Joseph C. Bontecou
Captain Joseph C. Bontecou was the editor and publisher of the Petoskey Record. He was born in Bristol, Rhode Island on November 5, 1838. His parents were Reverend James Clark Bontecou and Abby Connable Bontecou. He was a student at Ohio Wesleyan University when he volunteered for the Union Army. He enlisted in the Second Kentucky Infantry and sent to West Virginia in June 1861. He was captured in Tennessee and held as a prisoner of war in the notorious Libby Prison at Richmond, Virginia. After he was released in a prisoner exchange, he resigned his commission and returned home. He re-enlisted in the Tenth Ohio Independent Battery. He served until the end of the war and was mustered out in August, 1865 with an honorable discharge. He served the Department of Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic and when the state encampment was held in Petoskey, he was elected senior vice-commander.
He married Miss Maria P. Oven on February 12, 1844. She was the daughter of John and Margarett (Eckley) Oven. They had one daughter, Margaret C. Bontecou, who "gave personal supervision to the newspaper" after her father's death.
He came to Petoskey in 1883 and purchased the Petoskey Record. He and his family lived at 524 State Street. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He died in Petoskey on March 25, 1904.
He married Miss Maria P. Oven on February 12, 1844. She was the daughter of John and Margarett (Eckley) Oven. They had one daughter, Margaret C. Bontecou, who "gave personal supervision to the newspaper" after her father's death.
He came to Petoskey in 1883 and purchased the Petoskey Record. He and his family lived at 524 State Street. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He died in Petoskey on March 25, 1904.