USA > Minnesota > St Louis County > Duluth > Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; their story and people; an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development, Volume II > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
Hiram J. Eaton gained his rudimentary education in a rural school near the place of his birth, and he was a lad of fifteen years when he left home, with the consent of his parents, and went to the home of his paternal grandfather, who was a pioneer farmer near Janesville, Wiscon- sin. Here the boy worked on the farm several months, but his ambition and self-reliance soon caused him to seek a wider personal freedom, and without the knowledge of his grandfather he left the latter's home and engaged with a man named Wheeler to drive a team for the latter, at Kilbourn City, Wisconsin. He was thus engaged in hauling lumber in that section of the Badger state until 1856, when he returned to Janes- ville. There he was employed two months in a hotel, and during the next two summers assisted one of his uncles, who was engaged in buying cattle and driving the same to market. During the intervening winter he was employed in the old American House, which was then one of the leading hotels at Janesville. When Mr. Eaton was seventeen years of age there came a period of financial depression that compelled him to go further afield to secure employment. Ile finally made his way to St. Louis, Missouri, where he obtained a position as cabin boy on a Mis- sissippi River steamboat. He thus worked on the river during the winter seasons and on farms near Janesville, Wisconsin, during the intervening summers, until the outbreak of the Civil war brought the call to higher (luty. His youthful patriotism and loyalty were shown when, on the 26th of April. 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. With this gallant command he proceeded to the front, and
854
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
with it he continued in active service until physical disability rendered him incapacitated and he received his honorable discharge on the 28th of May, 1863. He took part in many battles and minor engagements, and received wounds in the battles of Bull Run, South Mountain and White Sulphur Springs.
During the winter following his discharge from the army Mr. Eaton found employment as a lumber scaler in a lumber camp in Michigan, and in the following year engaged in the lumber-jobbing business, with which he continued his active association for a quarter of a century. Within this period he also operated a blacksmith and carriage shop, and for some time conducted a store at Alpena, Michigan, where he handled groceries, meats, agricultural implements and other supplies.
On the 15th of March, 1892, Mr. Eaton arrived, with a number of teams, at the old town of Mesaba, Minnesota, his purpose being to engage in lumbering operations in this locality. Investigation convinced him that the field for this enterprise was not promising, and accordingly he estab- lished a stage line between Mesaba and Merritt, his first stage-load of passengers having been transported over this route on the 17th of March, 1892. He also opened a livery stable and engaged in general teaming. In the autumn of 1892 the railroad line was completed and instituted service in this region, and this caused his stage line to be unprofitable. In canvassing the situation and seeking a new field of activity, Mr. Eaton left his son William in charge of his teams and came to Virginia, which place at that time had only two or three houses. Here he built a barn and established himself as one of the pioneer business men of the new, progressive and prosperous little city. In about thirty days he was joined by his son, with whom he became associated in the operation of a stage line between Virginia and Mountain Iron, besides doing a general team- ing and livery business. Mr. Eaton hauled the first load of supplies to Mr. Hibbing's exploring camp at what later became the Sellers Mine. The fire of 1893 destroyed all of his possessions at Virginia, including his horses, but he and his son soon re-established themselves. Within a short time thereafter Mr. Eaton turned the management of the business over to his son and accepted the office of justice of the peace, he having been one of the first two men to serve in this judicial office at Virginia. Later, when the village was incorporated as a city, Mr. Eaton was made police justice, and in this capacity served twelve years, with characteris- tic fidelity and discernment. His service continued until the establishing of the municipal court, when the office of police justice was abolished. He has served two terms as a member of the Virginia Board of Alder- men and two terms as city recorder.
On the 1st of March, 1898, Mr. Eaton was appointed janitor of the Central School Building of Virginia, and he retained this position until the close of the last school term in this building. He is now the official guide of the new Technical High School and takes great personal pride in this admirable institution and his connection therewith. He still retains affiliation with Alpena Lodge No. 199, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Alpena, Michigan, where also he is a veteran member of the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a staunch Republican, and his religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Church, of which his wife is a zealous member.
In October, 1861, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage to Miss Mar- garet Cartwall. who was born at Lockport, New York, of English lineage, and of this union have been born two children-William H. and Adelaide M. William H. Eaton, who still continues the teaming business which he and his father established in Virginia in the pioneer days and who
Johnson
855
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
has added to the same a department devoted to the handling of fuel, likewise has distinction as one of the pioneer business men of Virginia. He was born in the city of Detroit, Michigan, November 29, 1862, and he was a youth when he came with his father to the Iron Range of Minnesota, where he has been actively identified with the development and progress of the vigorous little city of Virginia. He has twiced served as mayor of the city and several terms as a member of the Board of Education. June 25, 1882, he married Miss Anstice M. Brad- ford, who was born in England and who came with her parents to the United States when she was fourteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton have seven children: Amelia M. (Mrs. Johnson), Mabel S. (Mrs. Butler), Herman J., Margaret M., Hazel B. and Jessie B. (twins) and Temple O. 1
C. H. JOHNSON. One of the leading automobile concerns at the Head of the Lakes today is the Johnson Motor Car Company, the home of which is at 309-311 East Superior street in Duluth. The firm has been a factor in the automobile industry for a number of years, and now specializes as distributors of the Cole motor cars and St. Cloud trucks in the Duluth territory.
The head. founder and upbuilder of the business is C. H. Johnson, whose career while involving the overcoming of many obstacles presents a record of steady progress from one thing to another in the achieve- ment of a definite success.
Mr. Johnson was born in Sweden, was eighteen years of age when he came alone to America, and had his first employment and American experience at Jennings, Michigan, in the lumber industry. He remained there a year and a half and then paid his first visit to Duluth in 1903. After a short time he went to Cloquet and again found employment in the lumber business for three years. Having in the meantime made some great advances toward acquiring a knowledge of American ways and institutions, he took himself out of the ranks of wage workers and, moving from Cloquet to Superior, conducted a cigar store for six months. In 1906 he returned to Duluth and resumed the cigar business in that city for a year. Then, without any capital or experience whatsoever, Mr. Johnson opened a small repair shop, doing repair work and handling bicycles, motorcycles and automobiles. He first became interested in the distribution of the Maxwell cars, and after selling them a while was local representative for the Regal and Winton, and handled those well known makes until he took over the Cole Motor Car Company's line, of which he is the official representative at Duhuith today.
Mr. Johnson gives most of his time to business and is also keenly interested in matters involving the welfare and prosperity of his home city. In politics he votes independently.
FREDERICK W. ARMSTRONG came to Duluth from Chicago to give the benefit of his organizing ability and experience to the Duluth Build- ers Exchange.
This is one of the important organizations among the business insti- tutions of the city. It was organized August 29. 1902, by George H. Lounsbury, Il. D. Bullard, M. A. Thomson, E. G. Wallinder and J. F. Schleunes. The object of the Exchange is to stabilize building condi- tions in Duluth, affording an opportunity to the membership to figure on work in Duluth and adjacent territory. The Exchange has been in existence for eighteen years and has fully justified the expectation of its organizers.
856
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
Frederick W. Armstrong, who is secretary and treasurer of the Ex- change, was born in Chicago November 9, 1891. His father, F. W. Arm- strong, was a wholesale druggist in Chicago and died in 1902. He left four children, Frederick W., Paul L., Kenneth E. and Virginia I.
Frederick W. Armstrong was educated in the public schools of his native city and began his career in 1909 in the advertising department of the Chicago Examiner. He was there seven months, for three years was an accountant in the general offices of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- way Company, and then for six years was connected with the Chicago Association of Commerce as an assistant manager. It was his thorough training with that great business organization that gave him special qual- ifications for his work to which he was called to Duluth on March 1, 1919. Mr. Armstrong is a member of the Commercial, Rotary, Kiwanis, Advertising and Boat Clubs of Duluth.
HUBERT HART D'AUTREMONT is an attorney at law. Charles d'Autre- mont, Jr., his father, was born in Angelica, New York, on June 2, 1851, and was there reared and attended the common schools. He attended Cornell University, Columbia University and the Academy at Lausanne, Switzerland. He entered upon the active practice of law at Angelica and Elmira. New York, where he remained until 1882, when he came to Duluth, Minnesota, and engaged in the general practice of law and specialized in land office practice. His ability and integrity were rec- ognized and appreciated by the people of his adopted state, and in 1884 he was elected county attorney of Saint Louis County. In 1886 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for attorney-general of the State of Minnesota, and in 1892 was elected mayor of Duluth, giving the city an efficient and progressive administration. He became one of the lead- ing Democrats of the northwest, standing high in the councils of his party.
About 1894 Mr. d'Autremont became interested in the mining busi- ness in the Minnesota iron country and with his partner, James Sheri- dan, developed the Sheridan Mine, the d'Autremont Mine and the Foster Mine. Shortly after 1900 he became interested in mining in the south- west, Mexico and various parts of the west, and he was one of the original promoters of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company and was a member of the Board of Directors from its inception until his death. The death of Mr. d'Autremont occurred at Angelica, New York, on the 25th day of July, 1919.
Charles d'Autremont was married in Elmira, New York, to Hattie Hart, the daughter of Erastus P. Hart, and to this union were born five children, all of whom are living, namely: Mrs. Antoinette d'Autre- mont Andresen, Louis Paul d'Autremont, Charles Maurice d'Autremont, Hubert Hart d'Autremont and Mrs. Marie d'Autremont Gerry.
Hubert Hart d'Autremont was born on the 19th day of February, 1889, in Duluth, Minnesota. He received his educational training in Phillips Exeter Academy, Cornell University and Columbia University, fitting himself for the legal profession. He is a member of the bars of the states of New York, Minnesota and Arizona, and has practiced in those states, having been engaged in the general practice of law in Duluth since 1914. At times Mr. d'Autremont has taken an active part in Democratic politics, but has never held public office.
On January 19, 1919, at Duluth, he was married to Helen C. Congdon, the daughter of Chester A. Congdon, of Duluth, and they have two sons, Charles and Chester. At the outbreak of the hostilities between the United States and Germany Mr. d'Autremont enlisted for service, was
857
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
commissioned a second lieutenant in the Aviation Corps, and saw four months of active service in France. He received an honorable discharge on February 21, 1919.
LESTER WALDO HAYES. The career of Lester Waldo Hayes, of Virginia, Minnesota, general superintendent of the Mesaba Railway, has been one in which the homely virtues of industry, fidelity and per- severance, combined with developing ability, have won the reward of well-merited success. Mr. Hayes was born at Odell, Illinois, April 26, 1871, seventh in a family of eight children, of whom four are living. His father, Nicholas Hayes, in early years a farmer and later a grain buyer, was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Lucenthia Blake, was born in Vermont and was about the same age as her husband.
Lester Waldo Hayes attended the graded school at Odell until thir- teen years of age, at which time he left home to go to the home of an uncle at Wahoo, Nebraska. There he worked on the nearby farms and ranches for about a year, subsequently returning to his Illinois home, where he was employed on his father's farm until fifteen years old. During the next year he served an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, but gave this up to go to Chicago, where he was variously employed until 1888. In that year Mr. Hayes went to St. Louis and secured a position with the Missouri Street Railway Company as "hill boy." The duties of this position were to drive an extra horse down the hill and attach it to the cars in order that sufficient motive power might be applied to allow the car to "make the grade." At the end of a year he was promoted to track inspector on the Olive street cable line, a posi- tion which he filled satisfactorily for three years. In 1892 he was made assistant cable splicer, resigning in about two years to become a con- ductor on the same road. In 1896 Mr. Hayes went again to Chicago, where he spent the winter at odd jobs, going in the spring to southern Missouri, where he remained occupied in various ways until 1897.
He next entered the employ of the Cincinnati & Hamilton Electric Railway as assistant to the master mechanic, and in the fall of 1899 accepted a similar position with the Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg & Aurora Electric Railway, then under construction, which ran between Cincinnati, Harrison, Ohio, and Aurora, Indiana. His headquarters were at Cleves, and there he met Miss Ada Smith, with whom he was united in mar- riage May 29, 1902. Mrs. Hayes was born at Cleves, of American par- entage. In January, 1905, Mr. Hayes took a position as assistant to the master mechanic of the Indianapolis & Northwestern Traction Com- pany, which is now a part of the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company, one of the largest individual electric systems in the United States.
In January, 1907, Mr. Hayes accepted a position with the Galesburg & Kewanee Electric Railway as master mechanic, and held that position until June, 1907, then returning to the Indianapolis & Northwestern Trac- tion Company as master of mechanics until 1915. He then came to the Range as master of mechanics for the Mesaba Railway, with headquar- ters at Virginia, and January 1, 1917, was promoted superintendent, suc- ceeding R. W. Reynolds, who had entered the service of the Government for the World war. His work in this position has been highly satisfac- tory, and he has the full confidence and esteem of his superiors and fellow officials, and the esteem and good will of the men under his supervision.
858
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Hayes have three children : Curtis L., born March 21, 1903; Irene L., born July 25, 1904; and Helen, who was born Septem- ber 7, 1907 and died in 1909. During the World war Mr. Hayes was a member of the local Motor Corps. He belongs to the Rotary Club, North Bend Lodge No. 346, A. F. & A. M., and Virginia Lodge No. 1003, B. P. O. E. In political matters he supports the candidates and principles of the Republican party. He is a Protestant in his religious faith.
JOHN CARL BROZICH, who was born in northern Michigan and has spent his conscious years in the environment of the great mining dis- trict of northern Michigan and Minnesota, is one of the leading citizens of Aurora, where he is local superintendent of the Miller Mine.
He was born at Dollar Bay, Michigan, December 24, 1890, son of George and Catherine (Kobe) Brozich. His parents were both natives of Austria, where they were married. George Brozich came to America in 1885, his wife following him in 1888. He had worked in copper mills in Austria, and his familiarity with the copper industry led him to locate in northern Michigan, at Calumet, and later at Dollar Bay. For a num- ber of years he followed the trade of carpenter, in 1892 moved to the Vermillion Range at Tower, and in 1893 went to Biwabik and later to Virginia, then spent another period at Biwabik, and in 1904 moved to Aurora. In 1906 he homesteaded land in Koochiching County and lived there, working his farm until his death in April, 1916, at the age of seventy-four. His widow survives him and spends part of her time at Ely and also with her son at Aurora. George Brozich did a great deal of work as a carpenter at the mines in northern Minnesota. He located at Tower before a railroad had been built to that point. His family consisted of three sons and two daughters, three of whom are still living. The son George is now connected with the Ely State Bank. The only living daughter is Marie, wife of Jacob Jaksha, of Aurora.
John Carl Brozich spent his boyhood in the several localities of Min- nesota above named and acquired most of his education in the grade schools at Biwabik and the high school at Ely. At the age of fifteen he began earning his living at work in one of the camps of the St. Croix Lumber Company. After about a year, in 1907, he took up a service which has been continuous, beginning as timekeeper for the Miller Mine at Aurora. His abilities secured his advancement to other responsi- bilities, and since 1910 he has been superintendent of that mine.
Always public spirited and active in his community, he served as village trustee in 1912-13. During the World war he was a top ser- geant in the Home Guards organization and also a factor in promoting the success of the Red Cross and in securing the quota for the Liberty Loans. July 27, 1916, Mr. Brozich married Gladys Shriver, daughter of Charles W. Shriver. They are the parents of one daughter, Charlene.
EDWARD N. NELSON is the senior member in the firm of Nelson & Peterson, a partnership of long and successful standing as elevator men and manufacturers and jobbers in grain and stock feed. They have developed one of the largest businesses of the kind in the Duluth district.
Mr. Nelson, who has been in Duluth for nearly forty years, was born in Sweden November 17, 1859. In the old country he acquired a substantial education, and was twenty-three years of age when he came to America alone and located in Duluth in 1883. For seven years
-
il Edward n Nelson
859
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
he was employed in different capacities and in different departments of the Consolidated Elevator Company, and while there laid the foundation of his expert knowledge of the grain industry. This was followed by three years of employment with the Duluth Imperial Mills. He unloaded all the wheat that came to the mills and also installed the first elevator in the mill.
About twenty-five years ago Mr. Nelson formed a partnership with Oscar Peterson under the firm name of Nelson & Peterson, and engaged in the flour and feed business at 1823 West Superior street. In 1896 they moved to 20th avenue and the Northern Pacific tracks in order to have better shipping facilities. In 1910 they took up their present quar- ters at 1902-08 West Michigan, where they have all the facilities for business, including the handling of all kinds of grain, and the grinding of feeds, and they are also dealers in garden and field seeds. They have equipment to deliver all orders and employ a large force of men and vehicles. Their elevator, built of solid concrete, has the appearance of a modern skyscraper and is one of the conspicuous landmarks in the city.
Mr. Nelson is a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church and a Republican voter. He married Miss Ida Johnson, and their children are : Mamie, Edgar, Ada, Esther, Ruth and Henry.
WALTER GUSTAF ZIMMERMANN is recognized as one of the energetic and successful business men of Duluth, where for more than a decade he has served efficiently as contracting manager for the American Bridge Company. In the course of an honorable career he has been successful in his chosen vocation and has enjoyed the confidence and good will of those with whom he has been associated.
Walter Gustaf Zimmermann was born in Buffalo, New York, Octo- ber 25, 1876. From that city the family moved to Chicago, and in the grade schools of the latter city he pursued his studies until 1889, when he went to Germany and in the high school at Koenigsberg studied until 1892. He then returned to his native land and entered the Harvard Preparatory School at Chicago, which he attended until 1894, when he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, completing his studies there in 1898. After completing his education Mr. Zimmer- mann went to Chicago and established himself as a designer and esti- mator of structural steel work. In 1903 he became connected with the American Bridge Company as sales engineer in the contracting depart- ment, continuing in that line of work at Chicago until 1907, when he was sent to the South as contracting manager of the New Orleans and Atlanta contracting offices. In October, 1909, Mr. Zimmermann opened the Duluth office for the American Bridge Company and has been con- ducting the business of the company here ever since, being well qualified by both nature and training for the responsible duties of the position. The work of the American Bridge Company in Saint Louis County embraces the designing, fabrication and erection of structural steel work for buildings, bridges, docks, mine structures, etc., and they also handle forgings of all kinds for ship construction, mine equipment, etc. Notable among their contracts completed in this county are the following: All the buildings for the Minnesota Steel Company's rolling mills, benzol plant, coke plant, etc. : the steel bridges for the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic, the Duluth, Missabe & Northern and Duluth & Iron Range Railroads ; ore dock and coal dock for the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railroad : coal handling bridges and buildings for Zenith Furnace Com- pany's plant at West Duluth ; ore crushing, screening and concentrating
860
DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
plants for the Oliver Iron Mining Company and Rogers-Brown Iron Company and several others on the Mesaba Range; headframes, hoisting engine houses, shop buildings and other mine structures for the majority of the mines on the Mesaba and Vermillion Iron Ranges, also a large variety of structures for the Calumet and Hecla and the Quincy Mining Companies in the upper Michigan copper country ; school buildings, pub- lic buildings, highway bridges, water towers and other steel structures of various descriptions. The American Bridge Company has operated in St. Louis County since 1900 and has always enjoyed a high repu- tation because of the uniformly high quality of the work performed by them.
On December 18, 1909, Mr. Zimmermann was married to Virginia B. Gambrell, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Gambrell of Abbe- ville, South Carolina. Mrs. Zimmermann died on November 12, 1917. During her life she was actively interested in the Matinee Musicale and was a member and active worker in the Endion Methodist Episcopal Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Zimmermann were born two children, Eliza- beth, on March 12, 1912, and Walter, Jr., January 4, 1915.
Mr. Zimmermann is a member of the Commercial Club, the Kitchi Gammi Club, the Northland Country Club, the Duluth Engineers Club, American Society of Civil Engineers, Citizens Alliance and the Tech- nology Club of Lake Superior. He is also a member of the Sigma Chi college fraternity. He is a well-educated, symmetrically developed man and his technical knowledge of structural problems, especially as relating to the use of steel, has caused his long retention in a position where a high standard of excellence has been required. Because of his earnest life, high attainments, well rounded character and large influence, he is eminently entitled to representation in a work of the character of the one in hand.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.