USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 36
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PERCY M. FOWL, late president of the Cadillac Tool Company, one of the more recently organized prodnetive industries of Detroit, engaged in the manu- facture of job machinery and tools, attained his position of prominence through close application and indefatigable industry, combined with the wise utiliza- tion of his time, talents and opportunities. He was an expert mechanic, thoroughly familiar with every phase of the business, and was therefore well qualified to direct the efforts of those in his employ, securing maximum results at a minimum expenditure of time, labor and material.
Mr. Fowl was a native of Ohio and the son of a farmer. He was born in Elyria, May 5, 1883, and there attended the public schools, after which he became a student in the Elyria Business College, and when eighteen years of age he started out in the com-
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mercial world, entering the employ of the Johnson Steel Company at Lorain, Ohio, as a machinist and continuing with that corporation for about four years, during which period he obtained much valuable knowl- edge regarding manufacturing operations. The next four years he spent in different positions, acquiring hroad experience and becoming thoroughly familiar with the various types of machinery, after which he entered the employ of the well known machinery firm of Strong, Carlisle & Hammond of Cleveland, with whom he remained for eight years, his services proving very valuable to the concern. He had also developed qualities of salesmanship and in 1909 he came to Detroit as salesman in their offices here, doing such excellent work in this connection that in 1915 he was promoted to the position of manager of the Detroit branch. He continued to act in that capacity until July, 1917, when upon the organization of the Cadillac Tool Company, he was made its presi- dent, bending his energies to administrative direction and executive control, to the time of his death, which occurred August 24, 1921. Mr. Fowl gained an expert knowledge of the business, owing to his long connection therewith, understanding thoroughly the needs of jobbing machinery, so that the manufac- tured product of the company meets the demands of the trade in a most satisfactory manner, being well adapted to all practical work. The motto of the company has always been: "We furnish the machine and equip it with tools to do the work," and since its organization the business has enjoyed a steady and prosperous growth, owing to the constructive efforts, executive ability and enterprising spirit of Mr. Fowl. He found genuine pleasure in solving intricate and involved business problems and was actuated by strong purpose that would not permit him to stop short of the accomplishment of anything he undertook. His labors at all times conformed to the strictest business ethics and his work was entirely of a constructive character, never infringing upon the rights or privi- leges of another. He was president and founder of the Detroit Garage Equipment Company.
On the 19th of June, 1917, Mr. Fowl was united in marriage to Miss Alice Florence McLean and they became the parents of a daughter, Marjorie Ann, born March 1, 1919. In his political views Mr. Fowl was a stanch republican, interested in the welfare and success of the party, and fraternally he was identified with the Masons, belonging to City of the Straits Lodge, F. & A. M .; to Michigan Sovereign Consistory, in which he had attained the thirty-second degree; and to the Mystic Shrine. He was also a member of the Fellow- craft Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, the Board of Commerce, the Masonic Country Club, and the Ohio Society. For recreation he turned to hunting, fishing and motoring. He was a man of kindly, sympathetic nature, ever ready to extend aid and assistance to the needy, and he was a generous contributor to many charitable institutions, performing his benefactions
quietly and unostentatiously. His was a most credi- table record, characterized by integrity and honor in every relation, and he stood as a high type of Ameri- can manhood and citizenship.
FRED CHARLES HARVEY. For forty years Fred Charles Harvey has occupied the same suite of rooms in the Moffat building in Detroit, giving his attention to the practice of law and to the conduct of important real estate and other business interests. In his pro- fession he has loug enjoyed an enviable reputation as a trial lawyer and as a counselor and to a consider- able extent has made a specialty of admiralty law.
Mr. Harvey is a. native son of Michigan, having been born at Mendon on the 1st of June, 1858, his parents being Noah S. and Lydia (Cole) Harvey, who were natives of the state of New York but in early life came to Michigan. The father was connected with the building trade and both he and his wife remained residents of Michigan until called to their final rest. They had a family of four children, three of whom are living: Mrs. Leman D. Doty, a resident of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Alfred S. Westlake, living at Marquette, Michigan; and Fred C.
The last named attended the public schools of Detroit, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and then entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Return- ing to Detroit, he became associated with Henry C. Wisner and John J. Speed, two eminent members of the Detroit bar, with whom he was connected for many years under the firm name of Wisner, Speed & Harvey and later of Wisner & Harvey. This con- nection was maintained until the death of Mr. Wisner in 1900, since which time Mr. Harvey has practiced independently, enjoying a very extensive clientage in admiralty law, to which he has largely directed his attention. He has become officially and financially connected with various business interests, being a director of the Ferguson Estate Company, Limited, the E. Ferguson Company, Limited, the Harvey Con- struction Company, Haberkorn Investment Company, C. H. Haberkorn Company, Miracle Mining Com- pany, the Michigan Bond & Mortgage Company, Lim- ited, the Seminole Hills Land Company, the Detroit City Base Line Land Company, Oakland Hills Land Company, and several other important realty concerns.
In November, 1884, Mr. Harvey was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary E. Adams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Adams. They have four children: Fred Percival, who was born in Detroit in 1886, and was graduated from the high school of this city, is married and still makes his home in Detroit; Mrs. Helen Hortense Haberkorn, born in 1887, died in Detroit in 1914, leaving a son, Henry Harvey Haberkorn, who is now living with his maternal grandparents; Mrs. Bessie May Swartwout is also a resident of Detroit, and Marguerite, the youngest of the family, is with her parents.
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Mr. Harvey and his family attend St. John's Epis- copal church. Fraternally he is connected with Oriental Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter. R. A. M .; and Monroe Council, R. & S. M. He belongs to the Detroit Curling Club, to the Detroit Cribbage Club and the Windsor Club and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the Law Association, the Detroit Bar Association, the Michigan Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Strong of purpose, holding to high standards of his profession and possessing the energy and industry which are just as essential to law practice as to the successful conduct of industrial and commercial in- terests, he has long been known as one of the repre- sentative members of the Detroit bar and also as a most successful figure in real estate circles.
JOHN E. KING. One is apt to think of Detroit as a great industrial center, the wheels of industry constantly revolving and thereby promoting the growth and development of Michigan's metropolis. While Detroit merits and enjoys her advantages in this direction, her commercial interests, too, are worthy of note and it is in the latter field that John E. King has become well known, being president of the John E. King Coffee Company. He was born in Detroit, February 6, 1879, and is a son of William Arthur and Elizabeth (Robinson) King, who are natives of Eng- land and of the state of New York, respectively. They came to Detroit in 1877, two years previous to their son's birth and the father here successfully conducted business as a coffee and tea merchant, continuing active in that field up to the year 1905, when he sold his interests and turned his attention to the insurance business of which he is now the head, con- ducting his agency under the name of W. A. King & Son, with offices in the Empire building. To him and his wife have been born two children, the younger son being David Clifton King, now a successful insur- ance man, associated in business with his father.
John E. King, after completing a high school edu- cation, joined his father in the tea and coffee busi- ness and the relation was maintained until 1898, when he enlisted for service in the navy in connection with the Spanish-American war. He continued with the navy until the close of hostilities and then received an honorable discharge, after which he returned to his home and started in the wholesale business under the name of the John E. King Coffee Company, a wholesale business which has been developed into one of the most highly successful interests of the kind in Detroit. In 1921 the corporation completed and oc- cupied a handsome building on Winder street. The largest coffee laboratory in the world is in connec- tion with the King Coffee Products Corporation, of which he is president. During the World war he devoted his entire time and that of his laboratory
force to the production of an improved soluble coffee for the troops in Europe.
On the 23d of September, 1902, in Detroit, Mr. King was married to Miss Ida Waldo, daughter of the late Lewis C. Waldo, who was president of the White Star Line of steamers. To Mr. and Mrs. King have been born three children: Lewis Waldo, who was born March 22, 1904, in Detroit, and since attending De- troit University school, from which he graduated, is now a student in the Phillips Exeter Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire; John E., born January 4, 1908, who is attending the University school; and Mary Roby, born March 15, 1913, who is attending the Grosse Pointe school.
Mr. King is a life member of the Detroit Boat Club and is much interested in aquatic sports. He is also connected with the Country Club, the Old Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, Lochmoor, and the Detroit Auto Club. His membership relations also extend to the Detroit Board of Commerce and his in- terest in the city's welfare is manifest in many tangi- ble ways. Throughout his active business life he has been associated with the tea and coffee trade in De- troit and in this connection has made a most creditable name and place, while his business enterprise has been one that has established Detroit as an important com- mercial as well as industrial center. He is the presi- dent of the Waldo Estate Company. Mr. King's residence is in Grosse Pointe village.
PETER A. SIDEBOTTOM. How proud the friends of Peter A. Sidebottom should be and are of the record which be made in all the years which took him from a newsboy, selling papers on the streets of the city where the Ford building now stands, to a place among the substantial, progressive and successful business men of Detroit. His life should ever serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to the young and his memory is revered and cherished by all who knew him. Ever remembering his own early trials and difficul- ties, he was constantly extending a hand where aid was needed and there was no one who labored more zealously, earnestly, enthusiastically and effectively for the welfare of the newsboys of Detroit.
Peter A. Sidebottom was born in Manchester, England, December 15, 1861, his parents being Peter A. and Sophie (Hughes) Sidebottom, whose family numbered seven children, three of whom are living. The father engaged in the butchering and shipment of meat in England, his native country, until he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, having determined to try his fortune in the new world. Reaching American shores, he at once made his way across the continent to Detroit, where he resided until his death, continuing in the same line of busi- ness which he had followed in his native country.
Peter A. Sidebottom obtained a public school edu- cation, although his opportunities were far more limited than those which fall to the lot of many.
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He early began providing for his own support by selling newspapers on the streets of the city and in this connection one of the local papers has written an interesting account, as follows: "Long before the Alger heroes, with their well known pluck and pride and perseverance, had climbed the pinnacle of fame in boydom's literary world, Detroit owned, among her newsies, the prototype of Sam and Phil and Frank, fear- less spirits, the embodiment of honesty, virtue, indom- itable resolution and all other manly virtues. If Peter A. Sidebottom, who lies dead at the age of fifty-nine, at his home, 345 High street, West, were able he might disclaim vigorously the comparison and refuse to see anything particularly heroic or inspirational about his career. But there are many among the old Detroiters who remember 'Pete' as he looked nearly half a century ago, peddling his papers where the Ford building now stands. A. A. Schantz, president of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company, is one of those who remember. 'It was a tough bunch in those days who used to supply the town with its daily papers,' said Mr. Schantz, 'and Pete was with them, but never of them. He, of all those I remember, never swore, chewed, smoked or drank. A newcomer among the newsies might attempt to ridicule Peter for habits and beliefs. The old-timers never did. And of course the old uns egged on the new to assail Pete. They knew what was coming. Pete could and would fight at the drop of the hat. Many a window on Griswold street would fly open at the sound of strife in the street below, only to see Pete demonstrating in no halfway fashion, the advantages of clean living and right thinking to the adherents of general deviltry.' "'
The same qualities which made Peter A. Sidebottom a sturdy, honest, industrious youth made him a pro- gressive, reliable and enterprising business man. When he had saved from his earnings a sufficient capital he engaged in the trucking business, representing Thomas Beck and other commission merchants for a time, and about twenty-five years prior to his death he entered into partnership relations with A. Krolik in the trucking business, which under their guidance developed to extensive proportions, necessitating the employment at various times of as many as one hundred men. Mr. Sidebottom thoroughly system- atized his interests and wisely directed his business affairs and the success which he achieved was most gratifying. He won a most creditable position among the reliable business men of the city and all who knew him had the most thorough respect for his opinions and at all times regarded his word as good as any bond solemnized by signature or seal.
In 1884 Mr. Sidebottom was united in marriage to Miss Celia Mackey, a daughter of William Mackey, a native of Dublin, Ireland, who, coming to the new world, established his home in Detroit, remaining a resident of the city for forty years or until his death, . which occurred in 1914. Mr. Sidebottom passed away
on the 15th of August, 1920, his demise being the occasion of deep regret to young and old, rich and poor. In politics he was a stalwart republican and fraternally he was connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The nature of his interests and activities is further indicated in his membership re- lations with the Good Fellows, the Old Newsboys, the Humane Society, Little Sisters of the Poor, and other organizations looking to the betterment of conditions. For a number of years he was actively interested in juvenile court work. His hobby was undoubtedly the newsboys. He was fond of relating little incidents and adventures that came to him while selling papers in what is now the business center of the city and he felt the keenest delight when the Detroit News announced its first Good Fellow cam- paign. No matter how inclement the weather he was always at his old stand every year just before Christ- mas, selling his papers to help assure the poor of the city a merry holiday season. The desire for peace and harmony and for cleanliness of life which he manifested in his boyhood continued with him throughout manhood and he never deviated from the highest standards. Of him it might well be written: "He was a man. Take him for all in all
I shall not look upon his like again."
EDGAR B. WHITCOMB. Numbered among the substantial and progressive business men of Detroit is Edgar B. Whitcomb, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, August 6, 1866, and is a son of Cum- mings D. and Mary G. (Webber) Whitcomb, both of whom were natives of Maine. The parents came to Michigan at an early day and the father was for many years an official of the Michigan Central Rail- way Company. They both passed away in Detroit.
Edgar B. Whitcomb, their only child, obtained his early education in the public schools of Detroit, after which he became identified with marine interests in connection with the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company, continuing to serve in that connection for eleven years. He then entered the employ of the Scripps estate, with which he has since been identi- fied. He has always been heavily interested in real estate, specializing in central business property in- vestments and building. Mr. Whitcomb is a man of large affairs, has become identified with a number of worthy enterprises which have been important factors in the city's upbuilding and development and is now president of the Detroit Brass & Malleable Works, one of the big manufacturing concerns of the city.
On the 10th of November, 1891, Mr. Whitcomb was united in marriage in Detroit to Miss Anna Virginia Scripps, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Scripps. They have become parents of two children: James Scripps, who was born and educated in Detroit and is now engaged in the real estate business; and
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Harriet, who is the wife of Almadus De Grasse Wil- kinson, by whom she has two children, Mary and Warren Wilkinson. The son married Miss Sybil Ben- nett and they have one child, Barbara Whitcomb.
Mr. Whitcomb and his wife are members of the Episcopal church, St. Paul's parish, and he belongs to various leading clubs, including the Detroit, Detroit Athletic, Detroit Boat, Oakland Hills Country, Auto Country and Grosse lle Country Clubs. He is like- wise a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and the Detroit Real Estate Board. He is a man of high character, a close student of the trend of the times, interested in all questions vital to the welfare of community and country.
J. A. BRAUN. In this sketch of Mr. Joseph A. Braun, president, treasurer and general manager of the Braun Lumber Company, an effort will be made to define the underlying motives of his career as well as to narrate its mere chronology. On the walls of the library in his beautiful country home, Linda Vista, in the Bloomfield Hills, north of Birmingham, Mr. Braun treasures two works of art, the possession of which reveal the mainsprings of his entire life. The first is a wonderfully illuminated manuscript of Joyce Kil- mer's poem, "The Tree." Mr. Braun's love of trees has always been not a hobby, but a passion. His house is a delightful type of Old Colonial, like Mt. Vernon, all in wood. Around it survive noble speci- mens which once covered the hills of his estate. Within, the woodwork of each room and hall excites admiration, especially the deep set doors, the spindled stairways and the panels of the dining-room and library, the former in sheer whitewood, the latter in pure mahogany, more lovely than polished marble. It is no wonder that Mr. Braun should have devoted his life to lumber and woodwork as a business, when we see how his home is perfectly set as the expression of an ingrained affection for the tree and the products turned from it.
When the ambitions of most boys incline only to the extremes of life, from policeman or street-car conductor to president of their country, Mr. Braun determined to be a lumberman. His parents were Julius and Victoria (Weber) Braun. His father came from Switzerland, the land whose pride is not only in its mountains and lakes, but in its trees. After reach- ing Detroit in 1870, he engaged in blacksmithing and wagon-making. Fondness for the open, however, led him in 1884 to settle in Royal Oak, Detroit's beau- tiful northern suburb, but then not even a hamlet. With the growth of the village Mr. Braun's father became a prominent and influential citizen, contrib- uting much to the development of the town. While engaged in the lumber business, he was also active in public office, serving as supervisor and treasurer and doing not a little for public welfare as a member of various boards. Until his death in 1908, the manner
in which he had held every office of public honor and trust, won for him general gratitude and esteem.
Mr. Joseph A. Braun was born December 11, 1884, in Royal Oak, where in boyhood he later went to pri- mary school. When his father died, leaving him no wealth with which to start life, Mr. Braun set bravely about the realization of his life ambition. To learn the business from the ground up, he entered the employ of the F. M. Sibley Lumber Company and the C. W. Kotcher Lumber Company. With the latter firm he rose from one position to auother still better, in the meantime continuing his studies, which were concluded with a three-year course in the Detroit College of Law. In 1906 he was engaged by the Anke- tell Lumber and Coal Company of Jackson, Michigan, where he remained as local manager for two years.
Early in his career Mr. Braun had shown that he possessed two characteristics, courage to lead and strength to accomplish. These qualities, evidence of great vigor of intellect and unusual power of will, were displayed when, in 1908, he returned to Detroit and founded what is now the Braun Lumber Company on the site of the present power house, main office building and a part of the huge plant of the Ford Motor Company in Highland Park. In 1911 he fur- ther increased his holdings on Woodward avenue and the Detroit Terminal Railroad. Mr. Ford's factory was then at Woodward and Manchester avenues, the Braun property lying between it and the Detroit Terminal. Skeptics at the time jeered at the young lumberman for locating so far out as Woodward avenue.
Starting with only two horses and wagons, in a few years the Braun Lumber Company, because of the splendid quality of its lumber and finish and the excel- lent service rendered its customers, had not only become firmly established with a rapidly increasing number of accounts, but faced the necessity for still larger acreage on which to rear new mills, ware- houses, storage sheds and vastly more grounds for ad- ditional open storage. To meet this emergency Mr. Braun's courage in locating his business so far to the north, was accordingly put to a supreme test. And again his strength of character was in evidence. He grasped the opportunity to bring into reality his vision of a great central plant with adequate facili- ties to carry out his ideals of what a great lumber and finish company should be. And so in 1915 he sold the holdings of the Braun Lumber Company on Wood- ward avenue to Mr. Ford and purchased the present site of the Braun Lumber Company, which includes the L-shaped tract of thirty-two acres, lying in the southeast angle formed by the junction of the Grand Trunk and the Detroit Terminal railroads. This site, which adjoins the Ford Motor Company on the north, is today in the very center of metropolitan Detroit. The development of the new yards and mills began in 1916. Today fourteen acres are being utilized out of . the total acreage of thirty-two.
During the winter of 1920, Mr. Braun again called
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on that courage and strength which have made him an acknowledged leader. At a time which has been the darkest business hour in years, when others thought only of conserving their resources, Mr. Braun in part- nership with Mr. F. L. Lowrie, president and general manager of the F. L. Lowrie Lumber and Finish Com- pany, purchased the property, stocks and goodwill of the Arthur L. Holmes Lumber and Fuel Company, in- cluding the Gratiot, Van Dyke and West Warren yards, which he and Mr. Lowrie are operating as a going concern, under the title of the Holmes Lumber Company.
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