USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
Mr. Hunter was born in Victoria county, province of Ontario, Can- ada, on the 18th of April, 1863, and is a son of David and Eliza (Davidson) Hunter, both of whom were likewise natives of that county and both of whom are now deceased. The father was for a number of years prominently identified with lumbering operations and later turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Both he and his wife con- tinued to reside in Victoria county, Ontario, until their death and both were consistent members of the Episcopal church. Of their ten chil- dren only three are now living,-John H., subject of this review; Rob- ert, a resident of Newberry, and William, a resident of Gemmel, Minne- sota.
John H. Hunter was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and is indebted to the public schools of his native county for his early educational training. In 1891, at the age of twenty-eight years, he came to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and established his head- quarters at Huntspur, Mackinac county, where he engaged in contract- ing for the getting out of logs from the woods. Here he continued opera-
1378
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
tions under these conditions for a period of about four years, at the ex- piration of which he removed to Rapid River, Delta county, this state, where he continued in the same line of enterprise until 1896. In that year he engaged in the logging business on his own responsibility and after three years of successful operations in Delta county he removed to Luce county and established his home in the village of Newberry. Here he built up a very extensive business in connection with which he has transported gigantic rafts of logs down Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie. A number of these rafts represented a value of fully forty thousand dollars. Mr. Hunter still continues his individual operations in this field of enterprise and is one of the best known and most ex- tensive lumber operators of the Upper Peninsula at the present time. In 1898 he established a saw mill four miles north of the village of Newberry and the same is still in successful operation. In 1909 he effected the organization of the Hunter & Love Lumber Company, which controls a large and prosperous business and of which he is president.
In politics Mr. Hunter gives his support to the cause of the Re- publican party and he has been shown distinctive marks of popular con- fidence and esteem in that he has served two terms as president of the village of Newberry, besides which he is a member of the board of edu- cation, of which he is president at the present time. Mr. Hunter is af- filiated with McMillan Lodge, No. 400, Free & Accepted Masons; Luce Lodge, No. 89, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Manistique Lodge, No. 632, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
In 1891 Mr. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Flood, whose death occurred in 1899 and who is survived by three children, - Gerald, Beulah and Basil. In 1900 Mr. Hunter contracted a second marriage, being then united to Miss Clementine Summerville, and they have five children,-John F., Truth H., David. Mabel C. and Elizabeth H. Gerald, the eldest of the family is a progressive young American who is now attending the Forestry course at the U. of M. He gradu- ated from Newberry high school at the head of his class. He is a favorite amongst all his comrades and acquaintances being a manly young fellow who is sure to "deliver the goods" at some future time. Beulalı, aged sixteen, the eldest daughter, is a talented and beautiful maiden. She is noted among her school friends for her ready wit, her tact, and generosity and ready sympathy and her fine sense of honor. Already Miss Hunter has published several beautiful short stories and the critics prophesy a great future for her in the realms of literature. Basil evidently will follow his father's footsteps, being already his right hand man in a small business way. He is sturdy and self-reliant and will be trained to carry on the large lumbering operations of his father.
CHARLES W. CURTIS .- The great lumber industry was the original source from which the development of the Upper Peninsula of Michi- gan was instituted and here operations in this line are still conducted upon a large scale. Prominently identified with this line of enterprise in Chippewa county was Charles W. Curtis, who recently retired and who maintains his home at Brimley, where his extensive lumbering interests are centered. Mr. Curtis was born in the province of On- tario, Canada, on the 9th of June, 1856, and is a son of John and Eliza- beth (House) Curtis, both of whom were born in the province of On- tario, the former in October, 1807, and the latter on the 27th of March, 1826; the father died in 1884 and the devoted mother was summoned to eternal rest on the 10th day of May, 1909, at the venerable age of
ABRAHAM HOUSE
.
1379
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
eighty-three years. Their marriage was solemnized at St. Thomas, On- tario, and of their ten children six are now living,-George, Phoebe, John H., Charles W., Amanda and Emma. John Curtis was one of the successful pioneer farmers of Ontario and at one time he was the owner of fully six hundred acres of land. In 1862 he removed with his family to Sault Ste Marie, where he purchased a tract of land, upon which a considerable portion of the city of Sault Ste. Marie is located. He also bought land farther down the rived and the family home was established on the site of the present fine Blumrosen block in Sault Ste. Marie. He owned land for a distance of one mile on each side of the MeKnight road in Bruce township and he played an im- portant part in connection with the development and upbuilding of Chippewa county. He became an extensive dealer in lands in the Upper Peninsula and was one of the most honored and influential pioneers of this section of the state. He was Republican in politics and was a member of the Baptist church as is also his widow, though she is by birthright a member of the Society of Friends. Thomas Cur- tis, grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in New Jersey and as a young man he removed to the province of Ontario, Canada, and located on the shores of Lake Erie, where he secured a large tract of land, upon which the present city of St. Thomas now stands. He was the first to engage in the banking business in that place and that bank building which he erected in that city is still standing.
Charles W. Curtis traces his ancestry back to English, Scotch, Irish and German derivation. His maternal grandfather, Captain Henry House, was born at St. John's, New Brunswick, Canada. He finally removed to Ontario and became a captain in the English army. He commanded his company in the battle of Lundy's Lane. After the war he became a successful farmer near St. Thomas, Ontario, where he passed the residue of his life and where he served as captain in the company of militia. His father, Abraham House, was Holland Dutch and came to New York with his father, General John House, who was well known as an Indian fighter and who was killed by the Indians, after which, Abraham, who was captain in his father's company dur- ing some of the battles, went to St. John's, New Brunswick. The wife of Abraham House was Mrs. Burnett, a Scotch lady, and they had seven sons and six daughters, all born in St. John's, Henry House be- ing the eldest. After the War of 1812 Henry House did not take part in any more battles, but his father and brothers fought the French and Indian war in Canada. The wife of Henry House was Sarah Bacon, a daughter of Nathaniel Bacon. She was born and raised at Old Niagara, Canada, and was one of the first women to enter the medical profession. She was graduated in a medical college in the city of To- ronto, and was for a long period engaged in the practice of her pro- fession in the city of St. Thomas. Ontario. She was a gracious mem- ber of the Society of Friends. Her father was born in New Jersey and her grandfather was born and raised in Massachusetts. Her great- grandfather, Nathaniel Bacon, was lieutenant-governor of Boston, Massachusetts, under the crown. He was born in England and was a son of Colonel Nathaniel Bacon of Virginia, who was sent by the English governor into Virginia to assist in fighting the Indians. He served as lieutenant governor of the Old Dominion in the Colonial epoch and was a citizen of much influence in that historical section of our great republic. He was leader of the people during the Bacon rebellion of 1676. Jamestown was burned then and in the same year Lieutenant Governor Bacon died. One hundred years later, in 1776,
1380
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
George Washington took up the cause where Bacon had left it at his death. Governor Bacon was a grandson of Francis, Lord Bacon, of England. The wife of Governor Bacon was Anna Cobb, sister of Henry Cobb, author of Cobb's Spelling Book, and their father, Andrew Cobb, was the author of an unabridged dictionary.
Charles W. Curtis, whose name initiates this sketch, was a lad of about six years at the time of the family removal to Chippewa county, and here he was reared to maturity in the conditions and influence of the pioneer days. He recalls with pleasure that he attended school in a diminutive school-house in which he had as his instructor the Rev. Thomas R. Easterday, a sketch of whose career appears on other pages of this work. He assisted in the work of the home farm and also was employed for sometime in connection with the construction of locks at Sault Ste. Marie and finally he turned his attention to ship and house carpentry, eventually becoming a successful contractor and builder. In 1880 Mr. Curtis removed to Brimley, where he has since given his attention to the lumber business, in which his operations have been conducted on an extensive scale, entailing employment of hundreds of men in his various camps. He was actively identified with this line of business until 1906, when he severed his connections with the lumbering operations to a large extent, and he has since given his attention to the management of his large real estate interests. He is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks in Sault Ste. Marie. His children are : C. W. Curtis, Emma, George A., Amanda, all unmarried; Phoebe, Mrs. Burr Hursley, who has one son and two daughters, namely: Burr, Emma, Nellie; John H. Curtis, widower, has one son, Lewis B. Curtis, and one grandson, Gordon Curtis, the son of Lewis B. 1
FRANK G. JENKS .- The able and popular county clerk of Marquette county has here maintained his home since 1900 and he is also repre- sentative of the First ward as a member of the board of aldermen of the city of Marquette.
Mr. Jenks was born in the city of Los Angeles, California, on the 15th of February, 1872, and is a son of Lawrence S. and Elizabeth (Cotton) Jenks, the former of whom was born in Michigan in 1842 and the latter in the same state. The father died in California, in 1902, and the mother now resides in Silverton, Colorado. Of the five children four are living and the subject of this sketch is the youngest. The father was actively identified with mining interests in California for a number of years.
Frank G. Jenks is indebted to the public schools for his early educa- tional training, which included a course in the high school in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he also attended a business college. He served as a private, second sergeant and regimental engineer dur- ing the Spanish-American war in the Thirty-second Michigan Regi- ment, Company G, previous to which he served two enlistments in the Michigan National Guard. He learned the business of civil engineer- ing and in connection with the same devoted his attention to field work being employed by the C. & N. W. & D. L. & N. Railways with head- quarters at Grand Rapids, Michigan, until 1900, in which year he es- tablished his residence in Marquette, where he was employed by the Marquette & South Eastern Railway Company until 1903, when he was appointed resident engineer during the construction of this road from Marquette south, a position of which he continued incumbent until May 1, 1907, when he was appointed to his present office of county clerk of
1381
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
Marquette county and was elected to this office in 1908 and 1910. He has served since 1905 as a member of the board of aldermen of Mar- quette city and has proved an able representative of municipal inter- ests. He is Republican in his political allegiance, is affiliated with Marquette Lodge No. 101, Free and Accepted Masons; Marquette Chap- ter No. 43, Royal Arch Masons, of which he has been high priest; Mar- quette Council No. 32, Royal & Select Masters; Lake Superior Com- mandery No. 30, Knights Templars being eminent commander at the time of this writing; Ahmed Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Marquette Lodge No. 405, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, besides which he is identified with other fraternal and social organizations.
On the 10th of December, 1903, Mr. Jenks was united in marriage to Miss Edith Ward, who was born in White River Junction, Vermont, and who is a daughter of Arthur Ward, now a resident of Munising, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Jenks have one son, Arthur Ward Jenks, who was born on the 18th of November, 1904.
DAVID W. MURRAY .- Judge Murray, who is now incumbent of the office of judge of probate for Mackinac county is a member of one of the best known and honored pioneer families of Mackinac Island, which has represented his home from the time of his birth and he and his brothers conduct in the city of Mackinac Island and that of St. Ignace a general merchandise business that was founded by their father nearly sixty years ago, the same representing one of the oldest business enter- prises of Mackinac Island.
Judge Murray was born on Mackinac Island on the 6th of April, 1862, and is a son of Dominic and Ann (White) Murray, the former of whom was born in the village of Newport, county Mayo, Ireland, on the 12th of August, 1820, and the latter was born in Burlington, Vermont. The father died on the 16th of October, 1902, and the mother still resides on Mackinac Island, being one of the venerable pioneer women of this beautiful section of the Upper Peninsula. The marriage of the parents was solemnized at Waukegan, Illinois, and they became the parents of eleven children, namely: Patrick W., David W., Winnie, Mary W., Thomas, James W., Annie, Bernard, Delia, Edith and Beatrice. Dominic Murray was reared to maturity in his native land and in 1839, at the age of nineteen years, he immigrated to America, making the trip on a small sailing ship and landing in the city of Quebec, whence he afterward made his way to Mackinac Island. Here he was first employed by Michael Dousman and he continued to reside on the Island until 1849, when he joined the hegira of gold seekers, making their way to the new eldorado in California, where the memorable discovery of gold was made in that year. He made the trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama and remained in California three years, at the expiration of which he returned to the east and located at Waukegan, Illinois, where he was married and where he engaged in the pork-packing business. He shipped his products to Mackinac Island and here established a general trading business, in which he handled the various lines of merchandise de- manded at that time. This enterprise, which he thus founded in 1850, has been continued to the present time and he was identified with the same until his death, since which time the business has been conducted by his son. Well equipped establishments are now maintained in the city of Mackinac Island and in St. Ignace, and the two establishments control a large and representative trade, based upon careful and honor- able efforts and upon the high reputation long enjoyed by the concern.
1382
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
Dominic Murray was numbered among the most honored and influential citizens of Mackinac county and served as its sheriff for more than twenty years. During this period the county also included the present counties of Delta and Menominee and he was incumbent of the shrievalty at the time when the Mormons maintained their abode on Beaver Island. It is a matter of history that this Mormon settlement was a source of continual trouble to other citizens of the north and as sheriff Mr. Murray was frequently called to arrest members of the Mormon settlement for infractions of the law. At the time King J. J. Strang was killed by Betford, Sheriff Murray arrested the latter and in fact saved him from the vengeance of the Mormon leaders, this event having occurred in 1856. For more than twenty years Mr. Murray also served as president of the school board, besides which he was called upon to serve in other local offices of public trust. He was a man of invincible courage and as sheriff was fearless in the discharge of his duties, in which his life was often imperiled. His friends fully expected that he would be killed by the Mormons as he always went alone to make arrests and refused to take anyone with him. He was a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities and was a zealous communicant of the Catholic church, as is also his wife.
David W. Murray, the immediate subject of this sketch, gained his early educational discipline in the public and parochial schools of Mackinac Island and as a youth became associated with the flourishing business enterprise conducted by his father, since whose death he has been one of the interested principals in conducting the enterprise, in which he is associated with his brothers, P. W. and J. W. Murray. When twenty-one years of age Mr. Murray was elected village clerk of Mack- inac Island. Later he was elected supervisor of township, in which office he served one term, besides which he has held the offices of city clerk and city assessor and member of the city council, of which last men- tioned office he was incumbent for several terms after the incorporation of Mackinac Island as a city. In 1908 he was elected mayor of Mack- inac Island and in this position he served one term, giving a progressive and satisfactory administration of the municipal affairs. In November, 1908, he was elected probate judge of Mackinac county for a term of four years and of this position he is now the efficient and popular in- cumbent. He is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and has been a leader in its local councils. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus.
On the 7th of June, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Murray to Miss Cecilia L. Latus, who was born in the city of Chicago and who is a daughter of Henry and Catherine Latus, who still reside in the great western metropolis, where the father was engaged in the mercantile business and where he is now living retired. Judge and Mrs. Murray have two children, Latus and Cecilia L.
MICHAEL HOBAN .- He whose name introduces this article has passed his entire life thus far in the "upper country" and has the distinction of being a native of Mackinac Island, where he was born on the 4th of May, 1860. He has been prominently identified with the civic and busi- ness interests of the Northern Peninsula and now retains his home in the city of St. Ignace, where he conducts a successful fire insurance agency and where he is also engaged in the grocery business. He has been called upon to serve in offices of distinctive public trust and is at the present time chairman of the board of supervisors of Mackinac
grote Ruch
1383
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
county. Mr. Hoban is a son of James and Margaret (Chambers) Hoban, both of whom were born in Ireland and the latter is now deceased. His father still resides on Mackinac Island, where he took up his residence in the '50s. He is now one of the most venerable pioneers of that picturesque island, where he is held in high esteem. He has been en- gaged in the livery and real estate business on the Island and has served in various public offices. Of the eight children, three sons and three daughters are now living and of the number the subject of this review was the second in order of birth.
Michael Hoban is indebted to the public schools of Mackinac Island for his early educational training and his practical business experience was initiated as an employe of the Martell Furnace Company, at St. Ignace, with which concern he was thus associated for a period of about five years, at the expiration of which he was elected register of deeds of Mackinac county, in 1884. He retained this office two years and in 1886 was appointed county clerk to fill a vacancy. This ap- pointment was made by Judge Steere, judge of the circuit court to which Mackinac county belonged, one of the best known and most honored citizens of the Upper Peninsula, and Mr. Hoban reverts with particular satisfaction to this evidence of confidence manifested by the judge. By successive re-elections Mr. Hoban continued in the office of county clerk until 1896, and his administration was a model of careful and systematic work. His long retention of this office shows the estimate placed upon his services by the people of Mackinac county. About the year 1890 Mr. Hoban engaged in the fire insurance business in St. Ignace and he has continued to represent a num- ber of the standard companies, for which he has done a large amount of successful underwriting. Since 1905 he has also been engaged in the grocery business, having a well equipped establishment that se- cures a large and representative patronage. At the present time he is supervisor of the Second ward, city of St. Ignace, and has the distinc- tion of being the chairman of the county board of supervisors. He has been uncompromising in his allegiance to the Democratic party and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church.
On the 9th of October, 1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hoban to Miss Catherine Doud, who like himself is a native of Mack- inac Island and who was the fourth in order of birth of the seven children born to Stephen and Bridget (McCann) Doud, both of whom were born in Ireland, and both of whom still reside on Mackinac Island, where the father is now living virtually retired. Mr. and Mrs. Hoban have two children,-James and Catherine who reside in St. Ignace with their parents.
JOHN LANE BUELL .- Conspicuous among the men whose achieve- ments have resulted in the development of the varied resources of the Upper Peninsula is John Lane Buell, a pioneer explorer of the Menomi- nee Range and the founder of Quinnesec, where he is a well known and highly esteemed resident. Possessing rare judgment and discrimina- tion, thoroughly public-spirited and progressive, he is always a leader in the establishment of any enterprise with which he becomes associated. A son of George P. Buell, he was born, October 12, 1835, in Lawrence- burg, Dearborn county, Indiana, of substantial New England ancestry.
His paternal grandfather, Salmon A. Buell, the son of a Revolu- tionary soldier, was born and reared in Burlington, Vermont. Subse- quently following the march of progress, he removed to New York state, becoming a pioneer settler of Scipio, Cayuga county, where he bought
1384
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
land and was engaged in tilling the soil until 1820. Again taking up the line of march in that year, he started westward, going with teams to Olean, where he embarked on a keel boat and went down the Alle- ghany and Ohio rivers to Marietta, Ohio. Going into the country about seven miles, he bought a tract of land in Lowell, Washington county, and was there employed in agricultural pursuits the remainder of his life. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was May Pearson, six children were born, as follows: Salmon, Barnum, George P., Amelia, Priscilla and Almeria.
George P. Buell was born, in 1801, in Scipio, New York, and as a young man migrated to Dearborn county, Indiana. A history of that county, published in 1885, says that George P. Buell, in connection with his brother-in-law, Luther Geer, embarked in the mercantile business at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 1820, and further says that at that time pork was there selling for one dollar and fifty cents a barrel, while in New York city it brought from ten dollars to eleven dollars a barrel, and that Mr. Buell immediately began buying hogs, which he shipped on impromptu boats via New Orleans to New York. The historian remarks that it was the first enterprise of the kind in the west, and that for a number of years Lawrenceburg was the center of the pork trade, of which it had a monopoly. In 1835 George P. Buell retired from the mercantile business, and having purchased a farm was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits until his death, December 31, 1862. The maiden name of his first wife, the mother of his children, was Ann Lane. She was born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, a daughter of Hon. Amos and Mary (Foote) Lane.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.