History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 55

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold
Number of Pages: 738

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returned to this country and secured employ- ment in a car works in Detroit. After three of four years he started for himself in the fruit business and during the following 10 years engaged in that business with great success. He next conducted a grocery store, butcher shop and saloon until about 1896, when he re- tired from business activity to enjoy the com- forts of home life. He is one of the wealthiest Polish citizens of Detroit, and a man of high standing in that city. He is a member of the Polish Roman Catholic Church. He was uni- ted in marriage with Mary Slazinski, a daugh- ter of Jacob Slazinski of Bay City, and they became parents of seven children, four of whom died of diphtheria in infancy. The three who grew to maturity are: Alfred J., Lottie and Paul. Mrs. Radzinski is also a member of the Polish Roman Catholic Church and is secre- tary of the Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Asso- ciation of St. Francis' Church. Mr. Radzinski is vice-president of the church and one of its. trustees.

Alfred J. Radzinski attended St. Casimer's Parochial School, from which he was gradu- ated, then the public schools and the Jesuit Col- lege in Detroit. He next attended the Detroit College of Medicine, from which he was grad- uated in 1902. He pursued a course of study in German under a private tutor, and is also a fluent speaker of Polish and English. He worked his own way through college, being employed a portion of the time in the press and mailing departments of the Detroit Free Press. After graduation, he was sent by Professor Robbins to Michigamme as assistant to Dr. H. H. Loveland, with whom he remained 16 weeks. He then came to Bay City, where he has since practiced. He is lecturer on chemis- try at Mercy Hospital, supreme examiner for the Bay City Polish National Association and examiner for the Chicago Benevolent Asso-

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ciation and the Milwaukee Benevolent Asso- ciation.

Dr. Radzinski was united in marriage with Angeline B. Dardas, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Kath) Dardas, of Bay City. Jacob Dardas, one of the oldest Polish citizens of Bay City, was born in Posen, Germany, April 27, 1855, and is a son of Martin and Rosa (Ca- don) Dardas. His father was born in Posen, Germany, in November, 1816, and died in 1882, aged 66 years. He was a farmer all his life and lived most of the time in the ancestral home of his wife, which had been in the family for many years. Jacob Dardas remained on the home farm until he was 18, then worked for two years in various places through Ger- many, thus becoming familiar with the country and master of his home language. When a boy he attended a German school. At the age of 20 years he came to the United States, locat- ing at Bay City, Michigan, whither his brother Lawrence had preceded him by two years. Bay City was then a very small town, and Mr. Dardas cut down timber within a block of his present place of business. During his first four years here he worked in a sawmill, then was employed three years in a salt-block. In 1882 he started a grocery at No. 701 South Farragut street and continued there until 1901, when he purchased his present fine frame build- ing, which has two large store rooms on the first floor, and a large hall on the second, that is used for society meetings, dances and other gatherings. He conducts a large retail grocery in this building, and enjoys an extensive pat- ronage throughout the vicinity. When Mr. Dardas first came to Bay City, there were but 48 Polish families located here, while at the present time there are in the neighborhood of 1,300. He is a Republican in politics, and served one year as supervisor from the Fifth Ward, two years as alderman and two years as

a member of the School Board from the Eighth Ward. In 1891, Mr. Dardas erected a fine residence at No. 705 South Farragut street. He was married in 1877 to Mary Kath, of Bay City, and the following children blessed their home: Angeline, wife of our subject, Dr. Radzinski; John, of Bay City; Michael M., who is a member of the class of 1906, in the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Jacob, of Bay City, who is in the class of 1906 in the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ; and Frank, Clara and Mary. Religiously, the fam- ily belong to St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church, of which Mr. Dardas was trustee four years.

Dr. and Mrs. Radzinski are the parents of one daughter,-Lulu. They are consistent members of St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church, and move in the higher social circles of the city. The Doctor is a member of the Polish benevolent associations of Bay City, Chi- cago and Milwaukee; of the Bay County Med- ical Society; and of the American Medical Association. He is a thorough student of his profession, and takes high rank among his brother practitioners.

C LARENCE E. WALKER, an enter- prising citizen of Bay City, Michi- gan, who is secretary and manager. of the Bay City Cold Storage & Produce Company, Ltd., was born in Lapeer County, Michigan, March 9, 1865. He is a son of Roger T. and Harriet (Banghart) Walker.

Thomas Walker, grandfather of Clarence E., was born in England and came to America just before the birth of Roger T., who was the eldest child. The family located temporarily

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HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

at Detroit, and subsequently took up some land in Lapeer County. The farm still remains in their possession, Thomas Walker's youngest son, David, being its occupant.

Roger T. Walker was born in Detroit and grew up on the home farm. About 1872 he started in the lumbering business at Lapeer, and continued operating there until about 1892, when he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and was engaged in the same business there until two months before his death. He then re- turned to Detroit, where he died in 1902, at the age of 62 years. Mr. Walker married Har- riet Banghart, who, was born in 1840 in Al- mont, Michigan, and is a daughter of Josiah and Caroline (McCracken) Banghart, of Al- mont, Michigan, the former a native of New Jersey. Their union resulted in three children, namely : Clarence E .; Frank B., who is a phy- sician in Detroit; and Blanche, wife of Henry H. Brewer, of Toronto, Canada. Mr. Walker was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was very active. He was a class leader and held nearly every position in the church. His widow, who lives in Detroit, is also a member of the same religious denomi- nation. In politics, he was a Republican, but never sought office. Fraternally, he was a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Knights of Honor.

Clarence E. Walker received his early men- tal training in the public schools of Lapeer and in the Detroit Business University and was afterward employed by his father in the lumber business. He became his father's manager and thus continued until 1892, when he came to Bay City and purchased an interest in the gro- cery house of Kelley & Company, remaining in that line 10 years. In 1902 he went on the road as a salesman for the wholesale grocery firm of Reid, Murdock & Company, of Chi-

cago. He still handles their business in the Saginaw Valley.

Mr. Walker organized the Bay City Cold Storage & Produce Company, Ltd., in March, 1903. In the following April the company began the erection of its present fine plant. It is equipped with the "Linde" type of ammo- nia machine, erected by The Fred W. Wolf Company, of Chicago. The machine has a capacity to cool the same space as would 12 tons of ice in 24 hours. Each room is con- trolled separately, the temperature ranging from 90 degrees Fahrenheit to zero. The plant has been a success from the start, and the com- pany purchases from the farmers of this sec- tion large quantities of produce, eggs, butter, cheese and fruits.

Mr. Walker married Maude Elliott, a daughter of Melvin and Emily (Jones ) Elliott, of Jackson, Michigan. They have three chil- dren,-Frank Elliott, Ruth Emily and Harry Edward. The parents are members of the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Walker is a trustee. The subject of this sketch is a Republican in politics, but has never sought office.

AWRENCE RUHSTOFER, a repre- sentative farmer of Kawkawlin town- ship, Bay County, Michigan, who owns a fine farm of 120 acres situated in section 17, was born in 1861 in the town of Amherst, Erie County, New York, and is a son of Joseph and Catherine (Renner) Ruhs- tofer.

The father of our subject, who was a small farmer and highly respected citizen of Erie County, New York, died in 1877, in his 61st year. His wife died in 1874, at the age of 56 years.

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Lawrence Ruhstofer was the youngest of, the six children born to his parents, four of whom are now living. He was mainly edu- cated in Niagara County, New York. In the spring of 1879 he removed to Bay County, Michigan, as an employee in a sawmill, sub- sequently working through the summer seasons as head sawyer in different mills and during the winter seasons at lumbering in the woods. As sawyer he worked at Ashland, Wisconsin, and at Duluth, Minnesota, and spent some time in Georgia, sawing for the Altamaha Cypress Lumber Company. He was also employed for 12 years as head sawyer at Menominee, Michi- gan, for the Kirby-Carpenter Company.

In 1886 he purchased the first 40 acres of his present farm, on which his home is situ- ated; in January, 1896, he added another 40 acres, and in 1898 still another 40-acre tract, all of it, at the time of purchase, being covered with valuable timber. This has been cleared off to a considerable degree and much of the land is under a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Ruhstofer is one of Kawkawlin township's sub- stantial men, and his prosperity is the direct result of his own enterprise and inustry.

On December 25, 1885, our subject was united in marriage with Mary J. Shaw, of Bay City, who is a daughter of Sidney Shaw, a well-known millwright and cabinet-maker of that city; Sidney Shaw and wife are now resi- dents of Kawkawlin township, having a farm in section 18. Mr. and Mrs. Ruhstofer have had seven children, namely : Sidney Lawrence, born June 17, 1887; Ithamar Roy, born June 23, 1889; Walter John, born February 18, 1891 ; . Charles Raymond, born August 17, 1892; Margaret Esther, born July 3, 1894; Byron Wesley, born December 7, 1895; and Isabella Eleanor, born December 11, 1899.

Politically, Mr. Ruhstofer is identified with

the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of the Modern Macca- bees. In religious belief he is a Baptist.

C HARLES A. BIGELOW, who throughout his business career has been identified with lumbering inter- ests, is secretary, treasurer and gen- eral manager of The Kneeland-Bigelow Com- pany, engaged in the manufacture of lumber, one of the most important business enterprises of Bay City. Mr. Bigelow was born in Wayne County, Michigan, near the city of Detroit, July 18, 1866, and is a son of Albert E. and Jennie (Ashcroft) Bigelow, and grandson of William C. and Sally Ann ( Prindle) Bigelow. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Rev- olutionary War, and the War of 1812. He lived in Champlain County, New York, many years and was buried there.

William C. Bigelow, the grandfather, was born in Champlain County, New York, and died in 1895, aged 78 years. He settled in Wayne County the year Michigan was admit- ted to the Union, and for two years conducted a stage between Detroit and Redford. He then married and settled upon a farm of 80 acres, which he purchased in Redford. To this tract he constantly added until at one time he was the owner of 640 acres. He soon began operat- ing a sawmill, the lumber produced being hauled on sleighs and wagons to Detroit. He furnished much of the lumber used in the con- struction of the Michigan Central Railroad and continued lumbering in that vicinity until 1868, when he sold out and moved to Detroit. There, in partnership with his son, Albert E., under the firm name of W. C. & A. E. Bigelow, he established a lumber business, which they con- tinued to conduct for six years. His marriage

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HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

to Sally Ann Prindle resulted in the following offspring: Albert E .; Marian, wife of George Reed, of Detroit; George, who died in early manhood; Louis, who married Ida Norton, of Detroit; and Altha, who died in the bloom of young womanhood.

Albert E. Bigelow was born in Redford township, Wayne County, Michigan, July 14, 1840, and grew up on the home farm. He attended the Normal School at Ypsilanti, and Bryant & Stratton's Business College at De- troit, and while in college was employed as clerk in a shoe store. After his marriage he conducted a farm in Redford township until 1868, when he went to Detroit and formed a partnership with his father in the lumber business. After the retirement of the latter in 1874, our subject continued the business under the firm name of A. E. Bigelow until 1889, when his son, Charles A., became a partner, the firm name being changed to that of A. E. Bigelow & Company. They continued together until 1893, when his son retired from the firm on account of poor health, and he then conducted it alone until 1895, when he sold out to W. A. C. Miller. He has since lived in retirement from active business duties. Fraternally, he is a member of Detroit Commandery, No. I, Knights Templar. During the early part of the Civil War he enlisted in Company J, 24th Reg., Michigan Vol. Inf., and saw much hard fighting. On the first day of the battle of Get- tysburg, he was badly wounded and lay in a stone barn unattended until July 4th, when he was sent to the hospital, and then home to recuperate. He rejoined his regiment in the fall of 1863, and in the battle of the Wilderness had the misfortune to be again wounded, the ball passing within an inch of his first wound. He was incapacitated for further service and returned home. He was married to Jennie Ashcroft of Redford, by whom he had four

children, of whom Charles A. is the only one now living. Mrs. Bigelow was a member of the Baptist Church. She died January 1, 1875, and in 1876 he formed a second union with Lucia Pierce, of Redford, who died in 1878, without issue. He formed a third marital union at Marquette, Michigan, in 1881, with Lydia A. Houk, of Detroit, and they have two children : Fred and Ruby. He is a Republican in politics, as was his father. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church.

Charles A. Bigelow received his early edu- cational training in the public schools and in the Detroit High School, from which he was graduated. While still in high school, his connec- tion with his father's lumber business began, and he continued as employe until 1889, when he became a partner in the business, the firm becoming A. E. Bigelow & Company. He con- tinued with the firm until 1892, when he with- drew and went to California because of poor health. He remained there a year and upon his return took care of the business until Febru- ary, 1894, his father being absent on a trip to California. He then became traveling sales- man for The Michelson & Hanson Lumber Company, of Lewiston, Michigan, and contin- ued in that capacity until the organization of The Kneeland-Bigelow Company, which was incorporated under the laws of the State of Michigan on May 30, 1901. Its officers were David M. Kneeland, of Lewiston, president ; George H. Cross, of Lewiston, vice-president ; and Charles A. Bigelow, secretary, treasurer and general manager. The officers remain the same with the exception that Herman Lundene became vice-president in January, 1902, in place of George H. Cross, who retired in 1901. The company first purchased 7,000 acres of hemlock and hardwood timberland in Mont- morency County, and now hold something like 10,000 acres. They have their own equipment

CAPT. BENJAMIN BOUTELL

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

and do their own logging. On October I, 1901, they took possession of their present saw- mill on South Water street, Bay City, where they own a tract of land between 19th and 21st streets, extending from South Water street to the river. Between September Ist and March 15th, they employ nearly 200 men in logging, and between June Ist and September Ist the force is reduced to about 100 men. Their mill is in operation night and day and gives employ- ment to about 80 men the year around. The lumber is shipped in car-load lots by rail, most of it going to the southern part of the State. It is a concern of great magnitude and has added materially to the prosperity of the city. Mr. Bigelow is a man of recognized ability, far- sighted, of keen intellect and of superior execu- tive ability, and his personal efforts have made possible the success of this undertaking.

On October 11, 1887, Charles A. Bigelow was united in the bonds of wedlock with Min- nie A. Durkee, a daughter of Philip and Mary. (German) Durkee, both natives of Franklin township, Oakland County, Michigan. Our subject and his wife are consistent followers in the Christian Science faith. Politically, he is a Republican, but has never filled any office.

APT. BENJAMIN BOUTELL, of Bay City, Michigan, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, has filled a commanding position in the business world of the Saginaw Valley for a very long period, and no one has been more closely iden- tified than he with the agencies which have contributed to the extending of education, the encouragement of religion and the cementing of those ties of abounding good-will which have strengthened Bay City's prosperity. This prominent citizen is a native of Michigan, and

was born in Deerfield township, Livingston County, August 17, 1844, and is a son of Dan- iel and Betsey ( Adams ) Boutell.

The names of Captain Boutell's forebears were noted ones in New England history. His mother, who was a niece of President John Quincy Adams, was a woman of great force of character, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that her son was endowed by Nature with many of the characteristics and attributes which made the Adams family one of the most conspicuous ones in the United States for generations. Cap- tain Boutell's mother survived until 1880. His father, Daniel Boutell, was born in 1800, in New Hampshire, but the family removed to Syracuse, New York, in his childhood. There he was reared and there married, and when he subsequently removed to Livingston County, Michigan, he was one of the very first settlers in Deerfield township.

In 1858, Daniel Boutell removed to Birch Run, on the public highway between Flint and Saginaw, where he conducted a hotel known as the Half-Way House, from which he moved in the winter of 1859 to Bay City. Here he purchased the old Sherman House, which he rebuilt in 1862, renaming it the Boutell House. This hostelry was burned in 1865 and Mr. Boutell died in 1866. He was a man of local prominence wherever he lived and was noted for his outspoken Americanism. He served as a United States officer in the War of 1812. In early life a Whig, he became an ardent suppor- ter of the Republican party upon its organiza- tion. He was one of the early Free Masons of this section.

The early educational opportunities of Cap- tain Boutell were the best afforded by the sev- eral sections in which he was reared, but he was the son of parents who had old-fashioned notions of thrift, and he was early taught that independence is only acquired through indus-

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HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY

try. He recalls the first few pence he earned, when but a little lad, directing a plow horse through the corn-field, his years then number- ing not more than eight. That he had grown into a capable and self-reliant youth by the time he was 12 years old, is evidenced by the fact that at that age his parents left him in charge of the farm when they moved to Birch Run. Thus from tender years he has been ac- customed to responsibility and his successful grappling with the world, in after years, may, perhaps, be traced to those early lessons.

When the youth subsequently came to Bay City, he assisted his father in the conduct of the Boutell House, and, while its destruction by fire in 1865, was considered at that time a great calamity, it brought about his connection with the industry which, in its various combina- tions, has been the main business of his life. In those days, as now, water transportation was so intimately connected with every busì- ness outlook in this section, that opportunities for work on one of the crafts on the river were more or less easy to secure, and the future pres- ident of great fleets of vessels obtained a posi- tion as wheelman on the tug "Wave." So quickly did he master the necessary details of navigation that he was made a mate in the fol- lowing year. Just at this time, the steamer "Ajax," which had been a losing investment for its owners, the First National Bank of Bay City, was in need of a capable and reliable as well as energetic commander. The owners of the vessel made an arrangement with the young mariner to become its captain with the under- standing that his remuneration should be deter- mined by the financial sheet he could show at the close of the year. During this year Captain Boutell made $6,000 for the company and thor- oughly established his reputation for capacity.

In 1868 he commanded the passenger steamer "Reynolds," and in the following year,

the tug "Union." In this year he went into partnership with Capt. William Mitchell, under the firm name of Mitchell & Boutell. This firm did a general towing and coal business until 1886, when it was dissolved, with large assets and mutual esteem. Captain Boutell then entered into partnership with Capt. P. C. Smith, putting into comission the tugs "Annie Moiles," "Sea Gull" and "Westover," while Captain Smith put in the tugs "S. S. Rum- mage," "Ellie M. Smith" and "Sarah Smith." The business was conducted two years as the Saginaw Bay Towing Association and then the Saginaw Bay Towing Company was formed, Captain Boutell contributing, in addi- tion to his other vessels, the "Niagara," and Captain Smith, the tug "Peter Smith." This business association continued until 1892, when Captain Boutell purchased Captain Smith's in- terest. During its season of greatest activity, the company owned and operated 21 tugs and employed about 500 men in the various depart- ments. At first the field was local but their operations subsequently extended to Georgian Bay, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The tariff laws on Canadian logs, prohibitory in effect, had the effect of curtailing the farther extension of the towing business. Many of the great rafts contain as many as 4,000,000 feet of lumber. During his 39 years of activity in this business, Captain Boutell is credited with handling more timber than any other known man in any country.

In approaching the great enterprises with which this great lumber captain of industry has been been identified and with which he has been more or less connected either as organizer, director or both, the biographer finds that they include about all the important industries of the Saginaw Valley, which have been markedly successful in their results. In 1899 he orga- nized the Marine Iron Company of Bay City,.

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of which he has been president ever since; in 1891 he organized the Boutell Transit Com- pany of Bay City, which owns the steamer "Hiram W. Sibley" and the schooner "Twin Sisters," of which company he was president ; in 1895 he organized and became president of the Boutell Towing & Wrecking Company, of Sarnia, Ontario; and in 1896 he bought a con- trolling interest in the Hampton Transit Com- pany which owned and operated the steamer "Charles A. Eddy," and also was president of this company. In 1899 he promoted and assisted in the organization of the Boutell Tow- ing & Transit Company, of Boston, Massa- chusetts, of which he is vice-president, the company doing a coastwise towing business. He is vice-president of the Michigan State Chicory Company, of Bay City, and is a direc- tor of the Commercial Bank of Bay City.

Captain Boutell was one of the capitalists who first became interested in the growing of sugar beets as a gerat national industry and he has been one of the most active promoters in the State of Michigan. He owns a number of great farms, one of 1,200 acres near Essex- ville being devoted entirely to the growing of sugar beets. He assisted in organizing the Bay City Sugar Company, which is the largest organization in Michigan, and was its vice- president; was one of the organizers of the Michigan Sugar Company, and is a director in the Marine Sugar Company ; helped to orga- nize the Lansing Sugar Company, of which he was president and general manager; was vice- president of the Saginaw Sugar Company and built their house; was vice-president of the Carleton Sugar Company of Carleton, Michi- gan, building their house; and has also been prominent in the beet sugar industry in other localities. He built the second sugar house in the State of Colorado, for the Eaton Sugar Company, and also helped to organize the

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History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens, Part 55

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872- Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold Number of Pages: 738

Author: Gansser, Augustus H., 1872-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond & Arnold
Number of Pages: 738