USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, Vol. II > Part 35
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That in his passing away we mourn in common with our State and the denomination.
On Thursday, December 3, 1885, he and his wife celebrated their golden wedding at the handsome family residence at Detroit. The gathering brought their friends to the number of several hundred, from all parts of the State and letters of congratu- lation and good wishes were received from all over the country, and many testimonials of rare value were presented. A few months later, on August 16, 1886, the community was made sad by the an- nouncement of his sudden death. He died as he had lived, full of religious trust, leaving his wife and three children, namely : Hiram A. Burt, Alvin C. Burt, and Minnie C., wife of Robert Leete.
GEORGE S. DAVIS was born in the city of Detroit, May 7, 1845. and is the son of Solomon and Anne H. (Duncan) Davis. His ancestors were
among the earliest settlers of New England, and were prominent among the active defenders of the American colonies during the War of the Revolu- tion, and distinguished for their piety, honesty, good habits, and longevity.
Mr. Davis was educated in the common schools of Detroit, entering the High School the second term after its opening, and graduating from that institution in the year 1860. Having the choice of a college education and a professional life, or a commercial career, he decided, on account of the limited means of his father, to engage in mercantile life, and accordingly entered the wholesale drug house of Farrand, Sheley & Company, and sys- tematically studied the drug business, remaining with that firm until 1867, when he purchased an interest in the firm of Duffield, Parke & Company, manufacturing pharmacists. In 1871 the firm name, after the retirement of two partners, was changed to Parke, Davis & Company, under which title, both as a firm and a corporation, the concern has since been known. The enterprise suffered severely during its earlier history, through strong competition and want of proper capital, and though greatly crippled by the condition of commercial affairs incidental to the panic of 1873, it passed safely through the crisis, steadily gaining in prestige and strength. From the year 1877 it has been phenom- inally successful, and now ranks as the largest concern of its kind in the United States, if not in the world, and has commercial relations with all countries.
The history of the growth of this business, from its incipiency through the various stages of its exist- ence to its present world-wide reputation, is partly detailed in connection with the chapter on manu- factures, and forms one of the most interesting portions of the manufacturing history of Detroit. The creation of the forces and agencies which built up this enterprise, over obstacles almost unsurmountable, form the best index to the charac- ter and ability of those who have been instrumental in its development. That its success is largely due to the individual efforts of Mr. Davis, will be readily admitted by those most intimately connected with its growth. Coming into active participation in its management at an early period of its history, when it was of small capacity, and unknown beyond a small radius, he gave it a personal supervision and care which has been persistent, well directed, and unflagging. With unusual executive ability, great energy, intuitive knowledge of character, and broad and liberal business judgment, united to a certain boldness and courage, without which great business success is rarely attained, he has been an essential factor in achieving the success that is now estab- lished.
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The business was incorporated in 1875, with Mr. Davis as Secretary and Treasurer. He is also Presi- dent of the Michigan Phonograph Company, Vice- President of the Imperial Life Insurance Company, and is interested in several other business corpora- tions. In addition to his business as a manufacturer, as is shown in detail elsewhere in this work, he is one of the most extensive medical publishers in the United States, and scores of serial issues, valuable brochures, and books of interest to the medical and scientific world, bear his imprint as publisher, and owe to him the inspiration of their authorship.
He possesses large real estate interests, particu- larly in Grosse Pointe, where he has not only estab- lished the nucleus of a suburban village, but has also an extensive stock and dairy farm.
He is a Republican in political faith, and earnestly interested in the success of his party, but with the exception of two years' service in the Board of Education, has never held public office. He has been publicly mentioned for various important official positions, particularly as member of Congress, Mayor, and Park Commissioner, but is in no sense an office seeker. He is a director in the Grosse Pointe Club and a member of various social clubs, military and other organizations, and socially is warm-hearted, affable, unassuming, and courteous, and worthy of the esteem in which he is held. He is an attendant of the Fort Street Presbyterian Church, is liberal in his contributions to public objects, and has few equals of his years among the successful business men in the city or State. He is unmarried, and lives with his father's family.
SOLOMON DAVIS, one of the oldest residents of Detroit, was born at Rockingham, Vermont, March 17, 1792, and was the first son of Joshua and Rhoda (Balcom) Davis. The first of the family, on the paternal side, in America, came from England, and landed in New England about the year 1670. After the manner of many of the pioneers, he moved from place to place, and was actively engaged in the various wars with the Indians. Nathaniel Davis, the grandfather of Solomon Davis, was born in the town of Petersham, Massachusetts, Novem- ber 13, 1715. He married Susanna Hubbard, who was born April 10, 1720. They settled in Barre, Massachusetts, where most of their children were born. They afterwards, about the year 1758, located at the place now called Charleston, in New Hampshire. It then contained but four log houses, which, on their arrival, were found to have been ravaged by the Indians, the windows and doors were open, and the floor strewn with various relics pertaining to household occupancy. This fact aided in determining his decision to join the forces raised for the war against the French and Indians. He
entered the service, and was wounded in one of the skirmishes in his right shoulder, but succeeded in avoiding capture. At the close of the war he pur- chased a farm at Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont, where he cultivated the soil under great difficulties, being continually exposed to Indian attacks, and constantly compelled to guard against them. He subsequently purchased a larger and better farm on the north side of the Williams River, near the town of Rockingham, where he resided until his death. He was a very pious man, puritanical in turn, and possessing the fighting qualities so desirable among the early settlers. He had seven children, three girls and four boys. His wife was drowned in 1770, while trying to ford the Williams River, at Chester, Vermont. Joshua Davis, his fourth child, was born February 29, 1750. Remaining at home in his earlier youth, he assisted his father until the opening of the Revolutionary War, and then just prior to the battle of Bunker Hill, he joined the colonial forces, and while acting on the staff of the commanding general was severely wounded by a musket ball. On recover- ing from his wound, he was assigned to a company of the Green Mountain boys of Vermont, and arrived upon the field just after the battle of Ben- nington. He subsequently served in the army under Gates, Arnold, Washington, Lafayette, and Greene, being actively engaged in many of the battles of the Revolution, and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne. At the close of the war he purchased a farm near Newfane, Vermont, and there at the age of forty married Mrs. Myrick née Rhoda Balcom. She was a descendant of an Eng- lish family, which originally resided in a small hamlet in England, called Balcombe, a name derived from the Saxon, signifying a dale or hollow at the foot of hills or highland. The Balcom family are all long lived, and from the first settlement in America have resided in Sudbury, Massachusetts. John Balcom, the first of the family in America, was born in 1657, and died in 1742.
Henry Balcom, the father of Rhoda Balcom, was born in 1742. He was accidentally killed in 1840, being thrown from his horse and dragged some dis- tance with his foot in the stirrup. He married Kesia Stowe in 1761, and had eight children and fifty-nine grandchildren. He served in the Revo- lutionary War in various capacities, from the day of the battle of Bennington to the close of the war. His father moved with his family from Sudbury, Massachusetts, to Newfane, Vermont, very early, if not prior to the commencement of the Revolu- tionary War. After the Revolutionary War he moved with his family from Newfane, Vermont, to Oxford, Chenango County, New York, where he remained the rest of his life. He was accidentally
Den De Tacions
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killed at the age of seventy-two years, by being thrown from his horse. He had seven children and fifty-nine grandchildren. Two of the latter, Lyman and Ransom, were appointed to the bench, and served as Judges of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, in which State their numerous descendants have principally settled.
Rhoda Balcom, wife of Joshua Davis, died in August, 1802, and in 1804 he married Mary Blake, of Rockingham. It is an interesting fact, as show- ing her health and vitality, that at the age of ninety she rode forty miles on horseback in one day. She died July 21, 1852, at the age of ninety-two years. Her husband, Joshua Davis, had five children, three boys and two girls. He died at Newfane, June 24, 1838.
After obtaining as thorough an education as the facilities of that day in Vermont afforded, Solomon Davis engaged in farming, and continued in that occupation until 1813, when, taking advantage of the restrictions placed upon commercial relations with England by the embargo, and the existing need of woolen goods in this country, he invested what capital he had in a woolen manufactory, at Weathersfield, Vermont, and continued the business until about 1826, when the resumption of commer- cial relations with Great Britain, and competition with English manufacturers, compelled him and many other American woolen manufacturers, to suspend. Mr. Davis, however, paid all his debts in full, but had only twenty dollars left as the result of his industry up to that date, and on June 8, 1830, he crossed the Green Mountains on foot, obtained a passage by canal boat to Buffalo, and then em- barked on the steamer Superior for Detroit, arriving here on the 24th of June following.
Shortly after his arrival in Detroit, he obtained the position of Superintendent of the Detroit Hy- draulic Company, organized to supply the city with water. He superintended the laying of the iron and wooden pipes, which, though but three inches in diameter, were considered sufficient for the necessities of the city at that time. During the year he returned to Vermont, and brought back his family. Early in 1833 he established a brass foundry, and continued in this line of business until 1879, when he gave up active work. He reared a large family amid comfortable and pleasant sur- roundings, and in a long life of patient, persistent industry, conscientious devotion to duty, and in an honest, manly character, he gives them an inherit- ance which is above price. At ninety-six years of age he is hale and hearty, and possesses remark- able vigor of mind and body.
He was married in 1825, to Anne H. Duncan. They had eight children, four girls and four boys, five of whom, three daughters, Mrs. George F.
Turrill, Mrs. Charles Ketchum, of Detroit, and Mrs. Charles S. Bartlett, of Chicago, and two sons, George S. Davis, and James E. Davis, of Detroit, are living. The mother died on May 28, 1848, and on March 11, 1852, Mr. Davis married, as his second wife, Mrs. Elvira A. Campbell, of Detroit. She is still living, in the best of health and spirits; and in full possession of her faculties, at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
ALEXANDER DELANO, one of the leading manufacturers of Detroit, was born in Oneida County, New York, April 25, 1842. His ancestors were Huguenots and came from France to this country early in the eighteenth century, first settling in Massachusetts and afterwards removing to Ver- mont. His father, Safford S. DeLano, was born in St. Albans, Vermont, in 1800. While a young man he located in Massachusetts. In 1840 he moved to Oneida County, New York, where he remained about eight years. In 1848 he removed to Brooklyn, New York, embarked in mercantile business, and died four years later. His wife, Clarissa Cook DeLano, was born in Berkshire, Massachusetts, in 1800, and died at Detroit in 1884.
Alexander DeLano was the youngest son of eight children, and until about fifteen years of age at- tended school in Brooklyn, New York. In 1857 he started West and at Mt. Clemens, Michigan, engaged as clerk in the dry goods store of Moore Stephens, where he remained about four years. In July, 1861, he enlisted at Fort Wayne, in the Fifth Michigan Infantry, the regiment being assigned to the Army of the Potomac. At the front, Mr. DeLano was soon made Regimental Quartermas- ter Sergeant, but on account of deafness, contracted in the service, he was unable to fill a higher rank which was offered and the same reason caused him to be honorably discharged in 1863. In the latter part of 1863 he located in Buffalo, New York, and engaged in the hard timber trade. In 1868 he came to Detroit and entered the employ of James McMil- lan, in the Michigan Car Works, where he remained ten years.
In 1878, in connection with J. S. Newberry, he organized the Detroit Car Spring Company, of which he was made treasurer and general manager, and in 1881, with others, organized the Detroit Steel Works. In 1883 these two corporations were consolidated under the name of the Detroit Steel and Spring Works, and Mr. DeLano was chosen president and manager. The company employ over three hundred men and turn out from five to six hundred tons of manufactured steel per month.
JEREMIAH DWYER was born in Brooklyn, New York, August 22, 1837. When he was
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scarcely a year old, his parents removed to Detroit and settled on a farm in the township of Springwells, about four miles from the city, remaining there until 1848. In that year, while his father was driving a team of spirited young horses near the railroad, they were frightened by a locomotive and ran away, and Mr. Dwyer was thrown out and killed. The family then consisted of his wife, his son Jeremiah, and two younger children, James Dwyer, now manager of the Peninsular Stove Com- pany, and one sister, now Mrs. M. Nichols.
After his father's death, Jeremiah, though only eleven years of age, tried for a year or two to aid his mother in managing the farm, but found it unprofitable work, and finally his mother, feeling the necessity of giving her children better educa- tional advantages than could be had in that vicinity, sold their country home, and purchased a residence in Detroit. With the other children Jeremiah now enjoyed a few years' training in the public schools, but as their means were limited, he found it neces- sary to obtain employment, which he secured in the saw and planing mill of Smith & Dwight, where he remained about a year. At that time it was quite difficult to get an opportunity to learn a trade, but through the influence of friends, Mr. Dwyer secured an opportunity to learn the trade of moulding at the Hydraulic Iron Works, then con- ducted by Kellog & Van Schoick, and afterwards owned and managed by O. M. Hyde & Co., with the late Captain R. S. Dillon as superintendent. Mr. Dwyer had to agree that he would serve four years as an apprentice and make good all lost time, and did so to the satisfaction of his employers, receiving at the expiration of his apprenticeship a letter of recommendation which he still prizes highly.
At the conclusion of his apprenticeship he worked as journeyman in several eastern stove foundries, perfecting himself in his trade. He then returned to Detroit, and on account of poor health, resulting from too close confinement to his trade, accepted a position on the D. & M. R. R. for about a year, and was then offered a position as foreman in one of our leading foundries. About the same time a reaper works and stove foundry was started on the corner of Mt. Elliott Avenue and Wight Street, by Ganson & Mizner, but for some reason was not successful, and the property coming into the hands of T. W. Mizner, he made Mr. Dwyer a proposi- tion to engage in the stove business, and finally they made an arrangement under the firm name of J. Dwyer & Co., which continued about two years. W. H. Tefft then bought Mr. Mizner's interest, but the firm continued under the old name for about a year, and in 1864 M. I. Mills joined them and they formed a stock company, under the name of the
Detroit Stove Works, with Mr. Dwyer as manager. In 1869 he superintended the construction of the new Detroit Stove Works in Hamtramck, and in the winter of 1870, through over anxiety and exposure in moving to and starting up the new works, he took a severe cold which settled on his lungs, and by advice of his physician he went South. Fearing he would not return, he sold his interest to his brother James, but after spending some time in the South, he returned home in the summer of 1871, and through the persuasions of Alfred and Charles Ducharme, decided to again /engage in stove manufacturing. Associating himself with Charles Ducharme, and with Richard H. Long as secretary, in the fall of 1871 they bought the Ogden & Rus- sel property, at the foot of Adair Street, at the outlet of the " Bloody Run," and immediately com- menced getting materials together for a new stove manufactory. The winter setting in early, they were unable to start their building as at first ex- pected, and during the winter of 1871-72, the late M. I. Mills proposed to put in his property front- ing on Jefferson Avenue and Adair Street, at first cost, and join them in this enterprise. His offer was accepted, and a few months later they were joined by Geo. H. Barbour, and formed the Michi- gan Stove Company, the officers being Charles Ducharme, president ; M. I. Mills, vice-president ; George H. Barbour, secretary ; R. H. Long, superin- tendent, and Jeremiah Dwyer, manager. As the . spring opened they pushed the erection of their buildings on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Adair Street, as fast as possible, and here improved and extended their works and facilities as the times would warrant, till to-day this establishment will compare favorably with any works in the world in quality and quantity of their goods. At the death of Mr. Ducharme, Francis Palms was elected president, and on the death of M. I. Mills, in 1882, Mr. Dwyer was made vice-president and manager, and after the death of Mr. Palms, in 1886, Mr. Dwyer became president, which office he still holds.
He was among the first organizers and is still a director of the People's Savings Bank, is vice-presi- dent of Bucks' Stove and Range Company, of St. Louis, Mo., and a stockholder in several other enterprises. -
In the early days of the old volunteer Fire De- partment, he took an active part and for a number of years was foreman of No. 7, and later was one of the trustees of the Fire Department Society.
He holds to the Roman Catholic faith, and is a worthy representative of that church. In politics he is a staunch Democrat, but though often solicited to be a candidate, has been too much engrossed in business to take an active part in politics, 'enter- tains no ambition for the distinctions of office, and
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with the exception of serving one term on the Board of Estimates, has held no public position.
He is liberal-minded in his views on religion and politics, and generous to all charitable institutions; is possessed of sound judgment, and has achieved great success as a manager of men. He is patient, untiring, industrious, modest and practical-a man of deeds rather than words. He has never over- reached nor attempted what was beyond his capacity to accomplish, is exceedingly cautious in all business matters, and his work is always so methodical that its results may be anticipated with reasonable certainty. Possessed of a quick and active disposition, with great force of character and genial and happy temperament, he commands the respect of all with whom he is associated.
He was married November 22, 1859, to Mary Long, daughter of John Long and Elizabeth (Bais- ley) Long. They have one daughter and seven sons.
JACOB BEALE FOX was born in Louisville, Kentucky, January 12, 1831. His father was of English descent, and died while in California, where he had gone to try and build up his failing health. The son attended school but little after he was eleven years of age, as he was compelled to earn his own living.
During the War with Mexico, he enlisted as a soldier in the First Kentucky Regiment, and upon his return from the war, visited California with his father, and soon afterwards started a confectionery business in New Albany, Indiana, but thinking to better his prospects in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he re- moved there in 1856, and ten years later came to Detroit, and with Jacob Bristol established a whole- sale confectionery establishment, under the firm name of J. B. Fox & Company.
In 1869 the firm of William Phelps & Company became interested in the establishment, and in 1870 it was consolidated with the firm of Pilgrim & Gray, and the firm of Gray, Toynton & Fox established. They soon became the largest and most successful confectioners in Detroit, and were widely known for the extent and quality of their productions. Mr. Fox personally superintended the manufacturing department, and invented quite a number of machines for use in the manufacture of confection- ery, among them one for stamping out lozenges.
He was a man of strict integrity, was a genial companion, and had the confidence of all who knew him. His health becoming impaired, he went South, and while visiting at his sister's, at Samuel's Station, in Nelson County, Kentucky, he was taken violently ill, and died there on May 16, 1881.
He was married in 1853, to Marian Epperson, a relative of President Polk. They had three chil-
dren, two of whom died, George L. Fox, of Detroit, being their only surviving child. On July 12, 1877, he married Mary S. McGregor, a direct descendant of Rob Roy, the noted Scottish chieftain. They had two children. Mrs. Fox and one son, John Murray Fox, are living.
GEORGE H. GALE was born in Barre, Ver- mont, February 23, 1826. His grandfather, Brooks Gale, was one of the first two settlers of Barre, the other being David French; they were both from Massachusetts. George Gale, the father of George H. Gale, was born in Barre, Vermont, and married Harriet Stone. He moved to Hillsdale County, with his family, in 1837, and in 1840, established the first plow works in that county, at Moscow.
George H. Gale began to care for himself at the age of ten. He had attended a common school and made the best use of his few opportunities. In 1845 he removed to Kalamazoo, and engaged with Allen Potter in the hardware business, remaining there until 1849, when he went by the overland route to California, and there engaged in mining and other operations for four years. In 1854 he returned to Kalamazoo, and resumed the hardware business with Mr. Potter, continuing until 1867. Meantime, as early as 1855, he became identified with the manufacture of agricultural implements, in connection with his brothers, Charles, H. J., N. B., and Horatio Gale, who had works at Kalamazoo, Jonesville, and Albion, Michigan. George H. Gale is a stockholder in the Gale Manufacturing Com- pany, at Albion, and in 1883 took a leading part in the organization of the Gale Sulky Harrow Com- pany, of Detroit, became its general manager, and early in January, 1884, removed his residence to this city.
The Gale Sulky Harrow is founded upon a patent obtained by his brother, Horatio Gale, in 1880. The company own the entire right to manu- facture, and have shops for the manufacture of harrows in Canada. Their works, in Detroit, are located on Milwaukee Avenue, in the most advan- tageous position for the railroads, and they have contributed materially to the building up of that part of the city. They can turn out one hundred harrows a day.
Mr. Gale, having assisted his brothers in the development of the patent, has devoted his energies to the organization and management of a company that should utilize it and give its practical benefits to the agriculturists of the country. In this he has been very successful. He is a thorough business man, trained in the school of experience, active, clear-headed, and self-reliant. His opinions are not borrowed from others, but are the result of investigation and consideration. He is courteous
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