See also
1 Marjorie Jean PATTERSON1 (1926-2007) [3145]. Born 21 Feb 1926, Pontiac, MI.1,2 Died 11 Nov 2007, MI.2
2 Clarence Knox PATTERSON1,3,4 (1894-1983) [3000]. Born 23 Jan 1894.5,6 Marr Agnes Bacon HODGES 30 Jul 1923, Home of the bride's parents on Pine Lake.4 Died 27 Feb 1983, Pontiac, MI.5,6 Buried 1 Mar 1983, Pine Lake Cemetery, West Bloomfield, MI.
From a Pontiac, MI neswpaper
1896-07-12 - "Clarence Patterson, son of John H. Patterson, who has been seriously ill during the week, is recovering.".
4 John Hudley PATTERSON1,3,4 ( - ) [2999].
From a Pontiac, MI newspaper.
July 1, 1892 - "John H. Patterson, wife and son, attended the graduating exercise at Holly last Friday evening and were guests at the home of Thos. L. Patterson over Sunday."
November 25, 1892 - "John Patterson, wife and son, spent Thanksgiving in Holly.".
5 Ella STANTON1 ( - ) [3088].
From the Bill Poster and other Pontiac newspapers.
1890-05-09 - "Friday last, to Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Patterson, a son."
1892-93-18 - "Mrs. J.H. Patterson and son Donald left on Saturday for a two weeks visit with relatives at Holly and Owosso."
1892-09-30 - "Mrs. J. H. Patterson and son Donald are spending the week in Detroit."
1894-01-26 - "To Mrs. J.H. Patterson Tuesday, January 23, a boy.".
3 Agnes Bacon HODGES1,3,4 (1892-1983) [3002]. Born 28 Aug 1892, Paris, France.1 Died 21 Dec 1983.7 Buried 6 Jan 1984, Pine Lake Cemetery, West Bloomfield, MI.5
6 George Schuyler HODGES1 (1864-1953) [374]. Born 3 Mar 1864, Hodges House, Pontiac, MI.1,8 Marr Agnes Idalene BACON 14 Feb 1888, Washington, DC.1,9 Died 11 Apr 1953, Pine Lake, MI.8 Buried 14 Apr 1953, Oakhill Cemetery, Pontiac, MI.8
From the weekly Pontiac Bill Poster and other Pontiac newspapers.
June 10, 1885 - "Geo. S. Hodges is here from California greatly improved in helath."
October 6, 1886 - "George Hodges started on Monday for Minnesota."
February 15, 1888 - "George S. Hodges gets married today."
January 16, 1889 - "Last week Tuesday, Mr. Geo. S. Hodges, of Pine Lake, was made the happy father of a nine pound baby girl."
June 20, 1890 - "Geo. S. Hodges, of Orchard Lake, has just been granted a patent on water color paints, something novel and of great use to artists."
December 5, 1890 - "Mr. George Hodges expects to sail with his family for Southern France Dec. 10th, where he will pursue his art studies."
June 17, 1892 - "George S. Hodges and Mr. Tracy obtained a patent on an improved camera, and since Mr. Hodges has been in Paris he has made arrangements with a large manufacturing establishment in that line, to place the camera on sale in France, Germany, Russia and Italy, the patentees receiving a commission on the sale."
1894-12-14 - "Three of the landscape paintings of Mr. George S. Hodges appear at the exhibit of the Association of Artists now being held at Hanna and Noyes galleries. These paintings are pronounced by art critics to be conspicuous for excellence in this, one of the best art exhibits Detroit has had in years."
1895-12-19 - "Geo. S. Hodges and family will spend the winter at Ocean Springs, Mississippi."
1896-05-15 - "Geo. S. Hodges is building three new cottages on the north bank of Pine lake."
1897-02-26 - "Geo. S. Hodges has returned from the south."
1897-03-12 - "Geo. Hodges and family have returned from the south. He has some fine paintings that he has made of southern scenery.
1900-06-27 - "George Hodges, of the Martin Halfpenny Vehicle Company and George Hilsendegen, of Detroit, are preparing to conduct a big carriage manufacturing business her. They will locate on the Osmun property adjoining the tracks of the Air Line."
1901-09-26 - "By Ald. Holser: Whereas, the conditions imposed upon the city of Pontiac in the deed from George S. Hodges and Schuyler G. Hodges, of block 6, Hodges addition, have not been fulfilled and Whereas, It is not deemed advisable to expend any money on said premises for the purposes of a public park, Resolved, That the Mayor and Clerk be and they are authorized to execute and deliver to George S. Hodges and Schuyler G. Hodges, a quit claim deed releasing any and all claim and title of the city of Pontiac, to said block 6, Hodges addition.
1901-12-26 - "The Hodges Vehicle Co. have just shipped a large order of vehicles to the Pacific Coast. They have a number of attractive styles ready to put upon the market, among them being two new driving wagons and two stanhopes. They report an excellent outlook in the trade and an unusual demand for cushion and semi-pneumatic tires, though the standard 2-inch first quality pneumatic still leads and some of the best eastern manufacturers will put no other kind on their vehicles."
Paraphrased from "Early Michigan Inns", by Lawrence McCraken, 1943.
George S. Hodges, the grandson of Schuyler Hodges, builder of the famed Hodges House Hotel in Pontiac, spent his boyhood in the Hotel, always considered Pontiac of the days when the Hodges House shown brightest as having an interest beyond any city he had ever known. "Living in that hotel was something like living a chapter of a Dickens' novel." he recalled. "We had an array of Dickens' characters and the hotel was their meeting place." Among these were Nutter, a bowlegged Negro Sampson, who tossed 250 and 300 pound trunks to his shoulders and trotted nonchalantly to the third floor with them. "Deacon", so called because he was the most profane man in the village, drove a stage coach and his artistry with cuss words won him respect of even seasoned travelers. The hotel undoubtedly played host to many men who whose names are indelibly in the nation's history books, but the old registers were lost years ago and now there is nothing but local legend, handed down through the years to testify to the visits of the great of past years.
Abraham Lincoln made a tour of Michigan in 1856 in support of presidential candidate John Freemont. It was during this tour he is reputed to have visited the Hodges House. No doubt his visit attracted but little attention as then he was an unsuccessful Illinois politician who had but recently been unable to win the vice-presidential nomination of his party. Among those who were guests of the hotel, in addition to Lincoln, were Daniel Webster and James Fenimore Cooper, according to legend. Both visited Michigan during the time the Hodges House was most famous and it is not unlikely they tasted of its comforts.
Obituary for George S. Hodges from the April 13, 1953 Pontiac Gazette. "Pioneer in Auto Industry Dies at Pine Lake Home. (3120 Pine Lake Rd.) George S. Hodges, 89, pioneer Pontiac automobile builder, died Saturday evening at his home at Pine Lake where he had lived for 73 years. He was the son of Ira G. and Mariva Hodges, and was born on March 3, 1864, in the Hodges House in Pontiac, a hotel built by his grandfather, Schuyler Hodges. He was educated in the Pontiac Schools and Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake. In 1892 Mr. Hodges went to Paris where he studied art. His work was shown at Detroit art exhibits and at other prominent art showings throughout the country. He followed painting as a hobby most of his life. He was a charter member of the Scarab Club in Detroit. He also made violins and had been granted the patents on the original reflex type camera and on other inventions. He organized the Hodges Vehicle Co. which made horse drawn carriages and buggies. Around the turn of the century Mr. Hodges became secretary of the Welch Motor Co., the nucleus of Pontiac's automobile industry. This was finally absorbed by General Motors. Mr. Hodges was a close associate of Henry Ford and had many dealings with him when when Ford was endeavoring to get his auto manufacturing underway. He built the Pine Lake Country clubhouse, Rotunda Inn and several other buildings. He later sold the clubhouse and golf course to the club. He was married in 1888 to Agnes Bacon, who died in 1923. She was the daughter of Levi Bacon, chief clerk of the U.S. Patent Office at Washington. He was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church. Mr. Hodges is survived by one son and seven daughters. George S. Hodges Jr., of Lake Angelus; Mrs. Harlan S. Smith and Mrs. Clarence K. Pattersor (n) of Pontiac; Mrs. Ferris H. Fitch of Grosse Pointe; Mrs. George W. Malcomson of Arlington, Va.; Mrs. Earle W. Parcells of Grosse Pointe; Mrs. Julian A. Spottswood of Palatine, Ill. and Mrs. Donald S. Patterson of Orchard Lake. He also leaves 19 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. The funeral will be held Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. from the Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home, with the Rev. William H. Hamm officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery. The family requests that flowers be omitted."
Adding to his list of accomplishments, we learn from his obituary in the Detroit Times, April 13, 1953 that he:
1) invented and manufactured pneumatic-tired buggies and racing sulkies.
2) made the first closed body for a Ford car.
3) drove the first automobile in Oakland County, a Searchmont, made in Philadelphia.
4) invented the first power lawnmower.
5) was awarded a scholarship for five years study in Europe at the expense of the French government.
6) was the only living exhibitor at a 1950 exhibition in Detroit of paintings executed in Detroit before 1900.
12 Ira Gardner HODGES1 (1829-1865) [367]. Born 28 Jan 1829, Pontiac, MI.1 Marr Mariva Larned ROSE 3 Apr 1855.1,10 Died 23 Mar 1865, Pontiac, MI.8 Cause: Threat disease. Buried 26 Mar 1865, Oakhill Cemetery, Pontiac, MI.8
Ira Hodges managed the Hodges House Hotel in Pontiac for a time. The hotel was built by his father and was called "Pontiac's Swankiest Hotel, with every convenience of it's time". The hotel was a huge brick building located on the southwest corner of Saginaw and Pike streets. With seventy five rooms and hallways wider than present day major hotel rooms, it was called the "Astor House of Michigan".
From Vital Records from the Detroit Free Press, April 2, 1865
"Hodges, Ira G., aged 36 years in this city [Pontiac] on Thursday 23rd inst. Burial on Sunday."
From The Pontiac Weekly Gazette, March 24, 1865:
"Died - In this city, on the 23d inst., of threat disease, Ira G. Hodges, aged 36 years and 2 months.".
13 Mariva Larned ROSE11 (1830-1904) [352]. Born 4 Jul 1830, PA.11 Died 19 Nov 1904, Residence at Pine Lake, Pontiac, MI.8,11 Buried Oakhill Cemetery, Pontiac, MI.
Appearing in a Pontiac newspaper:
1869-10-20 - "Mrs. Ira Hodges started for California yesterday."
1870-05-25 - "Mrs. Ira Hodges has returned from her visit to California, looking as though that climate agreed with her. "
1876-05-10 - "Last Saturday night we were shown a Centennial curiosity at the Hodges House by Mrs. Ira Hodges. It was a species of horseshoe geranium, very large and thrifty, and for four years had always hung full of pure white blossoms. But a few days since Mrs. Hodges was astonished to see that bright red blossoms were appearing, and now the plant is hanging full of red and white blossoms, each on a separate stock, but all from the same root. Five years since the slip was sent from California by an aunt of Mrs. Hodges. All who have seen it pronounce it a curiousity in every sense of the word."
1890-12-19 - "Mrs. Mariva Hodges accompanied her son George and his family to Europe. They will spend the holiday season in London and then take up their abode in Southern France."
1892-10-21 - "Mrs. Mariva Hodges leaves for Paris the last of the month to visit her son, George, the Artist."
1894-05-18 - "Mrs. Mariva Hodges has returned from Detroit."
1894-06-22 - "Mariva Hodges is special adminstrator of the estate Virgil M. Rose."
1894-07-20 - "Mariva Hodges is administering the estate of V. M. Rose."
1895-02-08 - "Mrs. Mariva Hodges is visiting friends at Detroit."
1895-09-06 - "Miss Jennie Williams of Detroit is visiting Mrs. Mariva Hodges.".
Witness at wedding of her sister Harriet to Joseph Dows.12
7 Agnes Idalene BACON1,13 (1859-1923) [2704]. Born 1 Aug 1859.9,13 Died 26 May 1923.13 Cause: Pneumonia.
From a Pontiac, MI newspaper.
1890-05-02 - "A girl to Mrs. Geo. S. Hodges."
1890-06-13 - "Mrs. Geo. Hodges, who has been spending the winter at Washington, D.C., returned last week with Mr. Hodges to their home at Pine Lake."
1894-07-20 - "To Mrs. Geo. S. Hodges of Pine Lake, July 14th, a daughter."
1895-01-10 - "Mrs. George Hodges of Pine Lake entertained a few of the Pontiac young ladies to tea last Thursday."
1909-03-18 - "Mrs. George Hodges and daughter, Miss Marion, of Pine Lake, have returned from a short stay at Ann Arbor. While there Miss Marion attended the annual freshman banquet.".
14 Levi BACON , Jr.1,8 ( - ) [2672].
15 Emma WHITEHEAD1 ( - ) [3043].
| 1 | "Old Oakland County Families, 1945 compiled by General Richardson Chapter, DAR.". |
| 2 | "Obituary of Marjorie Patterson Pflug in the Canton Observer (Canton, MI), November 16, 2007". |
| 3 | "Patterson - Hodges wedding announcement in The Pontiac Gazette, October 8, 1914". |
| 4 | "Wedding announcement for Agnes Hodges, Pontiac Gazette, July 31, 1923". |
| 5 | "Cemetery and Death Records, W. Bloomfield Twp., Oakland County, Michigan". |
| 6 | "Michigan Death Index, 1971-1996". |
| 7 | "Obituary of Agnes Hodges Patterson, Birmingham Eccentric, December 29, 1983". |
| 8 | "Newspaper obituary". |
| 9 | "Obituary of Mrs. George S. Hodges (Agnes Bacon), Pontiac Gazette, May 26, 1923". |
| 10 | "Oakland County Marriage Record of Ira Hodges and Mariva Rose". |
| 11 | "Death Certificate". |
| 12 | "Michigan Marriage License Reports on the marriage of Joseph Dows to Harriet Rose". |
| 13 | "Oak Hill Cemetery Burials". |