History of Jackson County, Michigan, Part 62

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago [Ill.] : Inter-state Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1166

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

throughout the State. Mr. Bullock controls the sale in Michigan of the Steinway, Hazelton Brothers, Ernest Gabler, and the Wheelock pianos; also the Smith American and the Sterling organs. His stock involves a capital of 850,000, and sales run from $200,000 to $250,000 a year, being the heaviest in the Peninsular State. In 1854 he married Rhoda Barry, of New York State. They have 2 sons-Julien and Arthur. He has served two years as Alder- man. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church; has had charge of its music 18 years.

Daniel V. Bunnell, clothier and merchant tailor, 122 and 124 W. Main street, was born in Ontario county, N. Y., in 1835. His parents, Ebenezer and Abigail (Hotchkiss) Bunnell, had a family of 5 daughters and 3 sons: came to Michigan and settled in Grass Lake in the spring of 1838; were among the pioneers in that part of Jackson county. Mr. B. was educated in the district school and academy of that village. At the age of 18 spent a year in Detroit as clerk in the wholesale grocery of Chauncey Hurlbut; came to Jackson, and was salesman in the dry-goods house of W. M. Ben- nett several years. In April, 1859, he opened a general store in Jackson, which he conducted until 1871, then closed out, and has since devoted his attention to ready-made clothing, merchant tailor- ing and furnishings. Mr. B. has one of the finest stores and most extensive and desirable lines of gentlemen's wear in Central Mich- igan, and commands an extensive trade in each department. Mr. Bunnell was married when 23 years of age to Miss Mary A. Gra- ham, of Jackson. They have 1 son and 2 daughters. Mr. B. is a member of the Masonic order, lodge, chapter and commandery; is Past Commander of No. 9. His mother died in Grass Lake in the spring of 1849; father, in the fall of 1852. Mr. Bunnell was elected Mayor of the city of Jackson in the spring of 1881.

Nelson Burkhart, Keeper at Michigan State's prison, Jackson, has been officially connected with the institution for 13 years, the first five years as shop-keeper, and eight as keeper of the front gate. Since 1865 he has been engaged in no other business but handling criminals; was keeper of the Jackson county jail two years and Deputy Sheriff three years. Mr. Burkhart was born in the town of Grass Lake, this county, in 1848. William Burkhart, his father, was a native of New York, and married Eliza Price, of Pennsyl- vania. They caine West and settled in Grass Lake some years before Nelson's birth. He was reared on the farm and enjoyed the priv- ileges of the district school. Ang. 4, 1862, he enlisted in the army in Co. F, 20th Mich. Inf., which was assigned to Gen. Burnside's corps; fought in the battles of Fredericksburg, Columbia, Ky., Jack- son, Miss .; was with Grant in the battles of the Wilderness; was wounded in the hip by a shell at Spottsylvania, disabling him from further field service. Some months previous to muster ont, in August, 1865. Mr. Burkhart received promotion to 2d Lieut. He married in Jackson, Dec. 15, 1869, Czetta, daughter of Justice Welling, of the city, and an early settler. Mr. B. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, lodge No. 50 and commandery No. 9.

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

Edgar Burnett, express agent, corner of Mechanic and Court- land streets, is a son of Asa and Dalinda (Sias) Burnett; father a native of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and mother, of Connecticut; they emigrated to this State in 1834, and located at Ann Arbor, which was at that time a vast wilderness. There they raised a family of 5 children, 4 girls and 1 son. Edgar, who was born Oct. 17, 1849, received a common-school education; from 14 to 17 he worked on a farm and then was employed by the express company where he has since been engaged. He married Miss Julia Kacocks, daughter of Charles Kacocks, a native of Connecticut, and was born on April 30, 1856. They have 2 children, Hattie and Asa M.

Gilbert F. Burtch, patentee and manufacturer of the Burtch washing-machine, and Bnrtch clothes-ringer, was born and reared on a farm in Oxford county, Canada, and is 30 years of age. After working several years at the carpenter's trade and bridge building, he came to Michigan in the fall of 1869 and was a student two years in the University at Ann Arbor; returned a year to Canada; buried his mother while there; came to Jackson in 1872; worked a year and a half at the carpenter's business; returned to Canada; pursued bridge building 18 months; located permanently in Jackson at the end of that time; perfected his washing-machine and procured his patent in September, 1878, and at once began mannfacturing them. Ile had only sufficient means to make one machine at a time; and introduced it making on trial from house to house. In the fall of 1879, Mr. Burtch's improvement was put into a joint-stock com- pany; and there were over 800 machines made and sold in 1880. He has also patented a superior clothes-ringer, which promises to meet with great success. It is remarkable for simplicity of con- struction and perfection of its working. He is the sole owner of the patent and has 600 wringers in process of construction. Mr. B. married Ellen Lawrence, of Ridgeway, Lenawee Co., Mich. in No- vember, 1874.

Rev. Theophilus Buyse, a Catholic clergyman, and priest of St. John's Church, Jackson, was born at Rumbeke, in East Flanders, in the Kingdom of Belgium, June 7, 1832. He is one of a family of 10 children, and one of his brothers is also a priest. His father, Peter Buyse, who occupied for some time a prominent position under the Belginm Government, is deceased; but his mother, Ju- dith Bnyse, is still living, at an advanced age. Among the many earnest, devoted, and distinguished prelates of the Roman Catholic Church, those of Belgium descent, so far at least as they are repre- sented in this country, are comparatively numerous; and, by their character and attainments command the fullest confidence and re- spect of the community. Whether it be that the young Belgian breathes in the atmosphere of his little kingdom the inspiration that commands him to the holy office, or whether it is imbibed from the mother whose devotion is there more conspicuous, we can not say; but certain it is that during Mr. Buyse's childhood his

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tastes inclined him to missionary and priestly work. It seemed indelibly stamped upon his mind that he must be a priest. With this end in view he was carefully educated at Roulers in his na- tive province, entering a seminary there at the age of 13, and remaining 10 years. He here acquired that superior education and training for which the schools of the Catholic Church are so noted, including a thorough knowledge of six languages. In 1856 he left Belgium for the United States, and after a short time spent at Detroit, went to Cincinnati to complete his studies at Mt. St. Mary's Seminary under the charge of Bishop Quinlan, now at Mo- bile. He remained here a year and a half, when he returned to Detroit; and Dec. 19, 1858, was ordained to the priesthood by the late Bishop Lefevre, also a Belgian by birth, then in charge of that diocese. His first mission was at Ira, St. Clair county, Mich .; his field also extended into Macomb, Lapeer, Sanilac and Huron counties. In 1870 he was assigned the charge of St. John's Church at Jack- son, one of the most populous parishes in the interior of Michigan; it embraces not only the Church, but a girls' school, under the charge of the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and a boys' school, under a lay teacher, the two comprising some 350 pupils.

Father Bnyse has the responsible administration of the parochial affiairs, in which he has the services of an assistant priest. As a enltured gentleman, he is especially popular; has always identified himself with those local and public enterprises having for their ob- jeet the moral improvement and material prosperity of the people, and has labored zealously, both in his own Church and through other channels, for the alleviation of destitution and suffering among the poor. He holds his own political views, but does not obtrude them upon others; insists that his parishioners exercise their right of suffrage by the light of their best judgment. Words of mere encomium are alike out of place, whether addressed to the priest or the gentleman; and Father Buyse, sustaining the character of both, needs no eulogy.

William J. Calvert, M. D., homeopathic physician and surgeon, was born in St. Clair county, Mich., Feb. 18, 1835; is the third of 9 children of Joseph and Agnes (McAfee) Calvert. Soon after his birth they moved to Kingston, Canada, and in 1862 settled in Dexter, Mich. William being self-supporting very early in life, at the age of 12 he hired to a farmer for $1.50 a month. Having to depend upon his own efforts to obtain an education, he engaged in various avocations, the jeweler's trade, the photograph business, ete., to procure means. Doetor read medieine five years in Canada with Dr. Benjamin Franklin, of Tilsonburg; Dr. S. Joy, Dr. John Graham, and Dr. Beard, as preceptors. He took two courses of lectures in the medical department of Michigan State University, Ann Arbor, in 1862-'3, and in 1864. Then, concluding to adopt the homeopathie system, he went to New York city, and graduated from New York Homeopathic Medical College, in 1865. While there, Doctor was physician-in-chief to the dispen-

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

sary of the college. He returned to Michigan, and practiced several years in Washtenaw county, at Chelsea. He entered the literary department of the State University, intending to complete the course, but failing eyesight compelled him to abandon the idea. In 1868 Doctor took the senior course in Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, receiving the degree of M. D. that spring. - In December, 1868, he located in Jackson, where he has been in active practice since. In 1868 Dr. Calvert united with the American Institute of Homeopathy at St. Louis, Mo .; was delegate to the Northwestern Homeopathic Institute at Milwaukee, in 1869; went as delegate to the American Institute of Homeopathy, held at Washington, D. C., in 1872; also to Put-in-Bay in 1875, and to Lake George in 1879. He was delegate to the World's Homeo- pathic Convention at Philadelphia, in 1876. He was one of the organizers and incorporators, and for several years was First Vice- President of the Homeopathic Medical Society, of Michigan. Doctor is also a member of the Jackson County Homeopathic Medical Society, organized in 1877 ; is President of the society in 1881. Doctor Calvert is a staunch temperance man; signed the old Washingtonian pledge when 10 years old, and has belonged to most of the temperance societies since organized. He has never drank a glass of liquor in his life, and for 14 years has not pre- scribed a drop of alcohol for internal use in medical practice. During these years Doctor has not lost a patient from small-pox, scarlet fever or measles, when called before the disease had reached its last stage, and he has treated many. In hundreds of cases of accouchement he has never lost either mother or child. Doctor Calvert is past counselor and medical examiner for the Central City Council of the Royal Templars of Temperance, of Jackson; is a member of the Masonic order, and of the I. O. O. F. lodge and encampment. In 1873 and $74 he erected the Calvert Block on West Main street, and in 1878 purchased the Ann Arbor Sani- tarium and medical springs, the buildings of which burned March 29, 1880, involving a heavy loss. Doctor married Mary Jane Birch, of Canada, in November, 1859. They have 1 son, William B., a student in the homeopathic department of Michigan State University : and a daughter, Agnes. J., in the third year of Ann Arbor high school. Doctor is five feet nine inches in height, weighs 190 pounds, and can inhale 330 cubic inches of air at a single inspiration He has ridden 115 miles in a buggy and prescribed for 40 patients in a day of 18 hours, tiring out three horses to do the work, in the month of July, with the mercury at 98 º in the shade. He does most of his reading and writing between 8 P. M. and 2 o'clock A. M. The Doctor has invented several surgical appliances of value to the profession. He is a Monotheist and Rationalist in religion ; a Republican Prohibitionist in politics; a hater of shams; a lover of music, games and dancing; a hygienist in food, and believes "fun is better than physic." A full-page portrait of Doctor Calvert appears in this volume, on page 279.

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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.

Camp, Morrill & Camp is the title of one of the heaviest dry- goods firms in Central Michigan, and was formed in 1870 by H. W. and Theodore Camp and M. J. Morrill, all of whoin were sales- men in the dry-goods honse of W. M. Bennett previous to the formation of their co- partnership and the purchase of the stock and business of him 11 years ago. The house is a very old one, having been established by S. W. Whitwell in 1847. About 1853 the firm name became Whitwell & Bennett, by the introduction of W. M. Bennett. Mr. Bennett subsequently bought Mr. Whitwell's inter- est, and for a time was sole proprietor. Later the concern was known as W. M. Bennett & Co., until it went into the hands of the present owners in 1870. The volume of business has largely in- creased under their management, until it is equaled by few retail establishments in Michigan. The carpet department, of which they make a special feature, is very extensive, and the sales unsurpassed in this part of the State. Since the death of H. W. Camp in 1874 the business has been controlled by Theodore Camp and Mr. Mor- rill, though the firm namne remains unchanged. The annual sales of the house run $175,000 to $200,000.

William M. Campbell, general and local insurance agent, 118 West Main street, has been in the insurance business in Jackson 13 years. He was born in Monroe county, near Rochester, N. Y., in 1826. His father, Wm. Campbell, was a native of Stonington, Conn., born in 1784, and descended from Scotch parentage. He married Sarah Day. William M. was educated in the academy at Alexandria, N. Y., and taught school from 19 until 24 years of age, two years as Principal of Clarkston schools, Oakland county, Mich. Mr. Campbell went South for his health in the fall of 1850, spent seven years in Nashville, Tenn., in the dry-goods business, in which he prospered, but in 1857 lost everything by fire; then returned to Oakland county, Mich. He crossed the plains to Colorado with an ox team in the spring of 1859; returned and re-crossed in each of the two following years; started again in the spring of 1862, but stopped at Jackson, and has been here since. He became hall-mas- ter in the State's prison in the spring of 1863; filled that position a year, and that of conductor three years. He then bought a third interest in the Citizen office; was two years superintendent of the job office; sold out and engaged in his present business in 1868. He represents three leading American and one foreign fire com- pany, and is one of the most successful insurance men in Central Michigan. Mr. C. married Sarah Gregory, of Oxford, Oakland Co., Mich., who was brought up in Livingston county, N. Y. He is a member of the Masonic order; believed to have been the first mem- ber initiated in Colorado.

Baxter L. Carlton was born in Wyoming county, N. Y., June 3, 1839. His parents, Guy and Elizabeth Carlton, were of English ancestry and among the earliest pioneers of that section. He at- tended the common schools until he had entered his thirteenth year, when he became an apprentice in the office of the Courier, pub-

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lished at Le Roy, Genesee Co. In 1857 Mr. Carlton located in Jackson and was for some years an employe of the Patriot and Citizen, then under the proprietorship of the Messrs. Bontou and C. V. De Land. In 1862 he engaged with slender capital in the publication of the Eagle, a weekly journal of 28 columns, and by presistent effort made the venture a success. The Eagle, established as an independent journal, speedily drifted to the sup . port of Gen. McClellan, against the politicians and afterward as the Democratic nominee for President, and for this able and accom- plished officer and statesman Mr. Carlton cast his first presidential ballot. In 1866 the Eagle was consolidated with the Patriot, and the proprietor became the senior of the firm of Carlton & Van Antwerp, which has liad a continnons existence of 15 years.

Gaylord G. Case, jeweler and watchmaker, southwest corner of Main and Mechanic streets, isa native of the town of Rives, Jack- son Co., Mich., and is 24 years of age. His parents, Lyman C. and Anna (Kirby) Case came from New York, and settled on a farm in Rives in an early day. Gaylord began learning the trade of watchmaking at the age of 14; completed it in the Elgin watch factory. He started in business in Jackson on South Mechanic street in November. 1877, with no capital but a work bench and a thorough knowledge of his trade. The business has increased over 300 per cent. within the past year. He makes a specialty of selling fine watches; the leading is the " G. G. Case," manufactured to his order; does a large business in the finest repair work.

Howard H. Case, grocer, W. Main street., was born in the town of Rives, Jackson Co., Mich., in 1854; is the son of Lyman and Anna (Kirby) Case, natives of New England. They married in Jackson county and were the parents of 6 children, Howard being the second. He was chiefly educated in Leslie; began clerking in a store at 17 years of age in Jackson, the first month without any stipulations as to salary, leaving it to his employer, who gave him $12 per week; sold goods a year in Jackson, and a year each in Detroit and Saginaw. At the age of 20 he started in the grocery business with a capital of $150, in a little frame building on the corner of Pearl and Mechanic streets, selling ou the strictly cash basis; was compelled to close out from ill health six months after; spent the summer in Nebraska; returned in the fall and opened a grocery opposite the Union Hotel on Main street; at the end of a year removed to larger quarters on Mechanic street; and two years later to his present location, 116 W. Main street. Mr. Case has strictly adhered to the plan of selling for cash only, keeping no books but his cash and bank books. He has never had any aid whatever, and by energy and close application his sales have grown to $40,- 000 a year, retail. Mr. Case married Anna E. Nichols, of Detroit, in October, 1878. They are members of the First M. E. Church.

Patrick Casey, grocer, was born in County West Meath, Ireland, Sept. 15, 1831; emigrated to the United States and landed in New York; from there went to Westport, Conn., where he remained a

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short time, then came to Jackson, where he worked by the month and day until 1865, when he engaged in the grocery trade, and has continued the same ever since; carries a stock of $2,500 to $3,000. He married Miss Mary Falibee, and they have 6 children,-John H., Mary Ann., Margaret Ellen, Martha Jane, Matthew F. J., and J. T. They are members of the Catholic Church. In 1862 Mr. Casey was elected Constable and held the office three years.

John W. Cathcart, jeweler, 146 West Main street, established busi- ness in Jackson, in the old Marion House Block in July, 1878. re- maining there until it was destroyed by fire, Dec. 31, 1880, in which he lost nearly $2,000. Feb. 1, 1881, he opened at his present number. He handles a general line of watches, clocks, the finer grades of jewelry and diamonds, in which he has a large trade. Mr. Cathcart is a native of Toronto, Canada, where he commenced learning the trade at the age of 12 years, working evenings while attending school; worked under instructions of master mechanics.in Marshall, Mich., and in 1871 in New York city. He first started in business in Chelsea, Mich.,in 1875; left there and bought out a firm in Mattoon, Ill., in 1877; a year and a half later sold out and came to Jackson. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Chelsea Lodge. His father, William H. Cathcart, died about three years ago in Toronto, where his widow still resides. He descended from English parent- age, was born on the ocean, and reared in Canada. In September, 1877, Mr. Cathcart married Susie E. Royce, in Chelsea, Mich. He is Secretary of the Jewelers' Protective Association of Michigan, and 3d Vice-President of the United States Association.

William W. Child, watch, clock and jewelry merchant, son of Sylvester and Eliza Child, nee Carpenter, was born in Wayne county, N. Y. His father was a native of Providence, R. I., and his mother of New York State. William enjoyed the schools of his native county; and when 17 years old went to Syracuse to learn the jew- eler's trade, but in less than three years went to Newark, N. J., and completed his apprenticeship; then went to New York city six months; and after several changes of residence located in Columbia, S. C., and was employed as a journeyman when the ordinance of secession was passed; went home for a short time; returned to Winchester, Va., and upon the beginning of the war enlisted in the First Virginia Confederate Cavalry, in May, 1861; was taken pris- oner at Yorktown in 1862, having been in the service about 16 months; was sent to Fortress Monroe, thence to Fort Delaware, where he took the oath of allegiance, having been a prisoner three months, and was sent home; worked a short time in Brooklyn at his trade, then went to the Bermuda Islands, and conducted the jewelry business five years, part of the time as partner and the re- mainder alone; returned to United States in 1867; carried on his business six months in Baltimore, Md., at a loss; in November of the same year came to Jackson, Mich., and in December opened a store, which is now one of the oldest houses withont change in the city. Mr. Child has the largest and finest stock of goods in his

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line in Michigan, with two or three exceptions, aggregating $25,- 000 in value, a considerable of which is in diamonds and other precious stones. He is a busy worker and may be seen at the bench when not otherwise employed. He married Miss Julia B. Hoff, of Frederick county, Va., in 1864, who is the mother of 1 daughter, Mary E. Child, aged 16 years. Mr. Carlton is a member of the A. F. & A. M. lodge, chapter and commandery.

Gordon Chittock, M. D., born in the town of Hamilton, Suffolk Co., England, Jan. 15, 1827; was brought by his parents to America when three years of age. They settled and lived in New York city five years; removed to Wayne county, and remained a year; and in the fall of 1836 came to Jackson county, of which Doctor has been a resident since. His early education was obtained in Jack- son schools, and at the age of 17 he engaged as clerk in a drug store, and began the study of medicine. Three years later he retired from the store and entered the office of Dr. M. A. McNaugh- ton, with whom he completed his course of reading. Dr. Chittock attended his first course of lectures in the medical department of Western Reserve College, Ohio, in the winter of 1848-'9, and in 1850-'51 attended at Rush Medical College, Chicago, receiving the degree of M. D. that spring. He at once began practice in Jackson, and has been active in the profession 30 years. He was asso- ciated with Dr. Shank as examining surgeon for the third Congres- sional district during the civil war; and immediately after the battles of the Wilderness, went in May to Fredericksburg, Va., as a volunteer surgeon to help care for the 10,000 wounded men injured in those engagements. Dr. Chittock is a thorough student and close observer, and has attained prominence in the profession; has been a member of the Michigan State Medical Society since 1867, and of the American Medical Association for 10 years; has served as a delegate a number of times, and has attended every session but two in that time. He married Miss Maria Murray, of Hillsdale, Mich., July 26, 1854. Wright J. Chittock, their only child, is at- tending his second term in the medical department of Michigan State University. Doctor's father, Wright Chittock, was a tailor by trade, and was a pioneer in that vocation in Jackson. Getting the gold fever, he sailed on a steamer of the Vanderbilt line, for California, in 1852; was delayed three weeks at San Juan, and while there had the Panama fever. Continued the journey to San Fran- cisco on a sail vessel. In the summer of 1853 he sailed for home, bnt was taken ill, and died in Rochester, N. Y., in August. His widow resides with her son, the Doctor, aged 76 years.

William N. Choat, retired hardware merchant, son of John and Eliza (Nelson) Choat, was born in Lansingburg, near Troy, N. Y., and is 66 years old. From the age of two years he was reared andeducated in Auburn, where he learned the tinner's trade, and carried on business two years. Ile then bought an establish- ment in Rochester and conducted it two years. In 1842 Mr. Choat came West and settled in Jackson, to embark in the same

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History of Jackson County, Michigan, Part 62

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago [Ill.] : Inter-state Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1166

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago [Ill.] : Inter-state Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1166