Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 90

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 90

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JOHN M. FRANCIS.

When it is stated that the subject of this review is incumbent of the office of chief chem- ist of the laboratories of Parke, Davis & Com- pany, the largest manufacturing chemists in the world, an idea is at once conveyed of his technical importance in the affairs of the com- pany, whose employes number fully five thou- sand. In addition to the position noted, how- ever, Mr. Francis is also an executive officer of the corporation, being division superintendent in charge of the control department of the great industry, and is a stockholder of the com- pany. He is an authority in the domain of the science of pharmaceutical chemistry, and his researches have been wide and varied, while in the practical field he has produced results which have contributed to the benefit and up- building of the business with which he is so conspicuously identified.

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John Miller Francis was born in Jackson- commissioned January 18, 1863, senior sur- ville, Alabama, on the 25th of October, 1867, geon of Morgan's brigade in General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry corps, serving in this po- sition until the end of the war. He then re- sumed the practice of his profession at Jack- sonville, where he resided until his death, which occurred on December 8, 1877. His wife had died in the meantime, on November 6, 1874. and is a son of Dr. Miller W. and Julia (Clark) Francis, both representatives of sterling old southern families of English origin. The founder of the Francis family in America was Joseph Francis, who came from England about the year 1753 and took up his abode in Henry county, Virginia. The next in descent was John Miller Francis was afforded the ad- vantages of the public schools of his native city, after which he was matriculated in the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1887, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1889 he completed a post-graduate course in his alma mater, which then conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In 1887 he was made adjunct professor of chem- istry in the university, and in 1889-90, on leave of absence, he took a course of post-graduate work in Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, devoting special attention to organic chemistry. Joseph 2d, who moved to what was subse- quently known as Knox county, and settled about four miles from the little town of Knox- ville, Tennessee. Miller Francis, the youngest of Joseph's four sons, married Hannah Henry, of Rhea county, Tennessee. He served in the Creek Indian war, being a lieutenant of infan- try. He was also sheriff of Rhea county for sixteen years and, like most of the pioneers, was blessed with a large family, having twelve sons and daughters. James C., his eldest son, studied medicine and betook himself on horse- back to the wilds of Benton (afterwards Cal- houn) county, Alabama, at that time occupied largely by the Cherokee Indians. Here he in due time married Miss Amy Ingraham and es- tablished himself in the village county-seat of Jacksonville, where he remained in the prac- tice of his profession for nearly fifty years. His eldest son, Miller, wished to follow in his father's footsteps and in regular course took his degree from the Medical College of Louis- ville, Kentucky, in 1853; as there were no railroads at that time in the interior of the southern states he was forced to journey on horseback. Miller became associated with his father in the practice of medicine at Jackson- ville, and shortly after married Miss Julia Clark, of Georgia. Of this union four chil- dren were born, three of whom are living at the present time, the youngest being the subject of this biography.

At the beginning of the war of the Rebellion Dr. Miller Francis tendered his services to the Confederate government and was enlisted as surgeon. He was commissioned senior sur- geon of the Sixth Alabama Infantry on May 19, 1861, resigned in May, 1862, and was re-

In October, 1892, Mr. Francis came to De- troit and assumed the position of assistant in the Department of Analytical Chemistry in the laboratories of Parke, Davis & Company, and was promoted to full charge of this depart- ment in 1897, at which time the work of the Experimental Department was likewise placed under his supervision. In 1905 he succeeded Mr. Frank G. Ryan as chief chemist and su- perintendent of the Control Department, which latter covers and directs all processes employed in the manufacturing of the multifarious prod- ucts of the great concern, these preparations numbering about eight thousand. Of the mani- fold duties resting upon Mr. Francis detailed mention can scarcely be made in an article of this character, but it may well be understood that of all departments of this great enterprise none are intrinsically more responsible and ex- acting in their demands than those assigned to his charge. He has charge of the check sys- tem for the prevention of mistakes, the identi- fication of goods and control of quality of all raw materials and finished products; controls

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the suggestion of all new products, the inves- tigation of new drugs and therapeutic agents, the improving of quality, new processes of manufacture, and the investigation of com- plaints from the trade and the medical profes- sion. This splendidly devised control system implies first the securing of materials of the best quality and proper identity; second, the distribution and proper utilization of this ma- terial, much of which is of tremendous toxic potency ; third, the prevention of mistakes and probably fatal consequences by misplacing the material in the process of manufacture; and finally, the examination of the finished product to determine accurately its quality and regu- larity of standard. It will be seen from these statements how great is the responsibility in- volved, as it insures to the products that in- tegrity which has been so great a factor in gain- ing to Parke, Davis & Company an unrivaled and world-wide reputation. Mr. Francis is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Phar- maceutical Association, Deutsches Chemischen Gesellschaft, the American Chemical Society, and the Society of Detroit Chemists, and he is well known and holds a high reputation in his chosen profession. He is a member of the Detroit Club. In politics he pays allegiance to the Republican party, and he and his wife are zealous members of the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder. Both are active in the various departments of the church work.

On November 25, 1891, Mr. Francis mar- ried Miss Evie E. Harris, daughter of Robert T. Harris, a representative member of the bar of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the children of this union are: John Miller, Jr., who was born June 23, 1894; Evelyn Searcy, born Oc- tober 2, 1898; and Julia Clark, born on the 8th of March, 1901.

LEON C. FINCK.

The magnificent enterprise conducted by the corporation of Parke, Davis & Company, the

largest manufacturing pharmaceutical chem- ists in the world, has gained its marvelous suc- cess largely through having in the various stages of its history enlisted the co-operation of men of strong initiative, executive and tech- nical ability, and in the personnel of the pres- ent executive corps few are better known or exercise more important functions than the subject of this sketch, whose popularity in busi- ness and social circles is measured only by the number of his acquaintances. He has a com- prehensive knowledge of practical pharmacy, which has inured greatly to his success as an administrative officer, while his general pro- gressiveness and public spirit place him well to the front among the representative business men of the Michigan metropolis.

Mr. Finck was born at Sodus, Wayne coun- ty, New York, on the Ist of October, 1860, and is a son of David and Mary A. (Fitzsim- mons) Finck. The Finck family was founded in America in the colonial era of our national history and the genealogy is distinguished and interesting. The founder of the American branch was Andrew Finck, a native of the Palatinate of Germany. He was one of the five leaders of the colony of his countrymen who secured by purchase from the Mohawk Indians a tract of twelve thousand seven hun- dred acres of land in the beautiful Mohawk valley of New York. This transaction oc- curred in 1723, and the colony, located at "Stone Arabia" was known as the "Palatine Germans," made up of the most sterling class of German citizens,-men and women who were themselves the most worthy and useful of pioneers in the new country and whose de- scendants have played well their parts in life. Numerous representatives of this sturdy stock are yet to be found in the Mohawk valley, noted for its fine farmsteads and evidences of thrift and prosperity as one generation has followed another on to the stage of life's ac- tivities. The subject of this review has in his possession a tracing of the original deed given by the Mohawk Indians and signed by the sachems of the tribe at the time of the trans-

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fer of the above mentioned property to the German colonists.

Andrew Finck, the original American progenitor, came to the New World in 1709. He lived on the banks of the Hudson river for some time, then moved to Schoharie county, New York. As may be inferred from preced- ing statements, a number of years elapsed ere he became concerned in promoting the forma- tion of the Palatine colony, and his knowledge of conditions and opportunities proved potent in influencing others of his countrymen to take up their abode on the frontier in the old Em- pire state. The next in line of direct descent to the subject of this article was Christian Finck, son of Andrew, and the former was in turn followed by a son Andrew, who was a valiant soldier in the colonial wars antecedent to the Revolution, having served six years under Sir William Johnson. At the age of fifty-five years he gave still more unmistakable evidence of his loyalty, when he took up arms in de- fense of the cause of independence, becom- ing a private in the Continental line. Three of his sons also were soldiers in the Revolution- ary forces,-Andrew, who attained to the rank of major and who was a close associate of Colonel Marinus Willett, of New York Con- tinental Infantry and the "Levies," known as the "Pride of the Mohawk Valley": Major Andrew Finck also served under General Washington at Valley Forge and White Plains and under General James Clinton on the Hud- son; Christian, who was likewise a gallant sol- dier in the Revolution and who also took part in the second war with England, having held a captain's commission during the war of 1812; and Henry, who served throughout the Revo- lution. Two of Andrew Finck's sons-in-law were also officers. Of these three sons men- tioned, the second, Christian, figures as the an- cestor of Leon C. Finck, whose name initiates this article. Christian Finck became a success- ful farmer in the Mohawk valley and his death occurred at Victory, Wayne county, New York, when he was well advanced in years. His son Christian (third of the name) suc-

ceeded to the old homestead farm, which is still known by the family name. David Finck was a man of high intellectual attainments, having been graduated in a leading college in New York state and having been for a number of years a successful and popular teacher in the schools of that commonwealth, where he continued to reside until his death, which oc- curred in 1864. Mrs. Mary A. Fitzsimmons Finck was a grand-daughter of Major Amos Scott, a gallant officer in the war of 1812 and a representative of one of the old and distin- guished families of the nation.

Leon C. Finck was about four years of age at the time of his father's death, and the fam- ily removed soon afterward to the city of Syracuse, New York, where he was reared to maturity and where he secured his early edu- cational training in the public schools. In 1873, at the age of thirteen years, he secured employment in the retail drug store of Brown & Dawson, of that city and remained there until 1880, devoting himself assiduously to the study of pharmacy and to the practical details of the work, and being gradually advanced to the position of chief prescription clerk in the establishment. Upon his withdrawal, in 1880, Mr. Finck came to Detroit, bearing with him letters of introduction and commendation ad- dressed to George S. Davis, general manager of the firm of Parke, Davis & Company, through whom he secured a position as assist- ant in the general pharmaceutical department. He was energetic and ambitious and his rise to his present responsible office has been gained through the various grades of promotion to which he entitled himself by his ability and fi- delity. In 1882 Mr. Finck was made foreman of the extract department, and in 1884 he was placed in charge of the general pharmaceutical department. In 1893 he assumed supervision of the formula department and in 1896 was appointed head of the control department. For several years he also managed the digestive- ferment department. He is counted among the old pioneers in the manufacture of pepsin and other digestive ferments.

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Mr. Finck was one of the four active mem- bers and secretary of the board of control gov- erning the army of employes in the big De- troit laboratories during six years, 1900-1906. He was also assistant superintendent ten years.

Upon the reorganization of the manufac- ing departments of Parke, Davis & Company's great establishment, in January, 1907, Mr. Finck was appointed division superintendent in control of stock, finishing and shipping depart- ments. He is also chief of the finely equipped private fire department maintained to protect the many laboratory buildings in the large plant, covering several city squares. He has served more than twenty-five years as an offi- cer in that excellent organization, which is rec- ognized as one of the best drilled and most ef- ficient private fire departments in this coun- try. Several hundred employes are engaged in the division over which Mr. Finck has direct supervision, and he has the unqualified esteem and good will of all, being genial and unas- suming in his association with those about him, though ever insisting upon the maintenance of good discipline. He has charge each year of the annual excursions given by the company to its employes and their escorts, numbering fully five thousand, and as "admiral" of the excursion fleet he has given dispensations which have made the annual outings a source of unrivaled pleasure to all concerned.

On the 25th of November, 1902, Mr. Finck was united in marriage to Miss Mary Shaugh- nessy, daughter of the late Patrick Shaugh- nessy, of Detroit. They have no children.

Mr. Finck is an appreciative member of the Sons of the American Revolution, being a member of the board of managers of the Mich- igan Society. He is also an active member of the Society of Colonial Wars, and the histori- cal societies of Herkimer and Montgomery counties, New York. He takes justifiable pride in the family history and in the generic history of the nation which has honored and been honored by those who have borne the name of Finck and by several of his ancestors who were prominent among the earliest pio-

neers in New England. He is a stockholder in Parke, Davis & Company and was until re- cently vice-president of the Detroit Regalia Company. As a citizen he has exhibited lib- eral public spirit, and he has been reasonably prominent in political and municipal affairs in Detroit. He is an uncompromising Repub- lican and has in many ways rendered effective service in the party cause. He served as a committeeman in the Wayne County Business Men's Republican Club and a member of the executive committee of the Detroit Municipal League. He also served as a member of the executive committee of the citizens' street-rail- way committee appointed by Mayor Codd. Mr. Finck was appointed professor of prac- tical pharmacy in the Detroit College of Medi- cine in 1891.

He was, years ago, active in athletic affairs, as an amateur base-ball pitcher, tennis player and expert bicycle rider. He was secretary and lieutenant in the old original Detroit Bi- cycle Club. He is now an enthusiastic auto- mobile driver.

JOHN T. SHAW.

Shortly before attaining to his legal major- ity Mr. Shaw entered the service of the First National Bank of Detroit, with whose execu- tive affairs he has since been consecutively identified and of which great institution, most notable, both historically and financially, he is now vice-president,-a preferment which in- dicates how well he has applied his energies and abilities and to how great a degree he has the confidence and esteem of the stockholders and directors of the bank. For more than thirty years he has thus been intimately con- cerned with banking interests in the Michigan metropolis, and in no insignificant sense has he contributed to upholding the essentially im- pregnable prestige of Detroit in a financial way. He is honored by and honors the great banking house to whose service his entire busi- ness career has been devoted, and he is em- inently entitled to consideration in this publica-

the haw.

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tion as one of the leading financiers of the state and one of the representative citizens of the fair "City of the Straits."

Mr. Shaw was born at Plymouth, Wayne county, Michigan, on the 30th of July, 1854, and is a son of John and Mary (Maiden) Shaw, the former of whom was born at Why- sall, Nottinghamshire, England, and the latter near Farmington, Oakland county, Michigan. When the subject of this sketch was about thirteen years of age he entered the North- ville, Union school, to which school he is in- debted for his early educational discipline, in- cluding a course in the high school.

John T. Shaw came to Detroit, in 1876, the centennial year of our national independence and the one which marked the virtual initiation of his own independent career. On the Ist of April, 1876, he became bookkeeper in the First National Bank, retaining this position until he succeeded E. C. Bowman, upon the latter's retirement from the position of discount clerk. From this office he thereafter rose through various grades of promotion until finally, on the 10th of January, 1893, he was appointed cashier of the bank. Of his advancement to this important office Wendell's history of banks and banking in Michigan speaks as follows, and the words, as coming from Mr. Emory Wendell, who was so long president of the institution, are especially significant and apro- pos : "He availed himself of his opportunity to familiarize himself with the workings of the bank, and so came to its management thor- oughly equipped for the responsibilities inci- dent thereto, and enjoying the full confidence of the directors."

On the 10th of January, 1899, he was elected a director and vice-president of the bank, while still retaining the office of cashier, and of these three positions he continued to be the incumbent until the death of the honored president, the late Dexter M. Ferry, when he was recognized as the normal candidate for the presidency, to which he was elected on the 19th of November, 1907. Mr. Ferry is the subject of an individual memoir in this vol-

ume, and in the department devoted to the banking and other financial interests of De- troit and Wayne county is also given a review of the history of the First National Bank.

The career of Mr. Shaw has been somewhat unique, and yet has represented but the faith- ful application of definite powers to the ac- complishment of the work to which he has set himself. Through his own efforts he has at- tained to a large measure of material success and to a high reputation as a financier and business man, and the while he has stood for progressiveness and loyalty in all that makes for good citizenship. It is no insignificant thing to stand at the head of so great an in- stitution as the First National Bank, and such precedence stands as its own voucher for sterling character as well as definite ability.

Since the consolidation of the First National and Commercial National Banks, under the title of the First National Bank of Detroit, Mr. Shaw has held the office of vice-president and cashier.

OLIVER BOURKE, JR.

One of the well known and distinctively popular officials connected with the Detroit postoffice is Oliver Bourke, Jr., who is super- intendent of carriers and who has most effec- tively handled the work of his important de- partment, whose service most closely touches the general public.

Mr. Bourke is a native of the city of Detroit, where he was born on the 14th of July, 1865, being a son of Oliver and Henrietta Alicia Bourke, the former of whom was born in Heathfield House, County Mayo, Ireland, and the latter in Clane, Ireland. Mr. Bourke re- ceived his early education in the public schools of Detroit and under the instruction of private tutors. On the Ist of February, 1881, he be- came an employe in the local postoffice, George C. Codd having been postmaster at the time. His first service was as registry clerk, and for eight years he was in charge of this depart- ment at night. In 1889 he was promoted to the position of assistant chief clerk of the de-

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livery division, in which capacity he served until 1892, when he was appointed assistant superintendent of the city-delivery department. Shortly afterward he was detailed as superin- tendent of carriers and collectors and in 1904 he was promoted to his present office of su- perintendent of carriers, in which position he has done much to systematize the work of his department and bring it up to the highest pos- sible point of efficiency. He now has under his supervision two hundred and eighty-five regular carriers and thirty-nine extras, and within his connection with the carriers' de- partment the bulk of mail handled therein has been increased four-fold. Mr. Bourke has served under the regimes of the following named postmasters and is one of the veterans of the official corps of the office: George C. Codd, Alexander Copeland, Elwood T. Hance, John J. Enright, Freeman B. Dickerson, and Homer Warren.

Mr. Bourke was for six years a member of Company D, Detroit Light Infantry, and in 1893 he was elected captain of the City Greys, but declined to qualify for the office, though he served six months as first lieutenant in his com- pany. He is an able tactician and has taken great interest in military affairs, often serving as a drill master. Of later years his official duties at the postoffice have prevented his giv- ing any considerable attention to the militia. Both he and his wife are communicants of St. Paul's church, Protestant Episcopal.

On the 26th of October, 1892, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Bourke to Miss Esther K. Jaquith, daughter of the late Mer- ton P. Jaquith, a well known insurance man of Detroit, and grand-niece of the late Amasa Rust, one of the pioneer lumber barons of the Saginaw valley. Mr. and Mrs. Bourke have three children,-Esther H., Marion G., and Charlotte V.

GEORGE H. PAINE.

As one of the definite factors in connection with the upbuilding of the "greater Detroit," George H. Paine has been prominent. He was

born in the city of Saginaw, Michigan, on the 18th of January, 1858, and is a son of Asa H. and Jane (Hutchinson) Paine. To the public schools of his native city Mr. Paine is indebted for his early educational discipline, and at the age of sixteen years he assumed a clerical po- sition in the law offices of Wisner & Draper, of Saginaw, under whose preceptorship he read law, being admitted to the bar in 1879. In 1880 he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney of Saginaw county, and prior to his admission to the bar he served as clerk of the circuit court.

In 1882 Mr. Paine located in Detroit, where he established himself in the practice of his profession, but after five years devoted himself exclusively to the promotion of industrial en- terprises. In 1889 he was identified with the organization and incorporation of the National Loan & Investment Company, of Detroit, of which he became the first secretary and general manager, and he continued in this office until April, 1899, when he resigned. In 1896 he was the leading spirit in effecting the organi- zation of the Firestone Rubber Tire Company, of which he became one of the largest stock- holders and was the first president. In 1899 he again came to the forefront as an effective promoter, bringing about the organization and incorporation of the Consolidated Rubber Tire Company, which was capitalized at over $5,- 000,000, and absorbed the business of the Fire- stone and other important concerns in the same line of enterprise. In 1900, with Sherman R. Miller and John W. Leggett, he organized the W. F. Stimpson Company, which purchased the plant and business of the Computing Scale Company, of Elkhart, Indiana, and of this newly organized corporation he became presi- dent. In 1902 he was one of the principal or- ganizers of the Computing Scale Company of America, a three million dollar corporation, of which he was elected vice-president and man- aging director of the Stimpson plants con- trolled by the corporation, which also absorbed the business of the Dayton Computing Scale Company, of Dayton, Ohio, and the Money-

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Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, Part 90

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