USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 54
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Shrine, the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Order of the Eastern Star. He likewise belongs to the Grand View Automobile club, and is past captain of the Sons of Veterans. For a number of years Mr. Wat- kins has been one of the leaders of his party in the state and city, and at this time is president of the State League of Republican clubs. In 1913 he was law clerk of the State Senate, and in 1914 was elected a member of the Michigan legislature, being known as one of the ag- gressive and working members of that body during his term. In the last three Republican national conventions he has been an officer, and in the 1916 convention served as assistant secretary. Mr. Watkins was married Aug. 24, 1909, to Lucretia Rudolph Shipp, daughter of Zelotes and Flora (Kibbey) Shipp, of Grand Rapids. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins have a foster son, Donald Shipp. Zelotes Shipp, father of Mrs. Watkins, was formerly in the railway mail service in Michigan, but is now engaged in farming in Monterey township, Allegan coun- ty. Mrs. Shipp died July 17, 1911.
William J. Watterson .- No occupation known to man furnishes more interesting possibilities to the true lover of nature than the nursery business. Modern developments along this line have been as wonderful as they were formerly unexpected and unbelievable. Yet even to the man who labors faithfully to maintain standards already established and who has no time to explore in luring paths of prom- ise, there is always that satisfaction in accomplishment possible only when one works in collaboration with the elements of creation. Kent county has had its share of patient, painstaking nurserymen, men who have delighted in their labor and contributed liberally to the well- being of the community. Few, however, have had a longer or more prosperous career than William J. Watterson, of Cascade, one of the best-known men in this line of business in his part of the state. Mr. Watterson was born July 21, 1851, in Ohio, son of John and Harriet (Webster) Watterson. His father, a native of the Isle of Man, came to the United States soon after reaching the age of twenty-one years and first settled in Ohio, where he was married and followed his trade of miller. Late in 1851, not long after the birth of his son, William J., John Watterson came to Michigan and bought Indian land in Cas- cade township, Kent county, his first purchase being forty acres, to which he subsequently added eighty acres additional. While princi- pally engaged in farming after coming to Michigan, he also followed other pursuits and was at various times connected with the Cascade Mills in a number of capacities. During the last three years of his life he lived in retirement, having accumulated a competency that en- abled him to pass his declining years in the enjoyment of the rewards that come to the industrious. While not conspicuous in public life, he was one of his community's reliable and dependable citizens and one trusted and respected by his fellow-men. He and Mrs. Watter- son were members of the English Presbyterian church. They were the parents of the following children: William J .; Robert H., de- ceased; Ellen, who died in 1883; Ann L., widow of Frank Smith, and who resides in the State of Washington; Rosette, who died unmar- ried; George, who died in 1863; Charles, deceased; and Mary, wife of M. H. Smith and who resides in Washington. The education of
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William J. Watterson was attained in the district school in Cascade township, but was completed when he was twelve years of age, at which time he began to be self-supporting. From childhood he had evidenced a love for and sympathy with all manner of growing things, and as he grew older this feeling became intensified. When he left school he became connected with the Grand River Nursery, at Lowell, where he remained for ten years, and at the end of that time he formed a partnership with Charles Butterick which continued in existence for thirty-one years, the business being the growing and handling of nursery stock on a wholesale basis. He was also associ- ated with his sons in the Michigan State Nursery, a separate con- cern, and as the years passed became one of the best-known men in this field in the state. When Mr. Butterick died, Mr. Watterson did not care to continue the business, so he bought his old partner's in- terest from the estate and closed out the concern. In addition to be- ing a prominent nurseryman, Mr. Watterson is also well and favor- ably known as an auctioneer and handles large sales. In the affairs of his community he has taken an active part and is now supervisor of Cascade township, in which office he served from 1898 to 1903 and from 1910 to the present time. Politically, he is a Democrat, and his religious connection is with the Church of Christ, which he attends at Cascade. His nursery is situated in section 9, Cascade township, where he has commodious buildings and modern equipment and ap- pliances. His gardening business includes all the vegetables in popu- lar demand and he derives a large income from his beautiful and sea- sonable flowers, as well as the products of his berry culture. His vegetables, flowers and fruits reach the remote corners of the county, and his name has become associated with all that is best in garden provisioning and floriculture. Mr. Watterson was married Jan. 14, 1874, to Minnie A., daughter of John A. and Isabelle Smith, and they have had eight children: John G., of Grand Rapids; Clyde G., who is the proprietor of a store at Cascade and has four children- Leona, Minor, Philip and Lyle; Lettie L., Dessie D., and Lottie L., who all died young; Henry ; William A., residing at home; and Har- old E., a student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.
William A. Watts .- The individual who founds and develops an immense business enterprise must necessarily possess qualities and qualifications of an unusual nature. Combined with the mental strength to plan, must be the ability to execute and the foresight to grasp opportunities which conditions produce. Of the men of Grand Rapids who have possessed these attributes and who have as a result come prominently before the public as leaders of large ventures in the business and financial world, one of the best known is William A. Watts, president of the Preferred Life Insurance Company of America, an institution which has had a remarkable, almost phenom- enal growth since its inception, in 1910. Mr. Watts was born at Gal- lipolis, the county seat of Gallia county, Ohio, Dec. 28, 1867, son of David and Eliza (Cherrington) Watts. He was given the opportu- nity to gain a good education in his youth and made the most of his chance, and when he graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University was prepared to take up the serious business activities of life. From the first, even as a young man, he was attracted by the insurance busi- ness, and for several years followed that line as a solicitor for some
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of the large life companies. In 1892 he went to Richland, Mich., where his foresight had shown that there was a good opening for a live and energetic man, and organized the Union Bank of Richland, of which he continued as cashier until 1897. He then removed his center of activities to the city of Lowell, Mich., where he was instru- mental in the reorganization of the City State Bank and took up his duties of cashier of that institution, in which he had a large interest as a stockholder. During all this time, however, Mr. Watts had kept the insurance business in mind and continually worked toward the perfection of a well-laid plan. This had its consummation in 1910, when, with other capable and substantial business men, he organized the Preferred Life Insurance Company of America, of which he was at that time secretary and general manager. Since January, 1915, he has been president of this company, and it is largely through his efforts and fine business abilities that the institution has rapidly grown to a point where it has taken rank with the leading companies of the Middle West. Mr. Watts has in the fullest extent the confi- dence of his associates. His conception of business honor and obli- gations is high, and his success in life, which has been remarkable, has not come through questionable methods of conduct, but through his ability to handle vast undertakings and control extensive inter- ests. Mr. Watts belongs to the Westminster Presbyterian church and is a director of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is an active member of the Association of Commerce, belongs to the vari- ous Masonic bodies and holds membership in the Peninsular and Highlands Country clubs. He was married June 2, 1890, to Ella M., daughter of Henry Zimmerman, of Columbus, Ohio, and they have a daughter, Lucile, wife of Russell A. Norton, of Grand Rapids. The Preferred Life Insurance Company of America was organized in No- vember, 1909, by William A. Watts and others, and incorporated for $100,000, beginning business in February, 1910. At that time its of- ficers were: James R. Wylie, president; E. Golden Filey, first vice- president ; Claude Hamilton, second vice-president; William H. Gay, third vice-president, and William A. Watts, secretary and general manager. At the election of January, 1915, when Mr. Watts was ad- vanced to the presidency, R. S. Wilson assumed the secretarial duties and Clay H. Hollister is the incumbent of the office of treasurer. The great growth and progress of this institution may be noted by a com- parison of the following figures: In 1910 the reserve was $7,244,- the assets $129,444.32, and the insurance in force, $1,206,249; in 1916 the reserve was $503,463, the assets $631,797.72, and the insurance in force $9,283,934. The paid policy holders in 1916 were: Death claims, $52,391.59; surrender values, $7,277.67, and dividends to pol- icy holders, $9,363.94, a total of $69,033.20. The company at this time is doing business in Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota. The sev- enth annual statement of this concern, for the year ending Dec. 31, 1916, shows the following figures: Assets: Mortgage loans, $503,- 113.09; bonds, $4,250; policy loans, $40,046.50; premium notes, $4,001.06; agents' balances, $2,429.73; cash in office and in banks, $32,856.13; deferred and uncollected net premiums, $26,591; furni- ture and fixtures, $5,402.24; and accrued interest, $13,107.97. Lia- bilities : Net reserve, $503,463 ; income installments, $3,955; all other
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liabilities, $765.88; losses unpaid, none; surplus apportioned and un- apportioned, $23,613.84; capital stock, $100,000.
Wallace C. Weaver .- Long ago the pioneers of Kent county completed their work, having laid the foundations and made ready for the inevitable rush of civilization and the adequate development of resources. Their descendants have reared noble structures upon these foundations that are the embodiment of the Twentieth century spirit of progress. Gone are the days of small accomplishments. The strenuous life of the centers of industrial endeavor has reached every branch of human progress, and the farming districts are keeping pace with the advancement elsewhere. Byron township has always been proud to number among its most prosperous citizens those who, descended from pioneers, developed the surrounding country until increasing years led them to seek relaxation and comfort away from the activities of life. As this has been true in the past, so it is today, and one of the men who, after having been for years one of the able agriculturists of Byron township, is now living in retirement, is Wal- lace C. Weaver. Mr. Weaver was born on his father's farm in Byron township, Kent county, Michigan, May 24, 1852, son of Bradley C. and Sallie N. (Butler) Weaver. Bradley C. Weaver was born in Connecticut and was a small boy when taken by his parents to the State of New York. He was still a young man when, in 1847, he came to Michigan and bought eighty acres of green timber land in Byron township. Later he added to his holdings by the purchase of forty acres more, and through industry managed to develop a pro- ductive and valuable farm, to the cultivation of which he devoted his entire life, dying, greatly respected, at the age of sixty-one years. He was a Democrat, but not an office seeker, although always ac- counted a good and public-spirited citizen. He and his wife were the parents of three children: Mary C., deceased; Ella, who died when five years of age, and Wallace C. Wallace C. Weaver attended the district schools of Byron township and was reared on the home farm, receiving an excellent training in all departments of agricul- tural work. For several years after he attained his majority he was identified in his operations with his father, but eventually purchased eighty acres in Dorr county. This farm he sold after his father's death and returned to the homestead, where, through good manage- ment, he added considerably to the home acreage, although this pur- chase he later sold, at the time of his retirement, reserving only the original farm as owned by his father. Mr. Weaver, during his active years, was correctly adjudged one of the progressive, capable and highly successful operators of his locality. He had excellent ideas and knew how to make use of them, and as a result prospered exceed- ingly in his affairs. With advancing years he transferred the bur- den of every-day toil to younger shoulders and is now living in hon- ored retirement in the midst of fellow-citizens who hold him in high esteem, not alone for what he has accomplished but for the manly and straightforward manner in which his transactions were always carried out. At various times during his long and useful career Mr. Weaver has been the choice of his fellow-citizens for offices of re- sponsibility and trust, in all of which he has acquitted himself ad- mirably, evidencing an earnest and conscientious desire to be of use to his community and discharging his duties in a highly capable and
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commendable manner. For a number of years he acted as highway commissioner, and on several occasions has been a member of the board of supervisors, a position which he is holding at this time. He votes the Democratic ticket. Fraternally, Mr. Weaver is connected with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Weaver was married Feb. 17, 1876, to Miss Lizzie Cline, who died Jan. 27, 1908, a daughter of John Cline. Four children were born of this union: Lester D .; Jerome, who has two children-Howard and Sheldon ; Frederick, who also has two children-Doris and Donald, and Clar- ence, deceased. Mr. Weaver was again married, Jan. 6, 1910, to Miss Mary Sutherland, who died without issue, in December, 1916.
D. Emmett Welsh, M. D .- The exacting conditions of Twentieth century progress have resulted in specialization in every line of hu- man activity. Men of conspicuous ability have proved that the best and most productive results are secured by a single-hearted devotion to some particular line. It has been their contention that with so many competitions it is impossible for any one man to become an expert in all lines, and that therefore those who specialize in a given direction are more reasonably sure of attaining perfection than those who distribute their activities over a wide territory. In the broad field of medical service, one who has won success by following this plan, is D. Emmett Welsh, M. D., one of the foremost specialists in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat in the State of Michigan. For thirty-three years he has been engaged in prac- tice at Grand Rapids and during this time has not only become known as one of the leading exponents of his profession, but has been the re- cipient of numerous honors of a public nature. Dr. Welsh was born, Jan. 22, 1858, at Columbia, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and re- ceived his elementary education in the public schools of his native place. For four years he was under the preceptorship of Dr. Craig, surgeon for the Pennsylvania railway, following which he entered Jefferson Medical College, in which he was graduated in 1878. Dur- ing the six years that followed he was engaged in practice at La- trobe, Westmoreland county, and included in his duties while there those of mine physician for the Loyal Hanna Coke and Coal Com- pany, the Saxman's Mines and the H. Clay Frick & Company Coal Company, work which gave him experience of the broadest and most valuable character. Next, Dr. Welsh went to Philadelphia, in which city he took a special course of study and was appointed assistant at the University of Pennsylvania, for the treatment of nose and throat diseases, under Prof. Carl Seiler, this being an outdoor treatment. He was also assistant to Prof. John B. Roberts in surgery at the Philadelphia Polyclinic, and was resident physician at Will's Eye and Ear Hospital, in the same city. Subsequently, to further prepare himself, he attended lectures in London, England, and Paris, France, as well as lectures by Dr. Berry, the noted specialist, at Edinburgh, Scotland, and today holds certificates entitling him to advanced priv- ileges in his particular line of practice. Returning to the United States, July 6, 1885, Dr. Welsh settled at Grand Rapids, where he has since met with continued and ever-increasing success. On vari- ous occasions, as before noted, he has been honored by his profes- sion and in other ways. In the year following his arrival at Grand Rapids, he was appointed by President Cleveland as expert pension
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Semmerthenewworld. I. A.C.S.
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examiner for Western Michigan, a post which he still holds. He is ex-president of the Grand Rapids Academy of Medicine, ex-vice- president of the State Medical Society and ex-secretary of the Na- tional Association of Railway Surgeons; was one of the organizers of the Kent County Medical Society, of which he was president for one term; and in 1912 was president of the Michigan State Medical Society, subsequently being a member of its council for three years and now serving in the capacity of treasurer. He is a member of the state and county societies, the American Medical Association, the Mississippi Valley Medical Society, the National Association of Rhinology, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society (honorary), the Western Laryngological Society, the Detroit Opthalmological Socie- ty, the Detroit Otolaryangical Society, and he is president of the Michigan Trilogical Society and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His system of examination in sight and hearing, devised by himself, so neared perfection that it was adopted years ago by many of the railroad companies of both this country and Canada and is very generally in use in many localities. He was also for many years the examiner for color blindness and other visual defects, as well as disorders of the ear, for the G. R. & I., C. & W. M., G. R. & W., and other railroad companies, the consolidated street railways of Grand Rapids and the police and fire departments. He served as a member of the Grand Rapids Board of Health for three terms, being president one term. Fraternally, he is a thirty-second degree Mason, and life member of the A. A. O. N. M. S., and belongs to the Royal Arcanum, and he is a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Dr. Welsh was married Jan. 20, 1898, at Grand Rap- ids, to Miss Grace Vivian Diver, who was born in this city. They have one child, D. Emmitt, Jr.
Aaron Verne Wenger, M. D .- Than that of medicine there is no vocation to which men devote their lives more dignified in its ethics or more reasonably helpful to the world. Similar claims are made by the church and by the law, but, while essentially true enough, are based on other foundations. The healing art demands of its real de- votees that natural reverence for the dignity of the human body that commands the exercise of all the skill that years of study and train- ing have brought to them, to cure its ills. Its scientific discoveries have not only eased the bed of former torture, but have found the cure for almost every bodily affliction. Justly is this noble profes- sion in the forefront. Methods may differ, systems may not be quite alike and personality counts for much, but the aim and principle re- mains the same. Among the members of the medical profession well known in Kent county is Dr. Aaron Verne Wenger, whose skill and faithfulness, together with his determined hopefulness and cheerful- ness, have made his presence valued in many households during the past sixteen years, which period has covered his career as one of the leading physicians of Grand Rapids. Dr. Wenger was born at Cale- donia, Kent county, Michigan, March 5, 1877, a son of Christian and Lavina (Nogle) Wenger. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Michigan in young manhood and settled in Kent county, where, in the vicinity of Caledonia, he carried on successful agricultural op- erations during the remainder of his life, his death occurring in the village named. He was an industrious farmer, making the most of
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his opportunities and attaining thereby a modest competence, and in his locality was considered a good citizen, honorable and straightfor- ward. Mrs. Wenger, who was born in Ohio and taken by her parents to Michigan in young womanhood, still survives her husband and re- sides at Caledonia. After securing his primary education in the public schools of his native place, Aaron V. Wenger was sent to the South Grand Rapids High School and completed the course. From his boyhood he had been resolved to follow medicine as a vocation, and after he had made some further preparation he entered the Grand Rapids Medical College and was graduated in that excellent institu- tion with the class of 1901, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. His first practical experience was secured while he was serv- ing for nine years as an interne in a local hospital, following which he embarked in a practice that has continued to grow steadily in size and importance. Dr. Wenger has always practiced alone, and at the present time maintains offices in the Metz building, where he has every modern appliance of the profession and a large and compre- hensive medical library. While he is equally at home in the various departments of his profession, at present he is specializing to some extent in surgery and anaesthesia, subjects of which he has a deep and profound knowledge and in which he may lay claim to some- thing beyond local distinction. He holds membership in the Kent County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and is a fellow of the American As- sociation of Anaesthetists. In the civic affairs of Grand Rapids he has shown a commendable and public-spirited interest, and his name is frequently found upon the lists of men who are behind movements for the benefit of the city and its people. Dr. Wenger was united in marriage June 20, 1911, with Miss Fannie Roth, daughter of John C. and Anna (Bieri) Roth, of Lowell, Mich., and of this union there has been born a daughter, Ann Virginia.
Sybrant Wesselius .- During thirty-three years Sybrant Wes- selius has pursued the practice of law at Grand Rapids, where he has been known not only for his skill and assiduity as an attorney, but also for the urbanity of his manners, literary taste, and as a helpful citizen concerned in the welfare of his community. He has gained professional eminence by none of the arts of the charlatan, but has sought rather to merit recognition by knowledge and industry than to gain notoriety by the more questionable methods by which less meritorious practitioners find a short cut to fame and fortune. Mr. Wesselius was born at Grand Rapids, June 8, 1859, son of Charles and Dinah (Napp) Wesselius. His father, a baker by vocation, came to the city in 1851, and during his later years followed landscape gar- dening .. The public schools of Grand Rapids furnished Sybrant Wesselius with his preliminary educational training, and after some further preparation at Holland College he enrolled as a student at Kalamazoo College, in which institution he was graduated in 1883, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then commenced the study of law in the office of Hughes, O'Brien & Smiley, and was admitted to the bar in 1885, since which time he has been engaged in a con- stantly increasing practice, in which he has attained a high reputa- tion and much material prosperity. He has been a member of the firms of Wesselius & Maynard and Wesselius, Corbett & Ewing, but
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