USA > Michigan > American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-made Men.: Michigan Volume > Part 21
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cGRAW, THOMAS, Wool Merchant and Capi- talist, of Detroit, was born in Castleton, on the river Shannon, county of Limerick, Ireland, September 17, 1824. His mother was of a Ger- man Lutheran family. Ilis father, Redmond McGraw, a man of liberal education, was a native of the north of Ireland, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. His ancestors were religious enthusiasts of the Protestant faith. In- tegrity with him was the chief point of character. The parents of Thomas McGraw were married in Ire- land, but came to America in 1825. They resided on a farm in New York State for ten years; and, in 1835, removed to Michigan. Mr. McGraw did not inherit his father's enthusiastic love of agriculture, but rather, in his boyhood years, turned his atten- tion to the acquisition of general knowledge, spending | firms, outside of the Atlantic cities, have purchased as all of his available time in reading and study. Like | largely as has Mr. McGraw, with his head-quarters for many boys, he early formed a romantic conception of so many years in a little village in the interior of Michi- gan. Mr. McGraw's acquisitions are largely invested in real estate and manufactories in Detroit. For some time the attractions of the sea, and a sea-faring life, and left home, soon after reaching the age of fifteen, to try his fortunes in that direction. Upor reaching Roches- | following 1872, he curtailed his business operations,
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intending to settle down to a more quiet life; but this | lege, at Albion, Michigan, where he remained until he purpose underwent a change. in 1876, from the convic- tion that he would best accomplish his mission by con- tributing his labor and his capital to the industries of the country, and thus giving employment to the masses. Politically, Mr. McGraw's position is independent, rather than partisan. Religiously, he is a member of the Epis- copal Church, though his views are liberal towards all Christian denominations. He is a member of the Ma- sonic Fraternity, and of the Knights Templar. He was married, April 13, 1848, to Sarah J. Telden, daughter of James Gordon, and granddaughter of Rodman Haz- ard, of Hancock, Massachusetts,-formerly an influen- tial politician of Massachusetts, who was for upwards of twenty years a member of the Legislature of that State. Their only children were two daughters, one of whom died in 1868, and the other in 1869.
ASON, STEVENS THOMPSON, First Gov- ernor of Michigan, was the son of General John Mason, of Kentucky, but was born in Virginia, in 1812. When nineteen years of age, he was appointed Secretary of the Territory of Michigan, performing also the duties of Governor. Upon the admission of the State into the Union, he was elected its first Governor, and was re-elected to the position, serving with credit to himself and to the ad- vantage of the people. He died January 4, 1843.
fcGRATH, JOHN WESLEY, Lawyer, Detroit, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 12th of January, 1842, and is of Scotch-Irish descent. His father, Joseph McGrath, a native of Ireland, was born in 1813. His mother, Jane An- drew McGrath, was born at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1823. His parents were married in Ireland, in 1839, and emi- grated to America the same year; upon their arrival they visited the South, with the expectation of locating there, but, owing to the existence of slavery, they sought another home, removing to Philadelphia, where they resided for two years, at the end of which time they came to Detroit. Here they remained until 1854, when they removed to a farm situated in Warren, Ma- comb County, Michigan. Mr. McGrath continued to live at home, until he was eighteen years old, assisting his father in clearing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He taught school during the winter of 1859 and 1860; and, in the spring of the latter year, left home, and entered the preparatory department of Albion Col-
had completed the Freshman and Sophomore years. In the fall of 1864, he entered the law department of Mich- igan University, at Ann Arbor, and continued there during the term which ended in March, 1865. In April he came to Detroit, and attended a three months' course at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College. In July, the same year, he went to Pithole City, Pennsylvania, devoting one month's time to the land brokerage busi- ness. He was then engaged in the mercantile trade at Oil City, until the fall of 1867, at which time he re- turned to Michigan, and resumed his studies in the law department of the Michigan University. In March, 1868, he received his diploma; after which he returned home, and worked on the farm until the following De- cember, when he located in Detroit, and opened a law office. Mr. McGrath votes with the Republican party. He was married in 1871, and has three children. For four years he has been a member of the Board of Edu- cation of the city of Detroit; he is quite prominent in the membership of the Masonic Fraternity, and of the order of Odd-Fellows. Mr. McGrath, although young in years, stands high, as one of Detroit's attorneys, and will make his mark in the profession in which he is engaged.
KINSTRY, COMMODORE JAMES P., late of Detroit, was born in Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York, February 9, 1807, and was the son of Colonel Mckinstry, one of the old pioneers of Detroit. He received an English and clas- sical education at Hillsdale, New York. At nineteen he entered the United States navy as midshipman; he passed through the intermediate grades, and, in 1853, was appointed Commander of the mail steamer "Georgia," plying between New York and Aspinwall. In 1855, and for several succeeding years, he commanded the . United States steamer which carried the mail from New York to Panama. In 1861, with Commodore Frederick Engle, he went overland to China, to relieve the officers of the United States fleet. It was feared that the Cap- tains were disloyal, and might place their vessels in the hands of the Confederates. The fleet was brought safely home; but, while running the batteries off Port Hudson, Commodore Mckinstry received wounds from which he never recovered, although he remained in active service for several years. In 1861 he commanded the blockad- ing ship, "Monongahela ;" in 1862 he was commis- sioned Captain; and, in 1866, was promoted to Commo- dore. A few months later, he was placed upon the retired list, after a service of over forty years. Com- modore Mckinstry was a competent and accomplished officer, and a man who gained many friends. We quote
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the following from a letter written by Rear Admiral | apprenticeship having expired, he removed to Detroit, H. W. Bruce of the English navy: "Allow me to offer my best acknowledgments for the kindness and attention that I and my companions have met with at your hands, a circumstance which has contributed essen- tially towards rendering our voyage agreeable. I would also beg leave to express the gratification I felt in wit- nessing the watchful seamanship and ability with which your ship was conducted, inspiring me with confidence in her safety and success." Commodore Mckinstry was advised to resign, during the late war, but he indig- nantly replied that the Government had supported him for many years, and he would never desert it in its hour of peril. In politics, Commodore Mckinstry was an unwavering Democrat, both in principle and practice. He was an Odd-Fellow and held many important offices in that society. Although a Christian, he never united with any denomination. January 23, 1858, he married Mrs. Mary ( Williams) Swart, daughter of General J. R. Williams, of Detroit. February 21, 1873, he died, and was buried in Highland Cemetery.
Michigan, where he obtained a situation as clerk in the wholesale establishment of Buhl, Ducharme & Co., remaining two years. At the end of this time, through the influence of his father, he obtained the position of general purchasing agent of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad. While performing these duties, he attracted the attention of an extensive railroad contractor, who had several large contracts in Canada; others for build- ing piers, bridges, and docks at Detroit and Grand Haven, and laying and ballasting track for the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad Company. These extensive operations necessitated the employment of a large num- ber of men; and such was the confidence in the practical ability of Mr. McMillan that to him was delegated the management of affairs in Michigan, including the em- ployment of men, the purchase of supplies, the charge of financial matters, and all else pertaining to such enterprises. Mr. McMillan, at that time, was only twenty years of age. The experience acquired in con- ducting this extensive business was of great value in after years. Ile remained in this employment until the completion of the works. In 1860 he was induced to accept his old position of general purchasing agent for the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, which he held for cMILLAN, JAMES, Detroit, Treasurer and Manager of the Michigan Car Company, was born May 12, 1838, at Hamilton, Ontario. He is the son of William and Grace McMillan, both natives of Scotland, who emigrated to Canada in 1834, and settled in Hamilton. His father was, for a long period, a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. For a number of years, he was connected with the Great Western Railway, of Canada, and resided at Ilamilton, where he enjoyed the high esteem of the people. He was a prosperous man in all his undertakings, and was the means of bringing prosperity to others. He died within a few years of the three-score and ten, leaving, for the emulation of his sons, the record of a life which is a striking illustration of what can be accomplished by constant adherence to rectitude and all that ennobles man. Mr. James McMillan, the second son in a family of six sons and one daughter, was blessed with the loving care of a refined and accomplished mother. It several years. In the meantime, a warm friendship had sprung up between Mr. McMillan and John S. New- berry, which resulted in a business arrangement, and in the formation of the Michigan Car Company,-the latter taking the Presidency, and the former becoming Secretary. Mr. McMillan afterwards assumed the active management of the company, and also of the Detroit Car-wheel Company, a sister enterprise, in which they embarked in 1867. When he first took active charge of the car company, its business amounted to three hundred thousand dollars per annum; it has since been two million two hundred and eighty thousand dollars in a single year. The car-wheel company business was seventy-five thousand dollars per year; and is now five hundred thousand dollars per year. In 1870 the firm established similar works in St. Louis, Missouri; and, in 1872, they built car and wheel works in London, Onta- rio. In the three establishments, the amount of business done has been as high as five million dollars in a single can not be wondered, therefore, that under such parental | year; a result unequaled by any other car builders in the country. The works in Detroit were kept in oper- ation during the panic of 1873-74, giving employment to four hundred men, the number being subsequently increased to eight hundred. With this force, they man- ufacture nine cars per day ; consuming fifty-four tons of cast-iron; fifteen tons of bar-iron; and fifty thousand feet of lumber, at a running expense of about five thousand dollars per day. Their car rebuilding and repairing business is also very extensive. Mr. McMillan
influence, he has risen rapidly to the eminence he now enjoys. He received a thorough school education at the well-known establishment of Doctor Tassie, at Hamilton ; and qualified himself for a collegiate course. When fourteen years of age, having a strong inclination for practical affairs, he chose to forego his college course and to learn his further lessons in the broader school of active business life. He therefore entered on an appren- ticeship for four years in a hardware store, where he learned the details of business. In 1856, his term of | is treasurer and manager of several car-loan companies,
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in which he and Mr. Newberry own a controlling inter- | his father, to manage the latter's business affairs in Con- est. The cash capital is nearly three million dollars; and the property consists of several thousand freight- cars which are leased and loaned to railroads throughout the country. Mr. McMillan is also interested in other business enterprises, including the Fulton Iron and Engine Works; the Detroit Sced Company; and two large grain elevators at Detroit and Grand Haven. He
necticut, which he did for the next five years. Having become restive under the restraints of a dull New Eng- land town, he determined to seek a more extended field of operations; and, in the fall of 1845, started for Fort Wayne, Indiana, which was then an enterprising little town, fast growing into prominence through the opening of the Wabash Canal. It was his purpose to engage in is a Director in the First National Bank; in the Mutual the fur trade, and he had forwarded a stock of merchan- Life Insurance Company; in the Detroit Savings Bank; dise from the East, by lake. In consequence of the early in the Detroit City Railroad Company; and other enter- closing of navigation in the fall of that year, his stock, prises. He has served for two terms as a member of which was shipped to Fort Wayne, was carried to De- the Board of Estimates of the city of Detroit. He was troit, and this circumstance compelled him to visit that reared in the faith of the Presbyterian Church, of which city to look after his goods. Upon arriving there, he he has been a member for many years. In politics, he at once comprehended the great commercial advantages is a Republican, and is a member of the State Central of Detroit, and selected it as his future place of resi- Committee, and of the City Committee. In 1860, he married Miss Mary L. Wetmore, of Detroit. They dence, carrying on a fur trade with the Indians for the purpose of gathering peltries and furs for shipment to have had seven children, of whom four sons and two Europe. He followed this business with fair success until 1861, when he engaged in manufacturing fine-cut tobacco, in partnership with Frank Nevin, under the firm name of Nevin & Mills. This firm continued until 1878, when, after the death of Mr. Nevin, Mr. Mills organized, in connection with W. H. Tefft, the Banner Tobacco Company of Detroit, becoming President and manager of the company, which purchased and contin- ued the business of the firm of Nevin & Mills. Mr. Mills has been an earnest promoter of manufacturing enterprises in the city of Detroit, having assisted in the organization of two of the largest stove factories in the
daughters are now living. Mr. McMillan's business career has been marked by the exhibition of those sound qualities of mind, as well as personal habits, which make success almost a certainty ; rare executive ability, which is indispensable to success in the management of all large manufacturing interests, and great energy and tact. These qualities were developed in early life, and have enabled him to acquire an almost princely fortune at an age when the majority of men have barely suc- ceeded in laying its foundation. He is one of the few whom rapid fortune has not changed. By his aid, many young men have received their start in life, and not a country. In 1867 he engaged with W. H. Tefft and few have become successful in business by his sound advice and practical help.
Jeremiah Dwyer, in the Detroit Stove Works; and, in 1872, in company with the late Charles Ducharme and Jeremiah Dwyer, in the Michigan Stove Works. Both of these establishments have been eminently successful and are among the leading ones in Detroit. Together they give constant employment to nine hundred men. In 1875 Mr. Mills, associated with W. H. Tefft, Hon. J. J. Bagley, and others, founded the Detroit Iron and Brass Company, which has also proved a successful enterprise, and employs about one hundred and fifty men. He has been Vice-President of each of the corporations above named, since their organization, refusing to accept the office of President of either on account of the pressure of his business. Mr. Mills was Mayor of Detroit from 1866 to 1868. In the fall of the latter year, he was nominated on the Democratic ticket as Representative to Congress from the First District, which then com- prised the counties of Wayne, Monroe, Lenawee, and Hillsdale, and which, two years previous, had given a Republican majority for Congressman of about four thousand five hundred. Though unable to overcome this large majority, he reduced it to fifteen hundred. With the exception of being a member of the Board of
ILLS, HON. M. I., of Detroit, Michigan, was born at Canton, Connecticut, November 4, 1818. He received his early education at the common schools of his native place, and pre- pared to enter Yale College at the Connecticut Literary Institute, of Suffield. Being an only son, it was the desire of his father, who was a prominent business man of Canton, that he should receive a college education, with a view to adopting a profession. This, however, was contrary to the tastes and wishes of the son, who declined to attend college, preferring to engage in busi- ness pursuits. Accordingly, in 1833, when fifteen years of age, he entered upon active business, assisting his father in the manufacture and sale of gunpowder. This he continued until 1838, when he went to Southern Ala- bama, and was there occupied two years in looking after his father's interest in a mercantile house. In 1840 he was called home, in consequence of the failing health of | Estimates, he has, since 1868, steadily declined public
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office. He has always been a Democrat, and has taken | fully for many years. In 1859 Mr. Moore was appointed great interest in politics, having, in 1857 and 1858, been |United States Consul at Windsor, Canada. He was the Chairman of the Democratic State Committee. During the civil war, he was a War Democrat, and assisted, both by his means and influence, in the work of recruit- ing regiments in Detroit. He was delegate - at-large from the State to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis, in 1876, which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for the Presidency. He married, at Canton, Connecticut, in 1850, Miss C. Barber, daughter of the late Samuel C. Barber, of Canton. They have two children,-a son and a daughter.
OORE, JACOB WILKIE, Detroit, was born in Geneva, New York, May 13, 1814. He is the son of Aaron Moore and Mary Wilkie, and grandson of General Moore, of Massachusetts. Mr. Moore's father died in 1817. His mother after- wards married Peter N. Hard, who had charge of the academy at Geneva for several years. The family re- moved to Mt. Morris, Livingston County, New York, and settled on a piece of wild land, which Mr. Moore helped to clear. At the age of sixteen, he chose the trade of a silversmith. Finding the business too con- fining, he abandoned it, after three years' service, and persuaded his step-father to sell his farm and emigrate to the Territory of Michigan. They embarked at Buf- falo, on board the steamer "William Penn;" and, after a five days' passage, arrived in Detroit, November 1, 1833. Mr. Moore soon left, by wagon, -the only means of travel at that time,-for Ann Arbor, where he re- mained about one year. He then went to Monroe, and became a clerk ; first, in the American House, - a hotel kept by S. S. Parker; and, afterwards, in the grocery store of the late James McBride. His savings, having reached the sum of fifty dollars, were invested in forty acres of Government land, which he soon sold for one hundred dollars. Thus began his real estate specula- tions, in which he has been quite successful. In com- pany with Mr. Sherman, Mr. Moore took a contract for excavating on the line of the Wabash and Maumee Canal, at Toledo; after carrying on the work for a year, he sold out to other parties. Upon the breaking out of the Toledo War, he went with the militia to preserve the rights of Michigan. On his returu, he settled at Flat Rock, Wayne County, where there was a reserva- tion of Wyandotte Indians. In the Patriot War of 1838-39, Mr. Moore was employed as a secret agent of the United States Government, which position he filled satisfactorily, receiving his soldier's bounty of one hun- dred and sixty acres of land. In 1845 he went into the general real estate business, which he followed success-
first Consul to raise the American flag on the western borders of Canada; and, although the town was filled with rebels who had made threats to tear it down, Mr. Moore kept it waving over the consulate throughout his term of service. During the civil war, he took an active part in the Union cause. For several years, he was Corresponding Secretary of the O. D. C. S .; and, at their last annual meeting in New York, he was created a life peer, - an honor conferred upon only two others in the United States. Mr. Moore served eight years as a member of the Board of Education; and was elected Secretary of the Board, which office he resigned. He served as Deputy Collector of Customs, under Collector Charles G. Hammond; and was afterwards appointed to a position in the Secret Service Department. He is an active member of the Methodist Church; and has served as class-leader, exhorter, and Sabbath-school superin- tendeurt. Mr. Moore was married, in 1843, to Margaret Berthelet, daughter of the late Henry Berthelet. Her death occurred February 18, 1875. Mr. Moore has one son, Joseph B. Moore, who is connected with the First National Bank of Detroit.
ORELL, GEORGE, of Detroit, Michigan, was born at Lenox, Massachusetts, March 22, 1786. His ancestors were French Huguenots, who, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1635, fled from France to Germany, and came thence to this country. Mr. Morell was educated at Lenox Academy and Williams College, and graduated from the latter in 1807. He studied law in Troy, New York, with John Russell, one of the most prominent lawyers of his day. Hon. William L. Marcy, Judge of the Su- preme Court of New York, and Reuben H. Walworth, Chancellor of the State of New York, were fellow-stu- dents with him in Mr. Russell's office. He was admitted to the bar as an attorney, February 14, 1811; and as counselor, October 31, 1818. He settled in Coopers- town, Otsego County, New York, in 1811, and resided there until 1832. Mr. Morell was Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Otsego, in 1815; master in chancery, in 1819; solicitor and counselor in chancery, in 1823. He was appointed first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Otsego County, New York, August 20, 1827, and was re-appointed in 1832. In November, 1828, he was elected member of the As- sembly for Otsego. He was appointed one of the Judges of the United States Court for the Territory of Michigan, February 26, 1832, and held the office until the admission of Michigan as a State. . In 1836 he
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cessful in his business, his success did not result row or grasping spirit. To share his ventures was his first impulse, and he almost always "tal for his associates. He was a helpful physical or financial, always appealed sympathy -a trait in his character sses of property. Mr. Merrill's ideas ·ligious faith was that of the Unita-
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'tice of the Supreme Court of the | Portland to Lincoln, Maine, and engaged in lumbering d, in 1842, Chief-Justice of that until 1848, when he took up his residence in Detroit. '32, he served in the militia in He commenced lumbering upon the lands he had entered and rose through all grades in 1836, and also entered extensive pine lands in various other parts of the State. He built saw-mills in Saginaw and Muskegon, which he kept in operation until his death ; and one at Falmouth, in Missaukee County, hav- ant to Major-General. He Vebb, daughter of General ring the Revolutionary nt of a company from ing, in fact, built the town, and named it after his birth-
the army at Cam- place in Maine. His lumber business in time so in-
Bunker Hill. He creased that he was, for a number of years previous to
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at to Connect- turers and owners of pine lands in the State. In 1858
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nt. General he built the Merrill Block, on the corner of Woodward $845. and Jefferson avenues, which was at that time the finest business block in the city of Detroit. Mr. Merrill was a man of great physical endurance, of indomitable energy, and was very careful and methodical in his habits of living. He was an ardent temperance man, i- and was at all times and places an earnest advocate of the temperance movement. In politics, he was a Whig 'ntil the organization of the Republican party, which joined, and, although his retiring disposition forbade eeking political prominence, he was always one of st zealous members. Although Mr. Merrill was
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