Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 92

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

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REV. WILLIAM H. MCCARTNEY.

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assigned to the Army of the Potomac. Mr. McCartney remained a member of this com- pany and regiment until victory crowned the Union army and the great internecine con- flict was ended, having veteranized and re- enlisted at the expiration of his original term. He was for a time orderly sergeant at division headquarters, but save for this service and the time passed in hospital and prison, he was with his regiment in active duty during the entire period of his service. He was with the regiment as a participant in twenty-six battles, besides skirmishes of practically twice that number. He was wounded and captured on three different oc- casions and thus experienced his full share of the hardships and vicissitudes of the greatest civil war known in the annals of history. He was held in captivity at Belle Isle and Libby prisons, and for a time was in the Alabama hospital in the city of Rich- mond, being finally parolled or exchanged after each of his captures. At the time of his last capture by the enemy he weighed one hundred and eighty-seven pounds and after passing three and one-half months in one of the southern prison pens at this time he found his avoirdupois reduced to only eigh- ty-seven pounds. In one engagement Mr. McCartney was twice wounded, a bullet striking one of his fingers and another ball lodging in his right shoulder, where he still carries this grim relic of his service. While on the picket line at Fredericksburg he re- ceived a severe bayonet wound in the back, and at Spottsylvania Court House, on the 8th of May, 1864, he was wounded in the right knee, the ball passing through the same and lodging in the left knee. Thus rendered entirely helpless he was captured while lying on the field, eight hours after

having received his ugly wounds. He was taken to Richmond and placed in the Ala- bama hospital, where he received good surg- ical attention. It may be noted in the con- nection that of the nine hundred and forty prisoners placed in this hospital at the time only two hundred and forty survived. Mr. McCartney found friends among the Con- federate surgeons, even as he had on the battle field, from which he had been taken in an ambulance long before such attention was given to many others of the wounded prisoners. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and this fact gained to him brotherly attention on many, occasions when he was in the hands of the enemy. At one time Jefferson Davis and other officers passed through the hospital and on account of some answer which our subject saw fit to make to a query by Davis, the latter or- dered him sent to Castle Thunder, where he would have been denied the surgical atten- tion demanded. He was being carried out on a stretcher when a surgeon interfered and ordered that he be taken back to his cot. A note from General Robert E. Lee, whom the subject had encountered on the field, was brought to light at this time and through its influence it is practically certain that his life was saved, as he could not have survived in the regular prison quarters. He received his honorable discharge on the 4th of July, 1865, having made an excellent record as a loyal soldier of the republic.

After the close of his military career Mr. McCartney rejoined his parents, who had in the meanwhile taken up their residence in Monroe county, New York. There he re- sumed the reading of the law, but before se- curing admission to the bar he deferred to the wishes and counsel of his honored father

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and prepared himself for the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, having been or- dained in 1869 and becoming a member of the Genesee conference, New York. He continued thereafter to be actively and suc- cessively engaged in the work of the minis- try in western New York until 1882, having held a number of pastoral charges and hav- ing accomplished much in the forwarding of the spiritual and temporal interests of the various churches which he thus served. In the fall of the year mentioned Mr. McCart- ney came to Michigan, being led to make the change principally in the hope of benefiting his health, which had become somewhat im- paired. He located in Atwood, Antrim county, where he remained four years as as- sistant of the local church of his denomina- tion, and then he took up supply work for the church, responding to calls from divers sources and doing much to advance the church work in this section of the state. He effected the building of the present Method- ist church in East Jordan and also served the Charlevoix church for three years, al- though not a regular pastoral incumbent. He had resided in Charlevoix county since 1886 and within the intervening period officiated at two hundred and sixty funerals and per- formed more than five hundred mar- riages. In 1895 he was elected vil- lage clerk of Charlevoix, while for nearly a decade he had given most effective service as justice of the peace, so handling the affairs of the office as to make it worthy of its name. During this interval he con- trolled practically all the work in this line in Charlevoix, having simultaneously acted as police justice. He never had a reversal of one of his decisions nor had a case re- turned to his jurisdiction for retrial. His thorough knowledge of the science of juris-

prudence and his mature judgment com- bined to make him a model judicial officer and his rulings were signally fair and im- partial, being based upon the law and evi- dence involved. In many instances he ad- vised the settlement of difficulties without recourse to litigation, ever aiming to beget good will and harmony rather than to heigh- ten the disputation through processes of law. In politics Mr. McCartney gave an unqualified allegiance to the Republican party, in whose cause he had done much ef- fective work in the various campaigns, usually taking the stump and ever being fertile in apt illustration and cogent argu- ment, so that his addresses brought convic- tion. He was a forceful and vigorous speaker, eloquent, utilizing polished diction and drawing upon his broad sources of erudition and general knowledge for the en- tertainment and instruction of his hearers, whether speaking upon religious, political, literary or other topics. He attended party conventions as delegate and was an influen- tial member of the local contingent of his party. As a member of the Masonic fra- ternity he was affiliated with the lodge and chapter in Charlevoix and with Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templar, in the city of Petoskey. He was for nine years secre- tary of his lodge and for two years of his chapter, while he also held other official posi- tions in these bodies. He was a man of genial nature and most gracious pres- ence, was an insistent optimist and ever strived to brighten the lives of those with whom he came in con- tact, so it was a natural sequence that his friends were in number as his acquaintances, as implied in the opening paragraph of this brief sketch.

In 1869, at Webster, New York, Mr.

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McCartney was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Abbott, and they had four children, George, who is a member of the Third United States Infantry; Anna, who remains at the parental home; Chloe, who is the wife of Merton J. Fox, of Boyne City; and Hugh, who works in the Pullman car works at Pullman, Illinois. Mr. McCartney died on May 18, 1904.

EVENDER M. HARRIS.

Among the younger members of the le- gal fraternity in Ogemaw county, Michigan, none have achieved a larger degree of suc- cess or greater public recognition than the subject of this sketch, who is now serving his fourth consecutive term as prosecuting attorney. Mr. Harris is a native of Haldi- mand county, province of Ontario, Canada, where he was reared and received his edu- cation, eventually graduating from the high school at Port Dover, in the adjoining county of Norfolk. In 1887 he came to Ogemaw county, Michigan, and was en- gaged in teaching in the schools of this county until 1898. During the meantime he had been diligently pursuing the study of the law in the office of Judge Sharfs and on November 29, 1898, he was formally admitted to practice at the Ogemaw county bar. In the fall of the same year he was elected prosecuting attorney of this county and so satisfactory were his services in this responsible position that he has been three times re-elected, being now on his fourth term, certainly a creditable record and a dis- tinctive compliment to his ability and to his faithfulness in the discharge of his official

duties. In 1900 Mr. Harris formed a law partnership with James B. Ross, who had also read law at West Branch, and they now constitute one of the able and popular law firms in this county, having probably the most extensive practice in the county and ex- tending over the entire thirty-fourth judi- cial circuit.

Politically Mr. Harris is a Republican and has taken an active part in advancing the party's interests in this county and the state. He has been chairman of the county committee and is its present efficient secre- tary. His fraternal relations are with the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (at Bay City), the Order of the Eastern Star and the Rathbone Sisters. In religion he is identified with the Episcopal church, as is his partner, Mr. Ross. A man of courteous demeanor and extremely companionable, Mr. Harris easily makes friends and never loses one, so that he has attained to an envi- able popularity in his county. He has a pleasant and comfortable home in West Branch and is a member of a large and re- fined social circle.

CHARLES MCGINNIS.

Among the leading enterprises of Tower, Cheboygan county, Michigan, not the least important is the stave, heading, hoop and lumber mills of Keys & Worboy, of which firm the subject of this sketch is a member and its local representative, being the active manager of the mills here. The firm above mentioned is the oldest cooperage house in

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the world, having been started in 18II by David Keys, who conducted the business until 1850; from that time until 1865 the business was run by John Keys; from 1865 to 1900 by Jesse G. Keys, at which time Charles H. Keys became the owner of the business. W. A. Worboys had been with Mr. Keys a number of years as salesman, but eventually acquired an interest in the busi- ness and is now a partner in all the prop- erties owned and controlled by the firm. The main office of the firm is at No. 42 Broadway, New York city, and they have mills in Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan, do- ing an enormous business in their line. Their ownership of the mill at Tower dates from 1904, prior to which time the mill had been owned by Brooks & Gross, though originally built by Gus Kukle. Mr. McGin- nis looked the property over in behalf of his company and in April, 1904, the property was purchased and entirely overhauled in ev- ery department, new engines, boilers and wood-working machinery being installed, the plant being now considered one of the best mills in this section of the state.

Charles McGinnis is a native of Canada, having been born near the city of Montreal, Quebec, and in his native land was reared and received a good public school and busi- ness college education. Upon starting out in life on his own account he became identi- fied with the lumber industry, entering the employ of the Niebergall Stave and Lumber Company. of Staples, Ontario, with whom he remained for fourteen years, being pro- moted successively to the positions of assist- ant manager and superintendent. He came to Tower on an inspection tour, with the re- sult that this has since been his permanent location. He is qualified in every respect to

conduct this business, his past extensive ex- perience having made him familiar with ev- ery detail of the lumbering business. The mill here has a capacity of forty thousand staves per day, three thousand sets of head- ing and twenty thousand feet of lumber per day. The equipment is first-class in every respect and the products have found a prompt sale in the markets. Mr. McGinnis has, because of his many fine personal qual- ities, won for himself the high regard of all who have come in contact with him and is considered a distinct acquisition to the com- munity.

WILLIAM H. SANBORN.

The Empire state of the Union has con- tributed many men of rugged strength and sterling character to the splendid population which characterizes the state of Michigan, and among these may be consistently men- tioned William H. Sanborn, of Alpena, who in a variety of ways is connected with the business interests of this section. Mr. San- born came to Alpena county in 1873 and has since then been continuously identified with the lumbering industry. For eight years he was secretary and treasurer of the Minor Lumber Company, one of the largest con- cerns ever operated in this part of the state, but which closed out its business in 1898. Since the latter date Mr. Sanborn has en- gaged on his own account in the cedar and lumber business and has met with a most gratifying success in the enterprise. He was also one of the organizers of the Lake- side Cranberry Company, being now treas- urer of that company. This concern, which is capitalized at twenty-five thousand dollars,

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has six hundred acres of land in cranberries, controlling Devil Lake reservoir and all the land adjacent thereto. He is also a stock- holder in the Alpena National Bank and in the Alpena County Savings Bank, was one of the organizers and is a large stockholder in the Churchill Lumber Company, of which he is treasurer, and has other commercial interests. Mr. Sanborn is thoroughly fa- miliar with every detail of the timber and lumber business and is fully qualified to judge as to the merits of any feature of the business submitted to him. Possessing also marked business and executive ability, he has been enabled to so manage his business interests that his own success has been con- served to the greatest possible degree. Mr. Sanborn is a member of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, having passed all of the York rite degrees up to and including that of Knight Templar, and he has also crossed the burning sands which entitle him to membership in that adjunct organization, the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, belonging to the Temple at Detroit. In all that goes to make up true, honest manhood the subject stands pre-em- inent and because of the many fine quali- ties he possesses he has won and retains the highest respect and esteem of the entire community.

DEFOREST A. STRATTON.

Among the more recent but none the less appreciated acquisitions to the indus- tries of the progressive little city of Tower, Cheboygan county, Michigan, is the fine, new, well-equipped handle factory owned by the gentleman whose name appears above.

Mr. Stratton has been engaged in the hard- wood lumber business in northern Michigan for nearly a quarter of a century and is thus thoroughly familiar with all branches of the industry. For fourteen years he was mana- ger of the Alba Handle Factory, at Alba, this state, and was then for five years presi- dent of the Huron Handle and Lumber Company, at Alpena. The plant was then moved to Onaway. under the name of the Huron Handle and Manufacturing Com- pany, of which Mr. Stratton was treasurer. The plant was subsequently sold to the Lob -. dell & Bailey Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. Stratton was assistant secretary and treasurer for four years. The last men- tioned plant is one of the largest of the kind in northern Michigan. In April of the pres- ent year Mr. Stratton retired from the Lob- dell & Bailey firm and, coming to Tower, started his present business. Splendid new buildings have been erectel, the main build- ing, two stories high, being one hundred and twenty by sixty feet in size, a two-story office building, and a brick and cement boiler room, thirty-six by forty-five feet in size. The plant has been equipped with the very latest and most improved machinery and ap- pliances for the manufacture of broom handles, dimension stock and other turned work. The plant has a capacity of twenty- five thousand handles per day, giving em- ployment to thirty men. Mr. Stratton is at the present time erecting a number of houses for his employes, all being neat and sub- stantial residences. He owns here fifteen acres of land and also controls a large amount of hardwood timber land for his own consumption. He is popular with his men, one of the strongest testimonials to a man's breadth of character, and by all who

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have come in contact with him he has from the time of his coming here been held in the highest regard. He takes a keen and healthy interest in the welfare of the com- munity, giving his support to every move- ment tending to the advancement of the material, moral, social or educational ad- vancement of the locality. Fraternally he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of the Maccabees.

D. A. CAMPBELL.

Among the most highly esteemed citi- zens of Alpena, Michigan, is the gentleman whose name heads this brief article, who has since 1896 served most efficiently and satisfactorily as probate judge of Alpena county. The Judge is a native of bonnie Scotland, born on the isle of Mull, and is the son of John and Nancy (McInnis) Campbell, natives also of that island. In 1849 he was brought by his parents to Amer- ica, locating first near Ottawa, province of Quebec, Canada. At the age of fourteen years he apprenticed himself to learn the printing trade in the office of the Ottawa Citizen. In 1865 he came to St. Joseph county, Michigan, and for a year was in the employ of Peron W. Smith, circuit judge. Being then twenty-one years old, Mr. Camp- bell started out on a more extensive career and entered the lumbering industry. He commenced at the bottom, first cutting down the standing pine timber, but his energy and ability was soon recognized and he became foreman for Hilliard, Churchill & Company, being also in the same position with several

other leading firms. He then commenced scaling logs, one of the most important po- sitions in the lumbering field, but one for which his previous experience had particu- larly well qualified him. He also engaged in buying logs and then for fifteen years was scaler for the Thunder Bay Boom Com- pany, being so engaged in 1896, when he was called by the votes of his fellow citi- zens to the position which he has since so acceptably filled. At that time the probate judge's office was in a bad condition. The official records had been poorly kept, no cases had been numbered and no systematic files kept, there was no office furniture nor were there any law books. Without any previous training or experience along this line, the Judge at once went to work to straighten out and systematize the affairs of the office. Every case on record in the office was numbered and transferred to a new index and the present status of the case brought down to date. He then applied himself to the study of the laws applying to probate courts and causes, the result being that today his office is generally recognized as the best kept and administered probate court in the state. The regard in which he is held by his fellow citizens was well ex- pressed in the fact that he has three times been elected to succeed himself and at each election his competitor of the opposite politi- cal creed was the strongest man in his party eligible for the place. Judge Campbell is now in the prime of life and is actively in- terested in everything of importance to the welfare of his community. Before accept- ing his present position he served one term as alderman and also to some extent en- gaged in the real estate business. As a pub- lic speaker the Judge is recognized as a lead- er in political, social and fraternal circles,

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his wide knowledge of matters in general enabling him to talk entertainingly on a wide variety of topics. He received in his youth the benefit of but a common-school education, but has all through his life been a liberal reader, a deep thinker and a close observer of men and events, his library be- ing one of the best selected in the city of Alpena. Fraternally he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, taking a deep interest in the welfare of these beneficent or- ders. His religious relations are with the Baptist church, which he joined in 1868 and in which he has for several years been a member of the board of trustees, giving his ardent support to all the various enterprises of the church. The Judge married, in Al- pena, Miss Maggie J. Donaldson, of this city, though a native of Canada.

C. W. LUCE.

The subject of this sketch, who has for thirty-six years been connected with rail- roads, in various capacities, and who is now the efficient general superintendent of the Detroit & Mackinac Railway, having his home at East Tawas, is well and favorably known throughout the eastern and northern part of this state, having through his official capacity been in a measure identified with the growth and general advancement of this section. Mr. Luce is a native son of the Wolverine state, having been born at Jones- ville, Hillsdale county, this state, and is the son of Harvey W. Luce, who in 1883 re- moved to Jonesville from New York state. The Luce family is an old one in this coun-

try, the first emigrants having settled at Martha's Vineyard in 1722, being originally from the little rock-ribbed country of Wales, from whence has sprung so much of the sterling integrity and strength of character which has characterized the American make-up. The subject of this sketch was given the advantage of a good, practical edu- cation and early in life became identified with railroading. His first employment was with the old Peninsular road, running from Lansing to South Bend, but now a part of the Grand Trunk route. He was next with the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad, now known as the Detroit, Lans- ing & Northern, and which is a part of the Pere Marquette system, remaining with that company for seventeen years. In 1889 he became identified with the Detroit & Mack- inac Railway in the capacity of trainmaster, so continuing until 1892, when he was pro- moted to the position of general superinten- dent, in which he has since been retained, certainly a marked testimonial to his effi- ciency and executive ability. During this period he has witnessed and been an active participant in the extension of this road and its wonderful improvement in every re- spect, it being generally acknowledged that much of the road's success has been directly due to Mr. Luce's good judgment and inde- fatigable efforts. The road now ranks with the best and has grown into popular favor as the most direct route to the many splen- did cities which are scattered through this section of the state.

In local public affairs Mr. Luce has long occupied a prominent position and during the past eight years has satisfactorily served as mayor of the city of East Tawas, giving to this office the same careful attention

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which has characterized his business rela- tions. Fraternally he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias.

On March 19, 1879, Mr. Luce wedded Miss Janet G. Smith, and to them have been born five children, namely: Hervey W., Edna I., Beulah E., Walter A. and Gertrude C.

JESSE WISLER.

It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer adverts to the life of one who has attained success in any vocation requir- ing definiteness of purpose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, consecutive endeavor or of sudden meteoric accomplishments, must abound in both lesson and incentive and prove a guide to young men whose fortunes and destinies are still matters for the future to determine. The subject of this sketch is distinctively one of the representative men of Mance- lona. For a number of years he directed his efforts toward the goal of success and by patient continuance in well doing succeeded at last in overcoming the many obstacles by which his pathway was beset.

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is a native of the Hoosier state, his birth having occurred in Elkhart, Indiana, May 27, 1867, the son of Henry and Ro- setta Wisler, his father having been for a number of years a bridge contractor in LaGrange county, that state, to which local- ity he moved in 1859. He acquired a high reputation as a man of sterling qualities and industrious habits and reared a family of six children, all of whom are yet living.

The subject of this sketch acquired a fair common-school education, upon the completion of which he accepted a clerkship in a general store at Lima, Indiana, in 1875, having removed to that town in 1870. He remained in this employment about five and one-half years, at which time, in association with D. B. Nicholas, he engaged in the mer- chandise business at Lima, but two years later disposed of his interest in the business to his partner because of ill health. In the hope of recuperating his shattered health, he came to Michigan, locating in Mance- lona, Antrim county, in January, 1872, and engaged in the feed and warehouse business, to which eight months later he added a gro- cery department. He also engaged exten- sively in the raising of potatoes, devoting forty-seven acres of land to this occupataion and has raised thirty-six thousand bushels since that time. For two years Mr. Wisler also engaged in running a broom-handle fac- tory, in which he was quite successful, and seventeen years ago he established what is known as the Wetsel Mercantile Company, which carries a general stock of merchan- dise required by a wide and varied class of customers. He is quite extensively en- gaged in the real-estate business in this sec- tion, owning about three hundred acres of good land, two hundred acres of which is cleared, about two-thirds of the clearing be- ing done by the subject himself. In 1899 Mr. Wisler engaged in the hardware busi- ness at Mancelona, in which he carries a full line of shelf and heavy hardware which has met the wants of the community and which he has found to be a most lucrative business. In addition to this, he is the holder of sev- eral different town properties, including two stores and a warehouse.

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Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens, Part 92

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