Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2013, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Source: Memorial Record of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan Chicago; Lewis Pub. Co., 1895 p. 10-12 MEMORIAL RECORD WILLIAM BURT is one of the most prominent citizens of Marquette county and has done much for its upbuilding and advancement. In the work of development he has borne an active part, has been inseparably connected with the history of its business interests, and is a worthy representative of that type of American character, that progressive spirit, which advances the public good while promoting individual prosperity. He is now secretary and treasurer of the BURT Freestone Quarry Company, and is extensively engaged in real-estate dealing. Mr. BURT was born in Mt. Vernon, Macomb county, Michigan, October 31, 1825, and is a son of WILLIAM A. and PHOEBE (COLE) BURT, the former a native of Worcester county, Massachusetts, and the latter of Connec- ticutt. JUDGE BURT, the father, was prominently connected with the history of Michigan from an early day. He was an inventor of much note, and in 1829 made the first typewriter ever manufactured in this country. He was also the inventor of the solar compass, which is now a great favorite and used extensively in making Government land surveys. He gave to the world the equatorial sextant for directing the course of ships, and was teaching captains the use of this instrument when he was taken with an illness that terminated his life, in August, 1858. In the political history of this State, his name occupies a conspicuous place. He was a Judge and a member of the Territorial and State Legis- latures, also a Commissioner of Internal Improvements and District and County Surveyor. Other members of the family were noted for their inventive genius, and JOHN BURT was the inventor and patentee of canal locks which were used at Sault de Ste. Marie. He was also the origi- nator of a number of other useful devices, among them different processes of manufacturing iron. The burial ground of this family, situated in Detroit, is said to be one of the most beautiful in the country, a fitting place of rest for those who have done so much for the State. In connection with his other work the Judge and his assist- ants were the first to discover iron ore on the Upper Peninsula, as positive documents have proven. WILLIAM BURT, whose name begins this record, was reared in his native county and acquired his education in a log schoolhouse situated in the neighborhood. He spent his boyhood on a farm and continued to follow agricultural pursuits and land surveying as a means of livli- hood until he had attained the age of forty years. He learned the business with his father and older brothers, experts in that line, and at the age of twenty began the work for himself. He aided in surveying a greater part of the Upper Peninsula, coming to this region with his father and brothers in 1846. On the 23d of March, 1847, he was appointed United States Deputy Surveyor, and in 1856 was sent to survey the north shore, lying along Lake Superior, surveying the present site of Duluth, and fixing the meridians, the base lines and township bound- aries and shore lines. He was employed along the north shore for two years, when his health gave way owing to exposure to all kinds of weather in his arduous task. The citizens of that locality petitioned the Government that he might continue his work, but he was firm in his refusal and returned to his home and his farming interests. It was not long after this that Mr. BURT'S connection with MARQUETTE county began. He has been an important factor in its development since its pioneer days, when its lands were wild, its cities still and un- settled region, the work of civilization and progress having scarcely begun. He with others was the first to open a slate quarry at Huron Bay and built to it a railroad. He was also interested in iron-mining and iron blast furnaces, and is numbered among the pioneers in iron- mining. He was associated with JOHN A. BAILEY, of Detroit, in the manufacture of mathematical instruments, which he carried on for a num- ber of years. He took up his residence in Detroit, in May, 1865, and made that city his home until June, 1866, when he made a location in Marquette on the site of his present home. Here he has passed the suc- ceeding years, and the city soon recognized him as one of its most valued citizens - a man to whom she could look for aid for her works of public improvement, a man deeply interested in all that pertained to her welfare and promotion. For a time Mr. BURT engaged in surveying and locating land, but after a time abandoned that work, his time being fully taken up with other business interests. He became a director and general manager of the Marquette & Pacific Rolling Mill Company, and was also a director and stockholder in many other enterprises. For four years he was con- nected with the rolling-mill company, and for almost a quarter of a century he has been interested in the BURT Freestone Company, of which, for a number of years, he was general manager, and is now secretary and treasurer. This company was organized in 1872 by JOHN BURT, WILLIAM BURT, HIRAM A. BURT, ALVIN C. BURT, A. JUDSON BURT and WILLIAM BURT, and its first officers were JOHN BURT, president; WILLIAM BURT, treasurer, and WILLIAM A. BURT, secretary. The present officers are HIRAM A. BURT, president; STANLEY A. BURT, vice-president; WILLIAM BURT, secretary and treasurer, and these constitute the board of directors, in connection with SARAH B. and CAROLINE BURT. The quarry is located in Marquette and has been leased on royalty for fourteen years. Since locating here, WILLIAM BURT, of this sketch, has dealt in real estate and is yet engaged in that business. He has erected many residences and other buildings in Marquette and now owns considerable realty. Mr. BURT was married in 1847 to Miss CAROLINE CURTIS, a native of Wyoming, New York, and to them were born four children, three of whom are living: A. JUDSON, who is auditor of the Michigan Southern Railroad and makes his home in Detroit; WILLIAM A., cashier of the Hurley National Bank, died in Hurley, this State, January 15, 1893; CHARLES S., a graduate of West Point and a chemist and mechanical engineer, now of Chicago, Illinois; and STANLEY A., who is an accountant of the Michigan Central Railroad and a resident of Detroit. The family are all inclined by taste and talent to mechanical pursuits, and their work in those lines is that of experts. The business career of WILLIAM BURT, of this record, has been a prosperous one. A person is naturally led to inquire into the secret of another's success and learn the methods he has followed and the plans he has pursued which have enabled him to pass on the highway of life many who started out in the race ahead of him. Success is not a question of genius, as held by many, but rather a matter of experience and sound judgment. When we trace the character of those who stand highest in public esteem, we find that in nearly every instance they are those who have risen gradually, fighting their way in the face of opposition. Self-reliance, conscientiousness, energy, integrity, - these are the traits of character that secure the highest emoluments and the greatest success, and it has been by the exercise of these traits that Mr. BURT has become one of the prosperous citizens of Marquette. In politics Mr. BURT is a Republican, and in religion is a member of the Baptist Church, having been a member from his boyhood days. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more information about Marquette County, Michigan by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/mi/marquette/ ===========================================================================