USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 15
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JOHN C. BARNHISEL is numbered among the representative citizens of the Upper Peninsula and has been identified with important busi- ness interests in Sault Ste. Marie and Chippewa county for a number of years past. Mr. Barnhisel was born in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on the 14th of July, 1870, and is a son of David and Martha (Camp- bell) Barnhisel, the former of whom was born in the state of Penn- sylvania and the latter in England. The father now maintains his home at Willoughby, Lake county, Ohio, and the mother, who was born in 1848, died in 1888, the subject of this sketch being the only child. John C. Barnhisel was reared to maturity in his native city and after completing the curriculum of the public schools he con- tinued his educational training in Brooks Academy, at Cleveland, Ohio. For many years he was identified with the coal mining and shipping industry. When twenty-two years of age he entered the employ of the Sterling Coal Mining Company, of Cleveland, with which he remained for a number of years, after which he was actively concerned in the management of the affairs of the Interocean Coal & Coke Company, in which he was a stockholder. In 1897 Mr. Barnhisel came to Sault Ste. Marie, where he became one of the organizers of the corporation just mentioned. Later the same was merged with the Port Royal Dock Company, which was organized in 1899, with headquarters in the city of Pittsburg. This company also secured the property and business of the Port Royal Dock. Mr. Barnhisel is es- sentially progressive and public-spirited as a citizen and is distinct- ively popular in the city and county in which he maintains his home. He is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Club and the Country Club, and in politics he maintains an independent attitude.
On the 5th of February, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Barnhisel to Ella Joanna, daughter of the late Guy H. Carleton, of Sault Ste. Marie, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this work, so that further reference to the family history is not de- manded in this connection.
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JOHN C. STEPHENS .- The present efficient and honored treasurer of Luce county has well merited the high mark of popular esteem given him in his election to this office and is one of the thoroughly repre- sentative citizens of this county, where he has been successfully iden- tified with agricultural pursuits and is the owner of a valuable farm, in Pentland township.
John C. Stephens was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on the 9th of October, 1871, and is a son of Alexander and Jessie (Walker) Stephens, both of whom were born in Scotland. The father died in 1886, at the age of fifty-six years, and the mother is now residing on the homestead farm in Luce county, Michigan. Of the five children three are living,-Margaret, who is. the widow of William Walker, and is a resident of Luce county; George, who is engaged in agricul- ture in Luce county; and John C., who is the immediate subject of this sketch. Alexander Stephens was a lad of nine years at the time of his parents' immigration to America and the family located in the province of Ontario, Canada, where he was reared to maturity under the discipline of the farm and where he received a good common- school education. He became one of the prosperous farmers of On- tario, and there continued to reside until 1881, when he came to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and secured a tract of wild land in Luce county, where he instituted the arduous work of reclamation and where he continued to reside until 1885. He then removed to Tower, Minnesota, where he was employed as stationary engineer up to the time of his death, which was the result of injuries received in an accident. In politics he gave his support to the Republican party and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, of which his widow also is a member.
John C. Stephens gained his rudimentary education in his native county and was ten years of age at the time of the family removal to Luce county, Michigan, where he was reared to maturity on the home farm and where he duly availed himself of the advantages of the public schools. At the age of thirteen years he secured a clerk- ship in a general store at Newberry, Michigan, and he continued to be thus employed until his marriage. He then turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and his well-improved farm in Pentland town- ship is eligibly located three miles south of the village of Newberry, where he has maintained his residence since assuming his present of- fice, though he still gives a general supervision to his farm. Mr. Stephens is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and he has been an active worker in its local ranks. The first official position to which he was called was that of member of the school board of Pentland township. Later he served as town- ship clerk for two terms and for four years he represented his town- ship on the county board of supervisors. In the spring of 1908 he was elected township treasurer and he was incumbent of this position at the time of his election to the office of county treasurer in the fall of 1908. He has given a most able and satisfactory administration of the fiscal affairs of the county and is known as a careful and con- scientious official,-one well worthy of the official trust conferred upon him. He is identified with Luce Lodge No. 89, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows. and is identified with other civic organizations. He attends and gives his support to the Union church in Newberry, of which Mrs. Stephens is a member.
On the 10th of October. 1892, Mr. Stephens was united in mar- riage to Miss Frances Smith, who was born in the province of On-
Vincent Vairo
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tario, Canada, and who is a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Bates) Smith, the former of whom was born in Lockport, New York, and the latter in the province of Ontario. The father now resides in Luce county, Michigan, where he is a successful farmer and where he has maintained his home since 1881. He is one of the prominent and in- fluential citizens of Pentland township, is a stanch Republican in politics, and has served several terms as justice of the peace. The mother of Mrs. Stephens died about twenty years ago and is survived by three children. Mr. and Mrs. Stephens have eight children, whose names are here entered in order of birth,-Marguerite, Geoffrey, Wal- lace, Lyle, Eleanor, Ruth, John C. Jr., and Elsie.
VINCINSO VAIRO .- Few citizens of Laurium have had a more interest- ing and eventful life than Vincinso Vairo, a representative of the Italian nation, whose interweaving into America's social fabric has doubtless added materially to its vitality. Although only in middle life Mr. Vairo has passed through many scenes and has accepted with sound philosophy the ups and downs of fortune. He has achieved prominence in the land of his adoption and now holds the offices of postmaster of Laurium, president of the Italian Mutual Insurance Company, and director of the First National Bank. Vincinso Vairo was born in the village of Locana, July 22, 1866. He is a son of Dominick and Mary Vairo and is of excellent family. The father was for many years in the service of the Italian government as vet- erinary surgeon, and he lived and died in his native land.
The early boyhood and school days of Vincinso Vairo were passed in Italy. After leaving school he assisted his father for a time, and then went to South Africa, where he joined the army and saw service in the Boer war. He was engaged in the three campaigns of 1887, 1888 and 1889. He received an honorable discharge and returned home, being then in his twenty-second year. In 1889 he emigrated to America, and went immediately from New York city to Calumet, Michigan, where he speedily secured employment as a stone mason and carpenter, with which trades he had become familiar while in Europe. He invested his means in copper stocks and in a short time realized handsomely. He thereupon went west, settled in the state of Wash- ington, and while working at his trade made some investments which were so thoroughly unfortunate that he returned to Calumet with but seventy-five cents. He was soon upon his feet again, for he entered the employ of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company and remained with them for twenty-two months, after which he became contractor in the erection of dwellings, his specialty being stone work and car- pentering. He built many of the dwellings in Calumet and Laurium and did a considerable amount of work for the Wolverine and Mohawk Copper Companies in many of the villages and the mining camps of Houghton county. He also erected buildings for hoisting in Frank- lin, Boston and other hamlets in this county.
In 1910 Mr. Vairo was appointed postmaster at Laurium for a term of four years. He is a loyal supporter of the Republican party, possessing a strong conviction of the infallibility of its policy. He served as a member of the village council for a short time, being elected in the spring of 1910, but resigned this to become postmaster. He is identified with numerous important societies and concerns, being president of the Italian Mutual Insurance Company at Laurium ; pres- ident of the Upper Peninsula Society; president of the Alpino Soci- ety ; director of the First National Bank; vice-president of the Cit-
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izens' League Society; and associated with several other organiza- tions whose object is benefit to Laurium.
Mr. Vairo laid the foundations of a happy home life in 1890, in which year he was united in marriage to Miss Julia Camllone, of Cal- umet, Michigan. Mrs. Vairo is, like her husband, a native of Italy, having crossed the Atlantic to America in early childhood. To this marriage four children have been born. Dominick G. is a student at Valparaiso, Indiana; John B. attends the Calumet high school; and Elena and Jennie are both in attendance at the public schools.
WILLIAM H. ROBERTS .- Having by industry, thrift, wise manage- ment and good financial ability accumulated a competency, William H. Roberts is now living retired from the active cares of business in Hancock, Houghton county, an esteemed and respected citizen. He has had a varied experience in his industrial career, working at va- rious occupations, chiefly, however, as a miner, in early life visiting many countries, and coming in contact with people of all nations. A son of Richard R. Roberts, he was born, August 17, 1834, in the par- ish of Kea, England. His grandparents, Captain Richard and Eliza- beth (Blamey) Roberts, were life-long residents of county Cornwall, England, and were both of Welsh ancestry.
Richard R. Roberts spent his sixty-two years of life in county Cornwall, England, where he followed mining, the principal occupa- tion of the people in that section. He married Eliza Solomon, who was born in the parish of Kea, also, being a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Gray) Solomon. She died at the age of seventy-nine years, leaving six children, as follows: Matthew and Elizabeth now living in England; Eliza Jane, residing in Maryland; William H., the sub- ject of this sketch; Richard, of Kansas; and John, who spent his en- tire life in Cornwall, England.
As a child William H. Roberts learned to read in the Sabbath School but otherwise he is self-educated. Beginning to work in the mines when but ten years old, he remained in Cornwall until 1854, when he put into execution his long-desired plan to come to America, being thirty-one days in making the trip to New York City, crossing the water in a sailing vessel. He came directly to Ontonagon, Michi- gan, arriving here when the greater part of the Upper Peninsula was unexplored, the Cliff Mine, in Keweenaw county, and the Minnesota Mine, at Rockland, being then the only active paying mines, although explorations were being made, and mines opened. Beginning work at the National Mine, in Rockland, Mr. Roberts remained there until August, 1854, when there occurred a panic, and all work ceased ex- cepting at the Cliff and Minnesota mines.
Starting then for the lead regions of Wisconsin, Mr. Roberts traveled on foot through the trackless woods, with a compass for a guide, to Big Bull Falls, now Wausau, Wisconsin, thence going by team to Milwaukee, which was a small hamlet, from there going to Mineral Point. At that time all the productions of the lead mines were taken by team to Warren, Illinois. from there being sent by railway and boat to the East, and thence to England, where the lead was sold and the money returned to the United States, English money, in consequence, being circulated in the lead districts. Not finding work in that locality, Mr. Roberts returned to England, married in his native parish, and there resided about two years.
Leaving his wife in Cornwall, Mr. Roberts returned, in 1857. to Michigan, and for four months worked at the National Mine, in Rock-
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land. He then went by way of New York and the Isthmus of Panama to California, landing at San Francisco. After mining for a year, he made another venture, going to Valparaiso, Chili, in a sailing vessel, to accept the position of captain of a mine and remained there three years. He then went to England in a sailing vessel, being one hun- dred and four days en route. At the end of six months, accompanied by his wife, he came back to the United States, and for a year and a half was engaged in mining in Carroll county, Maryland. In 1863 he located in the new village of Hancock, Houghton county, Michigan, and after working in the Pewabic Mine two years opened a grocery store which he managed successfully until 1895, when he retired from active business. In 1901 Mr. Roberts erected his present residence, a commodious house, of modern construction, beautifully located on Harris avenue, and here he and his good wife are spending their days in comfort and pleasure. Both were reared in the Wesleyan Metho- dist church, but now attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Roberts is a member.
Mr. Roberts married, August 23, 1855, in the parish of Kea, Eng- land, May Ann Dinis, who was born in that parish, a daughter of William and Ann Dinis. Five children have been born of their union, namely : Samuel Henry, Thomas D., William H., Jr., John R. and Maria.
Samuel Henry married Eliza A. Rowe, and they have eight chil- dren, Burdette, Harry, Nettie, John, William H., Grace, Eliza J., and Bertha. Thomas D. married Emma Bennett, and they have one daughter, Mary. William H. Jr., married Catherine Foss, and they have one son, also named William H. Maria, wife of Donald Mc- Donald, has three children, William H., Ninea and Donald, Jr. Two of the grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are married, Burdette Roberts having married Gertrude Ferney, and Nettie Roberts being the wife of Ernest Daniel. In 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Roberts celebrated their golden wedding, the occasion being very pleasant, and one long to be remembered, and on August 22, 1910, celebrated the fifty-fifth anniversary of their wedding.
BEVERLEY DRAKE HARISON, M. A., M. D .- It is uniformly conceded that no member of the profession has done so much in a practical way to elevate its standard in the state of Michigan as has this dis- tinguished physician and surgeon, who was long engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, but who now maintains his home in Detroit, the metropolis of the state, but who still maintains a summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. To his initiative and resourceful efforts is largely due the establish- ing of the State Board of Medical Registration before which must appear every person who seeks to practice in the state. None can doubt the great value of this provision, which proscribes charlatanism, inefficiency and all irregularities in the work of a profession whose responsibilities transcend those of all others to which man may de- vote his attention, and in proper recognition of his earnest services in behalf of the higher professional standard Dr. Harison was ap- pointed secretary of the medical board of registration at the time of its organization. This incumbency he has since retained and in the same he has continued his effective labors in a worthy cause. His long identification with the interests of the Upper Peninsula render most consistent a review of his career in this publication.
Dr. Harison was born at Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York,
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on the Sth of May, 1855, and is a son of Minturn and Susan (Drake) Harison, the former of whom was born at the City of New York, and the latter at Ithaea, New York, being a daughter of Judge Beverley Drake, who served with distinction on the bench of the Ithaea (N. Y.) court for over 40 years. The lineage of Dr. Harison is of most patrician order and the family was founded in America in the colonial days. He is a direct descendant of Francis Harison, who came from England and established his residence in the state of New York in 1708, and was a member of the Colonial Council for over twenty years. This worthy ancestor was a younger son of Sir Richard Hari- son, Bart., of Hurst House, at Hurst, Berkshire, England, who was a member of the privy chamber in ordinary to King Charles II. of Eng- land, an intimate friend of Archbishop Land, and whose eldest daugh- ter married Sir Henry Wincombe, Bart., known as "Jack of New- berry" in history, and whose granddaughter married Thomas How- ard, third Earl of Berkshire. Sir Richard Harison was in direct de- seent from Sir James Harison of Cumberland, born in 1447, who mar- ried Margaret, daughter of Sir John Bourclair, Bart. George Hari- son, son of Franeis Harison of New York, married the heiress of Gen- eral Richard Nichols, Colonial Governor of New York under the English, and his son, Richard Nichols, who was born in New York in 1747 and was First Distriet Attorney of New York under Washing- ton, and a member of the First Court of Chaneery of the United States, married Dr. Harison's great-grandmother. Frances, daughter of Sir George Duncan Ludlow, Chief-Justice of New Brunswick, in direct descent from Edward I. of England, 1272 (the greatest of constitu- tional monarchs and who established the English Parliament), and his wife, Margaret, daughter of Philip III. of France. (Burke) Lamb's History of New York.
When Dr. Harison was about twelve years of age his parents re- moved to Toronto, Province of Ontario, Canada, and in the Dominion he was afforded most excellent educational advantages, having at- tended Bishop's College School, at Lennoxville, Quebec, and Trinity College School, at Port Hope, Ontario, known respectively as the Rugby and Eton of Canada. In these excellent institutions he was prepared for college; and at the age of eighteen years he was matricu- lated in historie old University of Trinity College, in the city of. To- ronto, where he completed his studies of a literary or academic order. In preparation for the work of his chosen profession, Dr. Harison then entered the medical department of Toronto University, from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Medicine in 1882 after a four years' course and subsequently the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Shortly afterward he became assistant to Dr. James Thornburn, one of the eminent physicians and surgeons of Toronto, and a member of the Faculty of Toronto. From 1885 to 1888 he was surgeon to the Spanish River Lumber Company, at Spanish River, Ontario, and in 18SS he came to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and established him- self in the practice of his profession at Sault Ste. Marie, where he continued to maintain his home until January, 1906, when he re- moved to Detroit. In the fair metropolis of Michigan he has sinee eontinned in the active work of his profession, as medical legal expert besides giving serupulous attention to the duties of his office as sec- retary of the Michigan State Board of Registration in Medicine. His high standing in his profession renders it unnecessary to state that his success as a practitioner in the Upper Peninsula was of the most unequivocal order, and that here he was one of the most prominent, honored and influential members of his profession.
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A most noteworthy and commendable work and one that will ever redound to his honor, is that accomplished by Dr. Harison in connec- tion with raising the standards and methods for admission to the practice of medicine in Michigan to a standard higher than can be claimed in an official sense by any other state of the Union. His ef- forts have met with the hearty approval of the worthy representa- tives of the various schools of practice and all commend the regula- tions prescribed by legislative enactment. Prior to 1889 various ef- forts had been made at successive sessions of the legislature to pro- cure proper legislation in regulation of medical practice in the state, but nothing definite had been accomplished. In 1889, however, the Michigan State Medical Society decided upon vigorous measures for improvement, with the result that a committee on medical legislation was appointed, with Dr. Harison as chairman. He prepared the bill that was finally brought to enactment, after consultation with lead- ing representatives of the regular, the Homeopathic and the Eclectic schools of practice. The bill was introduced in the house by Hon. William Chandler, representative from Chippewa county, and thus was designated as the "Chandler Bill," but Dr. Harison, in a personal and official capacity ably championed the measure, giving it careful attention at every stage and, as representative of the Michigan State Medical Society, he paid all incidental expenses in connection with forwarding the bill to enactment. This admirable law provides for the State Board of Registration in Medicine, before which body every person must pass an examination before being permitted to practice medicine in the state. The primary object of the law is to eliminate charlatans and so-called "quacks," as well as those imperfectly edu- cated along both professional and academic lines. As already stated, Dr. Harison has served as a member and secretary of this board from the time of its organization and in this office he has had much to do with defining administrative policies and making the work efficient in every particular.
Dr. Harison still retains membership in the Upper Peninsula Medi- cal Society, of which he was one of the organizers and of which he served as the second secretary and the third president. He is one of the influential and valued members of the Michigan State Medical Society, of which he was president in 1904-5, and he is also actively identified with the American Medical Association. While a resident of Sault Ste. Marie he served six years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Upper Peninsula Hospital for the Insane, at New- berry, of which board he was president. His professional and civic loyalty brought to his local preferment also, as he was called upon to serve as health officer of Sault Ste. Marie, coroner of Chippewa county, medical superintendent of the Sault Ste. Marie general hospital, and chief surgeon to the Michigan & Lake Superior Power Company, be- sides which he was local surgeon for several railroads and has been consulting surgeon for many of the larger charitable and benevolent institutions of the state. Dr. Harison was the founder of the Ameri- can Confederation of Reciprocating, Examining and Licensing Medi- cal Boards of the United States, an organization instituting medical reciprocity in some forty states and promoting uniformity of pre- liminary and medical requirements of the several states. Of this valuable body he was the first secretary and still holds this office (1910). It is worthy of special note in this connection that Michigan is the only state in the Union that is recognized by foreign countries, and that this reciprocity arrangement was made largely through the
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efforts of Dr. Harison since 1892. He is a member of the American Geographical Society, American Academy of Science, is identified with various fraternal and social organizations of representative character, is Republican in his political allegiance, and both he and his wife are communicants of the Episcopal church. In recognition of his ability and distinguished services, Dr. Harison received from the University of Michigan, in June, 1910, the degree of Master of Arts.
On the 9th of October, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Harison to Miss Josephine Lister, who was born and reared in Sarnia, Province of Ontario, Canada, and who is a daughter of Hon. James F. Lister, K. C., a distinguished justice of the Court of Appeals of the Province of Ontario, and a relative of Lord Lister, the famous Eng- lish surgeon. Dr. and Mrs. Harison have one daughter, Frances Lister.
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