Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county, Part 52

Author: Sprague, Elvin Lyons, 1830-; Smith, Seddie Powers
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [Indianapolis] : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1088

USA > Michigan > Grand Traverse County > Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county > Part 52
USA > Michigan > Leelanau County > Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county > Part 52

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organization of the latter concern. He still retains the relation of president of the People's Savings Bank and in the manage- ment of its affairs has demonstrated not only a practical knowledge of every detail of the institution's constantly increasing business, but financial ability of a high order and a familiarity with mementary questions in all their relations. He is still a stockholder and is on the board of directors of the First Na- tional Bank.

Since locating in Traverse City Mr. Hull has become an influential factor, not only in its business interests, but in all that concerns the material development and general moral good of the community. He gives a hearty support to every agency with these ends in view, manifests an abiding interest in the welfare of his fellow men, and his integrity, honesty and pronounced ability and business success of his various undertakings have gained him a distinctive position as one of the true and valued citizens of his adopted city, and county. In the midst of the throng- ing cares and demands of a very busy life, he is always approachable, being gracious in his association with others and he enjoys great personal popularity as a natural re- sult of his many admirable characteristics. Mr. Hull has gained a reputation as a man well equipped with the solid qualities essen- tial to material success, but above these he has ordered his life on a high plane, having always in mind a deep sense of his steward- ship and an appreciation of those duties which every good citizen owes to his con- science as well as to his fellow men. Fra- ternally he stands high in the Masonic order, having risen to the thirty-second degree in this ancient and honorable brotherhood, also belonging to Aladdin Temple, of the Mystic

Shrine. Politically he gives his support to the Republican party, but has never entered the arena of partisan politics, nor sought at the hands of the public the honors or emolu- ments of office, being essentially a business man and preferring the simple title of citizen to any such distinction.

Mr. Hull was married at Cardington, Ohio, December 1, 1866, to Miss Kate Pfeiffer, daughter of Rev. W. H. Pfeiffer, a well-known minister of the Evangelical church, the issue of the union being two children, Ola, born November 2, 1867, and W. Cary, whose birth occurred October 24, 1869.

JOSEPH HAHNENBERG.

Leelanaw county figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state of Michigan, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to con- serve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of this section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have controlled its affairs in official capacity, and in this conection the subject of this re- view demands representation, as he is serv- ing his county faithfully and well in a posi- tion of distinct trust and responsibility, being the county treasurer, to which office he was elected in the fall of 1902. He has long been known as a prosperous and enterpris- ing agriculturist, and one whose business methods demonstrate the power of activity and honesty in the business world.

Mr. Hahnenberg is a native of Prussia, Germany, born on the 28th of May, 1847, a son of Jacob Hahnenberg, who was a car-

JOSEPH HAHNENBERG.

GRAND TRAVERSE AND

LEELANAW COUNTIES.

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penter by occupation, and died when his son Joseph was a little lad of six years. The. latter pursued his education in the schools of his native country and in his youth worked as a farm hand. Early in life he was forced to start out for himself, depend- ent upon his own exertions for a livelihood. At the age of twenty years he severed the ties which bound him to the fatherland and sailed for the new world, making the voyage in the spring of 1868. Landing on the Atlantic coast, he went to Milwaukee, Wis- consin, where he lived for a few months, and then came to Leland, Michigan, enter- ing upon his business career here in the em- ploy of the Leland Iron Company, by which he was employed most of the time until 1.875, when he took up a homestead in Bing- ham township, Leelanaw county, and at once began its development. He has since made it his home and has given his attention con- tinuously to farming. His persistency of purpose and the concentration of his ener- gies along one line have been the strong ele- ments in his prosperity. He is today the owner of two hundred acres of valuable land, of which one hundred and thirty acres are improved. This is a good property, and, working earnestly and enthusiastically for its development, Mr. Hahnenberg has at- tained prosperity, which is as creditable as it is gratifying.

On the 3d of October, 1871, in Prove- mont, Leelanaw county, Mr. Hahnenberg was united in marriage to Miss Mary Schaub, a native of North Manitou island, Michigan. They have become the parents of thirteen children, three sons and ten daugh- ters, as follows : Anna, Rosa, Jacob, Frank, Louisa, Simon, Barbara, Mary, Bertha, Clara, Theresa, Stella and Josephine. Of

these, Rosa is now the wife of Fred Priest; Louisa has married Joseph Steimel, and Barbara is the wife of John Priest. The children have all been reared upon the home- stead farm, where the family still reside, al- though some of the children have gone to homes of their own. The members of the household are worthy of the high regard so uniformly extended them, and no people of the community are more greatly respect- ed than Mr. and Mrs. Hahnenberg.

A Democrat in his political views, Mr. Hahnenberg keeps well informed concern- ing the great political questions which di- vide the country into parties and which af- fect the weal or woe of state or nation. He is able to support his position by intelligent argument, and is one of the influential mem- bers of the Democracy in this locality. He has held the office of supervisor of Bingham township for several years, has filled other township offices and for a long period has been justice of the peace. Fair and impar- tial are his decisions, his judgment being unbiased by personal favor or prejudice. In the fall of 1902 the public expression of con- fidence and approval came to him in his election to the office of county treasurer, and he is now the incumbent in that position, carefully superintending the business of the office and guarding the county's interests as faithfully as he does his own. His unbend- ing integrity of character, his fearlessness in the discharge of his duties and his appre- ciation of the responsibilities that devolve upon him are such as to make him a most acceptable incumbent, and his worth is wide- ly acknowledged, while his record as a busi- ness man has been so honorable that he has gained the confidence and trust of all with whom he has been brought in contact.

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LORIN ROBERTS.

It has been well said that the law is a jealous mistress, demanding of her votaries an undivided loyalty and a singleness of de- votion. This fact is exemplified in the ca- reer of every truly successful lawyer. The bar of the state of Michigan has ever main- tained a high standing, and among its repre- sentative members in Grand Traverse coun- ty is Mr. Roberts, who is established in the successful practice of his profession in Tra- verse City.

Lorin Roberts is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Trum- bull county, Ohio, on the 12th of August, 1845, and being a son of William Roberts, who was born in Connecticut, whence his parents removed to Ohio in an early day and took up their residence in the Western Re- serve, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the family having been founded in New England in the early colonial epoch. William Roberts continued to be actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Trum- bull county, Ohio, until his death, in 1889, at the age of eighty-two years. He was a man of the highest principles, was successful in his efforts and ever retained the implicit confidence and esteem of the community in which he lived. His wife, whose maiden name was Electa M. Humphrey, was like- wise a native of Connecticut, where she was born in the year 1809, and when she was a child she accompanied her parents on their emigration to Trumbull county, Ohio, where the balance of her life was passed, her death occurring in the year 1889. Of this mar- riage were born six ehildren, concerning whom we enter the following brief record : Frederick H., who served four years during

the war of the Rebellion, later became an operator in the Pennsylvania oil fields, and he died at Bradford, that state, in 1900; Hulda became the wife of Orlando Finney and they now reside in central Kansas, where he devotes his attention to farming; Lorin is the immediate subject of this sketch; Imogene J. is the wife of Edwin Barber, a prominent civil engineer of Conneaut, Ohio; Almena M. is the wife of Nelson H. Bailey, who is now county commissioner of Trum- bull county, Ohio, being a resident of the city of Warren, and he is also a contractor in the line of bridge building; and Guy A. is superintendent of live stock transit of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, with headquarters in Kansas City.

Lorin Roberts was reared on the old homestead farm in Trumbull county and re- ceived his early educational discipline in the district schools, while he also attended a select school for some time. With the thun- dering of rebel guns against the ramparts of old Fort Sumter, his youthful patriotism and instinctive loyalty were quickened to re- sponsive action, and on the 9th of December, 1861, when but sixteen years of age, Mr. Roberts enlisted as a private in Captain Stanhope's company of the Sixth Ohio Vol- unteer Cavalry, with which he proceeded to Camp Dennison, near the city of Cincinnati, and about three months later Captain Stan- hope's company transferred to the Second Ohio Cavalry, which was then stationed at Leavenworth, Kansas, and Mr. Roberts be- came a member of Company M. He contin- ued in active service in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas until the autumn of 1863, when the regiment was brought to Camp ·Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, to recruit its ranks, the horses being in such condition as

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to be of little service, while a large propor- tion of the men were in impaired health. In the spring of 1864 the regiment joined Burnside's forces at Lexington, Kentucky, and thence marched with him across the Cumberland river into Tennessee, being present at the siege of Knoxville. After the siege was raised the entire regiment, whose term of enlistment had expired, re-enlisted and were then sent home on veteran fur- lough. At Camp Chase a consolidation was effected, by which twelve companies were re- organized into eight, and Mr. Roberts was as- signed to Company D, the entire Third Bat- talion having been divided among the First and Second, thus reducing the number of companies as noted. The regiment was now assigned to the Army of the Potomac, join- ing Sheridan's cavalry corps, with which it took part in the battles of Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor, after which it proceeded with Grant on his advance to Richmond. Mr. Roberts was detailed as orderly on the staff of General Burnside's chief of artillery and acted in that capacity until that officer was wounded, when he rejoined his regiment. The command was sent from Petersburg into the Shenandoah valley and was with Sheridan at Winchester, thence marching up the Luray valley and back to Petersburg. The regiment participated in the battle of Five Forks and was with Sheridan when he prevented Lee's journey southward, while at the time of that general's surrender the comamnd was at Appomattox, from which point it proceeded to the national capital, where it took part in the Grand Review, and Mr. Roberts was mustered out on the 9th of August, 1865, while he received his hon- orable discharge, at Columbus, Ohio, hav- ing made a creditable record as a faithful

and valiant soldier and having done his part in conserving the integrity of the Union.

After the close of the war Mr. Roberts returned home and resume his educational work. After a time he went to Tabor, Iowa, where he matriculated in Tabor College, at that place, and continued his studies there for two years, at the expiration of which he returned to Ohio and entered the junior class in Oberlin College, in which institu- tion he was graduated as a member of the class of 1871, receiving the degree of Bach- elor of Arts. He was married in August of that year and shortly afterward came to Benzonia, Benzie county, Michigan, to as- sume the position of principal of the college in that place, while Mrs. Roberts simultan- eously became the principal of the ladies' department of the institution. In the autumn of 1872, having resigned his posi- tion at the college, Mr. Roberts came to Traverse City, where he became superintend- ent of the public schools, an incumbency which he retained for eight years,-a fact which indicates the ability and discrimina- tion which he brought to bear as a teacher and administrative officer. During the last four years of his pedagogic work he devoted careful attention to the reading of law, hav- ing as his preceptor the Hon. Seth C. Moffatt, a member of Congress and one of the distinguished members of the bar of the county, and after examination he was ad- mitted to the bar of the state, in February, 1880. At the close of the school year in 1880 he entered the office of his preceptor, with whom he became actively associated in the practice of his profession, and from that time to the present he has been here, engaged in general practice, hav- ing secured a representative clientage

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and having been concerned in much important litigation in this section of the state. Mr. Roberts is thoroughly well in- formed in the minutiae of the law, being a close and appreciative student, and is known as an able advocate and safe and duly con- servative counsel, while he is a man of fine intellectuality and mature judgment, so that he has naturally attained high prestige in his chosen profession.

In 1891 Mr. Roberts became identified with the organization of the Fulgham Man- ufacturing Company, of whose stock he owned a one-third interest, and he became secretary and treasurer of the company, re- taining this dual office for a period of ten years, at the expiration of which he disposed of his interests in the concern, whose line of enterprise was the manufacturing of maple flooring. In politics Mr. Roberts has been an uncompromising advocate of the princi- ples of the Republican party from the time of attaining his legal majority, his first pres- idential vote having been cast in support of Lincoln at the time when he was in the field as a soldier, and he has been a zealous and effective worker in the party cause and a leader in its local coun- cils. In 1880 Mr. Roberts was elected pros- ecuting attorney of Grand Traverse county, and was incumbent of this office for two terms. After a few years, at the earnest re- quest of his friends, he took the office for another term. Upon the incorporation of Traverse City under city government he was elected judge of the recorder's court, in the year 1895, and he has ever since remained in tenure of this office, while for the past twen- ty years he has served as United States court commissioner for this district. He and his family are prominent and valued

members of the Congregational church, and fraternally Mr. Roberts is one of the leading members of McPherson Post No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic, of Traverse City, of which he has served as commander, while he has also been a delegate to various national encampments and was junior vice-com- mander of the Department of Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic, for one year. He is also identified with the Masonic order, holding membership in the lodge, chapter and commandery in his home city. Mr. Roberts is a public-spirited citizen, is a man of genial presence and has gained and re- tained the unqualified esteem of the com- munity in which he has so long resided.

On the 8th of August, 1871, shortly after his being graduated in Oberlin Col- lege, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Stevens, who was born in Avon, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on the 22d of February, 1847, and who was graduated in the literary department of Oberlin Col- lege in the year 1871, in which year Mr. Roberts was also graduated in that institu- tion." She is a daughter of Ransom F. and Finette Stevens, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts and the latter in Ohio. They are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens became the parents of three children, of whom Mrs. Roberts is the eldest, while the other two are Cyrus B., who is a prom- inent member of the bar of Oceana county, Michigan, residing in the town of Hart; and Elihu B., who is a dealer in live stock at Allegan, this state. Of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts we incorporate the following brief record: Alice T. was grad- uated in the Traverse City high school in 1890, and thereafter passed two years in the alma mater of her parents, Oberlin College,

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GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.

and then was successfully engaged in teach- ing in the State Normal School at Livings- ton, Alabama, for two years. At the expira- tion of this period she entered the Broad Street Conservatory of Music, in the city of Philadelphia, where she was graduated in 1898, and later she took a special course of instruction under Professor Oscar Sanger, one of the leading musical instructors in the city of New York. She is now engaged in teaching music in Traverse City and is one of the city's most popular and accomplished musicians and a favorite in social circles. William R. was attending school at the time of the outbreak of the late Spanish-Ameri- can war, and, at the age of twenty-one years, he enlisted as a member of Company M, Thirty-fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he went to Cuba and there par- ticipated in the famous battle of San Juan hill, remaining in the service until the month of December, 1898, when he received his honorable discharge. After his return home he became bookkeeper for the Ful- gham Manufacturing Company, but about a year later he re-enlisted for service in the Philippines, where he served with distinc- tion and marked fidelity during his term of two years, when he again received his hon- orable discharge. He is now suffering from extreme nervous prostration as the result of his army experience. Marion S. was grad- uated in the Traverse City high school in 1896 and was then matriculated in the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where she completed three years' work in the clas- sical course, her health becoming so im- paired that she was then compelled to dis- continue her studies. She is now a member of the class of 1903 in Oberlin College.

CHARLES R. DOCKERAY.

The gentleman whose name appears above is the founder and principal of the Traverse City Business College, which for almost a decade has occupied a position of prominence and importance in connection with the educational institutions of Grand Traverse county. Though its history is comparatively brief as compared with some of the schools in the older settled sections of the country, it has taken high rank among those of similar order throughout this sec- tion of the country.

Charles R. Dockeray is a native of Mich- igan, having been born in Kent county on the 21st of July, 1853. His father, Joseph Dockeray, was born near the city of Ken- dall, Westmorelandshire, England, June 17, 1821, and during the greater part of his life was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1837 Joseph Dockeray came to the United States and located in Orleans county, New York, where he engaged in farm work. He was industrious and thrifty and by the time he was twenty-five years old he found him- self able to gratify his desire for a home of his own. On the 3d of July, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Pearson, a native of Albany, New York, born December 10, 1825, and this union re- sulted in the birth of the following children : Clarence H., a farmer, resides in Kent coun- ty, Michigan; Albert A., in the employ of the Voigt Milling Company, of Grand Rapids, as superintendent of transfer; Charles R., the immediate subject of this review; Wallace P. is in the grocery busi- ness at Rockford, Kent county; Bryant S. resides in West Prescott, Arizona, and is in

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GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.

the employ of a transfer company. In 1899 Joseph Dockeray came to Traverse City, with the intention of making his future home with his son, the subject, but his death oc- curred in October of the following year. Mrs. Dockeray survived her husband a little more than a year, her death occurring in November, 1901.

The first sixteen years of Charles R. Dockeray's life were spent upon the parental homestead, during which time he took ad- vantage of the educational facilities afforded by the common schools of the neighborhood, making good progress in his studies. He was ambitious to complete a higher educa- tion than was obtainable in the public schools, and in order to obtain the necessary funds he went to work in a shingle-mill, be- ing so employed for two years. At the age of seventeen he entered the high school at Rockford, Michigan, graduating therefrom before he attained his majority. For several years thereafter he was engaged in teach- ing in the country schools and later took a commercial course in the Grand Rapids Business University. The following two years found him engaged in various lines of office work, such as bookkeeping, etc., but owing to the depression existing in business at that time, he decided to re-enter the peda- gogical profession, for which he was by na- ture peculiarly fitted. During the interim he had steadily pursued his studies along the line of his school work, having in view a course at some higher school of instruction. In accordance with this purpose, he entered the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business College at Valparaiso, Indiana, taking the literary and scientific course, but on account of illness he was obliged to leave school just before his graduation. He

spent the following few years in different parts of the country, being engaged the greater part of the time in teaching. In 1883 he returned to Rockford, Michigan, and accepted the position of principal of the high school, the duties of which he efficiently discharged for six years, and dur- ing the most' of this time he was also a member of the county board of school ex- aminers. At the end of this time, feeling the necessity of an out-door life, he resigned his position and engaged in the life insur- ance business, being appointed district man- ager for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia.

On the Ioth of June, 1876, at Rockford, Michigan, Mr. Dockeray was united in mar- riage with Miss Ella E. Chapel, a native of Kent county, born May 9, 1855. She was reared and educated in her native county, being a graduate from the high school at Rockford. This union was a most happy and congenial one and was blessed by the birth of three children, as follows: Mil- dreth M., Howard C. and Fay. The first named was the stenographer and bookkeeper for the Citizens' Telephone Company, of Traverse City, for about fifteen months, when she resigned to accept the position of teacher of stenography and typewriting in the Traverse City Business College. How- ard is still attending school, but is devoting his leisure hours to farming and poultry raising. Fay is attending the city schools, being now in the sixth grade. On the 21st of June, 1890, at Saginaw, Michigan, Mrs. Ella Dockeray departed this life, after which event Mr. Dockeray moved with his family to Grand Rapids, where he remained en- gaged in the insurance business for about two years. On the 15th of September, 1891,

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at Grand Rapids, Mr. Dockeray was united in marriage with Miss Frances A. Shafer, a native of Kent county, born May 28, 1854. She is the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Frances (Lawrence) Shafer, the former a native of New York and the latter of Michigan. The Shafers were people of much physical and mental power, being of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and at the time of his death, which occurred a few years ago, Grandfather Shafer was the oldest resident of Kent county, his age at that time being one hundred and three years. Benjamin F. Shafer, Mrs. Dockeray's fa- ther, died of typhoid fever at the age of fifty years, while her mother passed away in 1896.

In 1894 Mr. Dockeray, with his family, moved to Traverse City, and in the same year he founded the splendid educational in- stitution of which he is now the head. At the outstart there was but one pupil, but Mr. Dockeray was not discouraged and time proved his faith. The attendance steadily increased until in a few weeks after its inception the school was favored with a gratifying attendance. Each year has seen an increase in attendance, and during the winter of 1901 the aggregate number of pupils in attendance was one hundred and twenty-five, the number being still fur- ther increased the following year. The school first occupied rooms in the old Mun- son block, additional space being required the second year. This additional space also proved inadequate, and when Dr. Munson proposed erecting a new and substantial brick block Mr. Dockeray readily consented to lease the entire second story of the build- ing for the use of his school. The school is thus now located in comfortable, con-

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Sprague's history of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw counties, Michigan embracing a concise review of their early settlement, industrial development and present conditions...to which will be appended...life sketches of well-known citizens of the county, Part 52

Author: Sprague, Elvin Lyons, 1830-; Smith, Seddie Powers Publication date: 1903 Publisher: [Indianapolis] : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1088

Author: Sprague, Elvin Lyons, 1830-; Smith, Seddie Powers
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: [Indianapolis] : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1088