Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 42

Author:
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 966

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GEORGE W. DICKINSON.

As long as history endures will the American nation acknowledge its indebted- ness to the heroes who, between 1861 and 1865. fought for the preservation of the Union and the honor of that starry banner which has never been trailed in the dust of defeat in a single polemic struggle in which

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the country has been involved. Among those whose military records as valiant sol- diers of the war of the Rebellion reflect last- ing honor upon them and their descendants, is the subject of this sketch, who is one of the honored and influential citizens of Em- met county, of which he may well be termed a pioneer, and who is now incumbent of the office of county clerk, his residence being in Petoskey.

Colonel Dickinson is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Trum- bull county, Ohio, on the 5th of October, 1841, and being a- son of Elisha and Caro- line (Bates) Dickinson. Elisha Dickinson was born in Connecticut, the family having been founded in New England in the colon- ial epoch of our national history, and he ac- companied his parents to Ohio in his youth, the family being numbered among the pio- neers of Trumbull county, where he con- tinued to be engaged in agricultural pur- suits during his entire active career. He died in Harbor Springs, Michigan, while visiting in the home of his only son, the subject of this review, on the 3d of Novem- ber, 1893, at the venerable age of eighty- three years. He was a son of Phillip Dick- inson, who likewise was a native of Connec- ticut and who died in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1858. The mother of Colonel Dick- inson was born in the state of New York and her parents were also early settlers in Ohio. She died at the old homestead, in Trumbull county, that state, in 1884, hav- ing become the mother of one son and two daughters, of whom our subject was the second in order of birth.

Colonel Dickinson passed his boyhood days on the old honiestead farm, where he waxed strong in mind and body under the sturdy discipline involved, while his educa-

tional advantages were such as were af- forded in the common schools of the locality and period. He was assisting in the man- agement of the home farm at the time of the climacteric epoch which culminated in the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, and even before war was declared he had ten- dered his services to the government, be- ing at the time not yet twenty years of age. On the 15th of July, 1860, he enlisted in the regular army, being assigned to Battery E, Third United States Light Artillery, with which he served until March 5, 1862, when he received 'his honorable discharge. Upon leaving the regular army the Colonel became identified with the recruiting service in Cleveland, Ohio, where, on the 15th of Oc- tober, 1862, he was commissioned second lieutenant of the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. On the 29th of the following Jan- uary he was promoted captain, and on the 25th of July, 1864, received commission as major, while on the 12th of the following November he was made lieutenant colonel in his command, being mustered out as such shortly before the close of the war, and hav- ing received his honorable discharge on the 20th of February, 1865, on account of disa- bility. He took part in a number of the im- portant battles of the great internecine con- flict, among the more noteworthy being the following named : Bristow Station, Sul- phur Springs, Mine Run, Todd's Tavern, Bottom Bridge, Cold Harbor, St. Mary's church, Malvern Hill and Weldon Railroad. He was through the Wilderness campaign and took part in the ever-memorable battle of Gettysburg, while his fidelity to duty was proverbial and his enthusiasm unflagging, so that he ever held the high regard of those in his command.

After the close of his military service

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Colonel Dickinson returned to Trumbull county, where he was engaged in farming for the following year. He then removed to Warren, that state, where he conducted a successful enterprise in dealing in coal until 1870, in which year he was elected sheriff of Trumbull county, retaining this office four years. In May, 1875, he came to Har- bor Springs, Michigan, and in the following year erected the Emmet House, which hotel he successfully conducted for several years, after which he engaged in the livery busi- ness. . In 1880 the Colonel was elected sheriff of Emmet county, giving a most able administration and being chosen as his own successor two years later, so that he served four consecutive years. In 1894 he was elected county clerk, and by successive re- elections he has ever since continued incum- bent of the office, whose affairs he has handled with utmost ability and discrimina- tion, so that his tenure of the same is prac- tically certain to continue so long as he is willing to serve, as his friends and well wish- ers comprise practically the entire popu- lace of the county. In politics Colonel Dick- inson has been from his youth a stanch ad- vocate of the principles of the Republican party, and in Emmet county he has been an active and effective worker in its cause. Fraternally we find the Colonel most con- sistently identified with I. B. Richardson Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic, which he has served as commander for sev- eral years, and he is also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degrees, and also with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias.

Colonel Dickinson was first married in 1862, in Trumbull county, Ohio, where he wedded Miss Agnes Elder. The wife of

his youth remained by his side for thirty years, her death occurring in Harbor Springs, on the 2d of October, 1893. She was a woman of gentle and gracious char- acter and was a consistent member of the Disciple church. She is survived by three daughters, Caroline M., who is the wife of Wade B. Smith, of Petoskey; Margaret, who is the wife of Walter Tillitson, of Pe- toskey, and Susan G., who is the wife of Dr. Hugh W. Dicken, of East Jordan. On December 17, 1895, Colonel Dickinson was united in marriage to Mrs. Sarah M. (Hill) Rigg, who was born and reared in Ohio and who was the widow of the late Richard Rigg, of Harbor Springs.

JAMES BUCKLEY.

Not to know Mr. Buckley is to argue oneself unknown in Emmet county, for he is one of the honored pioneers and represen- tative citizens of this section of the state, has been prominently identified with the material and civic advancement and upbuild- ing of the county and the city of Petoskey and has ever stood for loyal and public-spir- ited citizenship, so that he has naturally been called upon to serve in positions of public trust and responsibility, being at the present time postmaster of the city of Petoskey, where his hosts of friends stand evidence of the esteem in which he is held in the com- munity in which he has so long made his home.

Mr. Buckley is a native of the old Wol- verine state, having been born in its metrop- olis, the beautiful city of Detroit, on the 19th of December, 1840, and being a son of Dan- iel and Ann Buckley, both of whom passed

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the closing years of their lives in Michigan, the father having been a farmer by vocation. When our subject was a child of about three months his parents removed from Detroit to Paw Paw, Van Buren county, and in that locality he was reared to manhood, securing his educational discipline in the common schools and growing up under the invig- orating influences of the farm, while he also worked to a considerable extent at the car- penter's trade. When the clouds of civil war obscured the national horizon Mr. Buckley gave evidence of his intrinsic loy- alty by tendering his services in defense of the Union, and he continued in service until victory had crowned the Union arms and in- sured the integrity of the nation, while it may be consistently said that the history of his command is the history of his military career. Mr. Buckley enlisted in August, 1862, in Company C, Fourth Michigan Vol- unteer Cavalry, and he participated in many of the most important battles and campaigns of the great fratricidal conflict. While with his regiment in the rear of Atlanta, before the capitulation of the city, he was wounded in the left side, by a minie ball, and this in- jury incapacitated him for active duty for the ensuing six months, at the expiration of which he rejoined his command. He received his honorable discharge July I, 1865, and then returned to his home in Van Buren county, where he engaged in teaching school during the winter months and in car- penter work during the summer seasons. In 1867 he completed a course of study in the Eastman Business College in the city of Chicago, and soon afterward went to Kan- sas, where he remained a few months. He then returned to Van Buren county, where he continued to reside about one year, and

then, in June, 1870, came to the northern part of the state, making his headquarters in Big Rapids and being identified with the lumbering business, as foreman in various camps, for about four years following. In- 1874 he came to Petoskey, which was then but a straggling village along the shores of the bay, and hence he engaged in business as a carpenter and builder, in which line he continued operations until 1878. He then associated himself with George A. Mosher and established the Petoskey Record, being identified with the publication of this paper somewhat less than a year, when he dis- posed of his interest in the same, having been elected to the office of register of deeds of Emmet county, in which position he served four years. Within this interval he also established himself in the hardware business in Petoskey, and with this branch of enterprise he has since been identified, save for an interim of about two years. For somewhat more than a decade he also oper- ated a hardwood factory at Clarion, Charle- voix county. He was first appointed post- master of Petoskey in 1890, by President Harrison, retaining the incumbency four years. In 1898 the late lamented President Mckinley reappointed him postmaster, and he has served consecutively since that time, having been reappointed by President Roosevelt in 1902. Mr. Buckley has the distinction of having been the first mayor of Petoskey, and for about eleven years he was supervisor of Bear Creek township, while he has also served in various other offices, including those of township clerk and high- way commissioner, and has ever shown himself a stanch supporter of all measures and projects tending to further the general welfare and progress. In politics he gives

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an unwavering allegiance to the Repub- lican party, being one of its wheelhorses in this section of the state. As candidate of his party he was the first person to be elected register of deeds of Emmet county. In a fraternal way we find Mr. Buckley prominently identified with the Lombard Post, No. 170, Department of Michi- gan, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is past commander, and also with the Masonic order, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. For ten years he was eminent commander of Ivanhoe Commandery. No. 36, Knights Templar, while he is past high priest of Em- met Chapter, No. 104. Royal Arch Masons, and past master of Durand Lodge, No. 344, Free and Accepted Masons. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and exalted ruler of the same. In a political way it may be further said that Mr. Buckley has been an active worker in the ranks of the Republi- can party for fully a quarter of a century, while he is well fortified in his convictions as to matters of public policy and thus ex- erts his influence in a potent and helpful way. He has served several terms as chair- man of the county central committee of his party and has been otherwise prominent in its maneuvers and campaigns.

In his home city of Petoskey, on the 14th of December, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Buckley to Miss May Rowan, who was born in Illinois, and they have one son, Paul, who is a graduate in the law department of the University of Michi- gan, as a member of the class of 1905, and who is now engaged in the practice of his profession in Petoskey.

ELMER R. GOLDSMITH.

The beautiful city of Petoskey, known throughout the Union as one of the most attractive of the many beautiful summer re- sorts of Michigan, also has claim to priority as a business center and most desirable per- manent place of residence. Here are found represented varied lines of industrial and commercial enterprise, and the town is not denied the proper facilities and advantages afforded by the press, of which the subject of this brief sketch was a leading factor, be- ing lately a member of the firm of Churchill & Goldsmith, editors and publish- ers of the Petoskey Independent and the Petoskey Evening News and Resorter.

Elmer Rufus Goldsmith was a native of the state of Ohio, having been born at Over- peck, just beyond the corporate limits of the city of Hamilton, Butler county, on the 13th of March, 1870, and being a son of Chris- tian and Barbara Goldsmith, both American born, of French and German extraction. The subject secured his preliminary educa- tional discipline in the public schools, and at the age of eighteen years became a student in the National Normal University, at Leb- anon, Ohio, while later he continued his studies in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. He initiated his ac- tive and independent career by teaching school in the suburbs of the famous college town, Oxford, Ohio, and at the age of twenty years he was in charge of the village school at Collinsville, Ohio, where he had been a student only a few years previously. Before he had attained to the age of twen- ty-four years Mr. Goldsmith was elected principal of the Columbian school in the city of Hamilton, being at that time the

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youngest principal in that city. He retained this incumbency six years and made a spe- cially excellent record in the educational field. At the expiration of the period noted he re- signed his position for the purpose of en- gaging in the newspaper business in Petos- key, where he afterward maintained his home and where he gained distinctive popu- larity in both business and social circles. Here he entered into partnership with C. E. Churchill, under the firm name of Churchill & Goldsmith, publishing the Pe- toskey Independent, a weekly edition, and the Petoskey Evening News & Resorter, which is issued as a daily, having a large circulation in the various attractive resorts about the famous Little Traverse bay and other towns and resorts in this section of the state. The concern does a general printing and publishing business and have one of the best plants to be found in northern Michi- gan, the firm having purchased the Hon. Charles S. Hampton's entire printing busi- ness on the Ist of April, 1900, since which time the enterprise has notably expanded in scope and importance.

Mr. Goldsmith first came to Petoskey as a summer visitor, in 1888, and continued to be greatly interested in the city after that time. In 1896 he became a member of the editorial staff of the Daily Resorter, then owned by Mr. Hampton, and he continued his efforts in this capacity during the sum- mer months until he became associated in the ownership of the business, as has been noted. In politics Mr. Goldsmith was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and was a prominent and valued member of the First Presbyterian church at Petoskey, of whose board of trus- tees he was a member. He was also a mem- ber of the Petoskey board of trade and a

trustee of Lockwood hospital, while fra- ternally he was identified with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters and the Order of American Woodmen. Mr. Goldsmith's death occurred on June 23, 1904.

On the 7th of June, 1892, Mr. Gold- smith was united in marriage to Miss Kath- erine Sommer, who had been one of his playmates in his boyhood days, and the at- tractive home in Petoskey is a center of gracious hospitality.

JOSEPH C. BONTECOU.

One of the conspicuous and honored fig- ures in the history of Emmett county, where he maintained his home for more than two score of years, was Captain Joseph Connable Bontecou, the honored editor and publisher of the Petoskey Record and one of the city's most loyal and public-spirited citizens. He was a man whose life was directed along a lofty plane of thought and action, inviting the closest scrutiny and offering a lesson to all who have appreciation of the ethical values in the scheme of human existence. He passed to his reward on Friday, the 25th of March, 1904, rich in honors and respect which ever follow an upright life that has been true to its ideals and to its maximum possibilities, and thus to his death came a crown to a worthy life, though he was sum- moned from the scene of earth's endeavors in the full power of his strong and noble manhood. Captain Bontecou never lacked the courage of his convictions, but a lively human sympathy, unvarying kindliness and an abiding charity were dominating ele- ments in his composition, softening and glo-

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rifying his life in every phase. It is fitting that in this volume be entered a memoir to this good man and true.

Joseph Connable Bontecou was born in the city of Bristol, Rhode Island, on the 5th of November, 1838, being a son of Rev. James Clark and Abby (Connable) Bontecou, the former of whom was born in New Haven, Connecticut, July 11, 1803, and the latter in Bernardston, Massachusetts, while the respective ancestral lines were traced back to French and English extraction. The original progenitors of the Bontecou family in America came to New York in 1689, in company with other French Hugue- not refugees from France, and from the first representatives of the name seem to have been actively identified with local civic and church affairs and to have exerted marked influence in their respective com- munities in the succeeding generations. Many of the name followed the seafaring life, sailing from various New England ports. At the time of the birth of the sub- ject of this memoir his father, Rev. James Clark Bontecou, was a member of the New England conference of the Methodist Epis- copal church, but in the following year he was transferred to the Cincinnati, Ohio, conference with which he continued to be identified until the time of his death, having been a man of simple and noble faith and of high scholarship for his day.

Captain Bontecou passed his boyhood in the various places in southern Ohio to which his honored father was assigned in his cler- ical office, and his early educational disci- pline was received in the common schools, while he had the further advantages of a cultured and refined home. He later prose- cuted his higher studies in the Ohio Wes- leyan University, at Delaware, and the Mi-

ami University, at Oxford, Ohio, in the meanwhile engaging in teaching at intervals. Such a nature as his could not fail to mani- fest a repugnance to human slavery and to the sentiment which brought about a seces- sion of the southern states, and thus his sympathies were given unequivocally to the Union cause when the integrity of the na- tion was thrown into jeopardy through armed rebellion. At the time of President Lincoln's first call for volunteers Captain Bontecou was an undergraduate in the Ohio Wesleyan University, but he subordinated all else to go forth in defense of the Union. Concerning his military career we quote from an article published at the time of his death in the paper of which he was so long the editor and publisher :

"Responding to the President's first call for troops, he enlisted in the Second Ken- tucky Infantry, which, being disowned by the state, on the ground of the state's neu- trality, was accepted by the general govern- ment as three-year troops and sent to West Virginia in June, 1861. While in Tennes- see he was taken prisoner and was confined in Macon, Georgia, Salisbury, North Caro- lina, and in Libby prison, at Richmond, Vir- ginia. After his exchange he resigned his commission in the Second Kentucky and re- turned home to regain his shattered health. He very soon re-enlisted, in the Tenth Ohio Independent Battery, from which he was mustered out in August, 1865, at the close of the war. During his entire subsequent life the veterans of the Civil war have been very near his heart, and while he had many friends among those who fought on the other side. he was from first to last a loyal Grand Army man. He served the depart- ment of Michigan in various capacities, and when the encampment was held in Petoskey

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was elected senior vice commander." It should be farther said in a supplemental way that soon after his enlistment Captain Bontecou was made second lieutenant of his company and later first lieutenant, hav- ing been assigned to staff duty as lieutenant. After the fall of Corinth he went with Nel- son's division to Murfreesborough, and while guarding a railroad south of Nash- ville, Tennessee, he was captured by forces under command of General N. B. Forrest, being thereafter imprisoned for eight months. Of his further career as a soldier mention has been made above, and it should be noted that he was ever found at the post of duty, participating in many spirited and sanguinary engagements and proving a real and loyal son of the republic.

After the close of the war Captain Bon- tecou located in the city of Chicago, where he gave his attention for some time to the study of the law, being also engaged in the insurance business. He never applied for admission to the bar, but became interested in business affairs and traveled in a com- mercial way for a number of years. In 1870 he settled in Jackson, Michigan, where he continued to make his home and business headquarters until 1883, in March of which year he effected the purchase of the Petos- key Record, of which he thereafter contin- ued editor and publisher until his death. Of him the Petoskey Evening News spoke as follows at the time of his death: "He dis- played great ability as a writer and ex- pressed himself ably and fearlessly on all public questions, with a candor which com- manded respect from all. One of the de- ceased's closest friends, who had been inti- mately associated with him for more than , ant in his views and having the deepest rev- twenty years, said : 'Captain Bontecou was a strong man. He was one of the best

friends I ever had.' And so it was. His great energy, his honesty of purpose, his indomitable will power in upholding the right as he saw it, and fearlessly battling against what he construed to be evil, are virtues which will ever stand out brightly in the contemplation of his life."

Captain Bontecou's health had been much impaired for several years prior to his demise, his failing vitality resulting from the organic difficulties superinduced by the privations and hardships of his service dur- ing the Civil war, and he bore his sufferings with characteristic courage, never com- plaining and ever seeking to avoid the dis- quieting of those nearest and dearest to him, for his great heart and noble mind shone most beautifully within the sacred precincts of his home, which was the center of his am- bitions, hopes and affection. He was a man of distinctive individuality, well fortified convictions and high intellectuality, and in all the relations of life he was ever found to be true and well worthy of the confidence so freely and uniformly reposed in him. He did much for Petoskey through varied ave- nues of usefulness, and his name merits a high place on the roll of the city's honored men. In politics he was ever a stalwart ad- vocate of the principles of the Republican party, and he did much to further its cause both in a personal way and through his able and timely editorial utterances. For both himself and his paper his motto was, "Republican in politics; independent in opinion." In early life he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but in later years was not formally identified with any religious body. being broad and toler- erence for the spiritual verities, and order- ing his life upon the strictest principles of

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF

integrity and conscientious personal exac- tion. He was one of the most popular and honored members of Lombard Post, No. 170, Department of Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic, and was also affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees.

On the Ist of June, 1870, at Macon, this state, Captain Bontecou was united in marriage to Miss Maria Oven, who was born in Herefordshire, England, being a daughter of John and Margaret (Eckley) Oven, who came to the United States when she was a child. Captain and Mrs. Bonte- cou became the parents of one daughter, Margaret C., who remains with her mother in the beautiful home in Petoskey.

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 42

Author: Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 966

Author:
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 966