USA > Michigan > Washtenaw County > Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan > Part 58
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of the Vicksburg campaign, when illness com- pelled him to retire on leave of absence. In the following October his resignation was accepted on account of physical disability.
After regaining his health Mr. Warren entered the law department of the University of Michi- gan in 1864 and was graduated with the class of 1866. While in college he joined the Zeta Psi fraternity. in which he still maintains an active interest. Following his graduation he entered at once upon the practice of law in Flint but a year later was prevailed upon to engage in newspaper work, to which he has since devoted his energies. He purchased the Bay City Journal in 1800 and two years later made it a daily-the first daily paper published in that now thriving city. Since then he has been associated as editor and publisher with papers in Saginaw, Law- rence, Decatur. Albion, Charlotte and Ann Ar- bor and it is only justice to state that all of these publications have been generously appreciated in the communities where published. The Ann Ar- bor Times, with which he has been connected for the past few years, bears the impress of his thor- ough and capable work.
Mr. Warren was married. December 21, 1865. to Miss Carrie W. Beecher, of Flint. Three chil- dren were born to them, one of whom, William Bates Warren, died in 1884, at the age of thir- teen years. The two survivors are Mrs. Emily L. Ware, of Evanston, Illinois, and Charles B. Warren, a well known corporation lawyer of Detroit.
Politically Mr. Warren has from his earliest years been an active and consistent republican and is well known throughout the state through his presence at conventions and his participation in public affairs. In 1871 he was receiver of the United States land office at East Saginaw and in 1882 was elected to the state legislature from the first district of Van Buren county and was a leading participant in the great Ferry sen- atorial contest of 1883. He gave many years' service to the councils, school boards and many of the local organizations in the several cities and villages where he has resided, and at the pres- ent writing he is president of the board of trustees of the Michigan school for the deaf at Flint.
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When the Grand Army of the Republic was or- ganized he early allied himself with its member- ship and in addition to serving as commander of the post at Decatur and Albion he has frequently been a delegate to the state and national encamp- ments and is now serving as commander of Welch post, No. 137, G. A. R., of Ann Arbor.
HON. FRANK P. GLAZIER.
Hon. Frank P. Glazier, state treasurer of Michigan, president of the Chelsea Savings Bank and president and general manager of the Glazier Stove Company, has left and is leaving the im- press of his individuality upon the industrial and financial development and progress of his home city and upon the political history of the state and his course has been one that has honored the people who have honored him. He was born March 8. 1862, in Jackson, his parents being George P. and Emily J. (Stimson) Gla- zier, who are represented on another page of this work. He attended the common and high schools of Chelsea and pursued his more ad- vanced education in Michigan State University, being graduated from the pharmaceutical depart- ment with the class of 1880. He likewise com- pleted a course in Eastman National Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, by gradu- ation with the class of 1881. About this time he was married on the 30th of December, 1880, to Miss Henrietta Geddes, a daughter of the late Henry M. Geddes, of Chelsea, and for six months they traveled in Germany, visiting the many points of historic, modern and scenic interest in the fatherland.
Following his return to Chelsea, in Novem- ber, 1881, Mr. Glazier purchased the drug store, which had long been established and conducted by his father and which he carried on with equal success until 1890, when he sold out. In that year he turned his attention to the manufacture of oil stoves as a member of the Glazier Strong Stove Company. After two years he purchased the interests of the others in the business, which was conducted under the name of Frank P. Gla-
zier. He manufactured oil stoves for both cook- ing and heating purposes, these stoves using a coal oil from which is generated a gas. The business constantly and steadily increased and in 190I had reached such extensive proportions that it was incorporated under the name of the Gla- zier Stove Company with F. P. Glazier as presi- dent and general manager; William J. Knapp, first vice president ; William P. Shenck, sec- ond vice president; H. I. Stimson, secretary ; Fred Wedemeyer, treasurer ; and Hon. William WV. Wedemeyer as counsel. At the present time the officers are F. P. Glazier, president and gen- eral manager ; William W. Wedemeyer, first vice president : William J. Knapp, second vice presi- dent ; H. I. Stimson, secretary ; Fred Wedemeyer, treasurer ; and V. G. Glazier, auditor. The plant now covers an extensive area and is splendidly equipped with the latest improved machinery needed for the conduct of such an enterprise. Building after building has been erected to be used in connection with the manufacture of the stoves and a fine granite building has been erected for office purposes. The volume of trade is in- dicated somewhat by the fact that from one hun- dred and fifty to two hundred people are em- ployed at the Chelsea Manufacturing plant and the manufactured product under the name of the "brightest and best" oil and gas stoves are shipped throughout the country. Mr. Glazier is a man of resourceful business ability and while developing this concern of magnitude he has at the same time been interested in other enter- prises of Chelsea, having in 1902 been elected president of the Chelsea Savings Bank, in which he had previously served for a number of years as a director. In 1901 he erected a fine granite and marble business block for bank purposes at a cost of about one hundred thousand dollars as a memorial to his father, the Hon. George P. Glazier, who died in 1901.
Mr. Glazier is a republican, politically promi- nent and has become widely known through the state by reason of his active and effective sup- port of the party. He was president of the vil- lage for five years in 1898 and again from 1901 to 1904, inclusive. During this time many sub- stantial and important improvements were in-
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stituted. He stood as the champion of all that was progressive and his labors contributed in large measure to the advancement of the town. Still higher political honors awaited him, how- ever, for in 1902 he was elected to the state senate and was there connected with important constructive legislation, being an active worker in committee rooms. In 1904 he was elected state treasurer, being nominated by acclamation at the state convention, an honor not given to any candi- date on his first term in thirty years.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Glazier has been blessed with seven children but George P., the eldest, died at the age of one year, and Frank, the fifth in order of birth, died in infancy. The others are: Vera G., Harold P .. Edna G., Dorothy G. and Henry I.
Without invidious distinction Frank P. Glazier may be termed the most prominent citizen of Chelsea because of the importance of his business interests, which have so largely been the basis of the commercial prosperity of the town, and be- cause of the honors to which he has attained in public life.
REGINALD SPOKES.
Reginald Spokes. who for twelve years has been city engineer of the water company in Ann Arbor, being for the last eight years in charge of the pumping station and well known here as a reliable business man, was born in Saline, June 17. 1850. The father. Amos Spokes, was born in Northamptonshire. England, in 1824 and crossed the Atlantic to New York in 1847. By way of the Wellington canal and the Great Lakes he journeyed westward to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and soon afterward he came to Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he established his home. He was a millwright by trade but he followed carpentering for a few years after coming to Michigan and then returned to his former occu- pation. At one time he owned a mill and he has done work as a millwright on all the mills along the Huron river. He was married to Miss Lydia Clark, a native of Rugby, England, who was educated at Rugby College and came to
this country with her brother, Dr. Clark, settling at Dexter, Michigan. By this marriage there were born five children, of whom one died in in- fancy. William, a miller by trade, living in Jack- son county, married Ettie Parsons and has one daughter. Temperance M. is the wife of John W. Mason, of Bicknell, Indiana, and they have two children. Reginald is the next of the family. Charles A. is a railroad conductor on the Michi- gan Central road running on the limited. The father was a member of the Presbyterian church and a very devout Christian man. He was also chorister in several of the leading churches of this county. While in England he was a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In addition to his millwright business in this county he engaged in merchandising for several years in Howell and as prosperity attended him he made judicious investment in property until he owned considerable real estate here. His death occurred February 21, 1891. while his wife passed away February 21, 1904, at the advanced age of eighty-five years, having survived her husband for exactly thirteen years.
Reginald Spokes left home when a youth of eleven years and began working on a farm. He had a common-school education and was a student in the high school at Saline. When fifteen years of age he learned the painter's trade, which he followed until twenty years of age. He then came to Ann Arbor and began railroading, which he followed in all branches of the business not only upon the road but in the shop as well. After his marriage. however. he gave up railroading and operated a stationary engine in a mill in Ana Arbor for sometime. Later, however, he returned to the railroad employ as an engineer but during the last twelve years he has been city engineer for the water company in Ann Arbor, acting in that capacity at the pumping station during the past eight years.
Mr. Spokes was married to Miss Annie E. Hauser, a daughter of Christopher Hauser, who was born in Wurtemberg. Germany, but came to Michigan in early life. He engaged in business at Saline as a boot and shoe merchant and made most of his own stock. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Spokes have been horn three sons : Harold, seven-
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teen years of age: William C., fifteen years old : and Raymond E., eight years of age.
Mr. Spokes is a member of the Presbyterian church and also belongs to Golden Rule lodge. No. 140. A. F. & A. M., at Ann Arbor, and Maccabees tent, No. 290. In politics he is a stalwart republican and for two years represented his ward on the board of aldermen, where he won many friends by his official integrity and his devotion to the general welfare. He now has a fine home on North Division street and he owns considerable other property in Ann Arbor, show- ing that his life has been well spent and that his energies have been capably directed, for he started out on his own account when but eleven years of age and has since been dependent upon his own resources.
J. A. PALMER.
J. A. Palmer, cashier and stockholder of the Kempf Commercial & Savings Bank at Chelsea. has advanced through his untiring efforts and dil- igence to a creditable position in financial circles and his life history is another illustration of the truth of the axiom of Epicharmis, "Earn thy re- ward : the Gods give naught to sloth."
Mr. Palmer is a native of Oneida county, New York, born in 1840 and is a son of Austin and Jane (Russell) Palmer. The father came to Michigan in 1841 and settled in Monroe county, while later he took up his abode in Huron, this state and subsequently became a resident of Ann Arbor, whence he afterward removed to Brook - lyn. Michigan, passing away there in 1852. Later the family removed to Waukegan, Illinois, where they spent one year, returning thence to Grass Lake, Michigan, where they lived until 1857. when he arrived in Chelsea. In the family were six children: Elvira M., now deceased; J. A. : Sarah, who has also passed away ; Henry C .; Mark, who has departed this life ; and R. C.
J. A. Palmer acquired his education in the pub- lic schools of the various localities in which he re- sided and accompanied his parents on their differ- ent removals, becoming a resident of Chelsea
when a youth of eighteen. Here he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed until 1861. when a spirit of patriotism prompted his enlist- ment for service in the Civil war and he joined Company D. First Michigan Infantry, for three months. On the expiration of that period he was discharged but in 1862 re-enlisted as a member of Company E. Fourth Michigan Cavalry, for three years, continuing with that regiment until the close of the war. The command was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and he participated in all of the battles with his company but was never wounded, although he once received a scratch. He took part in the Atlanta campaign and after the capitulation of that city returned to Tennessee and joined the army under General Thomas at Nashville. Later with his command he aided in the defeat of General Hood's forces. Mr. Palmer enlisted as a private and by merito- rious and valorous conduct on the field of battle won promotion from rank to rank until he was made first lieutenant of Company B and was later brevetted captain.
When the war was over Mr. Palmer returned to Chelsea and entered into partnership with J. P. and H. L. Wood under the firm style of Wood Brothers & Company, manufacturers of and deal- ers in wagons and carriages. He continued in that business for three years and then sold out. after which he entered the employ of the Michi- gan Central Railroad Company, with which he continued until 1876. He then went into the pri- vate bank of R. Kempf & Brother as cashier and bookkeeper and when the bank was reorganized in 1898 under the name of the Kempf Commercial & Savings Bank he was made cashier and has since acted in this capacity, proving a capable and obliging officer who has become popular with the many patrons of the bank and at the same time enjoys the full trust and esteem of the other offi- cers and stockholders in the institution.
In 1866 Mr. Palmer was united in marriage to Miss Jennie S. Townsend, of Chelsea, a daughter of Henry Townsend. She died in 1892 and the following year Mr. Palmer was married to Carria Mohrlok, a daughter of John Mohrlok, of Sylvan township. They have one child, J. A. Palmer, Jr .. who was born in October, 1898, and is now at-
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tending school. In his political views Mr. Palmer is a stalwart republican and in March, 1905, was elected president of the village. He had also filled that position in the '8os and he has been treasurer of his township and trustee of the village, proving a capable and efficient officer who discharges his duties with the same fidelity that he brings to his business interests. He belongs to Olive lodge, No. 156, A. F. & A. M., Olive chapter, No. 140. R. A. M. and Ann Arbor commandery. K. T .. also the Mystic Shrine at Detroit. He has filled all the offices in the lodge and is now high priest of the chapter. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is in hearty sympathy with the principles upon which these organizations are founded.
HENRY T. LE FURGE.
Henry T. Le Furge, whose recent death in Ypsilanti was the occasion of deep and wide- spread sorrow in the city where he had long re- sided and had won a most honorable name be- canse of his business connections and his upright life, represented one of the pioneer families of Washtenaw county. His birth occurred in Su- perior township on the 3d of March. 1844. his parents being Isaac and Catherine ( Te Nike ) Le Furge, both of whom were natives of New Jer- sey. The maternal grandfather was also a pio- neer resident of Washtenaw county, and was killed in a railroad accident here. Isaac Le Furge came to the west with his brother at an early day in the development of this section of the state. The settlements were comparatively few, the for- ests were largely uncut and the land unclaimed for the uses of civilization. The brothers then en- tered claims in Superior township and Mr. Le Furge turned his attention to general farming but died at a comparatively early age, his death resulting from an accident. While running to head off sheep on his farm he fell over a rail and his neck was broken. His widow afterward be- came the wife of Sheldon Gridley, who now re- sides on a farm three miles southwest of Ypsi- lanti, and there Mrs. Gridley's death occurred.
In the district schools of Superior township Henry T. Le Furge acquired his education and when a youth aided his father in the operation of the home farm, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agri- culturist. Ile was only eighteen years of age when the Civil war was inaugurated and on the 6th of August. 1862, he enlisted for service as a member of the Twentieth Michigan Volunteer Infantry under Captain Allen, of Ypsilanti. Ilis company participated in several skirmishes and while taking part in the battle of Spottsylvania on the 2d of August, 1864. Mr. Le Furge sustained a bullet wound in the leg that necessitated his re- maining at the hospital until honorably dis- charged on the 7th of July, 1865.
Following his return from the war Mr. Le Furge began farming three miles west of Ypsi- lanti, and while there residing was married to Miss Cornelia A. Ammerman, a daughter of Isaac and Rachel Ammerman, who came to Michigan in 1865, settling in Wayne county near the Wash- tenaw county line, where Mr. Ammerman devoted his time and energies to agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. His death oc- curred on the old homestead, after which Mrs. Ammerman took up her abode in Ypsilanti, where her death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Le Furge had but one child. Alice M., who is a graduate of the high school of Ypsilanti and has always made her home with her mother.
Following his marriage Mr. Le Furge resided upon a farm in Ypsilanti township for several years and after the death of his father-in-law he removed to Wayne county and resided on the Ammerman farm for a short time. Later he took up his abode in Ypsilanti and accepted a clerk- ship in a hardware store, in which he was em- ployed for a few years, when his savings justi- fied his embarkation in business on his own account. He then entered into part- nership with John Taylor and together they conducted a hardware store for several years, when Mr. Taylor was succeeded by Thomas Green. Mr. LeFurge afterward bought out his second partner's interest and continued the business alone, his store being located at No. 21 North Huron street. He had a well equipped es-
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tablishment, carrying a large and carefully se- lected line of goods and enjoying a gratifying patronage so that his business was proving prof- itable. On the 19th of March, 1904, however, while at work in his store he accidentally stepped back into an elevator shaft and fell through. crushing his head. He never spoke again and after lingering for one hundred hours died on the 23d of March. He was a member in good stand- ing in the Masonic lodge in Ypsilanti, and also in the Grand Army post and both organizations par- ticipated in his funeral services.
In politics he was a republican, while he and his family held membership in the Presbyterian church. He was regarded as an enterprising, en- ergetic business man, successful in his undertak- ings, his advancements coming as the direct result of his earnest labor and close application. He had a wide acquaintance throughout the county and in his life exemplified the saying of Emerson, the Concord philosopher, that "the way to win a friend is to be one." He held friendship inviola- ble and throughout the county he was held in the warmest regard by all who came in contact with him for his good qualities of heart and mind were at once recognized. Since her husband's death Mrs. Le Furge has sold the business to Mr. Shaefer, who now conducts the store. She owns a beautiful residence at No. 509 North Adams street, where she and her daughter are living.
ALPHONSE M. LEMBLE.
Alphonse M. Lemble, occupying an enviable po- sition in mercantile circles in Ann Arbor, where he owns and conducts two fine grocery stores, is numbered with the large class of representative citizens that Germany has furnished to Washte- naw county. His birth occurred in Alsace, De- cember 16, 1852, and is now the only survivor in a family of four children, whose parents were Blase and Therese Ann Lemble. The father died in Germany in 1870, while the mother long sur- viving him, passing away in 1894.
Mr. Lemble of this review acquired his educa- tion in the schools of his native country and has
been a resident of Ann Arbor since September I, 1883. Here he has since figured in business cir- cles and to-day he is well known in mercantile circles as proprietor of two well equipped gro- ceries and meat markets, one located at No. 520 Forest avenue and the other at No. 810 Brown street. He has the largest cold storage room in Ann Arbor and an elegant store. He carries a well selected line of goods and the neat and taste- ful arrangement is also a factor in his success. His business methods are honorable and will bear the closest scrutiny and his earnest desire to please his patrons has been an element in his prosperity.
Before leaving his native land Mr. Lemble was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Adel Bresson, whom he wedded in March, 1881. Four children have been born unto them: Alphonse, who is now in the store with his father; Mrs. Louise Zachmann, of Ann Arbor : Marie, living at home ; and Frank, who is attending school. Mr. and Mrs. Lemble have a wide and favorable ac- quaintance in the city which has now been their home for almost a quarter of a century. He is a member of the Arbeiter Verein and other local German societies. Though born across the water he is thoroughly American in spirit and interests and has a strong and deep attachment for the land of his adoption and its institutions. In matters of local progress and improvement he is deeply interested and his co-operation has been given to many measures for the general good. while in his business life he has so conducted his affairs that his efforts have made him a successful merchant of Ann Arbor.
FRANK A. STIVERS.
Frank A. Stivers, a practitioner at Washtenaw county bar and a product of the public schools and university of Ann Arbor, was born in Liberty, In- diana, September 6, 1868. His father, Charles W. Stivers, was a native of Adams county, Ohio, and for the past thirty-five years has been the editor and publisher of the Liberty Herald, of Liberty, Indiana, a leading republican newspaper of that
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part of the state. He married Miss Laura Free- man, a native of Union county, Indiana, and a daughter of Israel and Jane ( Ward) Freeman. They became the parents of three children : Frank A. Orion L. and Florence Estella. The second son. now engaged in the newspaper business with his father at Liberty, Indiana, and at one time a clerk in the United States government service at Washington, D. C., married Lena Haworth. The daughter is the wife of Fred G. Clark, of Detroit, Michigan, who is engaged in the retail shoe busi- ness there, and they have one child, Orion.
Frank A. Stivers acquired his education in the public schools, completing a high-school course in Liberty. Indiana, by graduating with the class of 1886. He then engaged in newspaper work with his father for four years, learning the practical duties of a printer as well as acting as reporter. but his ambition lay in another direction and wish- ing for thorough educational training ere entering upon a professional career, he matriculated in the literary department of the University of Michigan in 1800 and was a member of the class of 1894. In 1905 he was numbered among the law graduates of the university and immediately aft- erward was admitted to the bar, at which time he became a member of the firm of Lehman, Smith & Stivers. In 1897, on the death of Mr. Smith, the firm became Lehman Brothers & Stivers and this was continued until the death of Peter Leh- man in 1890, when the firm became Lehman & Stivers. That relation was continued until 1902. since which time Mr. Stivers has been alone in practice. The partnership business was con- ducted both in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mr. Sti- vers having charge of the Ann Arbor business and the litigated interests of this place, while Mr. Lehman remained in Detroit. He also has a busi- ness associate in Chelsea-John Kalmbach, the law practice there being conducted under the firm name of Stivers & Kalm- bach. Professor E. F. Johnson, formerly secretary of the University of Michigan. now one of the justices of the supreme court. Philippine islands. said of Mr. Stivers, "He is careful and pains- taking in everything which he undertakes. It does not matter whether his client is one who is the most honored and respected of our citizens or
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