USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 37
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. Braun married Miss E. Genevieve Long, June 9, 1909. Mrs. Braun is the daughter of James and Antoinette Long of Jackson, Michigan. They have five children living, born as follows: Virginia, in 1910; Rosemary, in 1912; Josephine, in 1914; Joseph (II), in 1915; and Julian, in 1917.
Politically Mr. Braun is an independent. He is a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Golf Club, the Oakland Hills Country Club, the Bloom- field Open Hunt Club, the Detroit Automobile Club, the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Knights of Co- lumbus, Automobile Country Club, the Builders and Traders Exchange, and the Better Business Bureau of the Detroit Aderaft Club. For 1921 he is serving a first term as president of the Detroit Lumber Dealers Association.
Mr. Braun is fond of cross-country riding, a sport in which he indulges with his family, the children mounted on their little ponies often accompanying their mother and father. He is also a keen motorist. He is also a collector of paintings depicting forest scenes, twelve of which, similar to his advertisements of the man on the log shooting the rapids, hang on the walls of the Braun Lumber Company offices. Mr. Braun likes nothing better than to go into the woods himself, and no man knows the Au Sable river more intimately than he.
In the beginning of this sketch we mentioned that in Mr. Braun's library were two pieces of art illus- trative of the mainsprings of his life. The first, the illuminated manuscript of Kilmer's poem, "The Tree," shows the motive which inspired his choice of a career. The second is a replica of a Greek frieze, in bronze, an entablature above the fireplace. In it the heroes are depicted going forth to battle, their faces set to the line of march, and into the enduring metal the artist has worked that inspired courage and strength which led Alexander to the conquest of the world and which have enabled Joseph A. Braun in his own industry to go from a penniless boy to the achieve- ment of his every ambition.
NATHAN M. GROSS is one of the younger and progressive business men of Detroit and for several years past has been associated with banking and finance, at present occupying the position of vice president of the Federal Bond and Mortgage Com- Vol. III-21
pany, whose offices are in Detroit. He is a native of Illinois, born in Aurora, November 14, 1890, a son of Max and Amelia Gross.
Mr. Gross was educated in the public and high schools of Chicago, Illinois, receiving in the latter all the necessary elements of a first class course. Showing a predilection for banking, he became asso- ciated with the well known house of Albert L. Strauss of Chicago, where he spent eight years studying banking and finance. With the advantages accruing from the Strauss connection Mr. Gross moved to De- troit in 1916 and organized the Federal Bond and Mortgage Company, with a capital of three hundred thousand dollars. From the very start the company has been doing a progressive and healthy business, and is rapidly coming to be recognized as one of the best managed financial and first mortgage banking institutions in America. Mr. Gross is vice president of the company; he has two sound business men associated with him in the management of the financial affairs, Alfred J. Murphy being president and F. J. Mahler, secretary.
Mr. Gross is active in fraternal organizations. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and a Shriner. He is also a member of the Board of Commerce, of the Real Estate Board, and of Temple Beth El. He holds membership in the Redford Country Club and the Phoenix Club, in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest, serving as a director of the Redford Country Club.
While Mr. Gross takes a practical part in all mat- ters pertaining to the public welfare he has never identified himself with politics with a view to office holding. He is an able business man, enterprising and progressive, with a long and useful career before him in the affairs of Detroit, where his name is favor- ably established in financial cireles.
CLAUDE MOORE HARMON, prominent in the field of real estate, insurance and finance in Detroit, was born in Augusta, Michigan, February 17, 1868, his par- ents being George W. and Alvena (Moore) Harmon. The removal of the family to Detroit during his early boyhood enabled him to pursue his education in the Augusta, Irving and Cass public schools of this city and in the Detroit high school. He started out in the business world as a clerk in the law office of Moore & Canfield of Detroit, remaining in that con- nection from 1887 until 1891. In the latter year he went to the southwest, representing Detroit cap- ital in connection with mining interests of New Mex- ico, where he continued until 1893. In 1894 he re- turned to Detroit and throughout the intervening period has been connected with the real estate busi- ness. He formed a partnership with E. C. Van Husan that was maintained until 1898, since which time he has carried on business alone and has long been recognized as one of the prominent figures in real estate circles in this city. He has also become well
322
CITY OF DETROIT
known in the financial field as local correspondent for the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company in the loaning department, and among his other con- nections of this character, he is a director of the Guaranty Trust Company and Bankers Trust Com- pany of Detroit. He is a man of sound and penetrat- ing judgment, his opinions being based upon a thorough knowledge of business conditions and of every subject which he discusses. His intense busi- ness activity has resulted in success and his enter- prise has carried him far into the realms of real estate and financial activity.
On the 28th of January, 1895, at Kingston, New Mexico, Mr. Harmon was married to Miss Margaret V. Cain and they have become the parents of two children: Austin Cain, born October 30th, 1895, in Detroit; and John Moore. The former is associated with his father in business but the latter passed away in Detroit, November 11, 1917.
Mr. Harmon is a republican in his political views and a Baptist in his religious faith. He is a trustee of the First Baptist church, a director in the Y. M. C. A., and vice president of the Detroit Baptist Union. He belongs to the Detroit Real Estate Board, being president in 1910, and to the Board of Commerce and is interested in all that has to do with business conditions and with civic development here. He is also well known in club circles, having membership in the Detroit Club, Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit Golf Club, and Oakland Hills Golf Club, which indi- cate much of the nature of his recreation. There have been no spectacular phases in his career. He has pursued the even tenor of his way in the conduct of his business affairs and his thoroughness and energy have constituted the foundation of his success. He resides at No. 59 Winona avenue.
WILLIAM BYRON CADY, a member of the law firm of Warren, Cady, Ladd & Hill of Detroit, and officially connected with several of the important com- mercial and industrial enterprises of the city, was born in the Township of Canton, Wayne county, Mich- igan, February 10, 1860, his parents being James B. and Lucy Jane (Blount) Cady, both born in the state of New York.
Mr. Cady is of New England ancestry, the original emigrant, Nicholas Cady, having located at Water- town, Massachusetts in 1632. Mr. Cady began his education in the district schools of Canton township, afterwards attending the village schools at Plymouth and Wayne; later he attended the high school at Ann Arbor, after graduation from which he entered the University of Michigan, graduating in 1882 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy.
In 1883 he located at Detroit; removed to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 1884; became cashier of the Sault Ste. Marie National Bank in 1887, holding that position until 1896, at which time he resumed the practice of law at Sault Ste. Marie. In January,
1897, he removed to Detroit, forming a partnership for the practice of law with the late John C. Shaw. The firm subsequently became Shaw, Warren, Cady & Oakes, and during recent years has practiced under the name of Warren, Cady, Ladd & Hill.
Mr. Cady's cooperation has been sought in the management and development of several of the larger business enterprises of the city and state. He was director and afterwards vice president of the Chehoy- gan Paper Company, which merged with the Union Bag & Paper Company in 1916; has been a director and secretary of the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Com- pany since its organization and is a director and secretary of the American Twist Drill Company.
He was one of the associates of Joseph Berry and Colonel Hecker in the organization and development of the so-called Outer Belt Line.
Mr. Cady was married in June, 1904, to Myra Mac- Pherson Post, daughter of the late Hoyt Post, and they have one daughter: Elizabeth Winsor Cady.
Mr. Cady is a Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He is a member of the Detroit, Country, Athletic, and Detroit Boat Clubs.
He is a member of the Beta Theta Pi college fra- ternity, also of the Bibliophile Society of Boston, and a member of the American Bar Association, as well as of the Bar Associations of the city and state.
Politically Mr. Cady was a democrat, having been a member of the Michigan State central committee in 1888 and following years, until he resigned at the time of the nomination of Mr. Bryan for the presi- dency, since which time he has acted with the republi- can party.
EMERY L. GARMAN, a successful business man of Detroit, who has spent all his working life engaged in the manufacture of tools of various designs, is a native of the Buckeye state, born in Akron, July 16, 1876, a son of Alfred and Julia (Norton) Garman, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio.
Mr. Garman was educated in the public schools of Akron, Ohio, and in that city he learned the trade of toolmaking, which line of business he has always followed, being an expert toolmaker and well known for his mechanical skill in the handling of work. In 1907 Mr. Garman moved to Detroit and worked at his trade until 1918, when the Drayer-Garman Com- pany was formed, with Mr. Garman occupying the position of president, which office he still holds. Since this company was started the toolmaking end of its business has steadily advanced and the firm now has an extensive trade, due in great measure to Mr. Gar- man's untiring energy and ability.
Mr. Garman is a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce, in the affairs of which he takes a deep interest, as he does in civic movements intended for the benefit of the city. He is a member of Akron (Ohio) Lodge, No. 83, F. & A. M. During the progress
WILLIAM B. CADY
325
CITY OF DETROIT
of the World war Mr. Garman rendered excellent help to factories unable to produce government orders for munitions, by turning over part of his plant for that work.
ALEXANDER JOHN ZINDLER is the secretary and treasurer of the firm of J. W. Dykstra & Company, wholesale dealers in coal and coke: He was born in Detroit, May 24, 1886, his parents being Vincent and Mary (Assessor) Zindler, both of whom were natives of Kolmar, Germany. They came to America in early life and were married in Detroit, where the father was foreman for Alex. J. Chapaton, a contractor in briek aud stone mason work. In his capacity he had charge of a business of large proportions and assisted in the erection of many of the leading struc- tures of the city. On December 23d, 1899, he met with an accident, falling from a scaffold during the erection of the Western high school in Detroit. His death resulted December 30th, 1899. His widow still makes her home here.
Alexander John Zindler was the youngest son in a family of nine sons and five daughters. He attended the Detroit high school and St. Joseph's Commercial College and started out in the business world as book- keeper in the employ of the Goebel Brewing Company in 1903, remaining with that firm for two years. He was afterward with the Brenner Coal Company for five years and then with Jules G. Hoffman, whole- sale dealer in coal and coke, in 1910 and 1911. In March of the latter year the business was taken over by J. W. Dykstra & Company and Mr. Zindler has since been the secretary and treasurer. He is also the secretary of the Blue Beaver Coal Company, Incorporated, and secretary of the Blue Beaver & Elkhorn Fuel Company, Incorporated.
On the 1st of September, 1915, Mr. Zindler was married to Miss Beatrice E. Hastings of Detroit, daughter of Peter A. and Margaret (O'Connor) Hast- ings. They have become the parents of two children: Robert F., who was born January 14, 1918; and Richard Hastings, born June 2, 1919. Mr. Zindler and his wife are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and he is a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He also has membership with the Fellow- craft Athletic Club and with the Detroit Yacht Club. He has found his recreation in music, in travel and in boating. For sixteen years he has been continu- ously connected with the coal trade in Detroit and in his business activities has shown thoroughness, dis- cretion and discrimination, so conducting his interests as to make valuable contribution to the success of the company which now numbers him among its capable officials.
CHARLES A. FINSTERWALD, a native son of Detroit whose life has been spent within the borders of the state, is an enterprising and progressive mer- chant who occupies a foremost position in business
circles of the city. He is president of the C. A. Fin- sterwald Company, dealers in domestic and imported rugs and all kinds of floor coverings, and in the con- duct of his interests he is proving most capable and successful, building up a business of extensive and gratifying proportions. He was born September 20, 1867, and is a son of Maier and Caroline (Marx) Finsterwald, the other children in the family being Adolph, Louis, Herman and Cora.
In the public schools of his native city Charles A. Finsterwald acquired his education and on starting out in life independently he entered the employ of J. H. Graham, whose establishment was at that time on Michigan avenue. He remained with Mr. Graham until 1882, when he secured a clerkship with Barkley Smith, engaged in the grocery business and special- izing in the sale of coffee, tea and spices. He con- tinued with that house for four years, acting as their salesman on the lake shore during one year of that period, and then went to Wakefield, Michigan, as manager of the men's clothing store of Heavenrich Brothers at that point, filling that position for two years. He then entered the employ of M. Goldberg as a salesman in his store and it was during this period that Mr. Finsterwald developed the ability of approaching people and the pleasing personality which he now possesses. On returning to Detroit he organized the firm of Finsterwald & Marx and eu- gaged in the sale of groceries, hay, flour and feed, his establishment being located at the corner of Macomb and Rivard streets. Subsequently Mr. Finsterwald disposed of his interest in the business to Mr. Marx and went to Ironwood, Micigan, where he became manager of a clothing store, engaged in tailoring and also handling ready-made garments. He acted in that capacity for a year and a half and then removed to Oxford, Michigan, where, in partnership with his uncle, he organized the Star Clothing Company, with which he was connected until 1893, when he disposed of his interest in the enterprise and engaged in the machin- ery and grain business in Marion for a period of fifteen years. In 1912 Mr. Finsterwald returned to Detroit and in association with his brother Herman entered the furniture business, bought a half interest at No. 219 Randolph street, and three years later, or in 1915, established his business at No. 321 Woodward avenue, at the corner of Bates and Congress streets. He conducts his interests under the style of the C. A. Finsterwald Company, of which he is serving as the president, and in business circles of Detroit the name has become a synonym for enterprise and reliability. Since November 1, 1920, the firm has done a whole- sale business in carpets, rugs, etc. The company handles domestic and imported rugs, carpets, lino- leums and all kinds of floor coverings, having a com- plete assortment of the best the market affords in the lines in which they specialize, and their reason- able prices, high quality of service and reliable and progressive business methods have secured for them
326
CITY OF DETROIT
a large patronage, this being one of the leading establishments of the kind in the city. Mr. Finster- wald is a man of broad experience along business lines and the enterprise of which he is the head stands as a monument to his initiative spirit and executive powers.
On the 15th of August, 1893, Mr. Finsterwald was united in marriage to Miss Selma Goldberg and they have become the parents of eight children: Mrs. Guy R. Rowe, a resident of New York; Rae, a graduate of Columbia University, who is acting as secretary of the company of which her father is the head; Evelyn; Maier, who is also associated with his father in the business; Lucile, a student at Simmons College; Maxine, who is a member of the high school class of 1922; and Miriam and Ruth, both of whom are attend- ing the Doty school.
In his political views Mr. Finsterwald is a stanch republican and is an active and earnest member of the Board of Commerce, in which connection he does all in his power to promote the welfare and ad- vancement of his city, taking a deep and heartfelt interest in its affairs. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree in the consistory, also be- longing to Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and he is likewise a member of the Eastern Star and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His social nature finds expression in his membership in the Phoenix, Redford Country, Vortex and Temple Clubs, and he has always been fond of outdoor sports and is also an enthusiastic advocate of physical culture. He has made steady progress since starting out in the business world, his close application, untiring energy and spirit of determination constituting dom- inant qualities in the attainment of his present-day success, and through the wise management of a large commercial enterprise he is contributing to the in- dustrial expansion of the city; along the line of his business he belongs to the Carpet Association of America. He is a man of resolute purpose and marked strength of character and his individual qualities are such as have gained him the warm and enduring re- gard of a host of friends.
WILLIAM TEFFT BARBOUR. Long before De- troit entered upon its present era of vital industrial- ism there had here been developed many large and important industrial enterprises that gave solidity and commercial prestige to the city, and among many family names that have for years been prominent in connection with the civic and business interests of Detroit and that have represented maximum influence in the upbuilding of important industries in the Mich- igan metropolis, that of Barbour has been specially eminent. William Tefft Barbour is a popular repre- sentative of this old and honored family and was born in Detroit on the 4th of April, 1877, a son of Edwin S. and Ella (Tefft) Barbour, the former a native of Collinsville, Connecticut, and the latter of Buffalo, New York. Edwin S. Barbour was a youth
when he came to Detroit, and here he became identi- fied with the wholesale dry goods house of Root, Bar- bour & Company, with which he continued his active connection until he turned his splendid energies into the development of the great industrial enterprise now conducted by the Detroit Stove Works, the business having been founded by the late William H. Tefft, who was long a dominating figure in the industrial and commercial life of Detroit. With the upbuilding of the Detroit Stove Works to the status of one of the important concerns of the kind in the United States Edwin S. Barbour was most influential and he continued as president of the corporation until his death, which occurred April 3, 1897, the date of his nativity having been November 19, 1832. Of him and other influential representatives of the Barbour family incidental and direct mention will be found in various other places in this publication, for the name has meant much in the history of Detroit. Mrs. Barbour survived her honored husband and continued her residence in Detroit until her death, in 1912, William Tefft Barbour being the only survivor of their three children.
William Tefft Barbour gained his early education in private and public schools of Detroit and there- after continued his studies in historic old Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts. Upon his re- turn to the parental home, in 1895, he assumed the position of purchasing agent for the Detroit Stove Works, and two years later, upon the death of his father, he succeeded the latter as president of this important industrial corporation, of which he has since continued the chief executive officer, the while in this and other connections he is well upholding the prestige of the family name. He is a member of the directorate of the People's State Bank of De- troit, the Detroit Trust Company, the Detroit Man- ufacturers Railway Company, the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company and the Michigan Wire Cloth Company, besides having other important finan- cial, industrial and commercial interests in his native city. He is president of the Grace Hospital Asso- ciation, and he is a member of many of the repre- sentative clubs of the Michigan metropolis, including the Detroit Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, Yondo- tega, Country Club, Bloomfield Hills Country Club, De- troit Boat Club, and the Turtle Lake Club. He is a member of the vestry of the St. Paul's cathedral, Prot- estant Episcopal, and is deeply interested in this. old and historic parish and its work, his wife likewise being an earnest communicant of old St. Paul's, and both holding prominent place in connection with the representative social activities of their native city, by reason of ancestral heritage as well as personal pop- ularity.
June 10, 1902, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bar- bour to Miss Margaret Chittenden, daughter of Wil- liam J. Chittenden, and a representative of a family that likewise has long been one of prominence and
BACHRACH
WILLIAM T. BARBOUR
329
CITY OF DETROIT
influence in Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Barbour have become parents of the following children: Irene, who was born March 5, 1903, is, in 1921, a student in Miss Porter's private school for girls, at Farming- ton, Connecticut; Ella, born August 20, 1904, who is likewise a student in this excellent school; William T., Jr., born May 7, 1907, who is attending school at West Newton, Massachusetts; Alpheus William, born March 9, 1911, who is a student in the Detroit University school; and Thomas E., born Angust 10, 1915. Mr. Barbour's city residence is at 2931 East Jefferson avenue and his country home-Briarbank- is in the Bloomfield Hills district.
HUGO KUSCHEWSKI, secretary and treasurer of the Kuschewski Brothers Coal Company, one of De- troit's largest independent coal companies, was born in this city October 28, 1894, his parents being John and Augusta (Klein) Kuschewski, both of whom were born in Europe. They came to America in early life, however, and settled in Detroit, where the father afterward established a fuel business and for many years successfully conducted it. He was also con- nected with other business enterprises in the city and at length decided to give up active life, living now retired in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. His wife is also living. They became the parents of five children: Paul, who died in Detroit in 1918; Otto, who was born in Detroit and is a partner in the Kuschewski Brothers Coal Company; Emma, now the wife of Rudolph C. Kock of Detroit; Mrs. George Dreher, also of this city; and Hugo of this review.
The last named spent his youthful days largely in the acquirement of an education until he decided to join his father in the coal business, and from his fourteenth year he has devoted his energies to the trade. He has steadily advanced in this connection and at length he and his brothers, Otto and Paul, purchased the father's interest in the business on the 1st of April, 1916, and organized the Kuschewski Brothers Coal Company, which they conducted for two years and were incorporated in the year 1918. Through the intervening period they have conducted the business on much broader and more extensive lines, their constantly expanding trade being handled in three yards, two of which are at Buchanan and the Pere Marquette Railroad, while one is situated on West Warren avenue and Pere Marquette Railroad. They employ from thirty to forty people and their business is steadily increasing. Otto K. Kuschewski is the president of the company, Hugo Kuschewski the secretary and treasurer, and Geo. G. Dreher is vice president. They are men of marked capability in business, having thoroughly organized and systematized their interests, and their careful management and sound judgment are constantly manifest in their grow- ing prosperity.
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.