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Person

A. J. Roy, Sr.

Also A. J. Roy · A.J. Roy · Archiell Joseph Roy · A. J. Roy, Sr.

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Borncirca 1890
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
circa 1890
Work
Curator, Beaver Island Museum · Vice president, Beaver Island Historical Society · President, Beaver Island Historical Society (the July 1980 Charlevoix Courier instead reports Roy as founding president "to 1957," followed by his retirement; see Open questions)
Member of
Beaver Island Historical Society
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
heritagehistoriographycommunityeconomy
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Archiell Joseph “A. J.” Roy, Sr. (born circa 1890) was a Pontiac, Michigan, businessman who, with his wife Mabel Roy, became a founding figure of the Beaver Island Historical Society and ran its museum for two decades. He and Russell P. Hoffmann of Plymouth bought the island’s Mormon Print Shop in 1957 to keep it from being torn down, and the Society then acquired the building from them to restore as its museum. Roy was the Society’s vice president by 1961 and, per a March 1976 profile, its president, and was named the museum’s curator from at least 1972. A state recreation site, later known as Mabel and A. J. Roy Heritage Park, was announced in 1975 in his and his late wife’s honor.

History

Pontiac businessman and island golf course and stand

Roy ran his own company, Roy Sales & Service, in the Pontiac area for 37 years before retiring in 1956, and had lived in the Pontiac area since 1927.1 By August 1961 he and Mabel had opened the Harbor Hills Golf Course, “the Historical Building and Museum,” and an adjoining sandwich and ice cream stand on the island;2 a later classified advertisement for the same refreshment stand and miniature golf course, “overlooking Harbor, 1 block from boat dock,” states it had “operated for 10 years,” though the advertisement’s own issue date could not be confirmed independently.3

The Mormon Print Shop and the Historical Society

Two years before a Charlevoix Courier report published June 27, 1957, the island’s former Mormon print shop — where James Jesse Strang’s newspaper had once been published — was about to be razed when Roy, of Pontiac, and Russell P. Hoffmann, of Plymouth, bought the building to save it.4 A $500 donation from the Beaver Island Civic Association then let the Historical Society purchase the structure from them on a $2,000 mortgage contract, with the Society intending to restore it as a museum.4 Accounts of the Society’s founding disagree: a March 1976 Beacon profile says “In 1959, the Beaver Island Historical Society was formed, with Roy as one of its founders,” while a July 1980 Charlevoix Courier feature instead states the Society “was incorporated in 1957” and that “A.J. Roy served as president of the society from its inception to 1957. When Roy retired, it was uncertain which direction the society would go” — apparently describing a brief early presidency ending that same year, in tension with the 1976 profile’s description of Roy as the Society’s sitting president nearly two decades later.15 Neither account is reconciled here; see Open questions.

By August 1961, Roy was the Society’s vice president and had received an abstract of title to Feodor Protar’s land, containing Protar’s will, from Louis Fochtman of the Fochtman Motor Co. in Petoskey.2 That November he received one of the original photographs of Protar from Pat and Rose Bonner, framed it, and hung it in the museum.6

Museum curator

Beacon notices identify Roy as the museum’s curator or contact from at least 1972 onward: a May 1972 notice seeking summer volunteers and donated items ran under “Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Roy,”7 and an August 1974 notice named “A. J. Roy, Museum Curator” as the contact for information about a missing plaque marking where engineer David Chase was killed.8 A fuller Charlevoix Courier report dated July 31, 1974, gives Roy the same curator title and reports the Society had offered a $25 reward after the copper plaque — 14 by 9 inches, worth about $75 — was stolen roughly a month after being reinstalled; the marker had stood beside a wooden cross that Feodor Protar, a close friend of Chase’s, first erected at the scene of Chase’s 1907 logging-train accident.9 Roy also worked to assemble existing photographs of the ferryboats and captains that had run between Charlevoix and the island.1

Family and later notices

A. J. and Mabel Roy’s home was in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, with a cottage on Beaver Island. Other Charlevoix Courier items, undated within this citation, record the couple and their daughter Arciel visiting the island; one names “Mrs. Bud Wyatt” of Bloomfield Hills visiting “her parents Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Roy,” corroborating the December 1974 Beacon obituary’s naming of daughter “Mrs. Byron (Arciel) Wyatt.”1011 Mabel Roy died November 16, 1974, about a month after the couple were in an automobile accident in which Roy suffered a bump to the head and was not hospitalized.1213 On June 7, 1975, the Historical Society held a testimonial dinner honoring Roy and his late wife for their work founding the Society and developing the museum; Father Edward Donahoe presented Roy a commemorative plaque, and Phil Gregg announced that a proposed new Heritage Park would be named for the couple.14 Roy also contributed $250 to the island’s Bicentennial fund, reported current to June 16, 1975 — the largest individual cash gift listed that round.15

Significance

Roy is documented across more than fifteen years of Beaver Island Historical Society and museum notices as the person most consistently associated with founding, financing, and running the island’s historical museum, from the 1957 purchase of the Mormon Print Shop through his description as Society president in 1976. A state recreation site carries his and his wife’s names.

Open questions

  • Whether the Beaver Island Historical Society was formed in 1959 (March 1976 Beacon) or incorporated in 1957 (July 1980 Charlevoix Courier) is unresolved.
  • Whether Roy’s presidency ran “from its inception to 1957,” ending with his retirement that year (1980 Courier), or continued at least to March 1976, when the Beacon describes him as sitting president, is contested; no source held here reconciles the two accounts.
  • Roy’s exact birth date and any death record are not established here; “circa 1890” follows the March 1976 profile’s statement that he was 85 at that time.
  • Whether the person named “A. J. Roy, Jr.” as a surviving son in Mabel Roy’s December 1974 obituary is ever otherwise conflated with his father in the record is not examined here.
  • Whether “Roy Sales & Service” (per the 1976 profile) and “Roy’s Replacement Parts and Service” (the business named in Mabel Roy’s own December 1974 obituary, also run for 37 years) are the same business under two labels, or two different concerns, is not established.

See also

Sources

See the sources: block above for full citation and provenance detail.

Footnotes

  1. “Beaver Island Historian Is Just Too Busy to Retire,” Beaver Beacon, March 1976, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1976-03_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Beaver Beacon, August 1961, “Beaver Island Historical Society” and “Dr. Protar’s Last Will and Testament,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1961-08_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩ ↩2

  3. Charlevoix Courier, classified advertisement, bound 1967 volume, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/charlevoix/markdown/charlevoixcourie1967unse.md. ↩

  4. “Historical Print Shop on Beavers To Be Restored,” Charlevoix Courier, June 27, 1957, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/charlevoix/markdown/charlevoixcourie0419unse.md. ↩ ↩2

  5. “Historic Beaver Island,” Charlevoix Courier, July 16, 1980, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/charlevoix/markdown/charlevoixcourie1980unse.md. ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, November 1961, “Beaver Island Historical Society,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1961-11_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  7. Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Museum Notes,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1972-05_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, August 1974, “Beaver Island Historical Society News,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1974-08_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  9. “Island Historical Group Offers Reward For Stolen Chase Plaque,” Charlevoix Courier, July 31, 1974, Vol. 79, No. 36, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/charlevoix/markdown/charlevoixcourie1974unse.md. ↩

  10. Charlevoix Courier, undated society items, bound volume, /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/charlevoix/markdown/charlevoixcourie0608unse.md and /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/charlevoix/markdown/charlevoixcourie1967unse.md. ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, December 1974, “Obituaries,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1974-12_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, September–October 1974, “Party Postponed,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1974-09_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, November 1974, “Obituaries,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1974-11_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  14. Beaver Beacon, May–June 1975, “A. J. Roy Testimonial,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1975-05_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, May–June 1975, “Beaver Island Bi-Centennial Report,” /data1/beaver-island-archive/ocr/beaver_beacon/markdown/1975-05_Beaver-Beacon.md. ↩

The dated record

11 dated events · 1890–1976These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Identifies A. J. Roy as Museum Curator and gives him as the contact for information about the missing plaque at the place where engineer David Chase was killed; it does not provide a full civil biography or formal appointment record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Earlier museum notice identifies A. J. Roy in a request for summer volunteers and historical objects; it supplies no complete identity or office record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1972-05_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Identifies Mable Roy as A. J. Roy’s wife and reports her death; it supports the direct spouse relationship but does not supply an independent marriage or civil record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-11_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-11_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Identifies Mabel E. Roy as the wife of A. J. Roy Sr. and reports that she served as Beaver Island Historical Society secretary and treasurer. The notice does not supply A. J. Roy’s full civil identity or an independent marriage record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-12_Beaver-Beacon
  8. The held nine-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-12_Beaver-Beacon
  9. Reports that A. J. Roy and his wife were injured in an automobile accident near their home; Mr. Roy had a bump to the head, was not hospitalized, and was recuperating at home. The notice does not provide an exact location, medical record, or independent civil identity. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-09_Beaver-Beacon
  10. The scan confirms the accident notice and reported injury.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-09_Beaver-Beacon
  11. Identifies A. J. Roy as vice president of the Historical Society and reports that he received a title abstract containing Feodor Protar’s will. The article does not provide formal minutes, an officer roster, or a complete identity record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-08_Beaver-Beacon
  12. The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-08_Beaver-Beacon
  13. Reports A. J. Roy receiving an original photograph of Feodora Protar from Pat and Rose Bonner, framing it, and displaying it in the museum. It does not provide an accession record or independent authentication.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
  14. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
  15. Prints the family of Mrs. A. J. Roy thanking Beaver Island friends after their mother’s death. It is community correspondence, not an independent civil identity or family record. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  16. The scan confirms the family thank-you notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  17. Reports the June 7 testimonial dinner, plaque presented to A. J. Roy, his Historical Society and Museum work, and the proposed Heritage Park naming for A. J. and Mabel Roy. It does not provide formal minutes, plaque text, or a completed park record. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-05_Beaver-Beacon
  18. The held combined issue confirms the testimonial and reported Heritage Park naming.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-05_Beaver-Beacon
  19. Profiles A. J. Roy as Historical Society president and museum worker and describes his seasonal island presence, Protar House work, and ferry-photograph collection. It does not provide a complete biography, museum catalogue, or formal office record. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
  20. The held issue confirms the profile.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
  21. Charlevoix Courier, June 27, 1957, "Historical Print Shop on Beavers To Be Restored."
    Reports that a $500 Beaver Island Civic Association donation let the Beaver Island Historical Society buy the Mormon Print Shop on a $2,000 mortgage, and that the building had been about to be razed two years earlier when A. J. Roy of Pontiac and Russell P. Hoffmann of Plymouth bought it to save it. It does not state when the Society itself was organized or reconcile that with the later purchase. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · charlevoix · charlevoixcourie0419unse
  22. Charlevoix Courier, July 31, 1974, "Island Historical Group Offers Reward For Stolen Chase Plaque," Vol. 79, No. 36.
    Identifies A. J. Roy as curator of the Beaver Island Historical Museum and reports a $25 reward offered for the return of the David Chase memorial plaque, stolen in early July 1974 after being in place about a month; gives the plaque's size (14 by 9 inches) and value (about $75), and dates Chase's death to Good Friday, April 17, 1907, in a logging-train accident about five miles southwest of St. James, next to a cross erected by Feodor Protar. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · charlevoix · charlevoixcourie1974unse
  23. Charlevoix Courier, July 16, 1980, "Historic Beaver Island" (Museum Week feature).
    Reports the Beaver Island Historical Society "was incorporated in 1957" and that "A.J. Roy served as president of the society from its inception to 1957. When Roy retired, it was uncertain which direction the society would go." This conflicts with the March 1976 Beacon profile, which describes Roy as president of the Society at that later date; the discrepancy is not resolved here. The article also names curator Shirley Gladish and the 1980 Board of Directors, none of whom is A. J. Roy. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · charlevoix · charlevoixcourie1980unse
  24. Charlevoix Courier, classified advertisement for a refreshment stand and miniature golf course, filed in the library's bound 1967 volume.
    Advertises "A. J. Roy, St. James, Mich. 49782" as contact for a refreshment stand with miniature golf course "overlooking Harbor, 1 block from boat dock," stated to have "operated for 10 years." The ad carries a classified code ("10/25x4-76") suggesting a mid-1970s run date rather than 1967; the exact issue date is not independently confirmed here, so this is cited only for the business description, not for a specific date. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · charlevoix · charlevoixcourie1967unse
  25. Charlevoix Courier, undated society item, bound volume search.
    Records "Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Roy and daughter, Arceil" spending a weekend on the island and occupying one of the McDonough cabins while Roy had "a cabin started" overlooking Back Beach; a separate item in the same bound volume names "Mrs. Bud Wyatt and her family of Bloomfield Hills" visiting "her parents Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Roy," corroborating the December 1974 Beacon obituary's "daughter Mrs. Byron (Arciel) Wyatt." Neither item is independently dated within this citation. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · charlevoix · charlevoixcourie0608unse
  26. Lists "A. J. Roy, Sr." among cash contributors to the Bicentennial fund, at $250, current to June 16, 1975. It does not connect the contribution to any specific project. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-05_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “A. J. Roy, Sr.”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/a-j-roy/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, August 1974, “Beaver Island Historical Society News.” (and 25 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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