James H. Macdonald
Does your relative
have a forty - foot, forty -ton monument in the cemetery?
The
Honorable James Hugh Macdonald, served as Michigan Lieutenant Governor of from
1886-1889. He was a distinguished politician, a respected businessman and an
esteemed resident of Escanaba. A huge monument was built to remind future
generations of the impact of his life. Michigan should acknowledge him as one
of our greatest men because of the profound difference he had on the city, and
a state he served with dignity. The most interesting fact about his life was
that so many people placed such great trust in him while he was alive. And yet the manner in which he died was so horrifying, and unnecessary that something needed to be done on his behalf because a great man was lost and no one knew why.
James
Hugh Macdonald was born in northwest Inverness-shire, Scotland, on May 15,
1832. His family left their home when he was just three and settled in Sydney,
Nova Scotia. James remained there until he was about sixteen years old. But, as
he said, "growing discontented,"
he simply left in the middle of the night to seek his fame and fortune in the
United States. One evening, in the fall of 1848, he negotiated passage to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, having worked as a steward on a vessel leaving out
of nearby Cape Breton.
He
found employment quickly in a store in a nearby coal mine called Muddy Branch.
A year and half later, after he noticed how much more he could make as a miner,
he made the change. But at 17 he had a lot to learn about the way things were.
He felt confident the superintendent would hire him on contract rather than on
a daily basis. He was fired over the matter and began working day to day until
the spring of 1849.
In
May of 1849 he began as a laborer for the Beaver Meadow Railroad. While in
Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, his hard work ethic was recognized when he rapidly
progressed to Superintendent, later taking charge of one of its sections. He
advanced to Road master and general overseer of rail construction in Dauphin,
Pennsylvania, having charge of all the material and its delivery to track
layers on the extension. He held that position until the latter part of 1852,
at which time he visited Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Fredericksburg,
Virginia, looking for work. In 1853 he worked the Ohio Central Railroad, as
foreman for the Bradley, Whetemore, and Company, and afterwards had charge of
the entire business.
In the spring of 1854 the company failed, and
he took horses as payment for his services. He rode horseback to Chicago and in
the fall began working for the Milwaukee and La Crosse Railroad, living in
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. While there, he served as the Justice of the Peace for
Beaver Dam, and he met Ms. Eliza
S. Holt, daughter of John Holt, living in
Beemertown Wisconsin, formerly of Maine. They were married on February 28, 1854
in Watertown, Wisconsin. They were
living in the area of Beaver Dam and soon their family began to grow. In 1859
he joined with Selah Chamberlain, and worked on the construction of the Great
Western Railroad, in Cuba; and on October 25th, his first son, Selah, was born. He remained
in Cuba until July, 1860, but on account of his health or his family, he was
obliged to leave the country.
He
according returned to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and was again employed by the
Milwaukee and La Crosse Railroad Company, being stationed at Greenfield. He continued the construction of surrounding
branch lines. And in the fall of 1862,
moved to Escanaba, Michigan, engaging as foreman, during the construction of
the Peninsula division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and
afterwards building several of its branches. A house was in Escanaba in 1865. Using a mixture of
Victorian and Italianate archetectural styles it remains as one of the city's
oldest homes. It is located at the intersection of 2nd Ave. and 5th
St, Escanaba. The house was built large enough for a family and on March 23,
1866, his second son, named Hugh
Edeso Macdonald was born.
About
1868 he temporarily relocated to build the first division of the Chicago and
Michigan Lake Shore Railroad; and in 1868, returned to Escanaba, on the Chicago
and Northwestern railroad. His daughter, Vilna Irene
Macdonald, was born on
April 12, 1868. He also served as the justice of the peace for the city and
became a trustee of the Presbyterian church.
In
1873 he built the Mineral Range Railroad, from Hancock to Calumet; and after
its completion superintended it for two years. His fellow citizens began to
regard him as an entrepeneur in the making, as many investment schemes were
directed towards his great wealth. His investments and the economic strength
greatly increased during this time as many knew of Mr. Macdonald, and what was
possible with his money.
So,
then in 1875, James was skeptical when a land speculator named Captain
Nathaniel Moore approached him about some valuable land in the Gogebic Region.
Moore told Macdonald of the scarcely populated region where the people were
few, mineral deposits were vast which could make him reach beyond imagination.
Moore admitted he did not have the $1000 to purchase the 640 acres. However, in
exchange for partial ownership with Macdonald, a partnership was created and
the investment in the parcel seemed acceptable to Macdonald. They, along with
R. P. Herman, each invested $750 into the development of the parcel and created
the Cambria Mining Company, with the Colby Mine at Bessemer as the principle
source of income. Macdonald named himself its treasurer and president. He also
invested thousands of dollars into the Superior Gold and Silver Company,
Chicago Postal Telegraph Company, and Northern Chief Companies. He purchased
two vacant lots in Escanaba then located at corner of Ludington and Harrison
Streets, (now 5th St.) valued at eight-thousand dollars.(See Probate)
His bank account grew to become impressive, while he remained with the Chicago
and Northwestern Railroad in a modest role acting more as an executive than a
laborer.
One
day a stranger came to see Macdonald. He had become fascinated with the
potential of Macdonald's mine and sought to convince him to sell it to him
because he thought Macdonald could not manage it and work for the railroad. So,
he offered him $100,000 for mine was producing $60,000 annually; Macdonald
politely declined. The two men continued back and forth until Macdonald heard
$500,000. Finally he replied, "I think I'll run it myself."
The
brilliance of his wealth was the promissory notes he held on people who needed
him. One note, to Representative George Royce came with an unexpected dividend.
Royce nominated Macdonald to represent the mining districts as Lieutenant
Governor at the Republican State Convention when it met on August 25, 1886.
Royce was convinced there was no other man in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that
could wield leadership from the mining districts as Macdonald could.
James
H. Macdonald was elected to the office (181,830) over Simon S. Curry, a
Democrat (173,079) and Nathan Mosher, a Prohibitionist (25,969). At this
moment, if he had any doubts for why he slipped away from his family in the
middle of the night back in 1848, the reasons came back to him vividly. He has
gained great political fame as the second highest elected official in the state
of Michigan: this at the same time having great wealth with a half-million
dollar mine. Self-made, he created these opportunities and he felt a strong
desire to share his good fortune with his siblings, if he could find them.
Although he was sure that the forty years of never knowing his fate would seem
impossible to overcome. His rags-to-riches story of a Scot who was wealthy and
politically powerful virtually overnight became news in nearly every paper
across the county.
This
article appeared in the Detroit Free Press on March 7, 1887, called "MacDonald's Romance":
A young man came to the capitol while he was presiding over the senate. It
described an encounter Macdonald had with stranger who wanted nothing more than
to see whom was the Lieutenant Governor.
The
young man came to the Sergeant-at-Arms Dunn and asked, "Where is
Macdonald?"
Dunn
replied, "That is he behind the desk."
The
Stranger approached the silver -bearded Macdonald and began to talk to him.
Witnesses reported that Macdonald wiped away a tear just before he requested
permission to be excused. The two gentlemen entered a room behind the desk and
were not seen for some time. Later, the door opened, and the stranger
unpretentiously left the building. The Lieutenant Governor was asked who the
man was who stirred his emotions so notably. Macdonald said,
"A
nephew with news of my brother and sister, of whom I have not seen nor heard
from in forty years."
He
reportedly sent the young blacksmith back to his home in Bay City with a
Five-hundred dollar check and his pledge to visit his sister Mary (living in
Boston, Massachusetts), and his brother Alexander (living in Manchester, New
Hampshire). This was the only contact from of any his siblings in four decades.
Quite
unexpectedly, his life changed when he was sent on the saddest of errands on
October 15, 1887. His son, Selah,
had died from tuberculosis while with his family in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
James was the only one who could. return with the body of his eldest son; his
wife and other son, Hugh had to remain in Colorado as his daughter,
Vilna, contracted Rocky Mountain Fever.
About
that time he had focused his attention towards a man named William F. Cochrane.
He was the owner and patentee of a rolling mill process that could support
Escanaba in general and Macdonald’s mine in particular. He was so consumed by
political and business affairs that the family reunion was endlessly postponed.
In
the winter of 1888, two men sat side by side in the plush chairs of the Russell House (location unknown). The two men struck a
conversation, with the other man eventually saying he was going to Toledo,
Ohio, "to interest some capitalists in the manufacture of a rolling mill
process."
Then
he introduced himself "My name is
William F. Cochrane."
"Mine
is James H. Macdonald," replied the governor.
Macdonald
suggested to Cochrane he did not need go to Toledo. There was at least one
capitalist interested already; and he owned the mine that would supply the
mill. Cochrane agreed to return home instead, and meet Macdonald in late
January to settle the details of the Cochrane Rolling Mills Company of
Escanaba. Unbelievably, this chance encounter would live to become a regretful
meeting.
On
Saturday, January 18, 1889 Macdonald had arrived home from Lansing, just one
day before another journey would begin. Sunday, he was to leave to attend a
Businessmen's Association meeting in Ashland, Wisconsin, and en route he would
join Mr. Cochrane as well as other iron
men. The Chicago and Northwestern train #6 waited in Escanaba for Macdonald and
several other passengers to board. When he train was ready, the whistle sounded
and people on this train settled in for
the ride.
"All
aboard! " Conductor Armstrong Foster shouted. The train left Escanaba on schedule for what seemed a routine
journey to Ashland.
The
train made a scheduled stop at Iron River, Michigan. When the train was ready
to leave, Macdonald, and other passengers re-boarded. He was introduced by Mr.
Cochrane to Horace H. Tuttle, of the firm Tuttle, Oglesby, and Company, and Mr.
O.C. Davidson, Superintendent of the Commonwealth Mine in Florence, Wisconsin
and E. P. Foster, of the Marquette Ore Company, an iron capitalist like
Macdonald, from Iron River. They took the seats in last car that was mainly
occupied by the entrepreneurs. The train departed a little late from Iron
River, nevertheless hoping to make up the three minutes somewhere on the long
journey through the vast northwest region to Ashland.
Since
it was such a long ride, they agreed upon a game of cards to pass the time. The
seats were turned facing each other and gentleman’s game was established.
Tuttle and Cochrane were beside each other against the large plate window,
while MacDonald and Davidson were on the aisle. The train was moving along at
30 miles an hour, slightly faster than the usual 27 miles an hour, to make up
for the time lost in Iron River. Unfortunately, the train was actually about
five minutes behind schedule at Watersmeet, Michigan. Orson, Hill, the train
engineer, continued to maintain the safest of speed through the lonesome
wilderness even though he knew he was running late.
At
about 1 p.m. the last car suddenly jolted a bit. But, no one considered it, as
train travel is often a rough ride in rocky and wooded regions. Then it began
to bump and sway drawing the attention of some of the passengers who were
riding in the coach. The card game was suspended by the disturbing nature of
the car’s condition. Then suddenly the car "mounted the rail," and
began to ride in a most unusual manner while still connected to the previous
car.
Seconds
later, disaster struck when the last car they were riding in began to make an
unusual sound. Fearful of the fate to befall them, Foster and a few others
moved to the back of the car for the sake of safety. But before anyone else
could move for safety the car turned upon its side as its front axle
self-destructed. The debris was scattered beneath the forward half of the still
slow-moving car as it was rounding the curve near Elmwood station.
The
crew saw the peril the last car was in and immediately hit the brakes.
Unfortunately, the car had already slipped from the rail and was being dragged
across the rails. The forward section of the car was sliding upon the track
while the aft section gouged into the snow and the dirt, leaving a wicked and
irregular furrow in its wake on the ground behind it. The grating sound that
was made by the metal to metal contact was almost more than the ear could
endure. The most irritating grind suddenly ended with a dull thud made by a
tree stump penetrating the side of the car. The impact from a solidly frozen
stump upon the moving car ejected several passengers and the stove into the
cold January snow. One stump was followed rapidly by another, succeeding stump
into the huge gaping hole. Cochrane and Tuttle were killed instantly by the
second stump. MacDonald was alive barely, and seriously injured and when the
train finally came to a stop on a siding only 12 miles west of Iron River, near
Elmwood. Mr. Davidson was found near the stove approximately 200 feet from the
accident scene.
Miraculously,
many of the other passengers were spared from serious injury, among them the
conductor found the furthest away from the wrecked car. Help arrived swiftly.
The train fireman, John Cassidy, was the first to come to the aid of Macdonald.
"Governor,
do you know me?"
Macdonald’s
arms were separated at the shoulder, with one still barely attached and the
other found a distance away. A piece of wood was run through his side. With the
severity of Macdonald’s injuries it was hard to look upon him. As the minutes
passed, death was upon him. One-and-half hours after the wreck occurred,
Maconald spoke his final words.
By
3pm, word of the accident reached Escanaba, a hundred miles east of the scene.
Macdonald’s son, Hugh, and others left immediately for Elmwood station. At
about 5pm, when friends told Mrs. Macdonald of her husband’s death she
dismissed it as fantasy. Vilna’s reaction was to faint from the horrible news.
All around the city of Escanaba the mood was somber. Indeed, proclaimed the
town’s paper "Iron Port " declaring "the whole gloomy
situation would draw tears from a stone."
See other details- In the News. The
reports of the accident were nearly the same in every paper of its day.
Details
of the accident never fully explained the wreck. The investigation of the accident
revealed the need to keep the train right-of-ways clear of all obstructions,
since the other factors did not contribute to the fatalities. In fact, the
railroad commissioner ordered all railroad companies operating in the state to
" clear the tracks" whatever the cost, so that lives are not
irresponsibly lost, as was the case in the Elmwood wreck. No one could explain
why the two most gifted men in Escanaba were lost at the same time, without
knowing for why. The whole town was deep in sorrow and never recovered from the
accident more than a century ago.
His
monuments remain against time in the city of Escanaba. The granite grave
monument built for him is located in the Lakeview Cemetery, and his home is still there to this day. One
will never know the good that could have resulted from Macdonald's and
Cochrane's Roller Mills. This city has always been without major industry and
seems the shadow cast upon it on Sunday, January 19, 1889 has never lifted.
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