USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 24
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At the American Landing, the women and children boarded a wagon, and were taken to the Derby Mine, three miles east of Gogebic Lake. There Mr. Robinson remained from June, 1854, until March, 1856, being employed at different mines. In January, 1856, there was a general suspension of work at these mines, and in February of that year he started for Wisconsin, striking the trail at the Minnesota Mine, and after two weeks travel, camping in the woods at night, he arrived at Green Bay. From there he went by stage to Fond du Lac, thence by rail, through Chicago and Galena, Illinois, to Dubuque, Iowa. Starting then with his pack on his back, he walked across the desolate stretch of prairie to Fort Dodge, two hundred miles away. From there he went to Kossuth county, Iowa, arriving about the middle of March. Iowa was then but sparsely settled, much of the land being on sale by the Government at $1.25 an acre.
Finding employment at Irvington, Mr. Robinson worked in a saw mill until the following spring, when, on account of the Indian Massa- cre at Spirit Lake, immigration practically ceased in that region. Soon after he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of school land, and an- other one hundred and sixty acres of Government land, and there re- sided until the spring of 1862. Coming back then to Michigan, he lo- cated in the new village of Hancock, where for the next eleven years he was shipping clerk at the Quincy Mine. In 1873 Mr. Robinson organ- ized the Sturgeon River Lumber Company, which took over large tracts of timber lands which he had previously purchased, mostly in Baraga county, and built a mill in Hancock. In 1887 the business of this en- terprising company had increased to such a magnitude that an enlarge- ment of the plan was imperative, and it was removed to Chassell. This locality, then known as Pike's Bay, had but one building within its limits, that being a log cabin. The company erected a mill with a capac- ity of twenty million feet a year. In 1888 a new township was organ- ized, and a village, named by Governor Robinson in honor of Mr. Chas- sell, was platted, Mr. Chassell having been the cashier of the first bank established in Houghton. Governor Robinson continued in business in Chassell until 1902, when he disposed of his interests, and has since lived retired from business cares, enjoying a well deserved leisure.
Governor Robinson married, August 20, 1865, in Cleveland, Ohio, Cornelia Lombard, a daughter of Nathan G. Lombard, of Vermont. Mrs.
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Robinson died September 6, 1907, leaving two children, namely : Deen and Ethel. Deen Robinson is a man of scholarly attainments and broad culture. After finishing the course of study at Smith Academy, in St. Louis, he entered the Phillips 'Exeter Academy, at Exeter, New Hamp- shire, where he was graduated with the class of 1895. Continuing his studies at Harvard University, he was graduated from its Literary De- partment in 1899, and two years later, in 1901, was graduated from its Law Department. Thus finely equipped for a professional career, Deen Robinson was engaged in the practice of law in Detroit one year, and in New York city two years. Returning then to Michigan, he is now one of the more successful lawyers of Houghton, being junior member of the well-known firm of Rees & Robinson. He married in 1904, Marion Goodnow, of Boston, Massachusetts, a daughter of Joseph and Helen (Coleman) Goodnow. Miss Ethel Robinson has presided over her fath- er's household since the death of her mother.
Since casting his first presidential vote, in 1856, for John C. Fre- mont, Governor Robinson has been a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party. Never swerving from the path of duty, he has served his fellow citizens in offices of trust and responsibility. For a number of years he was superintendent of the poor for Houghton county, and was deputy United States Custom Officer. He represented his district in the State Legislature in 1894, and in 1896 was elected state senator. In 1898 he was elected lieutenant governor of the state of Michigan, and in 1900 was honored with a re-election to the same high position.
HENRY L. BAER .- A man of rare ability and enterprise, far-sighted and clear-headed, Henry L. Baer, of Hancock, is a commanding figure in the financial, mercantile and social circles of Houghton county, his business interests embracing some of the more important organizations and industries of this section of the Upper Peninsula. He is a fine rep- resentative of the native-born citizens of Hancock, his birth having oc- curred here March 4, 1865.
His father, Kaufman Baer, was born in the village of Stebbach, Baden, Germany, where his father, a butcher by trade, spent all of his days. Acquiring his early education in his native land, he, following in the footsteps of his ancestors, learned the trade of a butcher. Not con- tent with his prospects for obtaining wealth in his own country, he came as a young man to the United States, and after working for a time in New York City, made his way to Northern Michigan, locating during the '50s in Honghton county, at the Quincy Mine, which was then the only settlement in this neighborhood, the present site of Hancock being an unbroken wilderness. Subsequently returning to Germany, he married Bertha Baer, whom he brought to Michigan as a bride. He engaged in the butchering business at Hancock, with his brothers, under the firm name of Baer Brothers, with which firm he was actively identified until his death, in 1888. His wife died in 1885, leaving three children, as follows: Henry L., the special subject of this sketch; and Herbert S. and Clarence A., both of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
After his graduation from the Milwaukee high school, Henry L. Baer entered Baer Brothers' meat market as a clerk, and continued in that capacity until the death of his father, when he succeeded to his interest in the business. Since that time, Mr. Baer has been an important factor in the domain of business in Houghton county. The firm of Baer Brothers, composed of Mr. Baer and his uncle, Jacob Baer, operates four markets, one at Hancock, one in Calumet, one at Dollar Bay, and an-
XMarks.
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other at Houghton, which is conducted under the name of the Houghton Pure Food Company, of which Mr. Baer is secretary and treasurer.
In addition to his mercantile interests, Mr. Baer is actively asso- ciated with various financial institutions, being a director in the Supe- rior National Bank, the Superior Trust Company, and in the Northern Michigan Building and Loan Association. He is a lieutenant, and the paymaster, in the Michigan Naval Brigade; a vice-president of Hancock Land and Improvement Company, and president of the Dacotah Heights Company ; a director of the Keweenaw Central Railroad Company, and to all of these varied enterprises he gives his personal attention. He is also president of the Board of Public Works of Hancock, and is among the foremost to forward all enterprises conducive to the general welfare and advancement, using the same good judgment in the management of public affairs as he does in caring for his own individual interests.
Fraternally Mr. Baer is a member of Quincy Lodge, No. 135, F. & A. M .; of Gate of the Temple Chapter, No. 35, R. A. M .; of the Michigan Sovereign Consistory of Detroit; of Ahmed Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S .; of Hancock Lodge, No. 381, B. P. O. E., and Hancock Lodge, No. 109, K. of P. and a member of the U. C. T.
Mr. Baer married, in 1895, Clara Schroder, who was born in Chicago, a daughter of Jacob and Cecilia Schroder. She died in 1892, leaving two children, Cecil and Bertha Clara. Mr. Baer was married a second time, in Chicago, in 1907, to Hattie Schroder, a sister of his first wife.
HARRY H. MARKS, the able superintendent of the Michigan State Fish Hatchery on Government Island, No. 3, at Sault Ste. Marie, has accom- plished a valuable work in connection with this department of public service and concerning the same further mention will be made in a later paragraph.
Mr. Marks was born at Dexter, Jefferson county, New York, on the 8th of November, 1872, and is a son of Aaron W. and Mina (Penny) Marks, the former of whom was born at Chaumont, Jefferson county, New York, in 1841, and the latter was also a native of the same place. The mother died at the age of forty-eight years and the father now lives at Munising, Michigan, where he is manager of the private fish hatchery of the C. C. I. Iron Company. They became the parents of five sons and one daughter and of these children four of the sons are living,-Jesse, Harry H., Walter and Jay. The only daughter died in infancy and the other son, Frank, died at the age of four years. Aaron Wheat Marks is a son of Lathrop, who likewise was born in the old Empire state, where the family was founded in the pioneer days, the ancestry being traced back to English and Irish stock. Aaron W. Marks early became associated with his father in the fishing business on Lake Ontario and they were the first to utilize the pound-net. In 1861 the father of the subject of this sketch tendered his services in defense of the Union by enlisting in the One Hundred and Twelfth New York Heavy Artillery, and after the expira- tion of his six-months' term of enlistment he re-enlisted in the same com- pany and regiment, with which he continued in active service until the close of the war, his command having been assigned to the army of the Potomac. He participated in many of the most notable battles of the war and proved a gallant and faithful soldier. After the war he became a sailor on the Great Lakes and finally gained the position of captain of which he continued incumbent until 1875, when he removed from his native county to Caledonia, New York, where he was in the employ of the New York State Fish Commission, as superintendent of the fish hatch-
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ery. A few years later he was placed in charge of the state fish hatcheries in the Catskill Mountains and in 1881 when the state failed to make proper appropriations for its hatcheries, Mr. Marks came to Michigan and entered the employ of the Fish Commission of this state, being stationed at Petoskey, where he remained until 1885, when he became manager of the Detroit hatchery, a position which he retained until 1900. After the death of his wife he returned to New York, where he became identified with a fish hatchery in the Adirondack mountains. Later he was em- ployed in connection with the same industry in Wisconsin and in 1906 took up his residence in Munising, Michigan, where he has since been em- ployed in the private fish hatchery mentioned. He is recognized as an ex- pert in the propagating of fish and in this connection his efforts have been attended by pronounced success. In his younger days he was an expert sailor and in a yachting race on Lake St. Clair, on one occasion, he won the queen 's cup, a valuable trophy.
Harry H. Marks, whose name initiates this article, gained his early education in the public schools of New York and Michigan and when but fourteen years of age he began the study of fish culture under the direc- tion of his father. He was identified with his father's work at the hatch- eries in Petoskey and Detroit, Michigan, and when twenty years of age was transferred from the latter city to Paris, where he was engaged in brook-trout propagating for the ensuing two years. Thereafter he was engaged for two seasons as messenger in charge of the distribution of fish throughout the various sections of the state, finally being made manager of a car identified with this branch of state service. He was thus em- ployed for eleven seasons, within which he also passed intermediate periods in the fish hatcheries at Sault Ste. Marie. In 1894 he supervised the building of the station and the introduction of the stock for the hatch- ery at Soo, after which he passed two years in Sault Ste. Marie. At the expiration of this period he assumed his present responsible position as superintendent at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Concerning his valuable efforts in this place the following article is taken from the "Iron Ore," published at Ishpeming, under date of February 5th, 1910, and it is well worthy of perpetuation in this connection :
"In these days of high-priced meats the value of our fish products appeals strongly to us. Our whitefish and trout, our pike, pickerel, perch, herring, bass, lawyers and other kinds of fish have been a great help. In the work of keeping the lakes and streams stocked with fish the State of Michigan has performed a great public service at a very small cost. We believe no department in Michigan has done so much good on so small a capital, and the wonder is how far the money goes. At the hatch- ery at the Soo Superintendent Harry Marks has met with wonderful suc- cess in his propagation of the finny tribes. He has given this hatchery his complete attention, and he has secured results of a highly satisfactory character. We believe for the good he has accomplished he is the poorest paid officer in Michigan. We have kept in touch with his efforts for many years and have always found him attending strictly to business, of which none knows more.
"There is a lack of hatcheries to supply all portions of Michigan as they should be recognized. There are many calls that cannot be filled be- cause of the inadequacy of the few hatcheries, and it is hoped the state will vote an appropriation for additional service in this respect.
"The Michigan fish commission deserves great praise for the good work it has done, a work probably not known in anything like its true im- portance to the people, and it should have the advantage of greater capac- ity of hatching plants that it may still further add to its effectiveness.
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This could be done with a reasonable outlay, for surely this commission knows how to make the most of funds placed at its disposal."
In 1904 the capacity of the white-fish battery at the hatchery, of which Mr. Marks has charge, was about thirty million and he has increased its capacity to more than forty million. In 1894 the battery for the propaga- tion of brook trout was in its infancy, about four hundred thousand of this kind of fish being planted. Mr. Marks has increased the capacity to over a million and a half and he has been planting the lake trout in the inland lakes, as well as in the Great Lakes. The Rainbow trout, a native of the streams debouching into the Pacific Ocean, was first planted in the "Soo" hatchery in 1897 and from the original planting in the St. Mary's river within recent years have been taken out specimens ranging in weight from five to seventeen and a half pounds. Mr. Marks has also introduced land-lock salmon, known as the Ouananiche. The eggs of this variety were secured from the United States hatchery at Green Lake, Maine, and the largest captured from the planting, under the direction of Mr. Marks, up to the present time weighed four and a half pounds. To him is due in large part the successful stocking of many of the streams and lakes of upper Michigan and he has been closely asso- ciated with George A. Newett, editor of the "Iron Ore," in restocking streams in Marquette county, this state. He and Mr. Newett have been indefatigible in their work in this connection, having made trips on snow shoes in the early spring in order to plant fish in the streams that were not otherwise accessible. Mr. Marks is to be considered as the pioneer in exploiting the fish culture in the Upper Peninsula and he gives a tribute of much credit and appreciation to Mr. Newett and others, who have ably assisted him in his work. He is a member of the American Fishery Society and is an indefatigible student of all matters pertain- ing to the business with which he has been so prominently identified, having a valuable library touching upon the species and habits of fish in all sections of the world, besides which he has a general library, ad- mirably selected and containing about four hundred volumes.
Mr. Marks is a Republican in his political proclivities and in the Masonic fraternity is identified with Bethel Lodge, No. 358, Free & Accepted Masons; Sault Ste. Marie Chapter, No. 126, Royal Arch Ma- sons; Sault Ste Marie Commandery, No. 45, Knights Templars; and Ahmed Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Marquette.
On the 15th of September, 1902, Mr. Marks was united in marriage to Miss Marjorie Brown, who was born at Laingsburg, Shiawassee county, Michigan, and who is a daughter of Arthur T. and Nora (Griswold) Brown, the former of whom was born in England, in 1856, and the latter in Ohio, in 1860. Of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown four are now living. Mr. Brown came to America with his parents when twelve years of age and his father, James Brown, sacrificed his life by serving as a Union soldier in the Civil war, having been a member of a Michigan regiment. Mr. and Mrs. Marks have four sons,-Ralph, Harry, Theodore and George.
CHARLES E. ROULEAU .- The extensive forests of the Upper Pen- insula, standing ready to be transformed into a marketable product, led to the establishment many years ago of an important industry, in the development of which Charles E. Rouleau, a well-known timber con- tractor of Hancock, has long been a prominent factor. A native of Canada, he was born in Saint Cuthbert, Berthier county, province of Ontario, on the very same farm on which occurred the birth of his father, Norbert Rouleau, and of his grandfather, Antoine Rouleau, Jr.
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Antoine Rouleau, Sr., his great-grandfather, was born and reared in Arcadia, France, where his parents lived and died. Emigrating in early manhood to America, he became a pioneer settler of St. Cuthbert, Ber- thier county, Canada. Taking up a tract of heavily timbered land, he erected a log cabin in the midst of the forest, and subsequently devoted his time and energies to the clearing and improving of a homestead, living there until his death, at the good old age of eighty-one years. He married Sylvestre de Comartin, also a native of Arcadia, France. She died in the prime of life, leaving three children, as follows: Francois Xavier, who spent his entire life in Canada, where he served many years as notary publie; Antoine, Jr .; and Mary.
Antoine Rouleau, Jr., was reared to agricultural pursuits, as soon as old enough helping his father in the labors of general farming. In- heriting the parental acres, he spent his entire life on the old home- stead, passing away, like his father, at the venerable age of eighty-one years. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Giguere. She was born at St. Cuthbert, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Giguere, the former of whom was born in France, while the latter was born in Canada, of French ancestors. She died at the age of sixty-six years. To her and her husband eleven children were born and reared, namely: Rose, Xavier, Matilda, Norbert, Felix, Isaac, Ovela, Aloire, Denise, Henry, and Diendonne. Felix, the fifth child in order of birth, eame to Han- cock, Michigan, in 1860, and has since been here profitably employed as a timber contractor, and, though now well advanced in years, is hale and hearty, his intellect as keen as in the days of yore.
Succeeding to the ownership of the ancestral homestead, Norbert Rouleau there spent his sixty-seven years of earthly life, being success- fully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married for his second wife Eliza Marchand, who was born in St. Cuthbert, Ontario, a daughter of Edward and Genevieve (La Ferriere) Marchand, both of whom were born in Berthier county, Canada, of French ancestry. She died at the age of forty-eight years, leaving five children, namely: Charles E., the special subject of this brief sketch: Octave, who inherited the home farm in St. Cuthbert, which he still occupies; Wilfried; Edwidg; and Ernest. By his first marriage the father had three children, Eutiqui- enne, Cuthbert, and Eloise.
Coming to Hancock, Michigan, when a lad of ten years, Charles E. Rouleau spent three years with his Uncle Felix, and then returned to the old home in Canada, where he completed his education at Berthier College. Coming back to Hancock at the age of eighteen years, he en- gaged in business with his Uncle Felix, and has since continued here, being now one of the leading timber contractors of Houghton county.
Mr. Rouleau married, in 1883, Marie Rocheleau, who was born in Hancock. Her parents, Joseph and Amelia Rocheleau, were born in the province of Quebec, of French ancestry. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Rouleau are valued members of St. Joseph's church. Socially Mr. Rou- Jean belongs to the United States Canadian French Society. In politics he is an adherent of the Democratic party, and has served as clerk and treasurer of Hancock township, and is now a member of the Hanceck Board of Publie Works.
GEORGE WATSON has served as postmaster in the village of Pickford, Chippewa county, Michigan, since 1903 and is also a member of the county board of supervisors. He is one of the enterprising and sub- stantial citizens of his county where he has maintained his home for more than a quarter of a century and where he is held in unqualified
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confidenee and esteem. He is at present ineumbent of the office of deputy sheriff.
Mr. Watson was born in Simcoe county, province of Ontario, Can- ada, on June 2d, 1868, and is the son of Joseph and Jeannette (Smith) Watson, the former of whom was born in Yorkshire, England, and the latter in Scotland. The father died in 1895 at the age of seventy-six years and the mother is now a resident of Piekford, Chippewa county. Of the seven children, six are now living and of this number the sub- jeet of this sketeh is the eldest. Joseph Watson was twelve years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to America, and he was reared to maturity in the province of Ontario, Canada, where he continued to be identified with the agricultural pursuits until 1884, when he removed with his family to Chippewa county, and located in Piekford township, where he elaimed a farm from the wilderness and continued to reside until his death, being one of the honored and popular citizens of this county.
George Watson seeured his early education and training in the pub- lie schools of his native county and was a lad of sixteen years when the family removed to Chippewa county, Michigan, where he has sinee main- tained his home. He was associated in work the management of his father's farm until he attained the age of twenty-two years when he engaged in farming on his own responsibility. He was identified with the agricultural industry in Piekford township until 1895, after which he was manager of the agricultural business of Lipsett in the village of Pickford until 1898, after which he was a traveling salesman for the International Harvester Company until 1903 when he was appointed postmaster at Piekford. The position which he has retained to the pres- ent time. In 1904 Mr. Watson was appointed clerk of Piekford town- ship, and he held this office until 1908 when he became representative of his township in the county board of supervisors, of which he is still a member. He served two years as justice of the peace and he has been a member of the board of education of his village since 1901. He is di- rector of the Chippewa & Mackinac District Agricultural Society, and since 1908 he has held the office of deputy sheriff under the administra- tion of Joseph E. Bayliss. As a breeder of fine poultry, Mr. Watson has been very successful and his operations in this line are of extensive orders. He is affiliated with the Republican party, is a charter mem- ber of the Local Option Society of Pickford township, and is a member of the lodge and chapter of the Masonie Fraternity in Sault Ste. Marie.
On the 7th of December, 1902, Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Grace Adams, who was born and reared in Chippewa county, Michigan, and who is a daughter of Anthony and Edith (Rains) Adams who are residents of the Upper Peninsula.
WILLIAM A. BURRITT .- An experienced attorney-at-law, William Al- onzo Burritt of Haneoek, is a hard and faithful worker, and enjoys a fine reputation as a sueeessful lawyer, being widely known through- out Michigan. He has a broad and liberal mind and is an aente and logieal reasoner, his arguments being speeimens of sound logic ex- pressed in terse and forcible language. A native of Michigan, he was born July 10, 1853, in Riley township, Clinton county, a son of Wil- liam B. Burritt.
His paternal grandfather. Talcott Burritt, a native of Great Brit- ain, was born in either England, Ireland, or Scotland, and as a mere boy came with his parents to the United States. He was brought up in New York City, and having fitted himself for a professional life was
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