USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 102
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ony ; he was a deputy representative of Wind- sor at the general court, in Hartford, and he also served as selectman, besides having been a member of the Ancient & Honorable Artil- lery of Boston.
George Williams Bates, whose name initi- ates this article, was born in the city of De- troit, on the 4th of November, 1848, and is a son of Samuel Gershom Bates and Rebecca (Williams) Bates, who were numbered among the honored pioneers of Detroit, where the father was for many years engaged in the mer- cantile business and where he was recognized as an influential and public-spirited citizen. Both he and his wife continued to reside in Detroit until their death. George W. Bates secured his early educational training in the public schools of Detroit and then entered the literary department of the University of Mich- igan, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1870, with the degree of Bach- elor of Arts ; in 1875 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Shortly after leaving the university Mr. Bates became a representative, in Detroit, of the pub- lishing house of James R. Osgood & Company, of Boston, and in the autumn of 1871 he be- came a student in the law offices of the firm of Newberry, Pond & Brown, one of the leading firms in practice at the bar of the state, as was also that of Meddaugh & Driggs, under whose preceptorship he later continued his technical reading. Mr. Bates was admitted to the bar in 1874, since which year his name has been enrolled on the list of practicing lawyers in the Michigan metropolis. He is known as a man of high attainments and of profound erudition and practical ability as a lawyer. He has achieved success in his profession because he has worked for it. His prestige at the bar stands in evidence of his ability and likewise serves as voucher for intrinsic worth of char- acter. He has used his intellect to the best purpose, has directed his energies in legiti- mate channels, and his career has been based upon the assumption that nothing save indus- try, perseverance, sturdy integrity and fidelity
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to duty will lead to success. The profession of law offers no opportunities except to such de- termined spirits. It is an arduous, exacting, discouraging vocation to one who is unwilling to subordinate other interests to its demands, but to the true and earnest devotee it offers a sphere of action whose attractions are un- equaled and whose rewards unstinted. It is needless to say that within the long years of his active work in his profession Mr. Bates has been identified with much important litigation in the state and federal courts, and as a coun- selor his services have been in demand in con- nection with the handling of large interests in multifarious lines.
Mr. Bates has been an active factor in po- litical affairs in the state, though he has never held public office, except that of estimator at large for Detroit. His allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he has been a dele- gate to a number of its state conventions. At the state convention held in Grand Rapids in 1894 he was a candidate for attorney-general of Michigan, but eventually withdrew his name in favor of another candidate. He is a mem- ber of the American Bar Association, as well as those of the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit, and he has the unequivocal confi- dence and esteem of his professional confreres. Mr. Bates has attained to the thirty-second de- gree in Scottish Rite Masonry, in which con- nection he is affiliated with Michigan Sover- eign Consistory. He is also identified with Oriental Lodge, No. 240, Free & Accepted Masons, and King Cyrus Chapter, No. 133, Royal Arch Masons. He was president of the Detroit Archaeological Society, a council- lor of the American Institute of Archaeology, treasurer and registrar of the Michigan So- ciety of the Sons of the American Revolution, historian-general of the National Society and also the first vice-president-general of the Sons of the American Revolution, and a delegate for many years to the national congresses of the society. He holds membership in the New England Society and the University Club, of Detroit; the University Alumni Association,
and other social organizations of representa- tive character. He and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian church, of Detroit.
On the 26th of April, 1887, Mr. Bates was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Marie Fow- ler, daughter of the late Richard Essyltyne Fowler, of Clayton, New York, and they have two children,-Stanley Fowler Bates, who is now nineteen years of age and a student at Cornell University; and Virginia Williams Bates, who is now eleven years of age.
AUGUST H. EKHARDT.
Numbered among the successful and popu- lar young business men of his native city, Mr. Ekhardt holds the responsible position of brew master of the Ekhardt & Becker Brewing Company, of which specific mention is made on other pages of this publication.
Mr. Ekhardt was born in Detroit, on the 30th of May, 1876, and is a son of August and Matilda (Hiller) Ekhardt. His early educational training was secured in the pub- lic schools of his native city, and he then con- tinued his studies in the German-American Academy, of this city. At the age of sixteen years he completed a commercial course in the Detroit Business University. In 1894-5 he held a clerical position in the office of the Ek- hardt & Becker Brewing Company, and in 1896-7 he completed a thorough technical course in the United States Brewers' Acad- emy, in New York city. From 1892 to 1894 he had been employed in the brewing depart- ment of the Ekhardt & Becker Brewing Com- pany's plant, and through his work in the same, supplemented by the technical knowledge gained in the academy mentioned, he became an expert in the business to which he has since devoted his attention and in connection with which he has gained a high reputation. In June, 1897, he was promoted to the office of brew master for the company, and he has since continued to serve in this capacity. He has done much to bring the product of the brew- ery to its present high standard and to advance
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the general interests of the business. At the time when he assumed his present office the annual output of the brewery was twenty- three thousand barrels, and in 1907, the out- put was forty thousand barrels. He has en- tire charge of the brewing department and of the bottling house, which latter was estab- lished in 1896. Mr. Ekhardt is a member of the United States Brew Masters' Association and also of the Peninsular State Brew Masters' Association. His political support is given to the Republican party, he is affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge, No. 297, Free & Accepted Masons, and both he and his wife hold mem- bership in St. John's German Lutheran church. He is fond of athletic sports and of hunting and fishing, in connection with which lines of recreation he is well known in Detroit. He gives his undivided attention to the interests of the brewery with which he has so long been identified and whose success is in so large a measure due to his indefatigable and discrim- inating efforts and effective supervision.
On the 19th of June, 1901, Mr. Ekhardt was united in marriage to Miss Mary Reich- man, daughter of Edward Reichman, a suc- cessful business man of Detroit, and they have one child, Marguerite Marie, who was born December 28, 1906.
HENRY C. DIETZ.
The standing of Mr. Dietz in connection with the business interests of Detroit is indicated in a measure by the office of which he is incum- bent,-that of the secretary of the C. Pfeiffer Brewing Company, one of the principal con- cerns of the sort in the city and one to whose interests he devotes the major portion of his time and attention. He is known as an enter- prising, progressive and reliable business man and as a citizen who is animated with much public spirit and loyalty.
Mr. Dietz was born in Detroit, on the 16th of May, 1861, and is a son of John and Cath- erine C. (Ebert) Dietz, both natives of Ger- many and representatives of staunch old fam-
ilies of the great empire. John Dietz was born at Kercheim, kingdom of Wurtemburg, Ger- many, and was reared and educated in his fatherland, where he learned the blacksmith trade in his youth. He followed his trade in Germany until 1851, when he immigrated to America, making Detroit his destination. Here he secured employment at his trade, in the shops of John Patton, with whom he remained about twenty years, after which he passed about the same length of time in the employ of Hugh Johnson. He became well known in the city and was a man of such sterling integrity and honor that he ever commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he came in contact in the various relations of life. He re- tired from active labors in 1894 and there- after had practically no connection with ac- tive business during the residue of his life, which terminated on the 12th of February, 1904. His wife passed away in August, 1891. Concerning their children the following brief data are found pertinent in this connection : Henry C. is the immediate subject of this sketch; George J. is now a clerical assist- ant in the office of the treasurer of Wayne county ; and Catherine, who became the wife of George Wenzel, of Detroit, died on the 9th of March, 1904, about one month after the death of her honored father, and she is sur- vived by two children,-George, an architect, engaged in the practice of his profession in New York city, and Hermina, who remains with her father.
Henry C. Dietz was reared to maturity in Detroit and to him were here accorded the ad- vantages of the public schools, though he early initiated his association with practical busi- ness affairs. In 1874, when but thirteen years of age, he entered the employ of Stephen F. Smith & Company, retail shoe dealers, and with this concern he remained until 1878, when he secured a position in the shipping depart- ment of the establishment of the well known firm of Pingree & Smith, manufacturers of boots and shoes. In November of the follow- ing year, when but eighteen years of age, Mr.
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Dietz entered into partnership with Frank Starke, under the firm name of Dietz & Starke, and engaged in the flour, feed and grain busi- ness, with headquarters at 224 Randolph street, from which location the business later removed to Nos. 15 and 17 Miami avenue, now known as Broadway. They built up a prosperous en- terprise, and Mr. Dietz continued to be active- ly identified with the same until 1885, when he disposed of his interest and located at Fras- er, Michigan, where he established himself in the general-merchandise trade. This busi- ness he conducted successfully until 1889, when he sold the stock and returned to De- troit, where he assumed the position of office manager in the brewery of Conrad Pfeiffer, also having partial supervision of the sales department. He continued to be actively iden- tified with the executive affairs of the con- cern under the original regime and upon the incorporation of the C. Pfeiffer Brewing Com- pany, in 1902, he became a stockholder in the new corporation, of which he was elected secretary. In this office he has since continued to render most efficient service, having charge of accounts, correspondence and sales, in which last department his efforts have been most po- tent in forwarding the expansion of the busi- ness. When he first connected himself with the Pfeiffer brewery its annual output was for- ty-one hundred barrels, and the extent to which the business has increased since that time is indicated in the present average annual output, which reaches the noteworthy aggre- gate of forty thousand barrels. A description of the company's plant and business appears on other pages of this volume.
Though never active in the domain of prac- tical politics, Mr. Dietz is a zealous supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and all that pertains to the welfare and progress of his native city is a matter of vital interest to him. His chief relaxation from the onerous cares of business is found in his home and in his association with the Detroit Turn- verein. He has distinctive musical ability and
finds much pleasure in connection with the classical art.
On the 24th of June, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Dietz to Miss Mary E. Lines, who was born in Woolwich, England, as was also her father, Alfred Lines, who came with his family to America when Mrs. Dietz was a child. He located in Detroit, where he passed the remainder of his life. Mrs. Dietz was summoned to the life eternal on the 9th of June, 1904, and is survived by three chil- dren, whose names and respective dates of birth are here indicated: Elizabeth, April 5, 1886; Henry C., Jr., November 4, 1895; and Florence, March 29, 1897.
ADOLPH A. CAILLE.
In the industrial and commercial depart- ment of this publication is entered a review of this history of the Caille Brothers Company, whose business, in the manufacturing of coin- controlling slot machines, is the largest of its kind in the world, and of this company the subject of this sketch is the vice-president and secretary. He has been intimately associated with his brother, A. Arthur Caille, in the up- building of this magnificent enterprise, as well as in those preliminary operations which led up to its inception. The life records of the two brothers run essentially parallel and both have achieved noteworthy success through their own abilities and efforts.
Adolph A. Caille was born in Detroit, on the 2d of April, 1863, and is the eldest of the three living children of Joseph M. and Cath- erine (Moret) Caille, both of whom are now deceased. The father, who was a native of Switzerland, came to Detroit in 1851 and was here engaged in the furniture and cabinet-mak- ing business for a number of years, after which he followed the same line of enterprise in Sagi- naw, this state, until 1897, after which year he lived virtually retired until his death, which occurred in 1907. Adolph A. Caille is in- debted to the public schools of Detroit and Owosso for his early educational discipline, and
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as a youth he learned the wood-working trade under the direction of his father. Like his brother he became a skilled mechanic, and both have gained marked prestige as inven- tors. Mr. Caille is known as a progressive and reliable business man and his success has been worthily won along legitimate lines of business enterprise. He has much civic pride and takes an interest in all that concerns the welfare of his native city. In politics he is in- dependent and in a fraternal way he is affili- ated with Detroit Lodge, No. 34, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. He has been vice-president and secretary of the Caille Brothers Company from the time of its incor- poration, in 1901, and he also has the general supervision of the manufacturing department of the splendid industry controlled by his com- pany.
In 1892 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Caille to Miss Margaret Mocksey of Saginaw, and they have two children, namely: Arthur and Catherine.
HERBERT J. CONN.
Mr. Conn has been identified with business affairs in Detroit since 1891 and has proved himself a progressive and public-spirited citi- zen and a reliable and aggressive business man. He gives the major portion of his time and at- tention at the present time to the Peninsular Milled Screw Company, of which he is presi- dent and of which adequate description is given in another department of this publica- tion.
Mr. Conn was born at Tyrconnel, Elgin county, province of Ontario, Canada, on the 12th of June, 1869, and is a son of Meredith and Mary (Nixon) Conn, both of whom were likewise born in Ontario, where the respective families were early founded. Meredith Conn became a successful dealer in grain and wool and a citizen of prominence and influence in his community. As a Conservative, he was active in the political affairs of his district and served in various local offices. He and his
wife are now living at 27 Victoria avenue, Windsor, Ontario.
The subject of this review was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his na- tive town and effectively supplemented this discipline by a through course in the Chatham Business College. In 1891, at the age of twen- ty-two years, Mr. Conn took up his residence in Detroit, where he associated himself with William E. Currie in the buying and selling of cedar paving blocks, poles and posts. The firm also instituted a general contracting busi- ness, in the laying of cedar-block pavements, and built up a large and prosperous enterprise. Currie & Conn continued this business until 1905, and within this period handled many large and important contracts. Fully ninety- five per cent of the cedar-block paving done in Detroit between the years 1892 and 1905 rep- resented contracts secured and effectively handled by this reliable and well known firm, whose dissolution took place in the year last mentioned. Mr. Conn was one of the organ- izers of the Peninsular Milled Screw Com- pany, which was incorporated in 1902, and he has been president of the company since 1904. In this connection reference should be made to the article giving record of the com- pany.
In politics Mr. Conn maintains an indepen- dent attitude, and he is a member of the De- troit Employers' Association and the Detroit Board of Commerce. He is affiliated with Alvinston Lodge, No. 323, Free & Accepted Masons, at Alvinston, Ontario, and he and his wife hold membership in the Church of Christ.
On the 9th of November, 1892, Mr. Conn was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth A. Lamb, daughter of Robert Lamb, who was for many years a representative farmer at Alvins- ton, Ontario, and who died in Detroit, in 1908; he was a native of Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Conn have one son, Clarence H., who was born on the 14th of May, 1894, and who is now a student in the Eastern high school of Detroit.
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THOMAS A. WADSWORTH.
Detroit's pre-eminence as a manufacturing and commercial center is not based upon the pronounced industrial advancement of the past decade alone, but finds its source not less in those ably conducted enterprises which have long since passed the status of incipiency and have grown to extensive proportions. Such an industry, and the largest individually con- ducted concern of the sort in the west, is that represented in the Western Cigar Box Fac- tory, of which the subject of this review is the sole owner, having built up the splendid business from a nucleus of modest order. The enterprise was established nearly forty years ago and its growth has been consecutive and substantial, while Mr. Wadsworth has gained recognition as a thoroughly progressive busi- ness man and public-spirited citizen, contribut- ing a due quota to the development of the "Greater Detroit,"-the larger Detroit, both in civic and industrial lines.
Thomas Abner Wadsworth is a native of the state of Michigan, having been born in Redford, Wayne county, on the 26th of June, 1844, and being a son of Thomas and Mariet- ta (Lee) Wadsworth, the former of whom was born at Farmington, Connecticut, in Oc- tober, 1805, a representative of a family es- tablished in New England in the colonial epoch, and the latter of whom was born near Utica, New York. Thomas Wadsworth was reared and educated in his native state, and learned the trade of ship carpenter. As a young man he came to Michigan and settled at Redford, becoming one of the pioneers of that section of Wayne county. There he took up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, securing the same from the govern- ment. A large portion of this tract he re- claimed from the virgin forest, developing a productive farm. In addition to the work thus accomplished he long continued to follow his trade, in which line his able services were in distinctive requisition in connection with construction work on lake vessels. He took up
his residence in Detroit in 1846, and for a number of years he was a valued employe at the local shipyards, being a skilled artisan and having done a large amount of important work as a ship-carpenter. His first place of residence in Detroit was on Antoine street, near Congress, and later he erected for him- self a house on Riopelle street, near Monroe street, where the family home was maintained for a number of years. Finally he built an- other residence on the lot now designated as 385 Monroe street, and the closing years of his life were passed in the family of his daugh- ter, Mrs. George W. Davis, of Saginaw, Michigan, where he died in January, 1890, at the venerable age of eighty-five years. He continued in the work of his trade until 1870, and thereafter he lived practically retired un- til his demise. He was a man of sterling at- tributes of character and ever commanded the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. He espoused the cause of the Republican party at the time of its organization and ever after- ward continued a stalwart supporter of its principles and policies. He was a spiritualist and his wife a member of the Methodist church. They became the parents of eight children, of whom two are living, the subject of this sketch being the elder and his sister, Henrietta R., being the wife of John Robinson, a retired building contractor of Detroit.
Thomas A. Wadsworth, whose name initi- ates this article, was afforded the advantages of the common schools of Detroit, and in 1860, at the age of sixteen years, he here entered the employ of H. S. Robinson, a manufac- turer of cigar boxes, in whose shop he learned the trade, becoming a competent mechanic in this line. Later he was in the employ of P. N. Kneeland, who was a manufacturing tin- smith.
As a loyal son of the republic it was Mr. Wadsworth's patriotic spirit which impelled him to offer his services in defense of the Union when its integrity was placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion, and he subordinated all other interests when, in August, 1862, he
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enlisted as a private in Company A, Twenty- fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the First Division of the Iron Brigade of the First Army Corps of the Army of Potomac, with which command he contin- ued in active service until April 29, 1863, when he was so severely wounded, at the bat- tle of Fitz Hugh's Crossing, Virginia, as to in- capacitate him for further field service. While in the hospital at Point Lookout, Maryland, he was appointed to a clerical position in the office of the medical director of this hospital, and he thus continued to serve until the close of the war, having been mustered out, under general orders, in May, 1865, and having duly received his honorable discharge.
After the close of he war Mr. Wadsworth returned to Detroit, where he again entered the employ of H. S. Robinson, by whom he was sent to Chicago as superintendent of the branch cigar-box manufactory which the for- mer had there established. In 1867 he came again to Detroit and engaged in business for himself. In 1868 he associated himself with John Ballard and engaged in the manufactur- ing of cigar boxes, under the firm name of Wadsworth & Ballard. In the following year he purchased his partner's interest in the busi- ness and formed a similar alliance with Le- land B. Cook, under title of Wadsworth & Cook. In 1870, however, he again assumed sole control of the business, by purchase of Mr. Cook's interest, and since that time he has individually continued the enterprise, which, under his effective management, has grown to be one of broad scope and importance. The first location of the little factory was on Jef- ferson avenue, between Randolph and Bates streets, and in the initial stages employment was given to only three men. In 1870 he erected a two-story factory at 385 Croghan street (now Monroe avenue), and later he built on the same site a substantial brick struc- ture, three stories and basement and forty-five by one hundred and five feet in dimensions. In 1907 he completed another and adjoining building of the same height and lateral di-
mensions, and the two constitute his present factory, which has an aggregate floor space of thirty-nine thousand square feet. The me- chanical equipment and all accessories of the plant are of the most modern approved type, and the factory is a model in every particular, with the best and most ample facilities for handling the great volume of business de- manded by its trade. Employment is given to a force of one hundred and fifty persons and the pay roll represents the annual expenditure of one hundred thousand dollars,-a fact of significance aside from the commercial im- portance of the enterprise. The factory is the largest of the sort in the west, and in an in- dividual sense Mr. Wadsworth is the leading cigar-box manufacturer in the Union; all other factories of comparative scope being controlled by corporations or firms of two or more in- dividuals. The output of the plant in 1907 was nearly one hundred and ninety thousand boxes, and the products of the establishment have ever maintained a high reputation for superior excellence in material and construc- tion. The trade of the factory is principally confined to Michigan, and the major portion of the large output is utilized by Detroit cigar manufacturers, this city being recognized as one of the most extensive cigar marts in the Union. In the executive affairs of the busi- ness Mr. Wadsworth has an able assistant in the person of John A. Campbell, who has charge of accounts, correspondence and sales. Mr. Wadsworth has been an energetic, enter- prising and progressive business man and has achieved success through his own well directed efforts. He has other capitalistic interests of important nature and is the owner of a con- siderable amount of valuable realty in Detroit. For the past fifteen years he has been a mem- ber of the directorate of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company, is a stockholder in the Home Savings Bank, and in Parke, Davis & Company, manufacturing chemists, besides having interests in other local industrial con- cerns. For three years he was a director of the Union National Bank, retaining this posi-
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