USA > Michigan > Bay County > History of Bay County, Michigan, and representative citizens > Part 83
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The main building is a one-story brick, 625 by 225 feet in dimensions, and other smaller build- ings are utilized. The company has a salt- block and manufactures salt both by the grainer and vacuum pan processes. The main products are chlorate of potash and chlorate of soda, which go to supply the match, bleaching and fire-works industries of the country. The pro- duction of both coarse and fine salt from their 27 wells, 1,000 feet in depth, is a very large part of their business, it being probably the largest concern of its kind in the world.
This company has a river frontage of nearly one and a half miles, giving fine transportation in that direction, and they have the best of railroad facilities, both the Pere Marquette and the Michigan Central railroads running through the plant. The greater part of the salt is shipped by water and is entirely consumed the United States. A force of 160 men is used in connection with the chemical works.
In order to provide fuel for these factories, the same capitalists acquired the Bay Coal Mining Company, which owns coal lands in Frankenlust township, some six miles away. The chemical works alone consume 4.700 tons of coal a month. The coal company does both a wholesale and retail business. In 1904 it hoisted 60,000 tons, but the company handles a large amount of coal over what its own mines produce. The plant of the chemical company at Bay City represents an investment of $1,250,000. Its location in the United States is a direct result of the Mckinley tariff bill. The annual pay-roll exceeds $150,000. Mr. Davies came to take personal charge of this plant in 1899. In addition to his official rela- tions with the North American Chemical Com- pany, Mr. Davies is also president of the Bay Coal Mining Company, vice-president of the Bay County Coal Operators' Exchange, and a director of the Michigan Salt Association. Mr.
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Davies is a man of very strong individuality ; his face expresses intellect, vigor and deter- mination.
In 1893 Mr. Davies married Lillian Sim- ister, who is a daughter of Timothy Simister, of Runcorn, England. They have one daugh- ter, Marjorie Myering. Both Mr. and Mrs. Davies are members of the Protestant Episco- pal Church and Mr. Davies' love of music led him to become a member of the church choir.
Fraternally Mr. Davies is a Mason, a mem- ber of Bay City Lodge, No. 129, F. & A. M., Blanchard Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M .; Bay City Council, No. 53, R. & S. M .; and all of the Scottish Rite bodies up to the 32d de- gree. He belongs to the Michigan Sovereign Consistory, S. P. R. S., and Moslem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Detroit. Socially he is a member of the Bay City Club, Bay City Boat Club, Married People's Club and Golf Club. Politically he has identified himself with the Republican party, seeing in its principles the foundations of wise government for the United States.
Although this great enterprise at Bay City is controlled by English wealth, it is managed strictly on American principles, from an Amer- ican standpoint.
ENRY H. THOMAS, a prominent cit- izen of Bay City, has been extensively engaged in the manufacture of dyna- mite in Kawkawlin township for many years. He is a veteran of the Civil War, bearing an honorable record for service in the Union Army. Mr. Thomas was born at Staf- ford, New York, December 13, 1843, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Collins) Thomas.
Henry Thomas was born in Bideford, Dev- onshire, England, his parents having come from
Wales. He came to America at the age of 21 years and located at Stafford, New York. He first engaged in farming, and later established a factory for the manufacture of potash, con- tinuing in that business the remainder of his life. He married Catherine Collins, who came of an old pioneer family of Geneseo, New York. They had six children, as follows : Emma, wife of Solomon Ford, of Buffalo, New York; George H., deceased; James P., of Titusville, Pennsylvania; Henry H .; Horatio, deceased; and Daniel W., of Raton, New Mexico. Re- ligiously, the family were Methodists, the father being a devout Christian and a class leader in the church.
Henry H. Thomas left home at the age of nine years to learn photography, and it was this work which gave him a taste for chemistry. He made daguerreotypes and later ambrotypes, commonly called tintypes. After the Civil War broke out, in 1862 he enlisted in Company G, 129th Reg. New York Vol. Inf., which after- ward was reorganized as the Eighth New York Heavy Artillery. He served in all the engage- ments of the regiment, and was seriously wounded before Petersburg, being sent to the general hospital at Buffalo, New York. In 1864, he was made a sergeant and upon more than one occasion covered himself with glory, although unjustly deprived of the honors in the official records. The War Department refused to entertain his claims for recognition of his services, although accompanied by the recom- mendations of his comrades, as it was claimed no reference to the events, upon which his claims are based, had been made in the records of the office. The colonel of his regiment, how- ever claims that a full statement of the facts were included in the history of the regiment. Mr. Thomas has in his possession the follow- ing statement, signed and sworn to by Lieu- tenant LeRoy Williams, Ist lieutenant of Com-
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pany L, Eighth New York Heavy Artillery, relative to his bravery and valor on the battle- field, a tribute deserving of preservation in an imperishable form :
The following statement of facts, relative to Sergt. Henry H. Thomas of Co. G, 8th N. Y. H. Art., during the Civil War, are such as came under my personal observation, (viz.) at the battle of Boynton Plank Road on Hatcher's Run, as we called it. On the 28th day of November, 1864, (I think it was), Sergeant Thomas displayed wonderful coolness. The enemy ad- vanced a column of infantry across the Run and de- ployed them as skirmishers in front of our battalion, which was at the time lying down in line of battle some forty rods distant across an open field. Sergeant Thomas discovered the move and at once ordered the men near him to open fire, setting the example himself by loading and firing his own piece repeatedly while urging the men to more active work. Our fire seemed to waver the advance of the enemy and he at once took in the situation and commanded the men to follow him and drive the enemy back across the Run, which was done, he being in the extreme advance. And again, at the battle of Five Forks (or as we knew the place, Crow House, ) on the morning of April 2, 1865, the regiment was ordered to charge the enemy's works through a slashing of timber, which had been felled and burned over, and Sergeant Thomas again led the ad- vance of his company and scaled the breastworks into a fort which was afterwards named Fort Porter, ordered the men in the fort to throw down their arms and sur- render, and later marched 30 of the prisoners out of the sally-port at the rear of the fort and turned them over to an officer who praised him for his gallantry and said to him he "should receive a commission therefor," but taking the prisoners in charge reported them him- self to headquarters and was, I am told, breveted cap- tain for Sergeant Thomas' gallantry and the sergeant not mentioned. I believe this sergeant should even at this late date receive from the War Department some token or mark of recognition in the form of brevet rank or service medal, which could be handed down to his children, and proper mention of his personal service be made on the records at Washington.
(Signed) LIEUT. LEROY WILLIAMS, Ist Lieut. Co. L, 8th N. Y. H. Art.
(Sworn to before Jasper W. Garlich, Not. Pub., Lansing, Michigan.)
A similar statement. not quite so complete in detail, signed by John R. Cooper. captain of
Company G, and assistant adjutant general, is in Mr. Thomas' possession.
After the war Mr. Thomas returned to Stafford, New York, for a short stay, then went to Titusville, Pennsylvania, in the days of the oil boom of 1865. He worked first as an engineer, then became an owner of wells and continued as a producer there until 1869. He then began operations in the oil regions of West Virginia, where he was an active pro- ducer until 1872, in which year he came to Bay City, Michigan, where he has since been located. He first engaged here in the manu- facture of nitro-glycerine torpedoes for salt- wells, and from that branched into the manu- facture of all the various forms of high ex- plosives in which nitro-glycerine and dynamite are used. His output is from 800,000 to 1,000,000 pounds of dynamite of various grades per year. His plant is located in Kaw- kawlin township. In December, 1904, his new factory was completely destroyed by fire, but undaunted he rebuilt immediately and has his factory in running order and in full opera- tion. On April 3, 1905, his store house in which a quantity of high explosives was kept, was destroyed in a terrific explosion of its contents. Three men, employees of the works, but who had no business at the storehouse, were blown to atoms, while windows for miles around suffered severely.
Mr. Thomas is a man of great energy and enterprise, honorable in his every act, and has attained success through his own industry, never profiting by another's misfortune. He possesses a strong personality and is highly esteemed by his many acquaintances.
Mr. Thomas was first united in marriage with Maria L. Smith, a daughter of Thaddeus Smith of Bay City, who died leaving three children : Elizabeth M .: James P., of Bay City; and Henry Randall, who died at the
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age of four years. Mrs. Thomas was a mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Our subject formed a second matrimonial alliance with A. Delia Stewart, a daughter of John A. Stewart of Southfield, Michigan, by whom he has a daughter, Ida Belle. They attend the Presbyterian Church. Fraternally, Mr. Thomas is a member of Joppa Lodge, No. 315, F. & A. M .; and H. P. Merrill Post, No. 419, G. A. R.
6 EORGE C. TOUGH, who has resided 2 for the past 10 years on his present farm of 40 acres, situated in section 21, Merritt township, is one of the prominent citizens of the locality. He was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, November 13, 1843, and is a son of Alexander and Jane (Copeland) Tough.
The old family farm on which our subject was born contained 100 acres and at the period of his birth had been in the possession of the Tough family for a number of generations. Both our subject's parents spent their lives there, the mother of George C. being Alex- ander Tough's second wife. By this marriage five daughters and three sons were born. Two daughters were born to the first marriage.
George C. Tough grew up on his father's farm and attended the schools in his native locality until he was 16 years of age, when he learned the trade of pattern-maker. He was too ambitious, however, to feel satisfied with his prospects in Scotland, and in 1871 he came to America and was employed for a time in the city of Chicago. Competition was so great there that he decided to seek another location and his travels brought him to Bay City in 1874. He was always handy with tools and, in addition to working at his trade, was occu- pied during a part of his residence in Bay City
at work in the carpenter line. After purchasing his present farm, 25 years ago, he set to work to clear it. The tract was heavily timbered at the time Mr. Tough bought it. Prior to mov- ing on it in 1895, he had cleared a consider- able portion of it; this work has now been completed and the whole farm has been placed under a fine state of cultivation. He carries on general farming and stock-raising, in which he meets with very satisfactory results. The comfortable home and barns and necessary farm buildings are of a substantial character and add greatly to the value of the property.
Mr. Tough has always been a man of pro- gressive ideas and when he located on the farm he opened a general store which he conducted for eight years. For 15 years he was agent for the Mutual Fire Insurance Company, an or- ganization he still represents. During Presi- dent Cleveland's last administration he was ap- pointed postmaster at Munger and held over through the administration of President Mc- Kinley, although he is a very stanch Demo- crat. He has always taken a very active part in political matters and has served his town- ship in many public offices. For several years he was a justice of the peace, for two years was highway commissioner and has filled school offices for a long time.
In 1876, at Chatham, Canada, Mr. Tough was married to Ellen Graham, who was born December 13, 1854, in Oxford District, On- tario, and is a daughter of John and Jane (McAlpin) Graham, natives of Scotland. Mrs. Tough is a member of the Presbyterian Church, to which Mr. Tough liberally contrib- utes. He assisted in the erection of the Pres- byterian Church in his neighborhood, drawing the plans and helping in the construction. He has never united with the church, but he was the first trustee of this organization.
When Mr. Tough came to Michigan he
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CAPT. GEORGE TURNER
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was a poor man, a business venture having failed in Chicago just prior to this. Thus he was obliged to begin at the bottom of the lad- der. Patience, perseverance and industry all contributed to his success in a material way, while his sterling traits of character soon won him the respect and esteem of his fellow- citizens.
e APT. GEORGE TURNER, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, has been city engineer of Bay City for 23 years and in that capacity has ren- dered invaluable services to the public as is evidenced by the public works erected under his supervision, which are unexcelled in the State of Michigan. Captain Turner was born in Clinton County, Michigan, January 29, 1835, and is a son of Joseph and Emeline (Knox) Turner, both natives of England, the former of Nottinghamshire and the latter of Birming- ham.
Upon coming to the United States, our subject's parents first located in New York State. They came to Michigan in the early "thirties," and Joseph Turner operated a grist- mill at Clinton for some years and later one at Dearborn, where he remained until 1848. In that year he moved to Detroit, where he was identified at different times with the dry goods and grocery lines, in addition to operat- ing grist-mills at Rochester and Stony Creek, Michigan. After two years he closed out the mercantile business and took up his residence at Stony Creek, where he continued in the milling business until his death at the age of 52 years. He was a Democrat in politics. He was a member of the Royal Arch Chapter, the highest Masonic body in the State at that time, was past master of Detroit Lodge, F. & A. M., and at the time of his death was grand
treasurer of the Grand Lodge, F. & A. M., of Michigan. He was united in marriage with Emeline Knox, whom he met in New York State, and they had six children who grew to maturity, namely : George ; Charles K., of Sag- inaw, Michigan; William, of South Bend, In- diana; Edwin, deceased, who resided in Chi- cago; Albert, a member of Company B, 10th Reg., Michigan Vol. Inf., during the Civil War, who died of wounds received at the siege of Corinth; and Joseph, who is a resident of Bay City. Religiously, the family are Episco- palians.
George Turner received his educational training principally in the public schools of Detroit. While still in school he became a cadet in the surveyor-general's department, United States Survey, under General Lyons, working mostly in Michigan. He thus gained a thorough knowledge of surveying. He con- tinued with that department until the outbreak of the Civil War, although during the last three years of that time he was on leave of absence and served as county surveyor of Mid- land County and as register of deeds. He was called into the service in 1861 as 2nd lieutenant of Company B, 10th Reg., Michigan Vol. Inf., and subsequently was advanced to a Ist lieu- tenancy in that company. He became captain of Company A, of the same regiment, and later captain of engineers, Ist U. S. Veteran Volun- teer engineers, which regiment was authorized by a direct act of Congress and was called "General Thomas' Regiment." He partici- pated in the battles of Farmington, Booneville, Iuka, sige of Corinth, skirmishes about Nash- ville in 1862, battle of Stone River, advance on Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, advance on Atlanta and the battle of Nashville. Immediately after the battle of Chickamauga, he joined the engineering corps. At Stone River, on different days he was twice wounded,
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once in the hand and once in the leg. He was mustered out of service in 1865, and for a period of 16 years remained in the South, en- gaged in contracting in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Arkansas.
In the fall of 1881, Captain Turner re- turned to Michigan, locating at Bay City and the following spring became city engineer, a position he has filled creditably up to the pres- ent. 'Nearly all of the sewerage system was put in and all the present paving laid under his direct supervision. The City Hall, a magnifi- cent granite structure costing $250,000 and one of the finest municipal buildings in the State, was erected under his supervision, as were the Belinda street bridge and the 23rd street bridge across the West Channel, both built in 1902. Captain Turner was one of the promoters and since its inception has been a director in the Bay City Belt Line Railroad, a corporation whose lines are leased by the Pere Marquette Railroad Company.
Captain Turner was united in marriage with Julia Smith, a native of Michigan. They had one daughter, Edith, who is the wife of Richard Richardson, of Midland, Michigan. Captain Turner was again married in 1865 at Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Sophia P. Thomp- son, a native of Georgia, and they have one son, now grown to maturity,-G. Edwin, who is county surveyor and resides in Bay City.
Captain Turner is a member of U. S. Grant Post, No. 67, G. A. R., of which he is past commander. He is also a member of the Mili- tary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Union Veteran Legion. He is a member of Bay City Lodge, No. 23, Knights of Pythias ; is colonel of the Third Regiment, Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias; and a member of Lodge No. 88, B. P. O. E. In poli- tics he has always been a stanch Republican since the organization of the party.
G. EDWIN TURNER, son of Capt. George Turner, attended the schools of Bay City and immediately after graduation entered his father's office, in which he gained a practical and technical knowledge of surveying. In 1898 he was elected county surveyor and has held that office ever since. He was joined in mar- riage with Kathleen Atkinson, a daughter of Robert Atkinson, of Bay City. Fraternally, he is a member of Portsmouth Lodge, No. 190, F. & A. M .; Blanchard Chapter, Nc. 59, R. A. M .; and Bay City Council, No. 53, R. & S. M. He is a Republican in politics, and both he and his wife are members of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church.
OMER E. BUCK, born at Bath, Mich- igan, October 4, 1859, is to-day a living example of the possibilities before the enterprising and aggres- sive youth of our great country. Attracted by the booming lumber town, the Buck family moved here in 1871, but all their bright pros- pects were soon blasted by the death of the father. A mother and sister alone remained to mourn with Homer. With the decision of character that has since contributed so much to his success in life, the little lad at once deter- mined to provide for the loved ones at home. He became a newsboy, later circulation man- ager for the Detroit Newes, earning $30 to $35 per month, and worked evenings, while attend- ing school regularly.
When 16 years old Mr. Buck entered the employ of L. F. Miller & Company, where in five years he thoroughly mastered the whole- sale grocery trade, and when scarcely of age went into business for himself. With Joseph Leighton he conducted for 14 years a most prosperous and successful commission store, which the latter is still maintaining.
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Mr. Buck, after selling out, entered a new field by opening offices in the Shearer Block, where he has since emjoyed a constantly in- creasing business, as merchandise broker, im- porter's and manufacturer's agent, and car-lot shipper. This business calls him frequently out of the city, but that has never appeared to interfere with the manifold public enterprises and public duties with which he has in late years become associated. He is at present president of the E. P. Roe Company, of Bad Axe, Michigan; is a director in the Argentuil Gold Mining Company, with properties located on Jackfish Bay, Canada, and stockholder in a number of thriving local business institu- tutions. He was one of the organizers and is a director of Bay City's beautiful city of the dead,-Elm Lawn Cemetery. The first sugar beet seed brought into Bay County was secured by Mr. Buck from Germany for Hon. Nathan B. Bradley, C. B. Chatfield, and their colaborers.
Despite the constantly growing demands of his varied business interests, his prodigious energy, earnest devotion to the welfare of his home city and its higher institutions and keen interest in every public enterprise, have for many years carried him into every movement for the development and advancement of Bay County. He was instrumental in bringing here the first chicory factory, introduced to the markets of the country some of the first beet sugar manufactured in Bay City, contributed to the development of the coal mining indus- try locally, and through his years of devoted work on the executive committee of the Board of Trade has been actively identified with every new enterprise secured through that organiza- tion.
For Years Mr. Buck has been an ardent ad- vocate of a new railway line through the "Thumb" of Michigan, thus opening for Bay
City's trade the rich farming country lying to the east. On May 1, 1905, with Hon. Nathan B. Bradley, Hon. George A. Prescott, of Tawas (Secretary of State, 1905-06), W. C. Pennoyer, Edgar B. Foss and Hon. Chester L. Collins, he has succeeded in getting a good franchise for entering Port Huron with their proposed new road,-the Bay City & Port Huron Railroad. The line has been surveyed, has excellent terminals, good freight prospects in the products of farm and coal mine, touches a thickly settled urban district and will fill a long felt want for this part of Michigan.
Mr. Buck labored for years to bring about the consolidation of the Bay Cities, and when in 1905 the union seemed hopelessly lost he it was, who with Hon. Spencer O. Fisher, W. D. Young, and others, carried the vital matter be- fore Governor Fred M. Warner and won out. Already some of the strongest opponents to this union of the sister cities are acknowledg- ing the benefits following consolidation, and the years to come will surely place the seal of unqualified approval upon the union, brought about in the last analysis by a handful of pub- lic-spirited business men.
Mr. Buck has always found time from his business affairs for the plain duties of good citizenship. An ardent Republican, he cast his first vote for James G. Blaine in 1884, and his party service has since been continuous. For 15 years he served on his ward committee, for six years he was treasurer of the Republican County Committee, being its chairman in 1900-02, proving there as ever an aggressive, energetic organizer. He has contributed much to the success of his party and its standard- bearers in Bay County during more than 20 years of active party service. He has never aspired to any public office, although his many friends would have been delighted to see him the first mayor of Greater Bay City. In the
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State Convention at Grand Rapids in June, 1904, he was honored by being nominated as one of Michigan's electors at large, being elected on the Republican ticket in November, 1904, by the sweeping endorsement accorded President Theodore Roosevelt by the electors of the State, who organized the party under the oaks at Jackson half a century ago. Mr. Buck represented Bay County at that semi- centennial celebration in July, 1904. He has served five years on the Board of Water Works; five years on the Board of Fire Com- missioners, two years of which he was presi- dent, and at present represents the Fifth Ward on the Board of Education, a member of some of its most important committees. He is an active member and deacon of the First Presbyterian Church, taking an active part in the building of the present magnificent house of worship, as well as in the recent effort, which resulted in wiping out the last indebted- ness on this church. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, being a member of Bay City Lodge, No. 129, F. & A. M .; Blanchard Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M .; and Bay City Council, No. 53, R. & S. M., all of Bay City; and Moslem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Detroit. He is also an honorary member of the Peninsular Military Company, a member of the Modern Archers of America and of the Knights of the Loyal Guard.
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