James McKechnie worked in various positions for several railroads, including: telegraph operator and manager of the office of the Michigan Central Railroad, Jackson (Mich.), 1876-1879; chief train dispatcher and general buggy agent for Canadian Southern Railway, ca. 1873-1876; and station agent for the Detroit, Lansing and Northwest Railroad, Millbrook (Mich.), 1879-1882. He served as the Pres. of the Charlettetown boys and the Temperance Reform Club (perhaps the same group?) in 1877. James also taught Sunday School at the Methodist-Episcopal Church in Charlettetown. He died before Oct. 1882 of consumption. James was survived by his wife, Sarah, the daughter of William Sheldon, and an unidentified daughter. Sarah tried unsuccessfully to find work as a [telephone] operator after James died. She then moved to Ionia (Mich.) to be near her father. In 1912, Sarah lived in Remus (Mich.). At some point, she married William Crouse (1852-1948), a Remus blacksmith and pioneer. Sarah was active in the Farwell Woman's Club. She died around 1919. Her sister, Fannie, married Albert N. Leslie (d.1911) in 1882. James' brother, William McKechnie, was the General Freight and Passenger Agent of the Midland Railway of Canada in 1875. (Information from the collection and Crouse's obituary of Aug. 28, 1948, in the Isabella Co. Times News.).
From the description of Scrap book, 1872-1920. (Clarke Historical Library). WorldCat record id: 50542116
