USA > Michigan > Men of progress : embracing biographical sketches of representative Michigan men with an outline history of the state > Part 38
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Mr. Fitzgerald is a Republican. He was representative for the first district of Eaton county in the Legislature of 1895-1896 and clerk of the house committee on state affairs during the session of 1893. He was a mem- ber of the school board of Grand Ledge from 1894 to 1898; township clerk from 1876 to 1878 and appointed postmaster June 16, 1898, and he still holds that office.
He married Miss Carrie G., daughter of Tobias Foreman, at Grand Ledge, Michigan, in 1879, and has three children: Pearl, Harry B., employed in the Grand Ledge postoffice, and Frank D., at school in Grand Ledge.
Mr. Fitzgerald is a Mason, and belongs to Lansing Commandery, No. 25, K. T. He is also a Pythian and a member of the K. O. T. M.
273
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
GRAHAM, RODNEY SHEPHERD. The name of Graham is a familiar one, both in Scottish history and romance. In the Gaelic the name is rendered Graeme. It was a Graeme whose weapon slew James I. of Scotland. Malcolm Graehame is made a character in Scott's "Lady of the Lake," and Roland Graeme is the hero of the romance of The Abbott. A page of Scottish history in medieval times would be deficient if not marked by the name of Graham or Graeme. From this stock sprang Richard Graham, who emigrating from Scotland at an early day, settled in the state of New York, where his son, Harvey Graham, father of Rodney S., was born and reared. Harvey Graham re- moved from New York to Newmarket, On- tario, in the early forties, where he married Sarah Ann Barker, a native of Ontario, and where Rodney S. was born August 11, 1864. He attended school at Queensville until 14 years of age, when the family moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Here Rodney S. en- tered the high school, where he finished the course, and then attended college at Valpa- raiso, Indiana. After completing his studies, he taught district school for several terms, in the meantime taking a teacher's review course. Returning to the Sault in 1887, he there married Miss Nellie Mckinnon. In 1891 he went to Washington and secured a position in the Indian school service, being stationed at the Pulallup Consolidated Agency as a teacher. He remained there six years, being promoted at the end of the first year to the position of superintendent. This school being discontinued, Mr. Graham was transferred to Hoopa, California, where lic was made superintendent of the much larger school at that place. September 8, 1897, he was transferred to the Indian school at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, where he became a bonded superintendent. The school then had but a single large building and 140 pupils. The number increased in one year to 300, and is now regarded as one of the first insti- tutions of its kind in the country, and is doing a great work. The boys are taught general
-
RODNEY SHEPHERD GRAHAM.
farming and many useful trades. The in- struction for girls includes housekeeping, sew- ing, dressmaking in its several branches, cook- ing, nursing and laundry work, with special branches for advanced pupils in both sexes. Pupils are taken at seven years of age and up- wards, remaining until eighteen. The regu- lar school embraces eight grades, correspond- ing to those usually prescribed for the public schools, and the pupils when graduated are' eligible to the Carlisle and Haskell Schools for advanced Indian pupils. In brightness and aptness to learn, the young Indians com- pare very favorably with white pupils of the public schools. The Mt. Pleasant institution is a model of its kind, the farm consisting of 320 acres, located on a high plateau, one and one-half miles from the city of Mount Pleas- ant, in the county of Isabella.
Mr. Graham has held the position of mem- ber and chairman of the Chippewa county board of school examiners, but has held no other public office, his entire work having been in connection with the teaching profes- sion. He is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, of the Elks, and the Maccabees. Al- though his calling is wholly non-political in character, he is at the same time an adherent of the Republican party.
274
MEN OF PROGRESS.
CHARLES ROBERT SLIGH.
SLIGH, CHARLES ROBERT. Mr. Sligh was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., Jannary 5, 1850, and is of Scotch-Irish descent, his father, James W., being born in Scotland, and his mother, Eliza ( Wilson) Sligh, in Ireland. His grandfather settled in Canada in 1833, and his parents came from Rochester, N. Y., to Michigan in 1846. His father was a captain in the Michigan Engineers and Mechanics' Regiment, was wounded in battle and died in 1863.
The boy attended the common school until he was fifteen years old, when he realized that he would have to shift for himself and help support the family. After a few months' work in the County Clerk's office, he appren- ticed himself to W. D. Foster, of Grand Rap- ids, to learn the trade of tinsmith. After com- pleting his apprenticeship, he worked one year as a journeyman, through Illinois and Michigan. He was sometimes hard pressed for food, one day subsisting on raw green corn, picked in the fields along the road. Twice. he had to pawn his valise and watch, for a night's lodging. At Galesburg, Ill., he secured em- ployment with the C., B. & Q. R. R., where he worked four months. Then he returned
to Grand Rapids and again entered the employ of W. D). Foster, as clerk. He engaged with the Berkey & Gay Furniture Co., and from 1874 to 1880 was a traveling salesman for that firm, being the first man to introduce Grand Rapids furniture in Texas, making his trips by stage or on horseback.
In 1880 Mr. Sligh organized the Sligh Furniture Company, with a capital of $18,- 500, of which he furnished $4,000. Only 10 men were employed, but the firm has pros- pered until it now employs 325 men and the goods sell in every state in the Union.
Mr. Sligh was married in 1875, to Mary S., daughter of David Conger, of Prairie du Sae, Wis., and three daughters, Edith, Adeline and Loraine, are the result of this mion.
Mr. Sligh is a director in the Citizens' Tele- phone Company, which was organized largely through his efforts and which is one of the largest independent companies in the country. He served one term on the Board of Education and was president of the National Furniture Manufacturers' Association 1888-92, and for several years was president of the Grand Rap- ids Furniture Manufacturers' Association, and is at present one of its directors. He was one of the organizers of the Grand Rapids Board of Trade, was its vice-president for one year and a director for ten years.
He was recently appointed by Gov. Pingrec a member of the "Michigan Board of Man- agers at the Ohio Centennial."
Mr. Sligh was for several years engaged in importing mahogany from Central America, making five trips to that country. He was especially instrumental in 1890 in breaking up the mirror glass trust, making a trip to Germany for that purpose. He also made รข trip to Europe in 1894, introdneing Grand Rapids furniture.
Mr. Sligh was a Republican, but separated from the party on the financial question. In 1896 he was nominated for Governor by the Bay ('ity fusion convention and polled the largest vote ever given a Democrat in Michi- gan for that office. He is a man of sterling qualities and a most influential citizen.
275
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
HART, RODNEY GEORGE. Rodney George Hart was the first white ehild born in Lapeer County, Michigan. The date of this event was May 28, 1834, when that section of this now thickly populated state was alnost a wilderness.
His father, Alvin N. Hart, was the pioneer settler in Lapeer County, eutting his way through the woods from a point near Oxford, Michigan, guided only by the signs known to the woodmen of that time, and eamping wherever nightfall found him. One night he eamped under a huge elm tree. This tree is still standing today on the commons in the City of Lapeer. Alvin N. Ilart was the first sen- ator from that section, and also county judge
Until he was about twelve years old Rod- ney G. Hart attended the distriet sehool near his home, and then he was sent to the school in Romeo, Michigan. At sixteen he visited relatives in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended school in that eity, when he returned to Miehi- gan to enter the University of Michigan. Ilis studies were interrupted by ill-health and at nineteen years of age he was forced to leave sehool altogether.
Mr. Hart was present at the first session of the Legislature in Lansing, in the eapaeity of page, being one of the three pages that were appointed in 1848. He was then four- teen years old.
In the year of 1866 he established a pri- vate bank and successfully eondneted the banking business until 1878 when he sold out his interests and went abroad to spend a year in Europe. While abroad he visited the Paris Exposition with the General Grant party.
Mr. Ilart was the first mayor of the eity of Lapeer. For six years he held the position of postmaster there, and was a member of the Board of Aldermen for several terms. While serving on the Board of Water Commission- ers, together with Judge Joseph B. Moore, now on the Supreme Beneh, he was instru- mental in giving Lapeer the water system now in use.
Since his return from Europe, Mr. Hart. beside devoting his attention to his many
RODNEY GEORGE HART.
other interests, has been occupied in the breeding of Percheron and standard bred horses, Devon and Galloway cattle, Merino sheep and Victoria hogs. Ilis Devon and Galloway stock are famous and Merino sheep from his farm have been sold all over the world where sheep are raised.
Mr. Hart has interested himself in the pro- motion of many enterprises in this state, prin- cipally the New State Telephone Company, of which he is one of the largest stockholders. He is manager of the local institution, and a director in the original Detroit company. He owns and operates many large farms, the largest of which adjoins the city of Lapeer.
In the Masonie fraternity, Mr. Hart, has made his way as far as the Mystie Shrine, is a member of Moslem Temple in Detroit, and of the Genesee Valley Commandery No. 15 in Flint. He married Mary C. Hazen at La- peer, Deeember 5, 1854, and has three dangh- ters, all of whom are married. Kate being the wife of Frederiek Lincoln, of Lapeer; Belle, that of M. II. McCarthy, of Chicago, and Mary, wife of E. J. Southwieh, also of Chicago.
276
MEN OF PROGRESS.
COL. JOHN PAUL PETERMANN.
PETERMANN, COL. JOHN PAUL. Col. John Panl Petermann, of Allouez, Mich- igan, won his spurs in the Spanish-American war, fighting under General Shafter and Gen- eral Duffield in the battles around Santiago de Cuba, and being present at the siege and eap- ture of that place. He has shown himself an excellent officer, and his services have been officially recognized by the government.
He is of German descent. His father, Fer- dinand D. Petermann, came to this country from Stuttgart, Germany, at the age of 14. Mr. Petermann's grandfather, Daniel Peter- mann, was a soldier in the Prussian army, and later, when Napoleon conquered the province, served under the great French emperor.
John Paul Petermann was born at Ridge Mine, Ontonagon county, Michigan, July 24, 1863, and five years after his birth, in 1868, the family moved to Calumet, where the youngster attended the public sehool until he reached hi- fifteenth year. His parents de- sired that their boy should study for the min- istry, but he had mechanical ideas, and wanted to learn to be a machinist, and eventually
young Petermann carried the day. At the age of 15 years he entered the machine shops of the Calumet & Hecla mine, where he worked for three years mastering the trade he had de- termined upon following. He then took the position of fireman on one of the engines owned by the Calumet & Heela Company and engaged in hauling rock, and learning how to run the engine. The two following years were oeenpied as a time-keeper at the machine shop, and he then accepted the position of en- gineer and put in three years hanling the rock,
After this Mr. Petermann then associated himself with Ernst. Bollman, getting ont tim- her for the mines, and he is still engaged with Mr. Bolhnan in this enterprise.
His general store in Allonez was started in 1894, when Mr. Petermann took all his sav- ings from the bank, a matter of $8,000, and went into this business. His father, prior to the boy coming of age, had been the enstodian of all his savings, and when young Petermann became 21 years of age, he informed him that it was time he looked after his own money. John Paul sent the money over to a banker and instrueted him to buv one share of Calumet & Hecla every time he had enough money on hand. He bought 12 shares of this stock at the average price of $250 a share, and he held them until the spring of 1899, when he sold them for $870 a share.
Mr. Petermann joined as a private the Calumet Light Guard in 1881 and served suc- eessively as corporal, sergeant, second lieuten- ant, first lieutenant, captain, major and was made colonel of the Fifth Regiment, Jannary 15, 1897. He served as colonel of the Thirty- fourth Michigan Volunteers during the Span- ish-American war, and upon the reorganiza- tion of the Michigan State troops, was made colonel of the Third Regiment in July, and resigned Angust 15, 1899. Col. Petermann married Miss Ida E. L. Groth, the adopted daughter of Ernest Bollman at Calumet, in 1890. They have five children at home,
277
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
SHELDEN, HON. CARLOS DOUG- LASS. When Carlos Douglass Shelden was making $10 a day for five days on a contract he took when he was 14 years of age to move a steam boiler from Portage Lake to the Huron mine, he thought his fortune was made, and that never again in his career would he ever get so much money in such a short space of time. He has almost forgotten that episode now in the busy life he has been leading since that period, and to-day this prominent capitalist and business man of Houghton, Michigan, is largely interested in copper, iron and timber lands in the Upper Peninsula.
Carlos D. Shelden was born in Walworth, Walworth county, Wisconsin, June 10, 1840. Ilis father was Ransom Shelden, one of the pioneers of the copper district of Michigan, and his grandfather was George Shelden, of Essex, New York. Mr. Shelden's mother, Theresa M. Douglass, was a descendant of the Doug- lass family of Massachusetts, mentioned fre- quently in the historical records of the New England colonies, and of revolutionary fame.
The elder Shelden brought his family to Michigan in 1847, when the boy was but seven years of age, and located in Houghton. Here young Shelden was sent to the district school. From 1858 to 1861 the boy attended the public schools of Ypsilanti, and when the civil war broke out he raised a company, which was mustercd in as Company I, Twenty-third Michigan Infantry. He was elected captain, and as such he served with his regiment through the war, participating in many en- gagements. He was mustered out in 1865.
Returning to Houghton, he engaged in the drug business, in which he remained for six years. He was then made manager of the Portage Lake Foundry, and he held that posi- tion for eighteen years, leaving it to become the superintendent of the Shelden & Shafer Iron Company, at Crystal Falls.
After four years in this latter position, Mr. Sheldeu returned to Houghton, having pre-
HON. CARLOS DOUGLASS SHELDEN.
viously been appointed executor of the estate of his father, Ransom Shelden, which com- prised thousands of acres of the most valuable iron, copper and timber lands in the Upper Peninsula.
In 1865 Mr. Shelden married Miss A. Mary Skiff, daughter of George and Eliza Skiff, of Willoughby, Ohio. She died in 1868, when their son, Ransom Skiff Shelden, now a prac- ticing attorney at Houghton, Michigan, was only six months old. In 1888 Mr. Shelden married Mrs. Sallie W. Gardner, of Washing- ton, D. C., a daughter of John Dashiell, an attorney of Princess Anne, Maryland.
Mr. Shelden, in 1892, was elected a mem- ber of the Michigan Legislature. He was sen- ator from the Thirty-second District in 1894, and elected to Congress from the Twelfth Dis- trict of Michigan in 1896. He was re-elected to Congress in 1898. He is a Mason of the Thirty-second degree, and belongs to Montrose Commandery, K. T., of Calumet; the Shrine of Ahmed Temple, Marquette, and the Grand Rapids Consistory.
278
MEN OF PROGRESS.
CLEMENT M. SMITH.
SMITHI, CLEMENT M. Judge Smith first came to the Cirenit Bench in January, 1893, when he was appointed to a short term vacancy. He was elected for the full term at then ensuing April election, and at the election of 1899 was re-elected for a further term of six years. He was born near Fort Wayne, Ind., December 4, 1844, his father, David W. Smith, having been of English descent, and his mother, Leonora Me Donald, of Scotch descent, The parents settled near Nashville, Barry county, on the farm on which they still live, in 1843. The son's early years were divided between farm work and the country school. When sixteen years of age he entered the Ver- montville Academy, where he passed a year with the view of qualifying himself for teach- ing. The three or four following years were passed at teaching and farm work. An inei- dent that brought him in connection with a suit at law, as a witness, awakened in him an interest in legal proceedings and determined him to make the law his profession. In 1865 he entered the law department of the Univer- sity and was admitted to the bar in 1868. He accepted the principalship of the first Union school opened at Nashville, 1868-9, and after
a few months spent in Minnesota he formed a law partnership with Harvey Wright at Mid- dleville, which was closed ont after about six months, when he returned to Nashville and entered upon a successful practice. In 1876 he was elected Judge of Probate of Barry county. In the fall of 1880 he formed a co- partnership with llon. Philip T. Colgrove, which continued until Judge Smith was ap- pointed to the Circuit Bench, necessitating his withdrawal from active practice. In 1890 Judge Smith was appointed Proseenting At- torney of Barry county, to fill a vacancy. His re-election to the judgeship in 1899 sufficiently attests the estimation in which he is held as a judge and citizen. A prominent member of Eaton county bar (Eaton county being in- cluded in Judge Smith's circuit) during the earlier days of his judgeship, thus wrote of him : "Judge Smith has much ability as a jurist and is distinguishing himself for his readiness in grasping and mastering principles. lle is extremely courteous and kind to mem- bers of the bar. His great strength is seen in his quick decisions, when once satisfied of the right. Many a harsh rule of law is set aside in behalf of justice and conscience, in his chancery court. He is apparently the most interested person in the cases tried before him. Ile has already taken front rank as a jurist in the state. Being yet a comparatively young man, his future must be as bright as his course on the bench is upright and just.""
Judge Smith is vice-president of the Hast- ings Wool Boot Company and a director in the Hastings National bank and the Hastings Table Company. He is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, including the Knights Tem- plar, and of the Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Circuit Judges' Associa- tion of Michigan. Miss Frances M. Wheeler, daughter of Milo T. Wheeler of Hastings, became Mrs. Smith in 1871. Their children are Shirley, a graduate of the literary depart- ment of the University, Class of '97, now an instructor and taking a post-graduate course there, Gertrude J., in the literary department of the University, and Donald D., in the law and literary departments
*Bench and Bar of Michigan, p. 288.
279
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
HAWKINS, VICTOR. Among the promising young attorneys of Southern Mich- igan and one whose aim seems to be to honor his native place, and who will deserve honors at her hands, is Victor Hawkins of Jonesville. Hle was born at that place June 7th, 1867, his father, William B. Hawkins, having been one of the pioneers of Hillsdale county, and for forty years oue of the best known practicing physicians in that part of the state. His pa- ternal grandfather was from Cornwall, Eng- land, and was of the class known as the landed gentry. His mother, Ellen Robinson, was a Pennsylvania lady. The son at the age of sixteen, with such education as the Jonesville schools (including the primary and high schools) afforded, decided to strike out for him- self and went to Jeddo, Pa., and entered the service of the G. B. Marble Coal Company, starting in at $25.00 per month and in a short time was made assistant bookkeeper. While thus employed he was tendered a position as bookkeeper in the Grosvenor Savings bank of Jonesville. This offer, affording him as it did an opportunity of resmming his residence in his old home, was readily accepted. His bent, however, seemed to be toward the law rather than finance, and in the fall of 1886 he entered the law department of the University, gradu- ating therefrom with the class of 1889, and was admitted to practice before Judge E. D. Kinne at Ann Arbor. Hle at once opened office at Jonesville, first with a partner, under the firm name of Weaver & Hawkins, but after six months the firm was dissolved and he has since been in practice alone, having had a suc- cessful and profitable practice from the start. Mr. Hawkins is a Republican in politics and his enviable standing at the bar and in the com- munity his led him to be looked upon as eligible timber for political preferment, and
VICTOR HAWKINS.
he has been tendered nominations on several occasions, but has uniformly declined, deem- ing it part of wisdom for a young man to at- tend to business rather than politics. He has, however, been village attorney for Jonesville for the past ton years, an office that comes by appointment rather than by popular election. He has business interests in the village, being a stockholder in the Omega Portland Cement Company of Jonesville, attorney for the Gros- venor bank and a director in the Jonesvilk. Electric Light & Power Company. Hle is a society man, his connections being Masonic, Knights of Pythias, Maccabees and Elks. Ile is Past Master of Lafayette Lodge, No. 16, F. & A. M., of Jonesville, and Past Chancellor of Pythagoras Lodge, K. of P., which he organ- ized.
Miss Jennie Eckler, daughter of Lonis Eck- ler of Jackson, became Mrs. Hawkins in 1897, the fruit of the marriage being two children, Ellen and Edwin Richard Hawkins.
280
MEN OF PROGRESS.
JAMES ALBERT COYE.
COYE, JAMES ALBERT. James Albert Coye, Surveyor of Customs at Grand Rapids, is a descendant of a sturdy Scotch family, which originally came to this country in 1752, settling in Connecticut. At that time the name was written McCoy. Members of the family served with distinction in the war of the Revolution and in that of 1812.
Fighting his own battles since he was nine years of age, he has risen steadily with the growing position of Western Michigan and is today one of the aggressive forces of the second city of the state. IIe is a Republican of the old stock, and his term of party service is a long and honorable one, earning for him the reputation of being one of the war horses of party in Western Michigan. In 1897 he was appointed by President Mckinley to the sur- veyorship of customs and he has so adminis- tered the trust that the port of Grand Rapids, in the value of its importations, has taken a leading rank. He has put his personal energy into the work, with the result that the govern- ment receives more net revenue from Grand Rapids than from any other port in the coun-
try in proportion to the business transacted. His father, Albert Coye, was a manufacturer of awnings and tents at Grand Rapids in 1854, and it was there that James Albert Coye was born, October 9, 1855. His mother, Mary Pew, was of English descent, and was a woman of strong character, training her son in prin- ciples of sterling integrity which have been his guiding star. The boy's early education was not extensive, being confined mainly in early life to four years of instruction in the public schools of Grand Rapids. His first ex- perience was work in the upholstering depart- ment of Comstock, Nelson & Co., and his wages amounted to 25 cents a day. In the fall of 1864 he was apprenticed to and learned the wood carver's trade, serving from 1865 to 1875 as an employe of the great furniture manufacturing company of Nelson, Matter & Co. In 1875 he moved to Goshen, Ind., and took charge of the carving department of the Hawks Furniture Co., a newly organized con- cern, and made their first designs in tables and chamber sets. He was there until 1880, when he returned to Grand Rapids and to the ser- vice of his former employers, where he re- mained for nearly ten years. Meantime, at the suggestion of friends, he had begun the study of the law, reading at intervals from the time he was 15 years old until in 1890 he spent a year in the law offices of Morris Houseman. He was admitted to the bar in 1891, lefore Judge Grove of the Kent County Circuit Court, practicing law until he was appointed to the position which he now holds. He has held no other public office, though he was twice a candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives at a time when Repu' lican majorities were hard to find in Grand Rapids. ITe has been chairman of the Republican city committee of Grand Rapids, was for seven years a director of the Valley City Building & Loan Association, and in 1887 was president of the Grand Rapids Retail Grocers' Associa- tion.
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