James Balbirnie
James Balbirnie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Muskegon, Michigan | |
| In office April 3, 1899 – June 29, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | Ansel F. Temple |
| Succeeded by | Frank Alberts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1838 Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 29, 1899 (aged 60–61) Muskegon, Michigan, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Occupation | Merchant, politician |
James Balbirnie was a Canadian American Republican politician and businessman who served as mayor of Muskegon, Michigan from 1898 to 1899 before getting assassinated [1]
Life
James Balbirnie was born on April 28, 1838, at the old fort in Quebec, Canada, He join the military band and at the expiration of his term as band leading in the army, he moved to Ottawa and organized the band there and also was for many years a dancing master, On September 25, 1865, he moved to Muskegon, Michigan with his baby son
Balbirnie was a carpenter who specialized in making cabinets and he superintended several factories in Muskegon, And he had a large business of making coffin and furniture and his businesses suffered three fires.[2]
Balbirnie was part of the republican party in town and held a high position of the towns, political affairs and was the county coroner of Muskegon County, was city supervisor and in 1898 was elected mayor [1][3]
Assassination
On June 29, 1899, Balbiernie was standing in his stores doorway and was approached by John W. Tayer who handed Balbiernie a letter. And while the carrier was so present. Tayer shot Balbiernie, the bullet hits Balbiernie in the left breast, Tayer then stand in the same doorway he shot Balbiernie and Tayer swallowed carbolic acid and shot himself and he was pronounced dead at 1 PM. Balbiernie staggered to his feet and a rushed back into his residence and went upstairs which was above the store, A blacksmith named William witnessed the shooting and he ran after the mayor and reached the top as Balbiernie collapses and 15 minutes later Balbiernie was pronounced in dead [4][5]
The same day, reports attributed the assassination to Tayer's dissatisfaction after he was not reappointed to his former position as the city's poor director[4]
References
- 1 2 "Page 1006". Freepages.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ Russell, J. S. (1881). History of Muskegon County, Michigan: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (PDF). Chicago, Illinois.
- ↑ "Advantages of Muskegon Part 4". Mmigenweb.org. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
- 1 2 "Jasper County Democrat 8 July 1899 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". Newspapers.library.in.gov. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
- ↑ "Image 1 of The Ely miner (Ely, Minn.), July 5, 1899". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2026-08-18.