USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 62
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Mr. Du Charme was a man of engaging per- sonality, leal and loyal in his friendships, which were many and representative. He was gener- ous to a fault but still was practical and dis- criminating in his rendering of assistance. He was a firm believer in pushing young men to the front and helped many such to start in busi- ness for themselves,-an attitude too seldom maintained by men of affairs at the present day. His charities and benevolences were numerous but unpublished to the world, being known chiefly to the recipients.
Aside from his connection with the enter- prises of which mention has already been made, Mr. Du Charme was a director of the First National Bank, the People's Savings Bank and the Detroit Fire & Marine Insur- ance Company ; was also a member of the K. C. Barker & Company, tobacco manufacturers, and had capitalistic interest in various other concerns of somewhat less importance. In his political adherency he was a Republican.
On the 10th of August, 1853, was solemn- ized the marriage of Charles Du Charme to Miss Elsie Elizabeth Bartholomew, daughter of Albert M. Bartholomew, his former business associate. She was born in Montgomery, New York, May 1, 1830, and survived her honored husband by many years. She died in Detroit, January 14, 1892, and the memory of her gra- cious and gentle personality remains as a bene- diction to all who came within the sphere of her influence. Mrs. Du Charme was a direct descendant from William Bartholomew, who was born in Burford, England, in 1602 or 1603; and who arrived in Boston, Massachu- setts, September 18, 1634, in the ship "Grif- fin"; he was made a freeman at Boston within the year of his arrival in America and died at Charlestown, Massachusetts, January 18, 1680. Lieutenant William Bartholomew, a son of this worthy ancestor, served in King Phillip's war, having been made ensign at New Roxbury, now Woodstock, Connecticut, in 1689, and having been made lieutenant in 1691. Lieuten- ant Bartholomew was born at Ipswich, Massa-
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chusetts, in 1640, and died in 1697. On the 17th of December, 1663, he was united in mar- riage to Mary Johnson, daughter of Captain Isaac and Elizabeth (Porter) Johnson, the former of whom was killed in the Narragan- sett Fort fight, December 19, 1675. Martin Bartholomew, Mrs. Du Charme's grandfather, married, on November 1, 1804, Sarah Noble, daughter of Rev. Seth Noble, who was a loyal soldier in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution. Albert Martin Bartholomew, father of Mrs. Du Charme, was born in Mont- gomery, Massachusetts, February 6, 1805, and his death occurred in Detroit, Michigan, March II, 1884.
Mr. and Mrs. Du Charme are survived by four sons,-Charles A., George A., Frederick T. and William H.
THOMAS LINN.
The reminiscences of the pioneer are ever instructive and diverting, for the past bears its lesson and incentive, whether considered in the remote cycles of time or from the standpoint of those of the present day but venerable in years. In a relative way Detroit is an old city, and few in the east excell it in historic interest and picturesque charm of annals. In view of its present status does it seem possible that within its environs there yet live those who well recall the primitive period when Grand Circus park was surrounded by a board fence, when cows, pigs and Canadian ponies ran at liberty about the streets, when pavements were prac- tically unknown, and when sidewalks were such as to scarce deserve the name? To the little city of not more than seven thousand pop- ulation the venerable and honored pioneer whose name initiates this sketch can revert from personal memory and association, and during all the long intervening years he has maintained his home in Detroit, to whose mate- rial and social development he has contributed his full quota. The reminiscences of such men merit an enduring place in the history of the city and the state.
Thomas Linn, one of the pioneer merchants of Detroit, where he is now living retired, after
years of earnest and fruitful endeavor, is a true Scotsman in the generous attributes of character which have ever denoted the man. He was born near the city of Glasgow, Scot- land, May 24, 1826, and is a son of William and Jean (Ralston) Linn, both of whom were born and reared in the venerable city of Glas- gow. In his native land the father followed the trade of weaver until 1842, when he came to the United States, in company with his wife and their three sons and two daughters. Of the children those living at the present time are the subject of this sketch and Janette, now Mrs. Charles A. Lorman, of Detroit. Concerning the arrival of the family in Detroit no better description can be given, perhaps, than that de- rived from a personal interview with Mr. Linn, published in a comparatively recent issue of the Detroit News :
"It was three o'clock in the morning of a beautiful July Sunday that a packet, the 'Ben Franklin,' touched at the foot of Brush street with a company of Scotch people aboard. Those who met that packet were men whose names were to become identified with the making of Detroit,-the Linns, Colin Campbell, An- drew Wilkie, John Moore, and the Barclays. But they did not intend to stay in Detroit at all. The company was bound for Chicago (Illinois they called all the western part then), and expected to go there on the 'Ben Frank- lin.' But the master of the packet was un- able to get enough passengers to make the trip profitable. All this, however, was not known to young Thomas Linn and Colin Campbell as they started out at three o'clock in the morning to survey the town of De- troit. They walked about a little in the dawn and then returned to find the master of the packet saying he would not go farther, and to find the Scotch company determined on sail- ing to Illinois. But the news spread through Detroit-think of that-that a number of Scotch people were on the wharf at the foot of Brush street, and all the Scotch residents of the town, and they were not a few, gathered around the company and entreated them to stay. By nine o'clock that Sunday morning houses had been found by the Scotch resi-
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dents for the newcomers, and the Linns were settled in a hired house in Catherine street, then far away in the outskirts of Detroit. One of the traits of the Scotsman, and one not in the least offensive, is clannishness, and when each of these Scotch families found another from the same place in Scotland, Detroit took on a homelike aspect to them."
The father of the subject of this sketch en- gaged in the work of his trade, which he found a source of modest income, and he also de- veloped a considerable business in the way of gardening. Both he and his devoted wife con- tinued to reside in Detroit until they were called to that "undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns." They were folk of sterling worth and their names merit a place of honor on the roll of Detroit pioneers of the early '40s. Thomas Linn had received good educational advantages in his native land and was seventeen years of age at the time of the family immigration to America. His first employment in Detroit was in the old-time brewery of Richard Hawley, on Bates street. In May, 1843, Colin Campbell previously men- tioned, entered into partnership with a High- lander named James Jack, and founded what was known as the Scotch Store, on Jefferson avenue. This was one of the old landmarks of the city, and the establishment was the first here to utilize the system of charging one price for the same article, no matter who was the purchaser, showing the intrinsic honesty and "squareness" of the true Scotch type. The firm handled general merchandise and also lum- ber and shingles, and much of their business was done by exchange for produce. Mr. Linn entered the employ of this firm as a clerk, hav- ing previously had some little experience as clerk in a grocery store in Scotland. At the expiration of four years the firm of Camp- bell & Jack was dissolved, and in the mean- while a branch had been established at Ann Arbor, Mr. Campbell assuming personal charge of the same and Mr. Linn going with him. When the partnership was dissolved Mr. Camp- bell came to Detroit, to which he shipped his Ann Arbor stock, changing his headquarters to a building at the corner of Woodard ave-
nue and Congress street, but soon returning to Jefferson avenue, which was then the retail center. The enterprise was continued at the corner of Jefferson and Woodward avenues for nearly twenty years, and the house be- came one of the most prominent mercantile concerns of its day.
In 1853 Mr. Linn was admitted to partner- ship, and the firm of Campbell & Linn held the highest reputation for fair and honorable dealing and for enterprising methods, build- ing up a large and representative trade and finally removing to the present site of the Richmond & Backus establishment, at the cor- ner of Woodward avenue and Congress street, where operations were continued for many years. After retiring from this business Mr. Linn entered the employ of Newcomb & Endi- cott, with which extensive and representative concern he remained until 1902, when he re- tired from all active business associations, after nearly sixty years of consecutive and intimate connection with the mercantile life of Detroit. At the time of his thus severing his long asso- ciation with Newcomb, Endicott & Company, the firm presented him with a fine gold watch and fob, and the employes of the concern were the donors of a generous leather easy chair and a gold-headed cane. For forty years he occupied the house at 38 Adams avenue west, one of the few old landmarks of that beautiful section of the city. This property, facing Grand Circus park, he sold in May, 1907, hallowed though it was by the gracious memories and associations of the past, to give way to com- mercial progress. A modern business build- ing is to be erected on the site.
Reverting to the interview from which ex- tract has already been made, the following in- teresting reminiscences are drawn :
"Yes, the park across the street (Grand Circus) was fenced in those days," said Mr. Linn. "You see, the pigs and cows strolled down the street and there were droves of French ponies that used to come down from the farms at Grosse Pointe and they overran everything. In the spring the mud was pretty deep, and many an ox team was moored in for hours. I remember the old Pontiac road,
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and how they used to pull the cars into the a pigmy among architectural giants, but it depot with horses. There was a little grocery was still home to the grey-haired patriarch who is spending his declining years with his wife, his son, his books and his memories. where the store of Wright, Kay & Company now is. General John R. Williams had two streets named after him,-one was the present On the 22d of July, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Linn to Miss Annie Stan- bery, who was born in the city of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Linn have one son, Dr. Robert S. Linn, who is one of the representative phy- sicians and surgeons of Detroit, where his life thus far has been passed. John R. and the other was Williams street, now Witherell. Speaking about taverns, the Cottage tavern used to be a long, low little place-you could touch the ceilings with your hands-on Woodward avenue between Larned street and Jefferson avenue, and there most of the leading men of the town had their gather- ings. On the west side of Washington avenue from Grand River avenue to this place there HENRY M. CAMPBELL. were no houses; that place used to be a chicken farm that supplied the Cottage tavern with fowl.
"And the walks in those days, why, young man, ye wudna know them now. In some places on Woodward avenue there were two planks laid lengthwise, and in most places only one plank, and when you stepped on one end of them you didn't know whether you were going to trip a body at the other end or not. * * * Why, in those days it required only two men to run the gas company. They had a place smaller than a dye-shop for their busi- ness, and Mr. Hanford and Peter Demill ran the whole outfit. Of course, this is all changed now. I have kept pace with Detroit until a year ago, when my heart troubled me a little, and I had to give up going to church, too, but I am coming around again and I expect to get out to church soon."
Mr. Linn joined the Disciples of Christ in 1843, long before a church building was in prospect. The few Disciples met in Thomas Hawley's house, and afterward they worshiped in the old church, now Henkel's livery stable, on Jefferson avenue, soon to be occupied by the temple of the Knights of Columbus.
Naturally, Mr. Linn was loth to leave his home-very loth. Forty years in the same rooms attaches one to them. Their associa- tions are precious. The house that once had a park of trees in front of it and wooded fields behind it, the cool air of the river bath- ing it every evening and the dawn of the morn- ing unobscured by high buildings, now sits like
This representative member of the Detroit bar has been distinctively successful in the exacting profession which his distinguished father, the late Judge James V. Campbell so signally dig- nified and honored, both as a legist and jurist, having been one of the first judges of the supreme court of the state after its reorganiza- tion in 1857, and having served on the bench of this highest tribunal of the commonwealth for many years, besides holding precedence in other lines germane to his profession. A trib- ute to the memory of Judge Campbell appears on other pages of this work, and to the same reference may be made for data concerning the family history as well.
Henry Munroe Campbell was born in the city of Detroit, on the 18th of April, 1854, and after duly availing himself of the advan- tages of the public schools he was matriculated, in 1872, in the literary department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, in which he was grad- uated as a member of the Centennial class,- that of 1876,-receiving the degree of a Bach- elor of Philosophy. The opening of the fol- lowing collegiate year witnessed his enroll- ment as a student in the law department of the same institution, and he completed the prescribed course with honors, being graduated in 1878 and receiving from his alma mater the further degree of Bachelor of Laws. Prior to his graduation he had passed the requisite examination and had gained admission to the bar of the state,-in 1878.
Soon after leaving the university Mr. Camp- bell initiated the active practice of his pro-
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fession in Detroit, where he formed a partner- ship with Henry Russel, under the firm title of Russel & Campbell, and this association has since been maintained. In 1882 Charles H. Campbell, who is a younger brother of the subject of this sketch, likewise became a mem- ber of the firm, with which he is still allied; of him individual mention is made in this work. Henry M. Campbell is a lawyer of broad and comprehensive knowledge of the science of jurisprudence and is strong in the presentation of causes before court or jury, but he has given his attention more specifically to corpora- tion law, in which branch of his profession he is a recognized authority and in which his serv- ices have been retained by many of the most important corporations in Detroit, as well as by others not of local order. In politics he is arrayed as a staunch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, but he has never en- tered the arena of practical politics, nor has he sought or desired public office, realizing that the law is a jealous mistress and demands of her votaries an unqualified allegiance and devotion. He is identified with various pro- fessional, fraternal and social organizations and is a devout communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, being a member of the vestry of the parish of Christ church.
On the 22d of November, 1881, Mr. Camp- bell was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Burtenshaw, daughter of the late James Burt- enshaw, of Detroit, and they have two children, -Henry M., Jr., who was born in 1885, and Douglas, who was born in 1888.
EDWARD H. BUTLER.
As president of the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company, one of the oldest and most solid institutions of the order in the state, Mr. Butler is to be classed among the representative business men of his native city, but farther than this his claims to distinction are fortified by wide capitalistic interests aside from his connection with the company men- tioned. He is the eldest of three sons of that honored pioneer and prominent banker, the late William A. Butler, a tribute to whose
memory appears within the pages of this publication.
Edward H. Butler was born in Detroit, on the 4th of August, 1841, and here he has passed his entire life. After duly availing himself of the advantages of the city schools he was matriculated in the University of Mich- igan, in 1857, there continuing his studies for some time but not to the point of grad- uation. In 1860 he entered his father's bank in the capacity of messenger boy and he rose through each succeeding grade of promotion until he became president of the institution, then known as the Mechanics' Bank, upon the death of his father. His total term of asso- ciation with the bank covered the long period of forty-two years, and for the last decade he served as president, retaining this office until the business of the institution was closed out. His standing in local financial circles is attested by the fact that for ten years he served as chairman of the Detroit Clearing House Association, and that for fifteen years he was a member of the clearing-house com- mittee. He is now vice-president of the De- troit Trust Company, one of the splendid finan- cial institutions of the city, and he is a large owner of local realty, besides having other capitalistic investments of important nature. Since 1891 he has served as a trustee and the treasurer of the Elmwood Cemetery Associa- tion, of which his father was long the president.
Mr. Butler is an ardent advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and has done effective work in forwarding the party cause in his native state. In 1880 he was a presidential elector and from 1883 to 1886 he was incumbent of the office of state treasurer, giving a most able and popular administration of the fiscal affairs of the com- monwealth. He holds membership in the De- troit Club, the Country Club, and other social or fraternal organizations, and enjoys distinc- tive popularity in both business and social circles. He is the fourth to be called to the presidency of the Detroit Fire & Marine In- surance Company, having been elected to this office in October, 1906.
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FRANK G. RYAN.
As showing the power of concentrating dis- tinctive technical and business energies and through this medium gaining concrete results of worth and magnitude, the career of Frank G. Ryan is specially worthy of study and consideration. A merited recognition of his splendid executive and scientific ability came in his election to the office of president of the corporation of Parke, Davis & Company, of Detroit, in April, 1907. He thus stands as the administrative head of the greatest con- cern of its kind in the world, and his firm grasp at the helm demonstrates the wisdom of having chosen him to the responsible and exacting office of which he is incumbent. It may be stated, incidentally, that in another department of this publication is given a brief review of the history of the company of which he is president.
Mr. Ryan is a native of the old Empire state of the Union, having been born at Marcel- lus Falls, Onondaga county, New York, on the 26th of December, 1861, and being a son of Francis A. and Sarah Amanda Ryan, both natives of the United States. His father was a paper manufacturer by vocation and was a man of sterling integrity and no inconsiderable business ability. When Frank G. Ryan was a child his parents removed to Elmira, New York, to whose public schools he is indebted for his earlier educational dis- cipline. After leaving school he was employed for three years in the well equipped pharmacy of Brown & Dawson, of Syracuse, New York, and in 1882 he was matriculated in the Phila- delphia College of Pharmacy, in which he com- pleted the prescribed course. He was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1884, when twenty-three years of age, and received his degree of Graduate in Pharmacy. For a period of about three years after his gradua- tion Mr. Ryan was connected with various drug establishments in Philadelphia, and he then be- came assistant professor of pharmacy in his alma mater, the Philadelphia College of Phar-
macy. In 1898 this institution gave him charge of the newly established department of com- mercial training, and in the meanwhile he had received further recognition, in his appoint- ment as lecturer on pharmacy in the Woman's Medical College of Philadelphia. In June, 1900, he resigned all his connections in Phil- adelphia and came to Detroit, for the purpose of identifying himself with the great phar- maceutical manufacturing house of Parke, Davis & Company. In the spring of the year mentioned he became chief pharmacist for Parke, Davis & Company, and it will be recog- nized that in itself this position was one of great importance, both technically and in a business way. His equipment was more than adequate, however, for all the duties devolving upon him, and that he was not denied recog- nition needs no farther voucher than that of- fered in the fact that within the brief interval of about seven years he was advanced to the presidency of the concern. At the expiration of the first three years of his connection with Parke, Davis & Company, Mr. Ryan was elected a member of its board of directors, and eighteen months later he was made secretary of the company. Six months elapsed, and he was then called to the vice-presidency of the company, and it was but one year later that he was elected to succeed the late and honored Theodore D. Buhl as president of the corpora- tion, to the furtherance of whose interests he had previously given his best thought and energies, as has he since continued to do. The position of which he is in tenure has consis- tently been designated as "the greatest and most responsible position yet created in the drug trade of the country." Mr. Ryan is known as a man of distinctive initiative and of progressive ideas, and his possession of these qualities has brought to him the high prestige he enjoys as one of the representative business men, not only of Detroit, but of the nation. He is liberal and public-spirited, tol- erant and kindly in his judgment, and wins and retains strong friendships, bespeaking the subjective loyalty which is his.
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From the Bulletin of Pharmacy of May, 1907, are taken the following pertinent and timely extracts : "The secret of a man's suc- cess is never easily analyzed, but it may be said of Frank G. Ryan that he represents that rare, that ideal combination of technical knowledge and experience on the one hand, and business grasp and executive ability on the other. These qualities are all but incompatible, and he who unites them successfully has dis- covered a philosopher's stone. As president of Parke, Davis & Company Mr. Ryan will be capable of understanding thoroughly every scientific detail of the vast business now con- fided to his care, and he will also exhibit that larger vision and that greater capacity for ad- ministration which shall carry the house for- ward to conquests even more brilliant than those which have been registered in the past. Mr. Ryan, accompanied by his daughter Helen, had returned from a seven months' trip around the world only a week or two before his elec- tion to the presidency. His main object was to further the interests of his house in Japan, China, and India, but he also visited Manila, Ceylon, Egypt, Paris and London. In Manila an agency was established, which adds another to the considerable list of foreign branches now conducted by the house."
On December 26th, 1888, Mr. Ryan was married to Minnie Louise Conway, of Phila- delphia, Mrs. Ryan dying in Detroit, June 25th, 1906.
Mr. Ryan is a member of the Detroit Club, of which he was elected president in January, 1908, of the Country Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Witenagemote, and the New York Drug and Chemical Club.
HENRY RUSSEL.
Henry Russel was born in Detroit, May 16, 1852. He is a son of the late Dr. George B. Russel, one of the most distinguished physi- cians and well known and enterprising citizens of his time. His early education was in the public schools, and after fitting for college in
Philo M. Patterson's classical and mathemati- cal school, he entered the University of Mich- igan, graduating in 1873, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and from the law depart- ment of the same university in 1875, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The degree of Master of Arts was subsequently conferred upon him. His college career, foreshadowing his later success in life, was brilliant and won honorable recognition from the faculty and his fellow students.
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