Henry C. Bettinghouse, assistant fire marshal and master mechanic of the Grand Rapids fire department, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 5, 1849, and a son of William and Emilia (Branch) Bettinghouse, natives of Germany. The parents came to America about 1845, and the father, being a millwright, first found employment in Cincinnati, then in Toledo, and finally settled in Grand Rapids, where the mother still resides, at No. 30 East Leonard street, but the father passed away in 1875, while in employment in Muskegon. The father had been a gallant soldier in the Civil War, having enlisted in an engineers and mechanics’ corps, was promoted from private to sergeant, and served his full term of three years, and then honorably discharged, holding at the time a commission as first lieutenant. The family comprised six children, born in the following order: Catharine, widow of Seth Freeman, of Grand Rapids; Henry C., subject of this mention; Amelia, widow of James Bordaux, of Buffalo, N. Y.; Carrie, wife of John Black, and Eliza, wife of Frank Leffingwell, also of Grand Rapids, and Charles J., of Copemish, Mich. Henry C. Bettinghouse was about eight years of age when he left Cincinnati with his parents, and his opportunities for an early education were somewhat meager. What he knows has been mainly obtained by practical experience and observation. The early enlistment of his father threw upon him much of the responsibility of caring for his mother and her younger children, and at the age of fourteen years he went to work in a saw mill, where he remained twelve months. He next was employed by a railroad company as an engine wiper, but he was an observing youth and had an aptitude for mechanical work, was very industrious and attentive to his duties, familiarizing himself with the construction of the engine and all its parts. He fired on locomotives for five years, and was then promoted to the position of a locomotive engineer, and later, for a time, master mechanic for the Michigan Lake Shore Railroad company at Muskegon, Mich. In 1880 he untied with the Grand Rapids fire department as an engineer, and two years later was appointed superintendent of the fire alarm and second assistant fire marshal. In 1894 he was promoted to his present responsible position, which he has proven himself fully qualified to fill-or to fill any other position in the department. Mr. Bettinghouse was united in marriage, at Grand Rapids, on the 9^th day of November, 1873, with Miss Zenora Ustick, the result, being five children, viz: Luetta, wife of William Lang, of Beecher Falls, Vt.; Clyde H., Mabel, Bessie and Floyd. The family attend the Second Congregational church and have their pleasant home at No. 36 East Leonard street, where they enjoy the respect of all their neighbors. Fraternally, Mr. Bettinghouse is a member of Grand Rapids lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M., chapter No. 7 of royal arch Masons, and is also a member of the United Workmen. In politics he is independent, and is held in high esteem by a host of warm hearted friends.