Tag Archives: Northern Michigan Asylum

Sheriff John McCanna – (1882-1885)

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John McCanna, Sheriff of Schoolcraft County (1882-1885).
Photo Courtesy of Sue Cucchiarella.

        The early history of law enforcement in Schoolcraft County is closely tied to the McCanna family. The family patriarch, Henry McCanna was born in 1822 in county Donegal, Ireland. McCanna immigrated first to Canada before settling in the Vermont/New York area in the mid 1840s.  Henry married Nancy (Anna) O’Kane in 1845 in Sandy Hill, New York. Ten children were born to this union, eight of whom survived into adulthood. Read More...

Will Montgomery and the “Sunday Sun”

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William F. Montgomery, Editor of the “Sunday Sun” Photo courtesy of Susan Cucchiarella

William F. Montgomery, Editor of the “Sunday Sun”
Photo courtesy of Susan Cucchiarella

           During the late 1880’s Will Momtgomery and the Sunday Sun, provided an alternative newspaper voice to that of the more established Semi-Weekly Pioneer. The spirited newspaper rivalry between the Sun and the Pioneer lasted just four years, but was one of the strangest ever recorded.

           Will Montgomery was born on August 31, 1857 in Kokomo, Indiana—the eldest of four children born to Seymour and Elizabeth Montgomery.  Montgomery’s father was a respected newspaper editor in Mishawaka, Indiana. By age 11, Will had joined his father’s business as a typesetter at the Mishawaka Enterprise. Read More...