History of Wexford County, MI. Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 162 - 163

HENRY CLAY MCNITT

If it be true - and there is good authority for the statement - that one's environment has much to do in influencing his character, then the men who have had the good fortune to pass their lives in the midst of movements which have brought about the rapid development and remarkable advancement of northern Michigan may well be expected to exhibit independence, self-reliance, enterprise and practical sagacity. In the life of the subject of this review, Henry Clay McNitt, may be found those qualities in a marked degree. His success is based upon a prompt and judicious use of opportunity. Henry Clay McNitt is a native of the state of Michigan, having been born in Sparta, Kent county, March 19, 1849. His parents were Horace and Sarah (Whitney) McNitt, natives of Ohio and early pioneers of Wexford county. They settled first in Boon township, where they remained a few years, then moved to Haring township, and resided there until their death. They were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second. In his native county of Kent Henry C. McNitt was reared and educated. He attended school at Grand Rapids, the county seat, and improved his time and the opportunities offered so well that today he is not only a well informed man, but in many regards may be considered learned. All of the hours of the day outside of the schoolroom were devoted to farming, in which vocation he became quite successful. He moved from Kent county to Fayette county, Illinois, where he lived for six years, then returned to Kent county and became interested in the mercantile business. Though never schooled in that line of business, he readily grasped all the details of the vocation and took more kindly to the calling than many who were specially prepared for the work by education and training. In 1880, discovering that Wexford county had several places where a nice mercantile business might be successfully conducted, he came here and opened stores in Haring, Round Lake and Jennings. During the eight years he was in business at those points he prospered even beyond his brightest hopes. Later he opened a store at Cadillac, the county seat, and continued in business there until 1892, when he purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres in section 15, Haring township. He has spent quite an amount of money in making improvements. One hundred and thirty acres are cleared and under cultivation and the place is supplied with good substantial buildings of all kinds. He has erected upon it a large. comfortable home and will furnish it in a style befitting the home of a man in his comfortable financial condition. On the 17th day of March, 1886, at Jennings, Missaukee county, Michigan, Henry C. McNitt was united in marriage to Miss Carrie B. Anderson. a native of Indiana, born in Michigan City, Feb. 9, 1865. Her parents were George A. and Carrie (Congdon) Anderson, of Harrietta, Wexford county. Mrs. McNitt is a lady of tact and ability who by her good judgment and discretion has been a valuable assistant to her husband in all of his business ventures. 'They are the parents of three children, bright, intelligent boys, who not only reflect credit upon the family but upon the rearing and training they have received. The children are: Henry Clyde, a student at Ferris Institute, Earl and Clarence. Busy as his life has been, Henry C. McNitt has found time to interest himself in every public enterprise set on foot to promote the welfare, growth and development of the township in which he lives and of the county at large. He has served as an official in some of the local offices of Haring township, but his election to those positions was not of his seeking. He has always felt that he could be of more service to his people and the locality of his residence as a private citizen than he could in any official position. He is a true, distinctive and representative American -one of those whose genius for business is a constant source of astonishment to the natives of other countries.