Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 86

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 86

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

532

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

sistant engineer on construction work on the Canada Southern Railroad, having had charge of such work at various points,-principally from Hagersville to Fort Erie,-and remain- ing thus engaged until the track was laid. Thereafter he was for two years assistant en- gineer on the Port Dover & Lake Huron Rail- road, after which he was chief engineer of the system until 1877. From that time forward to 1882 he held the office of general superin- tendent of the road, and under his supervision was constructed the line to Georgian Bay.

In 1882 Mr. Atwater became chief engineer of the Chicago & Grand Trunk Railroad, and in 1885 he was advanced to the office of su- perintendent of all lines of this system east of the Detroit river. Within his regime he had charge of the rebuilding of the entire line be- tween Detroit and Chicago. In 1898 Mr. At- water entered the employ of the Michigan Cen- tral Railroad, with which he remained as as- sistant general superintendent until 1902, when he returned to the Grand Trunk as assistant to the president, with jurisdiction on all lines west of the Detroit river. This office he has since retained, being one of the honored and trusted officials of the road, to whose upbuild- ing he has contributed in no small measure. He is a member of the directorate of the Scot- ten-Dillon Company, one of the prosperous manufacturing concerns of Detroit, and is also a director of the Board of Commerce. He is a valued member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and is recognized as an au- thority in his profession. He is a communicant of St. John's church, Protestant Episcopal, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, includ- ing the Knights Templars.

In the year 1872 Mr. Atwater was united in marriage to Miss Jane Thompson, who was born and reared in the province of Ontario, Canada, and they have no children.

CHARLES A. WARREN.

A prominent figure in the banking circles of the state of Michigan is Charles A. Warren, who is incumbent of the office of cashier of

the Dime Savings Bank, which is specifically mentioned in this publication. He has long maintained his home in Detroit and is one of the well known, popular and public-spirited business men of the metropolis of Michigan.

Mr. Warren is a native of the old Bay state and is a representative of a family founded in New England in the colonial epoch of our national history. He was born at Stow, Mid- dlesex county, Massachusetts, April 26, 1846, and is a son of Francis W. and Lucy A. (For- bush) Warren, both of whom were native of Massachusetts, where they passed their early lives, the father's vocation during the major portion of his active career having been that of farming. He came to Michigan in 1846, was in the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad Company and later with the Ward Line of lake steamers. The subject of this review was reared and educated in Massachu- setts, where he grew to maturity under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the home farm-a training through which have come forth many of the strongest and most promi- nent business men of the country. He con- tinued to be identified with agricultural pur- suits in his native state until 1865, when, at the age of eighteen years, he came to Detroit, which city has been his place of abode during the long intervening years. Soon after his ar- rival Mr. Warren secured a clerical position in the office of the superintendent of the Michi- gan Central Railroad, and he remained with this company for the long period of twenty- seven years, during twenty-four of which he was passenger and ticket agent of the city office in Detroit. In 1891 he resigned this office to assume that of cashier of the Dime Savings Bank, of whose original directorate he was a member, and he has since continued to serve in this important office, in which he has done much to forward the upbuilding of the popular and substantial institution.

In politics Mr. Warren is aligned as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he is identified with various fraternal, business and social organizations, and is spe-

533

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

cially prominent in the time-honored Masonic fraternity, being at the present time (1907) grand commander of the grand commandery of Knights Templars of Michigan, to which ex- alted office he was elected in June, 1907, at the annual conclave of the grand commandery held in the city of Saginaw. Mr. Warren was knighted in Detroit Commandery, No. I, on the 28th of December, 1869, and served in the marching ranks until 1873, when he was elected sword bearer. He served in this po- sition until 1890, when he was elected gener- alissimo, with William Livingstone, president of the bank of which he is cashier, as eminent commander. In 1892 Mr. Warren was ele- vated to the office of eminent commander of Detroit Commandery, and in 1894 he became a member of the grand commandery of the state, in which he was elected grand treasurer at the annual conclave of that year. He re- mained incumbent of this office until 1900, and from that time on he advanced through the various grades of official promotion until the culminating honor was attained in his election to the highest office in the gift of the York Rite Masons of the state.

Mr. Warren was married June 19, 1869, to Mary E. Whitney, of Middlesex county, Mas- sachusetts. They have no children.

RALPH STONE.

On other pages of this work is entered a brief record concerning the Detroit Trust Company, of which the subject of this review is the efficient secretary, holding a secure po- sition as one of the practical financiers and rep- resentative business men of the younger gen- eration in Detroit.

Mr. Stone was born at Wilmington, New Castle county, Delaware, on the 20th of No- vember, 1868, and is a son of Rev. George W. and Catherine G. (Graupner) Stone, the for- mer of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in the city of Boston. The father became a successful merchant in Delaware, where he continued to be engaged in

active business for many years. He and his wife now reside in the state of California, where he is a Unitarian minister.

The subject of this sketch was reared to maturity in Delaware and after completing the curriculum of the public schools he was ma- triculated in Swarthmore College, at Phila- delphia, where he completed a thorough acad- emic course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1889, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After leaving college he began the study of law, and in order to thor- oughly fortify himself for the work of the profession he finally entered the law depart- ment of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated in 1892, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.

Soon after his graduation in the law school Mr. Stone went to Grand Rapids, this state, where he initiated the active practice of his profession, being there associated in the law business for one year with General Byron M. Cutcheon, one of the representative members of the Michigan bar. In the summer of 1893 he was elected to the position of trust officer of the Michigan Trust Company, at Grand Rapids, retaining this office until 1898 and developing marked ability in the handling of the affairs of this order of financial institutions, with all details of whose functions and opera- tions he thoroughly familiarized himself. In the year last mentioned Mr. Stone was ap- pointed private secretary to Governor Pin- gree, a position for which he was specially eligible, and he continued with the governor in this confidential relation until the termination of the latter's administration as chief executive of the state. In January, 1901, Mr. Stone was given still further precedence and recognition, through his appointment to the exacting office of state bank examiner, of which office he re- mained incumbent until May Ist of the same year, when he resigned the same to join the Detroit Trust Company, of which he was made assistant secretary at that time. On January 15, 1903, he was elected to his present office of secretary of the company. He is also sec-

534

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

retary and treasurer of the Artcraft Litho- graphing Company of Detroit.

In his political adherency Mr. Stone is identified with the Republican party, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Uni- tarian church, in which he is a trustee. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revo- lution, the Detroit Club, the University Club, the Detroit Boat and Golf Clubs, an honorary member of the New York State Bar Associ- ation, and governor of the Michigan Society of Mayflower Descendants.

On the Ist of January, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stone to Miss Mary G. Jeffords, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the two children of this union are Ralph, Jr., and Ruth.

S. OLIN JOHNSON.

Ours is a nation that is restless, vigorous, dominating,-a composite aggregate that will scarce admit any majestic conception of the mind as possible of literal and practical reali- zation; a nation that has cognizance of no ob- stacle as insuperable along the course where moves the column of advancement. As pos- sessing in due quota these elements in the personnel of our great national commonwealth, Detroit has gained a conspicuous position and her escutcheon is emblazoned with the well earned motto of progress. History is made rapidly in these latter days, representing cease- less toil and endeavor, the proudest achieve- ments and the most electrical progress in all normal lines, and what more gratifying than to mark the records of those whose influence has impressed itself along the various chan- nels through which the swelling tide of accom- plishment forces its way? As a representative of that class of men who have given an en- during character to the industrial and civic makeup of the city of Detroit the subject of this sketch is well worthy of consideration. He has shown both the power of initiative and that of concentration, and has made for him- self a secure place as one of the leaders in local industrial circles, being the executive

head and essentially the controlling factor of the Penberthy Injector Company, which is the most extensive concern of the sort in the world and of which specific mention is made in an- other department of this publication.

Stephen Olin Johnson is a native of the old Bay state, in which was cradled so much of our national history. He was born at Westfield, Hampden county, Massachusetts, on the 15th of June, 1847, and is a son of Philo and Eliza (English) Johnson, both of whom were like- wise natives of that commonwealth, and both of whom died in Brooklyn, New York. The father was a merchant and manufacturer. The lineage of the subject of this review is of dis- tinctively patrician and interesting order, and honors rest upon the name both in England and in connection with the history of the great American republic from the early colonial epoch to the present time. Samuel Johnson, great-grandfather of him whose name intro- duces this article, was a native of Massachu- setts and was a valiant soldier in the Conti- nental line during the war of the Revolution, in which he served until the colonies had hurled oppression back and gained the boon of liberty. His son William was born in New York city and there married Pamelia Dudley, a descendant of Sir Thomas Dudley, who came to Massachusetts as its first deputy gov- ernor, in 1630, and who was second governor of the colony,-1634-5. His prominence and influence continued undiminished for many years, as is indicated in records extant, which show that he was again governor of the Mas- sachusetts colony from 1640 to 1646, and in 1650 and 1651. He was a member of the il- lustrious and ancient Dudley family of Eng- land, whose most notable representatives in an historical sense were Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, and Lord Guilford Dudley, who wedded the Lady Jane Grey,-an unfortunate and pathetic figure in English history. Will- iam and Pemilia (Dudley) Johnson, grand- parents of the subject of this sketch, continued to reside in the state of New York until their death. Were the limits of this article not

535

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

necessarily circumscribed it would be interest- ing to enter further data concerning the genealogy of Mr. Johnson.

S. Olin Johnson was afforded the advan- tages of the public schools of his native city, and New York city, and at the age of eighteen years he initiated his practical business ca- reer, by entering the employ of William P. Kit- tridge & Company, tobacco manufacturers, of that city. With this concern he continued to be identified until 1871, when, at the age of twenty-four years, he resigned his position, which was then one of responsible and confi- dential character, to accept more remunerative employment with E. I. Horsman, an extensive manufacturer of toys. As most significant voucher for his business ability and his fidelity is offered the statement that in 1873 he was given a fifth interest in the concern, to whose affairs he continued to give his attention until 1877, when his health became so impaired as to necessitate for him a radical change of cli- matic conditions. Accordingly he went to Colorado, where he remained two years, main- taining his residence in the city of Denver and laying aside for the interim all business cares. At the expiration of the period noted he en- gaged in the business of toys, games and home amusements in Denver, where he built up a prosperous enterprise. He remained in that city until 1884, when he came to Michigan and accepted the position of manager of the Detroit Knitting & Corset Works. In the connection he was called upon to face exigencies which would have feazed a man of less confidence, en- ergy and administrative ability, since there de- volved upon him the work of attempting to upbuild and place on a substantial basis a busi- ness which in the six years of its existence had shown but negative results, having to its rec- ord a loss of about sixty thousand dollars. That his interposition inured to the benefit of the enterprise in an emphatic way is evidenced in the fact that under his management a net profit of nine thousand dollars was shown at the end of the first year. His connection with this company continued until 1887, when he

effected the sale of the equipment and business to the Schilling Corset Company, with a sub- stantial profit to the interested principals. In the preceding year he had, in company with Homer Pennock and William Penberthy, or- ganized and incorporated the Penberthy In- jector Company, of which he became secretary and treasurer. From that time to the present he has been the directing spirit in this company, and the upbuilding of its magnificent business represents the results of his indefatigable and well directed efforts. He is now president and treasurer of the company and of its stock he controls fully eighty per cent. The article, on other pages, descriptive of the company af- fords adequate information of a supplemental order, and to the same the reader is referred. Strong, broad-minded and positive as a factor in the business world, Mr. Johnson has clearly demonstrated his title to leadership and to a - place in the ranks of America's true captains of industry. His course has been marked by im- pregnable integrity of purpose, and his reputa- tion as a reliable and progressive business man and substantial and public-spirited citizen is unassailable. He is also president of the Inter- national Specialty Company, of Detroit, man- ufacturers of specialties, and of the Penberthy Company, Limited, of Windsor, Ontario, rep- resenting the Canadian auxiliary of the Pen- berthy Injector Company. He is a member of the Michigan Manufacturers' Association ; the American Supply & Machinery Manufacturers' Association, of New York; the Central Sup- ply Association, of Chicago; the Southern Ma- chinery Dealers' Association, of Knoxville, Tennessee; the Detroit Employers' Associa- tion, in the brass division of which he was the first president; the Associated Employers' Cor- poration of Detroit, of which he was elected the first vice-president, as well as director; the Detroit Trades School, of whose executive committee he has been a member since 1902; the National Association of Stationery Engin- eers, of which he is an associate member; and the Detroit Board of Commerce, in whose work he shows a vital and helpful interest. His

536

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

political allegiance is given to the Republican party, but he is essentially a business man and has never manifested any desire to enter the field of practical politics. He and his wife are members of the Unitarian church, and he is identified with the Detroit Club, the Country Club, the Old Club at St. Clair Flats, the Au Sable Fishing Club, the North Channel Club, and the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, being also affiliated with the adjunct body, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

The fine city home of Mr. Johnson is located at 56 Rowena street, in one of the most attrac- tive residence sections of the city, and is the center of a brilliant and representative society circle; its cordial hospitality, dominated by the gracious presence of Mrs. Johnson, makes it one of the favored resorts of his many friends. Mr. Johnson also has a most beautiful summer home at Amherstburg, Ontario, with a front- age of three hundred feet on the Detroit river, and here is shown one of the finest specimens of landscape gardening to be found in the vicinity of Detroit,-a section widely known for its many picturesque summer homes. Mr. John- son has not hedged himself in with the affairs of business, but is a man of broad informa- tion and definite culture. His strength as a man of affairs is not greater than is his popu- larity in social life, and his character is sym- metrical and well rounded, showing his powers of assimilation, absorption and appreciation.

On the 5th of June, 1873, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Lilla Louise Sturte- vant, daughter of George and Sarah (Bissell) Sturtevant, of New York. Mrs. Johnson is a niece of the late George H. Bissell, who was the discoverer of petroleum and who gave to Dartmouth College the gymnasium which bears his name. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson the following brief data are en- tered: Homer S., secretary and general man- ager of the Penberthy Injector Company, is individually mentioned in this volume; Alice G. is a graduate of the Bristol School, Wash-

ington, D. C., and remains at the parental home; Claire Olin is a student in the Wyke- ham Rise School, at Washington, Connecticut ; and Charles B. is attending St. John's Military Academy, at Manlius, New York.

Mrs. Johnson is a woman of gracious pres- ince and gentle refinement, being prominent in the best social life of Detroit and being speci- ally prominent in musical and club circles. She is at this date president of the Fine Arts So- ciety, of Detroit, as well as its founder and also president of the "Tuesday Musicale," one of the oldest musical organizations in the city. She is also a composer of considerable talent, several of her compositions being sung by noted artists.

OZIAS WILLIAMS SHIPMAN.

Amidst all the changes and chances of this mortal life Ozias W. Shipman showed himself possessed of a strong, true and noble spirit, a full appreciation of his stewardship and an abiding sympathy and charity for "all sorts and conditions of men." He achieved material suc- cess of high order and through worthy means, was leal and loyal as a citizen, and so ordered his life as to retain the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. Naught of vacillation entered into his nature, which was one of sincere and positive order, and in- tegrity was the dominating attribute of his long and signally useful career. His influence permeated largely the business activities of the city of Detroit and it is fitting that in this pub- lication be accorded at least a brief tribute to his memory.

Ozias Williams Shipman was born at Piers- town, Otsego county, New York, on the 29th of January, 1834, and his death occurred at his home in the city of Detroit, 439 Cass ave- nue, on the 28th of January, 1898. He was a son of Horace and Abigail Anne (Williams) Shipman, both representatives of families founded in America in the early colonial epoch of our national history and both of staunch English ancestry. Soon after his birth his

W. Shipman

537

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

parents removed to Norwich, Chenango county, New York, where his father was for several years engaged in the milling business and the manufacturing of lead pipe, and the family then removed to Fort Plain, Montgom- ery county, that state, where the subject of this memoir supplemented his rudimentary education by attending for some time the Fort Plain Seminary, a well ordered institution and one of whose advantages he showed himself duly appreciative. The family resided in Fort Plain for a period of four years, at the expira- tion of which removal was made to a large farm in the township of Union, Broome county, New York. About a year later the father of our subject purchased a grist mill, plaster mill and farm at Athens, Bradford county, Penn- sylvania, to which place the family then re- moved, with the exception of Ozias W. and his elder brother, who remained to supervise the operation of the farm at Union. The two young men put forth their best efforts in this connection, and through their "ceaseless toil and endeavor" met with unequivocal success. At the expiration of two years they rejoined the family, at Athens, Pennsylvania, where the subject of this review remained until shortly before attaining to his legal majority. At this time he practically initiated his independent business career, which was to eventuate in the achieving of noteworthy success in the future years, and he was then, as ever, animated by courage, persistence, self-confidence and im- pregnable honesty of purpose,-fortuitous equipment with which to face the battle of life. In company with another young man Mr. - Shipman opened a grocery store at Waverly, Tioga county, New York, a little village not far distant from the parental home, and soon afterward he purchased his partner's interest in the enterprise, which, through untiring ap- plication and good management, he developed into a most extensive and profitable business,- in the comparative sense implied in the natu- rally circumscribed field of operations. It must not be understood, however, that the business was one of slight magnitude, for its extent was

greater than that of many similar enterprises in metropolitan centers to-day. He was lo- cated in a most favored section of the old Em- pire state, financial affairs in general were in excellent condition, and he personally held the unqualified esteem of the people throughout the territory extending for miles in various directions. The extent of his business opera- tions may be understood when it is stated that for several years his annual transactions repre- sented the notable aggregate of more than one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.

In these years Mr. Shipman had gained a high local reputation as a careful and discrimi- nating business man and one possessed of marked executive ability, the result being that he was called upon to lend his services along lines aside from his regular vocation at the time. Upon the occasion of the protracted strike of the employes of the Erie Railroad in 1870, the company secured the aid of Mr. Shipman in operating the line in opposition to the strikers. Of his connection with this work another sketch of his career, published in the late Silas Farmer's excellent history of Detroit and Michigan, speaks as follows: "His efforts in this direction were particularly valuable to the company, but he aroused the ill will of the former railroad employes, and some of the more lawless, in retaliation, set fire to his busi- ness block, and it was completely destroyed. He immediately rebuilt, on a more extensive plan, one of the largest and finest business houses in Waverly, but in 1872 he sold out his business and went to New York city, and, in the interest of New York capitalists, visited Utah, to inspect a silver mine, in which, on a favorable report being received, they proposed to invest a large sum of money. Mr. Shipman being convinced that the mine was absolutely worthless, so advised them and thus saved them from heavy losses." His efforts in this direction brought him into further prominence in capitalistic circles in the national metropolis, and as a number of those in whose behalf he had made the trip to Utah were at the time engaged in building a railroad from Newark,

538

DETROIT AND WAYNE COUNTY

Ohio, to the Shawnee coal fields, Mr. Shipman became personally identified with the enter- prise. He purchased a quarter interest in the stock of the Shawnee Coal Company, and after the completion of the railroad mentioned he had charge of the coal fields and of the ship- ping of the product at Shawnee, Ohio. He continued to be actively identified with the en- terprise until 1880, and within his regime brought the productive capacity of the mines up to the notable aggregate of one hundred carloads per day.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 86

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