Dennis J. McCarthy. The genial member of the firm of D. J. McCarthy & Co., dealers in lumber. Lath, shingles, sewer pipe, etc., is he whose name appears above. He is a man of whose success it is not at all surprising to learn, for his personality is distinguished by the rare magnetism that adds power to his fine appearance. He has been very successful and in financial circles is one of the most substantial men of Fenton, Genesee County. Mr. McCarthy was born in Livingston County, this State, April 13, 1847. He is a son of Dennis J. And Catherine (Callaghan) McCarthy, both natives of Ireland.
Our subject’s father came to this country, when quite young. He located in New York and later removed to Canada. He was first employed as a deck hand on a Lake Erie steamer and was on the water for about fourteen years, during which time he was advanced to the position of second mate. After leaving the lakes he located on a farm in Deerfield Township, Livingston County, and there died in 1851 at the age of thirty-six years. Our subject’s mother died in 1863. They were the parents of five children, four of whom are still living.
Mr. McCarthy is the youngest member of his family. He was reared on his father’s farm in Livingston County and received his first knowledge of books in a little log house in the district he attended. He supplemented his school work by his study in the evenings by the light of the tallow candle or by the hickory fire that blazed and sparkled on the hearth. He began working on the farm when eleven years old, learning to drive two yoke of oxen, for which he received ten cents a day. He continued to work until twenty-three years of age. At the age of eighteen he began to learn the carpenter’s trade and worked at that until he was married, when he devoted his time to farming in Tyrone Township, where he had procured a tract of land and continued on it for about ten years.
In 1881, Mr. McCarthy removed to Fenton and two years later he became interested in the lumber business, to which he has since devoted himself. Our subject was married June 21, 1871, to Miss Catherine Strickland, who was born in Deerfield Township, Livingston County. One child has been at once the comfort and care of his devoted parents. He is named Jesse and was born June 29, 1879.
He of whom we write affiliates with the Democrats. While a resident of Tyrone he held various positions, having been Highway Commissioner and Justice of the Peace for three years; he was also Supervisor for two years. His party have delegated him to conventions many times and he has been actively interested in local politics. Mr. McCarthy is the owner of one hundred acres of land on section 19, Tyrone Township, Livingston County. The firm with which he is at present connected does an extensive business.
Source: Chapman Brothers. Portrait and biographical record of Genesee, Lapeer and Tuscola counties, Michigan. Chicago: Chapman brothers, 1892.