The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Professor's sugar refining ideas doubtful
PUBLISHED: April 10, 2008
Editor's Note: This is the second story in a seven-part series about the Great Electric Sugar Scandal that rocked Milan in the 1800s.
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Mary Case, the younger sister of Emily Burnam, influenced Milan's development as a young community. She married William Henry Harrison Hack, heir to the Hack fortunes. Bethuel Hack, Mary's father-in-law, had been an original settler in Milan along with John Marvin and Harmon Allen.
Original settlers in Milan had the opportunity to buy lots of cheap land, and that is exactly what Bethuel Hack did. Land was great to own because you could rent it out and let someone else farm it, while you relax and take in some income. Too bad things are not so simple any more.
Mary and "Henry" Hack exchanged vows Jan. 24, 1864. They had three children, Nina, Milton and Jim, along with two other children who didn't survive to adulthood. Mary's husband must have been a farmer, since everyone was at that time, but he also served as Milan Township supervisor, justice of the peace, school board trustee and perhaps other offices.
Just three years after Emily saw her little sister Mary get hitched, the time came for Emily's daughter to walk down the aisle. This event happened Sept. 26, 1867, when Olive Van Ness and Oliver Tibado made themselves official. The wedding took place in Washtenaw County. The Tibado family settled in Superior Township.
Olive's marriage lasted only about seven or eight years, ending in divorce. Olive spent lots of time with her mother, who had married William E. Howard. In 1870, Olive's mother was in Battle Creek with her husband, a life insurance salesman. This was probably a good career choice for him because Howard was quite a persuasive talker.
Ten years later, Emily and William Howard were in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. The occupation listed for the husband was "car shop," which means he was repairing horse-drawn buggies. Olive must have been nearby. This is the point where Howard met "the inventor of the wonderful sugar refining machine," otherwise known as professor Henry C. Friend.
There is little known about Friend. He was born in about 1848, in either New York or Pennsylvania. He may have been of French background. He was supposedly a chemist, but an investor later recalled that Friend knew nothing about the chemistry of sugar. Why did he call himself "professor?" Did he even attend college or was it just an impressive title in front of his name?
Friend and Howard had some kind of personal glue that put them together immediately and kept them together through their adventures with the Electric Sugar Refining Co.
Before Howard met Friend, the professor ran through some trial runs selling his secret sugar process. He set up a company in Chicago to manufacture sugar from glucose. He told the other company officials that he would do the processing with his secret formula. He kept his work area locked at all times. This led to Friend's arrest for some kind of crime, but he was never convicted.
Friend had another near-miss with his secret sugar methods while living in Chicago. An expert in sugar refinery heard Friend's claims that he could refine sugar with a chemical method, or perhaps a claim that he could refine sugar from grapes. Anyhow, the Chicago sugar expert contacted his boss in New York, who came running over to Chicago to check it out.
Friend and the high-up executive from New York hopped a train for the big apple, and entered the executive's office there. Friend was offered $1 million for his invention if it worked, plus a half interest in a company that would use it. Of course, Friend turned him down flat. He wanted money for machinery, while he kept his process a secret.
The sugar refining executive smelled a rat and kicked Friend out of his office immediately.
Despite these setbacks, William E. Howard felt an attraction to Friend. But he wasn't the only one. His wife's daughter, Olive Tibado, had another kind of attraction for Friend. Sometime in about 1883, they were married, either in Chicago or New York. They had one son, William H. Friend, born in New York, in 1885, right in the middle of the sugar scandal.
Soon after his marriage, Friend received some attention from an attorney, William H. Cotterill, who had come to New York from England. Cotterill met the professor and his wife in late December 1883, when two acquaintances introduced them.
Cotterill learned about the wonderful invention for refining sugar created by Friend. Cotterill realized that the invention would revolutionize the sugar refining industry -- if it was true.
The attorney wanted to know more. Friend explained his need for machinery to get his process into operation. Friend could set up the manufacturing for only $30,000, he said. Friend indicated he could churn out 4,000 barrels of refined sugar every 24 hours for only 24 cents a ton.
Cotterill's mouth was watering. Friend's invention could result in $8 profit for every barrel of refined sugar. At that time, the typical profits were only 75 cents a ton.
Here's the kicker: Friend wanted his process kept secret.
"It must remain a secret in my sole possession, for if I should get it patented some of the great refinery companies would steal it, and the only remedy I would have would be a tedious and costly lawsuit," he had said.
Cotterill was so excited by the prospects of making money off of Friend's wonderful invention that he didn't mind the secrecy. He agreed to set up a company, and make it all happen.
Read more in next week's edition.
Martha Churchill is a member of the Milan Area Historical Society. She can be reached at 439-4055 or MilanHistory@yahoo.com.
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