Legislator Details
Vital Records Information:
Marital Information:
married Ida Boyd, 1881; she died 1884; daughter Florence died 1901; married Edith Marion Phelps, dau. of Samuel and Marie Phelps, 1/6/1886 in Coldsprings, MI; children: Joseph P., Samuel, William, Mortimer, Morrell and Mabel Edith
total 7 children
Number of Children: 7
Background
Education:
district schools
Biographical Sketch:
Son of Joseph & Nancy (Smith or Morrell) Totten. Of Dutch, Scottish & Irish descent. He moved to Michigan with his parents in 1865. He returned to New York in 1872. Grew up on a farm; from ages 13-19 drove horses on the Erie Canal in NY. Taught school in Michigan at 19 for 2 yrs. He moved to Kalkaska in 1877 and worked for the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Co as a section hand and then as a laborer in the lumber camps. After teaching several terms, he began studying law in a couple of law offices. Admitted to the bar, 1879 or 1880 at age 21. Practiced in Kalkaska, MI; 1881, circuit court commissioner; prosecuting attorney, 1886-90. He was admitted to practice before supreme court of the United States March 3, 1897. Member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias & the Maccabees.
Notable Facts:
Application to the SAR gives birthplace as Verona, NY; 1901 Manual says near New London, NY.