USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 50
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Mr. Burton has an eminently judicial mind, and a clear and ample knowledge of the science of jurisprudence. He had gained no slight prestige in the practice of law in the earlier days and his success in the profession was practically assured of being pronounced and cumulative had he not found it expedient to direct his energies in other fields. He has han-
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dled large and valuable properties in Detroit and Wayne county and in his real-estate opera- tions been most successful, as might be inferred from his intimate knowledge of values. To his fine abstract files recourse is had by practically all leading dealers of real estate in the county, as well as by those making individual sales or purchases.
While never imbued with political ambition Mr. Burton has ever been arrayed as a stalwart and appreciative supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and he has done effective serv- ice in the cause. He was a member of the state constitutional convention in the spring of 1908 and had much to do with shaping the new con- stitution to be presented to the people of Michigan for ratification in the autumn of the present year (1908). He has been an influential member of the board of education of Detroit since 1902, and his interest in the work of the public schools of the city has been shown in a determined advocacy of effective measures of control and administration. In the matter of religion Mr. Burton has ever shown a deep respect for the spiritual verities, but he is not a supporter of creeds or dogmas, basing his opinions upon scientific data and holding practically to the agnostic belief. He recog- nizes the various religious denominations as valuable and worthy moral factors in every community and has been a liberal contributor to their work, though far from being in accord with their canonical tenets.
It is with special gratification that the writer adverts at this point to a work which has en- grossed much of the time and intellectual re- sourcefulness of Mr. Burton,-that of histor- ical and general literary research and apprecia- tion. In this field his accomplishment has been almost phenomenal, in view of the exactions placed upon him by his business affairs. A mind particularly enriched and illumined by
discriminating reading and study of the best in classical and historical literature, as well as that of contemporary order, has found its greatest recreation in deep research work and in the accumulation of a most extensive and valuable private library, in which are found
many rare, unique and especially valuable works. Mr. Burton's pride in his private library, one of the best of its kind in the mid- dle west, if not in the entire Union, is well justified, and no man in the state is more in- timately informed upon its history, from the earliest period to the present time. His inter- est in literature has not, however, been hedged in by selfishness or the narrow reserve of the helluo librorum. This is shown in a significant way by his presentation to the University of Michigan of a great collection of works per- taining to the French revolution and of early installments of that colossal and monumental publication, "Stevens' Facsimilies of European Archives Relating to American Affairs at the Era of the Revolution." A fitting recognition of his benefactions to the university, as well as of his profound delving in the field of litera- ture, was given by that institution when it con- ferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts, which would have been his had he com- pleted his prescribed course in the university in his youthful days. Later the university also conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. He is now in- cumbent of the office of city historiographer of Detroit.
It is deemed consonant to reproduce in this connection an estimate of Mr. Burton which was given by one who has known him intim- ately from his childhood and who has regarded his career with admiring interest. This esti- mate originally appeared in the Cyclopedia of Michigan, edition of 1900, and is as follows:
"Mr. Burton is a man of large physique and dignified bearing, of pleasing address, of ge- nial disposition and cordial manners; loyal to his friends, generous to his employes, and courteous to everybody. He has indomitable energy, good judgment, and excellent execu- tive ability. His mind has a natural legal bent and a fair degree of judicial aptitude, coupled with fondness for historical research. He at- tained a good standing while at the bar, and would doubtless have grown to a high position in the profession had he remained in it. He seems to have had an early taste for the in- tricate and knotty problems of realty law,
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which may have had something to do with diverting his footsteps into their present path- way. He has taken hold of the abstract busi- ness with an earnestness that indicates an in- tention to make it a life work, and with that purpose in view has laid his plans on a broad and comprehensive scale; every item of the work is planned and carried out not with ref- erence to the immediate profit alone but with a forecast of future needs and requirements. Ev- erything that bears upon land titles, whether historical, topographical or biographical, is sure to find in him an interested investigator. Working at his desk from eight in the morn- ing till six at night, or later if need be, he will then sit up till the small hours come around again, tinkering in his great library upon some literary scheme that has attracted his attention. His researches have taken him to the early archives of Canada and France, whence he has unearthed some very interesting informa- tion bearing upon the early history of Detroit and Michigan. He is never happier than when delving into some old, musty records of the past. Few men have anything like his knowl- edge of the early history of Detroit in its minute details. He combines in an uncommon way the qualities of a business man who pur- sues literary investigations without injury to his business, and of a student whose business does not interfere with his researches."
On Christmas day of the year 1872, Mr. Burton was united in marriage to Miss Har- riet J. Nye, daughter of the late Nelson B. Nye, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they had eight children. After the death of Mrs. Har- riet J. (Nye) Burton, Mr. Burton married, on the 21st of June, 1900, Mrs. Anna (Mon- roe) Knox, and they have one child.
HENRY MARTIN DUFFIELD.
General Duffield is a representative of one of the old and honored families of Detroit; he served with much distinction in the civil war and, many years later, in the Spanish-Ameri- can war; he is a representative member of the bar of the state of Michigan, and as a loyal and public-spirited citizen he is widely known and honored in his native city and state. He is a son of Rev. George Duffield, D. D., and
Isabella Graham (Bethune) Duffield, whose names are held in reverent memory in Detroit. An extended sketch concerning the Duffield family is incorporated on other pages of this work, with special tributes to the parents of General Duffield, and in view of this fact it is not demanded that the comprehensive data be further considered in the article at hand.
Henry M. Duffield was born in Detroit, on the 15th of May, 1842, at which time his hon- ored father was pastor of the First Presbyterian church of this city, having assumed this charge in the year which marked the admission of Michigan to the federal Union. General Duf- field was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Detroit and was graduated in the old Capitol high school as a member of the class of 1858. He thereafter was a student for one year in the University of Michigan, and upon leaving this institution he entered the junior class of Williams College, at Will- iamstown, Massachusetts, in which he was graduated in 1861, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The intrinsic loyalty and patriotism of the young collegiate was significantly shown almost immediately after his graduation, for he promptly tendered his services in defense of the Union at the very inception of the civil war. On the 16th of August, 1861, he en- listed as a volunteer, and incidentally had the distinction of being the first student of his alma mater to take this action. On the 10th of the following September he was enrolled as a pri- vate in the Ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and he was mustered in as sergeant major. On the 12th of the following month he was pro- moted first lieutenant, and three days later his regiment was mustered into the United States service, with Lieutenant Duffield as adjutant. He proceeded with his command to the field of operations in Kentucky. Soon afterward he was appointed assistant adjutant-general of the Twenty-third Brigade, Army of the Cum- berland. It was his fortune to be an active participant in many of the most important en- gagements which marked the progress of the great internecine conflict and to win, through gallant and meritorious service, successive offi- cial promotions. While it is not possible with- in the circumscribed limitations of a sketch of
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this order to enter into full details concerning his record in the civil war, it is deemed but consonant that the following epitome of his service, from the records of the war depart- ment, be incorporated for richly merited per- petuation :
"Assigned to McCook's corps, Department of the Ohio, afterwards Army of the Cumber- land, November, 1861. Sixteenth Brigade, Department of the Ohio, December. On duty at West Point and various other places in Ken- tucky, constructing field works and bridges, until January 4, 1862. Assistant adjutant-gen- eral Twenty-third Brigade, Army of the Cum- berland, from February to July, 1862. De- tailed as adjutant-general of United States forces in Kentucky, stationed at Louisville, May, 1862. Pursuit of Morgan, Lebanon, Tennessee, May 5. Winchester, June 3 ; Swee- den's Cove, June 3; Chattanooga, June 7-8. Assistant adjutant-general on staff of General T. L. Crittenden, July 17, 1862. Murfrees- boro, July 13. Prisoner of war, exchanged August 15, 1862. On duty with provost guard, headquarters Fourteenth Army Corps, No-
Atlanta, from July 28 to September 2. Acting provost marshal general on staff of General George H. Thomas, from Chattanooga to At- lanta. Eutoy Creek, August 5-6; Mount Gilead Church, August 27; Jonesboro, August 31 to September 7; Lovejoy Station, Septem- ber 2-5. Mustered out and honorably dis- charged at Atlanta, Georgia, October 14, 1864."
From the above list the student of our na- tion's history can gain a definite idea of the long and arduous service accorded by General Duffield in the great conflict through which the integrity of the Union was perpetuated. At the inception of the Spanish-American war it was again the privilege of this veteran soldier to render service in arms. He received, un- solicited, a commission, from President McKin- ley, as brigadier-general of volunteers, and pro- ceeded to the scene of conflict in command of the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Michigan and Ninth Massachusetts volunteers. He took part in the campaign of Santiago de Cuba and in the attack on Aguadores, and after the de- parture of General Young he was in command of Siboney until stricken down with yellow fever, from the effects of which dread scourge he did not recover for many months. His service in the Spanish war was marked by the same fidelity and loyalty as were shown in his record during the Rebellion, and he gained new honors as a commanding officer of ability and discretion. Upon the recommendation of General Shafter, President Mckinley nomi- nated him as brevet major-general.
vember, 1862. Lavergne, December 27; Stone's River, December 30-31, 1862, and Jan- uary I-2-3, 1863. By order of General George H. Thomas assigned to command of mounted provost guard, headquarters Fourteenth Army Corps, June 9, 1863. Post adjutant, Chatta- nooga, November 9, 1863; Chattanooga, No- vember 23. Orchard Knob, November 24; Missionary Ridge, November 25. Assistant provost marshal general, Army of the Cumber- land, on staff of General George H. Thomas, General Duffield has ever retained a deep interest in military affairs and especially in his old comrades of the civil war. He is a mem- ber of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and in 1897 he served as commander of the Michigan Commandery of this noble organi- zation. He was the first commander of De- troit Post, No. 384, Grand Army of the Re- public, and is still an active member. He was also commander of the Michigan department of the Grand Army of the Republic and na- tional vice-commander in chief. In 1895 he was elected president of the Detroit Light March I to October 14, 1864; Army of the Cumberland, April 13 to May 18, 1864. Rockyface Ridge, May 8-11, 1864; Buzzard's Roost, May 10; Tunnel Hill, May 10; Resaca, May 13-16; Adairville, May 17-18; Caseville, May 19-22; Dallas, May 25 to June 4; Pump- kinvine Creek, May 27; New Hope Church, May 30; Kenesaw Mountain, June 9-30; Big Shanty, June 10; Golgotha, June 15; Pine Mountain, June 16; assault on Kenesaw, June 27; Nickajack Creek, July 2-5; Vining's Sta- tion, July 5; passage of Chattahoochie, July 6-10; Peach Tree Creek, July 19-20; siege of Guard, the oldest military organization in the
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city, and of this position he is still incumbent. tion and administration of municipal affairs. In 1874 he was appointed a member of the state military board of Michigan, with the rank of colonel, and as such he served on the staffs of Governors Bagley, Croswell and Jerome. Within his tenure of this position the militia of the state was reorganized and uni- formed. He continued in this office until Jan- uary, 1883, when he retired, having been presi- dent of the board at the time. In 1885 he was again appointed to the same office, by Governor Alger, being again chosen president of the board, and he served during the administration of General Alger as chief executive of the state.
Reverting to the point at which General Duffield completed his service in the civil war, it may be noted that he returned to Detroit, where he took up the study of law under the preceptorship of his brother, the late D. Be- thune Duffield, to whom a specific memoir is entered on other pages of this work. Under such able direction General Duffield made rapid progress in his assimilation of the minutiæ of the science of jurisprudence, and in 1865 he was admitted to the bar of his native state. During the long intervening period of more than forty years he has been engaged in the active practice of his profession, in which his success has been of most unequivocal order and in which he has added to the professional luster of the honored family name. He has been identified with much of the important litiga- tion in the various county, state and federal courts, and the records of the same bear evi- dence of his pronounced and manifold victories. As a counselor also his services have been re- tained by many representative corporations and business concerns, as well as private individ- uals. His knowledge of the law is profound, as he has continued a close and appreciative student and has a mind peculiarly judicial in its bent. He was counselor for the Detroit board of education from 1866 to 1870, and it is due to his efforts that to the public library are diverted the fines collected in the city police courts,-now amounting to full thirty thousand dollars annually. From 1881 to 1887 General Duffield was city counselor, and in this office he rendered admirable service in the protec-
He was the first president of the Michigan State Bar Association and has been a member of the American Bar Association from the time of its organization. He is professor of federal practice and jurisprudence in the Detroit Col- lege of Law. He served one term as a mem- ber of the board of water commissioners, of which he was chosen the presiding officer, also as a member of the board of park commission- ers. At the time of his retirement from the water board, in May, 1895, he was presented with a beautifully engrossed copy of the reso- lutions passed by his associates on the board. The testimonial is substantially as follows :
The members of the board of water commis- sioners of the city of Detroit desire to express their appreciation of the services rendered to this board and to the city of Detroit by Colonel Henry M. Duffield, whose term of office as water commissioner, covering a period of five years, has now expired. Distinguished for uni- form courtesy and polished address, a scholar by intellectual endowment and liberal educa- tion, patriotic and public-spirited, Colonel Duf- field combines in a pre-eminent degree those qualities that men respect and esteem. As president of the board he judiciously and skill- fully guided its policy with unassumed and quiet dignity, always patient and always con- siderate of the opposing opinions of others. His wisdom, acquired from long experience and familiarity with affairs, became the prop- erty of his fellow commissioners, and in the company of the wise man we all seemed wise. Anxious to obtain the most efficient service for the benefit of the city, and mindful that public position demands capacity, intelligence and honesty, he invariably recommended ap- pointments upon merit rather than favor, never using his official power for personal ends. We are consoled for his loss as a fellow commis- sioner by the knowledge that he is still our fel- low citizen,-one for whom we shall always continue to entertain the highest regard and in whose welfare we shall ever feel an earnest concern.
In 1903 President Roosevelt appointed Gen- eral Duffield umpire in the German-Venezuelan arbitration, and he spent four months in Cara- cas as presiding officer of that tribunal. His services were commended highly in a joint let-
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ter of the German and Venezuelan commission- ers, who thus gave mark of appreciation in such terms that the text of the letter was given out from the White House to the Associated Press, by the direction of the president.
In his political allegiance General Duffield has always been arrayed as a stalwart supporter and advocate of the principles of the Repub- lican party, in whose cause he has given large and effective service. He was chairman of the Republican state central committee and a mem- ber of the Michigan delegation to the Repub- lican national conventions at Chicago and In- dianapolis, being foremost in forwarding the candidacy of General Russell A. Alger, De- troit's honored. and distinguished citizen, for nomination for the presidency. He was chair- man of the Michigan delegation to the national Republican convention at Minneapolis. He has never sought or desired political prefer- ment, though his name has been often sug- gested in connection with offices of high public trust. He and his wife are zealous and valued members of the Presbyterian church and lib- erally support its various departments of work. The General is an active member of the Union League Club and the University Club, both of New York city, the Army and Navy Club, of Washington, D. C., and the Detroit Club, Yondotega Club and Country Club. He is identified with a large number of representa- tive civic and social organizations, including the Sons of the American Revolution and the Detroit lodge of Elks.
On the 29th of December, 1863, was sol- emnized the marriage of General Duffield to Miss Frances Merrill Pitts, a daughter of the late Samuel Pitts, of Detroit, and a direct descendant of Mayflower Puritan stock. She died in 1906. General and Mrs. Duffield had seven sons, all of whom save one have been graduated in Harvard University, and all are well upholding the honors of an honored name. Henry M. Duffield, Jr., is secretary of Detroit White Lead Works; Pitts Duffield is presi- dent of Duffield & Company, publishers, New York; Divie Bethune Duffield is an attorney and a partner of his father in the firm of H. M. & D. B. Duffield, Union Trust building; Dr. self. He became an apprentice to a cabinet-
Francis Duffield resides at 248 Seminole ave- nue, Detroit; Morse S. Duffield is a mining engineer, at Salt Lake City; and Graham Duffield is general manager of the Michigan Equipment Company, Majestic building, Detroit.
CALEB VAN HUSAN.
Success in any line of occupation, in any avenue of business, is not a matter of spon- taneity but is the legitimate offspring of sub- jective effort, the improvement of opportunity and the exercise of the highest functions made possible by the specific ability. To trace the history of a successful and worthy life must ever prove profitable and satisfying indulgence, for the history of the individual is the history of the nation; the history of the nation that of the world. The subject of this memoir at- tained to a high degree of success in material affairs, having to do with the matters of broad scope and influence, and over and above this his private life was singularly pure and noble, -one altogether worthy of emulation. He eminently deserves classification among those self-made men who have distinguished them- selves for their ability to master the opposing forces in life and to wrest from fate a large measure of success and an honorable name.
Mr. Van Husan had his nativity and youth encompassed by those environments which have ever made for the development of strong individuality and sterling attributes of char- acter. He was a pioneer of Michigan and his name has no insignificant place in her annals and those of the city of Detroit. He was born at Manchester, Ontario county, New York, on the 13th of March, 1815, and was a son of William Van Husan, a native of Holland, whence he immigrated to America when a youth. The subject of this sketch remained at the parental home, receiving limited edu- cational advantages, until he had attained to the age of thirteen years, when his mother died. This fact, coupled with the very lim- ited financial circumstances of the family, proved the impetus which sent the boy forth to grapple with life's responsibilities for him-
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maker, was "furnished plain living and scanty clothing, but plenty of work, and by agree- ment was to have three months' schooling in the district school every year." His employer failed to provide for the schooling in harmony with his agreement and the boy determined to secure a release from his apprenticeship. In order to compass this result he was compelled to furnish security for a suit of clothes pur- chased for but withheld from him. Of this episode in his early independent career the following pertinent statements have been made: "Three neighbors, who were struck with the diligence and sturdy energy of the boy, became security for the clothes. Caleb then went to Albion, New York, where he worked at his trade and earned the fourteen dollars necessary to pay for the clothes, thus relieving his friends from their obligation. In this we have early evidence of the sterling business integrity which characterized him through his entire life."
In February, 1836, when only twenty years of age, Mr. Van Husan was united in mar- riage to Miss Catherine Jackson, daughter of Samuel Jackson, of Palmyra, New York, and soon afterward he became associated with his father-in-law in the general merchandise busi- ness. In November, 1838, he took up his resi- dence in Saline, Michigan, which was then a small forest hamlet in a sparsely settled sec- tion, and there opened a country store. He remained there until 1853 and in the meanwhile built up a very prosperous business, as meas- ured by the standards of the time and locality, accumulating a fair property and a high repu- tation for fair and honorable dealing as a busi- ness man. While a resident of Saline he was elected to represent his county in the state leg- islature, serving one term,-the session of 1844. In 1846 he was one of the four dele- gates from Michigan who attended the great river and harbor convention in Chicago.
In 1853, realizing the broader opportunities offered in the metropolis of the state, Mr. Van Husan removed to Detroit, where he was en- gaged in the mercantile business about two years, at the expiration of which he retired, though only forty years of age at the time.
It was not his to remain inactive, however, and as his capital increased through his various investments he found ample demand upon his time and attention. For many years he was a member of the directorate of the Detroit Locomotive Works; he was also a director of the Michigan Insurance Company Bank, which later became the First National Bank of De- troit ; and he was elected the first president of the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance, remain- ing incumbent of this office until the time of his death and being one of the dominating fig- ures in the building up of the magnificent insti- tution. It has well been said that "his business habits and well known integrity aided very greatly in making that insurance company one of the most successful in the country." In the great Chicago, Manistee and Muskegon fires of 1871 every dollar of the capital stock and surplus of the company was lost, but so great was the faith of its stockholders in its man- agement that each of the number at once con- tributed his quota of the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars necessary to restore the capital stock.
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