USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 32
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this city, where he passed away in 1915 and where the mother still resides. They had a family of nine children: Leslie G., Walter, Mrs. Sybella Champion, Mrs. Regina Pocock, Mrs. Mabel Sibley, Frank H., Marion, Henrietta, and one who has passed away.
Frank H. Bessenger was a pupil in the Detroit public schools from 1876 until 1885 and then attended the Detroit Business University in 1889. After leav- ing the public schools he started out on his business career by securing a situation in the crockery and glassware store of Charles H. Wetmore, where he continued until 1886. He afterward became book- keeper for McDonald, Rich & Company, with whom he was thus associated in 1887 and 1888, and in 1889 he was bookkeeper with the Delta Lumber Company. He then entered the employ of the Grindley Real Estate Exchange, subsequently known as the City & Suburban Homes Company, and retained that position from 1889 until 1902. Desirous, however, of engaging in business on his own account, he formed a partner- ship with Alanson A. Moore and the firm of Bes- senger & Moore has therefore been in existence since 1902. They have been very prosperous, successfully handling city and suburban real estate and lands, and the firm is recognized as one of the most reliable in real estate circles in Detroit. Mr. Bessenger is also the president of the Guaranty Trust Company of Detroit, is a director of the First State Bank of Detroit, of the Ecorse Michigan State Bank, the Half- Way State Bank and of the Baker Tractor Company. His interests are thus broad and important, connect- ing him with a number of the leading business and financial interests of his native city. He is a valued member of the Detroit Real Estate Board, of which he has been secretary and vice president and was a charter member; and he is also a member of the De- troit Board of Commerce.
On the 26th of March, 1902, Mr. Bessenger was married to Miss Artie L. Earll of Detroit, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Earll of Jackson, Michigan. They have become parents of two children: Doris, who was born in Detroit in November, 1903; and Frank H., Jr., born January 11, 1910.
Mr. Bessenger is a well known representative of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M., King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M., Monroe Council, while in the Scottish Rite he has taken the thirty-second degree in the consistory. He has also become a member of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Ingleside Club and the Detroit Automobile Club, being a charter member of each of these organizations. He is also a member of the Bankers Club. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church. In politics he is a republican and his military service covers connection with the Michigan National Guard, of which he has been an officer for many years. When leisure permits he enjoys motoring and shooting but his constantly in- creasing business affairs make heavy demands upon
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his time and energy and he has been willing to pay the price of earnest, self-denying effort for success, advancing steadily along the line of his chosen life work until his position in real estate circles is indeed an enviable and creditable one.
PAUL H. DEMING. The marvelous growth of Detroit within the past few decades has brought to the public problems which are not met with in cities of slower development-problems which have taxed the ingenuity and called forth the enterprise and initiative of the most forceful and resourceful busi- ness men. Active in this connection in the past decade and a half is Paul H. Deming, well known in the banking and financial circles of Detroit, who is now the vice president and treasurer of the House Financing Corporation.
Mr. Deming was born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 19, 1874, a son of George and Celia (Bigelow) Deming of that city. The father was a pioneer resident in Cleve- land, who journeyed to the future Ohio metropolis with ox team and wagon. He became one of the leading and influential business men of that city, where for a number of years prior to his death in 1905 he was the vice president and directing head of the wholesale hardware house of George Worthing- ton Company. His connection with that company began when but a young man and continued through his business career.
Paul H. Deming attended the public schools of Cleve- land, was a student in the University School of that city and afterward entered Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, where he pursued courses in both law and civil engineering. After leaving college he turned his attention to the automobile business, be- coming one of the pioneers in the development of that field of industry. He was with the White Company of Cleveland, builders of the White Steamer, and as representative of that corporation he went to New York city and established and promoted their business in the eastern part of the United States. He continued with the company until 1905, when he came to De- troit and accepted the official position of vice presi- dent of the American State Bank, in which capacity he continued until December, 1918. He joined the House Financing Corporation of Detroit on the 1st of July, 1919, and has since been its vice president and treasurer. This three million dollar corporation, composed of some of Detroit's most substantial finan- cial and industrial leaders, was organized to meet the housing problems caused by the marvelous growth of the city through the development of its automobile and other industries and is proving a great boon to Detroit. Mr. Deming's capability in this connection is pronounced. He and his associates are studying the problems from every possible standpoint and putting forth every effort to meet needs and conditions, their activities proving successfully resultant. In addition to his other interests Mr. Deming acts as chairman
of the board of the George Worthington Company of Cleveland, one of the largest and oldest wholesale hardware houses in America, a business that was founded in 1829 and with which his family have been identified for over seventy years.
In 1904 Mr. Deming was united in marriage to Miss Helen Smith, daughter of M. S. Smith of De- troit, and they are the parents of three children: Mary; Paul, Jr., born in Detroit, in October, 1908; and Celia. The family home is maintained at Grosse Pointe Farms and Mr. Deming has been president of the village for several years. He is a man not only of liberal education but of broad general cul- ture and he is a valued member of many of the leading clubs of Detroit. His name is now on the mem- bership rolls of the Detroit Athletic Club, the Country Club, the Detroit Club, the University and the Loch- moor Clubs, the Mayfield Club of Cleveland, Ohio, the Automobile Club of America and the Aero Club of America.
SIMON J. MURPHY. Since 1866 the name of Murphy has been associated with the lumber industry of Michigan. Simon Jones Murphy became one of the pioneer lumbermen of this state in that year. He was born at Windsor, Lincoln county, Maine, April 22, 1815, and had a twin sister. His paternal grandfather, James Murphy, was born in the north of Ireland and on coming to America settled at Westborough, Maine. His son, Edmund Murphy, the father of Simon J. Murphy, married a Miss Jones, who was a daughter of Jonathan Jones and a grand- daughter of Jonathan Jones, Sr., who represented Powellborough in the Massachusetts colonial assembly. Both the grandfather and father of Simon J. Murphy were lumbermen at Damariscotta Pond, Maine, so that he might well be said to be "to the manner born." He was but four years of age when he went to live with his maternal grandfather on a farm on what was known as Jones' hill, there remaining until he reached the age of eighteen, when he started out in life independently. Difficulties and obstacles which he encountered in his youth served to develop his resolute spirit and unfaltering perseverance. When he was eighteen years of age he walked with a cousin from the village of Whitefield to Bangor and Milford, Maine, a distance of eighty miles. He began working in a sawmill at a salary of seven dollars per month. For eight years he remained at that place, advancing steadily, owing to the fact that at the outset he resolved that no one should do more work than himself, and his indefatigable industry and thoroughness soon won recognition, resulting in promotion. He gained a most comprehensive knowledge of that branch of the lumber business and it was said that through the years of his active lifetime there was perhaps no man better informed concerning the lumber trade in all of its diversified lines. During his early experience he worked with an axe in the forests, aided in cutting
PAUL H. DEMING
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the timbers into lumber in the mills and afterward in selling the product. His earlier activities centered in Maine, the Pine Tree state, and later he trans- ferred his labors to Michigan, which became the center of the lumber industry at the period when he was at the height of his business career. In 1840 he entered into partnership with James Thissell, making an in- vestment of fifteen hundred dollars, saved from his earnings. He assumed the business of cutting out the timber and rafting it to the mills and thus spent the greater part of the year in the dense forests, while his partner had the business management. After three years he found that his original capital had been engulfed in the unwise management of the partner and that he was in debt to a friend for four hundred dollars. Moreover, his strenuous work had largely impaired his health. The original partnership was then dissolved and later Mr. Murphy was more for- tunate in choosing his business associate. Franklin Adams at this time proved the "friend in need and a friend indeed," advancing him money to start in business again, and during 1843-4 he won a fair measure of success. He then accepted the superinten- dency of the Adams mills at what was then considered a fabulous salary-one hundred dollars per month. In 1846, however, Mr. Adams failed in business and later Mr. Murphy formed a partnership with Charles E. Dole and rented the Adams property, operating the sawmills. They were afterward joined by Jonathan Eddy and Newell Avery, the business being then carried on under the firm style of Eddy, Murphy & Company. In 1852 Messrs. Eddy and Avery began the purchase of pine in the lumber woods of Michigan and in this state Mr. Eddy passed away in 1865. The following year Mr. Murphy removed to Michigan with his family, at which time the firm name of Avery & Murphy was adopted. They became the most extensive operators in the pine regions and entered upon a period of uninterrupted prosperity, the partnership continuing until the death of Mr. Avery in 1877. From the beginning it was the policy of the firm to reward the ability and service of all their young employes by giving them an interest in the business as they proved worthy thereof and at the time of Mr. Avery's death there were thirty of the old-time employes who were then partners in the con- cern. The name of Murphy is inseparably interwoven with the lumber trade of Michigan, where the opera- tions of Simon J. Murphy became of extensive propor- tions. At the same time he became interested in other concerns and was the owner of a fine fruit ranch in California, where he spent the winter seasons from 1886 until 1902. As the years passed he also acquired extensive realty possessions in Detroit and he became identified with a number of the leading corporations of the city. He was an investor and director in the American Exchange National Bank, the Michigan Fire & Marine Insurance Company, the Standard Life & Accident Insurance Company, the Edison Electric Light Company and the Union Trust
Company, in addition to other corporations. His son, William H., became actively connected with him in his commercial and real estate operations and together they purchased the site of the old Case building in Congress street, West, and there erected a fine power building for light manufacturing. Mr. Murphy after- ward purchased property on the south side of Fort street, adjoining the State Savings Bank, and there erected a handsome thirteen-story building, which he called the Penobscot, in remembrance of the river along whose banks he had played in his boyhood days.
It was in Maine, on the 21st of September, 1845, that Simon J. Murphy was married to Miss Ann M. Dorr, and they became the parents of twelve children. Mr. Murphy was a leading member of the Universalist church and was for many years a trustee of the Church of Our Father, contributing fifty thousand dollars toward the erection of the house of worship and at all times proving a most earnest and loyal sup- porter of the various lines of church work. A con- temporary writer has said of him: "Mr. Murphy always held that a man's word should be as good as his bond. For himself he was slow to make a promise, but when his word had been given it was adhered to at any cost. It was this characteristic that held men to him with a confidence that was never shaken. His energy and executive ability were won- derful and up to his last birthday he gave personal supervision to his business. In his personal life he followed the routine of simplicity in all things, kept regular hours and was frugal in his tastes and pleasures. For the wastrel he had a supreme con- tempt, yet for the ordinary mixtures of weakness and strength as found in most men he showed a charity and kindness of heart that were often applied in material forms of assistance. He was slow in making friend- ships but it required a great deal to shake his faith in those to whom he had once given his trust. As was natural with a man of such positive character, he could not easily be moved from opinions and con- victions once formed. . . . His death removed a forceful personality and a public-spirited citizen." He passed away February 1, 1905.
ALPHEUS WHITNEY CLARK, manager of the Hugh Moffat estate and recognized as one of the solid business men of Detroit, was born at Flint, Michigan, on the 15th of May, 1852, his parents being William and Mary (Whitney) Clark. While spending his youthful days under the parental roof he was a public school pupil of Flint and afterward continued his education in the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1874. He subsequently became connected with the First National Bank, entering that institution in 1880. Thoroughly mastering every phase of the business en- trusted to him, he was advanced to the position of as- sistant cashier and so continued until 1904, when he resigned to become manager of the estate of Hugh
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Moffat. He has continued in this connection, wisely directing the business of the estate and supervising and placing its investments.
At Flint, Michigan, on the 22d of May, 1878, Mr. Clark was married to Miss Jessie Wisner, daughter of the Hon. Moses Wisner, at one time governor of Michi- gan. Mrs. Clark passed away in August, 1907, leaving a daughter, Florence Wisner, who is now the wife of Edward B. Wallace, and they have one son, David Clark Wallace. Mr. Clark's devotion to his daugh- ter's welfare and interests is one of the strongly marked traits in his character. Politically he is a republican without ambitiou for office. Never seek- ing to make himself unduly prominent, he is never- theless always willing to assist any worthy undertak- ing which falls within the duty of a "good citizen." He belongs to the Presbyterian church, to the Masonic fraternity and to the University of Michigan Associa- tion. Mr. Clark possesses a natural mechanical ability, is well equipped with lathes and other machinery, and finds much enjoyment and amusement working in wood and the metals. His sterling qualities are those not of a peculiar brilliance but those which shine with continuity, and they have gathered around him a host of fast friends. He possesses a social nature, a whole- souled humor and an optimism that puts one at ease immediately in his presence. His love for his home town has been proven on many occasions where he has stanchly and generously supported plans and measures for the public good and his worth as a true Detroiter is recognized by all who know aught of his career.
HAROLD H. EMMONS. There is perhaps no name better known in connection with the Detroit bar than that of Harold H. Emmons. A native son of the city, he was born June 30, 1875, his parents being Marcus A. and Alma M. (Slaven) Emmons, who were natives of Ohio and came to Detroit in the '70s. The father, who was an expert accountant, passed away in this city in November, 1892, and the mother on May 31, 1920. They had two children: Harold H. and Walter T., both living in Detroit.
The elder son was a pupil in the public schools, and graduated from the Central high school in February, 1893. He then entered the University of Michigan and completed his literary course by graduation with the class of 1897, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He remained at Ann Arbor as a law student, receiving his LL.B. degree in June, 1899. He was also the president of his literary class during part of its freshman year, president of the Students Lecture As- sociation, Manager of the University of Michigan Dramatie Association, and Treasurer of the Oratorical Association, and he was likewise prominent in athletic circles of the University, being manager of the University Baseball team, a member of the Athletic Board of the University of Michigan and a member of the Board of Control of Athletics.
He entered upon his professional career in July,
1899, in the office of Walker & Spalding, and in Octo- ber of the same year he entered the office of May- bury & Lueking, with whom he continued until Jan- uary, 1903. He was then admitted to a partnership under the style of Maybury, Lucking, Emmons & Helfman. On the 1st of May, 1913, he left the practice of law to enter manufacturing circles as secretary and treasurer of the Regal Motor Car Company and eight other associated companies. This business was com- pleted on the 1st of January, 1917, and he resumed the practice of law, becoming a partner in the firm of Clark, Emmons, Bryant & Klein. While connected with manufacturing and professional interests, he has also been active in athletic circles. He was a member of the Detroit Boat Club and one of a crew of eight members of that club which twice won the championship of the United States in regattas of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen. He joined the Detroit Naval Reserves as a landsman in April, 1900, worked up through the quartermaster's depart- ment and was commissioned successively ensign, lieu- tenant junior grade, lieutenant and lieutenant-com- mander. When America entered the war with Ger- many he reported for duty and was detailed to the Aircraft Production Board of the army to take charge of all the aviation engine construction for both the army and navy. He remained as chief of the engine production department under its various titles of equipment Division of the Signal Corps, Bureau of Aircraft Production and Air Service of the United States Army, until the close of the war. He was the only naval officer to be detailed to the army, and had charge of the production in twenty-three engine building plants in various parts of the country, of one hundred and one thousand, nine hundred and ninety- three aviation engines of seven different types, which included the Liberty engine, the cost of which totaled four hundred and sixty million dollars. Prior to the declaration of the armistice his department had deliv- ered into service thirty-two thousand of these engines, fifteen thousand of which were Liberty engines. In recognition of his services he was awarded the Dis- tinguished Service Medal by the secretary of war, it being presented to him with due ceremony by the secretary of the navy, before a distinguished company of naval officers. He was the first United States naval officer to be thus decorated. He also received honor- able mention by the British government. Mr. Em- mons is commander Department No. 6, Military Order of the Great War. On June 24, 1920, he was pro- moted to lieutenant commander of United States Naval Reserve Force. Following his discharge from the serv- ice he resumed the practice of law. He has also be- come interested in other business enterprises, being a director of the Scotten-Dillon Company, the Guaranty Trust Company, the Signal Motor Truck Company, the Detroit Motorbus Company, Berry Brothers and the Welded Steel Barrel Company, all of Detroit.
On the 10th of February, 1910, Mr. Emmons was
HAROLD H. EMMONS
WALTER T. EMMONS
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married to Miss Marion Clark Scotten, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oren Scotten. Mrs. Emmons died October 28, 1914, leaving two children: Mary Mar- garet, born in Detroit, January 13, 1911; and Harold H., Jr., born May 29, 1912.
Mr. Emmons is well known in club circles of the city, belonging to the Detroit Athletic, Detroit Boat, Detroit Golf and Bloomfield Hills Country Clubs, to the Lawyers Club, to the Delta Chi legal fraternity, to the Detroit and Michigan State Bar Associations, Sons of the American Revolution, American Legion, the officers of the Great War, and the Society of Auto- motive Engineers.
WALTER T. EMMONS was born May 21, 1889, in Kansas City, Kansas, and is the younger son of Mar- cus A. Emmons and Margaret Alma Emmons of De- troit. Both parents came from Stark county, Ohio. Walter Emmons received his education in the public schools of Ann Arbor and Detroit, graduating from the Central high school in June, 1908. In the fall he entered the engineering department of the University of Michigan, and after remaining in college two years he spent three years in commercial and manufacturing work connected with the automobile industry, repre- senting the Packard Motor Car Company and other companies, in a technical capacity in New England, on the Pacific coast, and elsewhere, and also driving racing cars during a portion of that time. He grad- uated from the University of Michigan as a member of the class of June, 1915, with the degree of Bach- elor in Mechanics and Engineering.
While in college he became a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity. He was also manager of his class baseball team and later assistant manager, and there- after manager of the University baseball team. He was a member of the University athletic board, and also of the board in control of athletics, and was a prominent figure on the campus.
After graduation he entered the employ of the Ford Motor Company, where he remained until called into service in July, 1917, as an ensign in the United States Naval Reserve Force. He was first sent to the Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Illinois, and acted as engineering officer on several of the training ships on the Great Lakes. In November, 1917, he received orders to report to Admiral Sims in London, England, for duty in connection with the mining of the North sea. After some preliminary study in the special technical details of this work at the bureau of ordnance in Washington and at New- port, Rhode Island, he reported in London, December 28, 1917. He was temporarily detailed to duty on the torpedo boat destroyer U. S. S. Shaw, then oper- ating from Queenstown, Ireland. In February, 1918, he reported at Inverness, Scotland, at Mine Base, No. 18. He assisted in the construction of this base and when mining operations were commenced he was de- tailed to one of the most responsible divisions in the
hase, that of transportation officer. This division was responsible for the movement of all mines and sup- plies for the base and for the fleet. Over twenty-five thousand mines were brought into the base and as- sembled before being sent out to be laid in the North sea. These mines were handled ten times in loading and unloading and not one mine was dropped, due to the care and system used in this work.
During the early fall of 1918 a new mining base was projected at Bizerta, Tunis, and he was ordered there in the capacity of executive officer. When the armistice was declared in November this base was abandoned and he returned to London, where he was promoted to Lieutenant J. G., and was detailed to the U. S. S. New York, when it was sent out to meet the President and escort him on his first trip to attend the Peace Conference. In January, 1919, he was or- dered to Constantinople via Paris and Rome, and upon arrival there was detailed as engineering officer of the U. S. S. Nahma, a large converted yacht, which was a sister ship of the President's yacht, the U. S. S. Mayflower. The Nahma was a flagship of Admiral Bristol, who was in charge of American operations in that quarter. During the succeeding six months and on this ship, he visited every important port around the Black sea, on the Grecian coast and down the Asiatic coast, as far as Beirut. At the end of May, 1919, the Nahma was ordered to Glasgow, Scotland, to go out of commission and be returned to its owners. Lieutenant Emmons was detailed to remain with the ship and to help in effecting settlement with the own- ers for its use during the war. In August this duty was completed and on September 16, 1919, he was re- leased from active service and placed on the inactive roll of the Naval Reserve Force. He then entered the employ of the Lincoln Motor Company in its sales and service department.
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