Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 76

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 76

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Wilson S. Kinnear was afforded the advan- tages of the public schools of Kansas, and in 1884 he was matriculated in the University of Kansas, at Lawrence, where he devoted three years to the study of civil engineering. Upon leaving the university he entered the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, where he soon became assistant in location and construction work. He remained with this corporation for a period of three years, and thereafter he was similarly em- ployed in Kansas, Texas, Missouri and other states in the southwest until 1887, when he removed to California, where for some time he was engaged in private professional work as a civil and hydraulic engineer. In 1888 he went to South America as assistant chief en- gineer for the American Construction Com- pany, which held a contract with the govern- ment of Chili for the construction of more than seven hundred miles of railroad. Soon after becoming identified with this work Mr. Kinnear was promoted to the office of acting chief engineer, and he continued the super- vision of the work until it was abandoned, as a result of the Chilian rebellion of 1889. In the following year Mr. Kinnear entered the service of the Michigan Central Railroad Com- pany, in the position of assistant engineer of the Canada division, and under his supervision was completed the construction of many miles of new second track. In 1895 he represented the New York Central Lines' interest in the construction of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buf- falo Railroad, in the capacity of supervising engineer, remaining until this line was prac- tically completed. In 1896 he was called to Detroit to assume the position of principal as- sistant engineer of the Michigan Central Rail- road, under the late Augustus Torrey, and he has since remained with this company, for which he has accomplished much important work aside from the gigantic enterprise to

which he is now giving his attention. In 1901 he entered the operating department, as As- sistant Superintendent of the Canada division, and at the end of the first year he received further recognition of his ability and fidelity, being made Assistant General Superintendent of the entire system. On the death of Mr. Torrey he was made Chief Engineer, and under his supervision practically the entire road was rebuilt and double-tracked. In 1905 he re- ceived further preferment in being appointed Assistant General Manager of the road, and has since remained incumbent of the two re- sponsible offices. Upon the inception of the project to build a tunnel under the Detroit river he was made chairman of a tunnel com- mittee, on which his associates were W. J. Wilgus, vice-president of the New York Cen- tral & Hudson River Railroad Company, and the late E. H. Handy, an official of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. The committee reported favorably in regard to the project, and upon the organization of the De- troit River Tunnel Company Mr. Kinnear was appointed Chief Engineer of the company. The entire plans and specifications for the great tunnel were prepared by him, under the direc- tion of an advisory board of engineers, con- sisting of W. J. Wilgus, of New York (chair- man), H. A. Carson, of Boston, and the Chief Engineer of the Tunnel Company. He has had the active supervision of the work of build- ing the tunnel, which will be completed in 1909. Mr. Kinnear is a man of distinctive initiative and administrative talents, and his profes- sional career has been one of consecutive progress and one marked with splendid suc- cess. He is a valued member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and also of the American Railway Engineering & Main- tenance of Way Association, of which he is a charter member. He is also identified with the Detroit Engineers' Society. In politics, while never active in party work, he gives a stalwart allegiance to the Republican party, and he is essentially progressive and public- spirited as a citizen.

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In 1887 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kinnear to Miss Caroline Nichols, of Springfield, Ohio, and they have two children -Carmen and Lawrence. Mr. Kinnear has maintained his home in Detroit since 1896 and he is well known throughout the Union in connection with the work of his important profession.

ALBERT H. WILKINSON.

A publication of this nature exercises its most important function when it takes cogniz- ance of the life and labors of those citizens who have risen to prominence through their own well directed efforts and who have been of material value in furthering the advance- ment and development of the commonwealth. Mr. Wilkinson is best known to the citizens of Detroit and the state of Michigan as a mem- ber of the bar, to which he was admitted in June, 1860. Except for a period of four years, 1873-7, during which time he occupied the bench of the probate court of Wayne county, he has continuously practiced his profession, and in his practice has gained such success as should fill to the full the measure of ambition.

Albert H. Wilkinson was born in Novi, Oakland county, Michigan, on the 19th of No- vember, 1834, and is a son of James and Eliza- beth (Yerkes) Wilkinson. James Wilkinson was a native of New York, and was born on the 24th of February, 1800. In 1826 he came to Michigan, becoming a settler of Oakland county. He purchased eighty acres of land from the government, the grant being signed by Thomas Jefferson, and his first few years as a resident of the state were attended by the hardships incident to pioneer life. His entire life was spent in agricultural pursuits, and he became prominent among that county's landed proprietors. He was elected to, and filled with credit, various offices in the gift of the people, among which were those of town clerk, justice of the peace and supervisor. He ever stood as an exponent of loyal citizenship, and was a per- sonality whose memory is cherished in the sec-

tion in which his life of enlightened usefulness was lived. He married Elizabeth Yerkes, daughter of Joseph Yerkes, a pioneer settler of the northwest section of Wayne county. His death occurred on the 3d of February, 1872, and that of his wife on the 26th of September, 1863. They were survived by two sons, Albert H. and Charles M. Wilkinson.

Albert H. Wilkinson received his early edu- cation in the district schools of Oakland county, later attending Cochrane Academy, at North- ville, and in the fall of 1852 became a member of the first class in the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, completing his studies there in 1854. In the fall of that year he was offered and accepted the position of principal of the union school at Centerville, St. Joseph county. He further prepared for college in the private school of Rufus Nutting, at Lodi Plains, and in 1855 entered the literary department of the University of Michigan, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1859. He at- tended the first term of the law school of the University of Michigan, later entered the law office of Judge M. E. Crofoot, at Pontiac, and in June, 1860, was admitted to the bar. In the fall of that year he formed a partnership with Henry M. Look, and later with O. F. Wisner. Mr. Wilkinson became a resident of Detroit on the 30th of August, 1861, and formed a partnership with W. P. Yerkes, at the time judge of the probate court of Wayne county, to which office he himself was destined twelve years lated to be elected. In 1866 Mr. Yerkes removed to Northville and on January 1, 1867, formed with Hoyt Post the firm of Wilkinson & Post. After assuming his duties as probate judge, in 1873, he retired from the firm, form- ing with his brother, Charles M. Wilkinson, the firm of A. H. & C. M. Wilkinson, an asso- ciation which continued under this style until his term on the bench expired, in 1877, after which Mr. Post again became a member, under the firm style of Wilkinson, Post & Wilkinson. C. M. Wilkinson retired in 1884, and the firm again became Wilkinson & Post. In 1898 the present firm of Wilkinson, Post & Oxtoby was

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formed. The firm of Wilkinson, Post & Oxtoby is one of the prominent and influential law firms of the state, and includes among its clients many of the most important financial and industrial corporations of the city. Dur- ing his practice, which has covered nearly fifty years and which has been seldom equalled in respect to length, Judge Wilkinson has ap- peared in connection with important litigations in both the state and federal courts. He is a man of strong character and powerful indi- viduality, a speaker of no mean power, and in argument is logical and convincing. His po- litical allegiance has been given to the Re- publican party and of its policies he has ever been a consistent and active supporter. He was elected judge of the probate court of Wayne county in 1872, as previously stated, and served two terms as a member of the board of education of the city of Detroit. His prac- tical activities have not been confined to the practice of law, however, as he has been an influential factor in the development of the business life of the city. He was one of the organizers of the Michigan Mutual Life Insur- ance Company and of the Michigan Fire & Marine Insurance Company, of which he was the attorney of record and a member of the board of directors. He was also one of the organizers of the Michigan Savings Bank. The law firm of which he is the senior member are and have been since the organization of these corporations their attorneys. Mr. Wilkinson has been extensively engaged in the develop- ment of the residence section of the city, prin- cipally in the east end. He is a member of Kilwinning Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, the Fellowcraft Club, American Bar As- sociation, Michigan Bar Association and the Detroit Bar Association. He was elected president of the last named organization in 1906 and re-elected in 1907. He is a member of the First Baptist church and has served upon both its boards of trustees and deacons, and was also superintendent of its Sunday school for many years.

On the 4th of July, 1859, Mr. Wilkinson married Miss Elvira M. Allen, daughter of Henry Allen, a pioneer settler of West Bloom- field, Michigan. They have one son, Ralph B. Wilkinson, personal mention of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.

JAMES L. EDSON.

James Lafayette Edson was born at Batavia, New York, July 31, 1834, and died at Detroit, Michigan, August 25, 1895.

The founder of the Edson family in Amer- ica was Deacon Samuel Edson, who came to this country from England in the year 1639, and who lived in turn at Salem and at Bridge- water, Massachusetts. He was a man of prom- inence and influence in the community and held various offices of public trust.

Nathaniel Edson was a "minute man" in service at the time of the war of the American Revolution. He held the rank of sergeant and participated in many of the engagements of that war. He was the father of Barney Hall Edson, who was born at Petersham, Massa- chusetts. in the year 1776.

Barney Hall Edson was the father of Lewis Morgan Edson, who was born February 22, 1807, and who was the father of James L. Edson, the subject of the present sketch. James L. Edson's mother's maiden name was Sarah Ames Flint. She came of a sterling New England family. He was the eldest of five children, only one of whom, a sister, is now living. Two brothers lost their lives in the cause of the Union in the civil war.

He was born on a farm and attended the common schools of his native state. At the age of seventeen years he secured a position as clerk in the store of Charles M. Rich, the leading merchant of Batavia, New York. Sub- sequently he entered the employ of Howard Whitcomb & Company, a wholesale dry-goods house of Buffalo, New York. While in that city he determined to avail himself of the lar- ger opportunities the west afforded to young men, and without definite decision as to where he would locate arrived in Detroit on the 7th of December, 1855. Though an entire stran-

JAMES L. EDSON

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ger, with but little money, he soon found a position in what was then known as the "Checkered Store" on Jefferson avenue, one of the leading mercantile establishments of the city.

In 1857 he secured a position in the large wholesale dry goods house of Orr, Town & Smith who had succeeded Zachariah Chand- ler & Company at 23 Woodward avenue. In the spring of 1866 this firm was succeeded by that of Allan Shelden & Company in which firm he became a partner and continued to be such until in February, 1872, when he, with George F. Moore, Charles Buncher, Ransom Gillis and Stephen Baldwin, organized the firm of Edson, Moore & Company wholesale deal- ears in dry goods and notions. This enterprise soon became one of very high standing in the business world. It deserved and achieved suc- cess. Its reputation for fair dealing and hon- orable business methods was, as it still is, un- surpassed and universally recognized. It be- came from the outset a very potent factor in the upbuilding of the city. Its success was largely due to Mr. Edson's ability and because he impressed his character upon it.

It was not only as the founder of a great business that his life was a benefit to the public. He served it in other capacities. He was a di- rector of the Peoples' Savings Bank; an organ- izer and director of the Brush Electric Light Company, which was the first company to pro- vide electric light for the city; one of the promoters and organizers of the Detroit Mu- seum of Art, a liberal contributor to its funds; and one of the committee who selected the site of the present postoffice. Although solicited to hold public office he steadily refused, but never refused to do his full share in any move- ment which looked to the betterment of public conditions, the relief of the unfortunate, or the advancement of the moral and intellectual growth of the community.

He was a communicant of the Catholic church, sincere and devout, but of broad liber- ality and wholly free from intolerance. In social life he was courteous, genial, generous, a delightful companion and had troops of friends.

Born an American, his life was an exempli-

fication of the best traits of American character, -thorough honesty, a strong sense of right and justice, hatred of shams, clear mental and moral vision and an ability and determination to meet and fulfill the duties and obligations of life fearlessly. His death was recognized as a public loss, and his memory is revered by all who knew him.

WILLIAM H. HOLDEN.

Never before has Detroit been so big or so conspicuous in the eyes of the world, never have elements of strength been better organ- ized and working more effectively than in this first decade of the twentieth century, marked by opulent achievement along all lines of in- dustrial activity and civic advancement. All this is but the natural sequel of definite forces working to a definite end. The industrial, spirit has been quickened in the minds of the representative capitalists and business men, who have thus been prompted to show forth more clearly to the world the great natural and acquired advantages which belong to the Michigan metropolis. Detroit has long held a distinct and solid industrial status, and in view of the great advancement within the past few years there must be given a mede of special praise to these men who laid the foundations for this prestige and recognition of those in- dustries, fostered by them, which have for a longer period brought recognition to the city in the commercial marts of the world. Among such concerns none can possibly take prece- dence of that of Parke, Davis & Company, the largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical preparations in the world, and the publishers of this work find marked satisfaction in in- corporating within its pages not alone a review of the history of the great business but also specific mention of those who have been the founders and builders of the same. Among the number is the subject of this sketch, the able and honored superintendent of the manu- facturing department of the company's mag- nificent plant.

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William Henry Holden, like many others of the representative business men of Detroit, is a native of the dominion of Canada, hav- ing been born at Merrickville, Grenville county, province of Ontario, on the 26th of July, 1859, and being a son of John Henry and Mary Esther (Sawyer ) Holden, the former of whom was born at North Gore, Ontario, and the lat- ter in Cobourg, Ontario.

The original progenitor of the Holden fam- ily in America was Richard Holden, or Hol- lenden, as the name was originally spelled. This worthy ancestor, a scion of one of the sterling families of England, emigrated from Ipswich, England, to America in 1634, mak- ing the voyage on the ship "Francis." He located first at Watertown, Massachusetts, whence he later removed to Groton, that colony, in that part which is now known as Shirley, and the ancient records of the place show that he became a citizen of prominence and influence. The magnificent Hollenden hotel in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, was erected by a descendant of the family, who thus perpetuated the original orthography of the name. From Richard Holden the line of direct descent to the subject of this review is traced through the former's son Stephen, then in turn through John, Caleb, Caleb (2d), Jonathan, Charles and John Henry, the last named being the father of him whose name heads this article. Caleb Holden (2d) left six sons, one of whom, James, was adopted by the Rev. Stephen Call, a prominent clergy- man of his day at Ballston, New York, and the latter's daughter Esther eventually became the wife of James Holden, the foster son. They finally removed to Canada and their daughter Esther married Merrick Sawyer. Mary Esther Sawyer, a daughter of this union, be- came the wife of John Henry Holden, and thus the two branches of the Holden family were united when was celebrated the marriage of the parents of the subject of this sketch. Reverting to the genealogy in the agnatic line, it may be stated that Jonathan Holden, second son of Caleb, in time became a farmer at Gal-

way, Saratoga county, New York, where he married, and his son Charles followed the uncle James to Canada, where he married, becoming the father of John Henry Holden, who married Mary Esther Sawyer, as already noted. Charles Holden became a successful carriage builder and also furnished a part of the equipment used in the construction of the Rideau canal, with the building of which he was otherwise prominently identified, and he became one of the most influential citizens in the Rideau valley of Ontario, where he con- tinued to reside until his death. The Holden family has been prominently identified with banking and professional interests in Prescott and Belleville, Ontario. When he left Massa- chusetts James Holden, maternal ancestor of our subject, located at Augusta, Grenville county, Ontario, where he passed the residue of his life.

William Henry Holden, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was adopted by his maternal grand father, Merrick Sawyer, who was at that time engaged in the drug business at Belle- ville, Ontario. Mr. Sawyer was a man of fine intellectuality and much executive ability. In early life he had been a successful school teacher in Rochester, New York, and later he followed the pedagogic profession in Port Hope and Cobourg, Ontario, in which latter place he established and successfully conducted the Sawyer private school for boys, from which was developed the Victoria University, of which he was the first business manager.

William H. Holden was reared under auspi- cious home surroundings and influences, and his early educational discipline was secured in the public schools of Belleville, where he com- pleted the curriculum of the high school. He had in the meanwhile begun to assist in the drug store of his grandfather, and finally he was matriculated in the Ontario School of Pharmacy, in Toronto, in which he completed the prescribed technical course, and was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1879. He at once secured a position as pharmacist in the establishment of Kenneth Campbell &

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Company, leading druggists in the city of Montreal, later holding a similar position in the drug store of H. R. Gray, of that city, where he finally accepted a place as foreman of the manufacturing department of the large establishment of H. Sugden Evans & Com- pany, wholesale druggists and manufacturing chemists. He developed skill in his chosen profession, being admirably fortified in tech- nical knowledge as well as in facility for the handling of the manifold and important de- tails of his department. He continued with this concern until March, 1881, when he re- signed his position to accept that of assistant foreman of the finishing department in the laboratories of Parke, Davis & Company, of Detroit, with which great corporation he has since continued to be identified in a practical and executive capacity. Within the first nine months of his connection with this concern he received four promotions, with a correspond- ing increase in salary, and in 1882 he was given charge of the finishing department. Somewhat later he assumed also the super- vision of the stock department, and in 1883 he was made superintendent of the shipping and stock departments. His capacity and fidel- ity made him a valuable employe and his serv- ices with the company have never fallen short of definite appreciation. In 1899 Mr. Holden was promoted to the responsible and exacting office of general superintendent of the manu- facturing, with charge of raw materials, buy- ing of the same, etc. The gradual perfecting of the system of mechanical operations and the arranging of the various departments of the producing division of the business, represent the tangible embodiment of Mr. Holden's ideas, and his interest in the work in all its phases has been equalled only by his ability in an initiative and executive way. The great growth and expansion of the business of Parke, Davis & Company has necessitated a corresponding relative division of the various departments, and in 1906 the manufacturing feature of the enterprise became represented in the present four well ordered and admirably

systematized departments. Mr. Holden re- tains the superintendency of the manufactur- ing proper and has also the general supervision of the work of these four integral but com- bined departments. His technical ability as a chemist and his discernment and discrimina- tion in the handling of the vast business of his departments have made him a potent and rec- ognized factor in the further extension of the gigantic enterprise to which he has given his time and attention for more than a quarter of a century. He is a stockholder in the corpora- tion of Parke, Davis & Company and is recog- nized as one of the progressive business men of the city of Detroit. In addition to his in- terests in this great concern he has been suc- cessful in connection with the development of oil properties in the south, and is president of the Currie Cement Construction Company, as well as of the Currie Coal Company and the Meso Island Company. It may be stated inci- dentally that the Currie Cement Construction Company has built several of the finest build- ings representing this new and modern type of architectural work in the city of Detroit. The Meso Island Company owns about three- fourths of Hickory island, at the mouth of the Detroit river, and has most effectually devel- oped the property, making the same one of the most attractive of the summer-resort places in the vicinity of Detroit, which is opulent in this regard to a degree which can be claimed by few cities in the Union. On this island Mr. Holden erected his own attractive summer residence, in 1891, and since that time the local- ity has, largely through his efforts, forged to the front as a delightful resorting place. His city home is at 366 Cadillac boulevard.

In politics Mr. Holden gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and he is a member of the Detroit Club and the Detroit Boat Club. The family is prominent in the social life of Detroit and the home is a center of generous hospitality. He and his wife are members of the First Congregationalist church.

On the 9th of June, 1887, Mr. Holden was united in marriage to Miss Ella Bancroft

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Jones, daughter of Nathan Jones, one of the honored and influential citizens of Belleville, Ontario, where he was for many years en- gaged in the dry-goods business. Mrs. Holden is a descendant of the well known Bancroft family which has produced so many men of note, including the distinguished historians, George and Herbert H. Bancroft. She is presi- dent of the Detroit Federation of Women's Clubs, is identified with the Michigan chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Twentieth Century Club, the Detroit Shakespeare Club, the Detroit Sorosis and other representative organizations in Detroit, in a number of which she has held official posi- tions. Mr. and Mrs. Holden have two chil- dren,-Howard Bancroft, aged twenty years, and Alma Clement, aged fifteen years. (1908).

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Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 76

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