USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 53
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Nathaniel Chipman, LL. D., was born at Salisbury, Connecticut, November 15, 1752, and when he was about twenty-four years of age, at the time a member of the senior class in Yale College, he withdrew to enter the Revo- lutionary army, in which he had received com-
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mission as a lieutenant. He was with the merit an enduring place on the roll of the hon- ored pioneers of this state.
troops during the winter of privation and suf- fering at Valley Forge, and later was a partici- part in the battles of Monmouth and White Plains. While he was thus in active service his alma mater conferred upon him his degree of Bachelor of Arts. He finally resigned his com- mission, after a period of faithful and gallant service, and, after studying law under effective preceptorship, he finally removed to Vermont, where he passed the residue of his life. He married Sarah Hill, and of their seven chil- dren the eldest was Henry, father of Judge J. Logan Chipman.
As a young man Henry Chipman went to the south, and in South Carolina he married Miss Martha Logan, daughter of a wealthy planter and distinguished citizen of that pa- trician old commonwealth, and one who was a valiant soldier in the Continental army in the war of the Revolution. Of the gracious consort thus taken unto himself by Henry Chipman the following words have been writ- ten : "She was a woman of great energy, as became the wife of a pioneer,-benevolent, generous, and, withal, possessing a sweetness of disposition which was a marked characteris- tic of her distinguished son who bore her fam- ily name." Henry Chipman came to Michigan as a pioneer of the year 1824 and settled in Detroit. He was a man of education and cul- ture, and yet had the courage, fortitude and physical strength so requisite in the makeup of a settler in a frontier forest region. He, by very virtue of character and ability, at once assumed a position of prominence and influ- ence in the community. He served as one of the territorial judges from 1827 until 1832, was chief justice of the county court of Wayne county in 1825 and judge of the recorder's court of Detroit in 1835. He was senior mem- ber of the firm of Chipman & Seymour, who published a Whig paper from 1825 until 1829. He was a man of strong individuality and wielded great influence in public affairs in the formative epoch of Detroit and Michigan his- tory. Both he and his wife continued to re- side in Detroit until their death. Their names
John Logan Chipman was born in Detroit, which was then the capital of the territory of Michigan, on the 5th of June, 1830, and from the foregoing subject-matter it may easily be inferred that he inherited an alert mentality and a possible predilection for the law. He was reared to manhood in his native city, which was then but a village, and after duly availing himself of the advantages of the common schools he continued his studies in the Detroit branch of the state university, which great in- stitution was then in its infancy. Before com- pleting his collegiate work he entered the serv- ice of the Montreal Mining Company, for which he made explorations in the wilds of the upper peninsula of Michigan, in search of eligible localities for mining operations. In the meanwhile he prosecuted the study of law with much avidity and earnestness, even when absent in the primitive wilds of the upper coun- try, and there he was located at the time when he was admitted a member of the bar of his native state. His experiences in "roughing it"' were a source of satisfaction and profit to him then and in later years, and he often referred to them with appreciative reminiscence. He became well acquainted with the Indians and their characteristics, and as a man and lawyer later championed their interests on many occa- sions. He loved nature and was humanity's friend, as all who knew him at any period could amply testify. He materially aided the government in making treaties with the vari- ous Indian tribes in this section of the Union.
After his return to Detroit Judge Chipman turned his attention to the active practice of his profession. In 1853 he was assistant clerk of the house of representatives in the state leg- islature,-the last in which the Democratic forces held control for at least four decades. In 1856 he was elected city attorney of Detroit, of which office he remained incumbent four years, within which he added materially to his profes- sional prestige. In 1864 he was elected a mem- ber of the state legislature, and in the house he made a record for faithful service marked by great discrimination and ability. He was never
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afraid of work and he showed this in the legis- lature, as did he in all other places of trust to which he was called. In 1866 he made his first venture into national politics, as the leader of a forlorn Democratic hope, making a spirited campaign as a candidate for congress but being unable to overcome the great odds against him, though he carried the city of Detroit by a splendid majority and further cemented the ties which bound him to his native place and its people. In 1867 Judge Chipman became attorney for the city police board, and he re- mained in tenure of this office until his eleva- tion to the bench of the Detroit superior court, in 1879. Prior to this he had devoted a quar- ter of a century to the practice of his chosen profession, in every function of which he ex- celled, being known as one of the ablest trial lawyers of Michigan at the time. Few have lent more of dignity and honor to the bench than did this eminent lawyer. While he was a versatile master of the science of jurispru- dence and familiar with the minutiæe of the same and with precedents, in his rulings he followed the innate promptings of equity and justice. In every cause presented before him he sought to marshal the facts before him and to determine the right in the case. Apropos of his services in this connection the following ex- tracts from a memorial address delivered in the house of representatives of congress, at the time of his death, by Mr. Weadock, of Michi- gan, are fittingly reproduced here : "When he saw what ought to be the law, he fearlessly proceeded in the faith that it was the law. This is undoubtedly the reason why, in repeated in- stances, the Michigan supreme court has ap- provingly quoted his nisi prius decisions as being almost perfect crystallizations of the legal principles governing the case in point." The love of justice was a dominating characteristic of the man, and he applied its principles to rich and poor alike, pomp and power being inadequate to awe him. At the expiration of his first term of six years on the bench he was elected as his own successor, and when he be- came the candidate of his party as representa- tive in congress he resigned from the bench to assume the responsibilities of the office to which
he was elected. From a history of the Bench and Bar of Michigan issued by the Century Publishing and Engraving Company, the fol- lowing excerpt is gained: "He was naturally a law-maker, as he was naturally a lawyer and judge. He was a representative of the busi- ness and civic interests of Detroit and Michi- gan, and had staunch friends among the peo- ple, regardless of party. He became a member of the committee on foreign affairs and his voice was the voice of young America. He had an eye to the future and advocated a policy which he declared would cause 'our flag to float where other flags were seen and which would give us a fair share of the commerce of the globe out of which other nations are making so much at our expense.' He was a friend of the soldier, and stoutly protected his interests. He was active in behalf of every proposed improvement of the Great Lakes and foresaw an ultimate deep-water way from the west to the ocean. He favored a vigorous for- eign policy, and declared that he never closed a public address without voicing the thought that Canada should be annexed to the Union. His career as a judge and representative are preserved in the history of the nation, and there his place is secure. He filled many posi- tions of trust and left a record without a stain. He died January 25, 1894, while yet in the full prime of his splendid powers. Fifty thou- sand people waited upon the funeral train which bore his remains through the streets of his native city to their last resting place in Elmwood cemetery. He was stricken down at home, in the midst of preparations for his journey to Washington, but in the face of dan- ger he went to the capital. He grew worse and was carried to the hospital. When the fatal character of his disease became apparent and the result could not long be delayed, he took the hand of his faithful companion and said : 'Wife, repeat the Lord's Prayer with me,' and even as its accents were trembling on his lips he fell asleep, and the congress and the country lost one of their most faithful and useful rep- resentatives."
After the death of Judge Chipman both houses of congress held special memorial serv-
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ices, in which were delivered eulogies of the dead jurist and legislator,-a total number of fifteen addresses, and these were ordered printed by resolution of the house, the senate concurring, eight thousand copies being issued. In his home city, where he' was held in affec- tionate regard by all classes of citizens, there was a spontaneous tribute of grief and respect when the last obsequies were held over his mortal body,-a tribute that of itself alone in- dicated the true worth of the man who could call it forth after his soul had pierced the veil of eternity.
THE DUFFIELD FAMILY.
By reason of the prominence of this ster- ling family in connection with the history of Detroit, where numerous representatives of the name have lived and labored to goodly ends, it is consistent that a genealogical review should be incorporated in these pages, as com- plementary to the individual sketches of mem- bers of the family.
The lineage is traced to patrician French- Huguenot origin, and at the time of the revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes the family fled from religious persecutions thus entailed and sought refuge in England, whence representa- tives later went into Ireland, and from there came the original American progenitor. The name was originally spelled DuField. The founder of the American line was George Duf- field-or Dufell, as he spelled the name,-who was born in Ballymena county, Antrim, Ire- land, in 1690, and who emigrated thence to America, between 1725 and 1730. He was accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, and by their two sons. They settled in Octorara town- ship, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, whence they later removed to Salisbury, that state. George Duffield (I) died in the old Keystone state, in 1774. Of his children the following brief record is given: William was born in Ireland and died in Pennsylvania, on the 7th of January, 1799; his wife passed away Sep- tember 3, 1804. They became the parents of seven children,-George, John, William, Da- vid, Samuel, James, and Susan. George, John and Samuel became physicians, and Susan mar-
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ried a man named Bell. John Duffield, second son of the founder of the family in America, was born in Ireland and died in Pennsylvania in 1772. He married and became the father of five children,-George, John, Elizabeth, Fran- cina and Margaret. George (II), third son of George (I), was born in Piqua, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1732, and figures as the ancestor of the Duffields of Detroit. Samuel, who was born in Piqua, Pennsylvania, in 1730, died in Philadelphia, November 14, 1814. His chil- dren were six in number. Mary, the next in order of birth, married a Mr. McIlvaine, and they had two sons,-George and Andrew.
George Duffield (II), progenitor of those of the name in Michigan, was twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Eliza- beth Blair, died in 1757, without issue. In 1759 he married Margaret Armstrong, a daughter of James Armstrong, a noted Indian fighter on the frontier, and a sister of General John Armstrong, of Revolutionary fame. John Armstrong held the rank of major gen- eral in the Continental army and in 1778-9 was a member of the provincial congress from Pennsylvania.
George Duffield (II) was educated at Newark, New Jersey, and in Princeton Col- lege, that state, where he was graduated in 1752. He was for some time a classical tutor in Newark. On the IIth of March, 1756, he was licensed to preach, by the presbytery at Newcastle, Pennsylvania, and he was formally ordained a minister of the Presbyterian church, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, September 25, 1761. Soon after the inception of the war of the Revolution this noble patriot joined the Con- tinental forces, assuming the office of chap- lain, with the rank of colonel. He accompa- nied his command to New Jersey and he and the Rev. John Eller were known as the "fight- ing parsons." While with the colonial troops he continued his earnest warfare against the "world, the flesh and the devil," preaching to the soldiers and exerting a powerful influence. Enlisted in a righteous cause, his loyalty was of the most strenuous order and he did effective service in behalf of the cause of independence. So great was his enthusiasm and his power
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over the men in the ranks that he was recog- nized by the enemy as a formidable antagonist, and at one time the British officers placed a bounty of fifty pounds on his head. He ac- companied the army on its retreat through New Jersey and was one of the very last to cross the bridge south of Trenton before it was de- stroyed by General Washington. Prior to the war, in conjunction with Bishop White, he had served as chaplain of the provincial congress. After victory had crowned the arms of the valiant colonies he was specially active in re- organizing the Presbyterian church, and he continued active in good works, a strong and noble character-until his death, which oc- curred in the city of Philadelphia, on the 2d day of February, 1790. Concerning his chil- dren the following brief data are entered: Elizabeth died unmarried; John A. died in 1763; George (III) was born in 1767; John Edward was born in 1769 and died in 1770.
George Duffield (III) was born in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of July, 1767, and was there reared and educated, be- coming one of the prominent and influential citizens of his native city, where he was en- gaged in the mercantile business for a number of years. For nine years he was incumbent of the office of state comptroller general of Penn- sylvania. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, with whose history in America the name has been conspicuously linked since the colonial epoch. George Duffield (III) mar- ried Miss Faithful Slaymaker, a daughter of Judge Henry Slaymaker and a descendant of Matthias Slaymaker, who came as a pioneer to America in 1710, settling on what were known as the "London lands," a tract of one thousand acres, in Pennsylvania, this name having undoubtedly been given by him. The Slaymaker family was one of prominence in connection with the affairs of the American colonies, and representatives of the same were aligned as valiant soldiers in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution. George and Faithful (Slaymaker) Duffield became the parents of two sons and two daughters, of whom the eldest was George (IV), the founder of the Detroit branch of the family; Sophia,
who was born in 1796, became the wife of Mark Hodgson, of New London Cross Roads, Pennsylvania; Henry was born in 1805; and Amanda became the wife of Amos Alexander, of New London Cross Roads.
George Duffield (IV) was born at Stras- burg, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of July, 1794, and his early educational training was secured in the common schools, after which he entered the University of Pennsylvania, in which he was graduated at the early age of sixteen years. He then became a student in the theological seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian church in New York city, and in 1815 he was licensed to preach. His first pastoral charge was at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he remained for a period of nineteen years, loved and revered by his flock, as was he also by those over whom he later ministered. After leaving Carlisle he held an important pastorate in Philadelphia for two years, at the expiration of which he ac- cepted a call to the Broadway Tabernacle, New York city, where he remained as pastor until 1837, when he came to Detroit, Michigan, as pastor of the First Presbyterian church. He continued as pastor of this church until his death, in 1868, and his efforts were fruitful in the extreme, making for the promotion of both the spiritual and temporal welfare of the organization. His name is inscribed with all of honor and reverence upon the history of this church, and his consecration and zeal were equalled only by his fine intellectual gifts and his power as an exemplar of the faith which he professed. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity and was recognized as a power in the church to whose work he gave so many years of his long and useful life. He con- tinued a resident of Detroit until his death, which occurred on the 24th of June, 1868.
On the IIth of September, 1817, was sol- emnized the marriage of Rev. George Duffield, D. D., and Isabella Graham Bethune, who was a daughter of Divie and Joanna (Gra- ham) Bethune. Her father was born at Ding- wald, Rosshire, Scotland, in 1771, and as a young man came to America, eventually be- coming a successful merchant in New York . city. Dr. and Mrs. Duffield became the parents
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of five sons and one daughter, of whom George (V) was the eldest; Divie Bethune, who became one of the most eminent members of the Wayne county bar, is the subject of a special memoir in this volume; William W., a civil engineer by profession, died in the city of Washington, D. C., on the 22d of June, 1907: he was a brigadier general in the civil war, having gone into service as colonel of the Ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, at the in- ception of the war and having served until the battle of Murfreesboro, in which he was so severely wounded as to incapacitate him for further field service : he was also a valiant soldier in the Mexican war; Samuel Pierce Duffield was the third son; and Henry M., the youngest of the sons, likewise attained to distinction as an officer in the civil war, in which he held the rank of colonel at the time of his discharge : he has been for many years engaged in the practice of law in Detroit and is individually mentioned in this work; the only daughter, Isabella Graham, became the wife of Dr. Morse Stewart and died May 27, 1888.
JOSEPH H. BERRY.
The man whose enterprise has included within its grasp wide commercial traffic and the production of valuable commodities has really achieved a greater triumph and won far more than the warrior who has led conquer- ing hosts over desolate homes and amid ruins of sacked cities; and if this peaceful hero uses his wealth as wisely as he acquires it, and by his progressiveness and beneficence contributes to the happiness and contentment of thousands, then are his victories greater than those of any marshaled host whose garments are stained with human blood, for his have been triumphs over the forces of worldly opposition and the selfish passions of men. "He that ruleth his own spirit is greater than he that taketh a city." Among the heroes of such worthy ac- complishment in the city of Detroit Joseph H. Berry is entitled to an exceptionally high place of honor and distinction. No one man has done more to augment the industrial supremacy of the metropolis of Michigan; his strength
was as the number of his days; and during a long and successful commercial life, charac- terized by broadness and liberality, he ever maintained a reputation for the highest honor and principle, no unworthy word or deed ever linking itself with his name and no citizen of Michigan having made better or more unos- tentatious use of his powers and his resulting accumulations.
Founder and head of the great concern of Berry Brothers, varnish manufacturers, and president of and largest stockholder in more than a score of important business enterprises, Mr. Berry was known as a man of almost phe- nomenal capacity in a detail and administrative way and as a financier of profound wisdom and judgment. The great varnish works which he founded have represented one of the most important factors in the industrial de- velopment of Detroit and there is no larger concern of like character in the world, its trade territory extending to the most distant lands. For more than half a century Mr. Berry lived and labored in Detroit, utilizing his splendid talents and energies to the supreme and wield- ing an influence which permeated the entire civic and business life of not only the city but also the state, to both of which his loyalty was of the most pronounced type.
So nearly as authentic data determine, Joseph H. Berry's lineage traces through the sturdiest of English stock, and his father was the founder of the immediate family in America. Mr. Berry was born in the historic old city of Elizabeth, Union county, New Jer- sey, on the 10th of March, 1839, and was a son of John Berry, a native of Lewes, England, who came to the United States in 1835, and located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he engaged in the tanning business, thus resuming the work of a trade which he had learned in his native land and which he had there followed from his boyhood until the time of his immi- gration to America. His eldest son, John A., was the first of the family in Detroit, and the father and other members of the family came here in 1855,-a date sufficiently early to en- title them to pioneer honors. The subject of this memoir passed his boyhood and early
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youth in his native town, where he was ac- corded such educational advantages as were afforded in well ordered private schools of the locality and period. From the date of his birth, as noted previously, it will be seen that he was sixteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Detroit, where his parents passed the remainder of their lives, and within a short time after the home was established in the "City of the Straits" Joseph H. secured employment in the wholesale chemical estab- lishment of the late Theodore H. Eaton.
His association with this line of enterprise was undoubtedly that which led to his found- ing of the industrial enterprise which proved the basis of his great success in an inde- pendent business career. While employed in the chemical house, realizing the inefficacy of ex- isting varnishes, he initiated a series of experi- ments with various gums and finally succeeded in producing what seemed to him a very satis- factory article of varnish. In 1858, about three years after his advent in Detroit, and practi- cally without anything definite in the way of financial resources, he courageously established himself in business for himself, confident that his new product would eventually meet with popular approval. He had already made slight introduction of his varnish in a local way, being his own salesman and having as his manufacturing apparatus one small copper ket- tle. From this modest beginning has been built up the great industrial enterprise now conducted by the firm of Berry Brothers, Lim- ited. In the year last mentioned Mr. Berry effected the lease of a small frame building in Springwells, at the extreme western section of the city of Detroit, and this constituted the original plant of the concern. With charac- teristic vigor he pushed forward his business, amplifying and perfecting his facilities as his income justified, and in 1860 he admitted to partnership his brother Thomas. In that year were erected the first buildings on the site of the present extensive plant, at the foot of Leib street, and the growth of the business is in- dicated in a measure by the fact that the build- ings of the firm cover at the present time a total of five acres, being of substantial con-
struction and having unrivaled equipment for the facile production of the high-grade pro- ducts,-varnishes and kindred articles,-which have gained to the concern a world-wide rep- utation and supporting patronage. Such pro- gress and prestige could be made possible only through the application of just such courage, tireless vigor and great executive ability as characterized the founder of the business.
In 1870 there was established in Chicago a western branch of the parent concern, and the continued expansion of the business brought about the opening of a similar branch in New York city in 1875, under the manage- ment of Alfred Hooper, who also opened like branches in each the cities of Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore in the following year, while later, branches were established in Cin- cinnati and San Francisco. In 1893 the firm became a limited partnership, under its present title, and the interested principals at the time were Joseph H. and Thomas Berry and Alfred Hooper. Thomas Berry retired from active work about 1878, and interested in the concern at the present, is the estate of the founder, Thomas Berry and also Mr. Alfred Hooper, who has likewise been a distinct factor in for- warding the success of the magnificent in- dustry.
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