B. & N

26 Nov 2021, last revised 12 Nov 2025

The two initials and no town location on the B. & N bottle reveal very little about the bottling works. Fortunately, the 1875 Michigan State Polk directory listed "Northey & Benny, Red Jacket" as soda water manufacturers (1). This listing identified the proprietors, at least by last names, and confirmed that they were Copper Country bottlers. A dissolution of partnership then revealed their full names, but with different spelling: "Henry Northy" and "Peter Benney" (4).

Peter Bennie was involved with the bottling works before Henry Northey became a partner. Bennie was a partner to Joseph Lloyd and they operated branches in Houghton, Hancock, L'Anse, and Red Jacket (see J. L & B). When the partnership dissolved on 01 May 1872 (2), Bennie evidently retained the Red Jacket branch, given that his ad specified Red Jacket as his location.

Little is known about Peter Bennie's background. He did not appear in the census records for Red Jacket. A marriage record, however, for a "Peter Benie" specified that he was born in Canada, resided in Red Jacket, worked as a merchant, and married Hellen A. Nette on 27 Oct 1875 in Red Jacket at the age of 29 (3). This appears to be the same Peter Bennie, given that a witness to the marriage was a "Henry Northey" from Red Jacket (3).

It is unclear when Northey partnered with Bennie. Bennie's ad with him as sole proprietor ran from May 1872 to Jun 1874, and then the 1875 directory listed them as partners (1). Thus, the partnership likely formed between mid-1874 and mid-1875. The partnership then dissolved on 04 Mar 1878 with Northey keeping the business (4).

Henry Northey was born on 29 Sep 1848 (5) in Cornwall, England (6), and immigrated to the U.S. in 1865 (7), presumably with his father since they arrived in the same year (8,9). Henry was a miner in Keweenaw County (6,10), a miner at the Lake Mine in Ontonagon County (10,15), and a miner for Calumet & Hecla (6,10), being in Calumet Township as a miner for the 1870 U.S. Federal Census (15). He was often called Harry (16), and he was the older brother of Matthew and William (11,9), who were involved in the N. & J. bottling works.

It is unclear when Henry was no longer a part of the bottling works. He was elected sheriff of Houghton County in Nov 1876 (12), and re-elected in Nov 1878 (13). When he was a candidate for re-election in Oct 1878, the firm was Northey & Bros. and they were referred to as the "temperance people of Calumet" (14). His obituary stated that he continued the pop business "for some years, eventually as the firm of Northey & James" (6). Even if he was still a partner in the firm, he resided at the county seat as sheriff and remained in Houghton thereafter (6). After four years as sheriff, Henry conducted a coal business and retired several years before his death on 20 Apr 1915 in Houghton (6). He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (5).

The bottling works continued under N. & J.

Citations

1. R. L. Polk & Co. 1875. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1875. The Tribune Printing Company. Detroit, MI.
2. anonymous. (1872, May 09). Dissolutions. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
3. Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952 (accessed on ancestry.com).
4. anonymous. (1878, Mar 07). Dissolution of copartnership. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
5. Find a Grave. accessed Nov 2021. Henry Northey. findagrave.com/memorial/41566196/henry-northey
6. anonymous. (1915, Apr 20). Henry Northy passes away. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
7. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
8. anonymous. (1905, Aug 24). Death of Matthew Northey. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 8.
9. anonymous. (1901, Mar 08). A pioneer gone. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
10. anonymous. (1915, Apr 20). Henry Northey dead at Houghton. The Evening Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 5.
11. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861.
12. anonymous. (1876, Nov 09). The county selection on Tuesday. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
13. anonymous. (1878, Nov 07). Election last Tuesday - Republican triumph. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
14. anonymous. (1878, Oct 30). Random hits. Northwestern Mining Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 3.
15. U.S. Census Bureau. 1870 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
16. anonymous. (1915, Apr 21). Harry Northey, old Houghton resident, dies. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 8.