History of Wexford County, MI. Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 82 - 83

HON. CLYDE C. CHITTENDEN

Occupying a prominent position among the leading members of the Cadillac bar, with an honorable record as a jurist, a creditable career as a politician and much more than local repute as all official and business man, the subject of this sketch is entitled to specific mention as one of the notable men of the city and county. Judge Chittenden has long been an influential factor in the history of Cadillac and his activity in behalf of every enterprise making for the public good, his distinguished services in high official station, as well as his continued success, have won him a name which the people in this part of the state have not been slow to honor. The history of the Chittenden family, of which the Judge is a worthy representative, is traceable to his grandparents, Hiram and Melamine (Payne) Chittenden, who were born in New York, settling in the county of Cattaraugus. Of their family of seven children, three sons and four daughters, William, the subject's father, was the oldest. He was born September 5, 1835, in Cattaraugus county. New York, grew to maturity on a farm and when a young man decided to devote his life to agriculture, which pursuit he followed in his native state until the year 1888. Meantime, on the 18th of November, 1857, he married Miss Mary J. Wheeler, of Yorkshire, New York, who bore him two sons and one daughter, namely: Hiram M., formerly a lieutenant in the United States army, Clyde C.. of this review, and Ida L., all living. In the month of June, 1862, Mr. Chittenden enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Fifty-fourth New York Infantry, with which he served until discharged on account of physical disability, having earned an honorable record as a soldier. Disposing of his interests in New York in 1888. he moved his family to Michigan, settling in Wexford county, where he has since resided, being now practically retired from active life. Clyde C. Chittenden was born in Yorkshire, Cattaraugus county, New York, on the 19th day of August, 1860, and spent his early life under the active and wholesome discipline of the farm. After attending for some years the public schools, he entered an academy not far from his home, where he pursued the higher branches of learning until completing the prescribed course in 1881, when he became a student of Hamilton College, near the city of Utica. Eight months of diligent application in that institution terminated his scholastic training, after which he began the study of law at Little Valley, in the office of Nash & Lincoln, well-known attorneys of that place, continuing under their direction until his removal to Michigan in the fall of 1883. On coming to this state Mr. Chittenden decided to locate at Cadillac and here he applied himself closely to his legal studies until March of the following year, when he was admitted to the bar. Opening an office and announcing himself a candidate for a share of public patronage, he soon succeeded in building up a lucrative business and it was not long until he forged to the front as one of the rising members of the Wexford county bar. During the spring and summer of 1884, he applied himself closely to the general practice, with encouraging success, but the following fall, at the earnest solicitation of his friends, he entered the race for circuit court commissioner, to which office he was elected by a very decided majority. This may be termed the beginning of Mr. Chittenden public career, as he has been prominently before the people from that year to the present time, fully justifying their confidence in his ability and integrity and proving true to every trust reposed in him. After serving one term as court commissioner, he was elected, in 1886, prosecuting attorney and so able and faithfully did he discharge the duties of this exacting office that he was twice re-elected, serving six years in all, during which period he continually added to his reputation as a sound lawyer and shrewd, resourceful practitioner. Mr. Chittenden is an influential politician and ever since locating at Cadillac has been a wise counselor and judicious leader of the Republican party. He has served as delegate to local and state conventions and as member of the county central committee, a position he has held ever since coming to the state, his efforts contributing greatly to the success of the ticket in a number of elections. In the fall of 1894 he was elected senator from the twenty-seventh district and as a legislator in the state councils proved equal to the responsibilities intrusted to him. During his incumbency he was active and efficient in the discharge of his every duty, served on a number of important committees, took a leading part in the general deliberations and earned the reputation of a wise and judicious law-maker, meeting the high expectations of his friends throughout the district by the interest he manifested in behalf of his constituents and the state. Mr. Chittenden, in the year 1900, was elected judge of the twenty-eighth judicial circuit, in which honorable position he has already acquired a high reputation for soundness in the knowledge of the law and for careful application of its principles in the investigation and determination of cases submitted for his consideration and disposal. Fortified by his convictions of right, his rulings are fair and impartial, his decisions clear, terse, and embodying a careful review of every point at issue, and his courteous treatment of the members of the bar, litigants and others having business in this court has won him high esteem as a man and profound respect as a judge. In addition to his professional and official record, Mr. Chittenden has been prominent in the affairs of Cadillac and Wexford county in other capacities, being largely interested in business and industrial enterprises. In 1888 he became associated with George E. Herrick in the handling of lumber and logs and in 1890, in partnership with his father, he organized the Chittenden Lumber Company, purchasing Mr. Herrick's interest in the business. Later, in July, 1894, the enterprise was reorganized and incorporated as the Wexford Lumber Company, with a capital stock of ninety thousand dollars, under the' following official management: D. F. Diggins, president; C. C. Chittenden, vice-president, and Henry Knowlton, secretary and treasurer. The mills owned by this company were located at Hoxeyville, and a railroad was built by the company from Osceola to their plant, known as the Osceola and Wexford Line. In the year 1885 Mr. Chittenden was united in marriage with Miss Grace Guild, a native of New York and the daughter of William P. Guild, a large farmer and representative citizen of Cattaraugus county, that state, at whose home the ceremony was solemnized. Three children have been born to this union, namely: Coy William, Ralph and Robert H. Mr. Chittenden has led a very active life, as will be seen from the foregoing brief review, and his career has been that of an intelligent, broad-minded, enterprising American of today. His record in every relation has been exceedingly brilliant and honorable and few men of his age have accomplished as much or so indellibly impressed their individuality upon the public mind. Possessing great energy and industry, he seldom fails to carry to successful completion any undertaking to which he addresses himself being a man of decided strength of character whom no obstacles can deter nor difficulties discourage. As a lawyer he stands in the front rank of his contemporaries, with a promising future in which to win new distinction and honor. On the bench he has won the reputation of a wise, judicious judge, to whom the people can refer their difficulties and misunderstandings with the consciousness that they will be adjusted satisfactorily and according to the spirit of the law; as an official he can point to a record above the slightest breath of suspicion; as a business man he has demonstrated ability to inaugurate and carry forward large and important enterprises, and as a citizen he has been loyal to the best interests of the community and the state, discharging his every duty to the body politic in the spirit bespeaking the true American who makes every other consideration subordinate to his country's good.