USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 51
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Being, in 1886, elected prosecuting attorney of Ontonagon county, which then included Gogebic county, Mr. Haire filled the office most satisfactorily until May 9, 1891, when he resigned to accept the posi- tion of circuit judge of the Thirty-second Judicial Circuit, to which he was appointed. Elected to the office in 1892 to fill a vacancy, Judge Haire was re-elected for a full term in 1893, and re-elected again in 1899 and in 1905, having no opposition at either election.
Resigning the judgeship October 1, 1905, he was manager of the Bigelow mines, at Houghton, until April, 1909, since which time he has been busily employed in operating mining properties of his own, in his ventures meeting with much good success.
Judge Haire married, in July, 1880, Lydia Moore, who was born in Bunker Hill, Ingham county, Michigan, a daughter of Parley P. and Abigail (Culver) Moore, farming people, who moved from . New York state to Michigan, where they both died some years ago. The Judge and Mrs. ITaire have two children, Mildred M., a graduate of
Norman W. Haire ,
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Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Paula L., now at- tending the same college.
Politically the judge is a stanch Republican. Fraternally he is prominent in the Masonic Order, belonging to the Knights Templars Commandery, and to the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He has served the fraternity in different official capacities, from 1903 until 1905 having been Eminent Commander of Gogebie Commandery, K. T. He is also a member of Hancock Lodge, No. 381. B. P. O. E. For a year Judge Haire was a member of the Board of the Michigan College of Mines. He is now one of the direct- ors of the First National Bank of Calumet.
WILLIAM F. LIPSETT .- It is a matter of gratification to be able to incorporate within the pages of this work definite mention of the hon- cred representatives of the pioneer families, whose influence has been potent in connection with the material and civic development of the Upper Peninsula, and who have achieved success in connection with business activities of a productive order. He whose name initiates this article has been a resident of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan since his childhood days and is now an interested member of the Lip- sett Brothers Company, dealers in shoes and men's clothing and fur- nishings, at 405 Ashmun street, in the city of Sault Ste. Marie. This is one of the leading mercantile concerns of the city.
Mr. Lipsett was born in Grey county, province of Ontario, Canada, on the 10th of April, 1862, and is a son of Francis and Sarah (Camp- bell) Lipsett, the former of whom was born in Bellshannon, Ireland, in 1820, and the latter of whom was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1823. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in the city of Toronto and of their nine children all are living except one, the subject of this sketch having been seventh in order of birth. Francis Lipsett was reared and educated in his native land and in the early '40s, shortly after attaining his legal majority, he immigrated to Amer- ica, making the voyage on a sailing ship and landing in the city of Quebec, Canada. For a time he remained in Montreal. Later he estab- lished his home in Toronto and there he remained for a few years after his marriage. Finally he took up his residence on a farm in Grey county, becoming one of the pioneer agriculturists of that section of the dominion, where he was influential in public affairs of a local order and he continued to reside on his homestead until about fifteen years before his death, when he retired from active labor, and he passed the closing years of his life at Mealford, Ontario, where he died in 1890. His devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in 1903, at a vener- able age. Both were zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
William F. Lipsett was afforded the advantages of the excellent graded schools of his native county and was reared to the sturdy disci- pline of the farm. At the age of sixteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade and he continued to be identi- fied with the work of his trade in Ontario until 1879, when he came to the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and located at Sault Ste. Marie, where he established a blacksmith shop, which he conducted until 1881. He then became a member of the firm of Lipsett & Harrison and they engaged in the general merchandise business at Ewen, Ontonagon county, where they continued operations until the building and stock were destroyed by fire in 1893. Thereupon Mr. Lipsett returned to Sault Ste. Marie, where for some time he served as superintendent of
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streets, proving a most discriminating and capable official and doing much to improve the thoroughfares of the city during his incumbency of this office. Thereafter he had charge of the selling of two bankrupt stocks of merchandise and in 189- he was chosen county superinten- dent of the poor, a position which he continued in tenure for six years, at the expiration of which he was elected sheriff of Chippewa county, in which his administration was so effective that he was chosen as his own successor in 1906, by a gratifying majority. He retired from office in the spring of 1908, and on the 15th of the following July he engaged in his present enterprise, as a member of Lipsett Brothers Company. He is one of the representative business men of the "Soo" and is well known throughout the county, where he is held in high esteem as a sterling and public-spirited citizen. In politics Mr. Lipsett accords stanch allegiance to the Republican party and he is affiliated with Bethel Lodge No. 358, Free & Accepted Masons; Sault Ste. Marie Chapter No. 126, Royal Arch Masons, and also with the local organiza- ยท tions of the Knights of Pythias, and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the L. O. L.
On the 16th of March, 1892, Mr. Lipsett was united in marriage to Miss Anna Belle Myers, who was born in Otsego county, Michigan, and who is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Louden) Myers, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in the Dominion of Canada. Mr. Myers was one of the prominent lumbermen of Otsego and Manistee counties in the early days and later was identified with this important line of industry in the Upper Peninsula. During the latter part of his business career he was a contractor for cement work. He was a boy at the time of the family removal to Michigan in the pioneer days and here he continued to reside until his death. His widow now maintains her home in Sault Ste. Marie and their only child is Mrs. Lipsett. Mr. Myers was a man of the highest integrity and honor and his probity and generous attitudes retained to him the in- violable esteem of all who knew him. Mr. and Mrs. Lipsett have one son and one daughter,-Zelner Myers and Frances Elizabeth.
JOSEPH H. VOGTLIN .- Noteworthy among the active and successful business men of Bessemer is Joseph H. Vogtlin, who has lived in this vicinity years enough to see a complete change in the business personnel of the city, in whose growth and prosperity he has ever taken an intel- ligent interest. A son of Joseph Vogtlin, he was born, August 13, 1859, in Rockland, Ontonagon county, Michigan.
His grandfather, John Vogtlin, was born in Switzerland, of German ancestry, and there followed his trade of a cabinet-maker until late in life. Emigrating then to America, he settled, with his good wife, in Detroit, Michigan, and there both spent their remaining years, rounding out a full century of life.
Joseph Vogtlin was born and reared in Switzerland, acquiring a good education in the public schools, and there learning the trade of a cabinet maker. Coming to the United States when young, he worked as a carpenter in Detroit for awhile, from there coming, in 1846, to the Upper Peninsula as a pioncer settler. The greater part of this section was then unexplored, its great mineral wealth still lying hidden in the bosom of mother earth. Locating at Rockland, Ontonagon county, he was for a number of ycars head carpenter for the Minne- sota Mining Company. Then, in company with William H. Harris, he engaged in the lumber business under the firm name of Harris & Vogtlin. This enterprising firm purchased from Dan Cavenaugh, a
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sawmill at Minnesota Landing, and having bought a tract of heavily timbered land on the east branch of the Ontonagon river, engaged in the manufacture of lumber. During the disastrous flood of 1864, the Ontonagon river rose twenty-seven feet and three inches above low water mark, sweeping away the mills, houses, lumber and livestock, causing an almost total loss of the firm's property. A wagon loaded with lumber was taken down stream fourteen miles, and landed high and dry twenty-three feet above low water mark. Joseph Vogtlin sub- sequently devoted his attention to farming, residing in Rockland, con- tinuing hale and hearty until his death in August, 1907, when he was gored to death by a bull. He married Mary Enderline, who was born in canton Berne, Switzerland, where her parents were lifelong resi- dents. She is still living, being eighty-three years of age at this writing, 1910. She reared seven of her eight children, as follows: Mary, Joseph H., Carrie, George, Belle, Will and Alfred.
At the age of nineteen years, having completed his studies in the schools of Rockland, Joseph H. Vogtlin went to Detroit, Michigan, where he served an apprenticeship of three years at the harness maker's trade. Returning then to his old home, he followed his trade in Rock- land a year, afterwards being in Ontonagon two years. Taking a trip then to the territory of Washington, Mr. Vogtlin located in Seattle, which was then a comparatively small city, and became associated with the Seattle Lumber Company as a searcher for, and inspector of lumber, remaining with the company until 1886. Coming in that year to Bessemer, he rented a building and opened a harness shop, and met with such encouraging success in his operations that in 1887 he bought the property and has since conducted an extensive and lucrative busi- ness in this city.
Mr. Vogtlin, in 1888, was united in marriage with Anna M. Guenther, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, a daughter of Joseph Guenther, a native of Germany. Mrs. Vogtlin died September 1, 1902, leaving two children, namely : Belle, who was graduated from the Bessemer High School, and from the State Normal School, and is now teaching in the Bessemer public schools; and Inez, a pupil in the Bessemer High School. An uncompromising Republican in his political affiliations, Mr. Vogtlin has served thirteen years as a member of the school board; has been a member of the Board of Public Works for five years; has been one of the Commissioners of the Poor the past ten years; and has served as a member of the Board of Review. At the present time Mr. Vogtlin is chairman of the Republican Committee of the Fourth ward, a posi- tion which he has filled many years.
JAMES W. BEDELL, EsQ .- Prominent among the leading citizens of Wakefield, Gogebic county, is James W. Bedell, Esq., who has served many years as postmaster at this place, and has served with distinction in many of the more important offices of the town and county. A native of Michigan, he was born August 1, 1858, in Detroit, a son of George Bedell.
George Bedell was born, reared and educated in Leeds, England, where he afterwards became a mechanical engineer. About 1854 he immigrated to the United States, being six weeks in sailing across the ocean. He landed in New York, going from there to Cleveland, and after a brief stay in that city located in Detroit, Michigan, where he became foreman in the locomotive works. The first engine used in the Quincy Mills was made at those works, and George Bedell was sent out to install the engine, and was then made superintendent of the
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mill, a position which he filled satisfactorily until his death in 1897. He married Elizabeth Townsend, who was born in Leeds, England, and died in Michigan several years before he did, leaving three chil- dren, Cornelius, Mary, and James W.
Having laid a wise foundation for his future education in the pub- lic schools of Detroit, James W. Bedell, at the age of fourteen years, entered the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, Illinois, where he completed the course of study. He afterwards took a special course at the University of Michigan, and afterwards entered its Law Depart- ment, from which he was graduated with the class of 1879. On account of poor health, Mr. Bedell did not enter upon a legal profession, but, instead, accepted a position with a Detroit firm as traveling salesman, and for four years traveled throughout Northern Wisconsin and Mich- igan. Locating then at Gogebie, he was bookkeeper for the Iron Cliff Mining Company until his employers sold out. Early in 1886 Mr. Bedell located in the vicinity of Wakefield, the present site of which was then a wilderness. The town being started soon after, he applied to the government for a postoffice, and when, in the fall of that year, his petition was granted, he was appointed postmaster, and, with the exception of two years, has since filled the position.
Mr. Bedell married in 1886, Mary Beck, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, a native of Germany, emigrated to the United States, settling in Ohio. Soon after the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army, and lost his life while in the service. Her mother was born in Ireland, and came to this country with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Bedell are the parents of six children, namely : George, Mildred, Ray, Leslie, Claude, and Marjorie.
Mr. Bedell has served his fellow-townsmen in many responsible po- sitions, and always to the utmost satisfaction of those concerned. As a justice of the peace for three terms, his decisions were always tem- pered with wisdom and justness. Appointed notary public by Gov. Pingree, he has served continuously since. He was a member of the Board of Education twelve years, and for the past eighteen years has been a member of the Board of County Supervisors of the Poor, a po- sition to which he has recently been re-elected for another term of three years. He is also at the present time president of the Village Board. Fraternally Mr. Bedell is a member of Bessemer Lodge No. 390, F. & A. M .; of Minerva Chapter No. 122, R. A. M .; of Gogebic Commandery No. 46, K. T., and of Ahmed Temple, Mystie Shrine, of Marquette.
SAMUEL EDDY .- A prominent and successful representative of the lumber interests of Houghton county, Samuel Eddy, head of the en- terprising firm of Eddy & Belheumer, of Lake Linden, is carrying on an extensive business in the manufacture of all kinds of lumber, laths and shingles. He was born, May 21. 1869, in Cornwall, England, where he lived until seven years of age. His grandparents, Samuel and Wilma (Pieree) Eddy, were born, lived and died in England.
James P. Eddy, the father of Samuel, was born in Cornwall, Eng- land, in November, 1842. He grew up in the mining regions, and as a matter of course busied himself as soon as strong enough with the pick and axe. Emigrating with his family to the United States in 1875, he debarked at New York city, from there going first to Detroit, Michigan, thence to the Upper Peninsula. Locating at Lake Linden, Houghton county, he was here employed in the stamp mills until 1902, when he retired from active pursuits and has since enjoyed the pleas-
Samuel Lady
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ures and comforts of life at his pleasant home, his leisure being well- deserved. His wife, whose maiden name was Nina Edwards, was also born and bred in Cornwall.
Seven years of age when he crossed the ocean with his parents, Samuel Eddy received his rudimentary education in the public schools of Lake Linden, where he graduated from the high school in 1886, after which he entered the Ypsilanti State Normal School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1888. Being well fitted for a professional career, Mr. Eddy subsequently taught school nine years. Retiring from that profession, he engaged in the fire insurance busi- ness, with which he is still connected to some extent. Turning his attention, however, to the lumber trade, he formed a partnership with Mr. Belheumer, and has since been actively engaged in operating his milling plant, which is advantageously situated on the north side of Torch Lake, its location affording the very best facilities for receiving and shipping logs and lumber by water. This business was organized in 1905, and the mill, which has a capacity of forty thousand feet per day, is modernly equipped, having improved band saws and a fine two hundred horse-power engine. This company likewise has valuable interests in Michigan timber lands, and employs forty men in the different parts of the mill and in the woods.
Mr. Eddy married, in 1890, Georgia DuQuette, a daughter of George DuQuette, an early and highly respected resident of Lake Linden. Three sons and a daughter were born to Mr. and Mrs. Eddy : Harold, nineteen years of age, a graduate of the Linden high school; Ruben, seventeen years of age, attending high school; Mildred, who died at the age two years, and Corbin, six years of age. Mr. Eddy is president of the Board of Education of Lake Linden, having been elected a member of the board in 1910. Politically a Republican. He was for eight years a member of the village council, and for the past five years has served as supervisor of Schoolcraft township, which office he still holds, elected 1905. Fraternally he is a member of Lake Linden Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; of Calumet Chapter, R. A. M., and of Montrose Commandery, K. T., of Houghton.
EUGENE ALLEN ORMES .- Conspicuous among the enterprising and progressive men who have been influential in promoting the industrial prosperity of Gogebie county is Eugene Allen Ormes, of Marenisco, who is here extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits, and is also serving as postmaster. A son of Melvin B. Ormes, he was born Sep- tember 8, 1864, at Hancock, Houghton county, Michigan, coming from substantial New England stock. His grandparents, natives of Ver- mont, spent their last years in New York state.
Melvin B. Ormes was born and bred at Castleton, Vermont, and as a young man went to New York state, where he lived until 1863. Com- ing with his family to Michigan in that year, he located in Houghton county, settling there before the railroads had penetrated into the wilds of the Upper Peninsula, the people coming here by way of the Lakes, or with teams, the mails, in the winter seasons being trans- ported with dog teams. The country was covered with heavy timber, and he, with characteristic energy and foresight, embarked in the lum- ber business, first establishing a sawmill at Hancock, and later building one at Menominee, Michigan, and another at Marinette, Wisconsin. Going to Unity, Wisconsin, in 1876, he remained there about eight years. In 1884 he located in Gogebic county, establishing a sawmill near the present site of Marenisco, which was then a dense wilderness,
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with not a building of any description near. Engaging in the manu- facture of lumber under the firm name of the M. B. Ormes Company, he continued it successfully until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. He married Mrs. Jane (Stewart) Scott, who was born in Perth- shire, Scotland, and as a child of seven years was brought by her parents to Canada, where they spent their remaining days. She mar- ried first John Scott, a contractor, who had charge of the construction of sections of several railroads passing through Ohio, his home being in Hamilton, Ohio, where he died, leaving his widow with four children, Archie, Walter, Aleck, and Katie B. Of her union with her second husband, four children were born, namely: Martha, Mary, Eugene Allen, the subject of this brief sketch, and Melvin L. The mother died at the ripe old age of eighty-four years.
As a youth, when not in school, Eugene Allen Ormes assisted his father in the mill, being afterwards employed in different kinds of labor. In 1899 he began his mercantile career, after a year's experience as a clerk opening a general store at Marenisco, where he has since built up an extensive lucrative business as a merchant, having by his square, upright dealings gained the good will and the patronage of the people of this vicinity.
Mr. Ormes married August 8, 1887, Carrie C. Muzzey, who was born in Springfield, Marquette county, Wisconsin, June 5, 1862, of New England ancestry. Her father, Ira Muzzey, was born May 6, 1805, in Springfield, Sullivan county, New Hampshire, and at the age of fif- teen years began life as a sailor, going on a whaling voyage. Subse- quently settling in Charlestown, Massachusetts, he worked in the Navy Yard for awhile, and then settled in Rutland, Vermont, where he lived until 1854. In that year, accompanied by his family, he moved to Wisconsin, traveling by way of the Lakes from Buffalo to Milwaukee, and from there to Marquette county, where he was a pioneer settler, with teams. After renting land for awhile, he purchased a timber tract in Westfield township, erected a small frame house in the midst of the woods, and immediately began clearing and improving the land, in course of time having a large part under cultivation. There he continued his agricultural pursuits until his death, May 29, 1884. Mr. Muzzey was twice married. He married first, Hannah Evans, who was born in Massachusetts, and died in Rutland, Vermont, leaving six children, namely : Ira, Stephania, Celestia, John C., Winslow, and Lucia. Mr. Muzzey married second, Nancy Temple, who was born in Berk- shire, Franklin county, Vermont, a daughter of Erastus and Olivia (Gray) Temple, and they became the parents of three children, namely : William, Eveline, and Carrie C., now Mrs. Ormes.
Mr. and Mrs. Ormes are the parents of two children, Harold Eu- gene and Mildred Carrie. A stanch Republican in his political views, Mr. Ormes has served his fellow-townsmen wisely and well in various positions. He was township treasurer two years; township clerk four years; a member of the County Board of Supervisors eight years; and since 1907 has served as postmaster at Marenisco. Fraternally Mr. Ormes is a member of Bessemer Lodge No. 390, F. & A. M .; of Minerva Chapter, No. 122, R. A. M .; of Ironwood Commandery, No. 46, K. T .; of Bessemer Lodge, K. of P .; and of Marenisco Lodge, M. W. A. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ormes are members of the O. E. S.
CHARLES PATRICK A'HERN .- Genial, courteous and accommodating, Charles Patrick A'Hern is widely and favorably known throughout Chippewa county as proprietor and manager of the Lock City Hotel,
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which is liberally patronized and quite popular with the traveling pub- lic. He was born February 6, 1868, at Port Colborne, Ontario, a son of James A'Hern, of pure Irish stock.
Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1835, James A'Hern resided in the Emerald Isle during the earlier part of his life. Emigrating with his wife and three children to America in the early '60s, he crossed the ocean in a sailing vessel, landing in New York city. Drifting into Canada, he located at Port Colborne, Ontario, where he was first em- ployed on the Welland Canal, afterwards working for the old Port Colborne Elevator Company, continuing his residence in that place until his death in 1885. His wife, whose maiden name was Emma Smith, was born in county Cork, Ireland, and is now living at Port Colborne, Ontario. Of their eleven children, the three oldest were born in Ireland, and eight of them are still living, namely : John, Delia, James, Mary, Charles Patrick, Francis, Emma, and Agnes. Both parents were members of the Roman Catholic church, and reared their children in the same faith.
Attending the public schools of Port Colborne as a boy, Charles Patrick A'Hern began at the age of twelve years to work on the Welland Canal, being employed by the contractors, Hunter & Murray, of Cleveland, Ohio, afterwards becoming derrick boy for C. L. Dunbar. Coming from there to Sault Ste. Marie in 1886, Mr. A'Hern was for a time engaged in dredging for Hickler Brothers, later entering the em- ploy of Mr. Dunbar, gradually working his way up until he became engineer of a steam dredge. . Changing his occupation, Mr. A'Hern ran a salcon on Water street until the spring of 1904, when he as- sumed possession of his present hotel, which he is managing most suc- cessfully, his many guests invariably being pleased and gratified with the attention so cheerfully given to their wants.
Mr. A'Hern during the year 1894 was in the employ of the city as superintendent of water mains. Religiously true to the faith in which he was brought up, he belongs to the Roman Catholic church. Fra- ternally he is a member of Lodge No. 552, B. P. O. E .; of Division No. 1, A. O. H .; and of Branch No. 32, C. M. B. A.
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