Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 105

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

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 105

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In politics Mr. Clark gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and he is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. His Ma- sonic affiliations are here briefly noted: De- troit Lodge, No. 2, Free & Accepted Masons; Monroe Chapter, No. 1, Royal Arch Masons; Damascus Commandery, No. 42, Knights Templars; Michigan Sovereign Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; and Moslem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of-the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

In June, 1894, Mr. Clark was united in mar- riage to Miss Agnes J. Laing, daughter of James M. Laing, a man prominent in the lum- bering interests of Bay City, Michigan, and the two children of this union are James H. and Thomas L.

FRANK L. BROMLEY.

The entire business career of Mr. Bromley has been in connection with industrial concerns of his native city, and the best voucher for his ability, integrity and progressiveness is that offered in the prestige he has attained as one of the representative business men of the younger generation in the Michigan metropo- lis. He is president and general manager of the Detroit Stoker & Foundry Company, and the Michigan Motor Castings Company, which company has its offices in Detroit with foundry located at Flint, Michigan. Description of these companies is given on other pages of this work.

Mr. Bromley was born in Detroit, on the Ist of January, 1866, being thus a welcome

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New Year's guest in the family circle of his parents, William and Caroline F. (Latham) Bromley, both of whom were born and reared in the state of Rhode Island, where the re- spective families were early founded and whence the father of the subject of this sketch came to Detroit in the '50s, here establishing himself in the retail furniture business, in which he continued for many years. He is now living retired in Detroit and holds a se- cure place in the esteem of the community with whose civic and business interests he has been so long and prominently identified. His cherished and devoted wife died in December, 1900. Her ancestors were among the first settlers of Rhode Island, and she was a di- rect descendant of Roger Williams, whose name is so conspicuously linked with the his- tory of that smallest of the commonwealths of the American Union.

Frank L. Bromley is indebted to the public schools of Detroit for his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by an ef- fective course in the Detroit Business Univer- sity. In 1884, at the age of eighteen years, he entered the employ of the Michigan Stove Company, starting in a minor capacity and winning promotion in turn to the positions of receiving clerk, paymaster, statistical clerk, traveling representative and sales manager, to which last office he was advanced in 1900. In 1902 he resigned this position to assume the management of the Detroit Foundry and Manufacturing Company, afterwards changed to the Detroit Stoker & Foundry Company, which organization he had effected in the pre- ceding year and of which he had been elected president at the time of incorporation. Since that time he has continued the executive head of the company and has so directed its policy and practical workings as to gain to the en- terprise a large and substantial business, which is constantly expanding in scope and impor- tance.

Mr. Bromley is a Republican in his political proclivities, is a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and the Detroit Boat Club, and

is affiliated with Ashlar Lodge, No. 91, Free & Accepted Masons, and Peninsular Chapter, No. 16, Royal Arch Masons. Mr. Bromley holds membership in the Woodward Avenue Baptist church.

On the 2nd of May, 1900, Mr. Bromley was united in marriage to Miss Kate A. Thomp- son, daughter of J. Wilfred Thompson, who is vice-president of the Detroit Stoker & Foun- dry Company, Michigan state agent for the Travelers' Life Insurance Company, of Hart- ford, Connecticut, and otherwise a figure of prominence in Detroit business circles. Mr. and Mrs. Bromley have three children,-Fran- ces, aged seven years; Katherine, aged four years; and Walter, aged two years (1908).

JAMES W. AILES.

Standing as the executive head of one of the pioneer picture-frame manufactories of the west, Mr. Ailes is one of the representa- tive business men of Detroit, being president of the corporation of C. D. Widman & Com- pany, of which specific mention is made in an- other department of this publication.

Mr. Ailes was born in Alliance, Stark coun- ty, Ohio, on the 22d of April, 1858, and is a son of Amos Ailes, who was a native of Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, and a descendant of Stephen Ailes, a French Huguenot who set- tled in Chester, Pennsylvania, in the pioneer epoch of that commonwealth, as did also two of his brothers. Amos Ailes was reared and educated in the old Keystone state and became an expert mechanic. For forty years he was foreman in the car shops of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad at Alliance, Ohio, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1895. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Allman, was born in the state of Pennsylvania and is now residing at Alliance, Ohio.

The subject of this sketch is indebted to the public schools of his native city for his early educational discipline, and he has the distinc- tion of having been a member of the first class

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to be graduated in the Alliance high school,- that of 1874. He thereafter continued his studies in Mount Union College, in Alliance, but in 1875 he initiated his business career by taking charge of a department in the estab- lishment of W. R. Reid & Company, of Cleve- land, dealers in photographic materials and supplies. In 1876 he became a traveling rep- resentative for Teal & Sargent, of Cleveland, who were engaged in the same line of enter- prise, and in the following year he took up his residence in Detroit, where he has maintained his home for more than thirty years. Here he became a salesman for C. D. Widman & Com- pany, with which concern he has since been continuously identified. In 1882 he was ad- mitted to partnership in the business and upon the incorporation of the company, under the same title, in 1884, he became vice-president of the same. Of this office he continued in- cumbent until the retirement of J. C. Widman, in 1900, when he succeeded the latter in the presidency of the company, a position which he has since retained. To his well directed efforts and progressive administrative policy has been largely due the continued success of the extensive business now controlled by the company, and as a citizen he has ever been loyal and public-spirited. For nearly a third of a century Mr. Ailes was a traveling sales- man, and in this field he gained a high repu- tation and through his contact in a direct way with the customers of his own house he greatly advanced the prestige of the same. He is a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Michigan Knights of the Grip, the Toledo Traveling Men's Association, the United Com- mercial Travelers, and the Masonic fraternity. In politics Mr. Ailes is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Martha Holmes Memorial Methodist Epis- copal church, on whose official board he has served for a number of years past. His loy- alty to his native state is signified by his mem- bership in the Ohio Society of Detroit.

In 1879 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ailes to Miss Frances H. Bradley, daugh- ter of George Bradley, a representative mer- chant of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and they have one son, Edgar R., sales manager of the Hugh Wallace Company, of Detroit.

ROBERT HUBBERT.

Numbered among the sterling pioneer citi- zens of Detroit, where he has maintained his home for more than sixty years, is Robert Hubbert, who has witnessed the development of the beautiful "City of the Straits" from the status of a somewhat obscure western town to its present position as one of the important in- dustrial and commercial centers of the country. To both the civic and material progress of the city he has contributed his quota and now, in the quiet retirement of his attractive home, he may look back with satisfaction upon a career marked by well directed endeavor and suc- cessful enterprise.

Mr. Hubbert was born at Marcham-le-fen, Lincolnshire, England, on the 12th of Feb- ruary, 1825, being the third son of Thomas and Sarah (Roberts) Hubbert, both of whom were natives of that same county, where the respective families had been established for several generations and where representatives are to be found in the present day. The father followed the vocation of linen draper in Eng- land, and was engaged in this line of mercan- tile enterprise in his native land until his immi- gration to America. His father had likewise been engaged in the same line of business.

On the 5th of November, 1845, Thomas Hubbert, in company with his wife and their five children, set sail for America, arriving in New York in due course of time and coming thence to Detroit, where the new family home was established within the same month that marked the departure from England. The honored father was not long spared to his family, since his death occurred on the 8th of February, 1846, at which time he was fifty- two years of age. His wife survived him by

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a number of years, her death occurring in 1871. Of the five children our subject is the only one now living.

Robert Hubbert had been afforded but little of the advantages of the schools of his native land, but he had gained considerable business experience prior to the removal of the family to America, at which time he was twenty years of age. Soon after the arrival in Detroit he secured employment on a farm now within the city limits, and later he assumed the position of fireman on the old-time steamboat "Nile," with whose operations he was identified for two years. With the money which he had saved from his meager wages he purchased a drove of sheep, from the sale of which he realized his first one hundred dollars. With this capital he opened a meat market, having a stall in the old Central Market, which re- mained one of the landmarks of Detroit for so many years, and later he opened a market at the corner of Abbott street and Michigan ave- nue, where in the course of time he built up a most successful enterprise, developing both wholesale and retail departments in his busi- ness. He continued operations at that loca- tion until about 1862, and in this way was laid the foundation of his success as an inde- pendent business man. Within the intervening years he made judicious investments of his sur- plus fund, by buying improved business prop- erty and other kinds of realty in the city. In the early 'zos his health became so impaired as to cause him to retire permanently from active business, but he continued his real- estate operations, through which he gained a competency. His first purchase of what was then termed suburban real estate was a por- tion of the Peter Denoyer farm, on Woodward avenue, for which he paid at the rate of sixty- five dollars an acre. Later he effected the purchase of ten acres from the widow Cole, now in one of the most beautiful sections of the city, and upon a portion of the tract which he thus secured is located the residence prop- erty of the late Governor Hazen S. Pingree. The property is now valued at over two hun-

dred dollars a front foot. About 1872 he pur- chased property at the intersection of Second avenue and Joy streets, a locality then consid- ered "far out." Here he built several fine dwelling houses, including his own, and here he has since continued to reside, having thus been one of those primarily instrumental in initiating the development of that beautiful section of the city.

In politics Mr. Hubbert was originally an old-line Whig, and he united with the Repub- lican party at the time of its organization, having since continued a staunch advocate of its principles. He has never been active in political affairs, and in local matters has not been dominated by strict partisan lines, pre- ferring to exercise his franchise in support of men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. He has never sought or held pub- lic office, but in a quiet way has done all in his power for the promotion of temperance, mor- ality and good citizenship. For more than half a century he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, which represents the faith of his ancestors, as both his father and paternal grandfather were local preachers of this denomination.

In 1853 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hubbert to Miss Mary P. Simonson, of Royal Oak, Oakland county, Michigan. She was born in the Catskill mountains of New York, March 15, 1831, being a daughter of Garret Simonson. She died in Detroit, Sep- tember 22, 1900, and thus came the great loss and bereavement of the life of her husband, to whom she had been a true companion and helpmeet. Of the seven children of this union only two are now living,-William Robert, of Detroit, and Charles S., of Rockford, Illinois. William R. Hubbert was graduated in the Michigan Agricultural College in 1881, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and in 1885 he was graduated in the Detroit Medical Col- lege, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After some years of general practice in his home city he turned his attention more par- ticularly to the science of bacteriology, serv-

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ing as director in biological laboratories for several years. For the past ten years he has been engaged in the manufacture of anti-toxin in Detroit. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Miss Emmeline E. Pilgrim. They have had two children; a daughter, Emmeline E., who died in 1892, when about six years of age; and a son, Robert Hubbert, second, who is eighteen years of age and who is a student in the high school.

JAMES D. HAWKS.

For nearly two score of years has Mr. Hawks been identified with railway service, and his advancement has been consecutive and well merited, being the diametrical result of his ability as a civil engineer and as an execu- tive and administrative officer. He is now president and general manager of the Detroit & Mackinac Railway Company, with residence and official headquarters in the city of Detroit.

Mr. Hawks claims the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, having been born in the city of Buffalo, New York, on the 13th of October, 1847. He is a son of Thomas S. and Hester A. (Layton) Hawks, both of whom were likewise born and reared in the state of New York, and both of whom came from staunch Puritan stock, the founders of the respective families having come to America on the first voyage of the historic "Mayflower." In this connection it is worthy of note that the subject of this review was one of the founders of the Michigan or- ganization of the Mayflower Society, and that he served several years as its governor. The name which he bears has been long and promi- nently identified with the annals of New Eng- land, where was cradled so much of our na- tional history, and later representatives of the name became identified with the upbuilding of New York and other states of the Union, as the march of progress extended to the west. Thomas S. Hawks was for forty years en- gaged in the book and stationery business in Buffalo, and was one of the city's honored citizens and business men.

James Dudley Hawks, the subject of this sketch, was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of his native city, and later was matriculated in the engineering department of the University of Michigan, where he continued his technical studies until he took a position in the engineering depart- ment of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. He fully qualified himself for the practical work of a civil engineer, and in con- nection with his profession has held many po- sitions of responsible order. In this brief ar- ticle it will be sufficient to designate in con- secutive line the various positions of which he has been incumbent. He entered the railway service on the Ist of February, 1870, and soon became assistant engineer of the Buffalo di- vision of the Lake Shore & Michigan South- ern Railway; from 1875 to 1878 he was as- sistant engineer of the Erie division of the same system; from 1878 to September 1, 1881, he was assistant engineer of the Lake Shore division, same road; he then became superin- tendent of construction of the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad, holding this office until July 1, 1883, and thereafter he served until April of the following year as engineer of maintenance of way for the same road; from April, 1884, to October, 1892, he was chief engineer of the Michigan Central Railroad; from the latter date until October of the following year he was manager of the Detroit Citizens' Street Railway; from No- vember, 1893, until February 1, 1895, he was manager of the Detroit, Bay City & Alpena Railroad; from February 1, 1895, until No- vember, 1896, he was vice-president and gen- eral manager of the Detroit & Mackinac Rail- way, and since November, 1896, he has been president of this company, as well as general manager. He has handled the affairs of the road with marked discrimination and ability and is one of the well known and popular rail- road officials residing in Michigan. With Mr. S. F. Angus, Mr. Hawks built the electric railway from Detroit to Ann Arbor and after- wards to Jackson. He was president of the

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company until the sale of the road to the De- troit United Railway, in February, 1907. He also owned and operated the Lansing City Railway, and was president of the Grand Rap- ids, Grand Haven & Muskegon Electric Rail- way during construction and for several years afterwards. Mr. Hawks has maintained his home in Detroit since 1884 and has valuable real-estate interests here and elsewhere. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and of the Institution of Civil En- gineers of Great Britain, standing high in his profession. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, besides various social organizations of representative charac- ter.

October 7, 1875, Mr. Hawks was united in marriage to Miss Caroline A. Cooke, of Buf- falo, New York, and they have two sons and two daughters, whose names, in order of birth, are as follows: Alice Cooke Hawks (Mrs. H. S. Waterman), Edward Allerton Hawks, James Russell Hawks, and Marion Fitch Hawks.

WILLIAM M. KLEIN.

Among the well known and popular citi- zens of Detroit is the subject of this review, who has long been identified with railroad in- terests and who is now incumbent of the office of city ticket agent of the Michigan Central Railroad Company and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. He entered the service of the Michigan Central Railroad when a boy of thirteen years and has remained in its employ continuously since that time.

In the old family homestead erected by his father at 77 Adams avenue east, where he still resides, Mr. Klein was born, the date of his nativity having been February 22, 1851. He is a son of Karl A. and Mary E. (Ulrich) Klein, both of whom were born and reared in the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, and the marriage of whom was solemnized in their native country. Karl Klein immigrated to America in 1844, because he believed that in

the United States were to be had better op- portunities for attaining independence and success through personal effort. Soon after his arrival he took up his residence in Detroit and here he passed the remainder of his life, being held in unqualified esteem by all who knew him. He was a cap and glove maker by trade and as such was long employed by Frederick Buhl & Company. He became the owner of valuable realty in Detroit and was known as a loyal citizen and as a man of im- pregnable integrity in all the relations of life. He was independent in politics and both he and his wife held membership in the German Evangelical church. Mr. Klein died in 1855 and is survived by his widow and three sons,- Charles A. Klein, a retail hardware dealer of Detroit; Wm. M. Klein, the subject of this review; and Edward H. Klein, of Kansas City, Missouri.

William M. Klein, the immediate subject of this sketch, is indebted to the public schools of Detroit for his early educational discipline, which has been effectively supplemented by extensive reading and by the valuable expe- rience gained through association with men and affairs. In 1864, at the age of thirteen years, he secured a position as messenger in the car department of the Michigan Central Railroad, and through his energy and fidelity he gained successive promotions in connection with the general operating department of the road. In 1878 he was promoted to the po- sition of assistant to Charles A. Warren, city passenger agent of the Michigan Central and Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroads in Detroit, and he was the able and valued coad- jutor of Mr. Warren until the latter resigned to assume the position of cashier of the Dime Savings Bank, in 1890, after which he held a similar position under the late Captain James Rhines, until 1904, when he gained a well earned promotion, in being himself chosen to fill the office of which he has since remained incumbent,-that of city passenger and ticket agent. His long service has secured to him a very wide acquaintanceship with the traveling

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public and with the citizens of Detroit in gen- eral, and his unvarying courtesy has won for him unqualified popularity. His knowledge of transportation matters is extensive and inti- mate, and he is one of the valued local officials of the fine old railway system with which he has so long been identified.

In politics Mr. Klein maintains an indepen- dent attitude, and while he has ever shown a loyal interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home city and state, he has never mani- fested aught of desire for public office or to enter the field of practical politics. He is af- filiated with Kilwinning Lodge, No. 297, Free & Accepted Masons; Peninsular Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Monroe Council, Royal & Se- lect Masters; Detroit Commandery, No. I, Knights Templars; and Moslem Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, besides being a member of Star Council, Royal Arcanum, and Detroit Court, Independent Order of Foresters.

On the 7th of June, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Klein to Miss Julia C. Rouff, daughter of Henry Rouff, who was for many years in the employ of R. H. Fyfe & Company, the well known shoe dealers of De- troit, and who is now living retired in this city. Mr. and Mrs. Klein have two sons,-William H., who is manager of the repair department of the Olds automobile works, in the city of Lansing, and who is prominent in connection with the automobile industry ; and Warren C., who is at present engaged in manufacturing business in Detroit, being identified with the Detroit Regalia Company and acting in the capacity of its secretary.

ALVAH F. MOORE.

Elsewhere in this publication is given a re- sumé of the upbuilding of one of the beneficent concerns of the state, the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company, and by reason of the appearance of the article in question it will be unnecessary to enter here into further details concerning the company, of which Mr. Moore is secretary, being an executive whose efforts

have been prolific in furthering the progress of the institution.

Mr. Moore is a native of the state of Ohio, having been born at Buckeye Cottage, Perry county, June 10, 1860. He is a son of George W. and Harriet (Richards) Moore, both of whom were born in the state of Ohio. The father's principal vocation in life was that of farming and merchandising and he also filled various county offices. He died in 1871, and his wife is still living. The subject of this re- view secured his preliminary education in the public schools of his native commonwealth, after which he continued his studies in Madison Academy, at Mount Perry, Ohio. He soon put his scholastic attainments to practical test by engaging in teaching school, to which he devoted his attention for some time. Later he became identified with the newspaper busi- ness, finally becoming editor and publisher of the Independent, at New Lexington, Ohio. He retired from the journalistic field after about two years and thereafter was engaged in business in Chicago, Illinois, until 1892, when he came to Detroit and assumed a po- sition as clerk in the investment department of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, with which he has since been connected. Two years later he was made manager of the department to which he was first assigned, and since 1901 he has held his present re- sponsible position as secretary of the company. He is well known in the insurance field in this and other states and is an able and popular executive. He is a Republican in politics, but never sought or held public office.

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Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 105

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