USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 49
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ately following his college career, he began his business training in the establishment of his father and is now a member of the firm. He possesses the business talents the possession of which has given the family such high standing in commercial circles, has gained the rec- ognition of his associates as a progressive and able manager, and is always ready to assist in movements making for betterment and pro- gression, being an active member of the Association of Commerce and the Rotary club. He also belongs to the O-Wash-ta-nong and Peninsular clubs and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, is a Repub- lican in his political preferences, and holds membership in the West- minster Presbyterian church.
Peter P. Steketee .- During a long, active and successful career, the late Peter P. Steketee was identified with the commercial inter- ests of the city of Grand Rapids, having various interests, but being more particularly connected with the old and well-known firm of Paul Steketee & Sons. From the time he left business college he was en- gaged in assisting to build up and develop this enterprise and his persistent and effective effort had much to do with placing the con- cern upon a foundation of solidity and in placing it among the leading establishments of the Furniture City, Mr. Steketee be- longed to one of the oldest and best-known families of Kent county, the founders of the community at Zeeland. He was born at Grand Rapids, Oct. 25, 1857, a son of Paul and Nellie (Munsen( Steketee, natives of the Netherlands, who came to the United States in 1847 and settled on a farm at what is now Zeeland. There Paul Steketee was engaged in farming for several years, but eventually came to Grand Rapids, where he secured employment in the dry goods store of Mr. Kendall. He thoroughly mastered the business in all its de- tails, and finally established himself in business as founder of what subsequently became and still is the firm of Paul Steketee & Sons. Peter P. Steketee received his early education in the public schools of Grand Rapids, following which he prepared himself for a com- mercial career by taking a course in the Swensberg Business Col- lege in this city. His first experience as a business man was gained in his father's store as a clerk, and when he had attained years of maturity he was admitted to the firm. The greater part of his life was passed in giving of his best energies to this business, and while, as noted, he had other interests, his first thoughts were for the fam- ily house. In business circles Mr. Steketee was recognized as a man of superior ability, thoroughly informed in his department of com- merce, and a shrewd, far-sighted merchant who was alive to all the opportunities and possibilities of trade. As has been characteristic of all bearing the name, his integrity was unquestioned, and he never in his transactions sought to take an unfair advantage of a business adversary. While his death occurred nearly eight years ago, Jan. 22, 1911, his memory is still held in the hearts of his business associates, who had come to depend upon him in many cases for sound counsel and advice, and who valued his friendship and confidence. Mr. Steke- tee was one of the active members of the Grand Rapids Association of Commerce. He was a Republican, but never sought public or po- litical honors, preferring to devote himself to business matters and to show his good citizenship by a public-spirited support of progressive civic and other movements. Long a regular attendant of the West-
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minster Presbyterian church, he was serving as a trustee thereof at the time of his demise. Mr. Steketee was married May 14, 1879, at Grand Rapids, to Minnie, daughter of Garrett and Helen De Graaf, of this city. Of this union were born six children, as follows: Paul Frederick, of Grand Rapids, a member of the firm of Paul Steketee & Sons; Helen, who resides with her mother at the family home, at No. 10 Terrace avenue; Nella, wife of B. T. Warwick, of Kansas City, Mo .; Harold Arthur, of Grand Rapids; Ruth Marion, wife of Delano F. Douglas, of Brookline, Mass .; and Louise A., wife of Isaac Spaulding Keeler, of Grand Rapids. Mrs. Steketee, who sur- vives her husband, was born at Grand Rapids and educated in the public schools. Her parents, born in the Netherlands, came to the United States at the same time as did the Steketees, in 1847, and first located at Buffalo, N. Y., where Mr. De Graaf was engaged in con- tracting. On coming to Grand Rapids, he embarked in business as a manufacturer, and continued to be identified with that line of com- mercial endeavor until his death, in March, 1895, Mrs. De Graaf hav- ing passed away May 4, 1894. They were members of the Fifth Re- formed church, in which Mr. De Graaf was an elder, and in political matters he always supported the Republican ticket from the time of the birth of that party. There were four children in the family : John, a resident of Seattle, Wash .; Garret H., a resident of Grand Rapids ; Richard, engaged in business at Kalamazoo, Mich .; and Minnie, who became Mrs. Steketee.
Sidney F. Stevens .- To mention the hardware trade of the past or present in Grand Rapids without mentioning the name of Sidney F. Stevens would be scarcely possible, so important has he been for years in the development of this line of industry. Practically his en- tire career has been devoted to the trade, and at this time he is vice- president of the firm of Foster, Stevens & Company, one of the oldest establishments of Grand Rapids as well as one of the leaders in its field. Mr. Stevens was born at Lynchburg, Va., July 7, 1847, and was seven years of age when he came with his father to Grand Rap- ids, here securing his education in the public schools. During the first ten years of his business experience he traveled on the road be- tween different points in Michigan and adjoining states, but finally settled permanently at the Furniture City and became identified with the hardware business which had been founded by his uncle, Wilder D. Foster. While the greater part of his attention and energies have been given to the building up of the business of which he is now first vice-president, like other vigorous and energetic men of the city he has other interests, and is a director of the Fourth National Bank. In political adherence he is a Republican. Mr. Stevens has not sought personal preferment in the line of public offices, but feels that it is every citizen's duty to accept certain responsibilities, and for five years served very acceptably as a member of the board of police and fire commissioners. He attends Grace church. Mr. Stevens was married Dec. 21, 1881, to Fredrika, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Dougherty) De Lano, of Rochester, N. Y., and they became the par- ents of two children-Sidney and De Lano, both deceased.
Earl R. Stewart .- It is an especial pleasure for the biographer contributing to a work devoted to the history of Kent county and to a delineation of the citizens who have assisted in its progress to be able
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to present the substantial record of a native son, whose grandparents were, moreover, of the true pioneer stock who accomplished their part in starting the county on its great journey of adventure and accom- plishment. Earl R. Stewart, of Grand Rapids, widely known in legal and military circles, was born on a farm in Byron township, Kent county, Michigan, Oct. 5, 1872, son of Charles R. and Alta M. (Sad- ler) Stewart. His great-grandfather was William Stewart, a native of Scotland, who came with his wife from that country to the United States in the year 1808, and it was while the family was still on the Atlantic, four days' journey from port, that James Stewart, grand- father of Earl R., was born. James Stewart grew to manhood in New York and continued to make that state his home, following for the greater part the trade of shoemaker, until about December, 1842, when he came to Michigan to seek his fortune. His first location was at Grandville, where he spent a short time at the business of cobbling, but later turned his attention to farming in Kent county and passed the rest of his life in Wyoming township, where he died in 1866, at the age of fifty-eight years. He and Mrs. Stewart were the parents of three children: Mary, deceased; Charles R., and Anna, wife of John Dider, of Kansas City, Mo. Charles R. Stewart was born on the home farm in Wyoming township and received his edu- cation in the public schools. He was reared to the pursuits of agri- culture and was so engaged when the Civil war came on. In the Fall of 1864 he enlisted in Company I, First Michigan Engineers and Me- chanics, with which body he served until the close of hostilities, tak- ing part in a number of engagements and participating in the engi- neering work that made possible Sherman's famous march to the sea. When his military career was finished he returned to Wyoming town- ship and again engaged in farming, in which he won a full measure of success. About the year 1890 he retired from these labors and en- tered the service of several electric companies as an engineer and me- chanic, and was also employed by the city of Grand Rapids. In 1908 ยท he again retired, but only for a short time, as his energetic nature would not allow him to remain idle, and he entered the employ of the Macey Company, with which concern he was identified at the time of his death, Sept. 7, 1915. A Republican in politics, Mr. Stew- art was considered one of the strong men of his party in Kent county and at various times was called to public office, being treasurer and school director in Byron township. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic for many years and one of its most valued and popular comrades, and at the time of his death was commander of the Grand Rapids Post. His fraternal connection was with the Odd Fellows and his religious faith that of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Stewart, who survives her husband and resides at Grand Rapids, is a native of Dover, Ohio. She and Mr. Stewart were the parents of three children: Earl R., of this notice; Alice T., who makes her home with her mother; and Virginia M., wife of L. F. Buchsieb, of Chicago. The boyhood of Earl R. Stewart was passed on the home farm in Byron township, where he attended the district schools, but it was not his intention to follow a rural life, and his education was further advanced by attendance at the Grand Rap- ids High School. This was followed by a course at the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated in 1900, with the degree of
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Bachelor of Laws, and in that year he began practice at Grand Rap- ids in the office of Butterfield & Keeney. Two years later he became circuit court commissioner for Kent county, and when his two terms were ended he engaged in practice alone and has since continued, his offices at present being located in the Houseman building. Mr. Stew- art is a member of the Kent County Bar Association and has an excel- lent standing in his profession. His success as a lawyer has been won solely through merit and his clientele now represents some of the leading interests of the Furniture City. Mr. Stewart is a Mason, an Odd Fellow and a Pythian Knight, belongs to the Association of Commerce, and is a member of the University club. His military record extends over a period of more than a quarter of a century, beginning April 27, 1891, when he enlisted as a private in Company B, Second Michigan National Guard, in which organization he won steady promotion until he was commissioned second lieutenant, Aug. 19, 1899. He received his captain's commission Sept. 26 of the same year, and Aug. 5, 1905, was commissioned major. In the Spanish- American war he was mustered into the volunteer service as sergeant- major of the Thirty-second Michigan infantry and served until the Fall of 1898, when the regiment was mustered out of the service. In 1916, when American troops saw service on the Mexican border, he was major of the Michigan regiment, the Thirty-second. Major Stew- art was married May 11, 1903, to Miss Louise P., daughter of Louis J. and Martha (Arndt) Buchsieb, of Grand Rapids, and they have had three children: James H., Earl L., deceased, and Martha A.
Frank A. Stone .- The life of Frank A. Stone, of Grand Rapids, has been an expression of diversified operations in various fields of activity, of constant and unremitting industry, and of the final at- tainment of a position among the substantial business men of his na- tive city. When he started out in life it was as a youth with only the advantages to be gained by a common school education, but he possessed underlying ability and a determination to succeed, and with these he has fought his way honorably to his present standing as president and treasurer of one of the city's prominent concerns, the Clipper Belt Lacer Company. Mr. Stone was born in the city of Grand Rapids, Feb. 19, 1854, son of Henry G. and Nancy (Barnes) Stone, the former a native of Weatherfield, N. Y., and the latter of Stowe, Vt. His father came to Grand Rapids as one of the city's earliest settlers, here establishing the first foundry and building the first traction engine. He handled and manufactured agricultural im- plements under the firm name of Dean & Stone, and continued to be connected with this line of endeavor through the remaining years of his life. He and Mrs. Stone, who also passed away many years ago, were the parents of nine children: Albert, Ella and Julia; Frank A., Anna, James B., John W., Ruth P., and May, wife of W. P. Man- ning, of Albion, Mich., all deceased but the last named, and the sub- ject of this sketch. On completing his schooling, at the age of sev- enteen years, Frank A. Stone secured his first employment as a farm hand, but soon gave up agricultural pursuits for railroad work, and for three years was in the service of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad. For one year he was employed in the crockery store of M. R. Bissell, and then transferred his services to the firm of H. Leonard & Sons, by whom he was employed for nineteen years.
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During the next fifteen years he was engaged by the Michigan Stove & Caster Company, and in 1907 inaugurated the movement that re- sulted in the formation of the Clipper Belt Lacer Company. Mr. Stone at that time received from his brother, J. B. Stone, then a resi- dent of London, England, the patent for the ingenious device known as the Clipper Belt Lacer, and the company for the manufacture and sale of this article first bore the name of J. B. Stone & Company. In 1908 Charles P. Foote came into the company, which, in 1910, started to build its own plant at the corner of Commerce and Louis streets. The company was incorporated for $12,000, with the following offi- cers : Charles P. Foote, president ; John E. More, vice-president, and Frank A. Stone, secretary and treasurer. The stock was later in- creased to $20,000, and at the start of the year 1918 the capital stock had reached $500,000. The new plant was erected in 1912, being oc- cupied June 20 of that year, and the new offices of the concern were occupied July 1, 1916. There are now three buildings, the dimensions of which are 100x300 feet, 80x80 feet and one 80x60 feet, the second being two stories in height. More than 100 skilled employes are em- ployed in the plant and there are five salesmen on the road for this article, which is sold all over the world, with a European office main- tained at London, England. Mr. Stone is a man of sound business ability and cool, keen judgment, absolutely reliable and possessed of the full confidence of his associates. He is a Republican in his polit- ical tendencies, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, while his social connections are with the local lodge of the Modern Wood- men of America and the Owashtanong and Grandview Automobile clubs. He is a contributor to many worthy movements and is ac- counted a public-spirited citizen and business man of progressive views. Mr. Stone was married Jan. 11, 1877, to Miss India E. Cole- stock, of Grand Rapids, and they have two children: Helena S., a solo harpist and composer, at one time a member of the famous Theo- dore Thomas Orchestra, and a woman with a world-wide reputation. She is the wife of Lloyd R. Torgerson, of Chicago, Ill., and has a son, Frank Stone. The other child of Mr. and Mrs. Stone is Franc, who resides at home.
Ernest A. Stowe .- It is the consensus of opinion among his as- sociates and contemporaries in the field of journalism that Ernest A. Stowe is one of the most forceful, able and original figures in his line of endeavor today. His career has been characterized by the attain- ment of success such as comes to but few ; yet what he probably val- ues above material things are the esteem and confidence of his fellow- men. His life has been one of intense and uninterrupted activity ; his achievements have been astounding in their volume; yet he has ever found time to hold out an assisting hand to the men just entering upon their careers, and men and publications now prominent in jour- nalism owe all the success they have gained to his kindly and freely given aid and counsel. It would transcend the limits necessarily as- signed to this sketch to enumerate the various incidents and experi- ences of such a busy life; nor is it possible to do justice to such a great and forceful personality and big-hearted nature. It must be sufficient to note the salient points in a career marked by rapid and successive advance from an apprenticeship to the printer's trade to the directorship of one of the leading journals of the country, the
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Michigan Tradesman. Mr. Stowe is of English and French descent on his father's side of the family, while his mother was of German and Holland stock. His father was the pioneer book-seller of Hud- son, Mich., where his store was the rendezvous of Will M. Carleton, the poet who made himself famous by writing "Over the Hills to the Poorhouse," and it was in that town that Ernest A. Stowe was born, March 16, 1859. He was taken by his parents to Lamont, Mich., when he was eleven years old, and there attended school during the winter months. At that tender age he showed his industry and ambition by peddling popcorn and apples on the Grand river steamboats in the summer seasons. When he was thirteen years old the family removed to Reed City, where the youth sought and obtained employment in the general store of D. M. McClellan, with whom he remained until 1874, when he entered upon his real career. This was as an appren- tice to the printer's trade in the office of the Big Rapids Magnet, and on the completion of his apprenticeship, in 1877, he came to Grand Rapids, here securing employment as reporter on the Daily Times. His salary was $6 per week, although he could have earned $15 a week working at his trade, which he had acquired solely as a stepping- stone to something better. "In fact," writes a contemporary biogra- pher, "he had in mind at this time-although he was only eighteen years of age-the establishment of a business of his own which would require an accurate and intimate knowledge of the various branches of the publishing business. His experience for the next six years was therefore of a preparatory character for what was to come. He sub- sequently became city editor of the Daily Democrat, advertising man- ager of the Daily Leader and news-editor of the Daily Eagle. In addition to supporting his mother and younger brother, he succeeded in saving in these six years the sum of $1,700 with which he launched the Michigan Tradesman, in the Fall of 1883. It would hardly be within the realm of truth to say that this publication was a success from the start, because many dark days and many trying times were experienced before the journal was firmly established on a substantial basis. It was not unusual in the early days of the venture for Mr. Stowe to work eighteen hours a day, and there is a tradition in Grand Rapids that in the trying times of 1883 and 1884 his light was never extinguished and that he could be found at his desk any hour of the day or night. Such application, when accompanied by tact and fore- sight, could produce but one result, and the Michigan Tradesman has long been regarded as the largest, strongest and most ably edited and influential journal of its class in the United States." When it was founded by Mr. Stowe, in September, 1883, the journal had its head- quarters at No. 49 Lyon street, in the Eagle building, and there con- tinued until 1890, in which year it was incorporated for $50,000, as the Tradesman Company, with the following officers: E. A. Stowe, president ; Henry Idema, vice-president ; and W. N. Fuller, secretary and treasurer. In 1917 Mr. Idema retired and was succeeded by Sid- ney F. Stevens, the present vice-president. The publication covers the entire Middle West, with a great subscription list, and employs fifty-six people. When the company was first incorporated, it con- ducted a job printing plant in connection with the regular newspaper business, subsequently added wood engraving, later established a process engraving department, and now deals as a wholesaler in pa-
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per and inks. To again quote: "In the early days of the Tradesman, Mr. Stowe conceived the idea of unifying the retail trade of the state by means of local organizations and a state organization. At his own expense and at the sacrifice of much valuable time, he organized 100 local associations of merchants and business men and subsequently assisted in the work of forming the Michigan Business Men's Asso- ciation, which enjoyed a successful career for several years and left an indelible impress on the state. It curtailed credits, secured the en- actment of the uniform fire insurance policy-the standard form which has never been changed-brought about a degree of harmony and good will which has increased with the years and did valuable service in paving the way for the boards of trade and the associations of commerce which are now in evidence in nearly every growing town and progressive city. Mr. Stowe is interested financially in many dif- ferent corporations, mostly of an industrial and public utility charac- ter. He has assisted in the financing of many enterprises and takes great delight in getting behind a weak institution and staying by it until it reaches a paying basis. Believing that retail stores can be made to serve the public more acceptably than they have in the past and also that they afford ample opportunity for the elevation of the trade, while yielding reasonable profits to those who are instrumental in bringing about an improvement, Mr. Stowe began some years ago to make substantial investments in retail stores located in growing towns, thus enabling him to keep in even closer touch with the retail trade than he had in the past. Mr. Stowe stands well in his home town. He is first and foremost in every movement for the public good and gives liberally of his time and money to assist such chari- table and philanthropic projects as meet his approval. As chairman of the industrial committee of the Board of Trade two years he as- sisted in securing six new manufacturing industries, all but one of which proved successful. As president of the Board of Trade two years he carried into the work all the earnestness at his command and made his administration notable for the results accomplished. Per- sonally, Mr. Stowe is an enthusiast of the enthusiasts. Whatever he undertakes to do he enters into with all his might. In common with most successful men, he likes to have his own way; but he is never unduly tenacious of his own opinions, and, if he cannot have things his own way, he,does not sulk and bolt-he stays by to the end in the expectation of bringing his colleagues around as near as possible to his way of thinking. He is modest in his methods, unassuming in his actions and invariably gives due deference to the ideas of others. He insists on according the same rights to others which he claims for himself and he has the Anglo-Saxon love of fair play which prevents his doing a mean thing or taking an unfair advantage. The career of Mr. Stowe demonstrates conclusively what any man can accomplish in this world, no matter how humble may be his origin or how he may be hampered by environment, where he is actuated by high motives, possesses the necessary ambition and is willing to pay the price of success-hard work."
William Sweat .- An instance of the call of the country rising su- perior to the attractions of the city is found in the career of William Sweat, who in 1911 returned to agricultural pursuits after many years spent in other lines of endeavor. Mr. Sweat's earliest experi-
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