USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 61
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
Born in Mifflin, Juniata county, Pennsylvania, in 1846, William W. Henderson served an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade when young, and was busy at the bench day after day until August 11, 1864, when, at the age of eighteen years, he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for a period of three months, at the end of which time, on November 11, 1864, he was honorably discharged from the army. On February 16, 1865, he enlisted in Company G, Two Hundred and Thirteenth Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until after the close of the war, receiving his honorable discharge from the service November 16,
RENundunion
5
1489
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
1865. Returning to Mifflin, he continued at his trade until 1876, when he located at Maple Ridge, Delta county, Michigan, where he was engaged in farming until 1880. He then located in Waucedah, a new but flourishing town, and there followed his trade for awhile. Going from there to Keel Ridge, he was employed in firing an engine at the mine until accidentally killed while on duty. Mr. Henderson married Antoinette De Beque, who was born at St. Johns, New Bruns- wick. Her father, Enoch De Beque, was born in Canada, of English ancestry. He lived several years in New Brunswick, moving from there to Canada, thence coming to Maple Ridge, Delta county, Mich- igan, where he purchased land, and was for a number of years en- gaged in lumbering. He subsequently retired from active pursuits, settling in Escanaba, Michigan, where both he and his wife spent the closing years of their lives, both passing away at a good old age. Her maiden name was Mary Porter. Mrs. Antoinette (De Beque) Henderson survived her husband, and is now living in Detroit, Mich- igan. She has four children, namely : Robert C., the subject of this sketch ; Nellie, wife of Stephen Weston, of Brighton, Michigan ; Mabel, wife of Dr. M. P. Tolliver, of Bedford, Indiana; and Enoch, a mining engineer, was graduated from the Michigan School of Mines, and is now superintendent of the Franklin Mining Company in Houghton county.
Having laid a substantial foundation for his future education in the public schools, Robert C. Henderson began when but fifteen years old to read law in the office of Hon. Richard C. Flannigan, in Nor- way, Michigan, and subsequently entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated with the class of 1894. Returning to Norway, Mr. Henderson opened a law office, and has since been here actively and successfully engaged in the practice of his profession, having built up an excellent patronage.
Mr. Henderson married, in 1890, Catherine Burns, who was born in Rockland, Ontonagon county, Michigan, a daughter of the late Christopher Burns, who was born in Ireland, came to this country prior to his marriage, locating first in Ontonagon county, and here marrying Mary Burns, also a native of the Emerald Isle. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson have three children, Margaret C., Richard R., and Robert W. Politically Mr. Henderson is identified with the Repub- lican party, and in 1908 was elected prosecuting attorney. He is an active member of the Masonic Order, belonging to Norway Lodge, No. 362, F. & A. M .; and to Iron Mountain Chapter, No. 121, R. A. M.
HECTOR F. REID .- The founder and the principal of Reid's College of Business, in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, merits a tribute of honor for the excellent work he has accomplished in the cause of practical education and against many obstacles he has persistently followed out a definite purpose with the result that he has succeeded in building up a business college that takes precedence over all others in the Upper Peninsula. The institution is metropolitan in all its facilities and equipments, has the best of instructors in the various departments and is proving a most valuable adjunct to the educational system of the northern section of the state. Hector Franklin Reid, who is principal of the institution which bears his name, was born at Erin, province of Ontario, Canada, on the 21st of November, 1875, and is a son of Peter and Margaret (McClellan) Reid, the former of whom was born in Scot- land in 1843, and the latter in Wellington, province of Ontario, where their marriage was celebrated. They now reside at Grand Valley, On-
1490
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
tario, and of their three children the subject of this sketch was the firstborn; Catherine died at the age of six years and Jessie is the wife of Thomas J. Reith. Peter Reid is a son of Archibald and Jeanette Reid, both representatives of highland Scotch ancestry and they came to America when the son Peter was a mere child. Archibald Reid was a man of excellent education and had been a successful schoolmaster in the city of Glasgow prior to his removal to America. In his native land he also learned the trades of carpenter and cabinet-maker. In the early '40s he came with his wife and three children-Archibald, Jr., John and Peter-to America and they remained a short time in the city of Toronto. He removed to Wellington county, Ontario, where he re- claimed a farm from the wilderness and became one of the influential pioneers of that section of the state. Two children were born after the family emigration to America,-Flora and Donald. The family have been representatives of the strict Scotch Presbyterian faith and in vari- ous generations have been men of sterling integrity and women of gentle and gracious character. Peter Reid was reared to maturity on the home farm in Wellington county, Ontario, and received a good, common- school education. He continued to be actively identified with the great basic industry of agriculture in Ontario until 1900, when he removed from his farm to Grand Valley, this province, where he has since been engaged in the hay and grain business. He and his wife are devout members of the Presbyterian church and he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of the United Workmen.
To the sturdy discipline of the home farm Hector F. Reid was reared and after completing the curriculum of the district schools he continued his studies in the high school at Orangeville, Ontario. Thereafter he was engaged in teaching in the common schools for some time and meanwhile he entered the National Business College, in the city of Mon- treal, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1898. Thereafter he continued actively engaged in teaching in the public schools until 1900, when he located in Sault Ste. Marie and ef- fected the organization and founding of Reid's College of Business, of which he has since been the executive head and to the upbuilding of which he has brought his splendid technical and administrative abilities. In the earlier stages of his work he encountered many serious obstacles but his courage and ambition never flinched and he has had the satis- faction of proving that his work was well done when he thus attempted to build up a high grade business college in this section of the state. The institution now gives instruction to an average of from two hun- dred and fifty to three hundred students each year and the business is consistently expanding in scope and importance. Mrs. Reid has proved a valuable coadjutor to her husband in his work and is a specially tal- ented musician. She was afforded the advantages of the best music schools of Detroit, Michigan, and Toronto, Canada, and she is a most successful vocal teacher in Sault Ste. Marie, where she finds constant and large demands upon her time in this direction. She is the soprano soloist of the choir of the Methodist Episcopal church in Sault Ste. Marie, and of the same choir her husband is likewise a member. Both of them are zealous members of this church and he is a Republican in his political proclivities, besides which he is identified with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
On the 2d of January, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Reid to Miss Estelle E. Oster, who was born in the city of Toronto, Canada, and who is the daughter of Michael and Emma ( Watson) Oster, the former of whom died in 1906, at the age of fifty-eight years,
1491
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
and the latter now resides in Sault Ste. Marie. The parents were both natives of the eastern part of the province of Ontario and there the father was identified with farming and stock-growing until 1898, when he removed to Chippewa county, where he was engaged in dairy farm- ing until the time of his death. He and his wife became the parents of six children, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Reid have no children.
REV. TIMOTHY MALONE, S. J., has been a prominent factor in the educational work as well as in the priesthood of the Catholic church, and is now in charge of the important parish of St. Mary's church in the city of Sault Ste. Marie, where he has three clerical assistants and is executive head of the parochial school and Loretto Academy for young ladies. He has labored with all of consecrated zeal in both the ecclesiastical and educational fields and his labors have been prolific in good.
Father Malone was born in Durham county, Ontario, Canada, on the 23d of May, 1868, and after preliminary discipline in the public and parochial schools he continued his academic studies in St. Jerome Col- lege, Berlin, Ontario, where he remained for a period of years. In 1889 he entered the Montreal Diocesan Theological College, in the city of Montreal, in which he was graduated. At a later period he was a teacher in this well-known institution and after leaving the same he continued his studies in St. Michael's College, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto. After spending some time in this college he returned to Montreal, where he was a teacher in the diocesan theo- logical college for three years. The following two years he was engaged in teaching in St. Andrew's College at Poughkeepsie, New York, and he then returned to Montreal, where he was ordained to the priesthood of the great mother church on the 29th of June, 1901. He is a mem- ber of the Jesuit Order. After his ordination Father Malone became treasurer of the diocesan college in Montreal and he also served as chap- lain of the Catholic Sailors' Club, as well as of the Montreal Royal Hos- pital. He retained this incumbency for three years, at the expiration of which, on the 15th of August, 1907, he assumed the position of priest in charge of his present important parish in Sault Ste. Marie. This is one of the most vital and important parishes in the entire Upper Peninsula and the parochial school has a membership of more than four hundred stu- dents. Loretto Academy is one of the finest schools for young women in the entire Union, and in the work of this noble institution Father Malone takes special interest and pride. The attendance at the academy at the present time is about one hundred and thirty students. His activity and zeal are unceasing in all departments of church work and he has the earnest co-operation as well as the affectionate regard of his flock. He has made the boy's club of his parish one most effective in discipline and facilities and by means of the same the boys of the parish are banded together in generous and grateful association of a beneficent order. The club rooms have a fine library and gymnasium, in which latter a com- petent instructor is retained. Father Malone is not only a man of high mental attainments and excellent executive ability bnt he is also en- dowed with those gracious attributes and that tolerant spirit that ever beget public esteem. He is held in high regard by the entire community and as a citizen he gives his aid and influence in support of all measures tending to advance the general welfare.
Father Malone is a son of John and Catherine (Ryan) Malone, the former of whom was born in the city of Toronto, Canada, and the latter
1
1492
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
in county Tipperary, Ireland. Of the eight children all are living ex- cept one and Father Malone and his brother John are twins. One brother, Rev. James P., is parish priest of St. John's church, in the city of New Orleans. The venerable father of the subject of this sketch devoted the major part of his active career to agricultural pursuits, with which he was identified until 1909, since which time he has lived retired at St. Catherines, Ontario. Both he and his wife are most de- vout communicants of the Catholic church and have long been active in its work.
JOHN HENES .- By his presentation to the city of Menominee of the beautiful park that bears his name, Mr. Henes shall long be remembered as one of the city's most generous benefactors, but this represents only a tithe of the able and effective service he has rendered in connection with the civic and material progress and development of the city whose every interest lies close to his heart. He has achieved pronounced suc- cess through his own well directed endeavors, is numbered among the most prominent and influential business men of the city, and his ster- ling personal characteristics have gained and retained to him the un- equivocal confidence and esteem of the community. He is secretary and treasurer of the Leisen & Henes Brewing Company, one of the extensive and important industrial concerns of Menominee; is vice-president of the First National Bank, the Richardson Shoe Company and the Me- nominee River Sugar Company, and was one of the interested principals in the erection of the Leisen & Henes block, one of the finest business structures in Menominee. He has other important capitalistic interests in his home city, and in every way he has done well his part in pro- moting its upbuilding and civic and commercial prosperity.
John Henes was born in Gammertingen, Hohenzollern, Germany, on the 6th of January, 1852, and is a son of Eusebius and Ursula (Goeggel) Henes, both of whom were likewise natives of Gammertingen, where they continued to reside until 1884, when they came to America and joined their son John in Menominee, where they passed the re- mainder of their lives. They became the parents of three children,-An- ton, who is now a resident of Seymour, Wisconsin ; John, who is the imme- diate subject of this review ; and Mary, who is now Mrs. Kessler. Both of the parents were zealous members of the Catholic church. John Henes is indebted to the excellent schools of his native land for his early educa- tional discipline, and there also he learned in his youth the brewer's trade, under most effective conditions. At the age of nineteen years, in 1871, Mr. Henes came to America, as he felt assured of better oppor- tunities for gaining success through individual effort by making this important step. He landed in New York city and thence came west to Wisconsin, a state to whose development his countrymen have contrib- uted in most generous measure. He first located at Seymour, Outaga- mie county, that state, in which vicinity he was employed at farm work for a short interval, after which he went to the city of Milwaukee, where he followed the work of his trade until 1874. He then came to Me- nominee, Michigan, where he secured the position of brewmaster in the brewery of Adam Gauch. In 1876 he became associated with his father- in-law, Jacob Leisen, in the purchase of the Gauch brewery, and later they also purchased that conducted by George Harter. Thereafter they conducted the business under the firm name of Leisen & Henes until 1890, when the Leisen & Henes Brewing Company was organized and duly incorporated under the laws of the state. The company now has a large and essentially modern plant. and its products are of the highest
yourprmoiley
1493
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
excellence, as is shown in the large and appreciative patronage accorded to the institution. Concerning the enterprise further mention is made in the sketch of the career of Jacob Leisen, on other pages of this publi- cation. Careful and progressive management has enabled the company to build up a substantial and constantly expanding business which is a valuable contribution to the industrial prestige of Menominee. Mr. Henes is vice-president of each the First National Bank, the Menominee River Sugar Company and the Richardson Shoe Company, and the two concerns last mentioned are among the most important manufac- turing companies in this section of the state. Mr. Henes is also a mnem- ber of the directorate of Menominee & Marinette Light & Traction Company, supplying light and street car service to the "twin cities" on opposite shores of the Menominee river; he is a director of the Lloyd 'Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of wooden ware; is president of the Henes & Keller Company, manufacturers of a bottle- filling machine invented by him and utilized in the most diverse sections of the world, and for ten years, until 1905, he was a member of the board of control of the Michigan state penitentiary at Marquette. He served one term as alderman of the old Fifth ward of Menominee and later was supervisor of this ward. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Menominee county school of agriculture, and is a member of a number of the representative civic and fraternal organiza- tions of his home city, including the Menominee Turn Verein, of which he was president many years. In politics he is a staunch adherent of the Republican party.
The fine park presented to the city by Mr. Henes in 1907 is known as the John Henes park and comprises fifty acres of land. This bene- faction is one that will constitute an enduring monument to his gene- rosity and civic pride and that will ever be a source of pleasure to the citizens of Menominee. From a newspaper article are taken the follow- ing pertinent statements, which are well worthy of reproduction in this article: "Mr. Henes is one of Menominee's most sterling citizens. He has done much in the way of advancing the city's best interests along industrial lines, as well as taking great pride in the commercial and general growth of the city. He was largely interested in the erec- tion of the fine Leisen & Henes business block, and by promoting other enterprises he has added materially to the progress and prosperity of the community. His success is largely due to close application, keen discrimination and resolute purpose. By the presentation of the John Henes park to Menominee Mr. Henes takes a place among the city's greatest benefactors. His name will be remembered with love and ven- eration, and children of this generation and of generations yet to come will profit by his generosity and thoughtfulness."
On the 29th of January, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Henes to Miss Rosa Leisen, eldest daughter of that honored citizen of Menominee, Jacob Leisen, a review of whose career appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Henes have five children : Alfred A., Eme- line J., John E., Walter E. and Othmar H. The only daughter is now the wife of William Caley, and they reside near Denver, Colorado.
MATTHEW M. RILEY .- Holding and maintaining a high rank among the distinguished attorneys of the Northern Peninsula, Matthew M. Riley of Bessemer is widely known as a most successful corporation and mining lawyer, and as a member of the supreme courts of Mich- igan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, and likewise of the supreme courts of Mexico and of the United States. Active, ener-
1494
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
getic and brainy, he has by individual effort fought his way, steadily but surely, from the humble situation of water boy in a foundry to the proud position he now occupies among the foremost lawyers of our country. He was born February 22, 1852, in Susquehanna, Penn- sylvania. of Irish parentage.
Martin Riley, father of Matthew M., was born and bred in Ireland and as a young man was graduated from Trinity College. Married against the wish of his parents to a fair Irish lassie, he separated from his kins-people and came with his bride to the United States. He soon entered the employment of the Erie Railroad Company, with which he was associated during the remainder of his career, residing in Susquehanna until his death, while yet in the prime of life. His wife, whose maiden name was Ella Montington, survived him, living until seventy years of age. She reared five children.
At the age of nine years, owing to the ill health of his father, Mr. Riley was taken from school and set to work as water and core boy in the iron foundry of the Erie Railway. He subsequently served an apprenticeship in the moulder's trade, which he followed until twenty- two years of age. In the meantime, eager to obtain an education, he devoted his evenings to his books and at the age of fifteen years began studying law evenings in the office, first of Hon. M. J. Larrabee, and later in that of Little & Blakeslee, in Montrose. In February, 1875, Mr. Riley was admitted to the bar, but having neither clients nor in- fluential friends he resumed his trade for a short time. Subsequently as receiver for the Erie Railroad, Hugh J. Jewett selected Mr. Riley to inventory the railroad company's property in Pennsylvania, a posi- tion which occupied his time for a year or more. Opening then an office in Susquehanna, Mr. Riley practiced in the courts of that city and of Montrose, Scranton and elsewhere. In 1876 and 1878 he was chosen by the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania to debate the money question with representatives of the Greenback party, and in 1878 debated the question with William M. Mason, who was run- ning for Governor of Pennsylvania against Henry M. Hoyt. His speeches on a protective tariff were in 1892 republished by the Amer- ican Economist of New York and largely circulated.
Mr. Riley is the patentee of the device known as the combination steel railway tie and rail, and controls several patents relative to its manufacture. This device has been enthusiastically received at all railway conventions where exhibited and has been pronounced by rail- road men of note to be the rail and tie of the future. By its use the country could be saved the annual consumption of many billion feet of lumber.
Coming to Bessemer in 1886, Mr. Riley was here in partnership with Charles M. Howell, meeting with success. Upon the setting off of Gogebic county from Ontonagon he was appointed assistant pros- ecuting attorney and served in that capacity for four years, gaining valuable experience in the ways of the law. For a number of years thereafter he was attorney for all of the railways that came into Bessemer and with one exception was attorney for every mining com- pany in Gogebic and Ashland counties. Forming a partnership in 1888 with Samuel S. Cooper, now circuit judge, he continued in prac- tice with him seven years. Removing to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1895, Mr. Riley formed a partnership with three other members of the legal professions, Messrs. Sylvester, Scheiber & Orth, and established a fine practice. One of the more important cases with which he was there connected was the Plankington Bank case, in which he was
1495
THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
counsel for the creditors. While acting in that capacity Mr. Riley acquired far more than a state-wide reputation, when by using an apt quotation from the Bible to sustain his argument he won his case be- fore the supreme court of Wisconsin. He continued his practice in Milwaukee until 1906, when, having personal interests at Bessemer that demanded his attention, he returned to this city and has since remained here. In May, 1909, he formed a partnership with Levi S. Rice, under the firm name of Riley & Rice, and these gentlemen with other attorneys have offices in Duluth, Minnesota, and in Virginia, Minnesota, the firm name in those places being Riley, Goldberg & Classon. Mr. Riley makes a specialty of mining, corporation, con- stitutional and personal injury law, in which he is very successful, having the rare faculty of ably presenting his own side or extracting admissions from the opposing side, and of favorably impressing a jury. Mr. Riley has a remarkably retentive memory and consequently is ever ready with quotations befitting the occasion. He is a ready and graceful writer, both of prose and poetry, among his poems of note being one written at the birth of his first grandchild and one en- titled, "I am not old," which latter poem we here reproduce.
I am not old, although my hair is growing grey, Tinged by the frosts of age and years and not by fire. And although Time writes in deeper furrows on my brow The record of its flight, as days and years expire, I am not old.
I love and am beloved again and love is part of youth; I do my humble work as day by day at hand I see it near; I strive for good and seek to point the way to Right and Truth To rid the hearts of men in God's fair image made from baseness and from fear.
I am not old.
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.