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The Honorable Peter White
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Who Peter White was and
where he came from:
New York-born in 1839, by 1852 he was postmaster of Carp River (now Marquette), a position he held
for 12 years. With no money to invest in mining lands, White opened a store for miners and became
involved in banking and real estate. By the Civil War, Peter White was the town's leading citizen. In
addition to dealing in lands, timber, iron ore, and insurance; he was active in civic and public affairs.
Peter White provided funds for Marquette's public library and hospital and helped establish Presque
Isle as a city park. During White's memorial service in 1908, it was said of
him, "If you want to see
his monument, look around you."
Twenty-seven-year-old Peter White was possibly the
hardest-working man in Marquette. By 1857 he was astore owner, land
agent, postmaster, lawyer, county clerk and registrar of deeds, school
board treasurer-and a state representative. |
| How Peter White Saved Michigan from the Federal Government
for making their own money:
In 1870, a Michigan banker blew the whistle on the
Upper Peninsula iron-mining industry for printing ;iron money &
bills in denominations of one to fifty dollars used to meet company
payrolls. For violating currency laws the federal gov- fined them more
than a million dollars. The huge penalty levied during the depression of
1873 threatened to ruin financially the iron-mining companies. They
turned to Peter White a local business man for help, White intern
traveled to Washington DC to convince the secretary of the treasury and
the Congress that the use of iron money was unavoidable. explained that
the iron-mining companies printed money because there were no banks in
the area and currency was scarce.
The mine owners and employees preferred
greenbacks, but the payrolls were too large for the available
currency. To get currency, the mining companies were forced to purchase
greenbacks in New York, Boston and other cities and have them sent to
Marquette. But often payday had to be deferred because the currency did
not arrive in time. In winter, White added, the currency became even
more scarce because Great Lakes traffic ceased, leaving the Upper
Peninsula further isolated from financial centers.
A bill canceling the fine was signed into law on March
3, 1875, by President Ulysses S. Grant, White had prevented a
financial crisis for Michigan's iron-mining industry. |
| The shipping Industry in Marquette:
Arriving in the Upper Peninsula a penni-less youth, he
was present at Marquette's founding in 1849, then grew up with the city.
During his life time, Marquette became the leading iron-ore shipping port of the
Lake Superior region. White's life is a rags-to-riches story, driven by
ambition and achievement. By cultivating business and social
opportunities, and by banking Michigan's fledgling iron industry, he
acquired a for-tune and considerable power. As a business and civic leader and
a public benefactor he left a time when much of the profits of the
iron-ore industry went out of state, used his money locally for the
civic good. Peter White along with nine other men help clear a area
along lake superior for the iron industry to set up a port.
In July 1850, because of his clerking and fine
penmanship and formal schooling (most of his fellow workers were illiterate-White
was put in charge of the Marquette Iron Company's store at a salary of
twenty-four dollars per month. White also continued to clerk and on July
7, 1852, wrote the bill of lading for the first shipment of iron ore to
leave the Upper Peninsula-six barrels shipped by the Marquette Iron
Company.
In May 1853 the Cleveland Iron Company purchased the
assets of the Marquette Company and asked White to continue managing
the store.
In one day he sold one thousand tons of iron, at
forty-two dollars per ton. In two weeks he had cleared $35,000 from
additional sales. By December, White received as much as ninety-five
dollars per ton, the highest price pig iron has ever reached in the
history of the country. In 1864, with his new fortune as capital, he
helped found the First National Bank of Marquette. Five years later, he
became its president, an office he held until his death. |
| Some of the many
other things Peter White was involved in:
The Disputed Michigan-Wisconsin Boundary
The boundary between Michigan and Wisconsin was first determined in the act that in1836 created Wisconsin Territory. In ignorance of the real geography of the region this act
described a supposititious line, under the belief that the Montreal River had its source in
Lake Vieux Desert. Then Hon. Peter White of Marquette, Michigan, believing that his state was illegally deprived of the land
between the two branches of the Montreal River, had a survey thereof made at his private
expense.
Northern
Michigan University:
Peter White led the battle for establishment of a state-supported school in Marquette for almost 25
years. In 1875, he introduced a bill for such a school while serving as state legislator
Presque Isle
Through the efforts of Peter White, a bill was passed on July 12, 1886, by the United States Congress deeding the Island to the City of Marquette. White built a road from the City to the park and planted the tall
Lombardy poplar trees which line Lakeshore Boulevard. |
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