S. & S.

06 Dec 2021, last revised 20 Jun 2026

With only a pair of initials, the S. & S. bottle provides little information about its bottling works and proprietors. Based on the bottle being a squat soda with the A & D H C maker's mark, we focused our search to the 1860s - 1870s. We do not have access to the 1865 and 1869 volumes of the Michigan State directory, so it was fortunate that the 1867 volume had a listing for "Shelden & Sheffer" (1). Curiously, it listed them in Houghton as druggist and in Hancock under Soda and Mineral Water Manufacturers. The listing, however, did not provide first names or a business address.

S. & S.'s Drug Store

Shelden & Sheffer opened their drug store on the corner of Shelden Ave. and Isle Royale St. in Oct 1864, with Sheffer being in charge of the prescription department (18). In Sep 1865, they temporarily relocated so that a new two-story building could be erected to accommodate their growing business (33). The new building was completed and occupied by early Feb 1866 (19). One side of the store was devoted entirely to medicines, while the other side held family groceries (19). The photograph shows this new two-story drug store. It was on the northeast corner, given that the cross street was west of the store and the 1888 Sanborn map showed no structures on the two south corners.

S. & S.'s Bottling Works

In Jul 1866, Shelden & Sheffer set up a soda manufacturing operation with a capacity of 300 dozen bottles per day (20). Business was seemingly successful, since from Jul 01 to Nov 01 in 1866, Shelden & Sheffer sold 10,336 dozen bottles of soda (21).

Shelden as Sole Proprietor of the Bottling Works

In Jun 1867, Shelden & Sheffer consolidated their pop factory with T. Smith's pop factory, forming the City Bottling Works for which "Geo. C. Shelden" was proprietor (22). An ad for the City Bottling Works in Mar 1869 stated that "George C. Shelden" was proprietor and the business was located at the corner of Shelden St. and Isle Royale St., the same location given for Shelden & Sheffer's drug store. Shelden later sold the City Bottling Works to S. & J. Lloyd in Nov 1869 (23).

Sheffer as Sole Proprietor of the Drug Store

An ad for the "Corner Drug Store" in Mar 1869 stated that "A. C. Sheffer" purchased the interest of "G. C. Shelden" in the firm Shelden & Sheffer, and "...will conduct the business as before at the old stand...". It is unknown when the partnership for the drug store ended since library archives are missing issues of The Portage Lake Mining Gazette from Aug 1867 to mid-Mar 1869. The end result, however, is that Sheldon ended up with the bottling works and Sheffer ended up with the drug store. Strangely though, it seems neither of them moved from the original drug store location.

Who is A. C. Sheffer?

We could not find census records for an A. C. Sheffer residing in Houghton, but we found a marriage record for Ambrose C. Sheffer who was a druggist (7). He was born in Bohemia, Germany and was married on 30 Dec 1868 in Houghton to Lizzie McKenzie (7). The last reference to his drug store that we found occurred in Jul 1869, which stated that his new soda fountain arrived (24). A. C. Sheffer was then listed in the 1871 Detroit City directory as a druggist (8), signifying that he had left the Copper Country. It is unknown what happened to him thereafter.

Who is Geo. C. Shelden?

George C. Shelden was the son of Copper Country pioneer, Ransom Shelden (2). George was born on 27 Dec 1842 in Walworth County, WI (2). He was raised and educated in Ontonagon County, and served in the Civil War as first lieutenant and then captain until the war ended (2). When he returned to Michigan, he engaged in the mercantile business with different partnerships and invested extensively in real estate (2).

What Happened to the Drug Store?

As for the store, a 1904 article on A. J. Scott mentioned that when Scott opened his drug store in Hancock in 1869, there was a drug store in Houghton that had closed in spring of 1869 and had not reopened until late fall (31). This store aligns with the Sheffer's store, except that it evidently did not close until summer. It seems Graham Pope, who advertised his drug store from 26 Aug 1869, was the one to reopen the store. Pope then sold the store to Hebert & Deschamps in Feb 1872 (26). The 1873 directory described the location of Hebert & Deschamps as being on the corner of Shelden Ave. and Isle Royale St. (27), the same description that was previously used for Shelden & Sheffer's store. In Dec 1876, Hebert & Deschamps moved their store to two doors east of Isle Royale block (28,29). The store continued with more changes in proprietorship (see Lauvaux Pharmacy.)

The Legacy

Shelden & Sheffer operated a bottling works from Jul 1866 to Jun 1867. The directory listing for Hancock still remains a mystery, but A. C. Sheffer had a bottle from Hancock (see A. C. Sheffer). The City Bottling Works continued under J. Lloyd & Bro. (see J.L & B).

What happened next for Shelden?

George C. Shelden

Shelden purchased Peter Sauer's brewery in Hancock (3), but it burned in the great fire (4) of Apr 1869 (6) and then was destroyed by fire in Dec 1869 (3,4). He then moved to Negaunee to start another brewery (3). He was listed as a brewer in Negaunee in 1870 U.S. Federal Census (5). Shelden returned to Houghton in 1875 (3) and continued to be a prominent member of local business. He promoted the building the Portage Lake bridge (3), which was completed in 1876 (32). He acted as secretary and treasurer of the Portage Lake Bridge Company (3) until the bridge was sold to the county in Aug 1891 for $35,000 and became toll-free (13,14).

Shelden, in partnership with his brother, Ransom B. Shelden, and Adolph J. Ruhl as prescription clerk, formed Shelden Bros & Co. (16). They purchased the entire stock, counters, and fixtures of Dr. G. W. Orr's drug store in Lake Linden and started a new drug store in Houghton, the City Drug Store (16), which opened in Sep 1889 (25). They, along with their older brother, Carlos D. Shelden, organized a medicine company, the Antialgia Chemical Co., which had its office in the drug store (15). The partnership dissolved on 01 Nov 1890 and Ransom B. Shelden was to continue the business alone under the same firm name (17). The firm and store continued to be advertised in the Michigan Copper Journal until at least Dec 1891. It was not listed in the 1893 directory (30), so it seemingly closed by then.

Shelden's life came to a tragic end. He was shot four times on main street in Houghton and died later that night (3). His assailant, an employee who was being tried for assaulting Shelden after a work dispute, jumped off the bridge (3,11) and his body was recovered five days later (9). Shelden died on 30 Sep 1896 at the age of 52 (10) and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (12). An article in The L'Anse Sentinel marking his funeral stated (9):

The loss of Geo. C. Shelden to the town of which he has long been a prominent and patriotic citizen will be long felt in many a home which has been a recipient of his quiet generosity and charity. His great love of Houghton was doubtless attributable to the fact that his father was its founder, and its pioneer industries were all connected with the name of Ransom Shelden. There was no enterprise calculated to redound to the financial or social interests of his native village that did not receive the liberal support of George C. Shelden. His loss is a sad blow to Houghton, and his place in the community will be hard to fill.

Citations

1. Chapin & Brother. (1867). Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1867-8. The Detroit Post Company, Printers. Detroit, MI.
2. Sawyer, A. L. (1911). A History of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and its People. The Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
3. Mr. George C. Shelden shot in Houghton. (1896, Oct 02). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
4. Is Portage lake doomed? Burning of the Hancock brewery last night. (1869, Dec 30). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
5. U.S. Census Bureau. 1870 United States Federal Census. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
6. The burning of Hancock, Mich. (1869, Apr 25). The New York Times (New York, NY). p. 1.
7. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 2; Film Description: 1868 Genesee-1869 Branch. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
8. Chas. F. Clark & Co. (1871). Annual City Directory of the Inhabitants, Business Firms, Incorporated Companies, Etc. of the City of Detroit for 1871-2. Tribune Book and Job Office. Detroit, MI.
9. George C. Shelden's funeral. (1896, Oct 10). The L'Anse Sentinel (L'Anse, MI). p. 1.
10. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records. Accessed on Ancestry.com.
11. Tragedy at Houghton. (1896, Oct 07). The Watertown News (Watertown, WI). p. 2.
12. Find a Grave. (2011, Mar 30). George C Shelden. Retrieved 2021. www.findagrave.com/memorial/67658748/george-c-shelden
13. The bridge settled. (1891, May 14). Michigan Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 3.
14. A toll bridge no more. (1891, Aug 06). Michigan Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 3.
15. A new medicine co. (1891, Nov 19). Michigan Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 1.
16. Local jottings. (1889, Aug 29). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
17. Dissolution notice. (1890, Nov 13). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
18. Business notices. (1864, Oct 15). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
19. The new drug store. (1866, Feb 03). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
20. Soda manufacture. (1866, Jul 05). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
21. Pop! (1866, Nov 15). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
22. City Bottling Works. (1867, Jun 27). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
23. [Untitled]. (1869, Nov 25). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
24. [Untitled]. (1869, Jul 01). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
25. [Untitled]. (1889, Sep 05). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 4.
26. Sold out. (1872, Feb 15). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
27. J. E. Scripps & R. L. Polk, compilers. (1973). Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1873. Tribune Book and Job Office. Detroit.
28. Hebert & Deschamps. (1877, Jan 11). Hebert & Deschamps [Advertisement]. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 1.
29. [Untitled]. (1876, Dec 14). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
31. R. L. Polk & Co. (1893). Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1893-94. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
32. A. J. Scott sells out. (1904, Mar 29). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
33. Smith, D. W. (1986). Houghton-Hancock Crossing. Student report: Michigan Technological University. Houghton, MI.
34. Change of base. (1865, Sep 16). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.