USA > Michigan > Mason County > History of Mason County, Michigan > Part 18
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GEORGE P. McMAHON, insurance agent, Ludington, is a native of Manchester, Mich., and came to Ludington in July, 1879. At that time Judge White was still controlling a large insurance business, and Mr. McMahon bought an interest in October, 1879. In August,
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1880, he bought the remaining interest, and is now engaged alone in the business. He represents a very large list of companies of life, fire and marine insurance. He is a young man of thorough business habits and plenty of energy, and does a large amount of business. In the fire of June, 1881, the total loss paid through his office amounted to $65,000.
MICHAEL B. DANAHER is a son of Patrick M. Danaher, one of the early settlers of Ludington. Mr. Danaher was born in Kenosha County, Wis., and came to Ludington with his parents in 1865. In 1878 he graduated at Ann Arbor, and after reading law for two years was admitted to practice. Mr. Danaher is a young man of quiet, unassuming manners, but of good legal ability.
EDWARD GANGNON is a native of Canada and came to the States in 1849. He first went to the Lake Superior country and from there to Saginaw. In 1871 he came to Ludington from Sagi- naw and engaged in business. He opened a cigar and notions store on James Street. At that time James Street existed only in name, and his store was more in the country than in town. He, however, did a good business and by the exercise of prudence accumulated property. The present season he has erected a large and handsome brick block on James Street, having a frontage of seventy feet. One portion of the block is for a livery stable and the balance is for stores. The block is an ornament to the city and is evidence of Mr. Gangnon's thrift and enterprise.
RICHARD RAYNE is a native of England and come to this country in the year 1860. He first stopped at St. Johns, Mich. In 1866 he came to Mason County and settled in what is now " Victory Corners." He was engaged at lumbering for a time and afterward conducted a large store at the Corners. He was one of the men who applied for the erection of Victory Township. After the rail- road was completed to Ludington in 1874, he removed to this city and opened a general merchandise store. In 1880, having gone out of the store, he went into the tailoring business, which he still con- tinues. The present season Mr. Rayne has erected a brick store on Ludington Avenue.
LOUIS WARD is one of the busiest young men in Ludington. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and went to Manistee in 1874. In 1877 he came to Ludington with Dempsey & Cartier, and worked on the river driving and assorting logs. In 1881 he was employed by the Boom Company as superintendent, and at the beginning of the present year was elected secretary and treasurer. He has the en- tire management of the operations of the Boom Company, and is proving a very efficient man in that responsible position.
CHARLES OLSON is a native of Norway and came to this coun- try in 1855. He stopped for a time in Chicago and then went to Hudson, Wis., where he remained until the breaking out of the war. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D. Second Wisconsin Cavalry, and was in the service three years, when he received his discharge on account of disability. He remained in Chicago until 1865, when he came to Ludington, and for a time was engaged with his brother in carrying the mail between Pentwater and Manistee. Afterward he was engaged at draying in Ludington until the Fall of 1881, when he started his present grocery store on James Street.
FRANK B. and NEWTON B. PIERCE have been engaged in business as lumber inspectors since 1875, under the firm name of Pierce Bros. Both are natives of the state of New York. Frank came to Ludington in the year 1871 and Newton came a year later. Be- fore coming to Ludington they lived for a time with their parents in Milwaukee, and came direct from there to Ludington. Both are young men of industrious and thrifty habits, and have been very successful in their undertakings. In the Fall of 1879 they erected a substantial two-story brick block on Ludington Avenue, which is rented for business purposes. The store room is occupied by the
Danaher & Melendy Company, and the second story is rented by the Knights of Honor. This block just escaped being burned in the great fire of June, 1881.
JOHN MCKENZIE is a native of Scotland and came to this coun- try in 1853. At the breaking out of the war he was at Detroit, and enlisted in the service with the three-months men. At the ex- piration of that time he re-enlisted in the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. In 1868 he received his discharge and returned to Detroit. In 1871 he came to Ludington, where he has since resided. Mr. Mckenzie is a carpenter by trade and is a skilful workman. He has followed . that trade since fourteen years of age.
JOHN BETHUNE, proprietor of the James Street livery stable, is a native of Canada, and came to Ludington in 1878 from Missouri, where he had spent four years. Very soon after coming here he started a livery stable on James Street, and has remained in the same location ever since. He has been a successful business man.
JOSEPH STITT is a native of Ireland and came to this country in 1837. In 1878 he came to Ludington and engaged in the lum- ber and logging business, in which he has continued to the present time, doing a large business.
THOMAS E. DAVIES was born in England, but most of his early life was spent in Illinois. In the Fall of 1878 he came to Lu ling - ton from Muskegon and purchased the Ludington Boiler Works of Thomas McMaster. He made extensive alditions to the buildings and capacity of the works which he has very successfully operate 1 since that time. Mr. Davies served in the war from 1861 to 1863, when he was discharged for disability. Mr. Davies is a liberal and enterprising business man and deserves the prosperity which attends his labors. A fine view of his Boiler Works appears on another page in this work.
A. J. BUTLER is a native of Riverton, Mason County. Upon leaving home he went to the extreme northern part of the state, where he remained until 1880, he came to take a clerkship in the post-office under Judge Wheeler. April 1st, 1881, he was promoted to chief clerk, which position he retained to the close of Judge Wheeler's term of office.
ELMER E. STANTON came to Ludington in May, 1881. He is a native of Onondaga County, N. Y., and came to Mason County in November, 1880. He is manufacturer of and dealer in seal presses, steel stamps, stencil plates, etc., and is also reading law in the office of D. V. Samuels. In April, 1882, he was elected justice of the peace for one year. Mr. Stanton is a prominent temperance worker and is at the head of the Good Templars in the county.
CALVIN P. STANTON is a native of Onondaga County, N. Y., and came to Ludington in 1872. Mr. Stanton served in the war with the Fifteenth New York Cavalry from 1863 until the close of the war, in 1865. He is senior vice-commander of the G. A. R., Post here. Mr. Stanton is a tinner by trade.
CHARLES T. SAWYER, abstract and real estate office, Ludington, is a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., and came to Mason County in 1865. He served in the war with Company H, Twenty-first Regiment, from 1862 to 1865. In 1871 he was elected clerk of the county, and when the county-seat was removed to Ludington in 1878 he came to this city. He held the office of county clerk for six years, and in 1879-80 was one of the proprietors of the Record. Since leaving the office of county clerk he has devoted his atten- tion to the abstract and real estate business for the most part, and since 1880 has given that business his whole attention. He is a safe and reliable business man and has large property interests en- trusted to his management.
EDWIN ANDREWS, of the firm of F. W. Andrews & Co., dealers in books, fancy goods, wall paper, etc., at Ludington, was born in Bennington County, Vt., in 1824. In 1848 he came to west-
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ern New York, and in 1860 came to Hillsdale, Mich. In 1872 he removed to Ludington and in 1879 became interested in the firm of F. W. Andrews & Co. Mr. Andrews has been a contractor and builder, but of late years has retired from active business. After the fire of June, 1881, the firm erected a fine brick block on the corner of Ludington Avenue and James Street, a portion of which is occupied by their store.
FRANK S. KNOWLES, dentist, came to Ludington from Oakland County, Mich., in May, 1880. For a time before coming here he was in business at Orion, Mich. Dr. Knowles is a young man of acknowledged skill in his profession, and has succeeded in establishing himself in a large and lucrative practice. In December, 1881, he was joined by his brother, and the firm is now F. S. & O. F. Knowles.
WILLIAM G. HUDSON came to Ludington from Eaton County, Mich., in 1872. He is a native of New York State. For some time after coming to Ludington he worked at the painters' trade. In 1876 he opened a paint and oil store on Charles Street, where he remained until 1878, he removed to James Street and was burned out in the fire of 1881. He has, at the present time, a store in the Clayton Block on James Street. Mr. Hudson servel in the war with Battery H, First New York Light Artillery, from 1861 to 1864.
HON. OLIVER O. STANCHFIELD came to Ludington in 1873, (the year the city obtained its charter) from Iowa. He was born in Maine in 1836, and went to Iowa when twenty-one years of age. Upon coming to Ludington, in company with E. A. Foster he bought a sawmill in process of construction and engaged in the lumber business. In 1876 he bought out his partner, and since that time has done business alone. Mr. Stanchfield has always taken a lively interest in political affairs, and represented his district in the Legis- lature during 1875-6 and again in 1878-9. He is still engaged in lumbering, though not as extensively as in former years.
WILLIAM J. CUSHWAY came to Ludington from Manistee in March, 1870. He is a native of Wayne County, Mich. On coming to Ludington he opened a jewelry store on Main Street, near where the postoffice was located at that time. He has been burned out three times. In 1881 he built a handsome brick store at the corner of James and Loomis Streets, which he occupies as a store. Mr. Cushway was township clerk in 1871 and has served as supervisor three years. He was one of the organizers of the fire department, and was prominent in its management until it dis- banded.
MONROE A. AGENS, of the firm of M. A. Agens & Co., cabinet makers, is a native of New Jersey, and came to Michigan in 1864. In 1872 he came to Ludington, from Kalamazoo, and after working at the carpenter trade for a time, opened a shop on Ludington Ave- nue. Until 1881 the firm was M. A. Agens. At that time Wilson Holmes took an interest in the business, and the name of the firm was changed to M. A. Agens & Co. Mr. Agens is a skilful work- man, and prides himself upon being able to fill any order that is re- ceived in the line of woodwork.
CHARLES L. TRIPP, dealer in tobacco, cigars and fancy goods, Ludington, is a native of New York State, and came to Ludington in 1868. His brother, George Tripp, had been here for thirteen years, and having prospered, Charles was tempted to follow after. In 1878 he started in his present business on Ludington Avenue. 'He was burned out in the fire of June, 1881, and suffered consid- erably. As soon as the White & Danaher Block, corner Ludington Avenue and James Street, was finished, he moved into it and has since done a very prosperous business.
ANSON PALMITER came to Ludington 1867 from California, where he had spent two years. He is a native of Wayne County, Mich. From 1867 until 1878 he worked at the carpenter's trade most of
the time. In 1878 he started a restaurant, in connection with a cigar and confectionery store, on James Street. He was burned out in the fire of June, 1881, but immediately resumed business.
WILLIAM OSBORN, of the firm of William Osborn & Co., fish deal- ers, at Ludington, is a native of Canada, and came to the States in 1857. In 1874 he came to Ludington, from Bay City, and engaged in the fish business. His business consists in catching, buying and shipping fish, and has reached very large proportions. He han lles about all the fish taken in the harbor, and his shipments reach an average of 50,000 pounds a month. Mr. Osborn is also interested in fisheries at Pentwater and other places.
ADAM DRACH is at the head of the dry goods house of Adam Drach & Co., a leading firm in Ludington. Mr. Drach is a native of Germany, and came to this country in 1871. For some time he was in business at Saginaw, and at the beginning of 1881 came to Ludington and opened an extensive dry goods store in White & Dan- aher's Block. He was burned out in the fire of June, 1881, but re- sumed business immediately after. Mr. Drach is a natural mer- chant, and does a very successful business.
M. HOLMQUIST, undertaker, Ludington Avenue, Ludington, is a native of Sweden, and came to this country in 1869. Arriving at Chicago, circumstances directed his steps toward Ludington, then a small village in the midst of forest. Arriving here, he went to work in a sawmill, and subsequently did carpenter work, which was a profitable employment. Industrious and prudent, Mr. Holmquist saved from his earnings, and in 1871 started in the furniture busi- ness. He had two partners, John Eckroth and F. Holmes. They bought a stock of goods in Chicago, just before the great fire, and their entire purchase was destroyed. Having paid for the goods, they were heavy losers, as some of the firms they bought of were unable to refund the money. But another stock was bought and the business started. In 1872, to close out the business, a large por- tion of the stock was converted into money, and one night the two partners ran away with all the money, leaving Mr. Holmquist with the remaining stock and debts. He accepted the situation, and went manfully at work to extricate himself from the difficulties, and succeeded in doing so. From 1874 to 1880 Mr. Peleg Ewing was in partnership with Mr. Holmquist, but in 1880 Mr. Ewing retired, and since that time Mr. Holmquist confined his business exclus.vely to undertaking and embalming, and is to-day one of the most pros- perous business men in the city.
PETER MENDELSON, clothier, Ludington, is one of the enterpris- ing and successful business men of this go-ahead city. Mr. Mendel- son is a native of Poland, and when fourteen years of age went to England, where he remained five years. In 1862 he came to this country, and for some time was located at Saginaw. In the Spring of 1872 he came to Ludington, then a village, and opened a clothing store, in the building now occupied by Mr. Huston as a hardware store. At that time Ludington was anything but a metropolis, and to a stranger was not an inviting field. But the people were full of grit, and Mr. Mendelson possessed a full share of that valuable ele- ment of success. He determined to stay and was confident of suc- cess in the long run. His present circumstances show that he was not mistaken. He weathered the dull times and was prospered. After the fire of last Summer he built a fine brick block 90x25 feet, two stories high, on Ludington Avenue. The ground floor he uses for his store and the second floor is elegantly finished for his family apartments. Mr. Mendelson is a liberal, public-spirited citizen, and has built up a good reputation as a reliable business man.
L. W. ROUSSIN, proprietor of the James Street meat market, Lud - ington, is a native of Canada, and son of Joseph Roussin, boot and shoe dealer on James Street. He came to Ludington with his par- ents in 1869, and for some time worked in a meat market. In 1880
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he started in business for himself, and now has the finest market in the city.
L. E. ANDREW, son of Edwin Andrew, is a native of. Vermont, and came with the family to Michigan in 1868. In 1872 they came to Ludington, and in 1878, in company with his brother, Mr. L. E. Andrew, started in business at painting. From that time to the present they have done a very extensive business in Ludington and neighboring places. They have given particular attention to dec- orative painting, and have acquired a wide reputation for superior skill and taste. They have a shop on Ludington Avenue and em- ploy a large force of workmen.
WATSON CARROLL, druggist, is a native of the "Old Dominion," having been born in Virginia, in 1828. In 1862 he enlisted in the service as a private, in Company D, One Hundred and Twenty- eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served in the war until its close, in 1865, when he received his discharge and came to Michi- gan. In 1875 he came to Ludington from Pentwater. He was en- gaged in carriage making until 1878, when he opened a drug store in the Fourth Ward, where he does a large business. He has a wife and one son, Dr. M. A. Carroll, who graduated at Cleveland, Ohio, and has been in practice in Ludington since 1877.
C. E. MITCHELL, city engineer, is a native of Ann Arbor. He attended school at the University, and in the Fall of 1878 came to Ludington. Before coming here he had followed engineering for four or five years, most of the time at railroad work. Since coming here he has been harbor inspector and city engineer. The present season he has been superintending the extension of the piers at the Ludington harbor.
JOHN A. MITCHELL, United States assistant engineer, is a native of Ann Arbor, Mich. He chose the occupation of civil engineering, and has followed it for about ten years. He was harbor inspector, and since last Spring has been United States assistant engineer, and in charge of this shore from Pentwater north.
JOHN C. FANNON is a native of Ireland, and came to this coun- try in 1849. For several years he resided in Wisconsin, and in 1870 came to Ludington and engaged in the liquor business on James Street, which he has continued to the present time. Mr. Fannon has been successful in his business, and is a firm believer in Ludington.
N. P. CHRISTENSEN, of the firm of Hansen & Christensen, is a native of Denmark, and came to this country in 1868. In 1880 he came to Ludington, and soon after the firm of Hansen & Christensen was established. They started a grocery store in the Fourth Ward and succeeded so well that in the Spring of 1882 they opened a dry goods store a few doors south of their grocery store. Mr. Hansen attends to the grocery and Mr. Christensen to the dry goods. Both are young men of industrious habits and are succeeding as mer- chants.
FRED. C. SILVER Was born in Logan County, Ohio, in 1848, and came to Ludington in 1871, from Elkhart, Ind., and opened a pho- tograph gallery. Mr. Silver was the first photographer in Luding- ton, and by patient industry and skill has acquired a fine business. He was burned out in the great fire of June, 1881, but immediately after started a new gallery, and very soon was again finely equipped for business.
ROLLIN R. WHEELER, hardware dealer, Ludington, is a native of Milwaukee, and went from there to Hart, Mich., in 1871. In 1875 he came to Ludington, and engaged in the hardware business with Mr. Williams, under the firm name of Williams & Wheeler. They were burned out in the fire of 1881, but immediately resumed business, and are a leading firm in the city. Mr. Wheeler served in the war from 1861 to 1864, with Company B, Fifth Wisconsin Regiment.
HARRY H. FOSTER is the junior member of the firm of E. A. Foster & Co., shingle manufacturers, in the Fourth Ward, at Lud- ington. He is a native of Wisconsin, and came to Ludington from Muskegon, in 1869. In 1877 the firm of E. A. Foster & Co. built their present mill and commenced to operate it. They cut about 30,000,000 shingle each season, and employ an average of thirty-six men.
M. HANSEN is a Scandinavian by birth, and came to this country in 1872. He first located in Milwaukee, where he worked at cigar making. In 1874 he came to Ludington and engaged in the manufacture of cigars. He continued in that business until 1879, when he opened a saloon on James Street, where he now does a flourishing business.
THOMAS FORD is a native of Waukesha County, Wis., and came to Ludington in 1872. For some time after coming here he worked at lumbering, and afterward was engaged as a clerk in a grocery store. In 1879 he embarked in the grocery business, and by industry and careful management has prospered. He owns a farm of eighty acres in Amber Township, which he is putting under culti- vation. Mr. Ford is a good business man and does a large trade.
JOHN PHALAN, proprietor of the Phalan House, Ludington, is a native of Canada, and came to Ludington in 1865. For a time he worked at lumbering, and in 1872 built a hotel on James Street. In December, 1880, the building was burned, but he immediately rebuilt a substantial brick building on the site of the one burned. Mr. Phalan does a good business, and has the reputation of being a careful manager and a reliable citizen.
FRANCIS D. MARTIN is a native of Kalamazoc County, Mich., and is a turner and pattern maker by trade. He enlisted at Kalamazoo in 1862, and served with the Seventh Michigan Cavalry until the close of the war in 1865. In April, 1879, he came to Ludington from Ionia County and went at work in a machine shop as turner and pattern maker. He is a skilful workman and still continues in the position he has already held for nearly four years.
J. M. GALE, proprietor of the Piatt House, Ludington, is a gentleman who has had a wide experience in the fortunes and mis- fortunes of this world's affairs. Mr. Gale is a native of Monroe County, Mich. Soon after starting out in the world for himself he went to South Carolina and took lessons in sword exercise. While there in 1846 he enlisted in the United States service and went to Mexico. He was connected with the service about six years, when he returned North and engaged in sailing and steamboating. About that time he began a career of wonderful prosperity. For fifteen years he lived at Saginaw and owned a half interest in a valuable line of steamboats, and was also interested in large grain and lum- bering operations. He accumulated a large fortune, but reverses swept it away, and in 1875 he came to Ludington. For the past four years he has kept the Piatt House and is doing a good business, but on a small scale as compared with his former operations. Mr. Gale has always maintained the reputation of an honorable and reliable business man.
C. GEBHARDT, merchant tailor, Ludington, is a native of Ger- many, and came to this country in 1859. In 1873 he came to Ludington from Bay City and engaged in the merchant tailoring business, after erecting a store building on the corner of Ludington Avenue and Harrison Street. He was burned out in the fire of June, 1881, but immediately rebuilt his store and resumed busi- ness. Mr. Gebhardt is a first-class tailor and does an extensive business: A fine view of his block may be seen upon another page.
H. P. HANSEN, of the firm of Hansen & Christensen, merchants, Ludington, is a native of Denmark, and came to this country in 1869. He first came to Muskegon, but went from there to Racine, Wis., where he remained until 1880, when he came to Ludington
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and engaged in business with N. P. Christensen. They first started a grocery store in the Fourth Ward and did a prosperous business. Last Spring they opened a large dry goods store a few doors south of their grocery, which is also proving a successful venture. Both are men of integrity, and have met with excellent success as busi- ness men.
FRED. OHLAND is a native of Germany, and came to this country in 1854. He located at Saginaw, and at the breaking out of the war entered the service as a private soldier. He enlisted in 1861 with the Second Michigan Infantry and served for nearly four years. In 1864, at the battle of Knoxville, Tenn., he received a wound which shattered the elbow of his right arm and disabled him so that he received his discharge. In 1875 he came to Ludington, and in 1878 opened a saloon and restaurant on Charles Street, which he still continues.
PAUL POMEROY, manufacturer of soda and mineral water, is one of the enterprising business men of Ludington. He is a native of Canada, and came to the States with his parents when a child. In 1864 he went to Manistee, where he remained until 1873, when he came to Ludington and started on a small scale in the business of manufacturing soda water. Mr. Pomeroy is an industrious and careful man, and has persistently applied himself to his business until he is now established upon a firm footing and has a good pat- ronage. The present season he has erected a substantial building at the foot of Ludington Avenue which is to be used in the manu- facture of soda and mineral water.
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