USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 13
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formed church, he being a trustee of the Christian Reformed con- gregation of that denomination. On May 24, 1883, he married Mary Witters, and they have four children: Martin, of Grand Rapids ; Gilbert L .; Josina, who is the wife of Dan Etheridge, of Grand Rap- ids, and Russell, who resides with his parents. Gilbert L. Daane was educated primarily in the graded schools and Central High School, following which he took a course in the Grand Rapids Business Uni- versity. At that time he secured a position as bookkeeper with the Grand Rapids Dental Supply Company, but after ten months with that concern he decided that he needed further preparation for his career, and accordingly entered the Michigan Agricultural College, where he spent three terms. When he left college he became draft and foreign exchange clerk in the Commercial Savings Bank, was subsequently promoted to general bookkeeper, and then went to the branch of that bank, known as the South End Commercial Savings Bank, as assistant manager. In February, 1910, when the Michigan Exchange Bank, a private institution, was organized, he became cash- ier and continued in that capacity until Jan. 1, 1917, when that insti- tution was taken over by the Grand Rapids Savings Bank. When this change was effected Mr. Daane became vice-president of the ab- sorbing institution and has since remained in that position. He is also director of the Breen & Halladay Fuel Company and president and a director of the Grand Rapids Live Stock Company, and is gen- erally known in business circles as a live and energetic man of af- fairs who is steadily progressing and at the same time is contribut- ing to the city's advancement in a business and financial way. His political views make him a Republican. An active member of the Christian Reformed church, he is treasurer of the Sunday school, and is also aiding otherwise in religious and moral education, being treasurer and a director of both the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion and the Rescue Mission of Grand Rapids. In a social way he is a general favorite, and finds time from his business responsibilities to take part in the activities of the Grand Rapids Golf, Plainfield Auto- mobile and Rotary clubs, and the Knickerbocker Society, of which he is a member. Mr. Daane was married June 15, 1909, to Mamie, daughter of Ralph and Elizabeth (Quartell) Blocksma, of Grand Rapids, and they have two children: Gilbert Warren, seven years old, and Mary Elizabeth, aged three years.
William B. Dale .- The manager of the Creston Branch of the Kent State Bank, William B. Dale has been identified with this prom- inent Grand Rapids financial institution since 1906 and has risen to his present capacity through the various positions, starting with that of clerk. He is one of the men who have made a success in the com- munity of their birth, as he is a native son of Grand Rapids, and was born Aug. 12, 1881, his parents being John and Jessie W. (Muir) Dale. John Dale was born at Detroit, Mich., and as a young man enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a corporal in Com- pany B, Engineers and Mechanics regiment of Michigan volunteers, with which he served four years. Some time after the close of that struggle he came to Grand Rapids, as an engineer, and for many years was connected with the establishment of Mr. Withey, but is now re- tired from active labor. He is a Democrat, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and belongs to the Episcopal church. Mrs.
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Dale was born in Scotland and came to the United States with her parents in girlhood. She and her husband have the following chil- dren: Robert H., Frank A., Oden F., John C. and William B., all of Grand Rapids; Daisy, wife of Ellery Carter, of Lansing, Mich .; Grace, wife of William D. Carew, of Grand Rapids, and Jane, widow of E. A. Morse, formerly of this city. William B. Dale received a public graded and high school education at Grand Rapids and began his independent career with the Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company, with which concern he remained only a few months. He then en- tered the car shops of the G. R. & I. railway, where he was em- ployed five years, and Jan. 2, 1906, entered the Kent State Bank, in the capacity of clerk. Upon mastering the duties connected with this position, he was advanced to bookkeeper, and later to teller, and in July, 1913, was made manager of the Creston Branch of this institu- tion. He has taken a well-won position as one of the energetic and capable young financiers of the Furniture City, displaying, in the dis- charge of his official duties, a thorough and comprehensive under- standing of financial conditions and problems, and has been of un- doubted value to his house in the securing of additional and impor- tant business. In political matters Mr. Dale follows his own judg- ment, preferring not to be led by party traditions or ties, and as a citizen takes an active and helpful part in public-spirited movements of civic import, being a member of the Creston Citizens' Association, He is fraternally affiliated with Doric Lodge of the Masonic order, and is an Episcopalian in religion. Mr. Dale was married Sept. 11, 1915, to Bertha, daughter of Rev. Charles F. and Nellie Smith, of Grand Rapids.
Ira B. Dalrymple .- Although he has been identified with bank- ing and financial affairs at Grand Rapids only since 1913, Ira B. Dal- rymple already occupies a position of prestige as cashier of the Grand Rapids National City Bank. In the year mentioned he came to this city to accept a minor position with another institution, and his ability and fidelity have since won him advancement to his present place. Mr. Dalrymple was born at Brilliant, Jefferson county, Ohio, Sept. 1, 1882, and is a son of Ellis and Anna (White) Dalrymple. His par- ents were natives of Ohio, but when Ira B. was a lad the family re- moved to Washington, D. C., where his father had been appointed to a government position in the Pension Department. Ellis Dalrymple died at the Capital, while still in the employ of the United States, and Mrs. Dalrymple still survives him and makes her home there. Ira B. Dalrymple received his education in Washington, and there his first experience in the banking business was obtained. He was industri- ous and intelligent, quick to grasp every opportunity to master the perplexities of banking, and so won steady promotion. When he came to Grand Rapids, Feb. 17, 1913, it was to enter the Grand Rap- ids Savings Bank in the capacity of paying teller, being subsequently advanced to assistant cashier. In the same year he transferred his services to the City Trust Bank, as cashier, and Jan. 11, 1916, became cashier of the Grand Rapids National City Bank, which office he still retains. Mr. Dalrymple is well known to the banking fraternity of the city and has become popular with the patrons of the institu- tion which he represents. He was married Nov. 4, 1913, to Agnes, daughter of Frank Jewell, of Grand Rapids, and they have one son, John Ellis.
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Alfred A. De Lisle .- From the year 1872 until his death, which occurred Oct. 27, 1907, the late Alfred A. DeLisle was identified with several important interests at Grand Rapids, and several of his achievements are worthy of more than passing attention. He be- longed to that class of men whose inventive genius has won them fame in the past several decades in addition to adding to the reputa- tion of the city, and it was his fortune to have been associated with some of the leading men in the furniture and office fixture manufac- turing trade of his time. Mr. DeLisle was a native of Waterloo, N. Y., born Sept. 2, 1852, son of Charles Eli DeLisle. His father, a stone-cutter by trade, came to the West when Alfred A. was still a small boy, and after spending a short time at Lowell, Kent county, moved to Dubuque, Ia., and there rounded out his career as a worker at his trade. The public schools of Dubuque furnished Alfred A. DeLisle with his educational training, and in 1872, when he had not yet attained his majority, he came to Grand Rapids and secured a position in the factory of the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company, working at the trade of cabinet-maker, which he had mastered at Dubuque. While there, he was not content to merely work for wages, but was constantly studying and experimenting, and this industry and ambition led him to make a number of inventions. However, his first one found practicable was what is known as the knock-down show case, and, this being followed by others, about the year 1890 he or- ganized the Grand Rapids Handscrew Company, to manufacture ar- ticles under his patents. He was vice-president and manager of this company until he sold out to the Wilmarth Show Case Company, following which he went to Coapa, Mexico, and there engaged in the lumber business. After four years Mr. DeLisle returned to Grand Rapids and here lived quietly until his death, in 1907. Mr. DeLisle was justly accounted as being possessed of inventive genius of a high order, and his patents always showed a touch of ingenuity that lifted them above the ordinary. In their range they included numerous articles, large and small, giving an idea of the inventor's versatility, and Mr. DeLisle also possessed what is not commonly found among men of his peculiar talents, business ability and a capacity for the successful management of his own interests. In his dealings with his fellows he was the soul of honor and his name in commercial and manufacturing circles stood for a respect and recognition of high business ethics. Politically a Democrat, he did not care for the hon- ors of the political arena, but sought to show his good citizenship in his support of worthy and progressive civic movements and educa- tional and charitable enterprises. His fraternal connection was with the Knights of Columbus, and he was a charter member of the Com- mercial Men's Association at Grand Rapids. With Mrs. DeLisle, who survives him and resides at 431 Paris avenue, S. E., he belonged to St. Andrews' Catholic church. Mr. DeLisle was married June 27, 1878, to Margaret, daughter of Patrick and Margaret (McAvoy) Fanning, of Dubuque, Ia.
Hon. Arthur C. Denison .- Among the men recently selected as a judge in the United States Court of Appeals is Hon. Arthur Carter Denison, of Grand Rapids. For more than a quarter of a century he had been a lawyer, and while engaged as an advocate directed many important cases to a successful issue. Judge Arthur Carter
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Denison was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 10, 1861, son of Ju- lius C. and Cornelia (Carter) Denison. Julius Coe Denison was born in Western New York and came to Grand Rapids in 1855, taking up 160 acres of land, now bounded by Burton, Hall and Jefferson streets. He continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the re- mainder of his life and passed away at Grand Rapids, full of years and with the respect and confidence of his community, as did also Mrs. Denison. The only one of his parents' children to survive in- fancy, Arthur C. Denison received his preliminary education in the graded and high schools of Grand Rapids, graduating in the latter in 1878. Soon thereafter he entered the law department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, and, after receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1883 commenced practice in the city of his birth. His first experience was secured in the office of Mr. Taggart, whose partner he became three years later, and this combination, known as Taggart & Denison, continued until 1900, later becoming Taggart, Knappen & Denison, and finally Denison & Wilson. In 1903 he was elected president of the Grand Rapids Bar Association ; in 1904 and 1905 he was a member of the Board of Education, of which he also served as president, and in 1906 and 1907 he was president of the Michigan State Bar Association. He came to the forefront as acceptable judi- cial timber in 1910, and in that year was appointed United States district judge. In the following year he was made United States Cir- cuit Judge, for the Sixth Circuit, and under the new law became judge of the United States Court of Appeals. Judge Denison is a Repub- lican and a member of the Kent County and Peninsular clubs. He is affiliated with the Park Congregational church. In 1886 he was married to Susie L., daughter of Hiram Goodrich, of Grand Rapids. She died in 1896, leaving three sons-John, Donald and Arthur, all of Grand Rapids. The Judge's second marriage occurred in 1898, when he was united with Julia, daughter of Herman G. Barlow, of Grand Rapids. They have one daughter, Miss Ruth, who resides with her parents.
Willis G. Dollaway, whom it is no invidious comparison to des- ignate as one of the foremost farmers of Lowell township, and no empty tribute to pronounce one of its leading citizens, is now the owner of 140 acres of well-cultivated and valuable land, located in Section 8, where he has modern improvements and all the conveni- ences of Twentieth-century country life. When he embarked upon his career as a farmer several decades ago, Mr. Dollaway swung away from his first and earliest interests, for he began life as a worker in the mercantile world and was identified with commercial affairs dur- ing a long period. He was born in the State of New York, Oct. 29, 1863, son of Andrew and Arvilla (Mathews) Dollaway, natives of Schuyler county, New York, the latter of whom died when her son was three years old. Andrew Dollaway was a well-known horseman, as well as a canal boatman, and in his latter years came to Michi- gan, where he died. There were two sons in the family-Frank, who was a resident of Grand Rapids and died Jan. 11, 1918, and Willis G. Willis G. Dollaway was educated in the public schools of Grand Rap- ids and when still a lad began to contribute to his own support, se- curing a position as cashboy in the mercantile establishment of Jacob Barth. He remained with that store for a period of seventeen years,
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steadily working his way to better positions, and when he left that store was connected for one year with the firm of Herpolsheimer. At that time he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, his first purchase being a tract of forty acres, located in Lowell township, which now forms a part of his home farm. From time to time he has added to his acreage, improvements and equipment, and his prop- erty is now one of the valuable ones of the community and reflects the enterprise and business ability of its owner. His 140 acres are under a state of cultivation and, being operated under modern meth- ods, are yielding excellent returns. For some years Mr. Dollaway specialized in breeding race-horse stock, but has now disposed of all his running horses and devotes his time entirely to general farming. While he is not a seeker for political honors or public position, he takes a keen interest in affairs which affect the welfare of his commu- nity, and willingly extends his co-operation and assistance to any movements which promise to be beneficial in the way of securing progress. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Loyal Order of Moose. Mr. Dollaway was mar- ried Oct. 3, 1885, to Frances, daughter of Joseph and Adelia (De Gau) Denney, of Lowell township and of French descent. Mr. Denney, a native of Montreal, Canada, and a stone mason by trade, was for several years a resident of New York, from which state he came to Lowell township, Kent county, in 1864, purchasing forty acres of land which was still covered with the virgin timber. There he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, and at his death was the owner of 157 acres of well-improved land. He was a Demo- crat in politics, and both he and Mrs. Denney, who is also deceased, were faithful members of the Catholic church at Lowell. Their chil- dren were as follows: Adelia, widow of the late Francis Hughes, of Providence, R. I .; Joseph, a farmer of Lowell township; Henry, de- ceased ; Hattie married U. S. Berry, who for forty-two years has been connected with the postoffice at Grand Rapids; Adolph, a resident of Montana; Edward, deceased; Josephine, wife of Newton Henry, of Chicago; Lewis, of Cascade, Mich .; Jennie married George Coffey, of Grand Rapids ; Frederick, of Chicago; Frances, wife of Mr. Dolla- way; Sarraphan, deceased; Emma, single and a resident of Cincin- nati, Ohio; and Archie, of Phillips, S. D. Mr. and Mrs. Dollaway have had the following children: Roy, of Lowell township, who has one son, Clarence; Clarence and Harold, who are deceased; Floyd, with the 30th Engineers' Medical department in France; Lulah, de- ceased; Cecil, who resides with her parents; Edward, deceased; and Leona and Glenn, who live at home.
Captain Lewis J. Donovan was born at Irving, Mich., July 29, 1889, removing in his youth to Grand Rapids and receiving his educa- tion in the parochial schools and the Grand Rapids High School. In this city he has been identified with the clothing business, in the em- ploy of C. A. Daniels. On June 14, 1911, he was married to Miss Florence Cargill, and they have one daughter, Georgiana. He en- listed in what was then Company H, May 31, 1909, as a private, and was soon promoted and served as a corporal during the Grand Trunk strike at Durand. He became a sergeant, May 31, 1912, second lieu- tenant, Dec. 12, 1913, first lieutenant, June 28, 1915, and captain of the new Company I, March 31, 1917. II-7
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Rudolph Doornink .- Among the officials of Grand Rapids, one who through long connection with the city government and excellent services rendered in the discharging of his official duties has gained a substantial and lasting place in the confidence of the public, is Ru- dolph Doornink, the present incumbent of the office of city comp- troller. A resident of Grand Rapids since 1868, his training and ex- perience have been secured in this community, and he is a representa- tive of those who have so truly absorbed the best spirit of the city and the times. Mr. Doornink was born at Milwaukee, Wis., Sept. 27, 1859, a son of Derk J. and Amelia (Harmsen) Doornink. His par- ents, natives of the Netherlands, came to the United States about 1847, locating first at Milwaukee and subsequently, in 1868, changing their residence to Grand Rapids, where both passed away. They were faithful members of the Reformed Church of America, and Mr. Doornink, who for some years was engaged in business here, was a Republican in his political allegiance. Of the six children of Derk J. and Amelia Doornink, five survive and but two are living in Grand Rapids-Rudolph, and Gertrude, who is the wife of Daniel C. Stek- etee. The others are: William F. C. Doornink, of Kalamazoo ; Mrs. Effie Koke, of Los Angeles, Cal., and Mrs. Minnie Dosker, of Louis- ville, Ky. Rudolph Doornink attended the public schools of Mil- waukee and Grand Rapids, and when his educational training was completed became associated with his father in the elder man's busi- ness activities. From the time that he reached his majority he was interested in public affairs and took a more or less active part there- in, and finally a general recognition of his ability and popular quali- ties was followed by a public acknowledgement of his natural capac- ity and powers of initiative. During a period of ten years he was identified with the city's government as an employe of the city clerk's office, where he won advancement through industry and fidelity, and eventually he was chosen as the candidate of the Republican party for the office of city comptroller, to which he was duly elected and the duties of which he has since discharged in a highly efficient and satisfactory manner. He belongs to the Second Reformed church and is variously identified with the club and fraternal life of the city. Mr. Doornink was married, Aug. 29, 1889, to Miss Elizabeth Hoogen- boom, daughter of Peter Hoogenboom, of Rochester, N. Y., and they have two children: R. Francis and Ruth F., both living with their parents. Thus Mr. Doornink's progressive and promising career has been rounded out in the way most fitting to the true American citizen, who, whatever his many activities, is anchored to his wife, his chil- dren and his home.
Michael J. Downes .- The present conditions relative to agricul- ture in any section are largely due to the intelligent efforts of men who, for many years, have devoted themselves to bettering farm con- ditions, thus at the same time adding to their own prosperity, advanc- ing their community's progress and helping the industry in general. In this class undoubtedly stands Michael J. Downes, of Vergennes township, who has passed his entire life in labors connected with agricultural work and whose present prosperity is the outcome of years of industry along the most modern lines of farming activities. Mr. Downes was born on a farm in Ada township, Kent county, Michi- gan, Nov. 16, 1859, son of Michael and Hannah (Farrell) Downes.
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Michael Downes was born in Ireland, where he was reared and edu- cated, and as a young man, without appreciable means, emigrated to the United States in search of his fortune. Coming to Grand Rapids, he was married to Hannah Farrell, who was of Irish descent, but a native of New York City, and their first experience in farming was secured on a green farm in Ada township, consisting of eighty acres. When they had brought that property under cultivation and were making it a paying venture, they added to it 160 acres, and continued to be numbered among the worthy and industrious people of their community for many years. After a long period spent in general farming, they retired from active pursuits, and Mr. Downes died in August, 1917, at his home in Ada township, Mrs. Downes having died in March, 1907. They were the parents of ten sons and four daugh- ters: John, of Vergennes township; Michael J .; Mary, unmarried and resides with her brother Joseph ; Joseph, of Ada ; Charles, Patrick and Thomas, deceased ; Rev. Frank, a priest of the Roman Catholic faith at Proremont, Mich .; Rose, wife of John Kinney, and resides at Kinney Station; Garrett, of Vergennes township; Ed, deceased ; Mar- garet, deceased; Katherine, who resides at Detroit; and Mark, de- ceased. Michael J. Downes was educated in the district schools of Ada township and was brought up on the home farm, where he assisted his father. In order to add to the family income, these sturdy and industrious men each winter for ten years labored in the lumber woods of Michigan, and with the means thus gained Michael J. Downes finally settled down to farming on a tract of 160 acres in Ver- gennes township. His labors, intelligently directed, were attended by success, and he was able to add to his acreage from time to time, so that today he is owner of a splendid tract of 360 acres, making one of the best farms of his township. In addition to general farming, Mr. Downes carries on stock-raising, specializing in Short Horn cattle, Percheron horses and a good grade of sheep, and his product from all departments meets with a ready and appreciative market. Mr. Downes is justly regarded as a representative of the best class of farmers in his neighborhood, and his farm buildings and equipment reflect the progressive spirit that has at all times led him to put into his work the kind of material that has given his community its pres- tige in matters agricultural. Politically, he is a Democrat. An indi- cation of the confidence and esteem in which he is held in his com- munity is the fact that for seventeen years he served as justice of the peace, during which time he rendered his fellow-citizens the kind of service that makes for community harmony and absolute justice. He was reared in the faith of the Catholic church and has always been true to its beliefs. Mr. Downes was united in marriage, April 14, 1891, to Mary, daughter of the late Thomas and Mary A. (Ward) Doyle, of Kent county. Mr. Doyle was born in Ireland and Mrs. Doyle in Philadelphia, Pa. His parents died while he was young and he came to America with an uncle. He bought from the government the land where Mr. and Mrs. Downes reside, and this he cleared and there developed a home. There his wife died, but he passed away in the village of Lowell. Mr. and Mrs. Doyle were the parents of twelve children, three of whom survive.
James C. Droste, M. D .- Among the various vocations to which men devote themselves, there is one-that of the physician-which
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opens to its members an almost unbelievably wide range of usefulness. Its province is many-sided, and that special phase which accom- plishes the more than splendid work of preserving life says nothing of the world of sorrow that is banished or of happiness restored. Those who study the art, mellowed and enriched as they are through association with humanity unmasked, are possessed of a priceless gift in their ability to answer the command to "heal the sick." Among the physicians of Grand Rapids whose ability to serve their fellow- men has brought them to places of prominence, one of the younger element is James C. Droste. While engaged in practice here only since 1913, he has already gained the confidence of many and is carry- ing on a brilliant and valuable work as a member of the medical staff of the Burleson Sanitarium. Dr. Droste was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., Sept. 21, 1886, and is the eldest of seven children born to Dr. Casper M. and Mary (O'Donohoe) Droste. His father, born in Clin- ton county, Michigan, was educated in the Catholic schools, the Uni- versity of Michigan, where he spent two years, and the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons, in which institution he was graduated with his degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1885. For thirty- two years he has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Grand Rapids, where he has a large and important clientele and is regarded as one of the most eminent members of the profession. The early education of James C. Droste was secured in the parochial schools of the Catholic church, following which he entered St. Jerome's Col- lege, at Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Philosophy. He next spent al- most three years at the University of Michigan, and then to have the advantages of greater clinical work he entered the medical department of the University of Illinois, at Chicago, in which he was graduated with the class of 1913, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Droste immediately entered upon the practice of his profession at St. Mary's hospital, Grand Rapids, where he was house physician for eight months, and April 20, 1914, joined the staff of the Burleson Sanitarium, with which well known institution he has since been connected. He has demonstrated the possession of skill as a prac- tioner and diagnostician, as well as in the operating room, and it is his fortune to possess those qualities which enlighten the sick room. In the regard of his professional brethren and in the calling generally, his standing is high as a physician who respects the ethics of medi- cine. He belongs to the Phi-Chi, medical fraternity, the Grandview Automobile club, and the Knights of Columbus, and to the St. An- drew's Catholic church and the C. M. B. A. In his political adherence he is a Democrat. Dr. Droste was married, Nov. 16, 1916, to Ada Katherine, daughter of John Kain, of Jennings, Mich., and they are the parents of one son, James Casper, Jr., born Sept. 15, 1917.
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