USA > Michigan > St Clair County > St. Clair County, Michigan, its history and its people; a narrative account of its historical progress and its principal interests, Vol. II > Part 46
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HARTSON G. BARNUM, president of the First National Exchange Bank of Port Huron, was born in Onondaga county, New York, October 4, 1844. His parents were Thomas and Huldah (Gillette) Barnum, the father a native of New York state and the mother born in Connecticut, the former of English ancestry and the latter of Huguenot French origin. Both of them were descended from old and respectable famil- ies of New England. They had four children, two sons and two daugh- ters. About 1850 they came to Michigan and settled in Oakland county, where they remained until 1880, in which year they came to Port Huron, where the mother died in 1883, at the age of seventy-five years, the father dying here, in 1898, at the age of ninety-four years. He was a farmer by occupation. Their older son, Thomas J. Barnum, died while serving in the Civil war. Of their four children, Hartson G. Barnum is the youngest. He was but six years old when his parents came to Michigan, in which state he has since resided. He was born and reared on the farm where he received that training in industry and persever- ance that has enabled him largely to accomplish success in life. He obtained a high school education at Pontiac, Michigan, and then at- tended a private academy at Birmingham, Michigan. At the age of nineteen he accepted a position in a private bank at Detroit, thus be- ginning the career of a banker, in which he has continued, rising to prominence among bankers and financiers of the state. He remained at Detroit two years, and in the fall of 1865 came to Port Huron, where he became teller in the private bank of Johnston & Green, but later Johnston & Company. With this bank he remained nine years, and then became assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Port Huron, which bank, on the expiration of its charter in 1890, was then re-organ- ized as the First National Exchange Bank. In September, 1876, he was made cashier of the bank, and as such he remained, efficiently dis- charging his duties until in 1901, when at the death of Mr. James Goul- den, who was president of the bank, Mr. Barnum was elected by the
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bank s board of directors to succeed Mr. Goulden. This position he has since held. His career in the banking business covers a period of nearly a half century, which places him among the oldest bankers of Michigan, and at the same time among the ablest. In other than the banking business he has been and is identified with several interests. He has led the life of a business man, not seeking political preferment, although he has held minor offices, doing so more out of the mere sense of duty to public service. In politics he is a Republican, but Mr. Bar- num cannot be ranked as a politician. Nevertheless, he has always manifested a lively and commendable interest in not only political af- fairs, but also in all measures tended to advance public welfare. Fra- ternally he is a Knights Templar Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine of the fraternity. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In church faith he is affiliated with the Epis- copal church, of which he is a vestryman. In 1870 Mr. Barnum mar- ried Mary Hyde, a native of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Barnum have one living son, Thomas Edison Barnum, an electrician residing in Mil- waukee. They had one daughter, who died at the age of ten years.
DANIEL FRANKLIN DYSINGER. A representative citizen of Memphis, well-known for his upright character and devotion to the highest ideals, is Mr. Daniel Franklin Dysinger. Niagara county, New York. was his birthplace. and Angust 26, 1853, his natal day. His parents were Dan- iel and Cordelia J. (Stebbins) Dysinger, both residents of New York, for his mother was born in Niagara county, on December 8, 1831, and his father in Seneca county, on January 25, 1828. Mr. Dysinger, senior, was reared on a farm, early learning to bear responsibilities in life, since his father died when he was only sixteen years of age. He followed the blacksmith trade for some time, and was also engaged in farming until September of 1854, when he came to Riley township, St. Clair county, Michigan, and located on a farm, which at that time was practically unimproved. He succeeded in clearing the land, however. and resided there until 1862. In that year he rented his farm and pur- chased a mill in Macomb county, Michigan, southeast of Memphis, and operated the mill until March of 1878, when he turned the mill over to his son, Daniel F., the subject of this biography. Mr. Dysinger, senior, returned to the farm. where he remained about two years. IFe vacil- Iated between the town and the farm for some time, but finally sold the farm to his son, Henry E., and passed his declining days in Memphis, in which village he died on October 20, 1896. His wife passed away on December 2. 1906. Mr. Dysinger, senior. effected many improve- ments during his term as highway commissioner in Riley township as well as of Richmond township, Macomb county. His ancestors came to America before the nation was born, for his grandfather fought in the Revolutionary war and his father saw service in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Dysinger were the fond parents of four children: Laura Elizabeth, who died in childhood; Daniel Franklin, whose name heads this sketch; Ilenry E., who resides in the old homestead: and Benja- min Dudley, who died on April 27. 1908. soon after he moved to Mem- phis to engage in the agricultural implement business.
Daniel F. Dysinger attended school at Riley Center and also at Memphis. When he was seventeen years of age. under his father's
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supervision, he began operating the mill and continued successfully un- til the lumber gave out, about five years after his father left in 1878. The mill was located on a farm of thirty-five acres, which he cleared for cultivation. From time to time he added to this nucleus until he is now owner of ninety-one acres of entirely improved land. He resided on the farm until October 12, 1908, moving at that time to Memphis, where he established his family in one of the most commodious resi- dences in this part of the country. In addition to his agricultural pur- suits Mr. Dysinger makes cement blocks and tiles on his farm. A fine peach orchard is one of the attractions of his farm.
On November 6, 1878, Mr. Dysinger was united in marriage with Miss Ida Bell Nye, who was born in Memphis, on the Macomb county side, February 29, 1856. She was the only child of Edwin Ruthven and Clara (Sutherland) Nye. Her father was born at Washington, Mich- igan, on March 19, 1830, and her mother in Wayne county, New York, on the 22nd of January, 1835. In his young manhood agricultural pursuits engaged Mr. Nye's attention, but later he embarked in the mercantile business and operated a store in Memphis for about five years, until his death in 1858. Mr. Nye's brother was also a merchant in Memphis until his death, in 1865.
Mrs. Nye was a teacher before her marriage. After her husband's death, at twenty-eight years of age, she found occupation in the milli- nery business. Augustus M. Hodgis became her second husband. Mr. Hodgis was teaching school when the Civil war broke out, and he en- tered the ranks, serving faithfully until the end of the war. After the struggle was over he became a merchant in Memphis and continued in that trade until his death on November 17, 1885. Mrs. Hodgis passed away on the 8th of May, 1904.
Mrs. Dysinger taught one term of school when sixteen years old and then attended school in Ypsilanti for some time. Mr. Dysinger and his wife take a prominent part in all religious activities and movements for the betterment of the community. Their labors and benefactions are established facts in the Methodist Episcopal church, where Mrs. Dysinger is an enthusiastic worker and leader in the Ladies' Aid So- ciety. Mr. Dysinger has given his zealous support and steadfast alleg- iance to the Prohibition party ever since 1880, and he has been placed upon township and county tickets but the party was not strong enough to elect him. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Gleaners. Mr. and Mrs. Dysinger can ever be depended upon to promote all praise- worthy causes and to maintain high standards.
FRANK HOFFMAN. Among the men who have contributed to the substantial prosperity of St. Clair county and helped greatly in the making of its high name as the home of progressive business, of indus- try and integrity, is Frank Hoffman, of Port Huron. He was born in Fort Gratiot township, February 1, 1859. His father, John M. Hoff- man, was born in Stillwater township, Saratoga county, New York, on September 24, 1829, and in 1849 he came to Michigan, working his way from Buffalo to Port Huron on a tug boat and from there went to Ab- bottsford, where he worked in the lumber woods and mills for several years before starting in business for himself. He then engaged in lum- bering on his own account, and began to deal in both timber and farming
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lands to a considerable extent. In 1858 he settled on a farm ou Black river, at the south end of what was then Fort Gratiot township, and there made his home until his death, January 14. 1905. The mother of Frank Hoffman was, prior to her marriage, Miss Julia A. West- brook. She was born in St. Clair county in 1838 and was a daughter of Oliver Westbrook, who resided in Clyde township. Her grandfather, Andrew Westbrook, came to Michigan in 1812, locating on the St. Clair river, near the present site of Marine City. The history of the West- brook family may be found in the early records of the history of Saint Clair county and its pioneer period of development.
The early life of Frank Hoffman was spent on the paternal farm in Fort Gratiot township, where he alternately worked at the various duties of the farm and attended the district school, after he was fifteen he went to high school at Port Huron, taking a four years' course, and then laid the foundation for a progressive business career by attending business college.
At the age of twenty-three Mr. Hoffman set out on his independent career. Together with his father he looked up and invested in timber lands in northern Michigan. He continued to be interested in this business with his father until the elder Hoffman died, since which time he has carried on the business alone. Besides lands in Michigan he has made investments in Louisiana and several other states in the Union.
On December 27, 1900, Mr. Hoffman was united in marriage to Miss Harriet C. Bunce, daughter of Ilorace E. Bunce, a native of Ver- mont. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman now reside on the Bunce homestead, which is located on the St. Clair river, five miles south of Port Huron. They are the parents of three children: Edwin, born December 13, 1901; Alberta, born on the 13th of August, 1905; and Ralph, on the 12th of July, 1907. In the political field Mr. Hoffman is found under the Republican standard and he is a member of the National Association of Landmen.
MELVIN SPENCER. Ora Spencer, the father of Melvin, was born in New York state and came west in his early life. He settled on a farm in Wisconsin and later went to Coldwater, Michigan, where he died in 1870. Melvin was but five years of age at the time of his father's death, and he was obliged to shift for himself at a very early age. He began life as a wage earner when he was eleven years old, and his employer was Samuel Edison, the father of the great Thomas Edison.
At that time Mr. Samuel Edison lived at what is now Edison Branch, where he had a garden and a small dairy, whose products he disposed of to the citizens of Fort Gratiot. Mr. Spencer's duties were to make himself generally useful around the place and his wages were four dol- lars a month and his board. His first interview with his perspective employer was something of an ordeal to the youth. He gathered up his courage to knock on the door. and Mr. Edison came out. "I heard you wanted to hire a boy," said the applicant. "What is your name ?" responded Mr. Edison. "Melvin Spencer." "Do you smoke ?" "No, sir." "Chew ?" "No, sir." "Well." said Mr. Edison, "I guess I don't want a boy." Without a word the boy turned to go but before he had gone many rods Mr. Edison called: "Hey, lad! Come here! You're just the boy I want. You go right to work." And then he
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made his glittering proposition to pay his young assistant the four dol- lars and board for such duties as he outlined. The offer was accepted and it was a proud boy who brought his first four dollars to his mother a month later. There is never any money like the first we earn, and Mr. Spencer's was doubly precious because he felt he was fulfilling the responsibilities of a widow's son. The young man worked for Mr. Edison several months after his first contract and at different times afterwards up to the time of his marriage.
In early life and until he moved on his farm Mr. Spencer followed the occupation of peddling. He owned a farm in St. Clair county, where he lived for seven years, going from here to Port Huron, where he resided for five years. In November, 1910, he left Port Huron to take up his work of dairying and general farming on the "Ox-Bow Farm," a tract of one hundred and fifty acres which he had purchased. Mr. Spencer had been connected with the Port Huron Creamery Company while living in that city, being their traveling representative.
The Republican party represents Mr. Spencer's political convic- tions, and he has always been interested in politics. When he lived in what was formerly Fort Gratiot he was engaged in various enterprises and took an active interest in public affairs. During Mayor Boynton's term of office Mr. Spencer served as alderman from the Tenth ward for two terms. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and has attained the honor of past regent in that society.
In July, 1885, Mr. Spencer's mother passed away and in December of the same year he was married to Miss Laura Newell, of Port Huron. John Newell, the father of Mrs. Spencer, was born in England, in 1828. At the age of thirty he came to Port Huron and the following year mar- ried Margaret Potter, of the same town. Mrs. Spencer is the fourth of their five children, Walliam, Mary, Harriet, Laura and Nettie. All are living except Harriet, who died December 26, 1889. Mrs. Spencer was born on the last day of September, 1866. Mr. Newell was identi- fied with several different business concerns of Port Huron. In 1888 he was mayor of what was then Fort Gratiot, and at another time was supervisor of the township and still later treasurer of St. Clair county. Mrs. Spencer's mother was born in Ottawa, Canada, but came to St. Clair county at an early age. Her parents had come to Canada from Ireland, and they later moved to Port Huron. She died in this city at the age of seventy-two.
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer's family numbers three sons and two daugh- ters. William J. Spencer, the eldest, was born December 25, 1886. When he was fifteen he sailed on the lakes for several years and at twenty-one joined the United States navy, from which he was honorably discharged after three years' service. He then spent a year at Tacoma, Washington, and on New Years' day of 1911 was married to Miss Evelyn Quens, of Windsor, Ontario. Margaret Helen Spencer was born Febru- ary 9, 1889, and on September 19, 1908, was married to R. McDonald, a dealer in real estate and insurance at Yale, Michigan. The other chil- dren are: Clarence M., born March 14, 1891; Harry N., born June 4, 1895, and Florence V., born April 19, 1897.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Spencer are member of the Methodist church of South Port Huron and have been for years among its valued workers. They have made for themselves an honored place in the community and
1. Mitannyton
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the regard in which they are held by all who know them is fitting trib- ute to their useful and honorable lives.
DANIEL BROWN HARRINGTON was born in Sodus, Ontario county, New York, April 23, 1807. His father was Jeremiah Harrington, and a brother of his father was the last survivor of the battle of Lexington. Jeremiah was born in 1774, and after coming of age went to New York, where he married, and after living there about sixteen years moved. in 1811, to Ohio, near the present city of Fremont, and two years later to Delaware. In 1816 for a time Jeremiah and his family occupied half of a house, the other half of which was occupied by the family of the future president, Rutherford B. Hayes.
In the winter of 1818 Daniel attended school at Sandusky and the following spring came to Black River as a member of a party consisting of his father and some others, who were on their way to Saginaw Bay on a fur trading expedition. Having been advised by Governor Cass at Detroit not to go to Saginaw until the fall, the party came up by Lake St. Clair and St. Clair River to the month of Black River, and spent the summer months in planting and cultivating some cleared In- dian fields which they found a few miles up Black River. In October the party left for Saginaw and spent the winter with the Indians and in the spring of 1820 returned to Ohio. Daniel was a great favorite with the Indians, and from them he learned to speak Chippewa. It was by him that the name of Kenockee township was suggested, the word mean- ing crooked and probably referring to the extremely tortuous course of Mill Creek, which traverses the township. The same fall another expe- dition, led by Jeremiah and including Daniel, started for Saginaw Bay, but siekness prevented the continuance of the trip, and the party spent some time in the barracks at Fort Gratiot, at the time when Lieutenant James Watson Webb, later the famous editor of the New York Courier and Enquirer, was stationed there.
The next few years were devoted to working on his father's farm on Black river, taking an occasional raft of timber to Detroit. These rafts were provided with a small hut to sleep in, a long steering sweep and a sail, and it frequently took a month to make the round trip, as their ability to cross Lake St. Clair depended upon a wind from exactly the right direction. In the winter of 1826-7 he attended school on the Wil- liam Brown farm in Cottrellville, kept by Jacob G. Streit. In the fall of 1828 he was employed in the store at Fort Gratiot owned by Judge Bunce, at the munificent salary of twelve dollars per month and his board. The next three years were spent in various occupations, and in 1832, the great cholera year, Daniel was in Detroit, employed by E. Waterbury, a dry goods merchant. That summer Waterbury moved his store and clerk to Stony Creek in Oakland county, and in November sold out to Daniel and Joseph B. Comstock, who moved the stock over to Hersey's Mills in the same county, and opened up for business November 28. 1832, doing on the first day a total business, all on eredit. of $2.05. The new company borrowed fifty dollars from Jeremiah Harrington for working capital, and their goods inventoried $1,241.
Six months proved that there was not enough business in that sparsely settled loeality, and the firm dissolved in May, 1833, and Daniel came to Port Huron, or Desmond, as it was then called, and went into the employ of Jonathan Burteh, who kept a general store on the north side of Black
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River, near the Military street bridge, and in the fall of the same year bought out his employer, and ran his own business until the spring of 1835, when he sold out, just in time to escape competition with his former partner Joseph B. Comstock, who came to Desmond and in com- pany with his brother Alfred opened up a general store.
The Michigan land fever had now begun to work, and Mr. Harring- ton, a capable and experienced young man of thirty, took a trip back to New York state to visit his younger brother, Edmund Burke, who was then studying law in the office of Hon. Fortune C. White at Whites- town, New York. The energetic young man evidently impressed Judge White favorably, and convinced him that in the wild lands and town sites of St. Clair county fortunes were hidden, and as White had capital and Harrington experience, an arrangement was soon made, mutually profitable, by which the former furnished the money, and the latter bought the land and looked after it for a quarter interest. This ar- rangement lasted for thirteen years, to the satisfaction of both parties. The first purchase was from Joseph Watson, at one time secretary of the Territory, but at this time an official in Washington, of eighty acres south of Black river and east of the Indian Reserve, which was imme- diately platted as the Village of Desmond, but later called White's Plat of Port Huron.
He took an active interest in securing the mouth of Black river as the eastern terminal of the Northern Railroad, which the state was to construct, and took contracts for clearing and grading along its line for some distance, and became rapidly one of the prominent residents of the community. He was postmaster from November, 1834, to May, 1841; in 1845 he built a saw mill on the north side of Black river, about four miles from its mouth, and dug a canal from a large swamp lying be- tween the river and Lake Huron to furnish his mill water power.
His interests widened and developed, he became a large owner of timber land and of valuable real estate in and around Port Huron, was one of the organizers of the First National Bank in 1870, and was its first president, was also the chief organizer of the Port Huron Savings Bank, and in 1874 he erected the Opera House Block, at that time much the largest and finest in Port Huron.
In 1847 he was a representative in the state legislature, and in 1852 a state senator. With these exceptions he never held office, being content with his influnce as a wealthy and enterprising citizen of the com- munity.
In 1840 he married Miss Sarah E. Luce, a daughter of Bartlett A. Luce, who came as the manager of the Black River Steam Mill Company, and they had seven children, six of whom survived to maturity, Charles F., Edmund B., Mary, who married Captain Frank Rice; Kate, who married William Calder, Ida, who married John W. Thompson, and Eva who married Frank Bagg. Mr. Harrington died at Port Huron, July 7, 1878.
ALFRED C. MARSHALL. The management of the light and power plant of a city as large as Port Huron, Michigan, calls for the best efforts of a man of wide experience and executive ability, thoroughly versed in every detail pertaining to his office and able in any emergency that may arise to discover and remove the cause of trouble. Such a position is
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being filled by Alfred C. Marshall, whose rise in the commercial world bas been rapid. Mr. Marshall was born in Middletown, Ohio, September 26, 1872, a son of William S. and Elizabeth ( Miltenberger) Marshall, natives of the Buckeye state, and later residents of Michigan, where Mr. Marshall was engaged in the lumber business. Both are now deceased.
Alfred C. Marshall received his education in the Detroit public schools and later attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, after leav- ing which his first employment was at assisting to build the public light- ing plant in Detroit, in 1894. Four years later he became chief engineer of the Rapid Railway System, and was engaged in construction work, building electric lines between Port Huron and Detroit. In 1903 he became electrical engineer for the Detroit Edison Company, with which firm he continued until 1905, and then came to Port Huron and assumed the duties of his present position. Personally Mr. Marshall is genial and courteous, easy to approach and considerate of the rights of his fel- low men. He is broad and liberal minded, and has the respect and esteem of his business associates, the confidence of the community at large and the loyal support of every employe of the lighting plant. Mr. Marshall is a Republican in polities, but is not bigoted and votes rather for the man than the party. Ile is not himself an office seeker, although he at all times has the welfare of the city at heart and supports those movements which he judges will be of benefit to the community at large.
In 1901 Mr. Marshall was married to Miss Bessie Schnoor, who was born in New Baltimore, Macomb county, Michigan, daughter of IFenry C. and Louise Schnoor, natives of Germany, the former of whom is de- ceased, while the latter still resides in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Mar- shall have two children : Frances, eight years old, born in Detroit; and Brooks, aged three years, born in Port IIuron. Mr. Marshall is a mem- ber and on the official board of the Methodist church, which his wife also attends. The pleasant family home is at No. 2461 Military street, while Mr. Marshall has business offices at No. 103 Huron avenue.
ARTHUR A. SEWART. Success and prosperity have marked the career of Mr. Arthur Alvin Sewart, of St. Clair, one of the leading busi- ness men of that thriving community, his contribution to the commer- eial standing it enjoys being an important one. Throughout his life Mr. Sewart has been identified with St. Clair or its immediate vicinity. He was born in the then village of St. Clair on January 19, 1880, the son of Ferdinand and Rose (Bontrager) Stewart. His father, who was a native of Germany, immigrated with his parents to the United States when ten years of age, the family settling on a farm near Mount Clemens, where Ferdinand remained until the early seventies. He then moved to St. Clair, where he proceeded to conduct a livery business, ocen- pying ten years of his life thus. Agriculture, his first choice of work. appealed to him again. however, and he disposed of the livery and re- turned to a farm, but finding country life less attractive than city activity he returned a second time to St. Clair and re-entered the livery business.
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