Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 101

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 858

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Mr. Parker was the promoter of all these important enterprises, and the practical con- solidation of interests is the result of his efforts and his keen discernment as to the best methods for the attaining of the best and most permanent returns. As early as 1902 he be- came convinced that the old wooden boats in which he was interested and which were util- ized in the carrying of heavy freight, including grain or ore, were destined to be superseded by the larger and more substantial steel vessels such as the ore and coal companies, as well as other concerns, were building, and he accord- ingly advised the different companies owning the old type of boats to dispose of the same to the best possible advantage, the companies in which he was interested in such properties taking his advice and being the gainers thereby.

In the meanwhile the coal business of A. A. Parker & Brother had been established, under the management of Byron W. Parker, for the

handling of all kinds of coke, coal, sand, fire- brick, foundry supplies, etc., and the A. A. & B. W. Parker marine insurance business had grown to large proportions. The result was that in 1903, primarily on account of the some- what impaired health of Aaron A. Parker, so long the executive head of these and other enterprises, it was decided to organize what is known as the Parker Brothers Company, Limited, into which were admitted as asso- ciates a number of young men who had long been faithful and trusted employes of the Par- kers, several of the number having been em- ployed by the brothers for a period of twenty- five years. These younger men were given a half interest in the business of the two con- cerns last mentioned, besides drawing good salaries, and the other half of the business is still owned by the Parker brothers. The en- terprise represented by the Parker Brothers Company, Limited, is now the largest of the kind in Detroit, marked advancement having been made under the new regime.

In recapitulation it may be said that Aaron Parker has served as president of the White Star Line, the Parker Transportation Com- pany and the Peninsular Transit Company, was formerly president of the Detroit River Savings Bank, known as the Marine Savings Bank, which latter was finally merged into the present Dime Savings Bank, in which Mr. Parker is a director. His energy has been practically unswerving during all the long years of a signally active and successful career, and he is a broad-minded, liberal busi- ness man, known and honored as one of the sterling citizens who have done much to fur- there the progress of the city of Detroit. He is a staunch Republican in politics, and is identified with various social, fraternal and semi-business organizations in his home city.

In 1868 Mr. Parker was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary (Dennis) Hayes, of Detroit. They have no children, but Mrs. Parker had one son by her previous marriage,-Harry, who died in 1907.

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ARTHUR S. FETTERS.

One of the representative enterprises of its kind in the city of Detroit is that conducted by the American Brewing Company, of which in- dividual mention is made in this publication and of which the subject of this sketch is sec- retary. He is one of the alert and progres- sive young business men of his native city and is properly accorded recognition in this publication.

Mr. Fetters was born in Detroit, on the 26th of February, 1870, and is a son of Gus- tave and Augusta (Kees) Fetters, both of whom were born in the old country. Gustave Fetters was reared and educated in his native land, whence he came to America in 1859, soon afterward taking up his residence in De- troit. Here he became chief clerk in the retail grocery of Peter Henkel, and later he became manager of the business, which was eventually expanded into the wholesale trade. He con- tinued to be identified with this concern until 1890, and thereafter lived virtually retired until his death, which occurred in 1896. In 1890 he was one of the organizers of the Ex- position Brewing Company, of which he was chosen treasurer. Of this company the Ameri- can Brewing Company is the direct successor. Gustave Fetters was one of the representative German-American citizens of Detroit and was a man to whom was ever accorded unequivo- cal confidence and esteem. He became the owner of a large amount of valuable real es- tate in the city and through his well directed energies accumulated a competency. He was one of the charter members of Schiller Lodge, No. 263, Free & Accepted Masons, and served as its treasurer for many years. He was a Republican in his political proclivities and both he and his wife were members of the German Evangelical church. Mrs. Fetters' death oc- curred in 1899, and they are survived by six children,-Arthur S., Edward A., Anna, Bertha, Gustave W., and Emma.

Arthur S. Fetters, the immediate subject of this sketch, attended the public schools and a German-American academy in Detroit, and in

1887 he was graduated in the Detroit Busi- ness University. Soon afterward he entered upon an apprenticeship to the printer's trade, in the office of W. S. Ostler, and he became a skilled artisan in this trade, whose discipline has been consistently pronounced equivalent to a liberal education. After the organization of the Ostler Printing Company Mr. Fetters be- came superintendent of its plant, and he con- tinued incumbent of this position until 1893, when he established a job-printing business of his own, opening an office on Congress street west, near Wayne street, and later removing to 72 Larned street east, where he continued in successful business until 1902, when he sold out to the Gregory, Mayer & Thom Company. In the same year he was elected secretary of the American Brewing Company, of which his father was one of the organizers, and he has since held this executive office, whose duties he has discharged with signal ability and dis- cretion, having general charge of the office affairs of the company and also of the sales department.

Mr. Fetters is a Republican in politics, is identified with various social and fraternal organizations and enjoys distinctive popularity in his native city.

On the 14th of June, 1899, Mr. Fetters was united in marriage to Miss Lillian M. Ortwine, daughter of Captain Peter Ortwine, a promi- nent and popular officer of the Detroit fire department. The children of this union are: Margaret, Arthur, Helen and George.

FRED A. GOODMAN.

Among the well known and distinctively popular native sons of the fair "City of the Straits" is numbered the subject of this sketch, who is incumbent of a clerkship in the office of the treasurer of Wayne county and who was long identified with hotel interests in his native city.

Mr. Goodman was born in Detroit, on the 16th of October, 1871, and is a son of Alfred and Ulenna H. (Bradley) Goodman, the for-

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mer of whom was born in London, England, and the latter in Michigan. Alfred Goodman took up his residence in Detroit in the early '50s and here passed the residue of his long and useful life. In 1861 he purchased the hotel known as the Grand River House, at the corner of Griswold street and Grand River avenue. This hotel had been established in 1846, by M. Salter, a pioneer boniface of the city. In 1868 Mr. Goodman erected a new hotel building on the site of the old house and designated the same the Goodman House. Under this title it was conducted by him indi- vidually until 1890, when he admitted to part- nership his son, Fred A., subject of this sketch, and they continued to be associated in the man- agement of the hotel until June 1, 1895, when the father leased the property to Fred Postal and retired from active business. In 1897 he built an annex at the rear of the building and later added two stories to the original struc- ture, which was four stories in height. The building is now one of the leading commercial hotels of Detroit, having two hundred guest rooms and being essentially modern in its appointments and equipment. Mr. Postal adopted the title of Griswold House at the time of assuming control and he and his asso- ciate, A. E. Morey, now conduct the hotel under that name. This has become a valuable property and represents a large portion of the estate left by Alfred Goodman at his death, which occurred on the 18th of June, 1903. He was a man of distinctive business acumen, was genial and kindly and had a host of friends not only in Detroit but among the traveling public. He was a loyal and liberal citizen and merits a place of honor as one of the popular and successful hotel men who have aided in maintaining the prestige of Detroit. His widow is still living, and of their children the only survivor is the subject of this sketch. The daughter, Nellie Jean, became the wife of George C. Waldo, former treasurer of Wayne county, and her death occurred on the 12th of September, 1905; she is survived by two children,-Ulenna H. and Nellie G.

Fred A. Goodman was reared to manhood in Detroit, where he has ever maintained his home. He duly availed himself of the advan tages of the public schools and was graduated in the Central high school as a member of the class of 1889. In the following year, as already noted, he was admitted to partnership with his father in the hotel business, and there- after he was for the greater portion of the time active manager of the Goodman House until the same was leased to Mr. Postal. His father's health became seriously impaired and from 1898 until the death of the latter, in 1903, he had the management of the estate, in which capacity he has since continued to serve.

In April, 1905, Mr. Goodman became a clerk in the office of the county treasurer; his brother-in-law, Mr. Waldo, was county treas- urer at the time, having been elected to the office in the preceding January. After the re- tirement of Mr. Waldo Mr. Goodman con- tinued to serve under his successor, and he has since held the clerkship, being one of the able and valued employes identified with the ad- ministration of the county's affairs. In poli- tics he is unwavering in his allegiance to the Republican party, in the promotion of whose cause he has been an efficient worker.

Mr. Goodman was one of the charter mem- bers of the Detroit Wheelmen, and served two years as a member of the direct- orate of this popular social organization. He is affiliated with the Detroit Lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and has served as its organist since 1897. He is also identified with the Masonic frater- nity, including Moslem Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge, No. 297, Free & Accepted Masons. His popularity in his native city is still further indicated by his membership in the Grosse Pointe Ice Yacht Club and the Detroit Mu- sicians' Club. He has much musical talent and is president and manager of the Schmemann military band, which is one of the best in the

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state and which has been the official band of the First Regiment of the Michigan National Guard since 1889.

On the 3d of May, 1897, Mr. Goodman was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Mackay, daughter of Captain John Mackay, of Good- rich, Ontario, who was for many years identi- fied with the marine service of the Great Lakes. Mr. and Mrs. Goodman have two children,- Consuelo and Gwendolyn.

AUGUST EKHARDT.

A prominent representative of the brewing industry in Detroit and known as a loyal citi- zen and reliable and public-spirited business man, Mr. Ekhardt well merits consideration in this publication.

August Ekhardt is a native of the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, where he was born on the 24th of April, 1846, and is a son of John Ekhardt, likewise born in Bavaria. The sub- ject of this sketch was a mere child at the time of his mother's death, and when he was about eight years of age his father immigrated to America and settled near the city of Hamilton, province of Ontario, Canada, where he pur- chased land and engaged in farming. There he continued to reside during the remainder of his life, being a man of sterling integrity and having the esteem of all who knew him.

August Ekhardt was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and such educational ad- vantages as the district schools could offer rep- resented the agencies through which he gained his early education. He continued to be identi- fied with farm work until 1864, when, at the age of eighteen years, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he learned the brewing business in all its details, having been employed by different brewing companies in that city and having finally become brew master for the Lion brewery, owned by the firm of Weindish & Mülhauser. In 1872 Mr. Ekhardt took up his residence in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he and his brother Fredolin became proprietors and operators of the City Brewery, under the

firm name of Ekhardt Brothers. In the fol- lowing year they sold the business, and the subject of this review then came to Detroit and accepted the position of brew master in the Philip Kling brewery, with which he continued to be connected until 1877, when he entered the employ of the B. Stroh Brewing Company. He held a responsible position with this con- cern until 1881, when he and his brother Fredolin took up their residence in Toledo, Ohio, where they entered into partnership with Robert Lehman, under the title of Lehman & Ekhardt Brothers, and assumed control of the Buckeye brewery. In 1882 August Ekhardt re- turned to Detroit, and here he has since main- tained his home. He was one of the organizers of the Ekhardt & Becker Brewing Company, and has been president of the same from the time of its incorporation. He is now one of the pioneers in his particular line of business in Detroit and as a business man and citizen his reputation has ever been unassailable. He is a member of the United States Brewers' Asso- ciation, as well as of the brewers' associations of Michigan and Detroit. In 1886 he served as treasurer of the first named organization. He is a stockholder in the Peninsular Bank and also in the Michigan Fibre Company, a pros- perous Detroit institution. He is generically a Republican in politics, supporting the party cause in national and state affairs, but main- taining an independent attitude in respect to local politics, where no dominating issue is in- volved. He and his family are members of St. John's German Lutheran church, and he is identified with the Harmonie Society and with Schiller Lodge, No. 263, Free & Accepted Masons.

In 1871 Mr. Ekhardt was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Hiller, daughter of Joseph Hiller, who was a prosperous farmer at Harri- son, Indiana. Concerning the children of this union the following data are incorporated : Bertha is the wife of Joseph Drolshagen, clerk of the Wayne county probate court, in Detroit; Emma is the wife of Frederick Ekhardt, who is engaged in the grocery business in this city;

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Matilda is the wife of Louis Becker, who is one of the stockholders and directors in the Ekhardt & Becker Brewing Company; Amelia is the wife of Herman Bruckner, who is musi- cal director of the Harmonie Society and is well known in Detroit musical circles; August H. is brew master of the Ekhardt & Becker Brewing Company; Edmund is shipping clerk for the Detroit Oak Belting Company; and Otto is assistant paying teller in the Peninsular Bank of Detroit.

JACOB C. DANZIGER.

It is a matter of gratification to the edi- tors and publishers of this work to accord within its pages representation to those men and agencies which have contributed or are now contributing to the material and civic ad- vancement of the city of Detroit, and in the premises there is all of propriety of giving such consideration to Mr. Danziger, who is secre- tary and treasurer of the corporation of Cowles & Danziger, manager of the Detroit Motor Castings Company, and secretary and treasurer of the Manufacturers' Power Build- ing Company, of each of which noteworthy industrial institutions specific mention is made on other pages of this work, so that a reca- pitulation of the data is not here demanded.

Mr. Danziger is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born in the city of Cincin- nati, Ohio, and being a son of Abraham and Marriane Danziger. Abraham Danziger, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, was reared and educated in his native commonwealth, where he continued to reside until 1855, when he took up his abode in Cincinnati, where he became an extensive manufacturer of cigars and leaf tobacco, with which line of enter- prise he continued to be actively identified un- til 1882, when he retired from business. He continued his residence in the "Queen City" until his death, in 1893, at the age of seventy years. His wife passed away in 1908. The Danziger family was founded in America by Benedict Danziger, who came from Germany

and located in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1820, there becoming a successful manufacturer of malt and a business man of prominence and influence. He was the grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch.

Jacob C. Danziger is indebted to the public schools of his native city for his early educa- . tional training, which was later most effective- ly supplemented by a thorough course in the engineering department of the Stevens Insti- tute of Technology, at Hoboken, New Jersey, in which admirable institution he was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1889, receiv- ing the degree of Mechanical Engineer. After his graduation Mr. Danziger secured a posi- tion as engineer for the Philadelphia branch of the Standard Oil Company, holding this in- cumbency in 1889-90, in which latter year he resigned the office to assume charge of the phy- sical laboratory of the Bethlehem Iron Com- pany, of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with which concern he remained for four years, having been night superintendent of the blast furnaces of the company during the last two years. He resigned his position in 1896 and opened an office in the Chamber of Commerce building, where he engaged in the private work of his profession, as a consulting engineer. In 1900 he became associated with Arthur A. Cowles in a series of experiments in the man- ufacturing of steel barrels, for use in the oil and gasolene trade, and in the following year they formed the firm of Cowles & Danziger, which later was reorganized as a stock com- pany, under the title of the Cowles & Danzi- ger Company, and they commenced the man- ufacture of their steel barrels in Detroit. As before stated, this company and its business are individually described elsewhere in this work. In addition to the other companies with which Mr. Danziger is identified, as noted in the open- ing paragraph of this article, he is also a stock- holder and director of the American Smelt- ing Works, of Detroit, and the Clark Wireless Telegraph Company, of this city, and a stock- holder in the Gies Gear Company, another local concern. Mr. Danziger is a member of

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the Detroit Board of Commerce, and was a & Dean Company, which now controls a large charter member of the Detroit Engineering Society. He is a member of the Detroit Golf Club and other local organizations of a so- cial order, and is a Republican in his political proclivities. Mr. Danziger is a bachelor.

CHARLES A. DEAN.

A representative business man and a popu- lar citizen of Detroit, where his entire life has been passed, Mr. Dean is president of the Pittmans & Dean Company, dealers in coal and ice, and also has other important business interests in his native city.

Mr. Dean was born in Detroit, March 26, 1855, and is a son of Joseph and Harriet (Head) Dean, both natives of England, the former having been born in Birmingham and the latter in Hull. The father immigrated to America and took up his residence in Detroit in 1848, and for many years he was associated with the late Frederick and Christian Buhl in the hat and fur business. He became one of the successful merchants of the city and here continued to reside until his death, which oc- curred in 1880. He was greatly interested in athletics, in which he was an adept, and was one of the founders of the first gymnasium in Detroit. His wife died in 1892, and of their two surviving children the subject of this review is the younger, his sister, Harriet Emma, being the widow of Major John W. Powell, of Washington, D. C.

Charles A. Dean was afforded the advan- tages of the excellent public schools of Detroit, including the high school, and in 1871 he se- cured a position as messenger boy in the Sec- ond National Bank, with which he continued to be identified for a period of ten years, with- in which he rose to the position of discount teller in the institution. In 1881 he estab- lished himself in the coal business, with which line of enterprise he has since continued to be prominently and successfully identified. In 1885 he became associated with James E. and Lansing M. Pittman in forming the Pittmans

wholesale and retail coal business as well as an extensive ice trade, the latter department of the business having been founded about 1887. Mr. Dean is vice-president of the De- troit Savings Bank and is a director of each of the following named corporations: Old Detroit National Bank, Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company, Detroit Trust Company, and William H. Elliott & Company. Mr. Dean holds membership in the Detroit Club and other organizations, and is aligned as a supporter of the principles of the Republican party, though not active in the arena of prac- tical politics.

In 1878 Mr. Dean was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Esselstyn, whose father was a prominent ship-builder in Detroit in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Dean have two children, -Gertrude A. and Charles A., Jr.

GEORGE WILLIAMS BATES.

For thirty-five years has George Williams Bates been engaged in the practice of law in Detroit, and he has long held precedence as one of the leading members of the bar of his native city and state. His lineage touches many old and representative families of our great republic, where the Bates family was founded in the early colonial epoch. We of this twentieth century, representing the most electrical progress in all lines of material ac- tivity, are too prone not to give heed to those elemental valuations which touch upon the deeper essence of human life and human achievement. We can not afford to hold in light esteem those who have wrought nobly in the past, nor fail to accord honor to those who have given an heritage of worthy thoughts and worthy deeds, and who have aided in lay- ing fast the foundations of the greatest republic the world has ever seen.

The Bates family in America was founded by three brothers,. James, Clement and Ed- ward Bates, who came from England and iden- tified themselves with the founding of the Puri- tan settlement of the Massachusetts Bay col-

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ony. Of these brothers the direct ancestor of the subject of this sketch was James Bates, who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1634. Clement became a resident of Hingham and Edward of Weymouth, and descendants of these three are now found to be numerous not only in New England but in many other states of the Union. Robert Bates, son of James, went with the Connecticut contingent, under the leadership of Rev. Thomas Hooker, and became one of the landed proprietors of Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he remained until 1640, when he joined the colony that founded Stamford, that state. As a direct descendant of Robert Bates, the subject of this review is collaterally related to William Cross, who was a soldier in the Pequod Indian war and an active participant in the fight at Narra- gansett Swamp, and who later represented Wethersfield in the general court at Hartford. Mr. Bates is also connected with Robert Chap- man, one of the founders of Saybrooke, Con- necticut, a deputy to the general court, a com- missioner, and one of the largest landholders of Saybrooke. In the remote ancestral line is also found Gershom Lockwood, soldier, judge and legislator, of Greenwich, Massachusetts; Jonathan Selleck, a brave Indian fighter, a sagacious legislator and a liberal churchman; Richard Law, a distinguished jurist of early Connecticut ; David Smith, a distinguished sol- dier of the Revolution, under General Wash- ington; and the Weeds of Connecticut and New York. Through the Bucknam family Mr. Bates can claim relationship with Nicho- las Stowers, Captain John Sprague and Lieu- tenant Ralph Sprague, who were among the original settlers of Newtown, or Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1628, and the latter of whom was one of the first selectmen of the place. On the maternal side he is a descendant of Roger Williams, of Connecticut, who was a cousin of the Roger Williams who played so impor- tant a part in the settlement and public affairs of Rhode Island. The Connecticut Roger Williams landed in America in 1635 and was one of the first settlers of the Connecticut col-

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Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 101

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932 Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago H. Taylor & Co. Number of Pages: 858

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 858