USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II > Part 46
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OTTO H. CRON. A prosperous young business man who during boyhood selected a vocation and had applied himself to it throughout his career, Mr. Cron has now established himself in an independent way and is one of the able and influential young citizens of Monroe.
Otto H. Cron was born in the city of Monroe on the 12th of Febru- ary, 1881, and represents the sterling German-American citizenship of this county. His parents were George J. and Sybilla (Habeferliner) Cron, both of whom were natives of Prussia and Bavaria, were mar- ried after coming to America and settled in Monroe. The father died in 1898, but the mother is living in this city in her seventy-first year. The former was formerly a supervisor of the first ward and for ten years filled the office of justice of the peace. In politics he was a Democrat.
Otto H. Cron was educated in this city and was graduated from the high school during his sixteenth year. His first practical employ- ment was with the Ilgenfritz nursery, where he remained a year, then for eighteen months was with the Deinzer Manufacturing Company, after which he became connected with the Baker green-house and during the following six years thoroughly learned the business. In 1906 he founded the Cron greenhouse on Washington street, where he has one of the best establishments of the kind in southeastern Michi- gan. Fifteen thousand square feet of glass cover his flower houses, and they are heated throughout with steam. The arrangement of the beds and alleys is after the most modern plan, to facilitate the pick- ing of the flowers. He has greenhouse flowers and plants in great variety, and to a trade that extends throughout the city and to neigh- boring towns the name of Cron spells quality and general satisfaction. He has a good business and has used fine judgment and energy in making his enterprise one of the best.
SIDNEY N. EATON. One of the prominent old families of Monroe county is represented in Mr. Eaton, the well known merchant of Mon- roe. The Eatons came to this county during the pioneer era, and each of the three generations has furnished citizens of ability to this community.
Sidney N. Eaton, who has had a broad and successful experience in merchandising, was born in the city of Monroe, June 8, 1871, being a son of Job C. and Rachel (Fox) Eaton. The father was born in
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Vermont and the mother in Leeds, England, and she is still living in Monroe at the age of eighty-three years. The father came to this county in 1832, the grandfather being the founder of the family name in this vicinity. Both the grandfather and father held the office of sheriff of Monroe county, each serving two terms in that important position, and they both were influential and honored men in their day and generation.
Educated in the Monroe public schools, after leaving the high school, Sidney N. Eaton began his business career as clerk for J. S. Hoffman, the clothing merchant. Although still a comparatively young man, Mr. Eaton has had a long experience in business, and has worked his way to independence from a modest beginning while a boy. After three years with Mr. Hoffman he became clerk for the clothier, C. R. Mabley, of Detroit, and two years later was employed at Detroit in the men's clothing and furnishing house of R. H. Traver. For six years he was then connected with the Hub clothing house in Chicago, where he completed the foundation of a broad and liberal experience in the mercantile trade. In 1908 he established a business of his own in Monroe, having a central location and using all the first floor at 9-11 W. Front street, the building his father erected in 1880. His stock of men's furnishings and clothing is selected for a high class trade, and his patronage has been a liberal one almost from the day he opened his store.
Having been reared and spent most of his life in Monroe Mr. Eaton enjoys a large acquaintance both in business and social circles. Fra- ternally he is financial secretary of the Odd Fellows and is clerk of the Modern Woodmen of America. He served in Company K, Thirty- two Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish-American war and is commander of John M. Gutmann Camp Spanish war veterans.
GUY J. KULL. As manager. of the Monroe Gas Light & Fuel Com- pany, Guy J. Kull has one of the important positions in the business life of his home city. He has made a prosperous career in business, and is one of the enterprising young citizens of Monroe city and county.
Mr. Kull was born January 11, 1880, in Monroe, and belongs to one of the old families of this city, his grandparents having emigrated from Germany and settled here during the pioneer period. He is a son of Jacob F. and Alice (Jarboe) Kull, both of whom are respected residents of Monroe, where the father was born in 1851. Jacob F. Kull has for many years been a skilled blacksmith and wagon and carriage maker, and has conducted a substantial business.
After leaving the high school where he completed his school educa- tion, Guy J. Kull entered his business career as a salesman on the road, traveling the states of Oregon, Washington, Minnesota and Mon- tana. After leaving this work he returned to Monroe and became identified with the Gas Light & Fuel Company and also the Monroe Water Company. In October, 1910, he was advanced to the position of manager of the Gas Light & Fuel Company, and has very capably directed the affairs of this corporation in its service to the citizens
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of Monroe. Mr. Kull married Miss Elsie E. Engels of Monroe, on July 23, 1912. She is a native of Kansas City, Missouri.
NATHAN B. HUBBLE. One of the old and prominent families of Monroe is represented in Mr. Hubble, the senior member of the firm of Hubble Brothers, wholesale dealers in cigars and retailers of con- fectionery. Three generations of the Hubbles have lived in Monroe and those of that name have always maintained a high standing in the community.
Nathan B. Hubble was born in this city on the 17th of December, 1870, being the oldest son of Joseph J. and Julia B. (Bond) Hubble. The grandfather Nathan was among the early settlers of Monroe. Joseph J., the father, was reared and educated here and during the Civil war volunteered for service in the Union army. At the first battle of Bull Run he was wounded and taken prisoner, and for some time was confined in the old tobacco warehouse at Richmond so famous under the name of Libby Prison. After his exchange he received an honorable dis- charge, being disabled for further active service. After recovering his health he engaged in the sale of cigars, and also conducted a confection- ery store. This business, which he built up to large proportions and conducted until his death in 1884, was the foundation of the present firm of Hubble Brothers, above mentioned. The father was a Democrat in politics, but never sought office, and was a member of the John R. Smith Post, G. A. R. His widow is still living and a resident of Monroe.
Nathan B. Hubble was reared in his native town, and his education was obtained in the local public schools and at St. Francis College. From school he at once entered upon a practical career, assisting in his father's store. With his father's death he and his brother William J. succeeded to the management of the business, and their establishment is one of the oldest and best known of the kind in this city. Their location is on Washington street in what is known as the old Hubble block. The building was constructed many years ago by a syndicate and was occupied and conducted in the early days as a hotel, being known as the Humphry House, and later the Clark House. In addition to this old established business Mr. Hubble is also a dealer in the modern line of automobiles, representing in this city two different cars -the Ford, and the Overland.
On June 30, 1902, Mr. Hubble was united in marriage with Miss Estelle C. DuBois. Her parents, Lewis J. and Julia (St. Aubin) Du- Bois, were both of French parentage. Mr. and Mrs. Hubble are the parents of the following children: Virginia May, Victor J., Julia St. Aubin, Alice and Louis DuBois.
In citizenship as in business Mr. Hubble is a progressive and public spirited gentleman. For three years he served as president of the board of public works. In politics he is a member of the Democratic party, . and his fraternal associations are with the Knights of Columbus.
HON. CARL FRANKE. An inviolable place in the confidence and high regard of the people of Monroe county is that held by Judge Franke, who has been for more than a decade past the able and valued incumbent:
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of judge of the probate court of the county and who had previously been for eleven years the loved and honored pastor of Trinity Lutheran church in the city of Monroe. He is a man of high intellectual attain- ments and it is fortunate that the probate court of Monroe county has at its head a man of such sterling character and distinctive ability as those of Judge Franke, for this court is one which safeguards to a large extent the general family and individual interests of the com- munity.
Judge Franke claims the staunch old Hoosier state as the place of his nativity and is of sterling German lineage. He was born in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the 10th of March, 1853, and is a son of Carl and Sophia (Foellinger) Franke, both of whom were born and reared in Germany. Carl Franke, Sr., learned the trade of shoemaker and in 1847 he severed the ties that bound him to his fatherland and came to America. Soon after his arrival in New York City he made his way to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he followed the work of his trade for a number of years and where he eventually became a substantial business man. There his wife, mother of the subject of this review, died in the year 1865, and he passed the closing years of his life at Jackson, Michigan, where he was buried in 1906, at the venerable age of seventy- nine years.
To the public schools of his native city Judge Franke is indebted for his preliminary educational discipline, which includes the curriculum of the high school, and thereafter he continued his studies for six years in Concordia College, an admirable institution conducted in the city of Fort Wayne under the auspices of the German Lutheran church. He graduated in this institution in 1873 with the degree of A. B. In preparation for the work the high calling to which he had determined to devote himself, Judge Franke then entered the Lutheran Theological Seminary at St. Louis, Missouri, in which he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1876. At Waverly, Iowa, in the month of September, 1876, Judge Franke was ordained a minister of the Lutheran church, and his first pastoral charge was at Waverly, Iowa, where he served as pastor of the German Lutheran church for two and a half years. In 1878 he accepted a call to Trinity Lutheran church at Jackson, Michi- gan, where he served for five years. In 1884 he came to Monroe, Michi- gan, and assumed the pastorate of Trinity Lutheran church, and he continued as the pastoral and executive head of this important parish for eleven years, during which he did much to further the spiritual and temporal prosperity of the same, the while he gained and retained the affectionate regard and earnest co-operation of his people, as well as the unequivocal esteem of the entire community. Under his super- vision the present beautiful Trinity Lutheran church was erected and largely through his efforts the Old Folks Home was established here. In 1895 he was compelled to withdraw from active pastoral work, on account of throat disorder which made it impossible to continue his public speaking. He accordingly resigned his pastorate, and it has been a matter of deep satisfaction to him and to the people of Monroe that he has been able to continue his residence in the city which has been his home for more than a quarter of a century.
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In the year 1900 Judge Franke was selected judge of the probate court of Monroe county, and by successive re-elections he has since continued in tenure of this important office, the affairs of which he has administered with consummate ability and discrimination, so that he has received the unqualified approval of the people of the county. For a time Judge Franke served as editor of the Monroe Record-Commer- cial, one of the leading papers of Monroe county, and for three and one- half years he held the office of state dairy and food inspector, a position to which he was appointed by Governor Pingree. As judge of probate he has ex-officio charge of the juvenile court of Monroe county, and in this adjunct tribunal his services, earnest and painstaking, have been of distinctive value. He is a man of broad humanitarian spirit and is at all times zealous in works for the aiding and uplifting of his fellowmen. In politics he accords a staunch allegiance to the Republi- can party and he takes a lively interest in public affairs, especially those of local order. He still continues active and zealous in connection with the work of the church of which he was long pastor, and is one of the influential representatives of the Lutheran denomination in Michigan.
On the 22d of November, 1877, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Franke to Miss Anna Seemeyer, daughter of Gottlieb and Caro- line Seemeyer, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and of the nine children of this union eight are living: Anna M. is the wife of George Beisel, of Monroe; Clara L. is a valued employe in the office of her father, where she holds the position of register of probate; Carl G. is a machinist by trade and is employed in the M. C. R. R. shops in the city of Jackson ; Ida M. is a trained nurse by profession and is registered at Harper hospital, in the city of Detroit; Hulda is a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of her home county; Bertha, who was graduated in the Monroe high school, remains at the parental home, as do also Lydia and Irene, both of whom are students in the high school.
JOHN A. 'KIRSCHNER. For three generations the city of Monroe has benefited from the industry and business ability of the Kirschner family, whose members have been worthy and public-spirited citizens and have borne their part in practical affairs with energy and judgment.
Andrew and Mary Kirschner, the first of the name to be identified with Monroe county, were both born in Germany, and about 1848 came west from New York and settled in Monroe. Andrew Kirschner was a tanner by trade, and his tannery was located at the river end of Island street, where he was engaged in the manufacture of leather for a number of years, until the tannery was burned down.
Joseph Kirschner, a son of this pioneer tanner and father of John A. Kirschner, was born in New York City, March 23, 1846, and lived in Monroe from the time he was two years old. Shortly after the death of John Wahl, founder and proprietor of the old Wahl brewery, he and George Schrauder took over the business and conducted it successfully until the plant was destroyed by fire on December 1, 1905. The brew- ery was not rebuilt, and thereafter Joseph Kirschner was connected with a Toledo concern until his death, which occurred September 29,
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1910. He was long a respected citizen of Monroe. He was married in 1882 to Miss Elizabeth Wahl, a daughter of John Wahl, above men- tioned. Their three children were : John A., Helen and Isabelle. Their mother is still living. Both she and her late husband were active mem- bers of St. Michael's Catholic church.
John A. Kirschner, who represents the third generation of the family in Monroe and is one of the popular and enterprising business men of the city, was born in Monroe, April 25, 1883. His education was in the public schools, and after graduating from the high school in 1902 he became assistant to his father in the brewery business. In 1908 he became agent for the Buckeye Brewing Company of Toledo, with office and warehouse at Monroe for the supply of this city and neighboring towns. Mr. Kirschner is owner of valuable city property, and is a citizen who is ready to promote any movement for the general prosperity of his home community. He is unmarried and resides with his mother in the old family homestead at 651 West Front street. His fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of St. John and with the local club of Elks.
HENRY J. BECK, supervisor of Whiteford township, and one of the prosperous and progressive agricultural men of his community, was born in Whiteford township on May 28, 1871, and is the son of Samuel Beck and Mary (Hertsick) Beck, both of whom were born in Switzerland. They came to America in their young days and settled in Lucas county, Ohio, later removing to Monroe county, where they made their home until the death of the father on April 28, 1910. The wife and mother is still living at this writing. Seven children were born to the parents, all of whom are living. They are: Samuel, Louis, John, William, Henry J., Elizabeth and Emma.
. Henry J. was reared on the home farm in Whiteford township and attended the district school in the winter seasons until he was about eighteen years old. He then worked on the home place for his father until he was about twenty-seven. On October 18, 1897, he married Elizabeth Heiss, born and reared in Toledo, and like himself, of German descent. Six children have been born to them : Leonard S., Helen, Lester, Clyde, Florence and Roy, an infant.
The family are members of the German Evangelical church, the faith of their fathers, and Mr. Beck is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Ottawa Lake and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Republican and was township treasurer for two years, justice of the peace four years and supervisor of his township for three terms, an office which he still holds.
Mr. Beck has a farm of forty acres which he operates and which under his careful manipulation yields a bountiful income. He carries on general farming and is known for one of the up-to-the-minute farmers of his community.
REV. M. J. CROWLEY. One of the able and honored members of the priesthood of the Catholic church in Monroe county, and one whose consecrated zeal and devotion have done much to further the spiritual Vol. II-23
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and temporal prosperity of his parish, is Father Crowley, the rector of St. John's church, in the city of Monroe.
Father Crowley finds satisfaction in claiming the state of Michigan as the place of his nativity and has never lacked in appreciative loyalty to this fine old commonwealth. He was born in the city of Jackson in September, 1876, and is a son of James and Mary (Cassidy ) Crowley, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland and both of whom are representatives of the staunchest of Irish stock. Their marriage was solemnized in Londonderry and they continued to reside in the fair Emer- ald Isle until 1866, when they immigrated to America. They finally established their home in the city of Jackson, Michigan, where they still reside and where the father, who is now living, virtually retired at a venerable age, was successfully engaged in the contracting business for many years. Both he and his wife have ever been zealous communicants of the Catholic church.
Rev. M. J. Crowley is indebted to the parochial and public schools of his native city for his early educational advantages and thereafter he was for six years a student in Assumption College at Sandwich, province of Ontario, Canada. His theological and philosophical courses were pur- sued in Mount St. Mary's Seminary in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the University of Washington, D. C., and in 1900 he was ordained to the priesthood by Rt. Rev. Bishop Foley, the distinguished bishop of Detroit. The first parochial charge of Father Crowley was at Gaylord, Michigan, where he accomplished admirable work and where he remained until 1904, when he assumed his present pastoral charge, as rector of St. John's church, Monroe. This parish, which is strong and prosperous has a membership of one hundred and sixty families, and the parish school has an average attendance of somewhat more than one hundred pupils. The present church edifice was erected in 1873 and has since been greatly improved by remodeling and by the installing of excellent ecclesiastical appointments. The church was built under the pastoral regime of Rev. Camelius P. Maes, who is now bishop of the diocese of Covington, Kentucky. Father Crowley succeeded in this charge the Rev. Francis O'Rorke, who has served the parish continuously for twelve years. Father Crowley is held in high esteem in the community and his parishioners accord to him a loyal affection and regard that are shown in the earnest co-operation which they give to all departments of the church work. Father Crowley is progressive and public spirited in his civic attitude.
CHARLES L. MAINZINGER. Mainzinger Brothers, dealers in wool, hides, pelts, furs and tallow at Monroe, Michigan, are well known throughout their county and the entire state, particularly by those interested in their line of business. The business which the Mainzinger Brothers are now carrying on was started in the sixties by their father, and when he died the sons continued with it, building up the then small trade into the present flourishing business.
Mainzinger Brothers, who are the immediate subjects of this brief review, were born in Monroe county. They are the sons of Charles and Sophia M. (Glass) Mainzinger. The father was a native of Bavaria,
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Germany, born there on May 21, 1832, and he emigrated to the United States in 1847, coming direct to Monroe county from New York City He settled in the township called Frenchtown, in Monroe county, and was engaged in farming. He moved to Monroe and opened a meat market which he conducted until 1866 in the building now occupied by his sons. He prospered there, and in 1884 he launched out into a new business, carrying on a trade in wool, hides and tallow, in conjunction with his regular meat market business. He continued at the head of the business and prospered in proportion to his ambition and ability, and he retired in 1887. He left a finely established business for his sons to step into and carry forward, and he was thus succeeded by his three sons, Charles L., George and Gustave C., and they have enlarged and extended the business in numerous ways since they became its owners. They have taken up the handling of hides, pelts and furs, in addition to the previous lines, and at one time were heavy shippers of poultry, which they sent to eastern markets and to neighboring cities, as Detroit and Toledo. In 1906 they discontinued the handling of poultry but have still held to the other lines previously mentioned.
Their business house is a commodious affair, ample for their needs, covering an area of 20x90 feet with an "ell" 24x40 feet, and three stories in height. The business is conducted along sound and conserva- tive lines, in accordance with the policies which their father pursued, and in which he thoroughly grounded his sons. The success which they have experienced in the business he left to them is doubtless due in great measure to the wise and judicious training they received at the hands of their father.
+ WILLIAM MUNSON HURD well merits recognition in this publication, by reason of being one of the representative business men of his native city and a citizen whose sterling character and civic loyalty have gained to him prominence and popularity in the county that has ever repre- sented his home. He is president and treasurer of the G. R. Hurd Com- pany, wholesale and retail dealers in grain and coal, and the company of which he is the executive head is one of the substantial and impor- tant industrial concerns of the city of Monroe. On other pages of this work is dedicated a memoir to the late George R. Hurd, father of him whose name initiates this review, and thus further reference to the family history is not demanded in the present connection. It may, however, be stated that the family name has been identified with the annals of Monroe county since the territorial epoch in the history of Michigan and that it has been closely concerned with industrial and civic development and progress in this favored section of the state.
William Munson Hurd was born in this city of Monroe on the 11th of December, 1876, and after duly availing himself of the advantages of the public schools of his native city he completed a course in the Detroit Business University, in which he was graduated. He forthwith became identified with the extensive grain and coal business conducted by his honored father, and after the death of the latter, in 1898, the enterprise was continued by his sons, under the former title of George R. Hurd & Sons. The three sons, John A., Barton W. and William M. Hurd con-
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