USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 53
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In politics Mr. Doyle is a stalwart in the camp of the Democratic party, and under its banner he has rendered most efficient service. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention, held in the city of Denver, Colorado, in 1908, and at the Democratic State Convention, held in the city of Lansing, Michigan. In March, 1909, he was chosen chairman, proving himself an able and idscriminating presiding officer. He is at present one of the leaders of his party in Menominee county and as a citizen he takes a loyal interest in all that tends to advance the general welfare of the community. He is a man of genial nature and has marked facility in gaining and retaining inviolable friendships.
On the 10th of July, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Doyle to Miss Marie Fitzpatrick, who was born in the city of Hamilton, province of Ontario, Canada, and is a daughter of Kenny Fitzpatrick, a well known citizen of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Doyle have seven chil- dren, namely : Helen, Gerald, Gladys, Kenneth, Thurman, Wilford and Meredith.
MICHAEL CHAMBERS .- This honored and influential citizen of St. Ignace is a native of the Upper Peninsula with whose history the family name has been identified for more than sixty years. He and his broth- ers have done much to further the development and upbuilding of St. Ignace, where they established themselves in the general merchandise business many years ago and where each has contributed materially to the civic and industrial progress. The firm of Chambers Brothers is one
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of the best known and most important in St. Ignace and has long con- trolled a large and representative trade. Concerning the affairs of this firm the following record is given and is worthy of perpetuation :
"The firm of Chambers Brothers succeeded that of J. Chambers & Brothers, whose career began about the close of the Civil war and marked an important chapter in the history of modern St. Ignace. This city has three distinct historical periods. It was founded about the time Philadelphia sprang into existence and the mission reports indicate it to have been a village of sixty houses, all in a row, in which lived ten professors and five hundred students. This was as early as 1700 and the Catholic mission at this point was one of the most important in the great wilderness of northern America at that time. But little authentic data are available concerning the intermediate period of the history of St. Ignace but its existence as a modern city began in the latter half of the nineteenth century, when it again became a commer- cial point. Fishing and lumbering for many years furnished the only means of existence to the inhabitants of St. Ignace and fish and lumber were the articles of commerce that were sent out from this northern country in sufficient amounts to make men wealthy. The Chambers Brothers saw here an opportunity for doing a good business, in the sup- plying to the fishermen needed merchandise. With this need in view the brothers opened a small store and not long afterward they extended their operations by buying, packing and selling fish. Still later they also engaged in fishing, in which connection they utilized the gill-net and the old pound-net. In the height of their career as fishermen they operated two tugs, besides numerous smaller boats and they built up a large and prosperous business, abandoning the fishing industry only when the supply of fish became too small to make the enterprise longer profitable. In the meantime their mercantile business had greatly in- creased in scope and importance and for some time they also conducted a branch store at Naubinway. In 1874 the firm of Chambers Brothers constructed the first dock at St. Ignace and this supplied a very exigent demand. They have also erected a number of stores, thus greatly im- proving the residence property in St. Ignace, and they are now ex- tensive owners of real estate. The present firm is composed of Patrick and Michael Chambers and another brother, John, was associated with the enterprise until his death, which occurred in 1891."
Mr. Chambers was born in St. Ignace on the 12th of June, 1850, and is a son of John and Margaret (O'Malley) Chambers, both natives of county Mayo, Ireland, where the former was born in 1801 and the latter in 1811. The parents passed the closing years of their lives in St. Ignace, where the father died in 1885 and the mother in 1897. Their marriage was solemnized in their native land and there four of their children were born, namely: William, Bridget, Patrick and John. Four children were born after their immigration to America, namely : Michael, Mary, Catherine and Charles. The father came to America in 1846, making the trip on a sailing vessel and landing in the city of Philadelphia. He made his way to the west and found employment in connection with the construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal, in which connection he resided at Bridgeport, now a part of the city of Chicago. There he remained until the spring of 1849 when he removed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and established his home on Mack- inac Island. In this year his wife and children joined him in America. John Chambers reclaimed a farm near Castle Rock, St. Ignace, and dur- ing the greater part of his active career in the Upper Peninsula he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits and fishing. Both he and his
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wife were devout communicants of the Catholic church and in politics he was a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party. He was a man of sterling integrity of character and of alert mental pow- ers, and it has been well said that, "He taught his children the essen- tial elements of industry and straightforward dealing, through which they have gained prosperity and financial independence."
Michael Chambers was afforded the advantages of the somewhat primitive schools of Mackinac county, where he was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days and where he early began to assist in the work of his father's farm. In 1870 he became associated with his brothers in the general merchandise business at St. Ignace, where they erected a store in that year and the enterprise has been con- tinued during the long intervening period under the original title of Chambers Brothers. The brothers have ever shown a loyal interest in all that has touched the welfare of the community and they have a se- cure place in the confidence and esteem of the people of their home city and county as is shown in the fact that Michael Chambers served two terms as mayor of St. Ignace while in 1899-90 he represented his district in the state legislature. In 1902 he was appointed by Governor Winans a member of the board of control for the Michigan School of Mines. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance and is a zealous communi- cant of the Catholic church, in whose faith he was carefully reared. Mr. Chambers is a bachelor.
It is worthy of note in this sketch that Charles M. and Tully O'Mal- ley, maternal uncles of Mr. Chambers, were numbered among the ster- ling pioneers and influential citizens of the Upper Peninsula, where both attained prominence in business and public affairs. They came to Mack- inac Island in 1834, several years before the admission of Michigan to the Union, and here they entered the employ of John Jacob Astor, the organizer of the American Fur Company. Later they engaged in the general merchandise business on their own responsibility. Charles O'Malley was a member of the state legislature in 1846-7 and was speaker pro tem. of the house. He was a man of fine intellectual gifts, having received an excellent educational training in Ireland and having later completed a course of study in the University of Montreal, Canada. While a member of the Michigan Legislature he was chairman of the committee on education and as such chairman reported out favorably the bill for the establishment of the University of Michigan. He erected the first transient hotel on Mackinac Island and this historic old building is still standing, being known as the Island House. Charles O'Malley served as probate judge of Mackinac county and later held the same office in Delta county, having removed to Escanaba many years ago and having been a resident of that place at the time when the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad extended its line into the Upper Peninsula. He was prominently identified with the lumber industry as was also his brother, Tully O'Malley, who served as sheriff of Mack- inac county at the time when the Mormons established themselves on Beaver Island. In his official capacity he arrested a number of the Mormons for robbing vessels at St. Ignace, Beaver harbor, taking a de- tail of U. S. troops then stationed at Fort Mackinac for the purpose of making the arrests. The Mormons at that time were at the zenith of their power under King Strang and according to reports committed many depredations on defenceless fishermen and settlers who happened from any cause to come within their influence.
CHARLES DANA SYMONDS, who is engaged in the practice of his pro- fession at Powers, Menominee county, is recognized as one of the repre-
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sentative younger members of the bar of the Upper Peninsula and his success and prestige have been gained through his earnest and able ef- forts. He is a member of a family that was founded in America in the early colonial epoch of our national history, as is evident when it is stated that he is a direct descendant of General John Symonds, who came from England to America in 1632 and established his home in the historic old town of Salem, Massachusetts. He is a grandson of Captain Stephen Symonds, who was long identified with the maritime industry and who served as captain of various vessels sailing out from Massa- chusetts ports. He also was a soldier in the war of 1812, in which he held the office of captain and who was captured at sea by the English, who incarcerated him at Dartmouth, England. He was later returned to Boston and was there liberated in mid-winter barefooted and with but little clothing. He was born at Salem, Massachusetts, and in that state he passed the closing years of his life.
Charles D. Symonds is a son of Captain Stephen H. and Ellen J. (Hill) Symonds, the former of whom was born at Salem, Massachusetts, on the 25th of August, 1824, and the latter of whom was born in Buf- falo, New York, in 1848; their marriage was solemnized at Beloit, Wis- consin, on the 22nd of February, 1872. The father died at Paris, Me- costa county, Michigan, on the 10th of February, 1910, and the mother still resides in that village. Of the two children the subject of this sketch was the firstborn, and Grace, who was born in 1876, died in the year 1900. As a young man Stephen H. Symonds followed a seafar- ing life, having become a sailor when but fourteen years of age and having won promotion to the office of captain. He was in command of merchant ships plying between the city of Boston and the West Indies and he also made voyages to other foreign ports. In 1854 he took up his residence at Beloit, Wisconsin, becoming one of the pioneers of that place, where he was engaged in the boot and shoe business for a number of years. In 1878 he removed with his family to Paris, Mecosta county, Michigan, where he became a prominent business man and influential citizen and where he lived retired during the closing years of his life. He served in various township offices, including that of township treas- urer, of which he was incumbent for more than twenty years. He aligned himself as a supporter of the cause of the Republican party and ever afterward continued a stanch advocate of its principles and policies.
He whose name initiates this sketch is indebted to the public schools of Paris, Michigan, for his early educational discipline, which was sup- plemented by a course in the institute, at Big Rapids, this state. He first came to the Upper Peninsula in 1899 and located at Nadeau, where he held the position of principal of the high school for two years. Prior to this he had been a student in the University of Michigan and at the expiration of the period noted he returned to Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in the law department of the University as a mem- ber of the class of 1894, duly receiving his well earned degree of Bachelor of Laws. For the ensuing year he was again principal of the high school at Nadeau and he then removed to Powers, where he pur- chased the law practice of Charles F. Juttner. Here he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession, in which his success has been of an unequivocal order, as he is well fortified in the learning of his profession and is known as an able trial lawyer and duly con- servative counselor. Mr. Symonds gives his allegiance to the Repub- lican party and takes deep interest in its cause though he has never appeared as candidate for public office. He is affiliated with the
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Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Inde- pendent Order of Yeomen.
On the 3d of July, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sy- monds to Miss Roxana Anderson, who was born at Big Rapids, Michi- gan, and who is a daughter of Robert and Jennie (Lypps) Anderson, who still reside in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Symonds have one daugh- ter, Janet Marian.
JOHN W. WELLS .- The statement of Macaulay that "A people that take no pride in noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations" has emphatic verification in each age and generation and he is indeed fortunate who can revert to ancestry whose record bears indication of worthy lives and worthy deeds. This is espe- cially true in the case of John W. Wells who is a scion of the family whose name has been identified with the annals of American history since the early part of the seventeenth century. In New England, that cradle of so much of our history, the family name has long been one of distinctive prominence and from that section have gone forth sterling representatives to aid in the development and upbuilding of many other parts of the Union. Ile whose name initiates this review came to Menominee, Michigan, as a young man and he has been most prominently identified with the great lumber industry of Wisconsin and northern Michigan, while as a citizen he has exemplified the ut- most loyalty and public spirit, contributing generously to the support of those measures and enterprises that have conserved the progress and substantial upbuilding of this favored section of the Wolverine state. He is one of the essentially representative business men and most honored citizens of Menominee, where he has long maintained his home and where his interests are large and important.
John W. Wells was born near the city of Davenport, Iowa, on the 30th of March, 1841, and as this date indicates he is a member of one of the early pioneer families of the Hawkeye commonwealth. As already stated, the Wells family, which is of stanch English origin (the town of Wells, England, being founded by the Wells Family), was founded in America in the Colonial epoch, the original progenitors in the new world having come hither as early as 1635. Members of this family were num- bered among the first settlers of the state of Maine, and the town of Wells, York county, that state, was named in its honor. Captain Richard Wells, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, followed a seafaring life for many years and was captain and owner of a merchant vessel. He was born in Maine and passed his entire life in that state. His son Alexander. father of John W. Wells, was born in the old Pine Tree state, in the year 1818, and there he was reared to maturity. He was accorded excellent educational advantages and was educated at Bowdoin College. In 1837 he came to the west and settled in Scott county, Iowa, then a territory, where he took up a farm. He was one of the sterling pioneers of that section and he continued his residence in Iowa until the Civil war, his marriage having been solemnized after he had there established a home. When the integrity of the Union was thrown into jeopardy through armed rebellion, he tendered his services in its defence by enlisting in a regiment of Iowa volunteer infantry and attained the rank of lieutenant. Ile practically saeri- ficed his life in the cause of his country, as he died from the effect of disease contracted while in the service, having passed away at St. Louis, in the year 1863. Ilis wife, whose maiden name was Julia A.
sonstalls
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Carter, was born in Indiana in the year 1820 and her death occurred at Menominee in 1900. Her father and mother were natives of Vir- ginia and representatives of old and prominent families of the his- toric Old Dominion. He served with distinction as a soldier in the Mexican war, in which he held the rank of captain. He was num- bered among the very early settlers of Iowa and was a member of its legislature in the territorial days. Alexander Wells and his wife were both devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the former's political allegiance was given to the Republican party from the time of its organization until his death, only a few years later. He and his wife became the parents of seven children, of whom the following are now living: Mary is the widow of William Hollen- beck, who served four years in the Civil war as a member of the Twen- tieth Iowa; Alfred C., who served during the Civil war, in which he was a non-commissioned officer of the Second Iowa Cavalry, is now a resident of Iowa; John W. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Sarah A. is the wife of William Lamphere of Rapid City, South Da- kota; James L. maintains his home in Evanston, Illinois. The father served for many years as a justice of the peace and as postmaster. He was a man of distinctive prominence and influence in his com- munity and his name has an enduring place on the roster of the hon- ored families of the fine Hawkeye commonwealth.
John W. Wells was reared to the sturdy discipline of the old homestead farm in Iowa and his early educational training was that afforded by the public schools of that locality. Later he completed a course in the business college at.Davenport, Iowa. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he was twenty years of age, after which he passed one year in Wis- consin. About the time he attained to his legal majority he came to Menominee, Michigan, where he was employed for two years as a bookkeeper. He next became interested as a partner in a lumber business with headquarters at Oconto, Wisconsin, where he main- tained his home until 1875, when he removed his plant and business to Menominee, which city has since represented his home and to the upbuilding of which he has contributed in a large measure. Here he has continuously been engaged in the lumber business and in the long intervening years his operations have been of extensive order. He is vice-president of the Girard Lumber Company and is general man- ager of its business. The company has a well equipped saw mill at Dunbar, Wisconsin. Mr. Wells is also one of the principal owners of the Bird-Wells Lumber Company of Wausaukee, Wisconsin, the mill of which corporation turns out about twenty million feet of lum- ber annually. Of this Company he is President. Mr. Wells organized the J. W. Wells Lumber Company of Menominee, of which he is pres- ident. He is also President of the Northern Hardware and Supply Company, wholesalers of lumbermen's and miners' supplies and gen- eral hardware. He is also President of the White Pine Lumber Com- pany, a family corporation consisting of himself and his three sons, Daniel, Artemus and Ralph. This company operates in Ontario, Can- ada, where they own two townships of pine timber, a logging railroad, a large saw mill and everything necessary to carry ou an extensive business. Mr. Wells is also President of the Wisconsin and Northern Railway, and Vice President of the Dunbar & Wausaukee Railway, which roads supply the Dunbar & Wausaukee mills with logs and also. do a regular railroad business in connection with the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railway, the Soo Line and the Wisconsin and Mich- igan Railway.
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In 1898 Mr. Wells bought an interest in the I. Stephenson Com- pany at Wells, Michigan. He re-organized the company, re-built the old mill, built a large modern hardwood saw mill and hardwood floor- ing factory, negotiated the purchase of the Ford River Lumber Com- pany consisting of a large saw mill, the village of Ford River, one hundred and ten thousand acres of land and logging equipment, etc. To supply Ford River and I. Stephenson Company mills with about eighty-five million feet of logs per year, he built the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railway, consisting of about one hundred and forty miles of track with first class rolling stock and equipment. He has recently sold his interest in the Ford River, I. Stephenson and Escan- aba & Lake Superior Railway Companies at a handsome profit and will confine himself closer to personal operations. He is at present building a very large hardwood flooring and manufacturing plant and saw mill at Menominee to more closely ntilize the lumber from his Wausaukee, Dunbar and Canadian mills.
Mr. Wells believes in employing his sons in the active operations of his enterprises and they all own substantial interest and fill respon- sible positions in the business.
Mr. Wells is one of the substantial capitalists of the Upper Penin- sula, and his entire course as a business man and citizen has been guided and governed by the highest principles of integrity and honor so that he has ever been the recipient of the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. In politics Mr. Wells gives unqualified alle- giance to the Republican party and he has rendered efficient co-opera- tion in the promotion of its interests in a local way. He served for two terms as a member of the board of supervisors of Menominee county, was for two terms a member of the city council and for three terms also he had the distinction of holding the office of mayor of Menominee, having first been elected on the first of April, 1893, and having been chosen as his own successor in the election of 1895-6. His administration is on record as one of the best ever given to the municipal government of Menominee. In the Masonic fraternity Mr. Wells is affiliated with Menominee Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Menominee Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Menominee Commandery, Knights Templars and Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Marquette, Michigan.
In December 1873 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wells to Miss Isabella Crawford, who was born in the Province of New Bruns- wick, Canada, and who is a daughter of the late Daniel Crawford, a native of Scotland. Mrs. Wells died July 23, 1910, after an illness of several years. Mrs. Wells had long been a prominent and loved figure in the social life of Menominee and she was a devout member of the Presbyterian church of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Wells have had six children, namely : Florence A. Law, a resident of Menominee, Daniel, formerly First Lieutenant, Thirtieth U. S. Volunteers and a veteran of the Spanish war who resides in Detroit; Artemus C., who resides in Menominee; Edna B. Walsh, who resides in Honghton, Michigan ; Alfred T., who was drowned in August, 1900, and Ralph W., who is superintendent of White Pine Lumber Co., operating at Blind River, Canada.
ARTEMUS C. WELLS .- No resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michi- gan more fully merits the title of captain of industry than does Mr. Wells, who is identified with business and industrial enterprises of wide scope and importance and who has well upheld the prestige of
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the honored name which he bears. He resides in the city of Menom- inee, of which he is a native son, and he is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the state with whose de- velopment and upbuilding his father was long prominently identified. On other pages of this work appears a sketch of the career of the father, John W. Wells, and in view of this fact, it is not necessary to repeat the data in the present article. Artemus C. Wells is vice- president and general manager of the J. W. Wells Lumber Com- pany, of Menominee; the Bird & Wells Lumber Company, of Wau- saukee, Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin & Northwestern Railroad Com- pany. He is treasurer of the White Pine Lumber Company of Me- nominee, carrying on extensive operations in Ontario, Canada, and is assistant general manager of both the Girard Lumber Company of this city and of the Dunbar & Wausaukee Railway Company, whose head- quarters are in Menominee. Other important interests with which he is identified are those represented by the Richardson Shoe Company, the Lumbermen's National Bank of Menominee, and the Floyd Manu- facturing Company, in each of which he is a director. Mr. Wells was born in the city of Menominee on the 15th of September, 1877, to whose public schools he is indebted for his early educational discipline. At the age of twenty-one years he was matriculated in Hamilton Col- lege, at Clinton, New York, and in which he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1899, and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then became actively associated with his father's extensive operations in the lumber business, with which he has since been identified, and his marked ability and administrative powers have found ample scope for effective manifestation in con- nection with the management of the various other large corporate interests with which he is concerned, of which mention is made in the opening paragraph of this sketch. He is an aggressive, vital and enterprising business man of the younger generation and has wielded much influence in connection with the carrying forward of the large and important industries with which he is identified. In politics Mr. Wells is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Re- publican party though he has never sought official preferment, and in the Masonic fraternity his affiliations are with Menominee Lodge, No. 269, Free and Accepted Masons; Menominee Chapter, No. 107, Royal Arch Masons and Menominee Commandery, No. 35, Knights Templars.
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