WILLIAM VAN SCHAICK, proprietor of the Bigelow House, the largest hotel building west of Houghton. This house is undergoing repairs, and will be re-opened for the season of 1882. The subject of this sketch was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., March 19, 1825. He emigrated to Detroit, Mich., in 1844, where he continued to reside till 1852, when he went to the Sault, and in 1853 came to Ontonagon. He was a cigar maker by trade, and followed that business He helped to organize the Nonesuch Mine in 1867. He carried on the cigar business some ten years, and in 1875 bought the Bigelow House at a bargain, and now that the prospects of the town are brightening, he proposes to put it in repair and re-open it next season. A stone foundation is now being put under the whole building.