USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 5
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Captain Walters is a native of beautiful old Devonshire, England, where he was born on the 21st of June, 1847, and he was reared to ma- turity in his native land, where he received very limited educational advantages, as he has been dependent upon his own resources from the time he was a boy of seven years. At that early age he secured a posi- tion as errand boy in a store and received in compensation for his services the princely sum of six cents a day, the while he had to walk a distance of four miles each day to his work. Later he covered eight miles dis- tance each day in working for a recompense of eight cents a day, having been eight years of age at the time. Finally he made his way gradually upward on the ladder of success, and through his association with men and affairs, as well as through effective self-discipline, he has become a man of broad information and marked maturity of judgment. He finally identified himself with mining interests in England, where he was thus
Hear Halten
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employed the greater part of the time until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years, when, in 1872, confident that he could find better opportunities and advantages in America, he emigrated thither. For a time he was employed in the coal mines at Jeddo, Pennsylvania, and later he became a contractor in connection with coal-mining operations at Wilkes-Barre, that state. In 1873 he made his appearance in the Lake Superior mining districts of Michigan, and here he has since found am- ple scope for his indefatigable and productive efforts as a representative of mining interests, whose development he has done much to promote during his long and conspicuous association therewith. He first found employment in the Saginaw mine, near Ishpeming, and he was soon promoted to the position of pit boss, showing the estimate placed upon his ability and fidelity by his employers. Later he engaged in inde- pendent mine-contract work, in connection with which he gave employ- ment to an average of about fifty men. Finally he was chosen superin- tendent of the Mitchell mine, and in 1883 he was given the office of mining captain.
In 1885 Captain Walters became superintendent for the Pittsburg Lake Angeline Mining Company, which was organized in 1862 and which has developed large and valuable mines in the vicinity of Ishpe- ming. The Captain has continued in the office of superintendent for this company during the long period of more than a quarter of a century, and the success of the enterprise has been forwarded largely through his able efforts as an executive and as a practical workman, familiar with all details of the industry with which he has been connected during the major part of his life thus far. The company with which he is con- nected in the responsible capacity mentioned is one of the strongest in the iron region of this Northern Peninsula, and its officers at the present time are as here noted : James Laughlin, Jr., of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, president; William G. Pollock, of Cleveland, Ohio, secretary and treas- urer; C. T. Kruse, of Ishpeming, cashier; Captain Thomas Walters, su- perintendent; and Rulof Erickson, of Ishpeming, mining engineer and chemist. The agent for the mine for many years was Alfred Kidder, of Marquette, and this position has now been held by Captain Walters for the past ten years. Concerning the operations of this important indus- trial corporation the following statements have been made: "The com- pany owns two hundred acres of land and the mine extends nearly a mile in length, with a depth of seven hundred and fifty feet. Soft, hematite and hard-specular ores are secured, and since 1883 the output of the mine has been a quarter to a third of a million tons per annum, though the mine has not been worked to its full capacity. Employment is now given to a force of fully four hundred miners and other workmen ; the products of the mine are shipped principally to Cleveland, Ohio; and the mine is now paying good dividends to its stockholders. All of the present fine improvements have been placed in the mine under the super- vision of the efficient superintendent, Captain Walters, in association with the agent of the property, and in the advancement of the company's interests the superintendent ha's exercised a potent influence. He has also been interested in other mines and was formerly superintendent of the Volunteer mine, which is now closed." Since 1899 Captain Walters has been general manager of the Jones & Laughlin Ore Company, an- other of the important industrial corporations of the Upper Peninsula. Through his well directed and indefatigable efforts he has achieved a large measure of success and he has various capitalistic and real-estate interests in his home city of Ishpeming. where he is president of the Peninsula Bank, a solid and popular financial institution. He is also
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general manager of the Inter State Iron Company, of Minnesota, which has fourteen mines in operation.
In politics Captain Walters accords an unswerving allegiance to the Republican party, and as a loyal and progressive citizen he has given his aid and influence in the support of good government and the promotion of enterprises and measures that have tended to conserve the general welfare of the community. In the time-honored Masonic fraternity he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scot- tish Rite, in which his affiliation is with Grand Rapids Sovereign Con- sistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, in the city of Grand Rapids; and he also holds membership in Marquette Temple. He is a member of the Ishpeming lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and is identified with other civic organizations of representative character. Though he has never sought or desired public office he has not denied his services in such capacity, and for a period of eight or ten years he was a valued member of the board of public works of Ishpe- ming. His wife and their children are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, and Mrs. Walters has been a most devoted worker in the local parish of her church. The attractive family home is known for its gracious hospitality and is a center of social activity in Ishpeming.
Concerning Captain Walters the following well merited and appre- ciative words have been written by one familiar with his career: "He has a wide circle of friends, who freely give him their high regard in recognition of his many admirable traits of character. As a citizen he is devoted to Ishpeming and has identified himself with all movements that have tended to advance the best interests of the city. Educational, social and moral work finds in him a friend, and the community numbers him among its valued citizens."
In the city of Ishpeming, in 1874, was solemnized the marriage of Captain Walters to Miss Mary Pellow, who like himself was born in England, and concerning the five children of this union the following brief record is entered : Nellie N., who was graduated in the University of Michigan as a member of the class of 1898, is now the widow of Her- man Krogman; Kate is the wife of Albert Holley, and they reside in Virginia, Minnesota ; Ann is the wife of Howard F. Heyn, of Ishpeming; Thomas P. is local superintendent of the Rolling Mill mine at Negau- nee, Michigan, and William J. is with his father's company as a pros- pector. Captain Walters was selected as delegate at large to the con- vention which nominated Roosevelt for his last term as president.
HARRY TUELL EMERSON is numbered among the representative men and popular citizens of Menominee, where he was for eighteen years manager of the S. M. Stephenson Hotel and where he is now engaged in the plumbing business, in connection with which he handles all kinds of mining and heating supplies. He is a scion in both the paternal and maternal line of families founded in New England in the colonial epoch of our national history, and he finds no small degree of satisfaction in reverting to the great metropolis of the west as the place of his nativity. He was born in the city of Chicago on the 28th of February, 1861, is the son of Ozias P. and Waty B. (Keen) Emerson, the former of whom was born in Hebron, New Hampshire, on the 13th of September, 1825, and the latter near South Paris, Maine, on the 3d of September, 1823; their marriage was solemnized at Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1852, and they became the parents of three children: Florence, who is the widow of C. O. Owen and resides in Chicago; Frank, who is also a resident of Chicago; and Harry T., the immediate subject of this sketch.
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Ozias Pettengill Emerson was reared and educated in his native state and when fifteen years of age he found employment in a cotton mill at Lynn, Massachusetts. He was one of the venturesome spirits who joined the memorable exodus to the gold fields of California in 1849. He went by sailing vessel to Point Isabel, Texas, from which point he made his way overland to California, where he remained about four years, engaged in mining. He then returned to his home in Massachu- setts, where his marriage was solemnized in 1852. Soon afterward he removed with his bride to Boone county, Illinois, where he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Later on he engaged in the general merchandise business at Belvidere, that state, where he remained until 1860, when he removed with his family to Chicago and established him- self in the produce commission business. He became one of the most prominent and successful representatives of this line of enterprise in the western metropolis and continued to be identified therewith until 1897, since which time he lived virtually retired in Chicago. Ile was a mem- ber of the California Pioneers' Association of that state, and a stanch Republican in his political proclivities. He died June 4, 1910, in Chi- cago and was buried in Forest Home Cemetery on June 6, the anniver- sary of his wedding day.
Harry T. Emerson was afforded the advantages of the public schools of the city of Chicago, and after the completion of the curriculum of the high school he secured a position as timekeeper and assistant book- keeper in the establishment of the Union Brass Manufacturing Com- pany, in that city. Later he became associated with his father in the produce commission business, with which he was thus identified about two years, at the expiration of which he became credit man and book- keeper for the firm of H. W. Austin & Company of Chicago. About two years later he again associated himself with his father in the produce commission business, in which he continued until 1890, when he came to Menominee, Michigan, as manager of the S. M. Stephenson Hotel, which was erected and owned by his father-in-law, the late Samuel M. Stephenson, of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this work. He remained incumbent of this position until August 1, 1908. when he engaged in the plumbing and heating supply business and also in the handling of all kinds of mining supplies. Within the short in- tervening period, he has brought this enterprise to unmistakable priority as the most extensive of its kind on the Menominee river.
Mr. Emerson has thoroughly identified himself with the civic and business interests of Menominee and as a citizen is essentially loyal, pro- gressive and public-spirited. He maintains a secure place in popular confidence and regard, and he and his wife are prominent figures in the best social life of the community. In politics he accords allegiance to the Republican party. He was a member of the city council for six years, 1902-1908, and in April. 1910, was elected mayor of Menominee. Mr. Emerson is an appreciated member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliations are briefly noted: Menominee Lodge, No. 269, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is master at the time of this writing, in 1910; Menominee Chapter, No. 107, Royal Arch Ma- sons, of which he is past high priest; Menominee Commandery, No. 35, Knights Templar, of which he is past commander, an office of which he was incumbent for three terms ; Ahmed Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Marquette, Michigan, of which he is potentate; DeWitt Clinton Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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On the 9th of November, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Emerson to Miss Elizabeth W. Stephenson, the daughter of Hon. Samuel M. Stephenson, one of the most distinguished men of the Upper Penin- sula, and one to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this work. The only child of this marriage is a daughter, Glenne S.
EGERTON B. WILLIAMS .- Noteworthy as the pioneer hardware mer- chant of Ironwood, and as one of its valued and highly respected citizens, Egerton B. Williams is well entitled to special mention in a work of this character. He was born, March 8, 1853, in Burton, England, of excellent English ancestry.
His father, Joseph Williams, a native of England, emigrated with his wife and four children to the United States in 1854, being several weeks crossing the ocean in a sailing vessel. He located first in Palmyra, Wisconsin, from there going to Waterford, Wisconsin, and from Water- ford to Menominee, where, instead of following his trade of a tailor, he was for a number of seasons clerk in a mercantile establishment. Sub- sequently taking up his residence in Marinette, Wisconsin, he lived there until his death, in 1885. His wife, whose name before marriage was Sarah Ann Cavil, was born in England, and died, in 1882, in Menominee, Wisconsin.
One of a family of seven children, four of whom were born in Eng- land, Egerton B. Williams acquired his early education in the district schools of the different towns in which the family resided, and began life for himself as a clerk, being employed in various places, and by different people and firms. Settling in Ironwood in 1886, Mr. Williams opened the first hardware establishment in the place, and has since built up and maintained a substantial business, his patronage being extensive and lucrative.
Mr. Williams married, in 1878, Carrie F. Sherman, a daughter of Dr. J. J. and Emma (Porter) Sherman, early settlers of Marinette, Wis- consin, where her father was a pioneer physician. Mr. and Mrs. Wil- liams are the parents of five children, namely : Ethel, Percival, Lucille, Marian, and Egerton B., Jr. A loyal supporter of the principles of the Republican party, Mr. Williams has served as a member of the city council of Ironwood, and also as a member of the city board of education.
C. E. KELSO is one of the best known business men of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan, and he is the secretary of both the Chicago Lum- bering Company and the Western Lumber Company, two of the large business corporations of northern Michigan. He was born in Morgan county, Indiana, October 3, 1859, and his father, Stephen B. Kelso, was also from that state, a farmer there. The Kelso family are of Scotch descent, and coming from Scotland to the United States in 1750 they located in Virginia. The mother of C. E. Kelso was before marriage Sarah J. Thompson, born at Dayton, Ohio, and she survives her husband and is living at the age of seventy years, a resident of Hastings, Ne- braska. There were six sons and three daughters in their family.
The first born of those children was C. E. Kelso, and he was but a child when his parents moved to Illinois in 1863. In addition to his public school training, he also pursued a course at the St. Louis Com- mercial College, and he lived in that city for eighteen years, being as- sociated for three years with Major J. B. Merwin, proprietor and editor of the American Journal of Education, and for ten years was with the branch house of D. M. Osborn and Company, and for about four years
Williams P. He aley
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with the heavy hardware and plumbing firm of Ramsey & Sickerman. In 1897 Mr. Kelso came to Manistique, Michigan, to assume the position of assistant secretary of the Chicago Lumbering Company and secretary and treasurer of the Manistique and North Western Railroad Company. He was made the secretary of the Chicago Lumbering Company in 1898. He is a member of the Chapter and Council of the Masonic fraternity, the I. O. O. F., and the B. P. O. E. He is also a member and the fore- man of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen, a member and the chief ranger of the Independent Order of Foresters, a member of the National Union of St. Louis, and a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. A stanch Republican in his political affilia- tions, Mr. Kelso during the past three "years has served as the city engineer.
In 1889 Mr. Kelso was married to Abbie A. Starr, a daughter of Joseph J. Starr of St. Louis, Missouri. They have two daughters, Clara- nelle and Ellen H.
WILLIAM PETTIT RALEY .- To be numbered among the most interest- ing elements of American life is the nation's pioneer stock, those stanch frontiersmen, who dauntlessly met and conquered the difficulties of the wild country and began its preparation as the home of countless thou- sands. A descendant of this stock and at the same time a member and representative is William P. Raley, a retired merchant of Eagle Harbor, Michigan, and a citizen who enjoys the respect and esteem of all those with whom he is associated. He was born at Hanover, Columbiana county, Ohio, August 16, 1825, and is now approaching his eighty-sixth birthday in the possession of good health and all his faculties. His parents were James and Elizabeth (Pettit) Raley, Quakers by religious faith. They were among the earliest settlers in Columbiana county, and the father, a cabinet maker by trade, made furniture by hand for many of his neighbors. He also operated a small farm which he cleared from the forest primeval and here resided until his death in 1882, his wife having passed on to her reward many years previously in 1845. Both the father and mother were strong anti-slavery people.
Up to his sevententh year William P. Raley attended the Quaker school situated nearby, and after this took upon himself the character of pedagogue in the country schools which were carried on in the winter seasons. He later entered Oberlin College, Ohio, a famous educational institution of the Buckeye state, then in its early days, and pursued his studies there for two years. Meanwhile he took a course in penmanship under the direction of Professor Platte R. Spencer, the originator of the Spencerian system of penmanship, and afterward completed his educa- tion with a course in a business college at Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1849 he came to the Lake Superior region and for a year was employed in the Siskowit Mining Company, on Isle Royal, and then for five years in the Northwest mine, at that time known as the Northwest Mining Company, Keweenaw, as book-keeper and paymaster. He subsequently went to Copper Harbor where he was employed for a short time and then formed a partnership with William H. Stevens, under the firm name of Stevens & Raley in the general commission business, the largest boats afloat then stopping at the Copper Harbor dock. Later Mr. Raley became asso- ciated in the commission business with W. A. Northrup, the firm being changed to Raley & Northrup, at Copper Harbor. Then going to Eagle Harbor, in 1859, Justin Shapley took Mr. Northrup's interest in the business. This firm established several branches, one at Eagle Harbor,
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one at Copper Falls, and one at Lac la Belle, and thrived exceedingly, becoming one of the leading firms of Keweenaw county, and taking the name of Raley & Shapley. November 10, 1860, their warehouse and all contents were lost by fire. Though winter was at hand and their supplies had been destroyed, Judge William P. Raley immediately started for Detroit, chartered the steamer "Planet." purchased and loaded his sup- plies and started for Eagle Harbor. On the voyage they encountered sneh a terrific storm that all the cargo on deck had to be thrown over- board to save the vessel. Arriving at Marquette the 24th day of No- vember, the thermometer stood 12ยบ below zero, and snow two feet deep. After a tedious struggle with the elements, the remaining cargo was finally landed at Copper Harbor and the vessel safely returned to the Sault. Mr. Raley hauled the freight sixteen miles by teams to Eagle Harbor. Then the firm, Raley & Shapley, bought the small warehouse of Mr. King on the west side of the bay, which later was burned. Noth- ing daunted by their fire losses, they built the large warehouse and also increased the doeks, which are still standing. In 1879, Mr. Raley bought Mr. Shapley's interest and operated alone. In 1904, he removed to Lau- rium, to spend the rest of his days, having been engaged actively in busi- ness for a period of fifty-eight years, or from the year 1849.
Politically Mr. Raley is an old line Whig, and upon the organization of the Republican party he identified himself with it, and has voted for every Republiean presidential candidate sinee put up by the party, his first vote being cast for Zachary Taylor in 1848, the first candidate for the office of chief executive after the attainment of his majority. This maiden vote was east when Mr. Raley was still living in Ohio. The fol- lowing is a list of the presidential candidates who have received the vote of William P. Raley: Zachary Taylor-1848; Winfield Scott- 1852; John C. Fremont-1856; Abraham Lincoln-1860 and 1864; U. S. Grant-1868 and 1872; Rutherford B. Hayes-1876; James A. Gar- field-1880; James G. Blaine-1884; Benjamin Harrison-1888 and 1892; William McKinley-1896 and 1900; Theodore Roosevelt-1904; William Taft-1908.
Mr. Raley is ever interested in public affairs and for several years served as a member of the board of reviews of Copper Falls. He also served for many years as justiee of the peace and judge of probate in Keweenaw county, with office at Eagle River. He does not belong to any secret order. His residence is a good substantial one and he owns con- siderable valuable property. .
Mr. Raley has been twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Lydia H. Grubb, lived only six weeks after the solemnization of their union. His second wife was previous to her marriage Miss Rosie Belle Stoddard of New York, a daughter of Hiram S. and Polly (Burroughs) Stoddard, both natives of New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Raley the following named children were born: William T .; Franklin A .; Hiram S .; Edwin M .; Mary Belle; James Garfield ; Charles P .; and Austin C., all of whom are living. Mr. Raley has the happy distinetion to be several times a grandfather. Ilis son William married Miss Flora Yendow, and is the father of three boys, having also buried a son; Franklin married Minnie MeKinzie and has no children. Miss Helen Batten became the wife of Hiram S. Raley and they have a son and a daughter.
JAMES STEWART ROYCE .- Numbered among the substantial and highly esteemed citizens of Sault Ste. Marie is James Stewart Royce, who is carrying on an extensive mercantile business, everything in the line
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of footwear being found in his well stocked store at No. 317 Ashimun street, his aim being to please all classes of people, from the working man to the most fastidious belle. A son of Josiah Royce, he was born, June 2, 1862. in Eramosa township, Wellington county, Ontario, of Eng- lish and Scotch ancestry.
His paternal grandfather, Robert Royce, was born in England, and came to New York state when ten years of age. He subsequently married Eliza Cawthrop, and settled in Ontario. He cleared and improved a farm in Wellington county, and was there engaged in agricultural pur- snits until his death, at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife sur- vived him, attaining the age of eighty-six years. They became the par- ents of seven children, of whom four survive, as follows: Josiah, father of James Stewart; Mary, widow of Henry Orr; Mrs. Lydia Morton, a widow; and Mrs. Bertha Tough.
Josiah Royce was born on the old Royce homestead, in Wellington county, Canada, February 18. 1834, and was there brought up and edu- cated. Choosing for his life work the independent occupation to which he was reared, he took up a tract of heavily timbered land when young, and with true pioneer courage and grit began the arduous task of re- deeming a homestead from the forest. Laboring with indomitable per- severance, he succeeded even beyond his most sanguine expectations, his farm of one hundred acres, known as Cedar Brook Farm, being one of the most highly improved and richly productive of any in Eramosa town- ship, Wellington county, Ontario. He is a venerable and highly es- teemed citizen, bearing with ease his burden of years, and is a member of the Christian church.
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