A. C. Sheffer

16 Dec 2021, last revised 20 Jun 2026

The history of the A. C. SHEFFER bottle remains a mystery as we could not find any documentation of Sheffer operating his own bottling works in Hancock.

Sheffer as a Druggist in Houghton

Ambrose C. Sheffer was born in Bohemia, Germany in about 1840 and was married on 30 Dec 1868 in Houghton to Lizzie McKenzie (3). We could not find census records for an A. C. Sheffer residing in Houghton or Hancock, probably because he had not yet arrived in 1860 and left before 1870.

While in the Copper Country, A. C. Sheffer was a partner in the firm Shelden & Sheffer for a drug store in Houghton (see S. & S.). The firm opened the drug store in Oct 1864 (6) and started a pop factory in the drug store in Jul 1866 (7). Shelden became sole proprietor of the pop factory in Jun 1867 (8) and Sheffer became sole proprietor of the drug store by at least Mar 1869 (9). The drug store then closed sometime after 01 Jul 1869 (10,11).

When was Sheffer in Hancock?

The only indication of an operation in Hancock comes from the 1867 Michigan State directory that listed Shelden & Sheffer in Hancock in the classified section for Soda and Mineral Water Manufacturers (1). But since only Sheffer's name is embossed on the bottle, Sheffer must have had a solo operation in Hancock.

It is unlikely that Sheffer moved to Hancock in 1869 after the Houghton drug store closed given that the entire business district of Hancock burned in Apr 1869 (4). The Detroit City directory listed Sheffer as a druggist in 1871 and 1873 (2,5), indicating that he had left the Copper Country.

Another possibility is that Sheffer was in Hancock before starting the Houghton drug store with Shelden. If so, the bottle would date prior to Oct 1864, which seems unlikely given the bottle lacks an early 1860s shape.

Could Sheffer have operated a bottling works in Hancock after Shelden became sole proprietor of the bottling works in Houghton? This seems more likely, but unfortunately, we do not have access to the 1869 Michigan State directory or issues of the Portage Lake Mining Gazette from Aug 1867 to mid-Mar 1869 in order to investigate this time period.

One Sheffer bottle was recovered from an outhouse just inches away from an S. & S. bottle, suggesting that they date to about the same age; however, another was found about a foot higher in the same outhouse. At another site, dozens of Sheffer and S. & S. bottles were smashed together, while T. Smith and J. L. shards were rare among the mix. So at least, anecdotally, it seems the Sheffer bottle dates to about the same age of the S. & S. bottle, or perhaps a little later.

The Legacy

The Sheffer bottle remains as one of the rarest of the Copper Country squat soda bottles. Whatever business operated in Hancock, they probably ordered just a small quantity of embossed bottles.

Citations

1. Chapin & Brother. (1867). Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1867-8. The Detroit Post Company, Printers. Detroit, MI.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The burning of Hancock, Mich. (1869, Apr 25). The New York Times (New York, NY). p. 1.
5. J. E. Scripps & R. L. Polk, compilers. (1973). Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1873. Tribune Book and Job Office. Detroit.
6. Drug store. (1864, Oct 15). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
7. Soda manufacture. (1866, Jul 05). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
8. City Bottling Works. (1867, Jun 27). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
9. Corner Drug Store. (1869, Mar 18). [Advertisement for Corner Drug Store] Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 4.
10. [Untitled]. (1869, Jul 01). Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
11. A. J. Scott sells out. (1904, Mar 29). The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.