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Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 80 - 81 |
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WILLIAM W. MITCHELL
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To the development of the great lumbering industry made possible by the magnificent timber preserves, the entire northern section of the lower peninsula of Michigan owes its original prestige and its consecutive advancement, and in the carrying forward of this industry has been enlisted the co-operation of many able and progressive business men, while a large percentage of the number owe their pronounced success to the advantages thus afforded. Mr. Mitchell came into the pineries of Wexford county when a young man, and here he has been actively identified with the lumbering industry for a period of thirty years, within which he has had the enterprise and prescience to so utilize opportunity as to gain a place among the prominent lumbermen of the state, while he has contributed his quota to the substantial upbuilding and material prosperity of the attractive city of Cadillac, to whose interests he has ever been signally loyal, being one of the representative citizens and business men of the county. William W. Mitchell is a scion of one of the old and honored families of the Wolverine state, having been born in the city of Hillsdale, Michigan, on the 3rd of June, 1854., and being the third in order of birth of six children of Charles T. and Harriet (Wing) Mitchell, the former of whom was born in New York, and the latter in Wayne county, Michigan. The paternal grandfather of the subject likewise bore the name of Charles T. Mitchell, and he passed his entire life in the old Empire state, where he died at an advanced age. Charles T., Jr.. was reared and educated in New York state, whence as a young man he came to Michigan and became identified, as a contractor, with the construction of the Michigan Southern Railroad, one of the first built in the west. Later he became a buyer and shipper of wheat and also established himself in the hardware business in Hillsdale, where for a quarter of a century he was president of the Second National Bank, being one of the honored and influential citizens of Hillsdale county and city, where he died; his widow is still living at an advanced age. Mr. Mitchell was for a number of years an active factor in the Republican party, aid his was the distinction of having been a member of thee electoral college which gave Abraham Lincoln the presidency for a second term. William W. Mitchell received, his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools of his native town, and this was supplemented by two years of study in Hillsdale College. In 1873 he came to the primitive village of Clam Lake, the predecessor of the present city of Cadillac, the village being at the time a mere hamlet in the midst of the pine forest, while his uncle, George A. Mitchell, was at the time the principal lumber manufacturer in this locality. William W. forthwith identified himself in a practical way with the industry through which he was eventually to attain so distinctive success. His first employment here was as talleyman for his uncle, and during the summer of 1874 he held the position of foreman in a small lumber yard in Clam Lake, while in the autumn of that year he initiated his independent operations by associating himself with others in a contract to supply logs for a mill on Clam Lake, thus implying the work of getting out the timber and attending to the various details of bringing it to the mill. He was thus engaged for two years, after which he became foreman for his uncle, having charge of both the logs and the finished products of the mill. In 1877 he entered into partnership with the late Jonathan W. Cobbs, under the firm name of Cobbs & Mitchell, and they effected the purchase of two hundred and seventy-six acres of pine land, while in October of the following year he also bought a half interest in a saw-mill owned by his partner. Afterward they purchased a mill at Round Lake and had sufficient material to operate it for a period of seven years. In 1892 they built and equipped a fine modern mill at Cadillac, the same having a capacity of eighty thousand feet daily. This mill is still in active operation. In these intervening years the well-directed efforts of the firm brought it into prominence as one of the leading concerns of the sort in this section of the state, and through his connection with the same Mr. Mitchell laid the foundation for his present prosperity and independence. Mr. Cobbs death occurred in the autumn of 1898, and shortly afterward Mr. Mitchell brought about a reorganization of the business under the same title, the enterprise being simultaneously incorporated under the laws of the state. He was made president of the company and has ever since continued in this office, while the business is still carried actively forward in the manufacturing of lumber, the plant of the company being of the highest standard. Mr. Mitchell was also associated with his brother, the late Austin W., under the firm name of Mitchell Brothers, and they conducted extensive operations in the manufacturing of lumber, having owned large tracts of pine land in various sections of northern Michigan. Mr. Mitchell is a careful and discriminating business man, having a capacity for affairs of wide scope and importance, while his success stands in evidence of consecutive application and properly directed energy. He has ever remained loyal to Cadillac, of whose development he has been a witness, while his influence has ever been lent in support of all worthy projects and undertakings for the general good, and he is known as a thoroughly public-spirited citizen. He was one of those prominently concerned in the building of the beautiful seven-mile drive around Clam lake, the same having been constructed through the enterprise of the citizens of Cadillac, and adding materially to the attractiveness of the city. In politics Mr. Mitchell exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Republican party. His residence is one of the many beautiful homes of Cadillac, being of modern architectural design and equipment and standing in evidence of his appreciation of the attractions of the city in which he has so long resided. On the 7th of October, 1876, Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage to Miss Ella Yost, who was born in Waterloo, New York, being a daughter of George Yost, who removed to Hillsdale, Michigan, when Mrs. Mitchell was a child, and in the latter place she was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have two children, Charles T. and Marie Elizabeth. |