USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 12
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from June 19, 1916, until Feb. 15, 1917. In 1917, during the absence of Major Stewart, he acted as post commander. Captain Clark was married Dec. 24, 1901, to Mabel, daughter of Isaac and Rachael Van- derhood, of Gratiot county, Michigan, and they have four children : Marion Josephine, Bernice A., William H. and May June, all residing at the family home on Coit Road, one mile north of North Park, Grand Rapids. The entrance of the United States into the great war will give many officers the opportunity of proving their worth, and if the achievements of the past may be taken as a criterion, the future holds forth much of promise to this splendid soldier.
Carl A. Clements .- As the second largest city in the State of Michigan and one of the most important manufacturing centers of the Middle West, Grand Rapids has long taken a leading part in the history of the day, and has attracted to itself some of the trained minds not only in the various learned professions, but those who are capable of controlling the affairs of large industrial enterprises. This feature alone is one which has contributed largely to Grand Rapids' supremacy, as it is a fact that the interests here demand strenuous ac- tion and trained ability, and where men possessing these qualities con- gregate, success is sure to follow and a further enlargement of busi- ness fields and operating opportunities. Of the men recently at- tracted to Grand Rapids, one who within the short span of a decade of years has worked out an admirable success is Carl A. Clements, vice-president of the Sanitary Knitting Company. Mr. Clements was born at Stavanger, Norway, Aug. 9, 1868, son of Knut and Dina Clements, natives of that country. The father was a manufacturer of machinery in his native land, and on coming to the United States, in 1882, located at Chicago, where he became superintendent and special toolmaker for machine companies. He continued to be thus engaged during the rest of his life at Chicago, where he died, as did also his wife. Carl A. Clements was educated in the public schools of Nor- way and was still a youth when he accompanied his parents to the United States. His first employment in this country was with the Crane Company, of Chicago, world-famous manufacturers, with whom he remained two years. Subsequently he had five years of ex- perience in a Chicago brass foundry, at the end of that time becoming superintendent of the Turner Brass Works, also of that city, in whose employ he remained three years. Next he took charge of a selling agency at Chicago for a knitting concern, this being his first expe- rience in the business, and in 1900 first came to Grand Rapids as su- perintendent of the Globe Knitting Company, with which he re- mained nine years. In the year 1909 was founded the Sanitary Knit- ting Company, a concern for the manufacture of high-grade custom underwear. The officers were E. A. Clements, president ; C. A. Clem- ents, vice-president, and E. C. Mangold, secretary and treasurer, and the business was incorporated for $15,000, about twenty people be- ing employed. Just how the business has grown during the ten years of its existence may be shown in the fact that the company now has a surplus of more than $60,000 and from seventy-five to eighty people are regularly employed. Its product finds a ready and recep- tive market in all parts of the United States, as well as in Canada and England, and at the present time the company has a very large government contract to fill for the present war. Mr. Clements is a
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hustling and progressive business man, capable in his line and pos- sessed of splendid ideas, as well as foresight and judgment. He is called by associates a man of integrity and of substantial character. In politics he maintains an independent stand and has not been an active factor in public affairs, although a good citizen of his adopted country. Fraternally he belongs to Malta Masonic Lodge and the Grotto, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of the Maccabees, and his social connections include membership in the Peninsular, Grand View Automobile and Schubert clubs. He is also a member of the Grand Rapids Association of Commerce. Mr. Clements was married, first, Sept. 9, 1890, at Chicago, to Miss Helen Jane Imbs, of that city, and they became the parents of one daughter, Helen Jane, the wife of Frederick Munson, of Chicago, and has a son, Frederick Norman. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Clem- ents was married July 7, 1893, to Miss Laura Petersen, also of Chi- cago, and two children have been born to them: Norman Victor, who is taking an engineering course at the University of Michigan, and Carter Arnold, who is a cadet at the Northwestern Military Acad- emy of Lake Geneva, Wis.
Lewis P. Cody .- There are few cities in the country which offer such unsurpassed opportunities for the development of men and large interests as Grand Rapids, all things taken into consideration. Here are to be found many of the raw materials, or they can be easily ob- tained through lake and railroad shipments. Here is an immense lo- cal market and in the surrounding territory, and here are the men, substantial, energetic, reliable and aggressive, ready and willing to push ahead to successful completion the various enterprises which make the city notable. One of the men who has taken advantage of the opportunities offered at Grand Rapids and who has not only ad- mirably proven his own worth, but has increased his value as a citi- zen by the development of an important enterprise, is Lewis P. Cody, president of the Grand Rapids Electric Company, which during its quarter of a century of existence has grown to important propor- tions and is a prominent factor in the business life of the Furniture City. Mr. Cody was born at Grand Rapids, Dec. 31, 1869, son of Dar- win D. and Martha (Lewis) Cody. His father, who was born at Cleve- land, Ohio, Dec. 25, 1841, is at this time a resident of the Forest City, and his mother, native of New Britain, Conn., died in 1910 at Grand Rapids. He has one living sister, Mrs. Roy S. Barnhart, of this city. The public schools of Grand Rapids furnished Mr. Cody with his early educational training, and immediately upon graduating from the Central High School in June, 1888, he began to work for the Grand Rapids Street Railway Company. During the first nine months his labor received no emolument, under methods then prevailing, for he was learning the business and it was considered that the training he was receiving more than compensated for the work he did for the concern. Having thus far advanced he was given a minor position in the electric repair shop, but found that he needed further training and accordingly went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he pursued a course in electrical engineering. After his grad- uation, in 1892, he was given a position with the Houston Electric Company, of Lynn, Mass., but soon returned to Grand Rapids, where he was made superintendent of the Grand Rapids Electric Company,
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in 1892, at the organization of that concern by Daniel McCoy. After serving as superintendent of the plant for six months, Mr. Cody was made manager, and since then practically his entire career has been devoted to this concern, which has gradually become one of the po- tent forces in Grand Rapids' commercial, industrial and civic life, and a concern that has a reputation for solidity and honorable methods. This corporation is an organization of contractors and wholesalers and retailers of electrical supplies, its principal business being in pub- lic building contracting, and the territory of its largest operations is confined to Western Michigan. Mr. Cody, a constructive and ener- getic business man, has risen with his concern, and now directs its policies in the office of president. He has had other business con- nections, and was one of the organizers of the Citizens Telephone Company. In business circles he is widely and favorably known and is a member of the Builders and Traders' Exchange and the Grand Rapids Association of Commerce, while he belongs also to the Plain- field Country club and the O-Wash-ta-nong club, and is a Thirty- second degree Mason. His religious connection is with the Park Congregational church. Prior to her marriage to Mr. Cody, Dec. 16, 1912, Mrs. Cody was Miss Caroline Parks Blodgett.
Eugene D. Conger .- As financial stability must be the foundation stone upon which all great enterprises are erected, the banking inter- ests of a community are necessarily among the most important, and the men who control or conserve the money of the corporations, and individuals of the country must possess many qualities not requisite in the ordinary person. Among these are high commercial integrity, exceptional financial ability, judgment, poise, foresight and public confidence. A citizen who has been identified with the banking in- terests of Grand Rapids for a number of years, and who has done much in the effective upbuilding of the city along additional lines, is Eugene D. Conger, vice-president and acting head of the People's Savings Bank. Mr. Conger was born at Litchfield, Hillsdale county, Michigan, Nov. 4, 1861, a son of Albert G. and Mary J. (Riblet) Con- ger, the former a farmer from New York State and the latter a native of Michigan. Eugene D. Conger was educated in the Litchfield pub- lic schools and Hillsdale College, and in 1884 came to Grand Rapids and took a course in a business college. His first employment was as a mail clerk in the offices of the Grand Rapids Telegram, and in this way he became connected with newspaper life and spent a number of years therein. From employe he rose to employer and for several years was owner of the Grand Rapids Herald. This property was sold in 1905. His next experience was as secretary of the West Michi- gan State Fair, and when he resigned from that office he entered the People's Savings Bank, of which he became cashier in February, 1908. In 1912 he was made vice-president and manager of this well-known and prosperous banking house and these positions he retains at this time. Mr. Conger's labors have been of a broad scope and have won for him wide recognition as an able and resourceful financier who looks beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities of the future. His outside interests are numerous and varied and his abili- ties have assisted in the building up of several of Grand Rapids' im- portant enterprises. Mr. Conger has always been a stalwart Repub- lican, and on several occasions has been honored by public recogni-
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tion. From 1891 to 1893 he was alderman of the Second ward, and from 1898 to 1901 served as a member of the Industrial Commission, to which post he was appointed by President Mckinley. He is a Thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to the Knights Templar of that order, and is a member also of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Maccabees. He is a member of the Penin- sular, Highlands Country, Lake Side and O-Wash-ta-nong clubs. Mr. Conger was married April 19, 1888, to Bertha, daughter of Henry Bretzman, of Milwaukee, Wis., and they have two children, Helen Eu- genia and Chester Evans.
Frank J. Cook .- The banking interests of Grand Rapids have no more able or worthy representative than Frank J. Cook, cashier of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank. This institution opened its doors for business only in 1914, and its success, while rapid, has been of the sound and substantial kind, and today the bank occupies a recog- nized position among the large and important monetary enterprises of the city. Mr. Cook has been long before the public, for prior to entering the field of finance he was the incumbent of a number of city positions, and the able and reliable manner in which he dis- charged the duties of these offices did much to gain him the confi- dence of the people, so that when he entered upon his new venture he already had a large and representative following. Frank J. Cook is a product of the agricultural community of Kent county, having been born on a farm in Paris township, Oct. 30, 1860, a son of Abraham F. and Marie L. (Patterson) Cook. His father, a native of Wayne county, Michigan, followed farming throughout the active period of his life, and is now living in comfortable retirement at Grand Rap- ids, while his mother, who was born in New York State, is deceased. There were two children in the family: Frank J. and Fred A., the latter of Madison Square, Grand Rapids. Frank J. Cook received his education in the country schools of Kent county and entered upon his career as an educator. For fifteen years he taught in the district schools and then for three years in the schools of Seymour, follow- ing which he entered the tax department of the city treasurer's office. After two years he was transferred to the department of the register of deeds, where he remained for three years under J. T. Gould, and the next four years were spent under Scott Griswold, in the county ab- stract office. He was then elected register of deeds and served in that office for three terms, or six years, and after some experience in bank- ing matters became cashier of the Grand Rapids Savings Bank, of which he was also manager five years. Mr. Cook resigned his posi- tions with that concern to assist in the organization of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank, located at 1216 Madison avenue, which was capi- talized at $25,500 and threw open its doors to the public for business Aug. 1, 1914. Its officers are: William McCrodan, president ; Bert M. Heth, vice-president ; C. A. Mills, assistant cashier ; Henry J. Klei- man, assistant cashier ; Frank J. Cook, cashier ; and Olive A. Casey, bookkeeper. The board of directors includes the president, vice-presi- dent and secretary and the following well-known business and profes- sional men of Grand Rapids: Judge William B. Brown, Charles S. Deming, Lewis A. Solomon, W. A. Patterson, Edward Lennon, James E. Murphy, C. I. Patterson, F. L. Parr, Joseph Bowditch, William McCrodan, Bert M. Heth, Ray Sprague, Robert Baxter, John F. Kel-
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ly, and C. R. Vanderpool. Mr. Cook is a Republican, and has always been an active worker in the interests of his party, of which he is con- sidered a strong member in Kent county. His religious connection is with the Church of Christ, and fraternally he belongs to York Ma- sonic Lodge No. 410, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal League. He also belongs to the Builders' & Traders' Ex- change. Mr. Cook was married Sept. 25, 1880, to Jennie, daughter of LeRoy L. and Elza M. (Earle) Thompson, of Paris township, Kent county. They have two children: Lillian M., who is the wife of William G. Foster, of Toronto, Canada, and Arthur M., a resident of Montcalm county, Michigan. Charles A. Mills, assistant cashier of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank of Grand Rapids, was born on a farm in Paris township, Kent county, Michigan, Aug. 22, 1859, a son of Marshall B. and Rachael A. (Hurd) Mills. His father, a native of the State of New York, came to Kent county when the country was still young and here grew to manhood from the age of fifteen years. He was engaged in successful agricultural pursuits throughout his life, and died Jan. 1, 1915. In politics he was a Republican, his fra- ternal relation was with the Masonic lodge, and religiously he be- longed to the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Mills, a native of New York who came to Kent county as a child of seven years, is also a member. They were the parents of three children: Charles A., Warren E., and Blanche, who is the wife of Fred C. Higley, of Seattle, Wash. Charles A. Mills received his education in the public schools of Coopersville, Ottawa county, Michigan, and secured his first business experience in the store of Paul Steketee & Sons, with which house he remained for sixteen years. In 1906 he went to Madi- son Square and established the mercantile firm of Mills & Healey, dealers in dry goods, and this business is still in existence, Mr. Healey being the active manager. Upon the organization of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank in 1914, Mr. Mills accepted the position of assistant cashier, which he still retains. This bank is now conducting a branch at Ada, Mich., with Perry M. Dennison as manager. Mr. Mills is widely and favorably known in Grand Rapids. He is a Republican in politics, a member of Masonic York Lodge No. 410, and belongs to the Madison Square Board of Trade. He and Mrs. Mills are mem- bers of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Mills was married Dec. 15, 1889, to Julia F., daughter of Chauncey C. and Emily (Averill) Stiles, of Coopersville, Mich., and of this union there has been born one daughter, Ethel M., who is the wife of H. W. Healey, her. fa- ther's business partner.
Brigadier-General Louis C. Covell was born in Grand Rapids, June 22, 1875, son of Elliott and Laura Chapin Covell. His grandfa- ther, of whom frequent mention has been made in this history, was a pioneer of Grand Rapids, in 1837. Louis C. Covell was educated in Grand Rapids and is a graduate of the high school of this city. For twelve years he was connected with the Macey Co. as advertising and sales manager, and for four years was president of the printing con- cern known as the Covell-Henson Co., from which he retired to de- vote his entire time to military service. When but seventeen years of age he joined Company I of the Michigan National Guard, on April 6, 1892. He enlisted as a private, but soon was promoted and served
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for three years as corporal of Company I. On June 26, 1895, he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company K, and was the captain of this company after January, 1897. He served as captain during the Spanish-American war and his marked ability led to rapid promo- tion. He was commissioned major in 1900, lieutenant-colonel in 1905, colonel in January, 1911, and after serving with great credit on the Mexican border was promoted to the high rank of brigadier-general, Feb. 7, 1917. As a military leader he has the full confidence of the men under his command, and the fathers and mothers of Kent county have entrusted their sons to his keeping with the firm belief that he will not only lead the boys to glory under the flag, but that he will use every effort for their welfare. General Covell was married June 12, 1906, to Miss Florence Davidson, and their happy home at No. 449 Pleasant street, S. E., has been brightened by the advent of three sons-George, Louis, Jr., and Robert.
John A. Covode .- Whether it was fortuity or fate that led John A. Covode to Grand Rapids, in 1879, it is certain that the little grow- ing Michigan city gained thereby a valuable citizen and that at the same time in the ambitious community there came to him excellent business opportunities, the improvement of which has since brought him to a prominent position in the business world. The period of his residence here has covered thirty-nine years, during which time the city has grown to importance among the commercial and industrial centers of the Middle West, and during thirty-six years of this time Mr. Covode has been connected with the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, one of Grand Rapids' largest and most prominent manu- facturing enterprises. John A. Covode was born on a farm near Lockport, Pa., May 6, 1853, a son of John Covode. His education was secured in the public schools and at Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., in which institution he was graduated in 1876, and three years later came to Grand Rapids. He introduced himself to the people of this city in the line of milling and wholesaling, but in 1882 became identified with the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, a concern al- ready nearly a quarter of a century old. In 1883 he was elected sec- retary, and this position he still retains, after thirty-five years of continuous and active service. Mr. Covode is essentially one of those who belong to the men of action of Grand Rapids. His success has been attained as a natural sequence of the unfolding and development of his native powers, and close application, indefatigable energy, in- tegrity and determination have constituted the foundation of his achievements. The nucleus for the Berkey & Gay Furniture Com- pany as a firm had its birth in 1859, when Julius and William A. Berkey engaged in the furniture business on Monroe street. This concern, in 1873, was incorporated as the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, with a capital of $500,000. At that time Julius Berkey was elected president, George W. Gay vice-president, and A. J. Holt, secretary. J. A. Covode came into the business as secretary in 1883, and in 1899 George G. Whitworth was made treasurer. At the time of the death of Julius Berkey, W. H. Gay became president, and in 1915 E. A. Wallace was made vice-president and manager. The busi- ness was reincorporated in 1903, and in 1911 took over the Oriel Cab- inet Company, at which time it was consolidated, with its capital in- creased to $1,000,000, authorized. More recently the charter of the
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company has been changed to permit the issuance of $200,000 in pre- ferred and $800,000 in common stock. This concern now employs from 800 to 1,000 men, and has six salesmen on the road, its product being known throughout the Middle West and in other sections of the country. William H. Gay, president of the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, was born at Grand Rapids, May 30, 1863, a son of George W. and Helen (Hovey) Gay. His father, born in Washington coun- ty, New York, in 1837, came to Grand Rapids in 1859, and for four years was engaged in the hardware and furniture business, but in 1863 became associated with William A. and Julius Berkey. He con- tinued to be connected with this business during the rest of his ac- tive life, and died at Grand Rapids, Sept. 13, 1899. Mr. Gay married Helen Hovey, who was born at Boston, Mass., in 1835, and died at Grand Rapids in April, 1898, and they became the parents of two children : William H. and Gertrude, who is now the wife of Charles Carman, a farmer of Kent county. William H. Gay attended the public schools of Grand Rapids and has passed his entire business career with the company of which he is now the president. He is also identified with other important business enterprises and is well known in financial circles, being a director in the Fourth National, Commer- cial Savings, and People's Savings Banks, and the Michigan Trust Company. He is a Republican and a member of the Baptist church. Before her marriage, Mrs. Gay was Netta, daughter of Edwin Cole, of Grand Rapids. She is a member of the Congregational church.
Gilbert L. Daane .- Prominent among the young business citi- zens who have arisen rapidly to positions of prominence is found Gil- bert L. Daane, vice-president of the Grand Rapids Savings Bank. Mr. Daane's career is one which has exemplified the fact that suc- cess is to be honorably and speedily gained through the medium of hard and well-directed work, for he has advanced through his own efforts and his prosperity and position owe nothing to chance or hap- py circumstance. Mr. Daane was born at Grand Rapids, May 30, 1886, and is a son of Hubert and Mary (Witters) Daane. Hubert Daane was born at Zeeland, Netherlands, Nov. 28, 1861, and came to the United States as a lad of eleven years, the family locating at Grand Rapids, where he completed his education in the public schools and secured his first business experience as an employe of a hardware company. Later he entered the Grand Rapids Brush Fac- tory, where he remained until seventeen years of age, following which he was identified for two years with the S. T. Holmes Manufacturing Company. For eight years he was with the business of J. V. & McGoosen Company, and then entered the Brown Seed Company's business, in which he was a partner for three years, or until 1892. In that year, in partnership with Leonard J. Witters, he founded the present firm of Daane & Witters, at No. 2 Monroe avenue, where, in 1917, was erected the present building, a structure 50x80 feet, where is carried a general line of groceries, fruits and vegetables. This business has grown to large proportions under energetic and well- directed management, and is now accounted one of the substantial business enterprises of the city in its line. Mr. Daane is well and favorably known to the grocery trade and in business circles gener- ally and bears a splendid reputation for commercial and personal in- tegrity. He is a Republican, and his religious faith is that of the Re-
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