USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 100
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Mr. Kling was born in Detroit in 1872, and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of his native city he entered the Michi- gan Military Academy, at Orchard Lake, in
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which well ordered institution he was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1887. Soon after his graduation he was admitted to part- nership with his father in the brewing busi- ness, and within the same year, 1887, the present Philip Kling Brewing Company was incorporated under the laws of the state. At this time August Kling was elected vice-presi- dent, of which office he has since continued incumbent, while he has also been general manager of the business since the retirement of his honored father, in 1899. He has had thorough and discriminating training in the line of enterprise with which he is identified, having learned the practical details of the brewing business in his youth, familiarizing himself with every department, and also be- ing specially disciplined for the responsible executive functions which he now so success- fully exercises. He is known as one of the ambitious and progressive young business men of his native city and his well directed efforts have exerted much influence in promoting the expansion of the enterprise of which he is the administrative head, as his mother is now president of the company and, as a matter of course, only a nominal executive. The sales department, in particular, receives his personal supervision, and he has greatly increased the trade of the concern within the past few years.
Mr. Kling takes a loyal interest in all that concerns his native city. He is a popular and appreciative member of the Harmonie Society and the Detroit Motor Boat Club, and he finds his chief recreation in the latter club and the pleasurable sport for which it stands spon- sor. He commands the esteem of those who know him in both business and social circles, and is one of Detroit's representative business men. He is a bachelor.
JERVIS R. HARBECK.
Mr. Harbeck is treasurer of the Kemiweld Can Company, a description of whose unique and successful industry appears on other pages of this work, and he also has the general man- agement of the practical details of manufac-
turing, besides being the inventor of a number of the machines and processes utilized in the finely equipped plant. To his ability and ap- plication has been in large measure due the upbuilding of the enterprise, which is repre- sented in the manufacturing of fibre cans and boxes for divers purposes, as shown in the specific article heretofore mentioned.
Mr. Harbeck was born in the city of Battle Creek, Calhoun county, Michigan, on the 26th of March, 1878, being a son of Eugene and Emma Grey (Wattles) Harbeck, both of whom were born in the state of New York, where the respective families were early founded. Cornelius Harbeck, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, in an early day, and there engaged in the foundry business, doing prin- cipally a jobbing trade, and there passing the remainder of his life. Eugene Harbeck be- came one of the leading fire-insurance agents of that section of the state and finally removed to Chicago, where from 1885 to 1893 he was general manager of the business controlled from the Chicago office of the Michigan Fire & Marine Insurance Company, of Detroit, whose interests he greatly advanced through his able and persistent efforts. Later he was general manager of the Chicago office of the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, of Brook- lyn, New York, and he continued to reside in the western metropolis until his death, which occurred in 1900. His widow now maintains her home in Detroit, Michigan, and of their children only one is living.
Jervis R. Harbeck was afforded the advan- tages of the public schools of his native city and also those of Detroit, where the family resided for some time, and in 1895 he was matriculated in the University of Chicago, in which he completed a special three years' course, devoting his attention principally to the study of architectural draughting. He was employed at this profession by several well known firms of Chicago, and upon the death of his father he assumed the management of the latter's estate, which included some ex-
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tensive mining properties, with whose opera- tion he is still identified. He is a stockholder and director of the Cresson Consolidated Gold Mining & Milling Company, whose property is one of the three largest producers in the famous Cripple Creek district, and he served as treasurer and general manager of the com- pany from 1900 until 1903, when he resigned the offices. He became one of the chief stock- holders of the Gem Fibre Package Company, of Detroit, at the time of its organization, in 1902, and was secretary and treasurer of the same until February, 1907, when the title was changed to the Kemiweld Can Company, the capital increased and a partial reorganization made. He was retained in the office of treas- urer and a secretary was elected, to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding business. He has, however, in addition to attending to the financial affairs of the company, continued to serve as general superintendent of the en- tire plant, to which he now gives the major portion of his time and attention. He is one of the progressive young business men who are proving potent factors in the development of the larger and greater Detroit and he is popular in both business and social circles in this city, where he has maintained his home since 1903. He is a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Detroit Boat Club, the Detroit Club and the University Club.
In 1903 Mr. Harbeck was united in mar- riage to Miss Marjorie Ewing, daughter of Adlai T. Ewing, a representative member of the Chicago bar, and the two children of this union are a winsome little daughter,-Kate Ewing Harbeck, and a son, Adlai Ewing Harbeck.
KURT KLING.
The younger of the two sons of Philip and Josephine Kling, pioneer citizens of Detroit, he whose name initiates this article is one of the popular young business men of his native city and is secretary and treasurer and super- intendent of the Philip Kling Brewing Com- pany, of which his father was the founder
more than fifty years ago, the enterprise being specifically considered on other pages of this work. Kurt Kling was born in the family homestead, on Jefferson avenue, Detroit, and after duly availing himself of the advantages of the public schools he entered the University of Michigan, taking a special course in the chemical department, and later completing a course in the Schwartz Brewing Academy, in New York city, where he gained a most thor- ough and intimate knowledge of the scientific principles and methods utilized in the business with which he is now prominently identified in an executive and practical capacity. He was chosen secretary and treasurer of the Philip Kling Brewing Company soon after the com- pletion of his work in the institution last men- tioned, and he has since retained this dual ad- ministrative office, having charge of the finan- cial affairs of the company and general super- vision of the manufacturing department, from which statement it may well be understood that he finds ample demands upon his time and attention.
Mr. Kling is well known and enjoys marked popularity in business and social circles. He is identified with the Detroit Club, the Detroit Yacht Club, and the Harmonie Society.
On the 9th of October, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Kurt Kling to Miss Olga Weidner, daughter of Paul Weidner, a promi- nent and influential citizen of Detroit, and they have one son, Philip Kling, named in honor of his paternal grandfather, and one daughter, Paula.
JAMES C. GORDON.
One of the definite and valuable functions of this publication is to accord recognition to those business enterprises in Detroit and Wayne county which stand representative in their line, and under these conditions there is marked consistency in giving a review of the Gordon-Pagel Bread Company and of the lives of those who have been the prime factors in building up the business of the concern. In another department of this volume may be
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found the description of the company men- tioned, and of the same the subject of this article is the president.
Mr. Gordon is a young man of progressive ideas and marked initiative power. He has gained success and prestige as one of the alert and enterprising business men of his native county and has won this advancement through his own well directed efforts. He was born in Greenfield township, Wayne county, Michi- gan, on the 16th of February, 1873, and is a son of William and Christine (Campbell) Gordon, both of whom were born in Scot- land. They were married in the city of Glas- gow and shortly afterward came to America and the father eventually became one of the prosperous farmers and stock-growers of Wayne county, Michigan. He and his wife are now deceased. The early educational ad- vantages of the subject of this sketch were those afforded in the district schools, and when he was but thirteen years of age he went to Buffalo, New York, where he secured em- ployment with the Western Transit Company, by which he was later employed in Chicago. When about seventeen years of age he became an employe in the extensive baking establish- ment of Case & Martin, of that city, where he gained excellent technical knowledge of the line of business in which he is now successfully established. In 1882, when eighteen years of age, Mr. Gordon entered the employ of the Morton Baking Company, of Detroit, and he was engaged as salesman for this concern until 1900, when he resigned his position and formed a partnership with William M. Pagel, under the firm name of Gordon & Pagel. They established a bakery at the corner of Chene and Hendricks streets and from a modest be- ginning have evolved the large and flourish- ing business now conducted under the corpo- rate title of the Gordon-Pagel Bread Com- pany. The growth of the enterprise led to the incorporation of the company, on the 16th of July, 1907, and Mr. Gordon has been its president from that time, besides having the direct supervision of the manufacturing de-
partment. The establishment is thoroughly modern in its equipment and the success of the business is based on careful and honorable methods and upon the high grade of products. Mr. Gordon is a member of the National Bakers' Association and is thoroughly expe- rienced in the line of business to which he is giving his attention. He has never been ac- tive in the domain of practical politics but gives a loyal support to the Republican party.
In the year 1895 was celebrated the mar- riage of Mr. Gordon to Miss Josephine Bidi- gare, daughter of Edward Bidigare, an old- time and popular resident of Detroit, where he has long been prominent in yachting circles. He has constructed a number of fine racing yachts and is an enthusiast in connection with marine sports of this order. He is the owner of valuable real estate in Detroit.
THERON F. GIDDINGS.
One of the able officials who is rendering effective service in maintaining and advancing the prestige of the Michigan Mutual Life In- surance Company, of Detroit, is Mr. Giddings, who is general superintendent of agents and who is a notable figure in the insurance field, having formerly served as state commissioner of insurance.
Mr. Giddings is a native of Michigan, hav- ing been born in the city of Kalamazoo, which then retained the distinction of being a village, a claim in which it took pride long after it had assumed far greater proportions than the aver- age city. He was born on the 25th of De- cember, 1843, and is a son of Orrin N. and Harriet H. Giddings, both natives of the state of New York, whence they came to Michigan in 1836, the year prior to the ad- mission of the state to the Union. The father was a farmer and merchant and was one of the honored pioneers and influential citizens of Kalamazoo county. In 1853 he was elected treasurer of the county, of which office he con- tinued incumbent for eight consecutive years. During the civil war he served as state quar-
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termaster, having been appointed to this office by Hon. Henry H. Crapo, the governor of Michigan. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party, having been a delegate to the historic convention "under the oaks" at Jackson, and he ever afterward continued an ardent supporter of the cause of the "Grand Old Party." He continued his residence in the city of .Kalamazoo until his death, which occurred in 1898, and there his wife died in 1877. Of the children the subject of this sketch is the only one living.
Theron F. Giddings was reared to maturity in his native county and after duly availing himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period he entered Kalamazoo College, where he continued his studies for some time, though not to the point of graduation. His first employment was as a clerk in a mercantile establishment in Kala- mazoo, and about 1867 he went to Kansas, where he remained until the late '6os, when he returned to Kalamazoo, where, in 1869, he engaged in the fire-insurance business. In 1872 he was associated with Frank Hender- son, of the present Henderson-Ames Com- pany, of that city.
In 1879, as candidate on the Republican ticket, Mr. Giddings was elected clerk of Kala- mazoo county, and the efficiency of his service and the extent of his personal popularity on his "native heath" are best vouched for in the fact that he continued in this office for the long period of twelve years. In 1891 he was ap- pointed receiver of the National City Bank of Marshall, Calhoun county, and made a splen- did record in straightening out the affairs of that institution, which eventually paid one hundred cents on the dollar, besides an inter- est of five per cent. In 1893 Governor John T. Rich appointed Mr. Giddings to the re- sponsible and exacting office of state commis- sioner of insurance, and he served in this ca- pacity until 1897, when he assumed his present position with the Michigan Mutual Life In- surance Company, in August of that year. In 1893 he received the appointment to the office
of United States marshal, but declined the position. His knowledge of the insurance business is intimate and profound, being spe- cially reinforced through his official service as insurance commissioner, and he has proven a most valuable official to the great company of which he is now an executive.
In the year 1869 Mr. Giddings was united in marriage to Miss Julia E. D'Arcambal, daughter of Charles S. D'Arcambal, a leading druggist of Kalamazoo, and the only child of this union now living is Bessie, who is the wife of Frederick F. Brush, of Detroit.
AARON A. PARKER.
(Since the following article was prepared, has occurred the death of Mr. Parker, who passed away on the 13th of November, 1908.)
One of the most prominent and influential capitalists and active business men of Detroit is Aaron A. Parker, whose interests are of wide scope and importance and who has been especially prominent in connection with lake- marine affairs,-a principal in the ownership and operation of many vessels, in both pas- senger and freight service. He is a man of broad mental grasp, is liberal and progressive as a citizen, and is well entitled to considera- tion as one of the leading captains of industry in the metropolis of Michigan.
Near the city of Buffalo, in Erie county, New York, Mr. Parker was born on the Ist of March, 1844, being a son of Horace and Vir- ginia (Whitaker) Parker, both of whom con- tinued to reside in the old Empire state until 1871, when they removed to Detroit, where they passed the residue of their lives. The father was a farmer by vocation and was a man of sterling character and strong men- tality. The subject of this review received but limited educational advantages in his youth, his privileges being confined to those offered by the district schools, and he early developed that self-reliance, energy and ambition which have so significantly characterized his entire career as a man of affairs.
a a Parker
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In 1861, when but seventeen years of age, Mr. Parker associated himself with five other gentlemen in forming a company which pro- ceeded to Oil Creek, Venango county, Penn- sylvania, where petroleum oil had been found in small quantities. They bought out a well that had been started by persons who had no engine with which to operate the same, being thus compelled to sell the property, which the Parker company thus secured. The well was then drilled down to a depth of somewhat more than five hundred feet and when oil was finally struck a yield of eighty barrels a day was secured. About the same time there were other wells started up and down this same creek, and as the oil flowed from the wells it was found that there was no sale for the pro- duct in such large quantities, as developments had not as yet been carried forward sufficiently to determine the practical value of the oil for commercial and general domestic purposes. Certain persons had, however, learned how to treat the crude product and make from it the kerosene oil. Young Parker and another young man of his company devised a method of refining this oil, and soon erected a small refinery, which proved adequate to handling the oil from the company's well and get good results and returns from it. Most of those in the oil fields at that time became discour- aged and returned home, but young Parker was built of sterner stuff and determined to stay on the ground and see the project through. The result was that when, in the fall of 1862 and continuing into the following year, there grew up such a demand for the oil, the prices for the crude product rapidly appreciated, reaching in 1864 as high a point as fourteen dollars a barrel. From the sale of oil under these conditions and through disposing of cer- tain of his oil interests Mr. Parker cleared up about sixty thousand dollars,-and this be- fore he was twenty-one years of age. Then, like some others who were flocking into the oil regions at that time, he put about thirty thousand dollars into some farms which he thought would develop good oil fields but
which showed results to the contrary, thus involving the loss of his investment. His father, who was a very prosperous farmer, having one of the most complete dairy farms in western New York at the time, was a partner in the oil business of the son up to this time, and after the oil interests were sold the subject of this sketch came to Detroit, where he took up his permanent residence in 1867. Here, in company with his maternal uncle, Byron Whitaker, he bought a half in- terest in two sailing vessels, his uncle at the time having been interested in the lake ship- ping and forwarding business. Very soon after his arrival in Detroit Mr. Parker made this transaction, by purchasing the interest of his uncle's partner, Mr. Olney, and the firm name was then changed to Whitaker & Parker. The firm owned its own vessels and engaged in a general forwarding and brokerage busi- ness in connection with lake-marine naviga- tion. In 1868 Messrs. Whitaker and Parker were prevailed upon to furnish the money with which to build a sawmill for the sawing of hard-wood lumber, secured from the river bank just above Detroit. This proved a very poor venture, and in addition to this misfor- tune Mr. Whitaker's health became impaired, and two of the vessels owned by the firm were lost within a period of ten days, both having been caught in severe gales, which they proved unable to weather.
Under the conditions just noted, in the fall of 1869, Mr. Parker purchased his uncle's in- terest in the mill business, thinking it possible that, now that he had familiarized himself with the business, he might be able to make from it at least a living for himself. He struggled along under adverse circumstances which reached culmination in the financial panic of 1873, when he found himself, as he has expressed it, "down and out." He sold his mill and other incidental properties for what he could get, closed up the business, and found himself four thousand dollars in debt. He was not discouraged, however, and began selling Connellsville coke for Overholt &
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Company, of West Newton, Pennsylvania, the the manager of a fine fleet of steamers and father of the head of this concern having been other vessels, with headquarters in Detroit, and the business of this concern was conducted under the firm name of Parker & Millen, those interested being the two Parker brothers and Mr. Millen. This firm did a marine insurance and brokerage business, together with wreck- ing of steamers and other vessels on the lakes, having purchased a well equipped wrecking plant, which was operated under the title of the Swain Wrecking Company. This com- pany continued operations for ten years, at the expiration of which the Parker brothers purchased the interest of Captain Millen and changed the title of the concern to A. A. & B. W. Parker. In the meanwhile the two brothers had also purchased some interests in other boats and steamers, two of the latter being the "B. W. Blanchard" and the "John Pridgeon, Jr." They chartered out these two steamers to run in connection with the Clover Leaf Railroad line from Toledo to Buffalo, and the Soo line from Gladstone, Michigan, to Buffalo. the founder of the distillery in which was first manufactured the famous Old Overholt whisky. Mr. Parker continued to be thus en- gaged for one year and then bought the pro- duct of the ovens of the firm. The property later passed into the possession of Henry C. Frick, and Mr. Parker continued his connec- tion with the new concern, selling the coke product of the H. C. Frick Company in De- troit and Michigan for a quarter of a century. The first money that he made out of the coke business he invested in an old vessel, and from any money derived from the service of the latter he bought other vessels, eventually build- ing up a prosperous business. About 1877 he admitted to partnership his brother, Byron W. Parker, who was given a half interest, under the firm name of A. A. Parker & Brother. In 1879 they became associated with Hugh W. Dyar in the purchase of the schooner "John Wesley," and in the following year these same three principals also purchased the steamer "Anna Smith," such a steamer being needed to tow the schooners already owned. Operations were conducted under the title of the Parker Transportation Company, and Aaron A. Parker was president and general manager. Later the company purchased the schooner "J. C. King," and the steamers "Minneapolis," "Santiago," and "Redwing." The lake transportation business was good at that period and these vessels paid for them- selves within from three to six years after their purchase by the Parker Transportation Com- pany.
In 1891 John Pridgeon, Jr., became one of the interested principals in the company, and under the name of the Pridgeon Transit Com- pany the steamer "A. A. Parker" and the barge "B. W. Parker" were brought out and put into effective commission. The subject of this sketch was the prime mover, president and head of all these concerns. In 1880 The Par- ker Brothers formed also an alliance with Cap- tain James Millen, who was part owner and
About 1892 the Parker brothers and John Pridgeon, Jr., bought the old steamer "Grey- hound" and put the same into commission on the Detroit river. After operating the same one year they also bought the "City of Tole- do," which had been owned by Toledo men, and this was put into service with the "Grey- hound," making the old river boats pool their interests with them. The company finally saw that in order to hold this river business they must put on some large, elegant boats before somebody else did it, so they contracted for and had built the steamer "Tashmoo," which was built by the Detroit Shipbuilding Com- pany, and this fine new passenger and freight vessel was put into service on the river, in connection with the two boats already men- tioned. Later the company built the new "Greyhound," which took the place of the old one of the same name. This gave to the com- pany two of the finest steamers on fresh water, each having a capacity for the carrying of four thousand persons. They have since'
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bought the steamer "Owana," so that they now have four staunch and beautiful steel boats.
At the time of the purchase of the old "Greyhound" Mr. Parker could clearly see that it was necessary for his company to have adequate dock facilities in Detroit, and he forthwith became associated with his brother, Captain Millen, William C. McMillan and W. K. Anderson in the purchasing of the dock at the foot of Griswold street, buying the same from the Moses W. Field estate. They after- ward secured the vacant property at the lower side of Griswold street and thereon erected a building at a cost of fifty thousand dollars. This was all used by the White Star Line, but the Parker brothers and John Pridgeon, Jr., hold a controlling interest in both the steamers and the dock property. This is now regarded as one of the finest pieces of real estate in the city of Detroit, and the title of the White Star Line was adopted only in 1896. That line now has four of the best passenger steamers on the river and the best of dock fa- cilities at Detroit, Port Huron and Toledo.
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