THE MINING GAZETTE (under various names) of Houghton County, Michigan Copyright © 1999-2001 by Dick and June Ross. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. ____________________________________________________________________ 1875 May - August Issues - Some issues may be missing. ........denotes there was more to the article and the article with in is a shortened version. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, May 6,1875 Mr. W. P. SUMNER, formerly a resident of this section, opened a fancy confectionery establishment in Detroit, the other day, which is puffed to the skies in the papers of that city. Probate Order: In the matter of the state of Columbus C. DOUGLASS, deceased......the petition, duly verified, of Lydia B. DOUGLASS, asking that the last will and testament be allowed........... The Lake Superior Ship Canal chaane1, at its shallowest point, has eleven feet of water. The water in Lake Superior is now at its lowest point, and as spring advances its depth will be increased by at least one foot and a half more water. This highway is in as good condition as it was last fall, so that steamboat men can use the canal without any fear. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, May 13, 1875 Mr E.F. SUTTON, of the Houghton mine, advertises in today's paper a list of household goods, which he will sell cheap, as he is about to break up housekeeping. On Sunday morning last a man named Isaac JOHNSON, a Swede, was found dead at Manhattan, about a mile from the Cliff mine. He had come by the stage from Calumet to that point on Saturday. A coroner's inquest was held over the body, and the verdict was, "Died from unknown causes." He appeared to be about 35 years of age. He had no friends in this section, and was buried by the county in Clifton cemetery on Monday. Wooden Wedding: Mr. and Mrs. J. B. STURGIS will receive their friends at the Douglass House next Monday evening, it being the anniversary of their fifth year of married life. The Hon. Thos. D. BRADFIELD, representative from Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties, and family, passed through here last Friday, on his way to his home at Copper Falls. The doctor is more than delighted at his escape from Lansing. Dr. A. OVERFIELD has vacated his office in the postoffice block, and can now be found in the front rooms, lately occupied by Dr. D. C. GRANT, over the drug store on the comer of Shelden and Isle Royale streets. Last Monday afternoon a little son of Mrs. Allen McINTYRE, of this place, while sitting on the edge of HENNES' dock, fell into Portage Lake and was drowned........... Died: One of the men, James BRYANT, who was hurt in the Calumet and Hecla mine week before last, died on Tuesday from the effects of his injuries. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, May 20,1875 Married: At the residence of the bride's parents, L'Anse, Mich., May 5th, Mr Geo. W. S. BOTSFORD to Miss Elizabeth MCKERNAN. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, May 27, 1875 Joseph WEBB is the name of the miner who lost his life by falling down.the shaft at the National mine, Ontonagon, last week. WEBB had just left his home here and obtained work at the National. He leaves a wife and three children, who are living at Huron mine. METZNER, a man convicted at the last term of the Keweenaw county court of shooting a Swede at the Phoenix, and sentenced to the county jail, broke out last week and escaped. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, June 3, 1875 At the Franklin stamp mill Capt. VIVIAN is putting in a new water adit, which, when finished, will be the most complete and durable work of the kind on the lake............ Last Sunday evening a young Frenchman, named Henry BREZIORD, who when playing with some comrades on the Sturgeon River bridge, struck his foot against some obstacle and was precipitated headlong into the water. The river was full of logs at the time, and the unfortunate young man must have struck one of them. A verdict of accidental death. Obituary: Died, on Monday, May 31 at 5 o'clock A.M. at his residence in Houghton, Chester C. CROOKS, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Crooks was born at Kalamazoo, Mich., and came with his parents to Lake Superior during his early boyhood. At the outbreak of the rebellion he joined the First Michigan Cavalry as a private, and after passing through the many hard fought battles in which that regiment earned laurels for themselves and added a luster to the arms of the State, he had the honor of leading the last charge made by that gallant command, at Appomatox Courthouse, as senior captain, with the brevet of major. Returning to the civil walks of life, Major Crooks became interested in various mail contracts and stage lines, in connection with the livery business, which he carried on both at Houghton and Red Jacket. On Tuesday last the remains of the deceased were placed on board the propeller Arctic to be conveyed to Detroit, thence to Ypsilanti for interment. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, June 10, 1875 At the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Merchants and Miners Bank, Calumet, held Monday, June 7th, the following gentlemen were elected directors for the ensuing year: Messrs. Chas. BRIGGS, R. H. OSBORN, John DUNCAN, Geo. W. SHEARS, J. N. WRIGHT, John CAMM, Peter RUPPE, Jr., Joseph HERMANN, Richard UREN. At a subsequent meeting of the directors, held Tuesday, June 8th, Mr Chas. BRIGGS was reelected president, and Dr. R. H. OSBORN vice-president. Probate Matters, June 7, 1875: Estate of Catherine PEARCE, deceased - James P. PEARCE appointed administrator.. Estate of Chester C. CROOKS, deceased, petition for the appointment of Carlos D. SHELDEN and Frank A. DOUGLASS as regular administrators, (rather than Florence B. Crooks, who petitioned)............Estate of Patrick McLAUGHLIN, deceased, petition for app. of Administrator, Owen McLAUGHLIN..........Estate of Francis McGRATH, deceased, claim filed by E.A. MACK for $25.00 which was allowed. Married: On Monday, June 7th, Mr Henry WEBER, to Miss Louisa, oldest daughter of Mr Alex. GUTSCH, all of Houghton. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, June 24, 1875 ..........the most serious loss, aside from cord wood and square timber from the woods fires on Tuesday, was the burning of eighteen buildings, including a warehouse of NORTH & BRIGGS, at Torch Lake. The following are the names of most of the sufferers: Leon MARCOTT, Alfred MARCOTT, Burner MARCOTT, Charles MONRRELL, Francis WOOD, Charles KING, Louis SERPENO, Tino HOMSES, Noel PEREAU, John KISER, and John MCKAY. Mr James BURTENSHAW, at one time a prominent merchant at Ontonagon, and now one of the leading business men of Detroit, is visiting the district on his way to the scene of his early mercantile triumph. Probate Matters: Estate of John MADIGAN, deceased - sale of real estate............... Estate of Conrad C. FOSTER, deceased - petition for sale of real estate................ Estate of Peter CHRISTIANSEN, deceased - petition filed by Andrew LINSTROM............... Mrs. HARRIS, wife of Capt. William HARRIS, of Houghton, Lake Superior, who is on a visit to her daughter, who graduated yesterday at the Detroit Female Seminary, while lighting the gas, Tuesday evening, in her room at the Michigan Exdhande, fell from the chair on which she was standing, breaking her leg below the knee. The fractured limb was set by D. FARRAND, and the lady is doing as well as can be expected. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, July 8, 1875 Mr Frank OSBORN, son of Dr. R. H. OSBORN, of the Calumet and Hecla mine, who received the appointment to West Point at the hands of Hon. Jay A. HUBBELL, M.C. of the Ninth Congressional District of Michigan, has passed a successful examination, and has entered on his duties at the government military school, West Point. Mr. Geo. F. BAGLEY, for a number of years a partner in the wholesale grocery house of MOORE, FOOTE & Co, Detroit, who has been sick for some time, has returned from the South to his home much improved in health. PORTAGE LAKE M[NING GAZETTE, July 15, 1875 From the Detroit Free Press we learn that an election was held in the new township Cove, Isle Royale, on the 23d of June, when the following ticket was elected: Supervisor -Alonzo C. DAVIS; Township Treasurer and Clerk - Franklin W. HESS; Justices of the Peace - WITL JACKA, A. O. KRUGER, Morris B. HAUSER, Andrew W. CAPPIN; Commissioners of highways - Wm. JACKA, Franklin W. HESS, James STODDARD; Constables - Patrick CONWAY, Patrick WALSH, Geo. KEYS, Duffy BOTAIN. There were but 29 votes cast, a number of the sovereign citizens of the town being prevented from exercising a freemen's right on account of a gale of wind, which kept them down the shore. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, July 22, 1875 Last Saturday evening, about 6 o'clock, Mr Nicholas HAHN, of the brewing firm of HAHN Brothers, of this place, after securing a pistol at the jewelry establishment of Mr. Chris. HAUG, repaired to the Northrup warehouse, which is used for storing purposes by the Messrs. HAHN, and deliberately shot himself through the head, producing almost instant death. A coroner's inquest.......... a verdict in keeping with the above facts was rendered. On Monday afternoon the body of the late Mr HAHN was buried under the auspices of the Masonic fraternity and fire companies of Portage Lake. Various causes are assigned for this case of self-destruction, but like all such insane acts the true reason will probably never be known. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, July 29, 1875 Mr J. FINNEGAN, who was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Baraga county, having removed to Red Jacket, it will necessitate the appointment of a new legal adviser in that county. Village Council: An adjourned meeting of the common council of this place was held on Thursday, the 22d inst., present - C.D. SHELDON, president; C. SCHULTE, Jos. CROZE, T. A. TREVETHAN, W. MILLER and F. HAHN, trustees; E. P. KIBBEE, recorder, when the following business was transacted.. ..The minutes read..... ........Petition of J. P. HUNT, J. HOAR, Wm. CONDON, and others. praying that the north end of Dacotah street be opened up and made passable.......Petition of Thos. WHITELAM, A. J. GUCK, A. R RICHEDY and others, praying that measures be taken to remove and abate the nuisance caused by the filthy condition of the creek which carries off the sewerage from buildings on Isle Royale Street, was received and referred to street committee...............August KRELLWITZ was appointed, by a majority vote of the council, treasurer to fill vacancy caused by the death of Nicholas HAHN............. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, August 5, 1875 Last Tuesday afternoon the little daughter, eight years old, of Louis SWAEGER, Red Jacket, went out back of that town to look after a cow, and it supposed she was met by some brute in human shape, who raped her person and then murdered her. A Finlander has been arrested on suspicion of having committed the two-fold horrible deed. The Chicago InterOcean of July 28th contained a dispatch from San Francisco, Ca, stating that the day before Mr James CARSON, of the Utah mining broker firm of BUZZO & CARSON, was killed by being run over by the cars at Oakland. The sad announcement evidently has reference to Mr James CARSON so well known on Lake Superior for the last quarter of a century. Mr. Carson first commenced his busy career on the Upper Peninsula, as a house builder and contractor........... ...mining interests of lake Superior. Among the first prominent settlers of Ontonagon was Mr. Carson he carried on for years an extensive mercantile and shipping business....was a speculator by nature, and in the early opening up of the copper industry he found a most congenial field...........Within the past twenty-five years Mr Carson has made and lost a half dozen fortunes............. In 1859 he commenced building a large store, which forms a part of the premises now occupied by L. HENNES & Co, in this place, and in eleven days the structure was finished, filled with goods, and clerks were behind the counter selling articles ..........For the past two or three years he has been associated with Mr Thos. W. BUZZO - a former resident of the Lake - in business in Utah.........At the time of his death Mr CARSON was about 60 years old. He leaves a wife and two children. Died: In Houghton, July 31st, of cholera infantum, Theodora E, daughter of Graham and Alice H. POPE, aged nine months. Probate matters: Estate Michael MURPHY, deceased. Inventory filed by John POWERS, administrator Drowned: Last Tuesday evening a Swede named Thomas ANDERSON, while sleeping on the railroad wharf; at L'Anse, it is supposed, fell into the bay and was drowned. On Wednesday morning a hat was found floating in the water near the dock, which led to a search, and resulted in finding the body of ANDERSON........... Last Saturday the house of Mr F. WOOD, Torch Lake, was entered by some person or persons, who succeeded in abstracting six hundred dollars and a set of jewelry from a bureau drawer. A man named MOHN, who was a boarder in the house when the robber took place, has been arrested on suspicion. Estate Joseph GRABEK, deceased......petition filed......... In the matter of Mary SULLIVAN, a county charge, petition filed by James and Agnes GOOD for the adoption of said county charge and change of name. Ordered by the Court that said petition be granted, and the child's name be changed from Mary SULLIVAN to that of Annie GOOD. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, Aug 12, 1875 Those hard-working, energetic gentlemen, the Messrs. MABBS, tributors of the old Isle Royale mine, have unwatered the mine on what is known as the MABBS' lode, and resumed mining there. Besides stamp and barrel work, they hoisted from the third level recently a slab mass weighing about one ton............. Yesterday afternoon the embankment wall in front of the house occupied by Mr P. R. GOTTSTEIN, and owned by Mr George BAWDEN - which has for a long time been in a disgracefully insecure condition - bulged out under the influence of the heavy rain and fell to the ground. $500.00 Reward will be paid by the County of Houghton for such information as will lead to the apprehension and conviction of the person who murdered Caroline ZWEIGERT, at the village of Red Jacket, on the evening the 3d inst. By order of the Supervisors. T. M. BRADY, Prosecuting Attorney. Died: At the Central mine, on the 6th inst., George H. SATTERLEE, aged 55 years. Died: On Sunday, the 8th inst., the wife of Mr James PRYOR, of this place, aged 40 yrs. Obituary: Like the fall of autumnal leaves, one by one, the old Lake Superior settlers drop off; and we shall see their faces no more forever on earth. After a lingering and painful illness, died, at the Central mine, on the morning of the 6th inst., aged fifty-five years, Mr. George H. SATTERLEE, who for sixteen years was chief clerk at the Central mine. The Finlander arrested last week on suspicion............has been acquitted....... PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, Aug 19, 1875 The late Mr James CARSON: The Oakland Transcript gives the following additional particulars of the accident which, as announced by telegraph two weeks ago, caused the death this well-known and lamented gentleman: Mr CARSON attempted to get on a moving train, but a pile of dirt deposited by the side of the track for reballasting caused him to slip. One of the car wheels passed over both ankles and feet, crushing them. But the fatal blow was given by the iron step of the last car, which struck him in the side so violently as to wrench the iron plate from its place. he lived only about six hours, though he retained his consciousness to the last. Mr CARSON was a native of Philadelphia, and is said to have organized the first company which mined ore copper on the borders of Lake Superior. He was fifty-six years of age, and had resided in California about four or five years. Obituary: The death of Mrs. James Pryor, of this place, on Sunday, the 8th inst., was noticed in last week's Gazette. The funeral took place on the following Tuesday from the M.E. Church, the Rev J. FRAZER officiating.................. Died: At the Atlantic mine, Saturday, the 14th inst., Lottie May, daughter of Oliver M. and Minnie MUIRHEAD, aged 8 months and 27 days. PORTAGE LAKE MINING GAZETTE, Aug 26, 1875 Died: At the residence of his parents, Saco, Maine, August 12th, J. H. JOHNSON, formerly a resident of this place. East Houghton: This new town site, situated on the beautiful plateau east of Houghton, presents quite a busy scene. There are several buildings in course of construction. Mr. William HOAR is erecting a neat cottage, Captain MERRYMAN has a large building under roof; Mr LORD got into his tasty residence last fall; Mr. SILLER is erecting a square house, with hip roof and observatory, which he expects to occupy sometime in October; next to him Mr Frank A. DOUGLASS has a very neat structure nearly ready for occupancy. Mr William HARRIS, Colonel GRANT, John HOAR, Jr, and others have purchased lots with the intention of building handsome residences thereon. Beyond the Shelden-Columbian property Mr. Graham POPE is found very comfortably situated in a large house with neat grounds. Further on we find Mr CHADBOUNNE enjoying the pleasures of home in a beautiful and commodious residence. Mr James RAYMOND and Mr VAN ORDEN have neat cottages nearly finished. The Hon. Jay A. HUBBELL is also preparing the ground for a handsome and costly residence to be commenced soon and completed next year. File contributed for use in Houghton Co. USGenWeb Archives by Dick and June Ross. plh revised 2001