USA > Michigan > Kent County > Grand Rapids > Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan: History and Account of Their Progress from First. Vol. II > Part 56
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Charles Edward Wilde .- It is not so many years ago, compara- tively, since the telephone has come into universal use; nor is it a matter of any great length of time since the instrument was still con- sidered to be in its experimental stage. The world now, of course, values it at its true worth, but the wonderful system which annihi- lates space and today makes possible the bringing together of inter- ests instantly between far-separated points has been built up only after years of the hardest kind of work by men, the least part of whose labors lay in the overcoming of prejudice and the battering down of ignorance. Of the men of Grand Rapids who have been connected with the telephone industry during more than thirty years, one of the best known is Charles Edward Wilde, superintendent of the Michigan State Telephone Company. His entire career has been connected with matters pertaining to this industry and he has watched with the eye of a proprietor its development from small beginnings to the great present. Mr. Wilde was born on a farm in Kalamazoo
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GUSTAVE W. WILBERT
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county, Michigan, Dec. 25, 1869, son of Henry C. Wilde. He received a somewhat limited education in the public schools of Petoskey and was but little past his fourteenth year when he entered the office of the telephone company at that point, in the capacity of operator. Having quickly mastered the details of the office, and his superior being needed for service at a larger exchange, he was put in charge of the office as manager, in 1885, and in 1889 went to Battle Creek in a like capacity. In 1890 he was transferred to Alpena, and in 1892 he was appointed manager of the Muskegon office, remaining there for two years. He then went to Kalamazoo and accepted the posi- tion of superintendent of the southern division of the Michigan State Telephone Company, which he retained until 1902. From that of- fice Mr. Wilde went to take charge of the Upper Peninsula division of the same company, at Marquette, but two years later left that city to come to Grand Rapids in his present position, that of superintend- ent of the Michigan State Telephone Company. Few men connected with the telephone industry are more conversant with its angles and its multitudinous details. He has been a close observer of every ad- vancement made in the past thirty-three years, and his experience makes him invaluable to his company. His work has given him exec- utive power, and as an employer of labor he is able to enforce the necessary strict discipline without causing resentment. His associ- ates know him as a man of capacity on whom they may depend at all times. Mr. Wilde maintains an independent stand in regard to political matters and has never sought public favors on his own ac- count from any party nor from his friends. He is a Mason and a member of the Peninsular club. Mr. Wilde was married Oct. 8, 1890, to Miss Emily A. Peet, daughter of D. A. Peet, of Anamosa, Iowa, and of this union have been born three daughters-Mabel L., Doro- thy E. and May A.
Alden H. Williams, M. D .- Distinguished alike as a physician, surgeon and specialist, Dr. Alden H. Williams occupies a pre-eminent place among the professional men of Grand Rapids, where, since 1899, with the exception of a short interval, he has devoted himself to the accomplishment of achievements that have brought him wide reputation, universal recognition and honors of an enviable charac- ter. Like many other capable, successful and prominent men, he did not start out in life with the ambition to encompass something phe- nomenal, but at the outset of his career placed a just valuation upon industry and persevering application, and with these qualities, com- bined with natural ability and a love for his calling, has won for him- self a notable place in the Michigan field of medicine and surgery. Dr. Williams was born at Montrose, Susquehanna county, Pennsyl- vania, Nov. 28, 1877, a son of William W. and Carrie (Gunther) Williams, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of the Keystone State. The father served two terms in the Pennsylvania state legislature, and died in 1893, while Mrs. Williams still survives and is a resident of Grand Rapids. The Doctor's sister, Ethelberta, is a teacher of mathematics in the Grand Rapids High School. Alden H. Williams attended the Bloomsburg (Pa.) State Normal School and commenced his medical studies at the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated with his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1899. Following the securing of his diploma, he was for one and
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one-half years interne in the U. B. Hospital at Grand Rapids and then entered upon a general practice, which he continued until 1907. The following year he spent in special study in Berlin, Germany, and upon his return to this country again took up his practice at Grand Rapids, where he has achieved a signal success in Roentgen Ray work, the discovery of which, in 1895, opened up to the world a new region of scientific exploration. He also holds clinics and en- gages in general diagnoses, and in each field has achieved something more than a local reputation. His ability as a physician and his gen- eral worth as a citizen have been recognized on numerous occasions, and he has been city bacteriologist of Grand Rapids since 1904 and county physician since 1907. Dr. Williams belongs to the Kent County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the. American Medical Association, and to the Western Roentgen Socie- ty. He has been head examiner for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company since 1907. He was married Nov. 23, 1909, to Miss Nellie Roller, daughter of Dr. Louis Roller, a well-known physician of Grand Rapids, and they are the parents of four children: Helen Louise, Louis Alden, Alice Amelia and Richard Roller. Dr. Wil- liams and his family are members of the Fountain Street Baptist church.
Clarence A. Williams .- Among the business vocations in which mankind may engage, there is none which calls for a greater amount of tact than that of the undertaker. Aside from the training which is now necessary for the proper practice of the embalmer's art, the individual who would follow this occupation must needs possess par- ticular qualities not needed in other lines of endeavor, for his rela- tions with the people of his community are peculiar and he is asso- ciated with them in a most intimate connection. During a period of eighteen years Clarence A. Williams has been the proprietor of an undertaking establishment at Caledonia, and in this time, through his reverent care of those whom death has called, has won the confidence of many families which have been visited by the Dark Angel. Mr. Williams was born in Wayne county, New York, Jan. 10, 1858, son of Otis D. and Isabelle (Gordon) Williams, and a member of an old and honorable family which for many years had its home at Williams- burgh, L. I. Otis D. Williams, who was a mechanical engineer by profession in New York, brought his family to Kent county, in 1866, and for a number of years was employed by the firm of Conkle & Peck. Subsequently, for several years, he was engaged in the lumber business in the northern part of Michigan, but at the time of his re- tirement returned to Kent county and took up his residence at Grand Rapids, where the closing years of his life were passed. He was a Democrat in his political views and a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, a good citizen and a man who won the esteem of those associated with him by reason of his integrity and straight- forward manner of carrying on his business transactions. Mr. and Mrs. Williams were the parents of three children: William G., de- ceased; Clarence A., and Jessie, widow of the late Jay Sexton, of Detroit. Clarence A. Williams received his education in the public schools of New York and Kent county and as a youth adopted the profession of his father, that of a mechanical engineer, at which he worked for several years. When the elder man embarked in the
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lumber business he accompanied him in this venture, but in 1899 turned his attention to his present business, taking a complete course in embalming in one of the leading institutions teaching this art. In 1899 he opened his present establishment at Caledonia, where he has since remained. Mr. Williams has every appliance and appurtenance known to the modern profession for the proper and reverent handling of the dead, and has been a close student of his calling, familiarizing himself with every detail of embalming and undertaking. His tact and thoughtfulness, kindliness and ability in handling every situa- tion, make him one to be depended upon in homes where sorrow and trouble have come, and many people of Caledonia have reason to thank him for the services he has rendered in their hour of grief. Mr. Williams is a Mason and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. A Democrat in politics, he has taken some active part in public affairs and has served very capably in the capacities of town- ship clerk and township treasurer. In his long residence at Caledo- nia he has allied himself with other public-spirited citizens in further- ing movements launched for the betterment of the community and its people's welfare. Mr. Williams was united in marriage June 11, 1884, with Miss Emily, daughter of Molyneaux and Eleanor (Lati- mer) Wilson. Mrs. Williams, who was born June 23, 1861, is a sis- ter of Manuel Wilson, in whose sketch, on another page of this work, a review of the Wilson family will be found. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams: Belle E., born April 10, 1885, wife of Ralph Sherk, of Caledonia; and Ruth, born March 19, 1895, a teacher at La Barge, was married Dec. 8, 1917, to Lieut. D'Arcy Wernette, now in France with the Thirty-second division, headquar- ters infantry.
William M. Williams .- It would not be unreasonable to presup- pose that the rising generations would profit by the lessons daily set for them to read in the records of the lives of men who have lived usefully and honorably, thereby discovering the difference between lasting and fleeting reputation. An individual cannot live unworthily and continue to be held in esteem after his death. During his life- time he may be able to blind the general public, but when his per- sonality is removed people judge correctly and he is accorded his true place in their estimation by the value of his deeds. Thus it is that when a community is united in sorrow over the death of one of its citizens, proof of a convincing nature is given as to his ability, integrity, blamelessness and high ideals, especially when his life work has been attended by tangible accomplishment. In the death of the late William M. Williams, Gaines township lost a citizen of general worth, who had long been known in agricultural circles as a successful operator. He is still remembered as a man of correct life, whose career was characterized by his fidelity to his engagements and a commendable spirit of loyalty to his community. Mr. Wil- liams was born in the State of New York, May 15, 1851, son of Hiram and Margaret (Matice) Williams, the father having been born, reared and educated in the Empire State. In the East Hiram Williams was an energetic and hard-working farmer, but his ventures did not suc- ceed in the measure that he desired, and in 1855 he turned his face to the West in quest of a locality where his labors would bring more satisfying results. Finally he chose Michigan as his scene of opera-
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tions and settled in Gaines township, Kent county, where he pur- chased a tract of green land from the United States government and settled down to acquire success. His earnest and continuous labors resulted in the attainment of his ambition and he became one of the well-to-do men of his neighborhood, spending his declining years in the comfort that his career of industry had brought to him. William M. Williams was only four years of age when he was brought by his parents to the community of Gaines township, and here his education was obtained in the district schools. When he was given the oppor- tunity to choose a career he had to make no second choice, but at once resolved upon farming, and in the pursuits of the soil his life was passed. He was married about the time that he attained his ma- jority, but continued to reside on his father's farm and at the time of the elder man's death inherited sixty-six acres of land in section 5, Gaines township, which continued to be his home until the time of his demise. About five or six years before his death he became more or less of an invalid, but bore his sufferings patiently and finally passed quietly away, Aug. 8, 1914, being laid to rest at Pine Hill cemetery. He never aspired to be anything but a good farmer, but he was known as a man of quiet influence whose example as a man of integrity did much to assist others. Mr. Williams was married June 16, 1871, to Miss Letta A. Meach, daughter of David and Re- becca (Springer) Meach, and of this union were born the following children: Lula May, who married John Shook, of Grand Rapids; Wallace, deceased, who had one child, Violet; Leona, deceased ; Effie, wife of Oscar Loew, of Cleveland, Ohio, who has a daughter, Doris; Lottie Belle, who married (first) Frank Hill and had one child, Ivan, and married (second) Rodney Sickler, of Silverwood, Mich., and has two children, Leo and Leona; Frederick, deceased; Rose, wife of Claude White, of Three Rivers, Mich .; Ruby Pearl, wife of Hugh Blair, of Grand Rapids ; and Howard, who resides at home.
Lewis Theodore Wilmarth .- Diversified interests directed with dignified capability, coupled with a keen sense of duty either in war or peace, are characteristics which make not only for good citizenship but also for successful and progressive advancement. Grand Rapids affords any ambitious man an excellent field for his operations and in no line are there more openings than in the field of manufacturing. One of the typical men of Grand Rapids, connected with the industry, a man of high merit and recognized worth, is Lewis Theodore Wil- marth, president of the Wilmarth-Morman Company and connected with various other business enterprises, than whom there is no more public-spirited citizen, nor one who has played a more helpful and active part in civic and charitable movements. Mr. Wilmarth was born at Grand Rapids, June 14, 1859, son of Oscar R. and Ada (Brown) Wilmarth, the former a native of Victor, N. Y., and the mother of East Bloomfield, that state. The parents were married in the Empire State and came to Marshall, Mich., in 1850, via the Erie canal part of the way, the balance of the journey being made overland by horse and wagon. In 1857 they came to Grand Rapids with Mr. Wilmarth's father, who had been a merchant at Marshall, and shortly after his arrival in this city Oscar R. Wilmarth formed a partnership with L. E. Patton, under the style of Wilmarth & Pat- ton, a general merchandise business being conducted at Monroe ave-
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Lewis Milmarch
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nue and Pearl street, then known as "Grab Corners." The first home of the Wilmarths in Grand Rapids was the old Squire Henry resi- dence, located where the Press building now stands, the Wilmarths boarding with the Henry family until they could get settled in a home of their own. There were three children: Lewis Theodore, Oscar B., manager of the Wilmarth Show Case Company, and Ada, wife .of S. A. Morman. About the year 1878 the elder Wilmarth moved to Stanton, Mich., where he embarked in the shingle and lumber busi- ness and also dealt in real estate and insurance for five years. At the end of that time he returned to Grand Rapids and not long there- after retired from active affairs and lived quietly until his death. Lewis T. Wilmarth attended the graded and high schools of Grand Rapids, graduating in the latter in 1877, following which he took a commercial course. Later he attended the Swensberg Commercial College at Grand Rapids, then one of the Bon-Ton schools of North- ern Michigan. He has many distinct remembrances of early Grand Rapids, one of the most vivid of which pertains to the old stage-coach line running between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, consisting of fifty miles of discomfort. He also remembers the erection of the old Methodist Episcopal church, the first in the downtown district of the city, of which his father was a member of the building committee. In 1878 Mr. Wilmarth accompanied his father to Stanton, Mich., where he was associated with him in business, and when the father returned to this city the son went to Big Rapids, where he took charge of the shingle and lumber business of Holbrook, Wilmarth & Company, in which he was financially interested. After several years of active business operations there he returned to Grand Rapids and continued in the lumber and shingle business until 1889, when he organized the Grand Rapids Cycle Company for the manufacture of bicycles. The sport of bicycling at that time became a veritable craze and the busi- ness grew phenomenally into formidable proportions until it was em- ploying 250 men in its factory, but eventually it was merged with the American Bicycle Company. When he left that business Mr. Wil- marth and his associates bought a machinery business at Kalamazoo and moved it to Grand Rapids, organizing the Wilmarth-Morman Company, with Mr. Wilmarth as president and Mr. Morman as vice- president. Following a few years of direct active management of the business, Mr. Wilmarth retired from this concern, but almost immedi- ately organized the Wilmarth-Morman Company, manufacturers of grinding machines, of which company he is still president, and which is now giving work to 200 employes. The products of this concern find a ready market both at home and abroad, with large plants hold- ing war contracts. Mr. Wilmarth is vice-president of the Wilmarth Show Case Company, vice-president of the American Paper Box Com- pany (now the American Boxboard Company), of which he was one of the organizers and original investors, the largest industrial plant in Grand Rapids, and a director and officer in several other corpora- tions. In other walks of life besides those connected with business he is equally prominent. He is a member of the official board and a trus- tee of the First Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he is a Re- publican. He is the longest-serving director of the Young Men's Christian Association, of which he was formerly vice-president and during the past two years has been president, having been particularly
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active in this organization since the entry of our country into the great war, as he has also in Red Cross work and in Liberty Loan drives. He was one of the founders of the Charity Organization Company, later the Social Welfare Society, and during the period that he served as president thereof was broadly instrumental in having the society purchase property at a summer resort where the poor women and children of the city were given a vacation each year. Subsequently, he was appointed by Governor Ferris as a member of the committee, and chairman of the same, to investigate and report on social condi- tions of the state, and with the help of various cities of 10,000 or more population introduced and secured the passage of the present Housing Law of Michigan, in addition to the Housing Ordinance of the city of Grand Rapids. Life has given much to Mr. Wilmarth, but he has fully earned the distinction and prosperity which are his. He has never been known to shirk a duty or to be other than thought- ful and considerate of those under his supervision. The enterprises with which he has been connected have all been sound, legitimate concerns, and all have profited by his association with their manage- ment. Mr. Wilmarth was married, Dec. 24, 1885, to Lavina B. North- rop, daughter of Nelson W. and Charlotte (Northrop) Northrop, na- tives of Connecticut.
Oscar B. Wilmarth .- Among the leading business citizens of Grand Rapids, one whose career is typical of that of some of the leading men of the Central West, and whose alert, progressive and resolute participation in large affairs has given him prominence and standing, is Oscar B. Wilmarth. It is to such men as Mr. Wilmarth that this part of the country owes its rapid and continued advance- ment and the development of its business enterprises-men who are always alert for opportunity and possessed of the courage to grasp it when it appears. He is now treasurer and general manager of the Wilmarth Show Case Company, which is one of the leading concerns of its kind in the country, with its plant and main offices at Grand Rapids and branches in a number of leading cities. Mr. Wilmarth was born at Grand Rapids, April 28, 1861, and belongs to a well- known family here, mention of whom will be found in the sketch of L. T. Wilmarth, elsewhere in this volume. He received his education in the public schools, and when still but a youth learned the telegra- pher's trade, which he followed for five years as operator for the G. R. & I. and D. L. & N. railroads. From the work of a knight of the key Mr. Wilmarth entered business affairs, becoming connected with the Grand Rapids Felt Boot Company, where through industry and fidelity he worked his way to the positions of office manager and superintendent of the factory. In 1890 Mr. Wilmarth became identi- fied with the Grand Rapids Hand Screw Company, which had been established in 1889 by the firm of Wheeler & DeLisle. The building of show cases started in 1895 and the present factory was erected in 1907, but it was not until 1910 that the name of Wilmarth Show Case Company was adopted. The business was originally incorporated, June 17, 1907, for $100,000, with W. C. Winchester, president; L. T. Wilmarth, vice-president, and O. B. Wilmarth, secretary and treas- urer. The capital was increased Sept. 26, 1914, to $200,000, with the same officers remaining, and June 1, 1917, was again elevated, this time to $300,000. The same officers continue, except that O. B. Wil-
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marth has relinquished the duties of secretary and taken up those of general manager, while Edmund Morris is now secretary and also performs the duties of sales manager. The product of the company consists of all manner of show cases and store fixtures and 280 people are employed in the modern model factory, where there are 140,000 square feet of floor space. The articles manufactured by this concern are known all over the country and the company maintains branches at Boston, New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Des Moines, Salt Lake City and Helena. Among business men of Grand Rapids Mr. Wilmarth is widely known, particularly in man- ufacturing circles, where his personal characteristics and business rec- ord have combined to win for him an enviable position in general re- gard and esteem. He is a Republican, but no politician, and holds membership in a number of bodies at Grand Rapids, business and so- cial, including the Association of Commerce, the Peninsular club, the Owashtanong club, the Grand View Automobile club, the Furniture club and the Young Men's Christian Association. With his family he belongs to the First Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Wilmarth was married Oct. 2, 1890, to Miss Carrie L. Coye, daughter of Albert Coye, of Grand Rapids, and of this union have been born four chil- dren : Lucile, who is the wife of C. Harley Bertsch, of Grand Rapids, and has three children-Marian, Ruth, and John; Harold C., of Grand Rapids, the father of a son, Harold C., Jr .; Albert L., a student at Culver Military Academy, and Donald G., residing with his parents.
Charles M. Wilson .- In all progressive communities there are some individuals who always seem to have time to attend to good works, whether of a private or public nature. The late Charles M. Wilson was pre-eminently one of that class, and, fortunately for the best interests of Grand Rapids, he did not stand alone. He belonged to the group of able lawyers whose civic interest has been equal to their professional enterprise, and who devoted a large share of their energies to the perfection of our government. A man of excellent abilities in the legal domain, of broad education and of attractive per- sonality, he was also a prominent figure in the Democratic party, and was admirably fitted to be identified with the progressive guard of such a city as Grand Rapids. Born at Ionia, Mich., Oct. 10, 1858, Mr. Wilson was a son of Henry J. and Helen (Moseman) Wilson, na- tives of Livingston county, New York. The family came to Michi- gan, in 1845, settling at Ionia, where Henry J. Wilson engaged in business, became a successful general merchant, and subsequently entered the financial field and attained a position of prominence in banking circles. Of his children, four survive: Mrs. Lee M. Hut- chins and William K. and Hugh E. Wilson, of Grand Rapids, and Gilbert W. Wilson, of Ionia. Charles M. Wilson resided at the place of his birth until after his graduation in high school, when he entered the literary department of the University of Michigan, being gradu- ated with the class of 1880. He then took up his studies for his pro- fession and was graduated with high honors in the law department, in 1882, immediately coming to Grand Rapids, where he commenced his long, active and honorable practice in the office of Champlin & More, the senior member of which firm was subsequently elevated to the state supreme bench. After several years of this association, Mr. Wilson became a partner of John E. More, under the firm name of
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