USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
Mr. Dixon was born in the village of Dundee, this county, on the 10th of October, 1875. He is a son of John J. and Caroline (Beitzel) Dixon, who were born in the years 1843 and 1848 respectively. John J. Dixon is a native of Ohio and there lived until his marriage in 1866. Within a short time after his marriage he established his home in the village of Dundee, Michigan, and there he became the founder of the Dundee Bank which, under his effective administration, became one of the substantial and popular financial institutions of Monroe county. The enterprise was continued under the title noted until 1911, when the institution was incorporated under the laws of the state and title changed to the Dundee State Savings Bank. John J. Dixon continues as president, and Seth C. Dixon, a son, is cashier of this stable and ably managed banking house. John J. Dixon is one of the well-known and highly honored citizens of the county in which he has long maintained his home and to whose civic and material advancement he has contribu- ted in no small measure. Mrs. Dixon died January 17th, 1900, and of their children, two sons are living.
968
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
Thornton Dixon, the immediate subject of this review, is indebted to the public schools of his native village for his early educational dis- cipline, which included the curriculum of the high school, and in prep- aration for the work of his chosen profession he then entered the law department of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895 and from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and initiated the practice of his profession in the village of Dun- dee and continued same until his election as prosecuting attorney in 1900, when he removed to Monroe. He has served three terms as prose- cuting attorney of the county and made an enviable record in this im- portant office. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Dixon is an appreci- ative member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which his affili- ations are with Dundee Lodge No. 74, Free and Accepted Masons; Mt. Vernon Chapter No. 37, Royal Arch Masons; and Monroe Commandery No. 19, Knights Templar.
On the 2d of December, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dixon to Miss Nellie L. Sterling, daughter of William C. Sterling, a representative citizen of the city of Monroe, and they have one daughter, Jeannette. Mr. Dixon maintains his offices in the First National Bank building and his home is on Washington street.
BERNARD STURN, for many years prominent in the business life of Monroe, Michigan, is a native born German. Reared in America from the age of seven, in the home of his parents, he was thoroughly grounded in those principles of industry, integrity and carefulness which make so largely for success in the lives of our best German citizenship. Mon- roe has known him and his work for many years, and the high rank he takes in the civic life of the city is ample evidence of his character and fitness as a citizen of high order.
In Baden, Germany, September 25, 1845, Bernard Sturn was born and there he passed the first years of his life. He is the son of Paul and Mary Ann (Gurweck) Sturn, both natives of that country, and in the year 1852 with his parents he came to America. The family came direct to Monroe, and there the father engaged in the cabinet making business, which was the trade he learned in the homeland, and later worked as builder and contractor. He prospered in his work, which was always conducted in a small way and along most conservative lines, and remained thus occupied until his death, which came in 1870. His wife had died in 1854, two years after their coming to Monroe, and he was thus left with their six children to look after. Of that number, all are deceased excepting Bernard of this review, and a sister, Mrs. Louisa Smith, who lives at Hillsdale, Michigan.
Bernard Sturn attended school in Monroe for a few years, first in the public schools and later in St. Michael's Catholic school, but he was still young in years when he left school and entered a printing office to learn the printer's trade, in the office of the Monroe National Press. There he passed three years in hard and diligent work, studying con- stantly that as he advanced in workmanship he might also advance along educational lines. In 1861 at the age of sixteen he enlisted in the
969
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a member of a military band and he continued thus until 1862, when by an act of congress all mili- tary bands were disbanded, and he then returned to Monroe and again worked at the printer's trade for a while, when in 1864 he entered the employ of A. Munch, a baker and confectioner of some prominence iu Monroe, and for nearly six years he continued thus employed. In the year 1870 Mr. Sturn engaged in the restaurant and grocery business near the Lake Shore depot, and in that spot he built up a lucrative business, in which he continued until 1908. His friendly and open- hearted disposition has won to him a prominence that could not fail to bring him exceptional prosperity in such a business as he has been the proprietor of. In 1908 he retired from the activities of the restaurant business and turned the details over to his son, Harry L. Sturn, who has since carried on the establishment with a continuation of the success which marked the career of his father.
Mr. Sturn is a Democrat in his political allegiance, but he never, however, aspired for any political office, but has done good work for the city of Monroe as an official while a member of the board of public works, and also as a citizen during all these years of his residence in Monroe as a voter. He is a member of Joseph R. Smith Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is also connected with several industrial organiza- tions that have an important part in the life of Monroe. He and his family are members of St. Michael's Catholic church.
In 1872 Mr. Sturn married Malidia Hoffman, a daughter of Leopold and Saphronia (Lammler) Hoffman. Thirteen children were born of their union, of which number twelve are living. They are: Bernard J., Clara L., Harry C., George P., William E., Elizabeth, Frances S., Jos- eph A., Leo A., Mary M., Loretta S., and Herbert A. The family reside at the handsome home which Mr. Sturn erected at 219 Monroe street in 1908, a thoroughly modern home and well suited to the needs and requirements of the family.
JOHN C. HAMMER. Monroe county, Michigan, figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of this section. The county is and has been signally favored in the class of men who have contributed to its develop- ment along commercial and agricultural lines and in the former con- nection the subject of this review demands recognition as he has been interested in the grocery business during his entire active career. Un- der the firm name of Hammer & Lochner a strictly first-class grocery store is conducted at Monroe and an extensive patronage is controlled in this city and in the surrounding country.
John C. Hammer was born at Monroe, Michigan, August 23, 1882, and he is a son of John T. and Susie (Kopf) Hammer, the latter of whom passed to the life eternal in 1901. The father was educated in the city of Philadelphia, where he passed his early boyhood. He came to Monroe some years ago and worked for the Lake Shore Railway and then became
-
970
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
associated with C. F. Beck & Son in the lumber business on the lake and is still associated with the firm.
The second in order of birth in a family of five children, John C. Hammer was educated in the public schools and in the high school of Monroe. Upon leaving school he became interested in the grocery busi- ness and continued to devote his attention to that line of enterprise as a clerk in the store of George Hermann, at Monroe, until 1910, when he decided to launch into the business world on his own account. In that year he formed a partnership with Walter H. Lochner, under the style of Hammer & Lochner, and opened a grocery store at No. 17 East Front street in Monroe. Strictly first-class patronage is catered to and the store is quickly becoming one of the foremost concerns of its kind in the city. Politically, Mr. Hammer is an uncompromising sup- porter of the Republican party and while he is not an office seeker he is keenly alive to all political issues affecting the welfare of his home city. He is affiliated with a number of representative fraternal organi- zations and in religious matters owns allegiance to the Zion Lutheran church, in whose faith he was reared.
November 24, 1910, Mr. Hammer married Miss Catherine Schmidt, a daughter of John and Sophia (Bunge) Schmidt, of Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. Hammer have one son, Justus C. The Hammer home is main- tained at No. 17 East Front street and is recognized as a center of refinement and generous hospitality.
JOHN PHILLIPS BRONSON. The Bronson family was originally Scotch, its earliest American representatives, according to tradition, having come together to the New England states and there having founded the branches of that family, now scattered throughout the United States. The early Bronsons were participants in the colonial wars, in which they acquitted themselves creditably and unpreten- tiously.
Orin Wells Collins Bronson, who was a native of New York state, came in 1835 to the then new and richly promising middle west. He landed from the steamboat on which he had made his journey, first at Monroe, Michigan. From there he went to Tremainville, now West Toledo, and there was married to Helen Rebecca Phillips. The former Miss Phillips was of Dutch extraction. Her Holland-born ancestors had migrated to New Amsterdam before that settlement became New York. Her birth occurred in central New York state and her coming to Michi- gan was approximately coincident with that of the man to whom she was later married. Immediately after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bronson went to make their home in Swan township, Noble county, Indiana, where their three sons and one daughter were born. Of these all are dead but the subject of this biography.
John Phillips Bronson, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born in the Indiana home of Orin Phillips Bronson and his wife, on the 18th day of May, 1847. When about eight years of age, the boy accompanied the rest of the family to a new home in Toledo, Ohio. Here he and his sister and brothers were educated; here they grew to manhood and
971
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
womanhood. They all married and scattered to other localities; and all have passed from this life except the one, John Phillips Bronson.
The Toledo public schools provided the mental development of John Bronson. He was a mere youth at the time when the Civil war rent the Union. At the age of sixteen, however, he enlisted in the Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The courage with which he faced the dan- gers of military encounters is indicated by the fact that on Eutaw creek, in front of Atlanta, Georgia, he risked his life in an encounter that so severely wounded him as to result in the loss of his right leg.
After his discharge from the army, Mr. Bronson returned to Toledo. There for a long period of service he was a public officer in both city and county, until the year 1898. At that time he entered into a connec- tion with the Boehme & Rauch Cordage Company. He continued his residence in Toledo until 1901, when he changed the location of his home to Monroe. He was at that time and still is associated with the Boehme & Rauch Company, in the capacity of treasurer.
Mrs. John Phillips Bronson was before her marriage Miss Helen E. Lee, daughter of a prominent family of Monroe county and lower Michi- gan, where they were pioneers of no slight importance in the building up of the state. Some of the French ancestors of Mrs. Bronson are notable for early civil and military settlement and government of Can- ada (1600). Marquise de la Jonquire (Chabert De Joncaire), governor ; also, in Detroit, Chene-Loranger families, and Joseph Loranger, Mrs. Bronson's maternal grandfather, in an early day owned much of the land now the city of Monroe (the Loranger grant) and gave the city much of it for streets, and also public purposes.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bronson nine children have been born: Mrs. J. B. Friend, Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. Ben J. Greening, Monroe; Adelaide K .; Mrs. Walter A. Meier; Katherine H .; Eunice J .; John Lee; Dorothy H., and George L.
Politically Mr. Bronson has always given his allegiance to the Republican party. The religious interests of the family are those of the Catholic denomination. Mr. and Mrs. Bronson have lived a serenely uneventful life, such as is characteristic of the high morality and faith- ful service of our best citizens.
JOSEPH C. NADEAU. In the development of the land from the wilder- ness, in the pursuits of agriculture, in business, and in civic affairs, the pioneer Nadeau family has been prominent in Monroe county for more than eight decades of its history. The name and family fortunes were established here by Anton Nadeau, a native of France, who emigrated to the United States in 1830 and settled in Monroe county on land which at that time was heavily timbered. He did the pioneer labor of making a home and clearing the forests, and was one of the honored and indus- trious citizens of his time.
Of his children his son Moses was born in this county and became a substantial farmer, an occupation which he followed until his death at the age of forty-six. His wife was Dellia Nadeau, who was also a native of this county and of a French family. Her death occurred in 1900 at advanced age.
972
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
Joseph C. Nadeau, who for many years has been closely identified with the business life of Monroe, was one of the children of these par- ents and represents the third generation of the family in this county. He was born in his present home city, May 27, 1854. The district school near the home farm gave him his first schooling, after which he was a pupil in the old Fourth ward school, then in the John Davis school, and also for a time in the Union school. From the time he left school he has been identified with the mercantile and other business activities of this city, his first work being as a clerk in a grocery store. He has been one of the leading grocers of the city for many years, and the Nadeau store has not only been the reliable store for hundreds of fam- ilies in this city, but has also been the training ground for others who have subsequently entered merchandising in this city or elsewhere. Mr. Nadeau is a stockholder in the First National Bank, in the Elkhart Manufacturing Company and the Monroe Manufacturing Company, all being prominent concerns of this city.
Mr. Nadeau was the organizer of the famous rowing club in Mon- roe known as the Showaecaemette, which brought to this city many laurels acquired in contests both at home and abroad. In its time it was one of the crack organizations. Though their first boat was a some- what crudely constructed affair, the crew could drive it to outspeed any of the racing shells then used. In races on Lake Erie and on Long Island Sound, in the presence of great crowds, the Monroe oarsmen won every contest in which they engaged. They also went to England, where they surprised the Englishmen, who had always regarded their rowing as superlative. The members of the winning crew were Ste- phen Dusseau, Henry Durell, Moses Nadeau and J. C. Nadeau, all of whom were splendid athletes, and noted for their individual power and skill.
Mr. Nadeau was married on the 18th of May, 1877, to Miss Emma Jones, daughter of Lewis Jones. Mrs. Nadeau, who died in 1903, was the mother of four children, Joseph L., William J., Moses J. and May. The family home is at 610 First street in Monroe. Mr. Nadeau has always been a Democrat, and was treasurer of Monroe city for two years. He has always been a great admirer of sports, especially fast horses, some of which he owns.
ALONZO BURNHAM BRAGDON, known to the business world as A. B. Bragdon, Jr., is editor of the Record-Commercial, a weekly paper pub- lished at Monroe, Michigan, and he has been identified with local jour- nalism practically all his life. The dissemination of news, the discussion of public questions and the promotion of the general welfare of his com- munity through the columns of his paper have constituted life's object with him as a private citizen.
A native son of the city of Monroe, Monroe county, Michigan, A. Burnham Bragdon was born July 12, 1872, and he is the only son of Alonzo Bartlett and Agnes (Ross) Bragdon, both of whom are still living and reside at Monroe. The father is an attorney and counsellor- at-law, and a member of the Monroe county bar. After completing the curriculum of the public schools of Monroe, Mr. Bragdon, of this notice,
973
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
entered high school, in which he graduated as a member of the class of 1893. He began to sell newspapers when a lad of eleven years of age, and after leaving school he was engaged as a reporter until he had reached his legal majority. He then entered the employ of the Pere Marquette Railroad Company, working for that concern at Carleton and Saginaw, Michigan, for a few years, being for a time assistant gen- eral yard master at Saginaw, where he had charge of all the trains dur- ing the night run.
In November, 1895, Mr. Bragdon, Jr., became city reporter on the Monroe Democrat and he held that position for the ensuing five years. In April, 1900, he opened an office and handled various local papers, including the Detroit, Toledo and Chicago dailies, and August 26th of that year he accepted a position as manager of the Record Publishing Company. Subsequently he became editor of the Monroe Record and he held that office until April 10, 1904, when the company absorbed the Monroe Commercial, continuing both papers consolidated as the Rec- ord-Commercial. At this time Mr. Bragdon, Jr., became editor and manager of the consolidated paper and under his guidance it has grown to be one of the important papers of Monroe county. It has an exceed- ingly large circulation, is Republican in political affairs and is pub- lished every week on Thursday.
As already intimated, Mr. Bragdon, Jr., is a Republican in his politi- cal convictions and while he is not an office seeker he exercises a great influence for good through the medium of his paper. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Monroe Lodge No. 19, Monroe Encampment No. 180, and Grand Canton Lucas No. 3, of Toledo, Ohio. He is likewise connected with Toledo Lodge No. 53, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Valentine Lodge No. 209, Knights of Pythias of Monroe. He is senior colonel of the Patriarchs Militant, I. O. O. F., of the United States. He was chairman for four years of the advisory board of Michigan Repub- lican Editorial Association in connection with his newspaper work; vice-president and chairman of the executive board of the Wolverine Press Club; he is a member of the National Editorial Association of the United States, and the Michigan Press Association, the oldest press club in the United States, of which latter organization he is vice-presi- dent.
January 6, 1897, at . Saginaw, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bragdon to Miss Carolyn E. Bissonette, a daughter of Alexander Bis- sonette, a prominent citizen of Saginaw. Mr. and Mrs. Bragdon are the parents of four children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,-Alexander Burnham, Helen Elizabeth, Alonzo Benja- min, Clarence James Whitford. In their religious faith the Bragdon family are devout members of the Episcopal church at Monroe.
JACOB COOKE. There is special satisfaction in being able to present in this publication a review of the career of this honored citizen, who is now one of the venerable pioneers of Monroe county, which has repre- sented his home from the days of his infancy and in which he is a scion of a family that was here founded in the territorial epoch of Michigan Vol. 11-24
974
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
history, his parents having here established their home about five years prior to the admission of the state to the Union. Mr. Cooke has lived a life of signally earnest and productive order and is today undoubtedly the oldest active public official in the state, not only in point of years, but also in period of consecutive service, for he has been continuously the incumbent of the office of deputy collector of internal revenue for a full half century. His office headquarters are in the city of Detroit, but Monroe has been his home during all these years, and here his affec- tions and interests have been centered, the while he has fully measured up to the requirements of the metewand of popular approbation and is one of the best known and most honored citizens of his home county, -a courtly, dignified gentleman of the fine old regime and one pos- sessed of an affability and kindly consideration that have gained and retained to him warm friends in all classes.
Like many other of the sterling citizens who came to Michigan in the early pioneer days, Jacob Cooke claims the old Empire State as the place of his nativity. He was born at Geneva, Ontario county, New York, on the 15th of November, 1831, and is the eldest son in a family of four sons and two daughters, of whom one son and one daughter are now living. The parents, John and Jane (Pickney) Cooke, were born and reared in England but came to America separately, the voyages hav- ing been made on sailing vessels of the type common to that period. They landed in the port of New York City and soon afterward married and set- tled at Geneva, New York, where they continued to maintain their resi- dence until 1832, when they came to Michigan and established their home in Monroe county. Here John Cooke purchased what was known as the old Lauman farm, the greater part of which is now included with the First ward of the city of Monroe. On this land is situated St. Michael's Catholic church, on the west bank of the River Raisin. On this farm John Cooke continued to reside for a number of years, and he not only made excellent improvements on the property and contributed his quota to the civic and industrial development and progress of the county, but he also became an influential factor in public affairs in the pioneer com- munity. He finally removed to Wayne county, where he had purchased one thousand acres of land from the government, at a consideration of $1.25 an acre. He also owned large tracts of land in Monroe, Hills- dale and Jackson counties. He reclaimed much of this land to cultiva- tion and both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives in Brownstown. John Cooke was eighty years of age at the time of his death and his wife was summoned to eternal rest at the age of eighty- six years, both having been earnest communicants of the Episcopal church, and the political allegiance of the father having been given to the Republican party. The names of these sterling pioneers of the territorial days in Michigan merit enduring place on the pages of the history of the state.
Jacob Cooke, whose name initiates this review, was about ten months old at the time of the family immigration to the territory of Michigan, and here he has maintained his home during the long intervening period of four score years. He availed himself of the advantages of the com- mon schools of Monroe and Wayne counties and thereafter pursued
975
HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY
higher branches of study in Rosedale Academy, a well ordered institu- tion located in Saline. Thereafter he put his scholastic acquirements to practical use by entering the pedagogic profession, in which he was for a short time a successful and popular teacher in the village school of Flat Rock, Wayne county. In 1852, about the time of attaining to his legal majority, he came from the family home in Wayne county to Monroe, to assist in the settlement of the estate of his honored father, who laid out and platted an addition to this city, said addition being now in the First ward. From that time to the present he has main- tained his home in Monroe and during the decade from 1852 to 1862 he gave his attention principally to manufacturing potashes. In the latter year he was appointed first assistant assessor of internal revenue for the district of Michigan, this preferment having been accorded by Joseph R. Bennett, who was at the time the United States assessor of internal revenue for this state. It is certainly a remarkable record of service that has been that of Mr. Cooke in this government office, for he has continued to retain the position of deputy collector during the long intervening period of a half century, with official headquarters in Detroit and residence in Monroe, as already noted. It is altogether probable that no man in the state is more familiar with its history than this venerable pioneer, and his memory compassed the entire period of the history of the state as one of the sovereign commonwealths of the Union. He knew well the leading men of the pioneer epoch in Michi- gan annals, and has known those who have been influential in public affairs in the state in later generations. His reminiscences concerning the days long past are most graphic and many of them of great histori- cal interest and value. His years rest lightly upon him and he has the physical alertness and mental poise of a man many years his junior, as may be measurably understood from the fact that he gives close attention to his official duties and finds pleasure in maintaining his active identification with practical affairs. He takes a deep interest in the questions and issues of the hour and is admirably fortified in his opinions concerning matters of economic and general political import.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.