Houseman, Julius, 1832-1891

HOUSEMAN, Julius, a Representative from Michigan; born in Zeckendorf, Bavaria, Germany, December 8, 1832; attended the common schools in Zeckendorf and the commercial school at Munich, Bavaria; immigrated to the United States in 1848 and settled in Battle Creek, Mich.; moved to Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1852; engaged in the mercantile and lumber business for forty years; member of the board of aldermen of Grand Rapids 1861-1870; served in the State house of representatives in 1871 and 1872; mayor of Grand Rapids 1873-1875; unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1876; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1885); was not a candidate for renomination in 1884; resumed his former business pursuits; died in Grand Rapids, Mich., February 8, 1891; interment in Oak Hill Cemetery.

<p>Julius Houseman (December 8, 1832 – February 8, 1891) was a U.S. businessman and politician who served as mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan, as representative in the Michigan House of Representatives and as Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives.</p>

<p>He was born in Zeckendorf (near Bamberg), in the Kingdom of Bavaria in the German Confederation. His father, Solomon Houseman, was a merchant and manufacturer of silk and cotton goods in Zeckendorf. Houseman was educated in the national schools of Zeckendorf and Bamberg and finished with a two-year course of study at a commercial school at Munich. He then worked as dry goods clerk in a store in Bavaria, where he remained for three years.</p>

<p>He immigrated to the United States in 1851, at the age of nineteen, stopping first in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was clerk in a clothing house for a few months. He then moved to New Vienna, Ohio, where he remained as clerk in a general store until March 1852. He then moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, and engaged in the merchant tailoring and clothing business with Mr. I. Amberg, the firm name being Amberg & Houseman. He moved to Grand Rapids in August 1852, before he was twenty years old, and established a branch of the Battle Creek firm. He is recognized as the first permanent Jewish settler of Grand Rapids.</p>