Hafenreffer

24 May 2022, last revised 20 Jul 2023

Hafenreffer's pharmacy bottle was not listed in Old Copper Country Bottles. Without a town name embossed on the bottle, we must rely on local history to confirm its place in the Copper Country.

Charles Hafenreffer was born in Mannheim, Germany on 31 Jul 1823 (1). In 1847, he graduated from the University of Heidelberg with an M.D. (1). After practicing medicine for the German government for five years, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1852 (1). He practiced medicine in St. Clair County, MI for one year (1,4), in Eagle River in Keweenaw County for two years (1), in Missouri for two years, and then in Sheboygan County, WI for two years (4). In 1859, he moved to Houghton and continued to practice as a surgeon and physician (1).

Dr. Hafenreffer started a drug business in Houghton in 1870 (1). Curiously though, the Polk directory only listed him in its 1881 and 1883 volumes, in which he was listed as both a physician and druggist (2,3). It was announced in May 1870 that he purchased the building alongside Miller's Hall and would relocate there (5). An ad from 1876 specified that his residence (and presumably his business) was on Shelden St. He was appointed health officer of the township in 1879 (6), and was re-appointed annually at least twice (7,8). As health officer, he vaccinated people for small pox (9). He was also the instructor and principal member of the Hancock Maennerchor (4). In Jun 1880, he announced that he had moved his office to Mr. Washburn's building (10). It is unknown if this meant that his drug store also moved. In 1883, he, along with other German townspeople, endeavored to host a series of concerts to raise relief funds for flood sufferers in Germany (14).

It was announced in May 1884, that Dr. Maclane purchased Hafenreffer's drug business and medical practice, and that Hafenreffer was going to settle in Milwaukee (11). "Maclane" or "Maclean" continued the practice (12), but then in Aug 1884, he sold the drug stand to Dr. J. P. Mason (13). Maclean found the winters to severe and was moving to Detroit (13).

After nearly a year in Milwaukee, Hafenreffer returned to Houghton in Mar 1885 (4,19). By Apr 1885, he was again the health officer of Portage Township (20). His ad showed that he opened a practice and drug store again. His son, Adolph, was his partner in the drug store (21,1).

Hafenreffer started suffering a serious illness in Jul 1889 (15,16). After being confined to his house for two months, he died on 29 Aug 1889 at the age of 66 (17) and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (4,18). He was noted to be "one of the oldest and best known physicians in the copper district" (17). Prescriptions of Dr. C. Hafenreffer & Son were sent to Shelden Bros. & Co. and could be refilled in their new drug store (23).

His one bottle has a maker's mark of W. T. & CO. with "1" below it. Lockhart et al. (22) dated this configuration to c.1880-1895 but most commonly to 1885-1895. However, his bottle has been uncovered alongside early 1880s beer bottles. Thus, it is questionable if his bottle was from his first drug store or his second.

References

1. anonymous. 1883. The History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Western Historical Company. Chicago, IL.
2. R. L. Polk & Co. 1881. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1881. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
3. R. L. Polk & Co. 1883. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1883. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
4. anonymous. (1889, Sep 05). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
5. anonymous. (1870, May 05). Condensed Items. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
6. anonymous. (1879, May 01). untitled. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
7. anonymous. (1880, Apr 14). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
8. anonymous. (1882, May 11). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
9. anonymous. (1882, Jan 19). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
10. anonymous. (1880, Jun 03). Local Notices. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
11. anonymous. (1884, May 01). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
12. anonymous. (1884, May 15). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
13. anonymous. (1884, Aug 21). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
14. anonymous. (1883, Feb 08). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
15. anonymous. (1889, Jul 25). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
16. anonymous. (1889, Aug 01). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
17. anonymous. (1889, Aug 29). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
18. Find A Grave. accessed May 2022. Dr Charles Hafenreffer. www.findagrave.com/memorial/166698431/charles-hafenreffer
19. anonymous. (1885, Mar 19). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
20. anonymous. (1885, Apr 23). Local Jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
21. anonymous. (1887, Mar 03). Around Town. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
22. Lockhart, B., P. Schulz, B. Schriever, B. Lindsey, C. Serr, and B. Brown. 2020. Whitall Tatum - Part I - Whitall Tatum & Co. In: Encyclopedia of Manufacturer's Marks on Historic Bottles. posted on Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website. https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/WhitallTatum1.pdf
23. anonymous. (1889, Sep 12). untitled. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.