USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 21
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
Mr. Hammes is a member of the Detroit Wheelmen's Club, formerly served as its president and is now a member of the board of directors. His political al- legiance is given to the republican party and frater- nally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Masons, being a member of the consistory and of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also identified with the Masonic Country Club. Starting out in life on his own account when a lad of but fourteen years, he has throughout the intervening period been a resident of America, where he has enjoyed advantages and opportunities that he felt he could not secure in his native land. It was this that led him to come to the new world and with the passing years he has worked his way steadily upward, utilizing his opportunities to good advantage, and he is today a prominent figure in the industrial circles of Detroit.
HORACE H. DICKINSON, who for many years was a most prominent business man of Detroit and who at different periods exerted considerable influence over publie interests in the city, was a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of De- troit. Here his birth occurred June 24, 1853, his parents being Moses F. and Marie L. (Wesson) Dick-
176
CITY OF DETROIT
inson, whose family numbered thirteen children, of whom Horace H. was the youngest. In the early days the home of Moses F. Dickinson occupied the site of the present post office. He was one of the first mer- chants of Detroit, where he took up his abode in the early '30s, and from that time to the present repre- sentatives of the family have made their home in Detroit. One of the daughters, Mrs. Maria L. Me- Graw, who was a member of the first girls' class in the Detroit high school and a member of the first graduating class of Vassar College, passed away at the advanced age of seventy-six years, having spent her life in Detroit.
Horace H. Dickinson passed his youthful days in Detroit, pursuing a public school education, and his first independent business venture was made in 1884, when as senior partner in the firm of Dickinson & Hood he established a hardware business at 416 and 418 Grand River avenue. The firm carried a line of shelf and heavy hardware, stoves and ranges and builders' hardware, together with Philadelphia lawn mowers, refrigerators, tinware, woodenware and wil- lowware, paints, oils and varnishes, all of which is attested by an old handbill that is still in existence, advertising the line which they handled and also stating that they had storage capacity for stoves and household goods. As the years passed Mr. Dickinson developed a business of substantial proportions as a dealer in builders' supplies. It was to that line that he had directed his energies for a number of years. He had for ten years been associated with Edson, Moore & Company and then formed the partnership with J. C. Hood, while in 1911 the H. H. Dickinson Company was organized, Horace H. Dickinson con- tinuing as president to the time of his death.
It was in Detroit, on the 11th of July, 1877, in St. James church, that the marriage ceremony was per- formed which united the destinies of Horace H. Dick- inson and Miss Lucy S. L. Dickinson. They became the parents of five sons: M. Wesson; Forest R .; Howard C .; Horace H. and Thomas Passmore; and two daughters, Mrs. D. J. Osgood and Mrs. Walter R. Barrie.
Mr. Dickinson was deeply interested in the public welfare and for a number of years was an active factor in city politics. He served for two terms as school inspector and one as estimator of the eighth ward, occupying the latter position in 1904 and 1905. He was at one time a candidate for the office of mayor and at all times he stood loyally for what he believed to be for the best interests of city, state and nation. His political allegiance was always given to the re- publican party and it was upon that ticket that he was chosen a member of the city council and elected a member at large of the board. His religious faith was that of the Episcopal church and he took a very active and helpful part in organizing the Sunday school of the new St. James Mission, assisting ma- terially also in building the mission house, which was
completed in July, 1916. No good work done in the name of charity or religion ever sought his aid in vain. He was a faithful follower of many fraternal organizations, belonging to Ashlar Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Diamond Lodge, I. O. O. F .; American Tent of the Maccabees; Detroit Castle, No. 1, of the Knights of the Golden Eagle; and for a quarter of a century he was grand keeper of the exchequer of the last named organization. He had attained the age of sixty-seven years when on the .22d of May, 1920, he passed away in Detroit, where his entire life had been spent. He had always been an interested witness of the growth and progress of the city, of its material, intellectual, social and moral advancement, and in every possible way had done everything in his power to uphold high standards for the individual and for the community at large.
A. J. DETLAFF, founder and president of the A. J. Detlaff Company, is one of Detroit's substantial business men whose activities have been a material con- tribution to the city's industrial growth and develop- ment. A native of Detroit, he was born May 10, 1867. His start in life was not promising. At eleven years of age he was working for a firm of picture frame dealers. He stayed there four years and eventually had four boys employed on contract work. Many nights he had to work till ten o'clock to meet the terms of contracts. The next firm to hire him paid a salary higher than his receipts on contracts had been. He took care of the mounting room till he left to go to the Peninsular Car Shop's pattern department. He received several raises in salary, but eventually quit and remained idle one week. Then he accepted a posi- tion with the Ideal Manufacturing Company. Mr. Det- laff was then becoming a valued employe.
The Ideal Manufacturing Company was located at the corner of Beauhien and Fort streets. When they built their factory at Franklin and Dubois he worked half time on the new building and half time at the old shop. When the new building was occupied the company added to its products and young Detlaff learned the manufacture of each as it was introduced. He learned the wood and metal trades, wood finishing, casting, metal finishing, plating and polishing. He was then made superintendent of the Ideal Manufac- turing Company. There he began taking large con- tracts. His critics predicted ruin, but farsightedness and perseverance carried him through. During his last five years with the Ideal Manufacturing Com- pany Mr. Detlaff managed their excursions and base- ball teams. That was a form of social service not well understood anywhere at that time. His various enterprises were successful and have been copied, until today most large concerns take some interest in the social welfare of their employes.
Mr. Detlaff went to the Ideal Toy Company as fac- tory manager in 1901. Two years later he set up a nickel-plating plant for the Standard Computing Scale
A. J. DETLAFF
Vol. 111-12
179
CITY OF DETROIT
Company and succeeded in reducing expenses on con- tracts twenty-five per cent. He secured still better rates later and eventually went into business for himself.
When he started for himself Mr. Detlaff worked in the factory during the mornings and in the after- noons went out to look up business. This was the start of the A. J. Detlaff Manufacturing Company, which has been successful since the very beginning. In 1909 Mr. Detlaff bought a factory building, having been unable to rent one large enough for his expand- ing business. A disastrous fire occurred December 10, 1910. House-wrecking concerns were unwilling to promise speedy service, so the proprietor hired labor- ers and within sixty days had the factory ready for re- occupation. The Detlaff plant was turned over to the government at the beginning of the war, for the manufacture of clutches and controls. During the pe- riod following the proprietor held patriotic meetings in his plant to impress his employes with the necessity of doing good work and turning out production rapidly.
The company has purchased eight acres of land in Sandwich, Ontario, and thirty-nine acres on Grand River avenue, Detroit, and expects to build new fac- tories, since the present structure prevents expansion. As a means of protecting his trade and to insure a continuation of the business, Mr. Detlaff had it in- corporated in 1913 as the A. J. Detlaff Company, with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, advanced to five hundred thousand dollars December 22, 1918, of which he owns ninety-nine per cent. He is interested in a number of other enterprises, largely in industrial lines. His activities in real estate and building circles have been stimulated by a genuine publie spirit and a desire to do what he could toward relieving the housing situation.
Mr. Detlaff is ranked as one of Detroit's thorough business men, whose success has been solely from his own efforts. When he began his business career his capital was his energy and ability and his subsequent advancement to the creditable position he now oceu- pies among Detroit manufacturers, seems but the just reward for well and ably directed efforts. As a result of his observations and experience he contends that: "Prudence, honesty and perseverance are the three characteristics of the successful business man. I am sure that the young man who aims to give satisfaction will succeed if he coolly thinks his project through, then keeps at the task until it is finished."'
"The young man planning his career must have confidence in his ability. The cause of most of our failures is not so frequently a lack of ability as a lack of confidence. Many young men have received the same ridicule as I when I entered into contracts to furnish supplies at what were considered ruinously low figures. If they had carefully computed costs they were in a position to enjoy the disappointment of their prophets. I have never lost on a contract and
I have never failed to meet the terms, because I have always studied through before signing."
Mr. Detlaff is a member of several clubs and kin- dred organizations, including the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Automobile Club, Detroit Board of Com- merce, and the Credit Men's Association. While taking a good citizen's part in the public affairs of De- troit, he has never been a seeker after political office, preferring to devote his undivided time to the conduct of his business, the expansion of which in recent years has been engaging all his attention.
GEORGE ENGEL, member of the firm of Engel Brothers, furniture dealers, and for a number of years a leading figure in the public life of the community, was born in Detroit, February 13, 1875. He is a son of Conrad and Susan (Wagner) Engel, both of Euro- pean birth, who came to America at the ages of six- teen and two years, respectively. The father settled in Detroit on crossing the Atlantic and afterward removed to the northern part of the state, where he engaged in the business of boot and shoe making, his output being sold to the miners operating in the copper and iron mines of northern Michigan. He afterward returned to Detroit, where he continued in the boot and shoe business until his retirement several years ago. He still resides in this city and has reached the age of eighty-two years, while his wife is seventy- six years of age. They became the parents of six children, one of whom has passed away, the others being: John H., Mrs. Anna Heide, Mrs. Amelia Graul, Frank, and George of this review, all residents of Detroit.
George Engel, the youngest of the family, attended the public and high schools of Detroit to the eleventh grade and after leaving high school became connected with the Home Savings & Loan Company, with which he was associated in a clerical capacity for twelve years. He then began business on his own account as a retail furniture merchant in association with his brother, Frank, a partnership that has since been maintained, the business steadily growing in volume and importance as the years have passed.
Mr. Engel's first connection with the city govern- ment was as secretary of the Detroit police depart- ment, which position he filled for a year. He was afterward comptroller for six years and on the 1st of July, 1919, he was appointed commissioner of pub- lie works. He outlined a campaign, which, if fol- lowed by the department, will keep Detroit abreast with the most modern methods of development in street cleaning and other processes which have to do with the sanitation, welfare and improvement of the city. Because of the pressure of his increasing private business interests Mr. Engel resigned his posi- tion as commissioner of publie works on the 1st of May, 1920, declaring that the management of the de- partment had reached a point where it requires every minute of the commissioner's time and he felt he
180
CITY OF DETROIT
could not do justice to both his private business and the public charge. His resignation was deeply re- gretted by his associates and the general public as well, his exceptional fitness for the office being widely recognized. A Detroit paper of that date said in part: "John C. Lodge, president of the council, and the other members, expressed their regret when they learned of the intended withdrawal of Mr. Engel from public life. The president declared he expressed the opinion of the entire council, as well as his own, when he said that the retiring commissioner had proved himself one of the most capable men who had held the difficult position at the head of the public works department. 'There is no other department of the city government that comes in as close touch with the people as that whose leadership Mr. Engel is leaving,' Mr. Lodge said. 'The fact that during Mr. Engle's regime the department received a minimum of criticism and complaint indicates very clearly what sort of an executive he is.' He also pointed to the total lack of friction in the relations of the council and the retiring commissioner as indicative of the character of Mr. Engel as a department head."
On the 7th of February, 1914, Mr. Engel was mar- ried to Miss Alice Meldrum of Detroit. Mr. Engel belongs to Corinthian Lodge, A. F. & A. M., also to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Yacht Club and other social organizations of the city.
CLARENCE LLEWELLYN AYRES, president of the Northern Assurance Company of Michigan, is one of the well known executives in life underwriting cir- cles in this section of the west. Mr. Ayres was born August 8, 1874, near Decatur, in St. Marys township, Adams county, Indiana, a son of Nathan and Sarah (Chapman) Ayres. Clarence L. Ayres was the son of a farmer and until the age of fourteen he remained on the home farm. He received his early education in the public schools of his native state and at a comparatively early age entered the insurance field, at the same time studying law, and was admitted to the bar of Indiana in 1898. Some three years later, in 1901, he moved to Detroit, where he held the position of manager for an insurance company, remaining in that capacity for six years, during this time acquiring those qualifications which led him to more ambitious undertakings in the insurance line. In 1907 Mr. Ayres organized the Northern Assurance Company of Mich- igan, and from its inception he has been its president and guiding genius, to his management and knowledge of insurance in all its features being due in no small degree the success of the company. The Northern Assurance Company is doing a large business in life insurance and has written a total of forty millions of insurance to date, which in view of the keen com- petition in the insurance field may be considered little short of phenomenal. The present scope of the com- pany's insurance operations is spread over Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin
and further extensions are contemplated. In 1917 the company purchased the Baldwin property at the north- west corner of Fort and Cass streets, comprising one of the most desirable building locations in that part of Detroit into which the financial district is spread- ing. This property affords a commodious home for the company at the present time, but on the site will later be erected by the company a modern skyscraper.
Mr. Ayres is a Mason, with membership in Corinth- ian Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M .; Monroe Council, R. & S. M .; Damascus Command- ery, K. T .; Michigan Sovereign Consistory; and Mos- lem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He also holds member- ship in the Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. One of his few recreations is golf, of which he is an enthusiastic devotee, being a member of the Lochmoor Golf Club at Grosse Pointe. Though a stanch republican, Mr. Ayres is not a politician and yet manifests a keen interest in the party's success. He is a splendid type of the genial, energetic, up- to-date executive, whose excellent natural endowments have been factors in his prosperity. He occupies an enviable position in the line of business where his activities have led.
In 1915 Mr. Ayres was married to Miss Ida Davidson and they have one daughter, Constance, while by a former marriage Mr. Ayres has two sons: Dale Byron, born March 15, 1899, in Decatur, Indiana, is now a senior law student at the University of Michigan; Robert Merritt, born June 2, 1900, in Decatur, Indiana, is also a senior law student at the University of Michigan.
HARVEY F. OSBORNE. It is a trite saying that there is always room at the top, but few feel the stimulus of the fact and grasp the opportunity that is offered higher up. Harvey F. Osborne, however, has attained a point of leadership that has made him the president of The H. F. Osborne Company, im- porters of wholesale crockery and glassware and the head of what is the largest enterprise of the kind in the state of Michigan.
A native of Wooster, Ohio, he was born Septem- ber 9, 1866, his parents being William S. and Anna E. (Smith) Osborne, whose family numbered six chil- dren, the others being: Mrs. T. D. McElhenie, of Brooklyn, New York; William S., a resident of Ken- dallville, Indiana; Edward P. and Anna D., residents of Wooster, Ohio; and Archibald L., who is vice presi- dent and general manager of the Kinney & Levan Company at Cleveland, one of the largest wholesale and retail glassware concerns of the United States. His son, Carl M. Osborne, is financial secretary for the M. A. Hanna estate and is recognized as one of the able financiers of the Ohio city.
Harvey F. Osborne attended the public schools of Wooster, where he completed the high school course. He started out in business with the Kinney & Levan Company of Cleveland and after three years, by rea-
CLARENCE L. AYRES
183
CITY OF DETROIT
son of his untiring effort and loyalty to the house, became one of their most successful salesmen. He was appointed their Michigan representative and opened a salesroom at No. 96 Jefferson avenue in De- troit. He remained with the Kinney & Levan Com- pany until 1908, when, in association with others, he purchased the business of Henry L. Jenness, which had been established in 1846. The new firm was incorporated under the name of Osborne, Boynton & Osborne and continued in business very successfully until 1915, when the name was changed to the H. F. Osborne Company, Mr. Osborne becoming the presi- dent of the corporation. The growth of the business has kept fully abreast with the marvelous develop- ment of Detroit. Theirs is probably the largest store of the kind in the state of Michigan and in many respects one of the leading enterprises of this char- acter in the country. When operating under the name of the Jenness & MeCurdy Company the concern estab- lished an enviable reputation for its products, and Mr. Osborne has made it his personal ambition to preserve and maintain an even higher standard in the regard of his patrons under the new order than was reached by the old. The name of the H. F. Os- born Company has become a synonym for progressive- ness and reliability and the business of the house has steadily developed until it has reached extensive pro- portions.
On the 1st of August, 1910, Mr. Osborne was mar- ried to Miss Josephine Bosque, and they became the parents of a son, William B., who passed away in July, 1911. Mr. Osborne has been a resident of De- troit since 1898, and in the past twenty-two years has contributed materially to the commercial growth of the city and also figured in its industrial circles, being secretary of the Schleider Manufacturing Company of Detroit, manufacturers of automobile valves, this be- ing one of the largest concerns of the kind in the country. A pleasing personality has gained for him a large circle of warm friends, and socially he occu- pies a prominent position that rivals his high stand- ing in business.
ARTHUR LOUIS ZECKENDORF. New ideas, pro- gressive, practical and resultant, have characterized the business career of Arthur L. Zeckendorf, a part- ner in the Siegel-Zeckendorf Company and the presi- dent of the A. L. Zeckendorf Company of Detroit. He has long been prominently known among the auto- mobile dealers of the city and has instituted many new and valuable ideas in relation to the trade. A native of New York city, he was born May 2, 1874, a son of Louis and Matilda (Leventritt) Zeckendorf, the former a native of Holland, while the latter was born in the state of South Carolina. The father crossed the Atlantic to New York early in the '50s and in the '70s removed with his family to Tucson, Arizona, where he engaged in prospecting and min- ing. He was one of the original owners of the Copper
Queen mine, also The Ray, Silver Bell and many other well known mining properties which became famous producers. He likewise engaged in general merchan- dizing and is still active in the business circles of the southwest, being prominently known as an extensive owner of mining properties and mercantile interests. He makes his home at the present time, however, in New York city and has reached the age of eighty- four years. The mother passed away in that city in 1921.
Arthur L. Zeckendorf, their only child, pursued his education under private instruction in New York city and in Columbia University, from which he was grad- uated with the Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1894. When his college days were over he became identified with his father in his extensive interests and for fifteen years remained active in the management and control of his father's affairs. In 1905, however, he came to Detroit and entered the automobile business. He had charge of the truck sales for the Packard Motor Company, distributor, as the head of the sales department and continued with that corporation for several years. He next entered the Michigan Motor Sales Company, distributors of the Oakland and Welch Pontiac cars, and a year later he became agency manager for the Oakland cars. At length he gave this up to accept the agency for Mich- igan for the Cole and Cleveland cars and is still con- ducting business along that line. Recently he has also taken over the Cleveland ear and his business is now one of extensive proportions. His prominence in trade circles is indicated in the fact that he served for four years as treasurer and later as president of the Detroit Auto Dealers' Association. In this con- nection the same progressive spirit has been shown that has characterized his activities in private busi- mess. Under his administration the organization has instituted many new services for its members that will aid in standardizing the merchandising of motor cars. Another departure from previous administra- tions has been the organization of a special truck division to deal with the commercial car problems of the day. Mr. Zenekendorf was largely instrumental in holding a closed car salon in the Arena Gardens in Detroit. On this occasion almost every kind of closed car was on display, with thirty-three models of the sedan type, twenty-five coupes, four represen- tatives of the straight limousine, with a closed com- partment for the chauffeur, three each of the brougham and town car types, two Victorias and one landaulet. The success of the salon was attributable in large measure to the efforts of the president, Mr. Zecken- dorf, and the show manager, H. H. Shuart. The novel feature was introduced of putting the cars in a sum- mer setting, with evergreen trees for a background and wicker furniture all around, thus relieving the stiffness of the usual display, while music for the occasion was furnished by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
184
CITY OF DETROIT
Mr. Zeckendorf was married on the 16th of May, 1902, to Miss Louise Thwaytes of New York city, a daughter of Henry and Annie Thwaytes of London, Canada. Mr. Zeckendorf is well known socially as well as in business circles and a pleasing personality wins him friends wherever he goes. His business affairs have been most carefully and wisely directed and his initiative has ever been a dominant factor in the attainment of his success.
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.