USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people; its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume III > Part 64
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Mr. Grossbusch married, in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1871, Lena Melt-
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zer, who was born in Austria, and was the only member of her family to come to America. Mr. and Mrs. Grossbusch are the parents of six children, namely : Annie, Mary, Frank, Lena, Minnie, and Clara. Annie, wife of Tom Sheehan, has two children, John and Margaret Ann. Frank, a widower, has two children, Francis and Marie Genevieve. Minnie married Peter Broullin. Religiously Mr. Grossbusch and his family are members of the Roman Catholic church.
EDWARD DANIELL .- As secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Menominee Electric Light, Railway & Power Company, Mr. Daniell holds a position of prominence in local business circles and is a citizen who commands unequivocal confidence and esteem in the com- munity. He has achieved success through his own well directed efforts and is now one of the substantial business men of the Upper Peninsula.
Edward Daniell was born at Berehaven, County Cork, Ireland, on the 31st of January, 1859, and is a son of William and Abigail (Sulli- van) Daniell, the former of whom was born in England and the latter in Ireland. They located in Calumet, Michigan, many years ago and they are now living retired. They became the parents of eight chil- dren and death has never yet invaded the family circle. In 1860 Will- iam Daniell immigrated with his family to the United States, having previously been identified with mining operations in Ireland. He first embarked on a sailing vessel but the same was compelled to return to port on account of severe storms. Soon afterward the family embarked on a steamboat and by this means successfully completed their voyage to the new world. They landed in New York City and straightway started for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They established their residence in Calumet, Houghton county, where the parents have ever since maintained their home. During his entire active career after coming to Michigan the father was identified with the copper mining industry, in the employ of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company. For fully a quarter of a century he held the position of captain in one of the mines of the company at Calumet. Since 1904 he has lived vir- tually retired. He is a member of the lodge and chapter of the Ma- sonic fraternity in his home city and both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant-Episcopal church.
Edward Daniell, whose name initiates this review, was less than one year old at the time of the family immigration to America and he was reared to manhood in Calumet, Michigan, where he was af- forded the advantages of the public schools and where his early business training was in connection with the mine in which his father was employed. Later he served for a time as clerk in a mining office and afterward became a bookkeeper in the general store conducted by the
mining company at Calumet. At a still later period he was in the employ of John Bagley in connection with the latter's lumbering operations in the Upper Peninsula. He continued to be thus engaged until 1886, when he removed to Menominee county, where he became interested in a logging railroad with Mr. Bagley. In 1888 he was assigned the position of manager of the saw mill of the firm of Peters & Morrisson. In 1890 he removed to Arkansas where he was identified with the lumbering business for one year and upon his return to Menominee he assumed the management of the lumber business of the firm of Ramsey & Jones. In 1892 he became general manager of the Menominee Electric Light Railway & Power Company, which was or- ganized in that year by special enactment of the legislature. The two lines of business had previously been conducted separately. The rail-
I'Mambig
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way company was organized in 1891 and the electric-light company had been established about ten years previously. The present organization now controls the entire electric light and street railway systems of Menominee and the service in both departments of this business is of the best modern type. The president of the company is August Spies; G. A. Blesch is the vice-president and Edward Daniell, the subject of this sketch, is secretary, treasurer and general manager. He is a stock- holder of the First National Bank. In politics he accords stanch alle- giance to the cause of the Republican party and while he has never sought official preferment, he has taken a loyal interest in public affairs and as a citizen is essentially progressive and public-spirited. He is affiliated with Menominee Lodge, No. 269, Free and Accepted Masons; Menominee Chapter, No. 107, Royal Arch Masons; Menominee Com- mandery, No. 35, Knights Templar and Ahmed Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Marquette, Michigan.
On the 20th of October, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Daniell to Miss Caroline T. Roper, who was born at Glasgow, Missouri, on the 4th of July, 1863. The five children of this union are Earl, Vir- ginia E., Irving, Francis and Harris. Mrs. Daniell is a member of the Menominee Presbyterian church and, like her husband, is popular in the home community.
JOSEPH M. HAMBITZER .- The old saying that some men are born great, and that some men achieve greatness, is exemplified in the case of Joseph M. Hambitzer, of Houghton, who has climbed the ladder of attainments, step by step, through his own efforts, his undaunted courage, self-reliance and perseverance having won him success in life's battle. He was born, December 13, 1857, in Fond du Lac, Wis- consin, a son of Dr. William Hambitzer, a physician, who came to Michigan from his native place, Colon, Germany, in 1852.
Brought up in Grant county, Wisconsin, Joseph M. Hambitzer at- tended the village school at British Hollow until fourteen years of age, when he began work as errand boy in a dry goods store at Platteville, Wisconsin, where he remained two years. Coming then to Michigan, this brave lad sought employment in Hancock, and after looking about for awhile found nothing better than the position of a trammer in the concord mine, now a part of the Arcadian Copper Company's property. After running a drill there for six months, he became complete master of that implement, and was subsequently employed as a miner until 1878. Ambitious, however, to further ad- vance his education, Mr. Hambitzer then took up the study of arithmetic, grammar and history, and used his time and brain to such good purpose that in the fall of the same year he successfully passed the teacher's examination, securing a third grade certificate. The ensuing year he taught in Franklin township, receiving sixty- five dollars per month wages. Retiring from that profession, Mr. Hambitzer was clerk in the Hancock Post Office under Thomas N. Lee for three years, and the succeeding five years served as deputy postmaster under M. L. Cardell.
Taking up the study of law, Mr. Hambitzer read with Chandler, Grant & Gray for two years, when, in the fall of 1886, he was elected county treasurer of Houghton county, and served with such ability that in 1888 he was re-elected to the same responsible position without opposition. In the fall of 1892 Mr. Hambitzer was nominated for state treasurer of Michigan on the Republic ticket in opposition
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to the Republican State Committee, and won the election. In the spring of 1894, Mr. Hambitzer, in company with other members of the State Board of Canvassers, the secretary of state and the state land commissioner, was asked to resign his office as state treasurer for failing to discover that the tabulation of votes made in the state secretary's office had been padded and forged.
Refusing to accede to the demand made upon. him, Mr. Hambitzer fought the case in the Supreme Court and was defeated, that tribunal deciding that the governor was sole judge of what constituted a negligence for which he could remove state officials, and in March, 1894, resigned the state treasurership. Returning to Houghton, he remained there a brief time before going to Marquette, where he en- tered the law firm of Ball & Ball, in whose office he completed his law studies. On March 6, 1895, Mr. Hambitzer was admitted to the bar by Judge John W. Stone, and has since been actively and success- fully engaged in the practice of his profession at Houghton, where he has gained an extensive and remunerative clientele, being known as one of the leading attorneys of the Upper Peninsula. Previous to this time, from July 1, 1897, until July 5, 1899, he served as deputy oil inspector.
Mr. Hambitzer married, in 1882, at Hancock, Michigan, Emma Nichols, a daughter of Stephen Nichols, a carpenter boss in Quincy, Mich., and their two daughters, their only children, Blanche and Mabel, are students in the Chicago Conservatory of Music. Fra- ternally Mr. Hambitzer is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Order of Masons; of the Knights of Pythias; of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and of the Knights of the Maccabees.
CHARLES BRIGGS .- Calumet may well congratulate herself upon the possession of men such as Charles Briggs, president of the Merchants' & Miners' Bank, whose enlightened business methods and unswerving civic loyalty have in large measure contributed to the high standing which as a community this city enjoys. His presidency of the Mer- chants' & Miners' Bank dates from the year 1873, when the bank was organized. Mr. Briggs was born in Cincinnatus, Cortland county, New York, the date of his birth being November 12, 1837. His forbears were New Englanders, his father, Dr. Isaac Briggs, having been born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, while he is a direct descendant of the Aller- ton family, whose annals have added to the interest and lustre of that state.
When Charles Briggs was very young the family removed to Dry- den, in Tompkins county, New York, and in order that he might en- joy superior educational advantages, he was sent at the age of eight years to IIomer Academy, at Homer, New York. He pursued his studies there for a number of years and when he was in his fourteenth year, his uncle who operated a general store at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, of- fered him a position. as a clerk. This he accepted, remaining in such capacity for nine years. The trend of his future activities was deter- mined when he accepted a position as cashier in the Lake Geneva Bank, which he held for one year, although this is not to say that he confined himself to banking. Attracted by the possibilities afforded by the Up- per Peninsula of Michigan, he removed to Rockland in Ontonagon county and secured a position as bookkeeper in the general store of S. D. North. The following year he found himself in financial position to purchase a partnership in the concern, the name being changed to North & Briggs. Remarkable success was the portion of the new firm,
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this being, no doubt, in great part due to the unusual executive ability of the junior partner. The next year the branch store was started at the Quincy mine at Hancock and in 1868 they established a store at Calumet, closing the Rockland store. In 1870, a third store was brought into being at Lake Linden. Six years later the company was dissolved, Mr. Briggs taking the store at Calumet, Mr. North that at Quincy Mine, and the silent partner, William Harris, that at Lake Linden. Mr. Briggs took into association with him H. K. Cole and they, under the firm name of Briggs & Cole, enlarged the Hecla store. The partnership which lasted for a number of years was dissolved in 1884, when Mr. Cole withdrew, leaving Mr. Briggs sole proprietor. The business con- tinued without change until the fall of 1908 when Mr. Briggs disposed of the stock and retired from mercantile life.
Mr. Briggs was one of the principal organizers of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company and of Superior & Pittsburg Mining Com- pany. He is president of both these companies and devotes most of his time to their affairs; also president of the E. F. Sutton Company of Lake Linden and president of the Calumet Gas Company. Mr. Briggs has been president of all the above companies from their organization.
In 1879-80, he received the compliment of being sent as a member to the Michigan legislature. He is the stanch friend of the cause of education and for thirty years, from 1879 to 1909, has acted as trustee of the school district of Calumet township. From 1891 to 1895 he was president of the board and in the latter year assumed the position of secretary, again president of the board from 1903 to 1909, declining re-election to the board on account of his health. It is a matter of per- sonal gratification to him that his district, (District No. 1) is without doubt the largest township school district in the United States, in 1908 having 6,299 pupils enrolled, twenty school buildings, a general high school, a manual training school and a staff of one hundred and eighty- six teachers.
Mr. Briggs was married in 1865, at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Miss Sarah E. Hanna becoming his wife. They have one son, Charles Edwin Briggs, who is a practicing surgeon in Cleveland, Ohio. He is connected with the Lakeside Hospital in that city and the Rainbow Hospital for Children, and lectures at the medical college connected with Western Reserve University.
EDWARD PIERCE LOCKART, M. D .- A well known physician and sur- geon of Norway, Edward Pierce Lockart, M. D., has not only gained marked prestige in his profession, but is known as a progressive and public spirited citizen, ever ready to do his part in advancing the welfare of the community in which he lives. He was born, March 15, 1858, at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, being the third in direct line of descent to bear the name.
His grandfather, Edward Pierce Lockart, the first, was born at Glengarry, Scotland, of pure Scotch ancestry. Emigrating to Amer- ica, he settled in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and there followed his trade of a millwright the remainder of his life. One of his sons subsequently migrated to Houston, Texas, and there bought a planta- tion which he operated by slave labor until after the Civil war, when his former slaves remained with him, working the land on shares.
Edward Pierce Lockart, second, the doctor's father, was born, bred and educated in Crawford county, Pennsylvania. Going to Wisconsin when a young man, he located at Prairie du Chien, and for a time was connected with the garrison at Fort Crawford, subsequently serving
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as sheriff of Crawford county. After his marriage he moved to Chip- pewa Falls, locating there when all of that part of Wisconsin was a vast wilderness through which the Indians roamed. He put up a saw mill, which he operated by horse power, and there he and his wife, who was the only white woman within a radius of thirty miles, lived the simple life for a time. Returning to Prairie du Chien, he was there prosperously employed in the lumber business for a number of years, after which he removed to Chicago, where he lived retired until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years.
Edward Pierce Lockart, second, married Mrs. Esther Ann (Dand- ley) Lester, who was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Rev. Jesse and Sarah (Lane) Dandley, and widow of Robert Lester. Her father was born, it is thought, on the Isle of Ardmore, Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. Coming to this country, he settled in Pennsylvania, where he became a local preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist church, preaching in various places. He was subsequently one of a colony that migrated from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin, making the removal with flat boats, via the Ohio and Mississippi river to Prairie du Chien, each family taking a framed house as a part of its equipment. Taking up his residence in Prairie du Chien, he and his wife there spent their remaining years. Robert Lester was also a pioneer of that place, and one of the first sheriffs of Crawford county. While acting in that capacity, he was shot by an Indian while going down the Mississippi river in a canoe. His widow married Mr. Lockart, as above stated. Mr. Lockart was subsequently elected sheriff, and served several years. His widow survived him a short time, passing away in Chicago at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. She reared four children, all by her marriage with Mr. Lockart, namely: Mary, Wilhelmina, Mar- tha W., and Edward Pierce, third, the subject of this sketch.
After leaving the public schools of Prairie du Chien, Edward Pierce Lockart, third, continned his studies at Beloit College, after which he began the study of medicine with Dr. Darius Mason. He afterwards attended lectures at the Iowa Medical College, and in the spring of 1883 was graduated from the Columbia Medical Col- lege with the degree of M. D. The following September Dr. Lockart came to the Upper Peninsula, locating in Norway, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in the practice of his profes- sion. A few years after coming here, the doctor established a hospital, which was later destroyed by the cave in. IIe then erected his present hospital on Norway street. It is a commodious and substantial build- ing, conveniently arranged, and fitted with all the most modern equipments and appliances. In 1901 the Doctor opened a drug store at his old location, and in 1909 removed to his present quarters, where he has a well stocked, and a well patronized, drug store.
On October 23, 1902, Dr. Lockhart married Martha M. James, who was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Her father, Ebenezer James, was born in Philadelphia, of Quaker parents, and of English lineage, while her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Fletcher, was a native of Ohio. Dr. and Mrs. Lockart have three children, namely: Edward Pierce, fourth ; Martha ; and Esther. The doctor is prominent in med- ical organizations, belonging to the American Medical Society; to the Dickinson County Medical Society; to the Michigan State Medical Society ; and to the Upper Peninsula Medical Society. Fraternally he is a member of Norway Lodge, No. 362, F. & A. M .; of Iron Moun- tain Chapter, No. 121, R. A. M .; to Hugh MeCurdy Commandery, No. 43, K. T .; and to Ahmed Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, at
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Marquette. Politically he is a straightforward Republican, and has served as a member of the Board of Public Works, and as mayor of the city.
GUSTAVUS A. BLESCH .- The efficient and popular cashier of the First National Bank of Menominee has been a resident of this city since 1884 and he is a prominent figure in the financial circles of the Upper Penin- sula, where he is known as an administrative officer of great ability and perspicacity and where he holds a commanding position in popular confidence and esteem. He has thoroughly identified himself with the business and civic affairs of this section of the state, and his enterprise and progressive ideas have been potent in advancing the social and material upbuildng of the city in which he maintains his home. Here his interests are of wide scope and importance and he is one of the hon- ored and influential business men of Menominee. Gustavus A. Blesch was born in the first frame building erected on the west side of the Fox River at Fort Howard, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the date of his nativity was January 4th, 1859. He is a son of Francis and Antoinette (Schneider) Blesch, sterling pioneers of the Badger state. The father was born at historical old Bingen on the Rhine in 1834, and his death occurred in 1879, at Fort Howard, Wisconsin. His wife was born in the city of Brussels, Belgium, and still retains her home at Fort Howard, a place hallowed to her by the memories and associations of many years. Her marriage to Mr. Blesch was solemnized in the state of Penn- sylvania. Of the six children of this union, three are now living,- Clara, who is the wife of Charles W. Monroe, a representative member of the bar of the city of Chicago; Gustavus A., who is the immediate subject of this sketch; and Frank T., who is a successful business man of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The father was reared and educated in his native land and as a young man he came to America, making the voy- age on a sailing vessel and landing in the port of New York city. Thence he made his way to Pennsylvania, where he resided for a short time, within which he met the young woman who later became his wife. In 1848 he came to the West and located at Fort Howard, Wisconsin. In 1850 he returned to Pennsylvania, where his marriage was sol- emnized in that year. He forthwith came with his bride to his home in Fort Howard, Wisconsin, where he had established himself in the work of his trade, that of cooper. Later he erected and equipped the first brewery in that village, and the same was one of the first built in the the entire .state. He successfully conducted this institution until 1875, when he disposed of the property and business, after which he devoted the remainder of his active career to agricultural pursuits. In politics he was independent.
Gustavus A. Blesch secured his early educational discipline in the public schools of his native town and at the age of fifteen years he se- cured the position of office boy in the Kellogg National Bank of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in which institution he won promotion through faith- ful and efficient service and in which he became teller when but twenty years of age. He retained this office until the 18th of August, 1884, when he came to Menominee, Michigan, and effected the organization of the First National Bank, in the promotion of which he enlisted the support of representative capitalists and business men and the new banking house opened its doors for business on the 20th of November of that year. He has been cashier of this bank throughout the entire period of its existence, and it is uniformly conceded that much of its success is due to his able management of its affairs. The First National
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Bank of Menominee was originally incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars and in 1890 this was increased to one hundred thousand dollars. On the 1st of October, 1904, came further evidence of the splendid success of the institution, when its capital stock was in- creased to the noteworthy amount of two hundred thousand dollars. The bank is one of the strongest and best known in the Upper Peninsula and its annual transactions represent more than fifty million dollars. It first occupied quarters in the Stephenson hotel block, where the busi- ness was continued until May 3, 1909, when the bank was moved to its present splendid building, one of the finest structures erected for this purpose in the northwest. Mr. Blesch is recognized as a particularly discriminating and able financier, and his services in connection with the bank of which he is cashier have inured not only to the upbuilding of its substantial business but also to the commercial and industrial prestige of the city in which it is located. He is treasurer of the Menom- inee River Sugar Company, which has an extensive modern plant for the manufacture of beet sugar in Menominee; is president of the Menom- inee Brick Company; vice-president of the Menominee-Marinette Light & Traction Company, and is treasurer of the Peninsula Land Company. Besides which he is interested financially and in an executive capacity with various other enterprises which tend to conserve the advancement and prosperity of his home city and state. In politics he accords a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, and though he has never had aught of desire for political preferment, he has shown a loyal in- terest in public affairs, especially those of a local nature. He is at present president of the board of education of Menominee, this being the only public office in which he has consented to serve. In the Ma- sonic fraternity his affiliations are with Menominee Lodge, No. 269, Free & Accepted Masons; Menominee. Chapter, No. 107, Knights Tem- plar ; Ahmed Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Marquette. His church relations are with the Baptist denomination.
On the 15th of February, 1893, Mr. Blesch was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Grant Walton, who was born at Bloomington, Illinois, where her marriage was solemnized. Her parents, John T. and Susan E. (Kitchell) Walton, still reside in that city, where the father has lived virtually retired for the past twenty years, after having been a successful manufacturer of plows. Mr. and Mrs. Blesch have one son,- Francis Walton, who was born on the 10th of April, 1897, and is now attending the public schools of Menominee.
WILLIAM J. VIVIAN .- One of the representative citizens of Houghton county is he whose name initiates this review and in this compilation there is further propriety in according to him consideration by reason of the fact that he is a native son of the Upper Peninsula and a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families. He resides in the city of Houghton, where he is giving his supervision to his varied business and property interests.
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