USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 27
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The youthful days of Judge Kuhn were accordingly spent in Mount Clemens, and liberal educational op- portunities were accorded him. He mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools and then entered the University of Michigan, completing a scientific course in 1893, at which time the B. S. degree was conferred upon him. He continued as a student at Ann Arbor, and won the Bachelor of Law degree in 1894. In the same year he was admitted to the bar and a little later was elected circuit court commissioner of Macomb county, in which capacity he served from 1894 until 1896. Through the suc- ceeding six years he filled the position of prosecuting attorney of Macomb county, being three times elected to the position, and in 1904 he was elected probate judge. After two years' service he was again chosen for that office, but on the 6th of June, 1910, he resigned to accept the appointment of attorney general of Mich- igan, from Governor Warner. On the 6th of October, 1910, the republican state convention nominated Judge Kuhn for the office of attorney general, and he was elected for the full term at the ensuing election. In September, 1912, Governor Osborn appointed him an
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associate judge of the Michigan supreme court, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Blair, and at the republican state convention, held the same year, he was nominated to complete the full term of Judge Blair, and popular franchise endorsed his nom- ination in the following election.
In the meantime Judge Kuhn had resided for a number of years in Lansing, Michigan, but in July, 1913, removed to Detroit, where he has since made his home. His professional advancement has been continuous. He possesses comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, and his rulings have at all times been fair and impartial. He is recognized as a peer of the ablest members of the court of last resort in Michigan, and his entire course has reflected credit and honor upon the state that has honored him. He was nominated and elected for a full term in April, 1917, being chief justice of the court that year. He resigned the first of January, 1920. Aside from his connection with the bar, Judge Kubn is now the president of the Michigan State Telephone Company and his duties in this connection demand a great share of his attention.
Most pleasantly situated in his home life, Judge Kuhn was married to Mrs. Mina C. Burton. who was born in Richmond, Virginia, and they have a daughter, Wilhelmina Ann, 'whose birth occurred in 1911. Judge Kubn is well known in Masonic circles, having mem- bership in the various branches of the order, including Romeo Commandery, No. 6, K. T., and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Detroit. He is a past grand chancellor of Michigan in the Knights of Pythias order and he belongs to the University Club, the University of Michigan Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, Lochmoor Country Club and to the Detroit Boat Club. While attaining high professional rank and enviable business standing, he has at the same time won the friendship and warm regard of many through- out the state and the sterling qualities of his char- aeter are indicated in the fact that he is most highly esteemed where best known.
BENJAMIN F. TOBIN. The call that summoned Benjamin F. Tobin from this life removed from De- troit one who had contributed in most substantial measure to the great activity of the city. He was identified with the motor industry from its infancy, taking up this work in 1903. He was the organizer and became chairman of the board of directors of the Continental Motors Corporation. It has been said that the dominant feature of his career was conser- vatism-a quality that precluded the possibility of erratic movements or of mistakes in his business. He possessed, too, that initiative which enabled him to carve out a path to reach the desired goal if his original avenue of activity seemed closed to him. Mr. Tobin was born in Chicago, November 29, 1865, and was a descendant of early New England ancestry. His father, Benjamin F. Tobin, was well known to the
jewelry trade of Chicago, conducting a store there for many years. He died during the early youth of his son and namesake and upon the latter soon devolved heavy responsibilities in connection with the manage- ment and conduct of his father's estate. Benjamin F. Tobin was the chief factor in the building of a large apartment hotel and also one of the prominent theatres of Chicago. The hotel was built prior to the holding of the World's Columbian Exposition and both of these properties were under the active management and direction of Benjamin F. Tobin. The success of the undertaking was due entirely to his energy and business ability and the early training which he re- ceived in handling these enterprises was undoubtedly of great value to him later as a foundation for his future successes. At length he turned his attention to real estate and building operations in Chicago and other places. In fact he was identified with building interests as far as Indiana Harbor, where several substantial business blocks were erected under his direction. It was in 1903 that he turned his attention to the motor industry, which at that time had made little advance toward its present point of perfection. He became a potent force in directing and developing the Continental Motors Corporation, which was orig- inally capitalized for six thousand dollars but which under his guidance became one of the most extensive and important interests of the kind in the world, em- ploying more than seven thousand men, with plants located at Detroit and Muskegon, on sites aggregating more than one hundred acres. Its buildings afforded one million five hundred thousand square feet of floor space and were equipped with the latest im- proved machinery necessary in the conduct of a busi- ness of this character. The early development of the enterprise was slow, but the undertaking was built upon a sure and safe foundation. When the demand for the product increased the plant was removed to Muskegon in 1906 and there Mr. Tobin established lis home, becoming a most prominent factor in the in- dustrial development of that city. From that time forward the growth of the business was continuous and in 1911 Detroit's industrial activity received a decided impetus from the building of the plant of the Continental Motors Corporation in this city and Detroit also was made the general headquarters of the busi- ness. As the years passed Mr. Tobin continued the executive head of the undertaking. He was watchful of every indication pointing to success and his sound judgment enabled him to recognize readily the value of every situation and of every transaction. A con- temporary biographer wrote of him as follows: "Hav- ing searched for and found the keystone of the suc- cessful business career of the late Benjamin F. Tobin, chairman of the board of directors of the Continental Motors Corporation, Detroit and Muskegon, we find written across its face the one word 'Conservatism.' Not a conservatism in, or of, fear, but a careful reckoning of all the factors that may make or break
BENJAMIN F. TOBIN
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the arch of one's ambition. Conservatism was an inherent trait of the Tobin character, but subject to this element were the necessary qualities of sound judgment, keen foresight and executive ability. Suc- cessfully to handle a real estate and building enter- prise, a theatrical venture, a hotel business, and finally aid in the development of the greatest organization building internal combustion motors in the world, would call for such ability, and Mr. Tobin had it, for he suffered no failures in any of these undertak- ings. It is a wide leap, indeed, from real estate operations to the chief executive's office of a manu- facturing plant building motors used in one hundred and sixty different motor cars and motor trucks, especially if one tarries on the way to manage a theatre, a hotel and successfully deal in real estate, but Mr. Tobin made it with remarkable ease."
Mr. Tobin was married in 1890 to Miss Laura M. Loeser of Chicago, and they became the parents of two children: Benjamin F., Jr., and Marjorie. Ben- jamin F. Tobin, Jr., is assistant secretary of the Con- tinental Motors Corporation at Detroit. He married Miss Harriet Rae Walker of Chicago, and they have one daughter, Marjorie Rae; Marjorie Tobin married Clay C. Macdonald of Detroit, and they have two children, Clay C., Jr., and Marjorie Virginia. Mr. Tobin was a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, the Lochmoor Golf Club, the Grosse Pointe Country Club, the Muskegon Country Club, the Century Club of Muskegon and the Thousand Island Duck Club. His residence was at 266 Lakeland avenue, Grosse Pointe village, and he maintained his winter home, "Mira- flores," at Buena Vista, Miami, Florida. When death called him veteran employes of the company acted as his pallbearers and deepest regret was felt through- out the institution with which he had so long been connected and which stands as a monument to his ability. One might marvel that he accomplished so much in his lifetime and yet investigation into his career shows that the dominant qualities in his life were such as any might cultivate. The reason of his superior success lies in the fact that he utilized op- portunities that others passed heedlessly by. He seemed to recognize the value of every situation, to know when and where and how to put forth his efforts to the best advantage and, moreover, his entire career was based upon the principle that honesty is the best policy, his course measuring at all times
up to the highest ethical business standards. His contribution to the world's work was distinct and valuable. He pushed forward the wheels of progress and Detroit stands as a greater city by reason of his activity. The date of his demise was November 23, 1920.
ASHER LYNN CORNELIUS, who has engaged in law practice in Detroit since April, 1910, but has been an active representative of the profession since 1903, was born in Butler, Indiana, November 30, 1879, a son of Benjamin Franklin and Marie (Bryant) Cornelius. He obtained his preliminary education from the Marion Normal and Tri-State Colleges of Indiana and qualified for law practice as a student in the Indiana College of Law, which conferred upon him the LL.B. degree in 1903. The same year he was It was in January, 1920, that Mr. Tobin retired from the presidency and became chairman of the board of directors of the Continental Motors Corpo- ration, continuing to occupy that position to the time of his demise. He was also a director of the Merchants National Bank of Detroit, president of the Fidelity admitted to the bar upon examination before the su- preme court of Indiana and also to practice in the fed- eral courts and from June until October of the same year was a member of the law firm of Dunten & Cornelius of Butler. On the 4th of October, 1903, however, he removed to Syracuse, Indiana, and in Mortgage & Guarantee Company of Miami, Florida, . 1905 was elected city attorney, filling that position one of the reorganizers and a director of the Lakey Foundry & Machine Company at Muskegon and iden- tified with other extensive and important business concerns.
until 1909. He was also assistant prosecuting attorney of the fourth judicial district of Indiana from 1904 until 1907. He formed a law partnership with Otis C. Butt, under the firm style of Cornelius & Butt, in 1905 and they were thus associated until 1910. In the latter year Mr. Cornelius removed to Detroit and was admitted to the Michigan bar. On the 1st of January, 1912, he became senior partner in the law firm of Cornelius & Ring, his associate being Van H. Ring, but for the past several years Mr. Cornelius has been alone in practice. Through the intervening decade his practice has become extensive and of an important character and he has also become widely known through his contribution to the literature of the profession. He was editor of the department of Law for Business Men in the American Legal News in 1912, is the author of a handbook for fire insurance adjusters and has written many articles on fire insur- ance law which have appeared in legal journals. In 1921 Mr. Cornelius published the "Law of Land Con- tracts,"' an authoritative work of its kind.
Mr. Cornelius served as a member of the board of directors of the Northeastern Business Men's Asso- ciation. His political support is given to the repub- lican party and his religious belief is that of the Unitarian church. He belongs to the American Society of Jurisprudence, to the Commercial Law League of America and to the Michigan Bar Asso- ciation. He was also secretary of the Lawyers Club from 1915 until 1918 inclusive and in June, 1919, was elected vice president of the club, while in 1920 he was elected its president. He remains a member of the Board of Commerce and fraternally is identified with the city of the Straits Lodge, No. 452, F. & A. M., with the Odd Fellows and with the Knights of Pythias.
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He is well known as a member of the Detroit Checker & Chess Club, of which he became secretary in 1911,- serving as such for several years. During the war period he was extremely active as chairman of the Four-Minute men from April, 1918, until after the close of hostilities.
WILLIAM HILLGER, one of letroit's well known and successful real estate men, was born at Mont- clair and Hamilton avenue, May 1, 1870, a son of John and Katherine (Faust) Hillger. The parents came to America in 1852 and settled on a farm where is now Montelair and Hamilton avenue, then outside of Detroit. This was the family home for a great many years. The father passed away in 1916, at the age of eighty-nine, while the mother died in 1913. In their family were eight children, five of whom are living: John, Mrs. John Donahue, Mrs. Charles Miller, Mrs. Gus Ovsniski and William, all living in Detroit.
The last named, after attending the public school at Grosse Pointe to the age of eleven years, started out to make his own way in the world. He is truly a self-made man, for whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to his diligence and persever- ance. He entered business circles, working as a salesman and after a time won advancement, taking on added responsibilities and duties as he was promoted from one position to another. In 1901 he was nom- inated and elected a member of the Detroit common council from the seventeenth ward and served for ten successive years, during which time he acted as a member of most of the important committees and was instrumental in securing many municipal laws of benefit to the city at large. It was while still in this office, or in 1904, that he organized the William Hillger Real Estate Company and since that time he has developed some of the most important subdivi- sions of Detroit, handling property for Charles Bewick, Joseph Berry, Albert Stevens, James Holden, Hendrie Company, Limited, and others. He has likewise de- veloped property of his own which he has placed on the market and sold. He improved six subdivisions on the east side of Detroit and he is a director of the Hillger Land Company, of the Taylor Park Land Company, the Leonard-Hillger Land Company, of the Lake George subdivision, the Hendrie & Hillger Land Company, Gaukler Point Land Company, Lake St. Clair Land Company and Pfeiffer-Hillger Land Company.
In 1901 Mr. Hillger was married to Miss Alice Bloomfield of Chicago, and they have two children: Lucille and Virginia. Mr. Hillger is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. In his political al- legiance his sympathies have usually been with the democratic party in state and national affairs, but in local matters it is a question of the fitness of can- didate rather than the political party he represents. In fact party ties have never bound him and he is
independent at all times in municipal politics. Mr. Hillger's long service in the common council, together with his business connections, has given him a very wide acquaintance and few, if any, men in Detroit are better known. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Clean and straightforward in his business relations he enjoys a position of high standing in his business that is not surpassed by any of his contemporaries. His real estate operations brought him into association with a number of De- troit's most prominent citizens and his activities in this line have been a big factor in the upbuilding of the east end of the city. As an illustration of the wonderful rise in realty values it may be stated that the tract of ninety acres of land on which Mr. Hillger was born and which was afterward on the market for three thousand dollars, happened to be one that he handled years later and was marketed for more than a million and a half dollars.
Mr. Hillger's chief recreation may be said to be fishing. In fact there is no more enthusiastic and few more skilled anglers in Detroit than he. He has taken some fine specimens of the finny tribe, several of which he has mounted and which are most in- teresting to all lovers of fishing. Mr. Hillger's city residence is at No. 969 Balfour road, Grosse Pointe Park.
HOWARD CHARLES BALDWIN is one of the younger representatives of the Detroit bar but has already won a reputation in the practice of law which many an older member of the profession might well envy. He was born at Deerfield, Michigan, March 15, 1891, and is a son of Rev. Charles W. and Mary Ann (Sykes) Baldwin, the former a native of New York and the latter of Michigan. The father, now deceased, was a minister of the Methodist church. His death occurred in Detroit in February, 1920. His family consisted of six sons and a daughter: Richard, Robert, Mary, Benjamin, Howard C., Paul and Joseph.
Howard C. Baldwin attended the public schools and the Eastern high school of Detroit, from which in due course of time he was graduated. In preparation for a career at the bar he entered the Detroit College of Law and completed his course with the class of 1912. He was until 1915 in the law office of Millis, Griffin, Seely & Streeter, after which connection he opened an office of his own. In 1918 he became associated with John Faust, Sidney Miller and Frank H. Boos under the style of Faust, Miller, Baldwin & Boos, which was maintained until November, 1920, when Judge Faust retired from the firm to take his seat on the bench. Since then the firm has been Miller, Baldwin & Boos.
Mr. Baldwin was married on May 1, 1915, to Miss Ruth E. Jensen of Cheyenne, Wyoming, a daughter of H. P. Jensen of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin have two sons: William H., whose birth occurred February 21, 1916; and Robert Charles, born October 29, 1920.
WILLIAM HILLGER
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Mr. Baldwin is a stanch supporter of the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, belonging to Corinthian Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M .; and Detroit Commandery No. 1, K. T. He is also a member of the Oakland Hills County Club and his interest in Detroit and her progress is indicated by his connection with the Board of Commerce and his hearty approval aud support of all those projects put forth by the organization for the city's benefit. Along strictly professional lines he is identified with the Detroit Bar Association, the Michigan State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
DR. FRANK BURR TIBBALS, recognized as one of the most progressive and eminent of the physicians and surgeons of Detroit, was born in Salem, Michigan, October 14, 1864, his parents being Henry E. and Mary (Burr) Tibbals, both of whom were natives of Connecticut.
Frank B. Tibbals of this review attended the Hill- house high school of New Haven, Connecticut, and afterward entered Yale University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in the class of 1888. He then became a student in the Uni- versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor and won his M. D. degree upon graduation in 1891. He entered upon his professional career in Detroit and after many years of successful practice is today recognized by the pro- fession as one of the most eminent physicians and surgeons of the state. His course has been marked by steady progress, resulting from his broadening ex- perience and his continuous study and research. For thirty years he has been a representative of the pro- fession in Detroit and his practice is today very ex- tensive and of a most important character. He belongs to the American Medical Association, also to the Michi- gan State Medical Society, of which he has been vice president, and the Wayne County Medical Society, of which he formerly served as president. He has like- wise been president of the Detroit Medical Society and of the Detroit Academy of Medicine and he is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is now consulting surgeon of the Woman's Hospital and is an associate professor of medical jurisprudence in the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery. For more than ten years he has been chairman of the medico-legal committee of the Michigan State Medical Society.
On the 17th of January, 1893, at New Haven, Con- necticut, Dr. Tibbals was married to Miss Laura A. West, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James H. West of New Haven. Mrs. Tibbals has membership with the Daughters of the American Revolution. By her mar- riage she has become the mother of two children: Helen Stanley, born in Detroit, August 27, 1897, was graduated from the State University at Ann Arbor with the Bachelor of Arts degree in June, 1919, win- ning distinguished honors; Margaret, born in Detroit,
March 15, 1900, is a member of the class of 1922 in the University of Michigan. Both daughters are mem- bers of the Phi Beta Pi sorority.
Dr. Tibbals is well known in Masouic circles, be- longing to Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Detroit Chapter, R. A. M .; Monroe Council, R. & S. M .; De- troit Commandery No. I, K. T .; and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Ingleside Club; the Detroit Curling Club, of which he was presi- dent in 1919-20; the Hickory Island Association; and to the North Woodward Avenue Congregational church -connections which indicate the nature of his inter- ests and the rules that govern his conduct. The ster- ling worth of his character is attested by all with whom he has come into contact and those who know him honor him no less for his sterling personal worth than for his professional ability.
GUSTAV ADOLPH MUELLER is well known in Detroit, where for more than a quarter of a century he has devoted his attention to architecture and en- gineering, coming to this city in 1893. He was born in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, October 14, 1864, a son of Johan G. and Johanna C. (von Seidel) Mueller. He enjoyed liberal educational advantages, studying in the universities of Dresden, Munich and Berlin, and also served for the required period in the German army. He followed his profession as an architect in Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Italy and Paris and sub- sequently went to Panama on the engineering staff for the French government. The year 1893 witnessed his arrival in Detroit, where he has remained since and he has won well merited prestige both as an architect and engineer, though during recent years he has devoted his attention more largely to engineering. He is also the president of the Michigan Cigar Box Company and among his other interests he is a director of the Victor Jar Company and also of the American Commercial Car Company.
On the 24th of November, 1897, in Detroit, Mr. Mueller was united in marriage to Miss Emma Marx. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. He belongs to the American Institute of Archi- tects and is likewise a member of the Art Club. He has traveled extensively, is a highly educated and cultured gentleman, with a wide range of knowledge, and has become widely recognized as a most able and successful representative of his profession.
WALTER T. SEWELL is treasurer of the Sewell Cushion Wheel Company, and since the organization of the company has been one of its officers. The business was established by Walter T. Sewell and his brother, Herbert J. Sewell, who have ever been a directing force in the continuing of the business, which has been developed into one of the important productive indus- tries of Detroit.
Walter T. Sewell was born in Peoria, Illinois, De- cember 21, 1885, a son of James Herbert and Elizabeth
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C. (Thompson) Sewell, whose family included Herbert J., Alfred W., Douglas, and Winifred Sewell. Having attended the public schools of Chicago and Kankakee, Illinois, Walter T. Sewell was an employe of the firm of Miller & 'Hart, meat packers, Chicago, from 1905 to 1912. In the latter year he severed all business con- nections to take charge of the sales end of the Sewell Cushion Wheel Company, at which time he joined his brother in establishing and promoting this organiza- tion.
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