Utah Biographies ~ Gemmell to Harkness

Gemmell, Robert Campbell

Among the mining engineers who have achieved success and distinction in their chosen profession, none stand out more conspicuously, nor have accomplished more in real development work in this and other countries, than has Robert Campbell Gemmell, resident of Salt Lake City and at present occupying the important position of general superintendent of the Utah Copper Company's interests in Utah. Mr. Gemmell was born at Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, July 5, 1863, a son of Robert Brown and Anna Eliza Campbell Gemmell. The elder Gemmell was a railroad man of prominence and was superintendent of the telegraph service of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, and as a youth was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, in the service of the late Thomas Scott.

R. C. Gemmell finished his education at the University of Michigan, from which institution he received two degrees, one of Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in 1884, and the other of Civil Engineer in 1895. From 1884 until 1890, Mr. Gemmell was employed in the engineering department of the A. T. & S. F. Railroad, surveying and constructing some of its branch railway lines. From 1890 until the summer of 1893 he was engaged in the practice of hydraulic and mining engineering in the Northwest, in the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Mr. Gemmell came to Salt Lake City in November, 1893, and since then has been actively identified in the mining world and its development.

Mr. Gemmell was engineer for Captain De La Mar from 1896 until 1901, having charge of his engineering work in a general way, and making examinations of properties in various parts of the country. In 1901 Mr. Gemmell went to Mexico as general manager of the Mexican Mining Syndicate and during his stay there examined and developed a number of mining properties, remaining with that company for about two years. He was then employed by the Guggenheim Exploration Company, and examined and developed some of their properties in Mexico during the following two years. In 1905 Mr. Gemmell's services were retained by a New York syndicate of capitalists, and he was sent to Spain for the purpose of examining some gold mining properties in their interests. Mr. Gemmell then returned to Salt Lake City, and on January 1,1906, assumed the position he now occupies as general superintendent of the Utah Copper Company.

Mr. Gemmell was a member of the city council of Salt Lake City, and was for two terms, from 1898 to 1901, inclusive, State engineer of Utah. He is a member of the Alta Club and the Country Club of Salt Lake City, Utah; also of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America. Mr. Gemmell was married October 17, 1888, to Miss Belle E. Anderson, and they reside at the Bransford apartments, Salt Lake City.

Gridley, F. P.

F. P. Gridley, general manager of the Central Coal & Coke Company, one of the largest concerns of its kind in the United States, is a resident of Salt Lake City and represents the extensive interests there of the above corporation.

Mr. Gridley was born at Parkman, Ohio, April 10th, 1854, but immediately afterward his parents removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where young Gridley resided until he was twelve years of age. In 1865 his father, James U. Gridley, became interested in the West and removed with his family to Omaha, Nebraska, where he engaged in the business of freighting and cattle. Here Mr. Gridley remained until 1893 when he came to Utah and has been actively engaged in business here ever since. On March 27th, 1895, Mr. Gridley was married to Miss Kate Russell, a native of Utah, at Ogden, and they have two children, Jack and Katherine, and reside at 255 Sixth East Street.

Mr. Gridley is a member of the Alta Club of Salt Lake City, and also of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

The Central Coal & Coke Company, which is incorporated under the laws of Missouri, with general headquarters at Kansas City, is officered as follows: Chas. S. Keith, president and general manager; Chas. Campbell, vice-president; J. C. Sherwood, vice-president and general auditor; E. E. Riley, treasurer. It operates upwards of forty coal mines in the States of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming; and also several large saw mills in the yellow pine districts of Louisiana and Texas. The total output of the mines of this company for the last year was 2,500,000 tons, and of the mills 112,000,000 feet. The company owns in the neighborhood of 175,000 acres of virgin timber land in the yellow pine districts and 80,000 acres of cut-over land. The total number of employees is about 7500, and the annual business of the company will approximate $15,000,000.

The Wyoming mines owned by the Central Coal & Coke Company are located at Rock Springs, where they mine their well-known "Pea-cock" Rock Springs coal, which is the ranking coal in the western market. This coal is distributed from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast and throughout the States of Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho, where it is used very extensively for domestic, mining, smelting and steam purposes.

This company has also been operating for several years in Salt Lake City a large retail yard, where they have handled their own product and built up a very extensive business.

The general western manager of the Central Coal & Coke Company is Mr. F. P. Gridley, with offices at No. 38 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, from which the operations of the mines are directed and the general wholesale and retail business handled.

Hagenbarth, Francis J.

Francis J. Hagenbarth is of Austrian ancestry, in which country his grandfather on his maternal side was one of the imperial judges of the city of Vienna and prominent in the professional circles there. His paternal grandfather was also prominently identified in business and was a successful brewer, and this industry his son, father of Frank J., took up and located in the inter-mountain country, having a very extensive business in Denver, Virginia City, Salt Lake City, and throughout the inter-mountain States. He settled first in Wisconsin in 1859, the possibilities of which State were at that time attracting the attention of men who had the courage to brave the hardships and privations of pioneer life and the intelligence to foresee the promising future of a section of our country so rich in natural advantages. Having received a military training in his native land, and being a man of patriotic impulses, Mr. Hagenbarth, shortly after the breaking out of the Civil War, was instrumental in raising a company for service on the Union side. He served as captain of the Ninth Wisconsin Regiment of Volunteers during the period of hostilities, and won honorable distinction. He died at Loon Creek, Idaho, in 1870, and his widow, Catherine Hagenbarth, subsequently married the late J. D. Wood, who was an Idaho pioneer widely known, highly respected and successful in the mining and live-stock business in the inter-mountain region.

Francis J. Hagenbarth was born at Leesburg, Lemhi County, Idaho, and was favored by a liberal education by his step-father by whom he was much beloved. He took a course in mining and engineering at Notre Dame University in Indiana, and upon his graduating he entered the employ of the Salmon River Smelting Company of Clayton, Idaho, as mining engineer, and in 1897 he accepted a similar position at Custer, Idaho.

The following year he left the mining profession and entered the livestock business in Idaho and Montana, in which industry he rapidly rose to a leading position, becoming vice-president and general manager of the Wood Live Stock Company. In 1902 he bought the Palomas Ranch in Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico, in association with J. D. and H. C. Wood and W. S. McCornick, and organized the Wood-Hagenbarth Cattle Company, owning 2,500,000 acres of land and about 37,000 head of cattle, and he was made vice-president and general manager. In 1903 Mr. Hagenbarth was elected president of the National Live Stock Association at Portland, Oregon, succeeding Hon. John W. Springer, of Denver, and he was subsequently re-elected in 1904 for a second term. Mr. Hagenbarth declined the tendered honor of a re-election to that important office. Mr. Hagenbarth took an active interest in protecting the wool interests of Idaho during the discussion of the Wilson Tariff Bill in 1892-1893, and has always been a moving spirit in all the activities of his time, although he never occupied a political position excepting the office of Labor Commissioner in Idaho in 1903-4, and as a Presidential elector from Idaho in 1905.

He is a director of the Daly-West Mining Company of Park City, president of the Yerington Consolidated Copper Company, vice-president and member of the Executive Committee of the Continental Life Insurance and Investment Company, and president of the Western Securities Company, of Salt Lake.

The Wood Live Stock Company is the largest wool-growing company in the United States. It was this company which originated the shipment of lambs in large quantities from the Western ranges to the Eastern markets. It is also the only company in this country which grades its wool on the range on the Australian plan, so that the product goes directly from the sheep's back into the woolen mills. The Wood Live Stock Company installed the first plant in the United States for the shearing of sheep by machinery and many innovations in the handling of mutton were introduced by Mr. Hagenbarth. The annual product of the Wood Live Stock Company is upwards of $500.000. Mr. Hagenbarth is prominently and favorably known in social life, as he is in the business world. He is a member of the University, Alta, Country and Commercial Clubs of Salt Lake City, and of the Athletic Association of Chicago, Jonathan Club of Los Angeles, Toltec Club of El Paso, Texas, the . M. C. A. of Salt Lake, and the Rocky Mountain Club of New York.

He was married at Melrose, Montana, to Miss Mary E. Browne, daughter of General James A. Browne, one of" Montana's oldest pioneers. They have four children, Mary Catherine, David, Catherine and Francis Hagenbarth.

At this time Mr. Hagenbarth is president and manager of the Wood Live Stock Company, president of the Wood-Hagenbarth Cattle Company, president of the J. D. Wood Company, and vice-president and director of the . Union Stock Yards, Portland, Oregon.

Halloran, William J.

It would be difficult indeed to find a man embodying all the qualifications of a good citizen, a gentleman and a business man more desirable for a town or city than the subject of this sketch, William J. Halloran. Having staked his chances in this city of Zion for over twenty-two years, he has been before the public eye, and that he to-day is looked upon by all who know him as one of the first citizens of Salt Lake is due to his inherent ideas of honesty and integrity, combined with his wonderful resourcefulness and business acumen. A booster and plugger for Salt Lake and her resources, he has become so prominent in the growth and development of the city that nothing is ever suggested and thought of concerning civic improvements or aggrandizement that is not first submitted to this first citizen of the City of Salt Lake.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, on the 25th day of November, 1859, his father was John Halloran, for years with the Grand Trunk Railroad, in the freight department, and his mother Bridget Halloran. He received his earlier education in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, his people having moved to that town when he was a mere lad. The West always had charms for him, and, although he had reached man's estate before he responded to the call of this country, he came and located in Salt Lake City in November, 1887.

Young, imbued with the never-give-up spirit and chuck full of determination, he soon became a prominent man in business circles of this city. He made friends readily; and not only that, he kept them. Always energetic, business opportunities came and he was at the door to meet them. Today he is known by all classes for his shrewdness and methods of fair dealing. He is interested in several companies, prominent among them being the Halloran-Judge Company, of which he is the senior partner, and which is one of the best-known real estate firms in the city. He is also prominently identified with the Merchants' Bank, the Utah Savings and Trust Company, the Continental Life and Investment Company, the Studebaker Bros. Company of Utah, and the Newhouse Hotel Company.

While not a politician in any sense of the word, he is prominently identified with the American party and its success, and for four years he was on the Board of Public Works under this administration, and was an earnest and conscientious worker for civic improvements. He is best known, however, as president of the Commercial Club, now serving his third term in that office. He has ever labored for the perpetuity of this organization and it is needless to mention the innumerable propositions which have been attempted and accomplished by this organization and through the individuality of its president. The most recent thing which has reflected credit on the kind of men who are members of the organization and who work hand in hand with its president, is the campaign waged to raise the $150,000 for the Y. M. C. A. Nothing that he has ever helped to accomplish gives him greater pleasure than the building of the new six-story fire-proof Commercial Club home, which is to be completed this year, at a cost of $300,000.

Although a very busy man with his many business duties, he is very prominent in social and club life. He is a member of the Alta Club, Knights of Columbus, Elks Lodge, and also president of the Knights of Columbus Association and the Knights of the Maccabees. His home life is an ideal one and he enjoys spending his few unoccupied hours in the bosom of his family. Married in 1883, in St. Clair, Michigan, his union has been blessed with three children, namely, Ruel G., Mary E., and Florence K. He has a beautiful residence at 717 East Second South Street, and it is very often the scene of social activity.

Mr. Halloran's friends predict for him a continued successful and prosperous career, and while Fortune has smiled upon him since he has been here, it is predicted that the coming years hold out for him a greater measure of success. He has one pet phrase which tells the tale of his successful career, and that is, "There is no such word as fail."

Harkness, Martin

People who live in the mountain region and on the Pacific slope occasionally meet an individual wearing in the lapel of his coat a golden emblem of a bear. Years ago there were hundreds who wore the golden badge, but the ranks have thinned, the closing up as a comrade fell has been such that there is but a handful left, and in a few years later they will be in memory only; for the wearer of this distinctive badge was an Argonaut. Not one of those who sailed on the good ship Argo with Jason in search of the Golden Fleece, but who braved dangers and perils and untold hardships in voyages around the Horn or across the plains, the Great American Desert, in search of the yellow metal in California the Forty-niners.

In Utah there is but one individual who wears this emblem or who can wear it. That man is Martin Harkness, pioneer of the gold coast, pioneer of Utah, one of the class of people who made the great West habitable for millions. Born at Pelham, Massachusetts, November 19, 1831, educated at Amherst, he left home in October, 1848, at the age of seventeen, with an elder brother, for Chicago, at that time a town of 18,500 souls.

While in the Illinois metropolis, as it was then the metropolis of the West, stories of gold finds on the Pacific slope found their way East. These stories of the finds of the yellow metal on the Rio Sacramento and its tributaries resulted in a fever among many to see the new Golconda. Martin Harkness and his brother were among the number. The Mississippi River was the dividing line westward. Twenty-five hundred miles through a trackless waste, and then gold. Thousands made the trip around the Horn, and hundreds crossed the plains. Martin Harkness was of the hundreds.

The journey across the plains was over the trail from St. Joseph, via Fort Kearney, thence up the South Platte River to its junction with the North Platte, thence up that river and the Sweetwater to near its fountain head at South Pass, then to Fort Bridger, and to Salt Lake. From Zion over the old Fort Hall trail and down the Humbolt River to Goose Lake, thence to Lassen ranch on the Sacramento River and the old Lassen trail. Sixty days was required to reach Salt Lake. Sixty-one more to the Mecca on the Coast, and then riches no, just a living.

Twenty years Martin Harkness remained in the mining region of central and northern California. Then in 1860 he went to Esmeralda County, Nevada, where he resided for nine years. Then a year was spent in the Puget Sound country, where he prospected for mineral. In 1870 Mr. Harkness returned to Salt Lake City, through which city he had passed twenty-two years before, coming to Zion via the Boise trail, and since then he has been a prominent figure in Salt Lake.

Mr. Harkness was made a Mason in California. He now affiliates with the Argenta Lodge of Salt Lake; is also a member of the Scottish Rite Orient of Salt Lake, and a thirty-second degree Mason. He has seen Salt Lake City grow from a hamlet to a magnificent city. He has seen the development of more than two-thirds of the United States. He is, at the age of seventy-eight, a hearty, vigorous man.

Index

Source: Sketches of the Inter-Mountain States, Utah, Idaho and Nevada, Published by The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1909