USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115
"In January, 1863, Colonel Trowbridge was ap- pointed provost marshal of East Tennessee. This posi- tion he held for two months, when he was relieved at his own request in order that he might join his regiment in an expedition under General Storm into North Carolina and Virginia. General Trowbridge
140
CITY OF DETROIT
said it was doubtful if any expedition during the war accomplished so much and attracted so little atten- tion. For a distance of one hundred and twenty- five miles the Virginia & East Tennessee Railway was most effectually disabled and every bridge destroyed.
"After the surrender of Johnston's army Colonel Trowbridge was engaged in the pursuit of Jeff Davis until his capture. When the command reached Ten- nessee he was assigned to the command of a brigade, with the rank of brigadier general, and held that position until mustered out in 1865."
While in the South General Trowbridge had made many warm friends among the loyal people of Ten- nessee and they induced him to remain in that state, where he entered upon the practice of law. There he resided until 1868, when the failing health of his father-in-law caused him to return to Michigan. In the meantime he had taken active part in promoting the election of Governor Brownlee in Tennessee. On again taking up his abode in Detroit he resumed the practice of law and it was not long before his recog- nized ability won him a large clientage. He was recognized as one of the able and eminent members of the profession but was again and again called upon for public duties and so was forced to withdraw more and more largely from active practice in the courts. In the fall of 1875, without solicitation on his part, he was appointed collector of internal revenue for the eastern district of Michigan and administered the affairs of that office in a most commendable manner, so serving until 1883. On the 1st of July of that year he was appointed city comptroller and filled the posi- tion for eighteen months, resigning at the end of that time to accept the vice presidency of the Wayne County Savings Bank of Detroit. On the 1st of July, 1889, he was made confidential secretary to Luther Beecher and so continued until the death of the lat- ter in September, 1892, and later acted as one of the administrators of his estate. From President Roose- velt came the appointment of General Trowbridge to the office of general appraiser of customs, in which position he remained for a number of years.
In April, 1862, was celebrated the marriage of Gen- eral Trowbridge and Miss Julia M. Buel, the daughter of his partner, Alexander W. Buel. They became the parents of seven children: Clara, deceased, who be- came the wife of Charles M. Swift, a Detroit lawyer; Mary E .; Alexander Buel, an architect of New York city, who married Gertrude Sherman, by whom he has four children, Sherman; Buel and Alice, twins; and Stephen V. R., now deceased; Margaret Riggs, the wife of Charles A. Ricks; Luther S., a Detroit attorney mentioned elsewhere in this work; Julia A., the wife of Daniel L. Quirk, Jr., of Ypsilanti, Mich- igan, and the mother of four children, Trowbridge, Buel, Julia Buel and Nancy; and Edmund Buel, who was the third son in the family of General and Mrs. Trowbridge and died when fourteen years of age. The wife and mother passed away January 3, 1909,
and the death of General Trowbridge occurred Jan- uary 2, 1912, and their remains rest in Elmwood ceme- tery.
General and Mrs. Trowbridge were consistent mem- bers of Christ Episcopal church, guiding their lives by its teachings. General Trowbridge possessed much musical talent and was a prominent member of the Philharmonic Society, of which he was at one time president. His political endorsement was always given to the republican party and he nailed its flag to the flagpole in front of his father's house the year in which John C. Fremont was the first presidential can- didate of the party. He was often heard as a cam- paign speaker and his clear and concise statement of facts and his logical presentation of his cause were strong elements in many a republican victory. He was ever a lover of the national game of baseball and he was the last surviving member of the "Early Risers," one of the first Detroit baseball teams. A contemporary writer said: "Though General Trow- bridge was a heroic figure throughout the war, he was distinctly a man of peace, kindly, placid, unassuming and sympathetic."
CHARLES W. RESTRICK. When Charles W. Res- trick passed to the home beyond, Detroit chronicled the loss of one of her progressive and resourceful business men, who had made for himself a foremost place in lumber circles, having been the founder of the Restrick Lumber Company, which is one of the largest business establishments of its kind in Mich- igan.
Mr. Restrick was born at Otterville, Ontario, Canada, December 6, 1856, the son of Charles W. and Jane (Tan- ner) Restrick. He received his education in the na- tional schools of England. In the year 1872 he came to Detroit, bringing with him to the starting point of his career certain substantial business qualities that promised success. His first business experience was in banking, in the employ of the William D. Morton Company, with which he remained for four years. Later he spent an equal period as teller in the Peoples Savings Bank and in this manner he gained not only an excellent knowledge of business conditions and methods, but also an excellent judgment of human nature. · In 1884 he organized a lumber business and entered upon the task with such zeal and energy that his success seemed assured. With thoroughness and hard work he steadily developed the business to substantial proportions and in 1908 it was incorporated under the name of The Restrick Lumber Company. Mr. Restrick became president and so remained until his death. As an indication of the preeminent position he held in the lumber trade he was honored with the presidency of the Lumbermen's Association.
On the 12th of October, 1882, Mr. Restrick was united in marriage to Miss Jane Cowie, the daughter of William Cowie of Detroit. They became the parents of four children: Robert C., president of the Restrick
CHARLES W. RESTRICK
143
CITY OF DETROIT
Lumber Company; Edna H., who married Cecil R. Evans; William C., vice president of the Restrick Lumber Company; and Helen Christine, the wife of George H. Howenstein. Mrs. Restriek resides at the corner of Third avenue and Canfield avenue, in the old Cowie homestead property.
Mr. Restrick was well known in club circles of Detroit, having had membership in the Felloweraft, Detroit Golf, Detroit Curling, Ingleside and Detroit Athletic Clubs. He was also a member of the Board of Commerce and the Detroit Builders' and Traders' Exchange. The principles which governed his conduet in every relation of life were indicated by his mem- bership in the Westminster Presbyterian church, with which he was identified for forty years and also served long as one of its elders and trustees. He could always be found on the side of those activities and interests which sought the uplift of the individual and the betterment of the community at large. His honesty was never questioned and his word was as good as his hond. His friends were numbered by his acquaintances and in his family he was a kind and devoted husband and father. Death called him on March 9, 1920, when he was in the sixty-fourth year of his age. It seemed that he should have been spared for many years to come, for he had most worth- ily played his part in the world's work, but fate ruled otherwise and he passed on, leaving the record of a life. wellnigh blameless, a life franght with good deeds and guided at all times by high and noble pur- poses. At the time of the death of Mr. Restrick the Detroit Times said editorially: "The name of C. W. Restrick is added to the heavy toll which a rigorous winter season has exacted of Detroit's necessary men. His high conception of citizenship extended to his business standards; he was dependable, high-minded in home and office; his friendships were serene and secure. A quiet man, Mr. Restrick spoke through the blamelessness of his days and the fidelities of his attachments. He leaves his sons, who succeed to his prosperous business, a noble heritage in his unsullied name."'
JOHN C. BURKHARDT, who has developed an extensive business under the name of The Burkhardt Company, illustrates in his career what it is possible to accomplish through individual effort, close applica- tion and keen sagacity, for he started in business ơn a small scale and has so directed his activities that the enterprise has become one of large proportions. Mr. Burkhardt is a native of Michigan, born at Ann Arbor, May 17, 1880, his parents being John C. and Barbara (Mayer) Burkhardt, both of whom were na- tives of this state. The father was engaged in the harness and saddlery business for many years and was a pioneer in the manufacture of horse collars by machinery. He died in 1880 and is survived by his widow, who occupies the old home at Ann Arbor.
John C. Burkhardt was the youngest in a family
of five children. He attended the public schools of his native city and then became an employe in a book and news store. He later accepted a clerical position in a department store in Ann Arbor and later with a housefurnishing firm of Chicago, with which he was connected for three years. On the expiration of that period he went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for three years he was engaged in the life in- surance business and then abandoned that line to go on the road as traveling representative of the D. M. Ferry Seed Company, with which he continued for five years. After resigning his position he organized the firm of The Burkhardt Company and established a book bindery in 1911. The business was begun on a small scale, but by judicious care, capable manage- ment and excellence of work the trade has steadily been increased. Owing to its growth it was necessary to secure a larger location and Mr. Burkhardt erected a modern fireproof building, which has since been the home of the company. The plant is splendidly equipped with the latest improved machinery con- nected with book binding, is supplied with elevators and has every modern convenience. Something of the volume of the business is indicated in the fact that the firm's employes now number ninety.
On the 12th of April, 1917, Mr. Burkhardt was mar- ried to Miss Clara M. Lepine, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lepine. Mr. Burkhardt is well known in club cireles of the city, being secretary of the Detroit Automobile Club, a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, of the Oakland Hills Country Club, and also of the Rotary Club. He is likewise a member of the Board of Commerce and is keenly interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of Detroit in any way. In Masonic circles he has attained high rank, belonging to the Commandery and to the Mystic Shrine. Laudable ambition has at all times actuated him in his career. He has recognized from the out- set that industry is a winning force and his persisteney of purpose and energy have been the salient features which have brought to him the creditable measure of success that is now his.
WALTER M. TREVOR, member of the Detroit bar since 1896, was born in Lockport, New York, March 12, 1865, a son of George S. and Wilhelmina (Marks) Trevor, who were also natives of the Empire state. In the paternal line the ancestors came to the new world as passengers on the Mayflower, while the Marks family was founded in America in 1636 by ancestors who came from England. The death of Mrs. Wil- helmina Trevor occurred in the state of New York, after which the father removed to Detroit, where he was engaged in merchandising for many years, his death occurring in this city in 1916. In the family of George S. Trevor were two children, Walter M. and his half brother, Frank N. Trevor, now a resident of Buffalo, New York.
In early life Walter M. Trevor attended the pub-
141
CITY OF DETROIT
lie schools of Lockport, New York, and afterward was a student in the State Agricultural College of Kansas. Later he went to Mexico and was employed by the Mexican Central Railroad Company and the Wells Fargo Express Company for a period of four years. He afterward returned to the States and he- came a resident of Detroit in 1889. Here he entered into connection with the J. P. Scranton Lumber Com- pany as its secretary and continued with that cor- poration as an active official for ten years. In the meantime he pursued a course in the Detroit College of Law, from which he was graduated in 1895. He then resigned his position with the lumber company in 1896, but retained his financial interest and is still identified with the corporation. He entered upon the active practice of law in 1896, and while at different periods he has been associated with partners, he has practiced during the greater part of the time inde- pendently. He was assistant prosecuting attorney un- der Judge Hunt for four years, from 1902 until 1906, and he has filled the position of alderman in the seventeenth ward for one term. His attention, how- ever, has largely been given to his law practice, in which he has made continuous progress, again and again demonstrating his ability to find correct solution for intricate and involved legal problems. In addi- tion to his work in the courts he is the director of several corporations and is thus well known in the business circles of the city.
On the 24th of April, 1889, Mr. Trevor was mar- ried in Detroit to Miss Jane Scranton, a daughter of James P. Scranton, and they have become the parents of four children: Scranton, born in Detroit in 1891, was graduated from the Eastern high school of this city and is now in business as the treasurer and manager of the J. P. Scranton Company. He mar- ried Helen Van Valkenberg; Margaret W., born in Detroit in 1894, is a graduate of the Eastern high school; Dorothy F., born in Detroit in 1900, is also a high school graduate and is now attending the Uni- versity of Michigan; Walter M., born in 1906, is a pupil in the graded schools.
Mr. Trevor has membership with the Sons of the American Revolution, being of Revolutionary war descent in both the paternal and maternal lines. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and has become a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Lawyers Club and with the Amer- ican Bar Association.
JOHN BEEKMAN DYAR. We of today point pridefully to the great industrial and financial super- structure around us, but we do not easily forget those who preceded us, the memory of whose faces has perhaps dimmed, but whose labors gave to this same superstructure a solidarity of foundation which made it even possible. Many writers have eulogized
the Detroiter of yesterday and not a word has been unmerited. They builded well. It is the purpose of this brief sketch of John Beekman Dyar to record the activities of a man whose place among these men is unquestioned, whose span of life was comparatively short and who did not survive to witness the full fruition of his ambitions, but who did leave to his family a heritage of honor and pride which is the most worthy achievement possible.
John Beekman Dyar was born at Romeo, Michigan, June 26, 1846, the son of John Wild and Sarah C. (Beekman) Dyar. His death occurred at Detroit, September 2, 1898, in the fifty-second year of his age.
The Dyar, or Dyer, family is of record in England as early as 1436, and there are several coats-of-arms in the English branches of the family. Several immi- grants of the name came early to the American colo- nies, where they became prominently active during the stirring days of colonial development. The immi- grant ancestor of the larger number of Dyars in America was William Dyer, or Dyar, who, with his son Christopher, is on the recorded list of those who took the oath of allegiance in 1665 at Sheepscott, Maine, where both were early settlers and where both were massacred by the Indians during King Philip's war in 1676. The survivors scattered to other colo- nies after this and from this doughty ancestor the name has been carried to all parts of the country.
The paternal grandfather of John Beekman Dyar was Jeremiah Dyar, who was born in 1771 and died in 1829. He was married June 19, 1794, to Susanna Wild, the daughter of Major Daniel Wild, at Lancaster, Vermont.
John Wild Dyar, the father of John Beekman Dyar, was born in Lancaster, Vermont, in 1814 and died at Romeo, Michigan. For a time he resided at Salem, Massachusetts, and later located at the town of Romeo, Michigan, where he became very prominent as a mer- chant. Having made a notable financial success he sought retirement in middle life and passed the re- mainder of his days in rest and mental cultivation at his Romeo home. He married Sarah C. Beekman, November 13, 1838. She was the daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Garretson) Beekman, a New Jersey and New York family of Holland descent. She was a woman of much refinement and culture, well known in the history of New York city. Her death also occurred at Romeo a short time previous to that of her hus- band. The brother of John Wild Dyar, Harrison Dyar of New York city, invented the telegraph, the devel- opment of which he left to Morse, whose name is asso- ciated with this great invention. There were eight children born to John Wild and Sarah (Beekman) Dyar, namely; Charles, who died during his youth; Sarah, who became the wife of Dr. George P. Andrews, resided in Detroit and later moved to the Hawaiian Islands, whence she returned to Detroit after Dr. An- drews' death there; Ella, who married Hugh MeMil- lan, brother of Senator James McMillan, and resided
JOHN BEEKMAN DYAR
Vol. III-10
147
CITY OF DETROIT
in Detroit; John Beekman, the immediate subject of this sketeh; Hugh W., of Chicago; Mary, who resides in Detroit, is the widow of Robert P. Myers of Savan- nah, Georgia; Susan, widow of Ephraim W. Allen, who resides at Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Lucy B., unmar- ried, who lives near Romeo, Michigan.
John Beekman Dyar received his early education in the public schools of Romeo and later attended busi- ness college at Detroit. For a period he was asso- eiated with his father at Romeo in the mercantile business. He then came to Detroit to enter the busi- ness life of the city and made a very auspicious begin- ning. He first became connected with the Detroit Metal & Heating Works, which in the course of a decade he built up from an unsuccessful concern to a business of large profits, and also became the mana- ging owner.
In the year 1888 Mr. Dyar organized the corpora- tion then known as the Michigan Radiator & Iron Manufacturing Company. In the forming of this eom- pany there were associated with Mr. Dyar sueh repre- sentative business men of Detroit at Martin S. Smith, Clarence Carpenter, Clarence M. Woolley, James Mc- Millan, E. W. Meddaugh and Ernest E. Mann. The personnel of the original executive corps was as fol- lows: Mr. Dyar, president; M. S. Smith, vice president; Clarence Carpenter, treasurer; and C. M. Woolley, see- retary. The company purchased a tract of land on Trombly avenue, between Russell street and the tracks of the Grand Trunk Railway, securing about six aeres, whereon they erected a foundry building, machine shop, core room, cleaning room, power-house, ware- house and office building. The company engaged in the manufacture of cast-iron radiators for water and steam-warming purposes, being the second coneern to take up this line of industry in Detroit, where the Detroit Steam Radiator Company had been in the field for about four years. In the first operation of the company employment was given to about two hundred people, but within a very few years this number had been increased to five hundred. Mr. Dyar's efforts having made the business a very profitable one were appreciated and recognized by his associates, conse- quently when the American Radiator Company was organized in 1891, in the forming of which Mr. Dyar was the initiator and also prominent, he was offered the presidency, but declined, as acceptance would have required his removal to Chicago. He was vice president of the corporation, however, for a number of years. The American Radiator Company took over the business of the Michigan Radiator & Iron Manu- facturing Company and the Detroit Radiator Company, also the Pierce Steam Heating Company of Buffalo, New York.
In association with his son, Ralph M. Dyar, Mr. Dyar then projected the interurban line from Detroit to Port Huron, which is now the lake shore route of the Detroit United Railway lines. Mr. Dyar expended a great deal of his time and energy in securing the
right of way for this route, but, unfortunately, passed away before the work was completed. The task was completed by others and became a success. Although denied the privilege of seeing his idea materialize, Mr. Dyar gave to the initial stages of the work such a business-like management that the ultimate sueeess was a surety.
John Beekman Dyar was known by his friends and associates as a man of wonderful ability and energy, in fact, as a man of ereative genius. Possessed of a natural dignity of bearing, he was yet a man of demo- eratie tastes and manner. His home life was ideal in every sense. In business dealings he was keen of perception, quick of aetion and confident of his judg- ment. The beauties of nature appealed to his innate artistie sense and he loved musie as well as other arts. He gave unstintedly of his support to anything which tended to develop the cultural side of the city. He did not care for an extensive club life, although he was a member of the exclusive Detroit Club and numbered his friends by the number of those who knew him. In civic affairs he did his share, lending his aid and influence to every movement for the bene- fit of Detroit. Mr. Dyar's home at Grosse Pointe Farms was erected by him and was one of the first homes built in what is now one of the most famous suburban districts in the entire country.
Mr. Dyar was married at Romeo, Michigan, to Miss Julia Edmunds Maynard, a native of Richmond, Ver- mont, and the daughter of Judge Aaron and Julia Maria (Edmunds) Maynard, the latter being a woman of remarkable character and the sister of the late Hon. George F. Edmunds, for many years United States senator from Vermont, a prominent figure in American politics a generation ago and author of the Edmunds aet prohibiting polygamous marriages. Judge Maynard was a prominent lawyer and jurist of Detroit. Mrs. Dyar inherits the characteristics and mentality of her New England ancestors and has long been prominent in social and philanthropic activities. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dyar were members of the Romeo Congregational church, were afterward associated with the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian church in Detroit and the Grosse Pointe Protestant church, now the Grosse Pointe Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Dyar is a member.
To John Beekman Dyar and his wife were born three children: Clara is mentioned at greater length below; Ralph Maynard Dyar early became associated with his father's business interests. For some years he was president of the Mexican Crude Rubber Com- pauy and was a member of the board of directors of the Truscon Steel Company and the National Bank of Commerce. He was also secretary of the Detroit chapter of the Red Cross previous to the World war and during the war period served on important com- mittees in Red Cross work. He was also one of the or- ganizers of the Detroit Orchestral Association, of which he served as treasurer for a number of years. Mr.
148
CITY OF DETROIT
Dyar is now retired from the more active business pursuits and divides his time between his homes in Detroit and Beverly Hills, California. He married Helen Louise Stearns, daughter of Frederick K. Stearns, and is the father of two children, Ralph Stearns and Helen Maynard. John Wild Dyar com- pleted his education at Harvard and immediately be- came active in the management of his father's estate. He organized and became president of the Dyar Realty Company, handling and developing the realty interests of the John Beekman Dyar estate. During the war he served as chairman of one of the local draft boards and the work of this particular board received high- est commendation from Washington. He is well known in the club life of the city, holding membership in many of the leading elubs. He married Mrs. DeWitt (Wallace) Loomis. Mr. Dyar has marked inventive ability, having patented the Clincher Tire Plow.
In the promotion of various artistic movements in Detroit perhaps no woman of the city has been more prominent that Miss Clara E. Dyar. Her work in this respect has not been for personal gain, nor for pub- licity, but because of her love of such tasks and a sincere desire to aid in the development of the intel- lectual and artistic life of the community. Like her father, Miss Dyar is an untiring worker and has accomplished amazing things. She initiated the arts aud crafts movement which resulted in the present Arts and Crafts Society and was chairman of the committee at the time of organization. She assisted in the organization of the Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, also suggested with Dr. W. E. Blod- gett, the blue star as the emblem for the Blue Star Day for the aid of sufferers from tuberculosis. She was also the prime organizer of the Fine Arts So- ciety, of which she served as first vice president for several years. In 1907 Miss Dyar organized The Chamber Music Society of Detroit, which has now grown to be a very prominent institution in musical circles. Meetings were first held in private houses, but now a regular course of public concerts is given every season. The Society gives a large number of free concerts at different civic and private institu- tions every year, for which musicians of Detroit are professionally engaged. The existence of this excel- lent organization is attributable largely to Miss Dyar's efforts and in the financial support of this movement she has received much help from her mother and brothers, as well as from leading women and men of Detroit. She has served as president of The Cham- ber Music Society since its inception fourteen years ago. The ultimate object is to have the city establish a fund in order to perpetuate these concerts. Miss Dyar was chairman of the Wagner Centenary Festival, a notable musical event held in the Detroit Armory on June 2, 1913. In the Audubon movement and the Alliance Francaise Miss Dyar has also taken an active interest. She was, in addition to her work in social affairs, among the first to take up the equal suffrage
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.