USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 23
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Laying a substantial foundation for his future education in the schools of L'Anse, Joseph J. O'Connor entered the law department of the University of Michigan in the fall of 1900, and was graduated from there with the Class of 1903, and has since been actively and prosper- ously engaged in the practice of his profession in L'Anse. In the spring of 1908 he formed a partnership with William L. Mason, becoming junior member of the firm of Mason & O'Connor, which is very well known in this section of the state.
Mr. O'Connor is a straightforward Republican in politics, and is every ready to perform his part in official life. Immediately after com- mencing the practice of law in L'Anse, he was elected circuit court com- missioner, which office he held for four years. He is now serving his fourth year as a member of the village council. For several years he has been village attorney for both Baraga and L'Anse, and in 1908 was elected prosecuting attorney for Baraga connty, which office he now holds. Although Mr. O'Connor was one of the youngest men who was ever elected to the office of prosecuting attorney in this county, yet he has been so attentive to his duties and painstaking in the preparation of his cases that his success has been marked.
As a citizen Joseph J. O'Connor is devoted to the best interests of the community ; as an official is most faithful and conscientious in the dis- charge of the duties devolving upon him; and as a friend is loyal and true.
AUGUST WALLEN .- Enterprising, progressive, and eminently capable, August Wallen is a fine representative of the prosperous citizens of the Upper Peninsula that are of foreign birth, and since coming to this country have made such diligent use of their time and opportuni- ties that they have won success in their chosen vocations. Since a boy of fifteen years he has been a resident of Michigan, and in that time has witnessed many wonderful transformations in the county, the path- less forests giving way before the axe of the explorer, thriving villages and populous cities springing up almost as if by magic. He was born, May 22, 1870, in the village of Umea, Westerbotten laen, Sweden, a son of August Wallen, Sr., who was born in the same locality.
August Wallen, Sr., learned the shoemaker's trade when young, and has followed it in his native laen until the present time, residing in Umea. He married Charlotta Christine Erickson, also a native of
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Sweden, and to them nine children have been born, as follows: All- gusta, August, Marie; Annie, deceased; Hilda, Karl; Erick, deceased ; Alfred, deceased; and Alma. Augusta, Hilda and August cmigrated to the United States, August remaining in this country, but the two daughters returned to their native land. One of their uncles, John Wallen, came to this country in 1870, and now lives in Duluth, Min- nesota.
Attending the public schools of Umea very regularly during his youthful days, Angust Wallen acquired a good business education, and subsequently worked with his father at the shoemaker's bench, becoming quite familiar with the trade. At the age of fifteen years he came to America, and the ensuing two years worked as a farm hand in Edmore, Montcalm county, Michigan, afterwards being there em- ployed for a while in a shingle mill. In 1889 he made his first appear- ance in Ewen, which was then a very small place, the village site and the surrounding country being covered with a dense growth of virgin timber. Mr. Wallen at once perceived the future possibilities of the little hamlet in the woods, and worked in the woods and shingle mills until 1900, then he embarked in the real estate business and in farm- ing, and from the very first met with such excellent success that he has continued thus employed ever since. He not only sells on commis- sion, but is an extensive land owner, having large tracts in his pos- session, and a farm of one hundred acres situated near the village, where he is carrying on general farming with profit.
Mr. Wallen has been twice married. He married first, October 23, 1901, Ina May Simpson, who was born at Sand Lake, Michigan, a daughter of Sidney Simpson. Her grandfather, Henry Simpson, was born in Oakland county, Michigan, where his parents were early set- tlers. A sawyer and an engineer, he worked in various places, spend- ing his last years in Janesfield, Saginaw county, Michigan. He mar- ried Addie Halliday, who was born in Centerton, Huron county, Ohio, a daughter of Benjamin and Catherine (States) Halliday, who re- moved to that place from Tioga county, New York, in pioneer days. She survived him, and is now living in Ewen, Michigan, being the wife of C. J. T. Smith. Sidney Simpson, who was a natural mechanic, was employed as a sawyer in a shingle mill for a number of years, but is now living near Ewen on a farm. The maiden name of his wife was Mittie Ward. Mrs. Ina May Wallen passed to the higher life October 25, 1905, leaving one son, Lester S. Wallen.
Mr. Wallen married second, June 11, 1907, Henrietta E. Kliver, who was born in Denmark, and came to this country with her parents, Magnus and Caroline (Hendricks) Kliver, now residents of Republic, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Wallen have two children, Kliver A. and Carl A. In politics Mr. Wallen affiliates with the Republican party, and, although no aspirant for official honors, has served as justice of the peace. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Wallen are conscientious members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally Mr. Wallen belongs to Rockland Lodge No. 108, F. & A. M .; to Ewen Lodge No. 518, I. O. O. F .; to Ewen Camp No. 7822, M. W. A .; to Kenton Tent No. 899, K. O. T. M .; and to the Modern Brotherhood of America, Lodge No. 1545. In 1910 Mr. Wallen joined Palestine Commandery No. 48, K. T., Houghton, Michigan, and Ahmed Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. of Mar- quette, and the Ontonagon Chapter No. 20 of Ontonagon, Michigan in 1909.
JOHN F. MOLONEY, SR., has maintained his residence in Sault Ste. Marie for more than a quarter of a century and is numbered among
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its representative business men and influential citizens. He has held various public offices of distinctive public trust and has ever shown a loyal interest in all that has tended to enhance the progress and wel- fare of his home city. Here he is the executive head of the firm of John F. Moloney & Company, engaged in the wholesale and retail liquor trade. He was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, on the 4th of December, 1845, and is a son of James L. and Ellen (O'Neil) Mo- loney, both of whom were likewise natives of that county, where the former was born in 1817 and the latter in 1821. The father died in Cheboygan, Michigan, in 1892, and the mother passed the declining years of her life in the city of Detroit. She died on the 29th of April, 1910, at the venerable age of eighty-nine years. Her remains were laid to rest at the side of her husband, in the cemetery at Cheboygan. They became the parents of five sons and four daughters, concerning whom the following brief data are given,-James F., an influential citizen of Cheboygan, Michigan, is president of the Cheboygan County Savings Bank; John F., subject of this review, was next in order of birth; William E. is a resident of the city of Detroit; Mary is en- gaged in the millinery business in that city; Patrick is a resident of Cheboygan, where he is engaged in the manufacturing of carbonated waters; Ellen is the wife of Thomas Schamadan, of Detroit; Margaret is the wife of Dennis Lenahan, of St. Ignace, Michigan; Bridget is the wife of William Elair, of Detroit; and David H. is engaged in the clothing business in Sault Ste. Marie. James L. Moloney was master of a poor-house in his native county in Ireland, where he remained until 1855, when he emigrated with his family to America, making the voyage on a sailing vessel, which consumed seven weeks in crossing the Atlantic. The family landed in the city of Quebec and thence made their way to Amherstburg, province of Ontario, from which place they later removed to the city of Detroit, on the 12th of March, 1868. There the father was engaged in the grocery business, in which he continued until 1884, when he removed to Cheboygan, this state, where he passed the residue of his life. He was a Democrat in his political proclivities although on one occasion he exercised his franchise in sup- port of a Republican candidate for president, the Honorable James G. Blaine. Both he and his wife were devout communicants of the Catho- lic church.
John F. Moloney, the subject of this review, was a lad of twelve years at the time of the family removal to America. He had gained a rudimentary education in his native land, and he is a self-educated man. In Ireland he had learned the weaver's trade, under the direc- tion of his father, who was an expert hand workman in this line. Dur- ing the period of the family residence in Ontario he assisted his father in both his farming and weaving operations and after the removal to Detroit he was engaged in the grocery business with his father, con- tinuing to be identified with this line of enterprise in the Michigan metropolis for a number of years. In 1875 Mr. Moloney was elected school inspector of the Twelfth ward of Detroit, receiving a majority of seven votes over his opponent, and later he was appointed assistant tax collector. He was the first collector appointed under the present state law whereby personal property can be levied upon for taxes and he made the first seizure under the provisions of this law. The case was carried to the courts and finally reached the supreme court of the state, where the validity of the law was upheld. Under its provisions no other case has since been appealed to the supreme court. In 1881 Mr. Moloney removed to Cheboygan, Michigan, where he continued in
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the grocery business until 1883, in which year he established his home in Sault Ste. Marie. Here he became associated with his brother, James F., in the wholesale and retail liquor business and one year later his brother retired from the firm, after which he himself, indi- vidually, continued the enterprise, with ever increasing success, until 1905, when he admitted his sons to partnership and thereafter the en- terprise was continued under the firm name of John F. Moloney & Sons, until 1909, when the son, John F., Jr., withdrew to engage in the manufacture of cigars. The firm name was then changed to John F. Moloney & Son, and thus continued until 1910, when the business was reorganized under the title of John F. Moloney & Company. A large and prosperous business is controlled and the jobbing trade of the concern extends throughout the wide territory normally tributary to Sault Ste. Marie.
In politics Mr. Moloney has ever given an unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party and he has been one of the influential factors in in its local councils. In 1885 he was elected alderman from the Third ward, by a majority of seven votes, the ward being strongly Repub- lican, and his name appearing on the ticket of the Democratic party. While a member of the board of aldermen he served as chairman of the committee on streets and sidewalks and he proved a progressive and valued member of the municipal council. In 1897 he was elected a member of the city board of public works, and he held this office for one year, during a portion of which time he was president of the board. He and his family are communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church and he is affiliated with the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Knights of Equity.
Mr. Moloney has been twice married. In 1872 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Bridget Schamadan, who was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, and who was a daughter of Thomas and Margaret Schamadan, both of whom were natives of Ireland. Mr. Schamadan died at the age of eighty years and his venerable widow still lives in Detroit. Of their seven children three are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Moloney became the parents of ten children, and of the number six are now living, namely: Agnes, now Mrs. Joseph Steffers; John F. Jr., James J., Mary, Margaret and Leo. In 1890 Mr. Moloney was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hanberry, of Cold Water, Michigan, and the only child of this marriage is Kathleen.
FRANK P. BOHN, M. D .- For fully twenty years has Dr. Bohn been engaged in the practice of his profession in the Upper Peninsula and his success has been on a parity with his well recognized ability, giv- ing him prestige as one of the essentially representative physicians and surgeons of this section of the state. He is indefatigable and self- abnegating in administering to suffering humanity and no citizen of Luce county commands a higher degree of popular confidence and esteem.
Dr. Bohn reverts to the fine old Hoosier state as the place of his nativity. He was born in Hancock county, Indiana, on the 14th of July, 1866, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (Probasco) Bohn, the former of whom was born in the state of Pennsylvania, of stanch Ger- man lineage, and the latter of whom was born in Henry county, In- diana, where her parents established their home in the pioneer days. The parents of the doctor now reside in the attractive little city of Greenfield, the judicial center of Hancock county, Indiana, where the father is living virtually retired after many years of identification
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with the work of his trade,-that of blacksmith. The Bohn family was founded in Indiana in the year 1840, and Daniel Bohn, grandfather of the Doctor, passed the closing years of his life in Cass county, that state, where he had been engaged in the hotel business for a number of years. Daniel and Mary (Probasco) Bohn became the parents of one son and three daughters and besides the son one daughter is now living,-Alma. The father finally turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and became the owner of one of the valuable farms of Cass county. He continued to reside on this homestead until 1907, when he removed to the city of Greenfield, where he has since lived retired. He is a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife have long been members of the Methodist church.
Dr. Bohn gained his early educational discipline in the public schools of his native county and supplemented this by a course in the American Normal College, at Danville, Indiana. At the age of nine- teen years he began the study of medicine under the able preceptor- ship of Dr. G. Dallas Lind, and after due preliminary training of this order, he entered the Medical College of Indiana, in which he was graduated on the 1st of March, 1890, and from which he received his well-earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the previous year he had served as city physician of Indianapolis. In the autumn of 1890 Dr. Bohn came to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and located at Seney, Schoolcraft county, where he was engaged in the practice of his professional work until the autumn of 1896, when he removed to Grand Marais, Michigan, and in 1898 he established his permanent home in the village of Newberry, Luce county, where his professional labors have been attended with all of success and where he has long con- trolled a large and representative practice. In April, 1901, he was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Upper Peninsula Hospital for the Insane, which is located in Newberry, and of this position he thus continued incumbent for six years, being re-appointed for six years, and at the present time is president of the board. He served two years as township clerk of Seney township, and two terms as township treasurer. He was president of the village of Newberry for two years, and is at the present time treasurer of the board of education of this village. He is local surgeon for the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad Company. He is identified with the Amer- ican Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and other professional organizations of localized order. In January, 1895, Dr. Bohn engaged in the banking business in Newberry as a member of the firm of S. N. Dutcher & Company. In the following May he purchased Mr. Dutcher's interest, after which the enterprise was con- ducted under the title of F. P. Bohn & Company, until January, 1908, when a reorganization was made by Dr. Bohn and the Newberry State Bank was established and incorporated as a successor of the private banking house. Of this solid and well conducted institution he has been president from the time of its incorporation. He is also a mem- ber of the firm of Bohn & Perry, which conducts a drug store in New- berry, as well as a member of the firm of A. M. Lewis & Co., at Gray- ling, also conducting a similar enterprise at East Jordan, Michigan.
In politics Dr. Bohn accords a stanch allegiance to the cause of the Republican party, and he is an appreciative member of the time-hon- ored Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliations are here briefly noted, -McMillan Lodge No. 400, Free & Accepted Masons; Manistique Chap- ter No. 127, Royal Arch Masons; Lake Superior Commandery No. 30, Knights Templar, at Marquette; and Ahmed Temple, Ancient Arabic
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Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in the same city. He also holds membership in the lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, at Manistique.
JULIUS H. EDDY, M. D .- A man of scholarly attainments, talented and cultured, Julius H. Eddy, M. D., of Wakefield, Gogebic county, well deserves the success which he has achieved in the practice of his chosen profession and the esteem and respect so universally accorded him by his fellow-citizens. A son of Rev. William H. Eddy, he was born on a farm in the town of Rock, Rock county, Wisconsin, Septem- ber 19, 1855.
Rev. William H. Eddy was born in Utica, New York, September 12, 1812, while his father, Oded Eddy, was a native of New York state, his birth having occurred in Deerfield, and a lineal descendant of William Eddy, who was born in England and came to Massachusetts with the early Pilgrims, locating in the Plymouth Colony. Lieuten- ant Oded Eddy, the great-grandfather of Dr. Eddy, served in the Revolutionary war as an officer, being second lieutenant of Caleb Hill's Company in 1776, and first lieutenant of the Second Company, First Regiment, in 1778. Oded Eddy, the Doctor's grandfather, moved from York state to Illinois, locating as a pioneer in Waukegan, Lake county, where he took up prairie land, from which he improved the farm on which he spent his remaining years, as did his wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Ann Northrup.
Converted in his youth, William H. Eddy united with the Baptist church, and having chosen the ministry as his profession subsequent- ly entered the Theological department of Hamilton College, at Clin- ton, New York, and was there graduated. Being ordained to the ministry at Fulton, Rock county, Wisconsin, Rev. Eddy subsequently filled various pastorates most acceptably, in the meantime superin- tending, in addition to his ministerial labors, the management of the farm which he had previously purchased and on which he spent his last days, passing away October 12, 1885. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Crossman, was born in Deerfield, New York, and was there brought up and educated. Her parents, Warren and Susie (Pratt) Crossman, were life-long residents of the Empire state, Mr. Crossman dying at the age of four score and four years, while his wife attained the remarkable age of one hundred and four years. Mrs. William Eddy died in April, 1888. To her and her husband nine children were born, namely : Helen M., William H., Jane A., John C., Frank C., Julius H., Clarence, Elmer W., and Robert J.
Dr. Eddy married, in 1888, Ida Groner, who was born in Janes- ville, Wisconsin, a daughter of George Groner. Fraternally the Doctor is a member of Janesville Lodge, No. 55, F. & A. M .; of Minerva Chapter, No. 122, R. A. M .; of Gogebic Commandery, No. 46, K. T .; of Ahmed Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Marquette; and of Wakefield Tent, No. 793, K. O. T. M.
HON. ORRIN W. ROBINSON .- The strong personality of Hon. Orrin W. Robinson, of Chassell, has made itself felt in social, business and political circles, and in the material advancement of Houghton county's prosperity he has for many years been a potent force. He has been ac- tively associated with the upbuilding and growth of Chassell from its earliest existence, being both prominent and influential in developing its varied interests. With some of the best blood of New England flow- ing through his veins, he was born, August 12, 1834, in Claremont, Sul- livan county, New Hampshire, a son of Williams D. Robinson.
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Coming from one of the oldest Massachusetts families, he is a lineal descendant of one George Robinson, who settled in Rehoboth, Bristol county, Massachusetts, in early colonial days. The line was continued through his son George, who married Elizabeth Guild. Their son Na- thaniel Robinson married Zilpha Daggett, and of their children George, who married Abigail Everett, and settled in Attleboro, Massachusetts, was the next in line of descent. Their son, Captain David Robinson, the fifth in line of descent from the emigrant ancestor, was the great-grand- father of Mr. Robinson. He married Ann Whittaker, and served in the Revolutionary war. He subsequently settled in Cornish, N. H., where he resided until his death, at the venerable age of ninety-two years.
Everett Robinson, the grandfather of Orrin W., was born in Corn- ish, New Hampshire, and there spent his entire life, being engaged dur- ing his active career in general farming. He married Julia Williams, whose ancestors were people of prominence in New England, both on the paternal and maternal sides of the house. Her father, William Wil- liams, was a son of Theophilus and Ruth (Brown) Williams; a grand- son of Thomas and Hannah (Douglas) Williams; a great-grandson of Thomas and Sarah (Foster) Williams, of Rhode Island, and a great- great-grandson of Thomas Foster, the founder of the Foster family of Rhode Island. The maiden name of the wife of William Williams, father of Julia Williams, Mr. Robinson's grandmother, was Susanna Pond. She was a daughter of Oliver and Ann (Metcalf) Pond; a granddaughter of Samuel and Judith (George) Metcalf; a great granddaughter of Eleazer and Meltiah (Fisher) Metcalf; and great- great-granddaughter of Michael and Mary (Fairbanks) Metcalf; while Mary Fairbanks was a daughter of Jonathan and Grace (Lee) Fair- banks, very early settlers of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Williams D. Robinson was born on the ancestral farm in Cornish, New Hampshire, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until forty-eight years old. Moving then to Lowell, Masachusetts, he re- sided there until his death, just a few months later. His wife, whose maiden name was Zilpha Clement, was born in Plainfield, Sullivan county, New Hampshire, a daughter of George Clement, a life-long resident of the Granite state. She survived him, passing away at the home of a daughter, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, at the advanced age of four score and four years. She reared seven children, as fol- lows: Mary Zilpha; George C .; Orrin W., the special subject of this brief biographical sketch; Julia T .; Oscar D .; Frances R., deceased; and Orsimus B.
When a little fellow of ten years, Orrin W. Robinson went to live with a neighboring farmer in Cornish, New Hampshire, for five years there working for his board and clothes, in the meantime attending the winter terms of the district school. He then worked a year for another farmer. At the age of sixteen years, his father giving him his time, he began the battle of life on his own account, starting out even with the world, the call of ambition urging him to carve his own way through the world. He worked for wages about three-fourths of the time, in the winter working for his board as a chore boy, and attending school.
In the twentieth year of his age, borrowing fifty dollars from a friend who had faith in his pluck and integrity, Mr. Robinson came westward to the Lake Superior region, joining his uncle, S. S. Robinson, who had come here in 1853, and was then manager of the Derby Mine. He jour- neyed by rail to Buffalo, New York, thence by boat to Detroit, where he waited five days for a boat going North. Taking passage then on
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the "Northerner," he went to the Soo, making the portage before the canal was completed, although a tram railway, made of wooden rails with strap iron on top, went around the Falls, the small cars being drawn by mules. Mr. Robinson embarked on board the "Baltimore," one of four small vessels plying Lake Superior, the boat stopping at Marquette, where there was a small dock, at Eagle Harbor, and at Eagle River, then the county-seat of Houghton county. Arriving at Ontona- gon, the boat anchored off shore, and passengers were conveyed in a smaller boat to the sandy beach, while all freight was taken ashore on lighters poled by Indians. The horses and cattle in the meantime were dumped from the gang plank, and had to swim ashore. Having landed, the men in the party followed a trail up the river to the old American Landing, Mr. Robinson's uncle, wife, child, and sister, going up the river in a birch bark canoe paddled by Indians. The trail on which the men started crossed the river three miles above Ontonagon, and as the water was high the men waited for the coming of the canoe, and when it arrived hitched a long rope to the horns of an ox, made him swim across the river, going through the same process until all of the cattle and horses were across, the rope being put around the neck of the horses.
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