USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests Volume II > Part 44
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In politics Mr. Storz is a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor. He was a mem- ber of the board of supervisors for three terms, was village trustee for four years; justice of the peace for four years; member of the village council for ten years and a member of the school board for fifteen years. Mr. Storz was postmaster at Royal Oak during the two ad- ministrations of President Cleveland and in that capacity proved him- self unusually worthy of the trust placed in him. He is a heavy stock- holder in the Royal Oak Bank and is a member of the board of di- rectors of that solid financial institution.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Independent Order of Foresters, hav- ing been deputy of the two latter organizations. In religious matters he is a devout member of the German Evangelical church, in whose faith he has reared his children.
In February, 1877, Mr. Storz married Miss Katherine F. Landau, a daughter of Christian Laudau, of Royal Oak. This union has been prolific of ten children, seven of whom are living, in 1912, namely : Louisa F., who remains at home; Matilda, who is the wife of James Lawson, of Armada ; Louis F., who resides at Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Laura, wife of Win. La Loude; Cora, who is a stenographer in the city of Detroit ; and Harold and Hazel, both of whom are at home. Otto, Frederick and a baby are deceased. Mrs. Storz was summoned to the life eternal in 1905. She was a woman of most gracious personality and was deeply beloved by all who came within the sphere of her gentle in- fluence.
P. DEAN WARNER. The following sketch of P. Dean Warner was prepared by Ex-Governor Warner and read at the annual meeting of the Michigan State Pioneer Society held at Lansing in June, 19II :
/The invitation to appear before you for the purpose of paying a trib- ute to one of Michigan's honored pioneers is one that is thoroughly ap- preciated. Your organization is one that deserves the encouragement and support of the people of the state of Michigan. You are doing work of importance and of a character that will be of increasing importance and interest as the years go by. You are doing this from motives that are unselfish and that does you honor, and the state owes this society and those who have built it up and maintained it a debt of gratitude.
The existence of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society is evi- dence of the fact that there are people who are not entirely carried away with the commercial spirit of the age we live in, but that there are those who can and do devote time, effort and money to the splendid purpose of creating and fostering a feeling of regard and reverence for the pioneers who blazed the way into the wilderness and laid the foundation for the state we honor.
Our great state is your debtor and I believe future generations will commend to an even greater degree than we do of the present generation your labors in gathering and preserving the records of our early history.
I cannot claim the honor of being a native son of Michigan, but my respect and love for that splendid Oakland County citizen whose name I bear leads me to express my gratitude to you for the invitation to pay a tribute, however inadequate, as I am certain it will be, to his memory.
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The life of P. Dean Warner can well be cited as an instance where a sterling ancestry and a rugged environment brought forth and developed those qualities that made him well fitted to endure the privations and perform the tasks incident to a new country. He was born in Schuyler county, New York, August 12, 1822, and he was less than three years of age when his parents, Seth A. L. and Sally Warner, removed in April, 1825, to Michigan. Their journey from New York to Michigan was not unlike those of other pioneer families of that period. The story of the trip, the planning and the preparations for it, the breaking of the old ties and associations, its many hardships and anxieties, would not be new to many of you. I heard it from my father's lips, who in turn learned it from his parents. It has become part of our family history and the story will be told and retold to succeeding generations. The change in our state since that time, tremendous as it has been, is more than equaled by the change in the method of getting here. The time required for the trip from Detroit to their home two miles north of the present Farm- ington village was greater than that now required to make the trip from New York to Lansing. At the age of fifteen it seemed clear to the boy that it was his duty to leave the parental roof and commence his business career. Clerking in a country store was the beginning of a mercantile career that was a long and honorable one. For six years he served in that capacity in the general store at Farmington with the exception of two or three months each year spent in attending school. Part of one year he attended the Northville school. He spent one year in Detroit clerking, and with this exception his entire lifetime was spent in Farm- ington.
He was early called upon to serve his fellow townsmen in official sta- tion, serving as justice of the peace, clerk and supervisor for many years. In 1846 he was able to purchase one-half interest in a small stock of goods and establish a store in Farmington under the name of Botsford and Warner. In 1850 he was chosen as a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Oakland county, and as such he par- ticipated in the election of Lewis Cass as United States Senator from Michigan. He served but one term at this time. He was always inter- ested in National affairs as well as state and it was not long after his first legislative experience that he believed it to be his duty to leave the party of Cass with which he had been identified. On the other hand he could not endorse the principles of the opposition. He was therefore ready to accept membership in the new political organization born upon Michigan soil. He was one of those who voted for John C. Fremont and he remained until his death a steadfast member of the party he helped organize.
In 1864 he was again selected as a representative, and served two terms in the House. He took a prominent part in the deliberations of the Legislature and was chosen speaker in his second term. He was deeply interested in the growth and development of the state and his vote and influence could be counted upon for any measure that sought to add to the educational resources of the state or to care for its de- pendent and unfortunate. He was a friend of the University and the Agricultural College, believing that money expended for educating our boys and girls would be returned a hundredfold by their increasing use- fulness. He believed that the educational advantages denied him should
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be placed within the reach of every boy and girl. Those enjoying the splendid opportunities at these institutions to-day owe a debt of gratitude to such men as P. Dean Warner, who in the face of strong opposition stood by them and started them on their careers of usefulness. His services as a lawmaker ended with a term in the State Senate in 1869-70. He was an active member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867, a body that numbered in its membership many able and influential men. The Constitution submitted was not adopted, however, sharing the fate of many amendments submitted during a period when it seemed to be the settled policy of the people to vote No upon any suggested change in the organic law of the state.
He was a man of deep religious convictions and was a member of the Presbyterian church for many years. He was attentive to the minor duties of the good citizen in the home community and was foremost in every movement for the improvement of the little village he loved to call home. Its churches and its schools had in him a loyal friend. He was active in many lines of business, but it was as the village storekeeper and banker that he was best known.
As old age brought infirmities he gave up one by one the business cares, and while waiting for the final summons enjoyed the well earned freedom from the cares and activities of a business career lasting nearly if not quite three score years and ten.
He was a friend and counselor of three generations of Farmington people and there are many men in Oakland county who are to-day the better for having relied upon his judgment and acted upon his advice.
This sketch would not be complete without a reference to the woman who shared with him the toil and privation of pioneer life and lived to witness the marvelous change that such as they have brought about. P. Dean Warner and Rhoda Elizabeth Botsford were married November 8, 1845, in Ann Arbor by Professor Tenbrook, and to them were given almost sixty-six years of happy married life before his death, August 28, 1910. The faithful wife, my mother,* is still with us, at the rare old age of eight-seven, looking back upon a long life filled with good deeds.
Michigan owes much to such men and such women as these, and the organization that seeks to perpetuate and keep alive a feeling of regard and affection for them has my best wishes for its future, and should certainly have the support at all times of our state and all its citizens.
Ex-GOVERNOR FRED M. WARNER. Various members of the War- ner family have been developing Farmington township, Oakland county and southern Michigan for nearly ninety years. They have always been pushers and stayers, and their strokes for affairs of the soil, the mart and the public have been well planned, sturdy and telling. The first of the family to appear on the busy and varied scene was Seth A. L. Warner, in 1823, and he may be called a member of the second in- flux of settlers to the southern section of Oakland county. The first colony had located the year before, and as most of the prominent set- tlers had migrated from Ontario, New York, and the real leaders from Farmington as well, the original Quakertown assumed its present name.
the above was spoken. August 1I, 1911, about two months after *Mrs. Warner died at Farmington,
Free m. Wamer .
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Seth A. L. Warner was a good, strong and able man and was the father of a son, P. Dean Warner, who became a character of distinctive note throughout the state. In all his private dealings and affairs he evinced marked ability, independence and keen practical judgment, rounded out by heartiness of bearing and natural generosity. This combination of qualities won him warm personal friends, as well as "esteemed contemporaries" who had the highest respect for his solid traits of character. His public career therefore advanced with his pri- vate affairs and overtook them in importance. In his own community he was a justice of the peace in 1855-1863 and 1867-1875, and super- visor in 1862-1866. He first served in the house of representatives of the state legislature in 1851, when Oakland county composed a single district. In 1865 he represented the Fifth district and, in 1867, the Third district of the county in the lower house. During the latter year he was speaker of the house and also a delegate to the constitutional convention, while in 1869 and '70 he served in the state senate.
With this splendid example of manhood before him, it seemed that the only natural and logical thing for Fred M. Warner was to go right ahead in the practical affairs of life and be a credit to those who trained him and to the community which already owed so much to his family. Although born at Hickling, Nottinghamshire, England, July 21, 1865, he was brought to America by his parents when only three months old. A few months later his mother died and he was adopted by P. Dean Warner. The boy had the English traits of perseverance and common sense and the special family characteristics of bright mentality, natural comradeship and easy bearing. At the age of fourteen he had completed the high school course at Farmington and, after taking a term at the State Agricultural College, commenced to clerk in the general store at Farm- ington of which P. Dean Warner was proprietor. In a few years the elder man retired in favor of the younger and the coming Fred M., who continued the business on a much broader scale and developed it into one of the leading mercantile houses in southern Michigan.
In 1889 Fred M. Warner established the first of his dozen cheese factories which brought him fortune and national standing in the indus- trial field ; also a wide and intimate acquaintance which eventually earned him public preferment. At the present time he has factories at Farming- ton, Franklin, Novi and Powers Station, Oakland county, and eight plants at various points in Huron, Clinton and Ingham counties. In 1905 the business was incorporated as the Fred M. Warner Cheese Company, and at the height of the output two million pounds of cheese were manufact- ured by his factories yearly. Of late the milk business has rather super- seded the manufacture of cheese-at least, has supplanted it in import- ance. Farmington is the headquarters. During the busy season of ninety days the milk plant at that place handles 15,000 pounds daily, the supply being virtually monopolized by the Detroit market. The milk is thor- oughly pasteurized at the Farmington plant and is delivered chemically pure in thousands of Detroit homes within a few hours after leaving the surrounding farms. If Mr. Warner had done no more than to put such a business on a basis which thus safeguards the public health he would be classed as a benefactor. In 1897 he became one of the organizers of the Farmington Exchange Bank, of which he is still a director and has been
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president for two years. It was established as Warner's Exchange Bank in association with P. D. Warner and others, and became a state institu- tion in 1910.
Mr. Warner's official life commenced in 1890, when he was chosen a member and president of the village board of trustees, which office he held for nine years. From 1895 to 1898, inclusive, he served in the state senate as a representative from the Twelfth district. At the Republican state convention held at Grand Rapids in 1900 he was nominated for secretary of state by acclamation, was elected in November and served for the term 1901-2. He was similarly honored in 1902 and re-elected by a vote of 228,197. The period of his service as secretary of state therefore covers the years 1901-4. His executive ability and personal popularity had become so manifest that in 1904 he was nominated and elected governor of the state, the youngest incumbent to hold that office since the adoption of the state constitution in 1850. Mr. Warner also stands unique in state politics, occupying, as he did, the gubernatorial chair for three successive terms-from January, 1905, to January, 1911, inclusive. The requirements of space make it impossible to review Mr. Warner's administrations, which legitimately belong to the history of the state, not to his personal biography. During his terms of office such measures as the good roads movement, the primary election law, popular nomination of United States senator, two cent railroad passenger law and the uniform taxation of corporations were either inaugurated or pushed into practical operation, and largely through the Governor's initiative and advocacy.
In 1888 Mr. Warner married Martha M. Davis, a native of Farming- ton and daughter of Samuel and Susan (Grofft) Davis, of an old Pennsyl- vania family. The children born to their union were as follows: Susan Edessa, April 18, 1891, now a student at Columbia University, New York; Howard Maltby, born January 4, 1893, and Harley Davis, born March 4, 1894, both graduates of the Central high school, Detroit; and Helen Rhoda, born March 14, 1899, a student at home.
MAURICE R. BLAIR. An essentially prominent and influential citi- zen and business man at Royal Oak, Michigan, is Maurice R. Blair, who is here most successfully engaged in the drug business. He con- ducted a drug store at Birmingham for seven years prior to coming to Royal Oak, in 1908, and since his advent in this place his citizenship has been characterized by loyalty to all that affects the general welfare and by sincere, straightforward business methods.
Maurice R. Blair was born at Clawson, Oakland county, Michigan, December 18, 1858, and he is a son of Henry and Sara (Warrener) Blair, the former of whom was born at Sodus, New York, and the lat- ter of whom is a native of Royal Oak township, Oakland county, Mich- igan. The Blair family is an extremely ancient one, the lineage being traced back to the eighth century in Scotland. The great-great-grand- father of the subject of this review came to America with a couple of his brothers in the colonial epoch of our national history. He was middle son of a Scotch nobleman and with his brothers served in the war of the Revolution. The Warrener family is descended from old English stock. Samuel Blair, Jr., grandfather of Maurice R., was born
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and reared in the east and when his son Henry was five years of age removal was made to Michigan, the family settling in Detroit, for the first year, at the expiration of which location was made at Clawson, in Oakland county, where Henry grew up and where he lived during the major portion of his life time. He was engaged in the wheelwright and carpenter trades during his active career and was summoned to the life eternal in 1911, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife survives him and now makes her home at Orion. Three children were born to this union, namely,-Maurice, the immediate subject of this review ; Frank W., who is president of the Union Trust Company at Detroit; and Minnie E., wife of Edgar Fall, of Orion.
To the public schools of Clawson Maurice R. Blair is indebted for his preliminary educational training, which he supplemented with a course in the high school at Birmingham. After leaving school he be- gan to work in a drug store at Birmingham and eventually opened a store of his own in that place, conducting the same for a period of seven years-from 1901 to 1908. In the latter year he decided to lo- cate at Royal Oak and accordingly removed his stock of drugs to this place, where he has since resided and where he controls a splendid patronage. In politics Mr. Blair is a stalwart supporter of the prin- ciples promulgated by the Republican party. While at Birmingham he was incumbent of the offices of treasurer and assessor and he was also school inspector for Troy township. In 1911 he was elected as- sessor of the village of Royal Oak and he holds that office at the pres- ent time, in 1912. In fraternal circles he is a member of Birmingham Lodge, No. 44. Free and Accepted Masons, and secretary of the same at this writing, of Birmingham Royal Arch Chapter, No. 93, of Pontiac Council, and of Royal Oak Chapter, No. 392, of the Order of the East- ern Star, of which latter organization he is past worthy patron and his wife is worthy matron. She is also a devout and zealous member of the Congregational church at Birmingham. They are popular in connec- tion with the best social activities of Royal Oak, where they are hon- ored and esteemed for their exemplary lives.
In 1882 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Blair to Miss Nellie Allen, a daughter of Frank Allen, of Birmingham. This union has been prolific of three children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated,-Guy L. and Don L. are both in Detroit, and Winnifred P. is a teacher of manual training in a school at Moores- town, New Jersey.
JACOB M. LAWSON. For many years Jacob M. Lawson has been con- nected with the upbuilding of Oakland county, Michigan, and has just reason to be proud of the fact that to his efforts can be traced many a substantial enterprise or advancement contributing greatly to the growth and prosperity of this section of the state. In every sense of the word he is a representative citizen and a business man of marked capacity. Since 1898 Mr. Lawson has been engaged in the lumber, coal and hard- ware business at Royal Oak. He helped plot two subdivisions to the town, has served two different townships as highway commissioner, and is a member of the directorate of the Royal Oak Savings Bank. It is to the inherent force of character and commendable ambition and the unremitting diligence of Mr. Lawson himself that he has steadily ad- vanced in the business world until he now occupies a leading place among the active and representative men of Oakland county. Vol. II-21
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In Troy township, Oakland county, Michigan, May 10, 1856, oc- curred the birth of Jacob M. Lawson, who is a son of James and Mary J. (McCollough) Lawson, both of whom are deceased, the former hav- ing died in 1893 and the latter in 1856, when Jacob M. was a child but three months old. James Lawson was born in Ireland, as was also Mary (McCollough ) Lawson, both having been natives of county Downs. On his father's farm in Ireland James Lawson was reared to maturity and there he remained, farming and weaving, until he had reached his twenty-eighth year, when he came to America, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where for two years he was engaged in the trade of weaving. In 1841 he came to Oakland county, Michigan, and secured work in a foundry at Birmingham. One year later he went to Troy township and began to work on a farm. There he eventually married and settled on a farm of his own, which he continued to operate and improve until his demise, in 1893. After the death of his first wife Mr. Lawson married Euphemia Marshall, a native of Scotland, whence she came to America with a brother, and they became the parents of one child, Agnes, who died at the age of five years. By his first mar- riage Mr. Lawson had two children,-John, who died in 1911 and Jacob M., of this notice.
Jacob M. Lawson passed his boyhood and youth on the farm of his father and he received his education in the neighboring district schools. At the age of twenty-one years he began to work in the mill in Troy township and two years later accepted work on the railroad. In 1878 he returned to farming in Royal Oak township and he continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits, with marked success, until 1896. In the latter year he erected a fine mill at Royal Oak and operated the same for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which he disposed of it and purchased a lumber yard, which he has conducted during the long intervening years to the present time, in 1912. In connection with his lumber business Mr. Lawson also handles coal and hardware. He was interested in the platting of two subdivisions to the town of Royal Oak, one by the firm of Lawson, Baldwin & Hilzinger, and the other by Knowles & Lawson. He has money invested in a number of important enterprises in this county and is a stockholder in the Royal Oak Savings Bank, in which he is a member of the board of directors.
Mr. Lawson is a Republican in his political convictions and he has been incumbent of the office of highway commissioner in both Troy and Royal Oak townships. While not formally connected with any religious organization, he gives his support to and attends the Method- ist Episcopal church, of which his wife and family are devout members. He is a man of unusual business ability and one who is respected for his fair and honorable dealings. He is an ardent supporter of all meas- ures and enterprises advanced for the good of the community and is a liberal contributor to charities. In the time-honored Masonic order he is a member of Royal Oak Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons.
On October 14, 1886, Mr. Lawson married Jennie Mckinney, daugh- ter of James A. Mckinney, of Irish descent. Concerning the five chil- dren born to this union the following brief data are here incorporated : Clyde L. works in his father's store; Grace was graduated in the Royal Oak high school and is now at home, as are also Arthur, Raymond and Allen, all of whom are attending school.
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JAMES W. ANDERSON, M. D., in his professional service has been prompted by a laudable ambition for advancement as well as by deep sympathy and humanitarian principles that urge him to put forth his best efforts in the alleviation of pain and suffering. He has gained recognition from the profession as one of its able representatives and the trust reposed in him by the public is indicated by the liberal patron- age awarded him. Dr. Anderson has been a member of the medical profession since 1891 and for the past eight years has been engaged in practice at Royal Oak, in Oakland county, Michigan.
A Canadian by birth, Dr. Anderson was born in Norfolk county, province of Ontario, June 25, 1862. He is a son of Jacob and Mary (Austin) Anderson, the former of whom is a son of Peter Anderson, who was born and reared in New Jersey. The Anderson family traces its ancestry back to stanch old Pennsylvania Dutch stock and the Austin family is of mixed Scotch and Irish descent. Jacob Anderson engaged in farming as a young man and he is now living in retirement on his old homestead estate in Norfolk county, Ontario, with one of his sons. He was thrice married, his first wife having been Mary Austin, daugh- ter of Moses Austin. To this union was born one child, namely, the Doctor, to whom this sketch is dedicated. Mrs. Anderson died when James W. was a child but six weeks old. For his second wife Jacob Anderson married Julia Austin (unrelated to first wife), and they be- came the parents of four children, three of whom are living, in 1912, -Mary, who is the wife of William Budd, of Ontario; Minnie, who married William Anderson, of Ontario; and George, who is engaged as a farmer in Ontario. Jacob Anderson married later and became the father of four children, namely,-Clarence, Elmer, Mary and Bertha.
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