Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 23

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 23

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Though trust companies had been estab- lished for some years in eastern states, the purpose and scope of such organizations were not generally understood in this vicinity and a considerable part of the earlier duties of the Union Trust Company was in the direc- tion of disseminating information as to what the company was organized for and what functions, under the law, it could perform.

Trust companies, under the Michigan law, are authorized to act as executor and trustee under wills, as administrator of estates, as guardian of minors and incompetents, as agent or attorney for the transaction of business, the management of estates, the collection of rents, interest mortgages, and other securities; under appointment of court, as receiver, assignee and trustee in bankruptcy; as trustee under mort- gages to secure issues of bonds, and in pur- suance of any trust created under the laws of this state, or the United States; as agent for the registering and transferring of the

certificates of stock, bonds or other obliga- tions of any corporation, association or mu- nicipality ; and, generally, in any representative fiduciary capacity.

That the local field was ready for institu- tions of this kind is well borne out by the suc- cess of the Union Trust Company and by the further fact that other companies have been organized in Detroit for the conduct of trust business. It is now some seventeen years since the Union Trust Company commenced busi- ness, and its wide experience during that time in all of the various directions indicated above has qualified it to such degree as to render its services of the highest worth and value to those who put their affairs in its charge.

The company is particularly well equipped with respect to the taking over and managing of real and personal property, as agent or at- torney, in which capacities it gives the same thoughtful and judicious attention as is given by a careful and prudent owner.

In addition to the general scope of busi- ness, as above set forth, the Union Trust Com- pany has an abstract department, in which it issues new abstracts of title and tax state- ments and extends old abstracts, whether is- sued by itself of by other abstract companies, on all lands in the city of Detroit and the county of Wayne, and in which are issued policies of insurance under the authority granted by law to guarantee or insure the va- lidity of titles to real estate. The company has, as well, a safety deposit vault, which is a structure of great strength, is modern and complete in its appointments and equipment, and contains boxes of such variety in size and price as permits selection in precise accord- ance with the requirements of each individual.

The board of directors is made up of active, substantial and successful business men, their names being as follows: Henry B. Ledyard (chairman), F. J. Hecker, A. E. F. White, Charles Stinchfield, Henry Russel, Elliott T. Slocum, Truman H. Newberry, Charles A. Ducharme, Harry A. Conant, Charles L. Palms, D. C. Whitney, Philip H. McMillan, Herbert E. Boynton, George Hendrie, Albert L. Stephens, Paul F. Bagley, Burnham S. Col-

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burn, George B. Remick, Frank W. Blair, George M. Black, Allen F. Edwards. The officers of the company are as follows: Henry B. Ledyard, chairman; Frank W. Blair, presi- dent; A. E. F. White, second vice-president ; Gerald J. McMechan, secretary; Charles R. Dunn, treasurer; Alexander C. Long, assistant secretary ; Hobart B. Hoyt, trust officer; Israel T. Cowles, manager of title, guaranty and ab- stract department; W. T. Bradford, bond of- ficer; Gilbert R. Osmun, custodian safety de- posit vault; Frank X. Lingemann, real estate officer; Russel, Campbell, Bulkley and Led- yard, general counsel.

FRANK W. BLAIR, president of the Union Trust Company, was born in Troy township, Oakland county, Michigan, on the 13th day of May, 1870, and his parents were numbered among the sterling pioneers of that county, where his father became a successful farmer. Mr. Blair was afforded the advantages of the public schools, including the high school, and his initial experience in the banking business was secured in the Exchange Bank of Bir- mingham, Michigan, and later he was employed for some time in a drug store. In 1900 he as- sumed a position in the office of the auditor general of Michigan, at Lansing, where he remained engaged until 1905, as inheritance tax examiner. In the year last mentioned he was made incumbent of the office of state bank examiner, and in the following year he became auditor of the State Savings Bank, of Detroit, an office which he retained until 1908, when he was chosen president of the Union Trust Company. Prior to his retire- ment from the office of auditor of the State Savings Bank the institution had been merged with the People's Savings Bank, under title of the People's State Bank, with which latter institution he continued as auditor until as- suming his present office.

THE OLD DETROIT NATIONAL BANK.

There is no one factor which so well de- termines and designates the status and stability of a community as the extent and character of its banking institutions, and in this regard the

financial solidity of Detroit has been main- tained by banks of ample capital, reinforced by conservative management and by the enlist- ment of the capitalistic support of citizens of the highest and most representative character.

The old Detroit National Bank holds pres- tige as one of the most solid financial institu- tions in the state, and is the successor of the Second National Bank, whose standing also was ever of the best, and of the Detroit Na- tional Bank, which succeeded the latter. The Detroit National Bank was organized and in- corporated in 1883, beginning business Feb- ruary 26th of that year and succeeding the Second National Bank, which was founded in 1863. The Second National soon became known as the leading bank of the state, and within a short time after its organization it was made a United States depository, con- tinuing to exercise its functions as such until the election of President Cleveland in 1884. The bank was incorporated with a capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars, and this was later increased to one million dollars. The original executive corps of the Second National Bank was as follows : Henry P. Baldwin, presi- dent; Christian H. Buhl, vice-president; and Clement M. Davison, cashier. Mr. Baldwin continued to give his personal attention to the affiairs of the bank after his election to the office of governor of Michigan and also after he had become a member of the United States senate, but he resigned October 20, 1887, hav- ing continued as president of the reorganized institution, the Detroit National.

Shortly before the expiration of the charter of the Second National Bank, in 1883, the De- troit National was organized, with practically the same official corps as the old institution. Senator Baldwin was made the first president ; Christian H. Buhl, vice-president; and Clement M. Davison, cashier. The personnel of the first board of directors was as follows: H. P. Baldwin, C. H. Buhl, Frederick Buhl, James F. Joy, Allan Shelden, John S. Newberry, William C. Colborn, General Russell A. Alger, and Chauncey Hurlbut. Upon the resignation of Senator Baldwin from the presidency, in 1887, he was succeeded by Christian H. Buhl,

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while William C. Colborn was chosen vice- Fowler, Elmer E. Ford, Ben G. Vernor, and president. On the 31st of December, 1891, Edward C. Mahler, assistant cashiers. Mr. Davison resigned the position of cashier and William T. DeGraff was chosen his suc- cessor. Mr. DeGraff began his banking career in the old Second National Bank June 6, 1865, and in 1867 he became paying teller in that institution. In 1882 he was promoted to the office of assistant cashier, of which he remained incumbent for twenty-six years, having con- tinued after the reorganization, and he has since remained cashier of the Detroit National Bank, and Old Detroit National Bank, proving THE WAYNE COUNTY SAVINGS BANK. in every respect a most able and discriminat- ing executive and having the unqualified con- fidence and esteem of the bank stockholders as well as of the many patrons of this popular financial institution.

Mr. Buhl retired from the presidency Jan- ury 14, 1891, and was succeeded by Alexander McPherson, who up to that time had been en- gaged in the banking business at Howell, Michigan. Mr. McPherson still retains the presidency, having been re-elected under the reorganization as the Old Detroit National Bank, upon the expiration of the second char- ter, November 18, 1902.

During the three regimes-those of the Second National, Detroit National, and Old Detroit National Banks-the history of the institution has been one of uninterrupted and unqualified success, and the bank to-day is classed as one of the leading financial institu- tions of the Central states. The present board of directors is, as has always been the case, of distinctively representative order, and its per- sonnel is as follows : A. W. Wright, Elisha H. Flinn, Henry P. Baldwin, James Davidson, Henry Stephens, J. B. Ford, B. F. Berry, F. W. Gilchrist, Alexander McPherson, F. C. Stoepel, Clarence A. Black, Stanford T. Crapo, E. L. Ford, Charles A. Dean, Willis E. Buhl, E. D. Stair, and Charles B. Warren. The ex- ecutive officers are as follows: Alexander McPherson, president; Henry P. Baldwin, vice-president ; Irvine B. Unger, assistant to the president; Elisha H. Flinn, vice-president; William T. DeGraff, cashier, William H.

From the official statement of the bank at the close of business on September 23, 1908, its capital stock is shown to be $2,000,000, paid in; surplus fund, $500,000; undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid, $266,526.97; in- dividual deposits subject to check, $7,396,- 122.06; demand certificates of deposits, $907,- 362.64; and United States deposits, $150,000.

The wise policy which has dominated the management of this fine institution from the time of its founding to the present has made it one of the greatest of similar concerns in the middle west, and its enormous resources, ad- mirably conserved, make it a distinctive power in financial affairs of Detroit and Michigan. For nearly forty years has this bank been in existence and its history is one marked by con- secutive advancement and the most absolute solidity. In October, 1871, the Wayne County Savings Bank was organized and incorporated, the moving spirit in bringing about this result having been the late S. Dow Elwood, who had formulated a most definite system of operations before he secured the requisite capitalistic co- operation. He had decided to make a specialty of high-grade securities and to touch the purely commercial phase of the banking business as little as possible. He advocated the handling of municipal and school-district bonds of the gilt-edge type and issued for long terms. His wisdom was soon verified, for many of the securities thus purchased by the bank paid from eight to ten per cent. interest for long periods and were accumulated with scarcely more than a nominal premium. The plan of the national banking system in rendering it practically impossible for the national banks to handle real-estate securities, gave to Mr. Elwood the inspiration for taking up farm mortgages, as being more certain and substan- tial than those on city real estate, and at one time the bank of which he was the founder had loans extended on lands in twelve or more

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counties in the state and aggregating nearly one million dollars. The careful and con- servative methods employed in the extending of these loans made the margin of losses very narrow indeed.

Upon the organization of the Wayne County Savings Bank Mr. Elwood was naturally chosen its secretary and treasurer, and he had enlisted the co-operation of leading capitalists and business men, so that the institution lacked naught in preliminary prestige when its doors were opened for business. The others of the original official corps were as follows : William B. Wesson, president; Dr. Herman Kiefer, vice-president; and William A. Moore, attor- ney. Besides these officers the board of trus- tees included also John J. Bagley, Dexter M. Ferry, Thomas W. Palmer, Jerome Croul, Paul Gies, J. B. Sutherland, L. P. Knight, Francis Adams, Jefferson Wiley, K. C. Bark- er, Traugott Schmidt, M. S. Smith, George F. Bagley, David M. Richardson, Jacob S. Farrand, Stanley G. Wight, William C. Dun- can, and David Knapp. In 1882 D. C. Whit- wood was elected second vice-president, the office having been created at that time, and in the following year he was elected first vice- president, to succeed Dr. Kiefer, who resigned, the office of second vice-president being per- mitted to remain without an incumbent. In 1885 Jacob S. Farrand succeeded to the vice- presidency, upon the death of Mr. Whitwood, and in the same year the title of the board of trustees was changed to that of directors, the number being reduced to nine. This year also marked the election of General L. S. Trow- bridge to the dual offices of second vice-presi- dent and assistant secretary and treasurer. In 1889 he resigned and in December of that year William Stagg assumed the position of assist- ant secretary and treasurer.

William B. Wesson, the honored and excep- tionally able president of the bank, died in 1890, and S. Dow Elwood succeeded to the presidency of the institution of which he had been the virtual founder. He retained this office until his death, in 1898, and his name is inseparably connected with the upbuilding of the fine monetary institution with

which he was so long identified. He was suc- ceeded by Charles F. Collins, who has since continued president of the bank. Mr. Farrand died in 1891, and in 1893 D. M. Ferry was elected first vice-president; Jerome Croul, second vice-president; William Stagg, secre- tary and treasurer; and Charles F. Collins, assistant secretary and treasurer. In 1895 Alfred K. Kiefer became assistant secretary and treasurer, Mr. Collins having been ad- vanced to the office of secretary and treasurer upon the death of Mr. Stagg, in the preceding year, and later having been chosen president, as already stated. In 1898 also Mr. Kiefer was promoted to the position of secretary and treasurer, and Edward H. Collins became as- sistant secretary and treasurer. Colonel Jerome Croul, an especially capable and popular officer, died in 1899, and was succeeded by William S. Green in the office of second vice- president. In 1900 the number of members on the board of directors was increased to eleven, the personnel at the present time being as fol- lows: D. M. Ferry, E. H. Flinn, H. Kirke White, F. H. Croul, William S. Green, J. B. Book, A. L. Stephens, Frank W. Eddy, S. Y. Seyburn, William V. Moore, and Charles F. Collins. Following are the names of the pres- ent executive officers of the bank : Charles F. Collins, president; D. M. Ferry, first vice- president ; W. S. Green, second vice-president ; A. K. Kiefer, secretary and treasurer; and E. H. Collins, assistant secretary and treasurer.

The capital of the Wayne County Savings Bank at the time of its incorporation was fifty thousand dollars, and notwithstanding the magnificent expansion of the business this figure represented the capital stock until I900, when, with the change in the state law governing banks with savings de- posits of more than five millions of dollars, the capital of the bank was augmented to its present figure of four hundred thousand dol- lars. The surplus fund (1908) aggregates one million dollars; the undivided profits about three hundred thousand dollars, and the de- posits have reached the noteworthy aggregate of more than eleven millions. On the 18th of September, 1901, the bank secured a renewal

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of its charter for a term of thirty years, and its original policy of operation has remained es- sentially unchanged during the long period of its notably successful history. The bank owns and utilizes one of the most commodious and consistently arranged bank buildings in De- troit, the same being located at 32-34 Congress street west. The structure is six stories in height, and the entire main floor is used by the offices and fine safety-deposits vaults, few banks having so much available space for their own use. The safety vaults, of the most mod- ern type, contain more than nine hundred com- partments, fire and burglar proof, and in addi- tion to this there are two other fire-proof vaults for the storage of more bulky effects, such as silver plate and other family or household valuables. The bank has long controlled a magnificent business, but each year records a still farther expansion, indicative of popular confidence and appreciation.

H. W. NOBLE & COMPANY.

Exercising important functions and to be noted as one of the representative concerns of its kind in the state of Michigan, the firm of H. W. Noble & Company controls a large and substantial business in the handling of bonds, local stocks, etc., while special attention is given to the placing of public-utility bonds of high grade. The enterprise is conducted along normal and conservative lines and absolute re- liability has gained to the firm high prestige in financial circles. Elsewhere in this volume is given a brief outline of the career of Herbert W. Noble, the founder and head of the firm.

The business was established in 1894, by Herbert W. Noble and William E. Reilly, and operations were then initiated under the firm title of Reilly & Noble. In 1896 Mr. Reilly retired from the firm and Mr. Noble thereupon assumed control of the enterprise, adopting the present title of H. W. Noble & Company. He continued the business individually until 1903, when William E. Moss was admitted to partnership and the title of the firm was changed to Noble, Moss & Company. Mr. Moss retired from the business on the Ist of

January, 1905, and shortly afterward Mr. Noble formed a partnership with J. Henry Wood, with whom he has since been asso- ciated under the title designated at the head of this article. The firm has shown much dis- crimination in the handling of stocks and bonds of the highest grade and has placed many im- portant securities on the market. A branch office is maintained in the city of Philadelphia, in the Land Title building, and the same is in charge of Mr. Wood, the junior member of the firm. The firm is a member of the Ameri- can Bankers' Association, the Michigan Bank- ers' Association, and the Pennsylvania Bankers' Association-connections which well indicate its status in the field of financial opera- tions. The Detroit offices of the firm are lo- cated in the Penobscot building, Fort street west.

THE CENTRAL SAVINGS BANK.

This solid, popular and representative bank- ing institution of Detroit was established in 1888, and opened its doors for business on the 18th of April of that year. The founder of the bank was Joseph C. Hart, who had previously been engaged in the insurance busi- ness in Detroit for a number of years and who had become impressed with the idea that a banking house located in the center of the retail business district would meet a popular demand and liberal support. Results have most fully shown that his judgment and pre- science were justified. Associated with Mr. Hart in the organization and incorporation of the Central Savings Bank were Charles K. Latham, Gilbert Hart and Conrad Clippert. The bank was incorporated with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars and its first officers were as here noted : Gilbert Hart. president ; Conrad Clippert, vice-president ; and Joseph C. Hart, cashier. The chairman of the first board of directors was Michael J. Murphy, and other members of the original directorate were: William T. Gage, Marvin H. Chamberlain, Julius Stroh, Henry F. Lis- ter, William C. Stoepel, Henry O. Walker, William H. Irwin, and Albert E. Leavitt. The

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first banking offices were opened in the old Detroit Opera House building, which was de- stroyed by fire in November, 1897, and the institution was then removed to 151 Griswold street, in what was then known as "Bank Row."

In January, 1900, a controlling interest in the bank was secured by John M. Nicol, a broker who represented in the transaction Harry J. Fox and a number of his friends, Mr. Fox at the time having been auditor of the Home Savings Bank. The deposits at the time aggregated five hundred thousand dol- lars, and under the new regime the following named officers were elected: William A. Pungs, president ; Conrad Clippert, first vice- president ; Charles P. Collins, second vice-pres- ident; and Harry J. Fox, cashier. Mr. Clip- pert died in the autumn of the same year and was succeeded by William Reid. In 1904 William P. Holliday succeeded Mr. Pungs in the office of president, and Charles P. Collins succeeded Mr. Reid as first vice-president, while the office of second vice-president, va- cated by Mr. Reid, was filled by the election of William T. Gage. Since these changes none other has been made in the personnel of the executive corps. The bank retained quar- ters on Griswold street until August 12, 1907, when were secured the present finely appointed offices in the magnificent Majestic building, on the Campus Martius.

William P. Holliday, president of the Cen- tral Savings Bank, is a well known manufac- turer of Detroit, where his capitalistic inter- ests are large and varied. He is the subject of an individual sketch on other pages of this work and is distinctively one of the substan- tial and representative business men of De- troit, in whose continued progress he has at all times shown an abiding faith and confi- dence. He is a director of the American Ex- change National Bank and was the first treas- urer of the Detroit Board of Commerce.

Charles P. Collins, first vice-president of the Central Savings Bank, is the founder and head of the great cigar manufacturing busi- ness which is conducted under his name, and is a well known and successful business man

of the Michigan metropolis. The second vice- president, William T. Gage, is general agent for Michigan of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee. As a counselor in regard to insurance matters his services are of especial value to the bank. Samuel T. Douglas, attorney of the bank and a member of its directorate, is a representative member of the Detroit bar and has large cap- italistic interests in the city ; he is a director of the Detroit Trust Company.

Harry J. Fox, cashier of the Central Sav- ings Bank, has been closely identified with banking interests in Detroit for about twenty years and his marked ability in handling and directing financial affairs is well recognized. From 1889 to 1891 he was corresponding clerk in the Peninsular Savings Bank, and thereafter he was auditor of the Home Sav- ings Bank until 1900, when he resigned to accept his present office.

The Central Savings Bank was one of the first to realize the importance and value of branch banking offices. Its first branch was established in 1903, at the corner of St. Aubin and Canfield avenues, and the management of the same has been entrusted from the begin- ning to Basil A. Lemke, son of the first Polish settler in the northeastern portion of the city. His family has been one of influence in that section, and has led in its civic and material development. Mr. Lemke has the un- qualified confidence of the residents of that part of the city in which the branch bank- ing office is thus located, and there a very suc- cessful and substantial business has been built up for the Central Savings Bank. In 1905 the second branch was established, an office being then opened in eligible quarters at the corner of Grand River and Fourteenth ave- nues. This branch is maintained under the management of Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, who was reared in that immediate locality and whose ability and personal popularity have inured greatly to the success of the business placed in his charge.

The capital stock of the Central Savings Bank is one hundred thousand dollars, paid in, and its surplus and undivided profits aggre-

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gate about sixty-five thousand dollars. The commercial deposits, as shown in the official re- port of the bank issued September 23, 1908, were $301,984.25, and the savings deposits, $1,260,753.32.

THE AMERICAN EXCHANGE NATIONAL BANK.

Among the oldest and most favorably known financial institutions of the state of Michigan is this solid and popular banking house of Detroit, which was organized mainly through the efforts of Alexander H. Dey, who was here engaged in the private banking business from 1842 until 1865. In June of the latter year the American Exchange National Bank was incorporated with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The per- sonnel of the original executive corps was as follows: President, Alexander H. Dey ; vice- president, L. M. Mason; cashier, George B. Sartwell; directors-L. M. Mason, A. H. Dey, Franklin Moore, John J. Bagley, Jacob S. Farrand, Eber Ward, Charles Root, M. S. Smith, and Edward Kanter. The original cor- porate name was the American National Bank, and from the names of those most prom- inently interested in the new institution those who know the history of Detroit will at once recognize under how favorable auspices the bank began operations. Its standing has ever remained of the highest and it has at all times enlisted the capitalistic support of leading cap- italists and business men of Detroit-men of impregnable integrity and honor.

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Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 23

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