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 94
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 94
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At the time of his first marriage Mr. Rice brought his bride to Grand Traverse
county and settled upon the farm which he had entered. Throughout his business ca- reer he has carried on agricultural pursuits and is today the owner of what has become a valuable tract of land, comprising a quarter section. Soon across the hitherto virgin soil was seen the track of the plow and grain was dropped in the furrows, while in the late autumn the harvests were garnered. Year after year the work of cultivation and im- provement has been carried on and today the Rice farm is very productive and is one of the good properties of this section of the state. There are now modern buildings upon the place and everything is well equipped for the work which is there carried on. Mr. Rice has served in a number of school of- fices and has been overseer of highways, but has not been an active politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to devote his time and energies to his business affairs. His success has been the result of honest, per- sistent effort in the line of honorable and manly dealing. His aims have always been to attain the best and he has carried for- ward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken. His life has marked a steady growth and now he is in possession of an ample competence and more than all has that contentment which comes from a con- sciousness of having lived to a good pur- pose.
DAN E. CARTER.
In point of continuous residence one of the oldest citizens of Grand Traverse county, also one of the oldest and most suc- cessful business men of the city of Grand Traverse, the subject of this review holds
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worthy prestige among his contemporaries, and a history of northwestern Michigan would be incomplete without due attention to him and his achievements. Dan E. Carter is a New York man, born in Genessee coun- ty, in that state, on March 25, 1838, the son of Samuel K. and Cynthia (Horton) Car- ter. The father was a representative of one of the oldest English families of Connecticut, the mother being descended from worthy pioneers of Cattaraugus county, New York, in which part of the Empire state she was born and reared. Of the nine children born to these parents four are living at the present time, the subject being the oldest of the family. When three years of age Dan E. was taken to Union City, Pennsylvania, where he spent the ensuing seventeen years of his life, atending while a youth the com- mon schools, later taking a high school course, after which he took up the jeweler's trade, becoming in due time an efficient workman. Leaving Union City, he accom- panied the family to Kingsville, Ohio, in which place he added to his education by tak- ing a three-years course in an academy of high grade, and there opened a jewelry es- tablishment, which he conducted with grat- ifying success during the five years follov - ing. Disposing of his stock at the end of that time, he began speculating in oil, with the result that inevitably attends about nine out of ten who invest their means in that un- certain enterprise, to wit, the loss of his en- tire capital, leaving him financially stranded and with no immediate hopes of recovering from his embarrassment.
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In this dilemma Mr. Carter had recourse to his trade, which he followed in Ohio, for one year, and then came to Michigan by
steamer, landing in September, 1862, in Lee- lanaw county, where he spent a short time. Recuperating his health, which had become badly impaired, he removed thence to Benzie county where he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, on which in due time he erected a saw and planing-mill. After conducting this enterprise with fair success until 1866, he sold out and, coming to Traverse City, engaged in the jewelry business, prosecuting the same for a period of thirty years, during which time he not only accumulated a handsome fortune, but earned a wide and enviable reputation as an enterprising, public-spirited and far-seeing man of affairs. His establishment, when he disposed of it at the expiration of the time noted, was by many years the oldest, as well as the best known, business house in the city, and the name of Mr. Carter, during that long period of continued service as a jeweler, became a familiar one to nearly every man, woman and child in the entire comunity.
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Upon retiring from the business which he had practically made his life work, Mr. Carter tok charge of the Elmwood manu- facturing plant, in Leelanaw county, with which enterprise he has since been identified, being now sole owner and manager, having purchased his partner's interests in the con- cern. He manufactures a number of articles, chiefly in the line of improved household fur- niture, among which the Victory reclining chair, an invention of his own, is perhaps the most noted, but he has achieved consid- erable distinction on account of his inven- tions and improvements, being a genius in the use of nearly all kinds of tools, especially efficient in the line of work to which he is now
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devoting his attention. As already indicated, he has been remarkably fortunate in his financial affairs, owning at this time, in addi- tion to private capital, valuable city property and his manufacturing establishment, large tracts of real estate in various parts of Michi- gan and in the Dakotas.
Mr. Carter has been twice married, the first time, in 1845, to Miss Emily Jones, of Wisconsin, the ceremony having been sol- emnized in that state. One child, a son by the name of Lynn, was born of this union, in 1865, and at the present time lives in the city of Grand Rapids. Mr. Carter's second marriage took place in 1883, Cora L. Wood, of Bangor, Wisconsin, becoming his wife. Mrs. Carter's father, Hon. John H. Bradley, was a native of Connecticut, and her mother was born in New York, moved to Wisconsin, a number of years ago, and it was in this state that Mrs. Carter was born on March 24, 1852. At the age of fifteen she married Julius Wood. Two children are the fruits of this union, Luverne, born in 1869, and now his step-father's business associate, and John A., whose birth occurred in the year 1873, the latter a graduate of the law department of the Michigan University, and at this time engaged in the practice of his profession at Los Angeles, California. Mr. Carter, like all good citizens, takes an interest in public and political affairs, but is not a politician, although a zealous adherent to the Republican praty. He belongs to no lodge or secret organization, but is deeply concerned in every enterprise making for the welfare of society and the good of his fellow men, encouraging all such undertakings, also lending his influence to movements and meas- ures having for their object the material prosperity of his city, county and state.
HENRY K. BRINKMAN.
There is every degree of satisfaction and profit in scanning the life history of one who has attained a desirable degree of success as the direct result of his own efforts, who has the mentality to direct his endeavors toward the desired ends and the singleness and steadfastness of purpose which have given due value to each consecutive detail of ef- fort. As a distinctive type of a self-made man we refer with singular propriety to the subject whose name forms the caption of this paragraph, Henry K. Brinkman, who is a leading fruit dealer and prominent busi- ness man of Old Mission. He has long re- sided in Peninsula township and in earlier days was actively connected with agricul- tural and horticultural pursuits. He still owns his farm, but is now giving his atten- tion to the purchase and sale of fruit and to the operation of an apple evaporator.
Mr. Brinkman is a native of Menk- hausen, Prussia, born on the 13th of June, 1827. He was reared to manhood in the fatherland and when he was fifteen years of age he was apprenticed to learn the shoe- maker's trade, which occupation he followed until 1847. The opportunities of the new world attracted him and with the desire to try his fortune in the United States he sailed from one of the German ports for New Or- leans, where he arrived on the 25th of June, 1848. For a year he remained in the Cres- cent City and then started northward for Detroit, Michigan, proceeding thence to Sault Ste Marie, and from the latter place he came to Old Mission in May, 1853. He fol- lowed his trade in the above named place and after coming to Old Mission he contin- ued to engage in shoemaking for five years.
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This was virtually the first manufacturing establishment in the Grand Traverse region. After living there five years he turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits and pur- chased two hundred acres of land in Penin- suia township. He had previously entered this as a squatter's claim, but it had not regu- larly come into his possession. He still owns this property and now has about one hun- dred and forty acres of it improved, seventy- five acres being included within his orchards. In addition to general farming he began making a specialty of the raising of fruits and now has splendid apple, peach and pear orchards upon his place and also a large vineyard. His specialty, however, is apples and many varieties can be found upon his land, their excellent flavor and superior size enabling him to command the best market prices when he ships his fruit to the cities. He has, however, in recent years left the su- pervision of his farm to his son, Eugene E., to whom he entrusted the work in 1895, in order that he might devote his energies to other lines of business activity. He now is engaged in the buying and selling of fruit, handling large quantities annually and since 1899 he has also been engaged in the evapo- ration of apples, having a well equiped plant in which he does a large business.
Mr. Brinkman was married, in Old Mis- sion, in April, 1854, to Mrs. Keziah Hopper, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, and was the widow of George Hopper. Her parents were Josiah and Anne Culburn. Mrs. Brinkman was born in Virginia and by her marriage to the subject became the mother of four children: Alonzo H., who resides in Alabama ; Eugene E., who is oper- ating his father's farm; Anna T., and Lewis A. A.
Mr. Brinkman has been a stalwart advo- cate of the Republican party since its organi- zation and he has never wavered in his al- legiance to its principles. He has served as treasurer of his township and also as township clerk and he formerly took an ac- tive interest in political affairs. In the fall of 1864 he responded to his country's call for aid and joined the Fourth Indiana Bat- tery, with which he served until September, 1865. He thus proved his loyalty to the Union and made for himself a creditable military record. He has now reached the age of seventy-six years, but is still an ac- tive factor in business life. A modest, un- assuming man, caring not for notoriety, he yet deserves the mention that is usually given a self-made man, who has the high regard of his many friends.
ROBERT SCOTT TRAVIS.
Robert Scott Travis, who is living on section 4, Blair township, is a retired farmer and early settler of Grand Traverse county. He has lived in this portion of the state for many years and the history of its early de- velopment is familiar to him. He came here when the forests were uncut and when few houses had been built through the county. He had no capital and all that he has ac- quired has been obtained as the reward of continuous labor, so that he may well be called a self-made man.
Mr. Travis was born in the province of New Brunswick, April 21, 1833, a son of John and Eliza (Scott) Travis, who died in New Brunswick, where they had reared their family of nine children, Robert A. be-
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R. S. TRAVIS.
MRS. ROBERT S. TRAVIS.
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ing the second. The subject spent his child- hood and youth upon the old homestead and when about twenty years of age started out on his own account. He left home in Sep- tember, 1855, and worked his way through the dominion of Canada to Quebec, where he arrived with but one Canadian penny in his pocket. It was a very small capital with which to start upon a business career, but he was not afraid to work and knew that an honest living could be obtained through la- bor. He was employed in Quebec for a short time and then proceeded on his way, going to Hamilton and thence to Bothwell, Ontario, where he arrived with a York. shil- ling as his entire capital. He continued to work his way along, securing employment when his money became exhausted and eventually he reached Traverse City, Michi- gan, one of the first settlements established in the dense lumber regions of this part of the state. He reached this place on the 22d of October, 1856, at which time he was the possessor of what seemed, a large sum in comparison with other amounts he had had -thirty dollars. He sought and obtained employment in the saw-mill of Hannah, Lay & Company, lumber manufacturers and mer- chants, with whom he remained for about a year, during which time he had saved one hundred dollars of his earnings, leaving this with the company. On account of the finan- cial panic in which the entire country be- came involved about that time the firm dis- charged their men and Mr. Travis then went to Chicago upon a sailing vessel. They had a rough passage upon Lake Michigan, the vessel being struck by a gale, and when they were within sight of Chicago they saw a schooner sink, turning upside down. After about a week spent in Chicago Mr. Travis
obtained employment on a farm about forty miles from the city and there worked for two months. It was winter time and he walked the entire distance back to Chicago, because of the limited amount of money he had. When the lumber firm in Grand Traverse county failed, although a considerable sum of money was coming to him, he received only fifteen dollars in cash, and was given a. note for eighty-five dollars, which, however, was promptly paid when due. From Chi- cago Mr. Travis paid his fare to Detroit, Michigan, and from the latter city he walked to Bothwell, Canada, where he found em- ployment for a few months. He then re- turned to Detroit and from there again went to Chicago, making the trip by rail. He spent but a week in the western metropolis, however, and at the end of that time he came once more to Grand Traverse county, estab- lishing his home in Traverse City. He re- entered the service of his former employers, Hannah, Lay & Company, by whom he was paid ten dollars per month for driving teams, whereby the logs were conveyed from the forests where they were cut to the Boardman river. For several years Mr. Travis contin- ued in the employ of that firm as their cook in the lumber camps.
Turning his attention to farming he set- tled upon the land which he now owns and operates. The money which he had previ- ously saved from his earnings he had in- vested in one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 4, Blair township, and when he took up his abode upon the property he began its cultivation and improvement with the same energy and resolution which had characterized his work in former years. Such characteristics are always resultant ele- ments in a business career and they have
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brought to Mr. Travis a competence which he well merits. Clearing the field, he plowed the land and soon good harvests were gar- nered. The work of cultivation has been carried forward until the farm is today a very productive one and in the midst of the fields he has erected good buildings. An on- going spirit has ever prompted the efforts of Mr. Travis and a laudable ambition has formed the basis of his success.
On the 20th of June, 1866, Mr. Travis was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Duffy, and it was in 1868 that they took up their abode in Blair township, Grand Trav- erse county. The lady was a native of Illi- nois and after about thirty years of happy married life she died on the home farm Jan- uary 6, 1895, in the fifty-third year of her age. Six children had been born of their union, but one son died in infancy. The others are: Frances Josephine, the wife of Chester Williams ; George Everett ; Howard, who died in childhood; Wilmer, at home; and Robert, who completes the family.
Mr. Travis has been called to public of- fice, in which his fidelity to the best interests of the community has been strongly mani- fest in the capable and prompt manner in which he has discharged the duties devolving upon him. For several years he was treas- urer of Blair township and for some time he served as justice of the peace, rendering de- cisions strictly fair and impartial, his opin- ions being based upon the evidence, the law and the equity of the case. He is a man of firm convictions and neither fear nor favor can swerve him from a course which he be- lieves to be right. He has lived in Grand Traverse county from the pioneer epoch in its development. He has seen the log cabins give place to modern and commodious resi-
dences, while the monarchs of the forest have fallen before the sturdy strokes of the woodsman, have been converted into lumber and shipped to various marts. Following in the path of the woodsman has come the agri- culturist who has cleared his property and placed the wild land under the plow until today the rich farms and fine orchards of Michigan are renowned throughout the country. Of all this Mr. Travis has been a witness and he takes a justifiable pride in what has been accomplished.
I. BURTON GILBERT.
A thirst for knowledge is one of the finest incentives to ambition and is one of the purest and most exalted passions that can take possession of the human heart. It makes men great and women lovable. The subject of this sketch, I. Burton Gilbert, su- perintendent of the schools of Traverse City, was in his youth imbued with an unquencha- ble thirst for knowledge, from which he has not recovered. To gratify his desire for education he has toiled late and early and deprived himself of many a comfort, that he might have the means to attend school and pursue his studies. It is a pity that such a laudable ambition cannot always be backed by the requisite means of accomplishment, but it is probably better as it is. The exer- tions made and the self-denial practiced makes the youth or maiden better, stronger, braver and more fitted to solve the intricate problems of life. I. Burton Gilbert was born July 5, 1870, at Memphis, Michigan. His father is Charles S. Gilbert, a native of Mas- sachusetts, who has devoted his life to agri-
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cultural pursuits. He retired from active labor a few years ago and has taken up his abode in the village of Memphis, Macomb county. He is a man of ability and learning, having acquired a good education in his na- tive state. The mother of the subject of this review was Matilda ( Pierce) Gilbert, a na- tive of England. She was born in the city of Bath and while yet a child was brought to America by her parents. They settled in St. Clair county, Michigan, and there she received her education. She died in Jan- uary, 1901. They were the parents of seven children.
The early life of I. Burton Gilbert was spent on his father's farm near Memphis. He attended the public schools, mastered all of the branches therein taught and then for a short time engaged in teaching. He then entered Olivet College, took the regular course and graduated therefrom in 1895, re- ceiving his degree in natural science. The next few months he spent in the Agricultural College of Michigan, specializing in chemis- try. Later he took work at Harvard Uni- versity. In the fall of 1895 he was offered and accepted the position of principal of the high school at St. Johns, Michigan, where he remained one year, when a more desirable position at Imlay City, as superintendent of the schools at that place, was offered him. He was two years at Imlay City, when Northville indicated its desire to employ him. He was there only one year when the super- intendency of the schools at St. Johns, where some years before he had been principal, was offered him. He accepted and for three years most efficiently discharged the duties of the position. From there he came to Traverse City. When the school board of
St. Johns learned that he contemplated a change, it voted him a salary greatly in ex- cess of that which he had been receiving, in the hope of retaining his services, but he was already pledged to the Traverse City school board and he could not be induced to violate the obligation. He entered upon the duties as superintendent of the schools of Traverse City at the beginning of the term of 1902 and under his management the schools have been greatly improved. His services have given the utmost satisfaction to both patrons and pupils.
November 25, 1898, I. Burton Gilbert was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Giberson, a native of Flint, Michigan, who was born August 4, 1873. She is the daugh- ter of William Giberson, a prominent mer- chant of Saginaw, Michigan. Her mother is Helen (Burr) Giberson and both parents are natives of this state. Only two children were born to them, both daughters, The other daughter of this couple is the wife of Dr. A. E. Leetch, a practicing physician of Saginaw. Mr. and Mrs. I. Burton Gilbert are the parents of one child, William G., born October 31, 1899. Mrs. Gilbert is an accomplished musician and especially excels as a pianist. Politically the subject of this review is a Republican and has always taken a deep interest in political affairs. He, how- ever, has never aspired to nor occupied any political position whatever. He is so wedded to his chosen calling, that of an educator, that it would take much to tempt him to abandon it. He and his wife are both mem- bers of the Congregational church and reg- ular attendants upon its services. He is a Mason and has advanced to the degree of Knight Templar, and is also a Knight of
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Pythias. He is a young man possessed of manly, sterling qualities and there is no rea- son why, as an educator, he should not rank among the foremost of his profession.
PHILIP DOHM.
That Michigan furnishes good oppor- tunities to its citizens, that it possesses many natural resources and has good educational privileges as well as business advantages, is indicated by the fact that many of the na- tive sons of the state retain their residence within its borders, never caring to seek a home elsewhere, because they find here all that is needed for the enjoyment of life and the acquirement of a comfortable compe- tence. Mr. Dohm is one of the native sons of the state, his birth having occurred in Alpine township, Kent county, Michigan, on the 9th of January, 1847. He is the fifth of a family of eight children, whose parents were Joseph and Rosanna ( Hatchell) Dohm. Both the .father and mother were born in Germany and the year 1867 witnessed their arrival in Grand Traverse county, Michigan. They first settled in Peninsula township and afterward removed to Blair township, where Mrs. Dohm died at the age of seventy-six years. The father, who was born in 1808, is still living at the very advanced age of ninety-four years, one of the venerable and honored citizens of the community, re- spected alike by young and old, rich and poor.
Philip Dohm was reared in Kent and Ot- tawa counties, spending his boyhood days upon a farm, while a common-school educa- tion made him familiar with the various
branches of learning taught in the public schools. He was still but a boy at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war and when only sixteen years of age he offered his serv- ices to the government, enlisting in Ottawa county as a member of Company F, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, on the IIth of Novem- ber, 1862. He served until the close of the war and was slightly wounded in the left thigh at the battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia. He took part in many important engage- ments and was always found at his post, whether it led into the thickest of the fight or stationed him on the lonely picket line. Among the battles in which he participated with his regiment were those of Gettysburg, the battle of the Wilderness, the siege of Petersburg and the battle of Fredericksburg. His was a most creditable military record, his bravery was equal to that of veterans of twice his years, but his love for the Union was unbounded and he rendered valuable service in its preservation. At the close of the war he went with a portion of his regi- ment to the frontier of Montana, where he was detailed to drive the supply team.
After being mustered out of the service at Jackson, Michigan, Mr. Dohm went to Muskegon county, this state, where he fol- lowed farming until December, 1869. He then came to Grand Traverse county, accom- panied by his wife and one child, for in the meantime he had been married. Here he took up his residence in Peninsula town- ship, where he remained for about two years and then settled upon the farm which is now his home and which has been his place of residence for about a third of a century. Within the boundaries of the farm are com- prised two hundred acres and one-half of this is under cultivation. It will thus be
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