Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 80

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 858

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During the climacteric period leading up to and culminating in the civil war Mr. Maybury was in full sympathy with the abolition senti- ment, and he assisted materially in aiding the colored persons in Detroit, especially those who had here sought refuge. He was imbued with a deep humanitarian spirit and his acts of charity and benevolence were many but in- variably unostentatious. He did much for the laboring classes and for those "in any way afflicted in mind, body or estate," while his

character was of that sterling order that al- ways made it ring true, and that gained to him the unqualified confidence and esteem of those with whom he came in contact in the various relations of life. His name merits an endur- ing place in the annals of the state in which he took up his abode before it was admitted to the Union and to whose upbuilding he con- tributed his due quota.

SIDNEY D. MILLER.

Sidney Davy Miller was for many years numbered among the distinguished members of the Detroit bar and through his life and services he lent honor and dignity to his chosen profession. He was a man of fine attain- ments, of profound erudition and practical ability as a lawyer, and the success which he achieved stood in evidence of his ability and likewise served as voucher for intrinsic worth of character. He used his intellect to the best purpose, directed his energy in legitimate channels, and his career as a legist and busi- ness man was based upon the assumption that nothing save industry, perseverance, study, in- tegrity and fidelity to duty can lead to suc- cess deserving of the name. The profession of law offers nothing except to such deter- mined spirits. To the true and earnest devotee it offers a sphere of action whose attractions are unequalled and whose rewards unstinted.

Mr. Miller was a native of Michigan and was a scion of one of its honored pioneer families. His father, Dan Bramble Miller, was born in the state of New York and the lineage in the agnatic course is of French- Huguenot and Holland Dutch extraction, the family having been founded in America, as were also collateral branches, in the early colo- nial epoch. The maiden name of the mother of the subject of this memoir was Elizabeth Davy, and she was of English descent. Dan B. Miller, who became one of the influential. . citizens and leading merchants of Monroe, Michigan, and who gained the sobriquet of "Honest Dan," through the appreciative esti- mate of contemporaries in the early political

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history of Michigan, was one of the most prominent in that colony of New England and New York men who settled at Monroe in the '20s and bent their energies to making that place a formidable rival of Detroit as the western terminus for eastern commerce. In 1827 Dan B. Miller shipped from Monroe two hundred barrels of flour, the first export of the sort from the territory of Michigan, which then extended west of the Mississippi river. Apropos of these early days when Monroe held a place of marked relative importance, the follownig extracts from a history of the Bench and Bar of Michigan, published by the Century Publishing & Engraving Company, are well worthy of further perpetuation : "Among these illustrious pioneers one finds Conant, Wing, Noble, McClelland, Chris- tiancy and others, imbued with the progressive spirit and well qualified to be the founders of a new colony. Dan Bramble Miller was se- lected by his associates and neighbors for mayor of the city of Monroe and served in that office during the railroad war which prevailed at the time of the building of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and the Michigan Central Railroads. It is a matter of record that Mayor Miller, as the chief execu- tive officer of the ambitious little city, then known as the 'Independent State of Monroe,' felt it to be his duty to defend at all hazards her rights, protect her interests and preserve the foundations of her future greatness, al- ready so carefully laid. In the course of his duty he courageously defied the allied powers of the state of Michigan and the Michigan Central Railroad Company for some time, believing them to be acting without authority of law; and the sequel proved his judgment correct. He was a man of unquestioned pro- bity and remarkable force of character, cour- ageous in the exercise of his official preroga- tive when acting from deep convictions. Mayor Miller was also receiver of public moneys-at that time an important office-at Monroe, under President Andrew Jackson."

Sidney Davy Miller was born at Monroe,

Michigan, on the 12th of May, 1830, and his death occurred in St. Augustine, Florida, on the 2d of April, 1904. He was reared to ma- turity in his native town and was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the day, after which he continued his studies in the preparatory branch of the University of Mich- igan at that time maintained in Monroe. After due preliminary work of this character he was finally matriculated in the university itself, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1848, when but eighteen years of age. He received the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts and had shown him- self a close and appreciative student, which, indeed, he continued to be throughout his life. After leaving the university Mr. Miller re- turned to Monroe, where he began reading law under the preceptorship of the firm of McClel- land & Christiancy, one of the strongest law firms in the state at that period. In a retro- spective way it is interesting to recall that the senior member of this firm, Hon. Robert Mc- Clelland, later served as governor of the state and was Secretary of the Interior under the administration of President Pierce, and that the junior member, Hon. Isaac P. Christiancy, was eventually called to a place on the bench of the supreme court of Michigan and still later became a member of the United States senate. Mr. Miller was still further fortified for the work of his chosen profession by hav- ing as a later preceptor Alexander D. Fraser, one of the most influential members of the Detroit bar. His preparatory professional advantages were even augmented beyond this point, for he finally entered Dane Law School, the law department of Harvard University, where he was graduated in 1850, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In January, 1852, he was admitted to the bar of his native state, at Detroit. In this city he forthwith established an office and initiated the active work of his profession, and here he continued to make his home until he was called from the scene of life's endeavors, more than half a century later.

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Though Mr. Miller gave ample evidence of his superior powers as a trial lawyer, his pref- erence was for the work of the counselor, and in this branch of his profession he gained a specially high reputation, being recognized as an authority in most intricate and involved questions pertaining to the science of juris- prudence and being retained as counsel for many leading corporations in Detroit and elsewhere, among which may be mentioned the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad, the De- troit City Railway Company, the Eureka Iron Company, the Detroit Savings Bank, and the Michigan State Bank. His first official bank- ing connection was as a member of the board of directors of the Detroit Savings Fund In- stitute, and in 1883 he was elected to succeed Alexander Adams as president of the Detroit Savings Bank, an office of which he remained incumbent until the time of his death. After assuming this office he gave more of his time to the affairs of the bank than to the practice of his profession, though he continued as ad- visory counsel to several important corpora- tions.

In politics, though never showing any pre- dilection or desire for official preferment, Mr. Miller was a stalwart advocate of the princi- ples and policies of the Democratic party, in whose ranks he continued to

be aligned until his death. He was es- sentially liberal and public-spirited as a citizen, and in many ways his influence was exerted for the advancement of the best in- terests of the city which so long was his home. For twenty-three years he served as a member of the Detroit board of police commissioners, and during the major portion of this long period he was president of that body. He was also a member of the board of education for some time and within his incumbency of this office was largely instrumental in the es- tablishing of the public library. He was also numbered among those prominently concerned in securing to Detroit its idyllic island park, Belle Isle, and likewise in the founding and maintenance of the Detroit Museum of Art.

He was a devout communicant of the Protest- ant Episcopal church, and for many years was a valued member of the vestry of Christ church, as well as a member of the standing committee of the diocese. He was liberal in his benefactions to the various departments of church work and his sympathy and toler- ance caused him to ever stand ready to aid those "in any ways afflicted, in mind, body or estate," though he showed wise discrimination in his charities, which were invariably of the most unostentatious order. In the earlier years of his residence in Detroit he was presi- dent of the Young Men's Society, which was then a leading literary organization of the city. Mr. Miller was a man of noble character and left an impress for good upon all who came within the sphere of his influence. He hon- ored his profession and the state in which his life was passed.

In the year 1861 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Miller to Mrs. Katherine (Trow- bridge) Rodgers, daughter of the Hon. Charles C. Trowbridge, one of the most dis- tinguished pioneers. of Michigan and one whose name is written large upon the history of Detroit and the state. Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the parents of four sons, three of whom died in infancy, the only survivor being Sidney Trowbridge Miller, now a lawyer in Detroit. Mrs. Miller died at Grosse Pointe in July, 1905.

WILLIAM C. YAWKEY.

One of the most important original sources of material development and opulent prosper- ity in the state of Michigan lay in the great pine forests of the state,-in the primitive period unexcelled by any in the world. The great lumbering industry drew to itself men of great capacity and foresight, and through its medium were gained magnificent fortunes, while there was in connection the important incidental influence upon all departments of civic and material advancement and cumulative prosperity. Among the prominent pioneers of

ENGRAVED BY HENRY TAYLOR JR. CHICAGO

Morturkey

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the timber and lumber industry of Michigan stood the subject of this memoir, whose career was marked by definite progressiveness, by well earned success and by an integrity and honor that retained to him the inviolable confi- dence and esteem of his fellow men. Detroit recognized him as a valued citizen, as a man of affairs and as a financier of distinctive acu- men. He was a resident of the state of Mich- igan for more than half a century and main- tained (aside from a short residence in New York city) his home in Detroit from 1878 until the time of his death, which occurred on the 23d of November, 1903.

Concerning his identification with lumber- ing interests, the American Lumberman of December 5, 1903, from which further quota- tion will be made, made the following state- ments : "When William C. Yawkey died sud- denly, in Detroit, a week or more ago, there passed from life a man who was not only a pioneer Michigan lumberman and timber ope- rator but one who was a lumberman by lineal descent. His father, John Hoover Yawkey, was one of the very earliest lumbermen in the middle west, so the son came naturally into the business into which his instinct lead him and in which he achieved such distinguished success. For over half a century the name of Yawkey has been identified with the lumber history of the middle west. Its first contribu- tion to fame in this regard was John Hoover Yawkey, who as early as 1836 operated a saw mill at Millport, near Massillon, Ohio. His ancestors left Germany in the days of William Penn and located at Germantown, now a part of Philadelphia. He moved west in 1818, set- tling on a farm near Dalton, Wayne county, Ohio. For years he followed the occupation of a farmer, until 1836, when the name of Yawkey was first connected with the lumber business in the west. In that year, in partner- ship with a man named Wellman, he began the operation of the saw mill at Millport, en- gaging in the manufacture of hardwoods. In 1848 he started a retail lumber yard at Mas- sillon, under the name of John H. Yawkey &

Company, his former partner, Mr. Wellman, being the other stockholder. This yard soon became one of the largest in Ohio. In 1852 he visited Michigan and was so well impressed with the possibilities of that state that he located three miles up the river from Flint, and purchased a mill which had been in ope- ration there since 1835. His subsequent ope- rations took him to Saginaw and Bay City, where he resided until his death, which oc- curred in 1889."

William Clyman Yawkey, to whom this me- moir is dedicated, was the second son of John H. and Lydia (Clyman) Yawkey, and was born at Massillon, Stark county, Ohio, August 26, 1834. It has already been noted that the Yawkey family is of German origin and that it was founded in America in the colonial days. Representatives of the same were found numbered as patriot soldiers in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution, and a due quota were also enrolled in the war of 1812 as well as the civil war, the name having ever stood for intense patriotism and loyalty. The Clyman family traces its lineage to staunch English stock, and the original progenitors in America settled in Westmorland county, Vir- ginia, from which state representatives later removed to Ohio, as pioneers of the Buckeye state. Many of them were soldiers in the war of the Revolution, as well as that of 1812, and the name has been prominently identified with the pioneer history of various sections of the west. James and John Clyman were among the first settlers of Wisconsin and were par- ticipants in the Black Hawk war and the vari- ous other Indian conflicts incidental to the early settlement of the northwest. They were also members of the first expedition sent by the United States government to the Pacific coast.

"Owing to the exigencies of time and place the early educational advantages of William C. Yawkey were somewhat meager, as he at- tended the schools of the day only until he had attained to the age of fourteen years,-and this in an irregular way. Through self-dis-

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cipline and observation, as well as through ac- tive association with men and affairs, he ef- fectually overcame this handicap, however, and became a man of culture, broad informa- tion and exact knowledge. At the age noted he became a clerk in a hardware store, at a salary of six dollars a month, but he soon left this position to assume a clerkship in his father's lumber office in Ohio, where he re- mained until 1851, when he removed to Flint, Genesee county, Michigan, where his father joined him the following year. He became a member of his father's firm and was placed in charge of the milling operations near Flint, though he had not yet attained to his legal majority. He had gained a very intimate knowledge of the manufacture of lumber and became expert in estimating timber lands, and this, conjoined to his firm belief in the future of the lumber industry, served as the basis of his future success and prominence in connec- tion with it.

"He was one of the earliest operators in the Saginaw valley. In 1855 he located at Lower Saginaw, now known as Bay City, and became an inspector and shipper. In 1857 he bought an interest in C. Moulthrop & Company and he had charge of their main office at East Saginaw until 1859. In the last named year he entered business for himself and began buy- ing logs and lumber for a Chicago firm. This new field gave him opportunity to exercise those qualities with which he was equipped and which were certain to win him success. His office became not only well known and popular but well patronized, and he was soon buying and inspecting lumber not only for Chi- cago but also for Albany and the east and for numerous markets in the west. This agency was operated under his personal name and did much to establish the fame of the Yawkey in- terests in the west. In 1863, the business hav- ing become very large, his father and brother Edwin were taken into partnership and the active manufacture of logs into lumber was begun. In 1865 Samuel Yawkey, another brother, was also admitted to partnership.

"The operations of the firm were steadily extending. From the purchase and inspection of lumber it came to deal in shingles, lath and pine lands also. Mr. Yawkey was a buyer not only for himself but for other important concerns. He was recognized as an adept in the lumber business and one of the best in- spectors of lumber and judges of standing tim- ber in the west. The volume of business which the concern handled each year reached at times seventy-five million feet a season, or more than the entire business of all the other lumber firms in the valley at that time. By the year 1868 he was alone in business, and his opera- tions had become mammoth and from then on they extended from Michigan over a much larger territory. At the time of his death he was owner of vast tracts of timber lands in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama, Florida and other states and interested in many mills throughout the country.

"Lumber and timber did not command all of Mr. Yawkey's attention and energy. He early recognized the possibilities of northern Min- nesota mines and secured valuable interests in the iron lands of the Mesaba range, a district which includes the Bessemer, Commodore, Al- pena and other mines owned by him at his death. He also had large mining interests on the Pacific coast and in Canada and large investments in coal and timber lands of West Virginia, and was interested in many Michigan banks, insurance, trust and manufacturing companies.

"In the death of Mr. Yawkey the lumber trade loses one of the great characters who have had much to do with its advancement. His heart and purse were ever open to the needs of those less fortunately situated than himself. He was exceptionally considerate of the feelings of those with whom he daily came in contact. His was a nature that shunned ostentatious display, and while contributing managed. He possessed the qualities for mak- ing the most of his opportunities and leaves freely to all charitable enterprises his name was never displayed in such connection. With

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his death the career is ended of a noted lum- berman and man of large affairs successfully behind him not only a record of successful business operations and a strong, sane, gener- ous business life, but also the recollection of a personal character which retained its sim- plicity, charitableness and gentleness through all the changes of a long and active life."

Few men have enjoyed a longer or more successful career, and none has better stood the test by which an honored name and repu- tation are created and perpetuated.

In the year 1869 Mr. Yawkey was mar- ried to Miss Emma Noyes, of Guilford, Ver- mont, and her death occurred December 2, 1892. Her remains were laid to rest at Brat- tleboro, Vermont, and by their side repose those of her honored husband. Of this union were born two children,-Augusta L., who is the widow of the late Thomas J. Austin, and William Hoover Yawkey, both of whom re- side in New York city.

SIDNEY T. MILLER.

The legal profession in Michigan has ever maintained high prestige and from its ranks many have risen to high distinction in national affairs. One of the leading members of the bar of the state for many years was the late Sidney D. Miller, who was long engaged in the practice of his profession in Detroit and who was the father of the subject of this sketch. A memorial review of his life is en- tered on other pages of this work and to the article in question reference should be made for details of family history consistently elim- inated in the present sketch.

Sidney Trowbridge Miller was born in the family homestead, on Jefferson avenue, De- troit, January 4, 1864, a son of Sidney D. and Katherine (Trowbridge) Miller, both repre- sentatives of honored pioneer families of the Wolverine state. After duly availing himself of the advantages of the excellent public schools of his native city, Mr. Miller became a student in the Brown Acadamy, a private

institution in Detroit, where he pursued his preparatory collegiate work. In 1881 he was matriculated in historic old Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in which he completed the prescribed course in the literary depart- ment, being graduated as a member of the class of 1885 and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1888 his alma mater con- ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In 1885-6 he gave his attention to the study of law in the office and under the preceptor- ship of his father, making excellent progress in his accumulation and assimilation of legal lore, and he then entered the law department of Harvard University, where he continued his technical studies for one year. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar of Michigan, upon examintaion before the supreme court of the state, and later he was admitted to practice in the federal courts. He initiated the practical work of his profession in Detroit, where he has since remained and where he has built up a large and important business, retaining a representative clientele and devoting special at- tention to corporation law, in which branch of his professional work he has been especially successful and gained no uncertain precedence. He is known as a strong trial lawyer and as a close student of his profession, always for- tifying himself thoroughly for the presenta- tion of his causes and for the handling of all work entrusted to his care. He holds mem- bership in the American Bar Association, and the International Law Association, as well as those of Michigan, Wayne County and De- troit, and enjoys the respect and esteem of his professional confreres. His political sup- port is given to the cause for which the Demo- cratic party stands sponsor but he has never sought or desired political office. He holds membership in the Detroit, Country, Yondo- tega, University, Racquet, and Detroit Boat Clubs, and is also affiliated with the Delta Psi college fraternity. He is a member of the directorates of the Detroit Savings Bank, De- troit Trust Company, Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company, and the Wyandotte Sav-

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ings Bank, and he enjoys marked popularity in the business and social circles of his native city. He is a director of the United States Heater Company and the Hecla Cement Com- pany, prominent Detroit corporations, is coun- sel for both, and holds similar positions for other local institutions. He succeeded his honored father as president of the Detroit Col- lege of Medicine, of which office he is still in- cumbent. He is a member of the library and gas commissions of Detroit. Mr. Miller is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, being a vestryman of Christ church, Detroit, and a member of the standing com- mittee of the diocese of Michigan.

In 1889 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Lucy T. Robinson, daugh- ter of Hon. Henry C. Robinson, a representa- tive citizen of Hartford, Connecticut, and they have two children,-Sidney T., Jr., and Eliza- beth T.

FRANK W. EDDY.

Through his own ability and admirably di- rected endeavors Mr. Eddy has risen to a po- sition of distinctive prominence in the indus- trial and capitalistic circles of Detroit, where he has maintained his home since 1875 and where his interests are of wide scope and varied order. He is one of the city's representative business men and has contributed his full quota to the upbuilding of the "Greater Detroit."

Mr. Eddy is a native of the old Empire state of the Union, having been born at Warsaw, Wyoming county, New York, on the 29th of July, 1851, and being a son of Rev. Zachary Eddy, D. D., and Malvina (Cochran) Eddy, the former of whom was born in Vermont and the latter in the state of New York. The Eddy family is of staunch Puritan stock and was founded in America in the early colonial epoch. The original progenitor in the New World was William Eddye, as the name was then spelled, and he came with his family to America in 1630. The family became promi- nent in the early settlement of Vermont and later in that of Jamestown, New York. The

father of the subject of this sketch was a dis- tinguished clergyman of the Congregational church, and in 1873 he took up his residence in Detroit, where for ten years he was pastor of the First Congregational church. Here his memory is held in affectionate regard by those who knew the man and his work.

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Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 80

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