USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 25
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in 1852, under the firm style of Julius & Joseph Houseman, the part- ners being cousins. The little establishment which was to grow into a large and important business house was located on the present site of the large building which the firm occupies, but sixty-six years ago it was unpretentious and modest in both size and appearance, and as its trade was small, so of necessity was its stock. The cousins were what is known as hustlers, however, and through good business tal- ent gradually built up their enterprise year by year until it had as- sumed respectable proportions, continuing together in increasing pros- perity until Julius Houseman was called by death. About the year 1867 Joseph Houseman took Moses May as a partner. In 1885 the firm became, by the admission of other members, Houseman, Donelly & Jones, a style which continued for ten years, the business being in- corporated in 1895 for $100,000, as The Houseman & Jones Clothing Company, under which form it still operates. The first officials of the new company were: Joseph Houseman, president; Maurice House- man, vice-president ; E. W. Jones, secretary, and Henry L. Houseman, treasurer. The head of the concern, Joseph Houseman, died May 8, 1908, at which time Henry L. Houseman succeeded to the presidency ; E. W. Jones became vice-president and treasurer, and Bertha House- man was made secretary. These are the officers at the present time. The business is now one of the recognized leaders in its line in the city and has a large and up-to-date establishment at No. 140 and 142 Monroe avenue, where there is carried a complete line of men's, boys' and youths' clothing. The product of this company is known over an extensive territory for its exclusiveness and quality, while the firm has an enviable reputation in business circles as a house of known integrity and standing. Mr. Houseman has been identified with the concern since boyhood and the greater part of his interest has always been given to it. Nevertheless he has other holdings in various ave- nues of business life and is not merely a business drudge, as his con- nection with various social and fraternal organizations will prove. Among them are the Scottish Rite and Shrine Masons, the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, the Highlands Country club and the Peninsular club. He also is a member of the Grand Rapids Cham- ber of Commerce, and a member of the National Association of Re- tail Clothiers and director for the State of Michigan; and he is a member of the executive committee which consists of seven mem- bers. Mr. Houseman was married in 1892 to Miss Bertha Jesselson, daughter of Rabbi Jesselson, of Chicago, Ill., and they have three children, all residents of the city: Joseph, Felix, who is a lieutenant in the United States army, and Maurice. Mr. and Mrs. Houseman are members of the Jewish Temple Emanuel.
Solomon J. Hufford .- Undoubtedly experience is one of the greatest of assets when applied to business and the most successful enterprises at Grand Rapids, as elsewhere, are under the direct man- agement of men who have learned the intricacies of trade and the problems of commercial life through practical experience in some vo- cation. They are able, through this experience, to evenly weigh probabilities, to foresee difficulties and to plan carefully and econom- ically for every possible future contingency. In Solomon J. Hufford, one of Grand Rapids' representative citizens, the C. W. Mills Paper Company has such a manager, Mr. Hufford being also the secretary
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of the company. He was born in Seneca county, Ohio, April 5, 1862. His father, Michael W. Hufford, brought his family to Grand Rapids in 1870. In 1877 he embarked in the meat business and through thrift and enterprise developed a large and profitable trade and con- tinued active until 1889, when he retired from business life entirely and subsequently died in this city. Solomon J. Hufford has been a resident of Grand Rapids since his eighth year. Here he secured his education, went into business, established his home and has become thoroughly and loyally identified with the best interests of the city and section. In 1889 he started in business, operating a retail meat market at 148 (old) and 610 (new) Bridge street, west, until 1908. In that year he became actively interested in the C. W. Mills Paper Company, which is one of the prospering concerns of Grand Rapids. The C. W. Mills Paper Company was established in 1903 and incor- porated for $10,000, which capital has been increased to $50,000. The first officials of the company were as follows: Clark W. Mills, presi- dent; Solomon J. Hufford, vice-president; Walter C. Hedden, treas- urer ; Hiram R. Gezon, second vice-president ; George T. Tradewell, secretary. The present officials are: H. R. Gezon, president; Solo- mon J. Hufford, secretary and manager ; J. H. Temple, treasurer. The first business location was on Pearl street, near Campau. One year later removal was made to No. 107 Campau street and the business was carried on there until further expansion became necessary, and Aug. 4, 1910, the company took possession of their substantial new building at Nos. 204-206 Ellsworth street, where they occupy five floors. The company gives employment to fifteen people in the plant and has seven salesmen, the trade territory covering Western Michi- gan. The commodities handled by the company include school sup- plies, wrapping paper and paper bags, cordage, stationery, notions, pipes and baseball goods. Amply financed, well officered and ably managed, this is one of the sound business houses of Grand Rapids. Mr. Hufford belongs to the Grand Rapids Association of Commerce. In political sentiment he is a Republican. As a public official he has served on the Board of Public Works and on the Sinking Fund Com- mission. He is identified fraternally with the Elks, Odd Fellows and Masons, in the last named organization belonging to Valley City Blue lodge, the Consistory, and he is also a Shriner. He belongs also to the Arbeiter Society. He was married Nov. 20, 1883, to Miss Minnie Augusta Shindler, daughter of Julius Shindler, of Grand Rapids.
Martin C. Huggett was born at Bellevue, Mich., June 13, 1876, son of George and Mary E. (Brackett) Huggett. He was educated in the Charlotte High School and the University of Michigan, in the literary department of which latter institution he graduated with the class of 1899. He then took up the study of law, entered Columbia College at Washington, D. C., and graduated in 1901. He served as private secretary of Hon. William Alden Smith for ten years, the duties of which kept him in the city of Washington the greater part of that time. In 1910 he returned to Grand Rapids and accepted the position of secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and he served in that capacity three years. On Dec. 1, 1913, he became vice-president of the City Trust & Savings Bank and has since been associated with that institution, at the present time being its cashier. Mr. Huggett is a member of the York lodge of Masons, the Association of Com-
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merce, and the Peninsular, O-Wash-ta-nong, and Kent Country clubs. The City Trust & Savings Bank, of which Mr. Huggett is cashier, was organized Jan. 2, 1905, with the following board of directors: W. C. Winchester, Francis Letellier, D. M. Amberg, J. J. Tucker, T. S. White, J. F. Baars, Constantine Morton, P. C. Fuller, S. A. Mor- man, and J. B. Lacey. In 1906 Charles Trankla and A. W. Hampe were added to the board of directors, and the officers were as fol- lows: J. R. Wylie, president ; Lester J. Ringe and Thomas M. Peck, vice-presidents ; Hugh Blair, cashier, and the capital stock was $100,- 000. In 1910 W. C. Winchester succeeded Thomas M. Peck as vice- president, Frank Welton succeeded Hugh Blair as cashier; Malan Smith became assistant cashier, and the capital stock was increased to $200,000. In January, 1911, the bank was consolidated with the Grand Rapids National City Bank, and in 1915, the following corps of officers was chosen : D. E. Waters, chairman of the board ; Charles H. Bender, president; W. C. Winchester and M. C. Huggett, vice- presidents; Ira B. Dalrymple, cashier, and F. H. Babcock, J. D. Farr, and H. C. Cutter, assistants to the cashier.
John A. Hulswit .- It is claimed by many that technical training is not necessary for the attainment of success, these claims being based upon the fact that so many of the successful men of the country have been essentially self-taught and trained largely in the school of experience. It is true that men who have obtained their education through their own efforts and while gaining their living are very apt to appreciate its worth, and make oftentimes better use of the knowl- edge thus obtained that do those to whom are open the doors of uni- versities. Grand Rapids is the home of many prosperous institutions which owe their present condition to the sagacity, far-reaching poli- cies and intimate knowledge of conditions of men to whom an aca- demic training was not given, but who have been graduated from the higher school of practical acquaintance with the matter at hand. One of these men who is worthy of much more than passing mention is John A. Hulswit, who as a lad started to work for the Grand Rap- ids Gas Light Company as a collector, and who for the past eight years has been its treasurer. Mr. Hulswit is a product of Grand Rapids, having been born in this city Feb. 13, 1878. He is a son of Frank M. Hulswit, who came to Grand Rapids in 1874 and who still resides here at the age of eighty-four years. John A. Hulswit at- tended the public schools of Grand Rapids, and when he graduated from the high school, at the age of seventeen years, immediately sought a position in which he might expend his youthful energy. He soon secured employment as a collector with the Grand Rapids Gas Light Company, and worked faithfully and energetically in that ca- pacity until he was promoted to the position of teller. Subsequently, he was made order clerk, later became cashier, and in turn general bookkeeper, and finally, in 1910, was made treasurer of the company. The Grand Rapids Gas Light Company was given its first franchise Feb. 2, 1857, and was incorporated Dec. 20 of the preceding year. At that time Francis D. Gilbert was its president, while its board of di- rectors consisted of the following: Henry Martin, William T. Pow- ers, Charles Shepard and Ransom E. Wood. The second incorpora- tion occurred Dec. 20, 1886, when its capital stock was placed at $400,000, and in 1890 it was reorganized as the Grand Rapids Gas
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Company and took over the property of the Grand Rapids Gas Light Company. In 1895 the Grand Rapids Gas Light Company was in- corporated for $1,000,000, and its capital is now $2,400,000, its offi- cers being Emerson McMillin, of New York City, president; J. T. Young, first vice-president; Hanson P. Lathrop, second vice-presi- dent ; Glenn R. Chamberlain, secretary, and John A. Hulswit, treas- urer. When it started business the company had thirty-eight con- sumers, while at the present time it has 230 miles of mains and 34,000 meters in use, while the price of its product has decreased from $4 per 1,000 feet to 80 cents for the same amount. Mr. Hulswit occupies an important position in the life of the city and it would seem that much has been given him, yet he has deservedly earned the distinc- tion and position that are his. He has never been known to shirk a duty or to be otherwise than thoughtful and considerate of those un- der his supervision, and perhaps this is one reason why he has been able to command such excellent service and therefore to be of such value to his company. Looking back over his career, it must be a source of pleasure to him to reflect that his advancement has been gained through merit and knowledge and not by putting down an- other or wrecking the work of a competitor. Mr. Hulswit is a mem- ber of the Young Men's Christian Association and of the Second Re- formed church, of which latter he was trustee for several years. He was married Aug. 12, 1908, to Miss Bessie, daughter of William and Fannie (Doak) Garrick, of Grand Rapids, and they are the parents of three children: John S., who is seven years old; Jane Elizabeth, five years of age, and Frances Charlotte, eighteen months old.
Earl Hunter .- Among the public officials of Kent county whose abilities in a business way have aided them in the proper discharge of their duties and the improvement of the departments with which they are connected, is Earl Hunter, who, since December, 1914, has occupied the office of postmaster at Lowell. Mr. Hunter is a business man who has had experience in several fields of activity and in vari- ous localities and is now proprietor of a flourishing coal business ; and the success which has rewarded his efforts in commercial life has been duplicated in his experience as a public servant. He is a product of the agricultural country of Ionia county, Mich., where he was born on a farm, in Kenne township, Aug. 11, 1873, his parents being DeWitt C. and Jennie (Cheyne) Hunter, natives of Michigan and farming people all their lives in Ionia county, where they still reside. The only child of his parents, Earl Hunter received his education in the country schools and the Lowell High School, which he attended for three years, and his business experience was commenced as a clerk in the Winegar shoe store, at Lowell. After six years of connection with that establishment he transferred his attention to the lumber business. Later, he went on the road with J. B. Lewis & Company, of Boston, shoes being his line, and he spent the next three years in traveling through Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Returning then to Lowell, about 1905 he established himself in commercial circles as proprietor of a coal business, and this he has continued to conduct with constantly increasing success to the present time. Mr. Hunter is a man of sterling business ability, good judgment and sound, prac- tical ideas, and has always maintained a profound regard for high business ethics. As a result his reputation in business circles is an
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excellent one and he has the unreserved confidence of his associates and all with whom he has come into contact in a business way. He has long been active in Democratic politics, in which he is a leader in his community, and he has served as village treasurer two years. In December, 1914, he was appointed by President Wilson as post- master at Lowell, for a four-year term, and during the period of his incumbency has steadfastly endeavored to improve the service. On more than one occasion the citizens of this community have ex- pressed their appreciation of his efforts and his public record has thus added to the reputation which he gained in business affairs. Mr. Hunter belongs to Lowell Lodge No. 90 and Hooker Chapter No. 73 of the Masonic order. With his family, he holds membership in the Congregational church. Mr. Hunter was married Dec. 29, 1908, to Ruby, daughter of Samuel and Adeline Moore, natives of Listowel, Canada, who followed farming for many years there until their re- tirement. Mr. Moore died in 1911, but Mrs. Moore still survives and makes her home with her son Elmer, their only other child be- sides Mrs. Hunter. Elmer Moore, who is superintendent of the Cary Roofing Company, of Detroit, Mich., married May Swaffield, who died in December, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter are the parents of two children: Helen M., born Aug. 26, 1911, and Jennie Maxine, born Oct. 27, 1914.
Edwin S. Hunter .- It has been the destiny of Edwin S. Hunter to have passed his life amid rural surroundings and to have found pleasure and profit, contentment and prosperity, in the peaceful voca- tion of the agriculturist. His industrious and well-directed labors have resulted in the acquirement of a valuable property in Nelson township, and his integrity in all the transactions of life have given him standing and many friendships in the community in which his labors have been centered. Edwin S. Hunter is a native of Kent county, having been born on a farm in Spencer township, Aug. 13, 1869. John Hunter, his father, was born in Canada, where he fol- lowed farming as a young man, but eventually moved to Kent coun- ty and was one of the first settlers of Spencer township, locating here at a time when the pioneers were compelled to clear their land of timber before they could plant their crops. The elder Hunter has passed his entire life in tilling the soil, but is at present living in somewhat retirement, in Nelson township, having transferred the heavy labor over to younger shoulders. He married Mary Parks, daughter of B. G. Parks, of Spencer township, and of this union there were born two children: Edwin S., and Mrs. Eva Craig, liv- ing in Spencer township, where her husband is now farming. Edwin S. Hunter has always been identified with farming. He was born on a farm, was reared in an agricultural community, and his education came from the district schools in the heart of a farming country. His training was all along the same line, so that it was but natural that he adopt the vocation of the husbandman when he reached years of maturity. Since starting upon his independent career he has achieved a desirable success from his labors, and his prosperity has been won in such an honorable manner that he has gained and retained the re- spect and friendship of his neighbors. Mr. Hunter married Miss Millie Remington and they are the parents of the following five chil- dren: Howard, who married Nancy Walls and has four children-
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Leslie, Beulah, Florian and Morris; Iva, who married Fred Mesner, of Edmore, Mich., and has three children-Orville, Merrill and Ale- tha M .; Lela, wife of Emery Rounds, of Sparta, has one child, Els- worth; and Leon and Lewis are still attending school. Mr. Hunter has proved himself a good and helpful citizen and is at present a mem- ber of the school board in Nelson township. He is independent in his political views. On April 7, 1918, he bought the Ream farm, one mile south and one-fourth mile east of Cedar Springs, the same con- taining forty acres.
Vernor L. Hunter, who is successfully engaged in farming in Lowell township, is a worthy representative of the younger agricul- tural element of Kent county. To a very considerable extent it is this element in any community, especially outside of the large cities, which infuses spirit and zest into the activities of the place. It is this element, whose entrance upon the arena of active life dates not far- ther back than three decades, which monopolizes a large share of the vigor, zeal and pushing energy which keeps the nerves of the agri- cultural world, ramifying through all the country districts, strung to the full tension of nervous endeavor. Mr. Hunter was born Oct. 4, 1894, in Lowell township, Kent county, where the family has been represented since 1856. His father, Willard M. Hunter, was also born in this township, Feb. 16, 1865, son of Mathew and May (Car- man) Hunter, the former a native of England and the latter of Can- ada. Mathew Hunter came to Lowell township in 1856 and pur- chased 104 acres of uncleared land, which he brought to a high state of cultivation and upon which he made all the improvements, and here rounded out a long, honorable and useful life. He was a Re- publican and an influential man in his community, serving for some years as a justice of the peace, was fraternally connected with the Masons, and worshipped at the Baptist church. He and his wife were the parents of five children: Robert C., a resident of Portland, Ore .; John E., of Greenville, Ohio; Alice, wife of Charles Gibson; Willard M., and Ulysses, an agriculturist of Bowne township. Wil- lard M. Hunter was educated in the public schools of Lowell town- ship, and throughout his entire career has been engaged in farming and stock-raising operations here. He has risen to a place of promi- nence as farmer, business man and citizen, and in the esteem of those among whom he has spent so many years. He was married Nov. 16, 1887, to Edna Calhoun, also of Lowell township, and they became the parents of three children: Arthur W., a farmer at Marion, Mich .; Ida, wife of Floyd Steed, of Lowell, and Vernor L. Vernor L. Hunter attended the district schools in the country and the public school at Mclaughlin for two years, following which he returned to Lowell township and for one year rented a tract of land from his father, in partnership with his brother-in-law. Since then he has been engaged in renting on his own account, and at the present time is carrying on general farming and stock-raising, and in the latter department has made a particularly satisfying success in handling Jersey cattle. He is an exceptionally enterprising young man and thoroughly competent in business transactions, and, although his ad- vent in agricultural life of Lowell township is of comparatively re- cent date, what he has already accomplished presages a successful fu- ture. He is a Republican and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
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church. Mr. Hunter was married Dec. 27, 1913, to Stella, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kelley, of Caledonia, the former deceased and the latter a resident of Grand Rapids. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter have three children: Phyllis Mae, Arthur Willard, and Edna Louise. Joseph M. Hutchinson .- While he has been a resident of Lowell only since 1914, Joseph M. Hutchinson has already strongly im- pressed the virile, energetic personality upon the people of this thriv- ing community, where he is editor of the Lowell Journal. Two voca- tions, educational and journalistic work, have occupied Mr. Hutchin- son's energies during a long and uniformly successful career, and the experiences which he has gained in various parts of the country while following these professions have been of a nature decidedly in- teresting and at the same time helpful to him in his present capacity. Out of the adventures that have gone to make up a busy life he has been able to extract a knowledge of human nature and a keen com- prehension of the responsibilities of citizenship, and with these and other qualifications he has proven a valuable asset to his adopted city. Mr. Hutchinson was born on a farm in Shelby county, Illinois, Oct. 2, 1860, son of Alfred and Mary (McNichols) Hutchinson, na- tives of New Jersey, but they were married in Illinois. They re- moved shortly after their union to Shelby county, where both passed away after years spent in the pursuits of the soil. Joseph M. Hutchin- son received his early education in the schools of his native locality. His parents were Quakers, but he was sent for further training to Pennington, N. J., where for three years he attended the Methodist Episcopal Seminary. Returning to Illinois, in 1883, he began his ca- reer as a school teacher, but subsequently supplemented his former training by a course at the Illinois State Normal University. Duly graduated in that institution, he shortly thereafter became superin- tendent of schools at Wyoming, Ill., later at Mackinaw, Ill., then at Fort Thomas, Ky., where he spent four years, and then at Coving- ton, Ky., where he remained during a like period. During this time Mr. Hutchinson, a man of marked literary tastes and much ability, had been interested in newspaper work and had contributed to vari- ous journals in the communities in which his labors had been cen- tered. It was at Harrisburg, Ill., however, that he really started his connection with journalism, and at that point for three years he was editor of the Harrisburg Chronicle. Subsequently he went to Plain- well, Mich., for one and one-half years, in the same kind of work, and at the end of that time came to Lowell, where, in April, 1914, he purchased the Lowell Journal, of which he has since been the editor and publisher. Since its founding, July 13, 1865, by Webster Mor- ris, this newspaper has taken an active part in the affairs of Lowell, and under Mr. Hutchinson's energetic and capable management has broadened the scope of its influence and become a decided factor in forming public opinion. Mr. Hutchinson is a Republican and a stanch supporter of his party, but endeavors to give his readers a clear, unbiased view of all public questions. He is conducting a clean, reliable paper, and is receiving gratifying support from the public. Fraternally, Mr. Hutchinson is a Royal Arch Mason. He was mar- ried Aug. 3, 1899, to Edith, daughter of Mabry and Mary Van Reed, both parents now being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson have no children.
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