The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III, Part 6

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932, ed; Stocking, William, 1840- joint ed; Miller, Gordon K., joint ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Detroit-Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1022

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 6

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).

CHARLES DU CHARME. The year which wit- nessed Michigan's admission to the Union also chron- icled the arrival of Charles Du Charme in Detroit. No one recognized how important an hour that was in the history of the city nor dreamed that with his coming Detroit gained a man who was to become the founder of one of the largest industrial enterprises of the country. However, for thirty-six years there- after Mr. Du Charme remained a factor in the com- mercial circles of the city and laid the foundation of the Michigan Stove Company. He possessed the re- sourcefulness inherited from a French ancestry that was identified for many years with the development of Canada, the ancestral line being given at length in connection with the sketch of his son, Charles Albert Du Charme, on another page of this work.

Charles Du Charme was born at Berthier-en-Haut, in the city of Montreal, Quebec, May 5, 1818, and was reared to the occupation of farming, his train- ing in the work of the fields being much more cơm- prehensive and thorough than was the educational training which he received in the schools near his father's home. He remained in the place of his nativ- ity to the age of fifteen years, when he started out to provide for his own support by going to Montreal and obtaining a position as elerk in a hardware store. Thus he received initial experience along the line which he was to make his life work. He closely ap- plied himself to the mastery of the tasks assigned him and during his four years' experience in his original position he gained a comprehensive knowledge of the

hardware trade and of the possibilities of the busi- ness. Believing that larger opportunities were to be secured and advancement was to be more quickly won on this side of the boundary line, he passed from Canada into the United States in 1837 and for a brief period was a resident of Jonesville, Michigan, but found that he suffered there from fever and ague, a disease very prevalent in a new locality and which proved a sore trial to many of the pioneers who were seeking to establish homes on the frontier. Mr. Du Charme accordingly removed from Jonesville to De- troit and secured a position with A. H. Newbould, a leading hardware merchant of the embryo city, with whom he continued until 1849. He was ambitious, however, to engage in business on his own account and during his clerkship carefully saved his earnings until his industry and frugality had brought him a sufficient capital to enable him to start out in the busi- ness world independently. He then formed a partner- ship with A. M. Bartholomew, afterward his father- in-law, and they opened a hardware store under the firm style of Du Charme & Bartholomew, the associa- tion being maintained until 1855, when Mr. Bartholo- mew was succeeded by Christian H. Buhl and the firm name was changed to Buhl & Du Charme. They also purchased the business of Mr. Newbould and con- ducted their store on Woodward avenue, near Atwater street, until 1872, when they sought more commod- ious quarters on Woodbridge street, West. There the business was maintained until after the death of Mr. Du Charme, January 9, 1873, and in the meantime their trade had steadily grown and developed with the growth and progress of the city and the firm had won for itself an enviable reputation. In the fall of 1871 Mr. Du Charme became associated with Jeremiah Dwyer, Merrill I. Mills and Richard R. Long in organ- izing and incorporating the Michigan Stove Company and with its organization on the 19th of December, Mr. Du Charme became its president and held this office until his demise. In this connection he instituted an administrative policy which has always been main- tained. He adopted progressive methods in the de- velopment of the business and from the beginning recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement. He therefore put forth every effort to please the customers of the house and laid the foundation upon which has since been built the largest enterprise of the kind in the world. A contemporary biographer has said of Mr. Du Charme: "For thirty- six years he was a potential and active factor in the commercial life of Detroit, where his interests were wide and varied, his business enterprises being among the largest and most successful in the city, and the large fortune which he amassed constituted a fitting return for his untiring energy, as well as a tribute to his business acumen and his abiding faith in his home city. Remarkable executive ability, capacity for or- ganization, accurate intuitive judgment of the capacity and adaptation of men for places-these were the

CHARLES DU CHARME

CITY OF DETROIT

qualities of his many-sided and symmetrical charac- ter. He had high civic ideals and did all in his power to enhance the material and moral welfare of his home city and to promote good government in all its branches."

Aside from his connection with the hardware trade, Mr. Du Charme figured prominently in business circles of Detroit as a director of the Second National Bank, of the Peoples Savings Bank and the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company and he was also associated with the firm of K. C. Barker & Company, tobacco manufacturers.

On the 10th of August, 1853, Mr. Du Charme was united in marriage to Miss Elsie Elizabeth Barthol- omew, a daughter of Albert M. Bartholomew, who was Mr. Du Charme's original partner in the hardware trade. His wife was born in Montgomery, New York, May 1, 1830, and long survived her husband, passing away in Detroit, January 14, 1892, her memory sur- rounded by the halo of a gracious presence and charm- ing personality. She was a descendant of William Bartholomew, a native of Burford, England, who founded the family in America, reaching the new world on the 18th of September, 1634, as a passenger on the ship Griffin. He was made a freeman at Boston within the same year and passed away at Charlestown, Massachusetts, January 18, 1680. The line of descent down to the present generation of the Du Charme family in Detroit is given at length in the sketch of Charles Albert Du Charme on another page of this work, Charles A. being the eldest of the four surviving sons of Charles and Elsie Elizabeth Du Charme, the others being George A., Frederick T. and William H.

In his political views Mr. Du Charme was an earnest republican from the organization of the party until his demise. He was a man possessed of many admir- able characteristics, chief among which was his earnest and helpful interest in young men. He was continually extending to such the hand of assistance and aided many in starting in business for themselves, never fear- ing competition but always being glad to place them in a self-supporting position. It has been said that he was generous to a fault, but while his charities and benevolences were many, they were given most unostentatiously, often being known only to himself and the recipient. A strong mark of his intellectual force was the universality of his friendships, for true worth could always win his regard, and his life record was illustrative of the Emersonian philosophy that "the way to win a friend is to be one."

CHARLES WARREN PICKELL is one of the prom- inent and widely known insurance men of the middle west. In the thirty-three years in which he has been connected with the insurance business, his office has produced over sixty million dollars of new insurance. Back of this result one will naturally find indefatig- able industry and energy, combined with a thorough Vol. III-4

understanding of every phase of the business, in which he has continuously engaged since 1887. Mr. Pickell is a native of the state of New York, his birth having occurred at Hopewell Center, in Ontario county, September 25, 1856, his parents being William and Mary Elizabeth (Litchfield) Pickell. After acquiring a district school education in the Empire state and in Michigan and continuing his studies in the public schools of Grass Lake, Michigan, until graduated from the high school with the class of 1874, he entered the Michigan State Normal College at Ypsilanti and there completed a classical course in 1879. Before finishing his school work there, however, he had taken up the profession of teaching, which he had followed through the winter seasons of 1874, 1875 and 1876 in the district schools of Michigan. In 1879-80 he was principal of the public schools of Middleville, Michigan, and in 1881 of the schools at Bronson. He spent the succeeding two years as principal at Elk Rapids and in 1884 became superintendent of schools at Ludington, Michigan, there remaining for four years. He was also engaged in conducting and assist- ing in teachers' institutes in thirteen different coun- ties of Michigan during the period from 1881 until 1888.

Mr. Pickell initiated his insurance experience as district manager of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company at Grand Rapids, where he remained from 1888 until 1891, during which time more than six hundred applications for life insurance were person- ally secured. On the 15th of March, 1891, he became associate manager with J. C. Thompson of the Mass- achusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company at Detroit and in October of the same year purchased the interest of Mr. Thompson in the agency and has continued as general manager. In 1906 he resigned the territory he held in Ohio and all of Michigan save five counties in the southeastern part of the state, for his business in this district had grown to such an extent as to require his entire attention. He has personally written over fifteen million dollars worth of insurance and in addition he has become widely known as the author of a volume entitled "Plain Hints," which has been called the "insur- ance men's Bible." This little book has now reached a sale of ninety thousand copies. He has frequently spoken before conventions of insurance men and his paper entitled the "Magic Key," read before the National Life Underwriters of Canada and the United States in 1907, attracted wide attention. Another volume which he published, called "Plain Reasons," has also had a wide circulation.

On the 23d of August, 1881, Mr. Pickell was united in marriage to Miss Lola M. Parkis, who passed away February 25th, 1913. Mr. Pickell now spends his sum- mer months at Detroit, occupying attractive quarters at the Detroit Athletic Club, while the winter months are spent in Los Angeles. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is a prominent

CITY OF DETROIT

Mason, belonging to Corinthian Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Monroe Chapter, R. A. M .; Damacus Commandery, K. T .; Michigan Sovereign Consistory, S. P. R. S .; and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. In club circles, too, he is widely known, belonging to the Detroit, Detroit Athletic, and Detroit Golf Clubs, also to the Los Angeles Country and Los Angeles Athletic Clubs. He is a man of liberal culture, with a taste for lit- erary pursuits and pleasures, and his attractive per- sonality, having its root in intellectuality and broad sympathy, has won him the friendship of many of the most prominent in the two cities between which he divides his time.

CHARLES ALBERT DU CHARME. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in the commercial circles of Detroit than Charles Albert Du Charme, who for more than forty years has been identified with The Michigan Stove Company, the largest concern of the kind in the country. Of this enterprise he is now the president, a position to which he has attained through the steps of an orderly progression that has brought him from a clerkship to a position of executive control. Thor- oughly mastering every phase of the business as he has gone along, the lessons that he has learned in what may well be termed the postgraduate school of affairs, have given him his present place of leader- ship. Moreover, the mammoth enterprise which he controls as one of its officials has been a most potent force in the upbuilding and development of the city and the name of Du Charme is inseparably interwoven with the records of Detroit from the period of its earliest development, for in the year in which Mich- igan .was admitted into the Union, Charles Du Charme, father of Charles Albert Du Charme, took up his abode here. The son, therefore, is a native son of the city, his birth having occurred on the 22d of September, 1858.

The family name indicates a French origin and the ancestral line is traced back to Pierre Charron, who was born in St. Martin, Évêché de Meaux, France, in 1640. About the middle of the seventeenth century he established his home in Canada and passed away in Montreal, December 26, 1700. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Pilliard, was born in 1651, and the line of descent is traced down through their son, François Charron Du Charme, who was born at Sorel, in the province of Quebec, Canada, June 5, 1678. On the 30th of January, 1701, he married Marguerite Piette Trempe, who was born in 1680. They were the parents of Joseph Charron Du Charme, who was born September 5, 1723, on L'Isle Dupas, in the province of Quebec, Canada, and on the 13th of February, 1748, married Anne Roseau, who was born at Ste. Anne de la Parade, October 24, 1725. The death of Joseph Charron Du Charme occurred June 24, 1806, at Berthier-en-Haut. His son and name- sake, Joseph Charron Du Charme, was born at Berthier-

en-Haut, February 6, 1753, and died June 15, 1839. He was married November 12, 1781, to Marie Eliza- beth Parant, whose birth occurred at Beauport, in the province of Quebec, July 25, 1755, and who passed away at Berthier-en-Haut, April 7, 1826. Dominique Charron Du Charme, son of Joseph Charron and Marie Elizabeth Du Charme, was born at Berthier-en-Haut, December 28, 1783, and was married April 20, 1812, to Julie Piette Trempe, who was born at Berthier- en-Haut, November 20, 1787. Dominique Du Charme passed away at Three Rivers, Canada, November 7, 1857, while his wife died on the 11th of May, 1859. Their son, Charles Du Charme, born at Berthier-en- Haut, in the province of Quebec, May 5, 1818, came to Michigan in 1837, and after a brief period spent in Jonesville removed to Detroit, where for many years he figured prominently in connection with the manufacturing and financial enterprises of the city, where he made his home until his death on the 9th of January, 1873. So important a part did he play in the development of Detroit that he is mentioned at length on another page of this work.

On the 10th of August, 1853, Charles Du Charme was married to Miss Elsie Elizabeth Bartholomew, who was born in Montgomery, New York, May 1, 1830, a daughter of Albert Martin Bartholomew and a descendant of William Bartholomew, who was born February 7, 1567-8, in Warborough, England, and died May 6, 1634, at Burford, England, being laid to rest in Bartholomew chapel of St. John's church at Bur- ford. He had married Friswide Metcalf, a daughter of William Metcalf, mayor of New Woodstock, Eng- land, and she passed away December 10, 1647, being buried at Fulbrooke, England. Their son, William Bartholomew, was born at Burford, England, in 1602- 3, and on the 18th of September, 1634, arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, as a passenger on the ship Griffin. He was married in Burford, England, to Anna Lord and died in Charlestown, Massachusetts, January 18, 1680-1, while his wife's death occurred in Charlestown, January 29, 1682-3. They were the parents of Lieutenant William Bartholomew, who was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1640-1 and died in the spring of 1697. He served in the colonial wars and thus acquired his military title. He was mar- ried December 17, 1663, at Roxbury, Massachusetts, to Mary Johnson, who was born April 24, 1642, a daughter of Captain Isaac and Elizabeth (Porter) Johnson, the former having been killed December 19, 1675, in the fight at Narragansett Fort. Andrew Bartholomew, son of Lieutenant Bartholomew, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, December 11, 1670, and in 1698 wedded Haunah Frisbie, who died Feb- ruary 2, 1741, while his death occurred about 1755. They were the parents of the Rev. Andrew Bartho- lomew, who was born in Branford, Massachusetts, November 7, 1714, and died March 6, 1776. He was graduated from Yale with the class of 1731 and was pastor of a church in Harwinton, Massachusetts, for

CHARLES ALBERT DU CHARME

CITY OF DETROIT

thirty-five years. Ou the 29th of October, 1740, he married Sarah Catlin, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, June 16, 1719, and died December 1, 1789. Their son, Andrew Bartholomew, was born in Harwinton, Massachusetts, August 8, 1745, and on the 27th of December, 1769, married Sarah Wiard. She was born in Farmington, Massachusetts, November 25, 1745, and died in Montgomery, that state, Septem- ber 5, 1813. For his second wife he chose Ennich Clapp and his death occurred in Montgomery, Massa- chusetts, July 9, 1821. His son, Martin Bartholomew, was born in Harwinton, Massachusetts, August 18, 1776, and passed away while on a visit in Washing- ton, D. C., March 13, 1842. On the 1st of November, 1804, he married Sarah Noble, whose birth occurred in Augusta, Maine, on the Ist of June, 1785, and who passed away in Montgomery, Massachusetts, Novem- ber 15, 1836. She was a daughter of the Rev. Seth Noble, who served in the Revolutionary war. Their son, Albert Martin Bartholomew, the maternal grand- father of Charles Albert Du Charme, was born in Montgomery, Massachusetts, February 6, 1805, and in 1835 removed to Detroit, Michigan, where he passed away March 11, 1884. He wedded Mary Miller Boyd, a daughter of James R. Boyd, of New Windsor, New York, in January, 1829. She was born Decem- ber 6, 1811, in Montgomery, New York, and died in Detroit, January 1, 1845. Albert M. Bartholomew was afterward married October 21, 1847, to Mrs. Amanda M. Curtiss, who died in Detroit, August 1, 1869. Elsie Elizabeth Bartholomew, daughter of Albert Martin Bartholomew, was born in Montgomery, New York, May 1, 1830, and on the 10th of August, 1853, be- came the wife of Charles Du Charme. Her death oc- curred in Detroit, January 14, 1892. She was sur- vived by four sons: Charles A., George A., Frederick T. and William H.

It will thus be seen that the eldest son, Charles Albert Du Charme, who is the subject of this review, is descended from two of the oldest families on the American continent, one represented through many generations of French Canadian ancestry and the other of equally remote New England ancestry. Reared in Detroit, he acquired his education in the public schools, in Philo M. Patterson's private school of Detroit and in the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake. He supplemented his studies by nearly a year's travel abroad, which a well known American writer said is equal to a four years' college course. He entered upon his active business career as a clerk in the employ of The Michigan Stove Com- pany on the 4th of August, 1879. On the 28th of September, 1882, he was elected purchasing agent for the company, and on the 17th of January, 1887, was called to the office of secretary, in which capacity he served until January 31, 1914. He had in the mean- time, on the 26th of January, 1903, been also elected to the second vice presidency of the company and on the 31st of January, 1917, he was called to the posi-

tion of vice president, serving until February 9, 1920, when he was elected president. For forty-two years he has now been an active factor in the development of the mammoth enterprise conducted under the name of The Michigan Stove Company. Nor has he con- fined his attention alone to this line, for he is also a director of the Union Trust Company, of the People's State Bank, the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Com- pany and the Ireland & Matthews Manufacturing Company.

On the 8th of June, 1881, Mr. Du Charme was mar- ried to Miss Caroline B. Philbrick, a daughter of Elbridge G. and Mary (Randall) Philbrick, and they are parents of two sons: Charles B., born July 29, 1882; and Harold, born May 22, 1884.

The family residence is in Grosse Pointe Park and in elnb cireles Mr. Du Charme is well known, having membership in the Detroit, Yondotega, Pine Lake Country, Country, Fellowcraft, Huron Moun- tain, Wolverine Automobile, Detroit Automobile and Detroit Boat Clubs. He is likewise identified with the Detroit Board of Commerce and he was one of the organizers of the Michigan Chapter of the Society of Colonial Wars, of which he served as secretary for several years. He likewise belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution. His entire career is the story of continuous progress, and while it is true that he entered upon a business already established, many a man of less resolute spirit and of more limited re- sourcefulness would utterly have failed in carrying such an enterprise forward on meeting the constantly changing conditions of the business world. Mr. Du Charme's resourcefulness, his executive force and his initiative, however, have enabled him to meet every situation, and the stability of his purpose, the in- tegrity and enterprise of his methods have been domi- nant factors in winning for The Michigan Stove Com- pany its place of leadership in the world of trade.

JAMES S. HOLDEN, president of the James S. Holden Company, extensively engaged in the real estate business and in building operations in Detroit, is also identified with various other financial and commercial interests that indicate his resourcefulness, his enterprise and keen sagacity. Born in Detroit, June 12, 1875, he is a son of Edward G. and Jean (Stansbury) Holden. He was graduated from the Cass school of Detroit in January, 1890, and com- pleted the high school course with the class of June, 1894. He then entered the Detroit College of Law, in which he won the LL. B. degree in 1897.

In the meantime Mr. Holden had entered business circles in 1893 and throughout the intervening period has been an active factor in connection with real estate development in his native city. On the 1st of July, 1907, he entered into partnership with Daniel E. Murray as senior member of the firm of Holden & Murray and on the 1st of January, 1912, Alfred V. Breault was also taken into the partnership, which

CITY OF DETROIT

is continued under the firm style of the James S. Holden Company. Not only have they been connected with some of the most important realty transfers of the city but with some of its most extensive build- ing operations, placing the company in a position of leadership in connection with Detroit's substantial advancement and improvement. He is a director of the Wayne County Home Savings Bank, and of the Security Trust Company, while of the Stanton Farm Company, Limited, he is the secretary. He is see- retary-treasurer of Demery & Company, dry goods, at Woodward and Milwaukee avenues, and was one of its founders.

In club circles Mr. Holden is widely known, having membership in the Detroit, University, Detroit Boat, Old, Country, Prismatic and Bankers' Clubs. He has been identified with various interests of a public and semi-public character. He belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce and served on the Detroit Board of Estimates from 1905 until 1908 inclusive and during the year 1907-8 was its president. His political en- dorsement has been given to the republican party since he attained his majority. In 1916 he was elected alderman of the city and on the Ist of January, 1918, resigned to enter the services of his country on the general staff in the real estate section. He went at once to Washington, D. C., where he was on active duty until February, 1919, and upon his return to Detroit he was appointed by the mayor as president of the city plan commission. In this connection he is giving earnest study to every phase of Detroit's development, looking beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future. A practical business man, the choice of Mr. Holden for this important work has been uniformly endorsed throughout Detroit.

GEORGE HOUSE PRENTIS was born on a farm in Monroe county, Michigan, April 28, 1834, a son of Eben and Rebecca M. (Gager) Prentis, who were born in Connecticut. Members of the Prentis and Gager families took an active part in both the Revo- lutionary war and the War of 1812. The families of Eben Prentis and William Gager moved to Michigan in 1832.

The Prentis Family in England. Thomas "Prentis" born August 12, 1318.

John "Prentys," Rector of Winterborn, Bradston, August 22, 1413, and Prebendary of York, North Newbold, which he resigned August 22, 1423.

The Prentis Family in America.

The first Prentis coming to America was Valentine "Prentice. "'

Valentine "Prentice" left England in 1631, with his wife, Alice, and two young sons (one of whom died on the passage over). The other son, John, arrived with his father and mother, going to Roxbury, Mass- achusetts.

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.

The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III, Part 6

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932, ed; Stocking, William, 1840- joint ed; Miller, Gordon K., joint ed Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Detroit-Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1022

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932, ed; Stocking, William, 1840- joint ed; Miller, Gordon K., joint ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Detroit-Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1022