their marriage took place in 1852.

**Source:  Muskegon Daily Chronicle
January 9, 1907
Pg 1, Column 1
Continued on Page 7, Col., 4

We were told at the museum that it was probably taken at the reunion, in 1893, and Julia would have been the only one there old enough to be the elderly lady in the photo.  If you look closely at the lady on the left and compare her to Jane in the photo of the three sisters, you'll see that she's an older version of the same lady.
 
 

Built Water Mill
     Afterwards, he built for himself a dam and water mill on a creek emptying into the head of 
what is now known as Mona Lake.  It was not long, however, before the family prosperity 
was clouded.  A freshet broke through the dam and drove the mill seven feet off from its foundation.  The damage was repaired at a great loss.
 The result was that at Christmas time in 1857, the family moved into the villiage, and Mrs. Shepherd’s mother took charge of the Lasley boarding house.

Center of Social Life
     The latter speedily became one of the centers of pioneer social life.  Mrs. Shepherd thus 
formed many pleasant memories that in after years she enjoyed repeating to those about 
her, for she was one of Muskegon’s early belles.
     The family then owned extensively of real estate situated in what is now the heart of the city. 
From Terrace Street to the Lumberman’s bank belonged to them, and they built a boarding 
house there.
     Later, a house was erected by them at 34 E. Muskegon avenue, where Mrs. Shepherd 
resided until she moved to Prince street eleven years ago.
     In 1863 she married James Shepherd.  Her husband was employed on the t***ing Muskegon boom holding the office of foreman of the pens.  He only lived two years after their wedding, however, and then her long widowhood began.

Became a Tailoress
     She took up the work of tailoring and became very skilled in it.  All these many years she had 
plied her needle and continuously for one establishment.  The latter is what the present clothing 
firm of T. B. Callan, previously that of Callan & Dratz, and prior to that the concern of William Herbst & Co.
     Such a life of unremitting toil in now way interfered with her naturally sunny disposition, 
however, and few homes in Muskegon were there as cheerful to visit as the little cottage on 
Prince street, where Mrs.  Shepherd sat so constantly with her needle and her reminiscences.
     All of her spare moments were given to her church of which both she and her mother were 
charter members and to which she was devoted.
     Quite a number of relatives are gathering here to attend the funeral.  The include the following: 
Joel Witherell of Conklin, a brother, with his daughters and son; Mrs. William McCord of 
Grand Rapids, Mrs. Edward Burns and John Witherell of Conklin; Mrs. William Kennicott of Shelbyville, Allegan county, a sister with her daughter Mrs. H. B. Miller of Grand Rapids; Mrs. John Witherell of Grand Rapids, the widow of Mrs. Shepherd’s brother, Captain John 
Witherell and also a sister of her husband; Mrs. W. B. Kallmbach of Grand Rapids, and 
George Witherell of Dalton, a daughter and son of Mrs. John Witherell; and Mrs. H. B. 
Bowler of Grand Rapids, a daughter of Mrs. Jane Hodge, the latter being a sister of Mrs. 
Shepherd who died three years ago.
     The funeral will be held at the parlors of the Central Methodist Episcopal church at 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.

**Source:
Muskegon Daily Chronicle
Feb 25, 1909