USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 65
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On the 2d of May, 1859, in one of the old Detroit residences standing at the corner of Randolph street and Adams avenue, Mr. Coyl was united in marriage to Miss Mary Rice Throop, daughter of Washington and Catherine (Sternberg) Throop, the latter of Hol- land descent. Mrs. Coyl's father was born in New York state and was twice married, being very young at the time of his first marriage. He came to Detroit in pioneer times and during the cholera epidemic here in 1832 lost two of his children. He afterward took his wife and the remaining child back east, where both passed away in 1834. Later Mr. Throop again came to Detroit and for a number of years was engaged in business enterprises with Zachariah Chand- ler, at one time United States senator from Michigan. Mr. Throop was also for a considerable period cashier of the Detroit customs house. To Mr. and Mrs. Coyl were born two children, both of whom passed away in early life. Mrs. Coyl is a native of the state of New York and has resided in Detroit from the age of fourteen years. Joining her husband while he was in the west, she saw many stirring scenes and endured many hardships such as are known to the present generation ouly through hearsay. Mrs. Coyl attends St. John's Episcopal church and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and of the Mount Vernon Society. She has now reached the age of eighty-one years, splendidly preserved mentally and physically, and she enjoys the warm friendship of scores of people who have known her from early girlhood. The death of Mr. Coyl occurred on the 6th
of September, 1893, and deep regret was felt at his passing, for he was a man with whom association meant expansion and elevation. His broad reading and his wide experiences had stored his mind with comprehensive general knowledge and many inter- esting incidents which his friends loved to hear him relate. While sight was denied him, he nevertheless kept in touch with the progress of the world and there was none but had the highest respect and regard for Samuel Bell Coyl.
GEORGE E. LAWSON was identified with the bank- ing interests of Detroit throughout his life and by sheer ability rose to prominence as president of the Peoples State Bank, occupying that position at the time of his death. He was born the 1st of December, 1861, at Howell, Michigan, one of a family of three children born to Dr. and Mrs. B. Howard Lawson. Dr. Lawson himself was connected with the banking business early in life, but afterward made a study of medicine and, following the completion of his course, devoted his time and energy to the practice of medicine and surgery, first in the State of New York and later in the City of Detroit, where he ranked with the most successful members of the profession until he retired. He died in 1921, at the age of ninety years. His wife has also passed away.
George E. Lawson attended the public schools of Brighton, Michigan, also the high school there, sup- plementing this with a course of training at the Michigan Agricultural College. He became initiated into a business career by accepting a position as book- keeper in Detroit in 1881. This beginning was made with the Peoples Savings Bank and thence his busi- ness life continued with the same institution through its development into one of the leading banks in the country. Mr. Lawson acted as bookkeeper until pro- moted to the position of cashier in 1890, in which capacity he remained until 1901, when he was chosen vice president. In January, 1907, when the Peoples Savings Bank was consolidated with the State Savings Bank, thus forming the Peoples State Bank, Mr. Law- son retained his position as vice president. Upon the death of the bank's president, Mr. George H. Rus- sel, in the year 1915, Mr. Lawson was chosen by the directors to fill the vacancy, but he was destined to be the chief executive but a few months prior to his demise, which occurred February 15, 1916. As the highest officer of the Peoples State Bank he was signally active in directing the policy and promoting the numerous activities of the institution and was at all times a thorough student of financial conditions. By careful management he most wisely protected the interests and welfare of the bank and of the depos- itors as well.
On the 7th of September, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of George E. Lawson and Miss Kate H. Albright, a daughter of Egbert F. Albright, repre- sentative of a well known and prominent Ohio family.
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Egbert F. Albright conducted an extensive business as a millwright, having learned the trade when a young man. Later, however, he became interested in banking in his home state and devoted his atten- tion to financial interests of that character until his death.
To Mr. and Mrs. Lawson was born one son, Carroll H., who is one of the prominent and rising young business men of Detroit, and a member of the firm of Harris, Small & Lawson, bond brokers. He married Miss Clara Crampton of Detroit, daughter of William Crampton, and to this union have been born two children: Carol G. and Catherine J.
Mr. Lawson was a stanch republican in his political views, giving unfaltering support to the party and its principles because of his belief in their efficacy as factors in good government. He belonged to the Bankers Club, also to the Detroit Club, the Detroit Golf Club and the University Club and was highly esteemed and popular in these organizations, for his social characteristics and manly qualities won him the honored and affectionate regard of all with whom he was associated. His standing in business circles is indicated by the fact that he was chosen for the presidency of the Michigan Bankers Association in 1913. He was also a member of the Board of Com- merce of Detroit, of the Country Club, and the De- troit Athletic Club. Men came to rely upon him as one whose word was always trustworthy, whose acts were dominated by progressiveness and whose life constituted an endorsement and expression of all that is worth while for the individual and the community. Mr. Lawson belonged to the Presbyterian church, of which his family are members.
HAVELOCK J. NORTHMORE, practicing at the Detroit bar for twelve years and now enjoying a large clientage, was born March 18, 1886, in the city which is still his home, his parents being Joseph Wellington and Katherine (Reardon) Northmore, the latter also a native of Detroit, while the father was born in England, whence he came to the new world in early life. Subsequently he was connected with the National Biscuit Company for many years and his last days were spent in Detroit, where the mother still resides. In their family were three children: Havelock J .; Mrs. J. F. Ryan, living in Toledo, Ohio; and Mrs. R. E. Sheehan of Detroit.
In his youthful days Havelock J. Northmore was a pupil in the public schools of his native city and he pursued his more specifically literary course in the University of Detroit, from which he was graduated with the class of 1904. He determined to make the practice of law his life work, and with broad literary learning to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of his professional knowledge, he entered the Detroit College of Law and was grad- uated in 1908, with the LL.B. degree. He at once entered upon active practice and has made steady
professional advancement until he is now classed with Detroit's successful lawyers.
In his political views Mr. Northmore is a republican and is thoroughly informed concerning the vital polit- ical questions and issues of the day but has never sought nor desired office. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and along more strictly social lines he is identified with the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Boat Club and the Detroit Automobile Club. He is likewise con- nected with the Lawyers Club and with the Detroit Bar Association and the Michigan Bar Association, enjoying the goodwill and confidence of his colleagues and contemporaries by reason of his marked conformity to the highest standards and ethics of the profession.
ARNOLD AUGUSTUS SCHANTZ. An inspiring record is that of Arnold Augustus Schantz, who from a humble position as an employe has worked his way upward to the presidency of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company, having the largest line of fresh water steamers in the world. Moreover, this repre- sents but one phase of his activity, for he is con- nected with various other business and corporate in- terests which have to do with the development and upbuilding of Detroit and the extension of its trade relations.
Mr. Schantz was born in Galion, Crawford county, Ohio, on the 10th of April, 1861, his parents being John and Barbara Ann (Buckingham) Schantz. The father was a native of Lingerfelt, Bavaria, and a Ger- man of high class, whose feeling was strongly shown in his last words, spoken on his deathbed in 1917, "The kaiser is wrong." The mother passed away about ten years ago.
Arnold Augustus Schantz pursued his education in the public and high schools of Mansfield, Ohio, but was only fourteen years of age when he began earn- ing his own living by acting as agent at Mansfield for Cincinnati newspapers. He afterward secured a clerkship in a general store and later was employed as general delivery clerk in the post office and super- intendent of carriers. His identification with the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company dates from 1880, in which year he was appointed one of its agents. The following year he was made traveling passenger agent and in 1882 filled the position of advertising and tourist agent, so serving until 1884, when he was made general western passenger agent, a position which he occupied for seven years. In 1891 he was advanced to the position of assistant general passen- ger agent and in 1892 became general passenger agent, occupying this position for a decade. In 1902 he was made general superintendent and passenger traffic manager and in the same year was elected a member of the board of directors. In 1907 he was chosen general manager of the company and on the 15th of October, 1919, was appointed president of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company to fill the vacancy
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caused by the death of Philip MeMillan. Thus through the steps of an orderly progression and through the faithful performance of each day's tasks finding strength, courage and inspiration for the labors of the succeeding day, he has reached the highest executive position in connection with a cor- poration that controls the largest line of fresh water steamers in the world. His qualifications indeed well fit him for the requirements of his present office. He is a man who moves quickly and decisively to his objective point, who gets action and imparts the so- called punch to every accomplishment. He is equally at home on the docks or in the directors' room, and has continually developed new ideas pertinent to his business and resulting in its enlargement and success.
While the office of president makes heavy demands upon his time and energies, Mr. Schantz nevertheless has found opportunity to become interested in various other business concerns. He is the vice president of the Ashley & Dustin Steamer Line and also one of its directors; is a director of the White Star Steam- ship Line, operating trans-Atlantic boats; is the president of the Pacific Peerless Weighing Machine Company; vice president of the Detroit Creamery Com- pany; general manager of the Whitney Painting & Vacuum Cleaning Company; a director of the Monarch Steel Castings Company; and the president of the Great Lakes Passenger & Steamship Lines Association. Forceful and resourceful, he has indeed become a dynamic force in the development of navigation in- terests and in the promotion of many business con- cerns which are of vital consequence to Detroit's commercial and industrial development.
In 1887 Mr. Schantz was united in marriage to Miss Capitola Conrad of Ohio, who passed away in 1900, leaving a daughter, Maxica, who is now the wife of Guy Coate of St. Louis. In Masonic circles Mr. Schantz is well known, belonging to Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M .; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; and Michigan Consistory, S. P. R. S. He is a thirty-third degree Mason. He is also well known in club circles, having member- ship in the Detroit Club, Players Club, the Detroit Golf Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, the Acro Club of Michigan, the Transportation Club, of which he was formerly president, the Ohio Society of Detroit, of which he has also been president, the Fellowcraft Club, which has honored him with the presidency, and the Conntry Club. He is now the commodore of the Michigan Motor Boat Association and the com- modore of the Detroit Yacht Club. He displays an extreme love of hunting and fishing and his recreation time is practically given entirely to those sports. He belongs to the Port Huron Hunting and Fishing Club, the Miami Anglers Club of Miami, Florida, and the Munoskong Hunting and Fishing Club, which is com- posed of five members, with a hunting tract of thirty- three thousand acres on St. Marys river in northern Michigan. He also has connection with the Bimini
Bay Rod and Gun Club in the Bahama Islands. Hc has ever been keenly interested in the welfare and progress of city and state and is now the president of the Detroit Fire Commission and is one of the supervisors of Wayne county. Mr Schantz is a whole- souled man, entirely free from ostentation or display, abhorring the superficial and judging his fellows by the elemental strength of character. A recent recog- nition of his leadership in matters connected with navigation interests is shown in his election to the vice presidency for Michigan of the national rivers and harbors congress.
HERBERT J. SEWELL, president and general man- ager of the Sewell Cushion Wheel Company, has made that concern the pioneer in the field of manufacturing resilient truck wheels, which have constituted one of the outstanding successes in connection with the truck industry. Mr. Sewell is classed with Detroit's best known and most progressive representatives among the younger set of business men in the city, and his success is attributable entirely to his untiring efforts, his business ability and enterprise, together with the superior quality of the product sent out by his house. He started upon the journey of life at Hillsdale, Illinois, October 20, 1884, a son of James Herbert and Elizabeth C. (Thompson) Sewell. The other children of the family were Walter T., Alfred W., Douglas and Winifred. For only a few years the Sewell family remained at Hillsdale, following the birth of the son Herbert and then removed to Chicago, where Herbert J. Sewell attended the public schools. When his textbooks were put aside he entered the employ of the Kankakee Meat Packing Company, being then a youth of but fourteen years. He re- mained with that firm until twenty-one years of age, when in 1905 he came to Detroit as the assistant manager of a local branch of the business of Morris & Company, remaining in that connection until 1910, when the present business was organized and he has since been connected with the Sewell Cushion Wheel Company.
It was in 1907 that an uncle of Mr. Sewell, William H. Sewell, the inventor of the cushion wheel, came to America from Belfast, Ireland. He died iu 1909 and Herbert J. Sewell and his brother, Walter T., organized the present company, which was origin- ally incorporated for sixty thousand dollars. Their first plant was in the back of a blacksmith shop on Jay street. There they continued to carry on business for about a year and in 1911 removed to 790 Gratiot avenue. In 1913 they purchased their present prop- erty and in 1916 increased the size of the factory which they now occupy. The sales for their first year -1910-amounted to about three thousand dollars and in the year 1920 will total the two million mark, an increase over the previous year of more than one hundred per cent. The rapid growth in the volume of business means a constant increase in production, and
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with that object in view they have purchased a ten- acre tract of land at the corner of Harper avenue and the Detroit Terminal Railway. They have also acquired the Scripps-Booth property at Nos. 1013 to 1021 Beaufort avenue, containing nineteen thousand square feet of floor space. The business is practically the only one of its kind. They have succeeded because they have been able to use rubber in the construction of the wheel where other companies failed. They have thus developed the resiliency, which is built into the wheel, until today they have really become wheel engineers. The Sewell cushion wheel is simply a wheel or rubber within a wheel that eliminates fric- tion and jar, thus preventing wear. The wheel has no springs nor moving parts and is one that adds to the working life of the truck and reduces the cost of operation and maintenance. It is so built that it will last for years and in fact will outlive the usefulness of the truck. There are over fifty thousand wheels now in use and orders for many thousand more have been placed, which the firm has not been able to fill and which it cannot fill until the pro- duction of the plant is increased. The value of the company's product is shown by the rapid development of its patronage, which is far beyond the supply at the present time, notwithstanding the fact that the Sewell cushion wheel is the highest priced accessory on the market. The business at this time, 1920, is represented by branch houses in fifty of the leading cities in the United States, and factory assembling branches to handle the business have been established in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
In February, 1916, Mr. Sewell was married to Miss Mary Beatrice Barnhart of Battle Creek, Michigan, and they have one son, Herbert J., Jr., born November 1, 1920. Mr. Sevell is well known in club circles, holding membership with the Detroit Athletic Club, the Wheelmen's Club and the Masonic Temple Club. He is a Mason, belonging to Palestine Lodge, to the Michigan Consistory and to Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and is likewise connected with the Masonic Country Club. In religious belief Mr. Sewell is a Christian Scientist, and as a member of the Board of Commerce he is interested in all matters of civic import and value to the community. His life is actuated by a most progressive spirit. He is regarded as a business genius, a big man in commercial circles, and is extremely popular wherever he is known.
CARROLL TREGO, who is leaving his impress upon the business world, being widely and favorably known both in insurance and social circles of Detroit, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1888, his parents being Albert and Katherine (Carroll) Trego. The father was born in Maryland, the mother in Pennsylvania, and they were married in the city of Baltimore. Mr. Trego was one of the officials of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for many years, and later held an important official position in connection
with the Adams Express Company in New York city, remaining in that business relation up to the time of his death. His widow is still living, and he is also survived by their three children: Carroll; Mrs. Howard P. Ballantyne and Mrs. Howard Bissell of Buffalo, New York.
In his boyhood days Carroll Trego attended a private school in New York city and afterward entered Allegheny College. His next step in the educational world took him to Cornell University, and he is num- bered among its alumni of 1913, having then com- pleted his course in mechanical engineering. Following his graduation he entered upon the work of his chosen profession, which he followed for three years, and then came the great World war and the need of every patriotic young man to respond to the call to the colors. In 1917 he enlisted in the government service and was assigned to the ordnance department, being stationed first at Springfield, Massachusetts, and later transferred to Washington, D. C., as assistant to the acting chief of the ordnance department. He was commissioned captain and served with that rank until discharged in May, 1919.
Captain Trego afterward came direct to Detroit, and entered into partnership with Howard P. Ballan- tyne, his brother-in-law, in the insurance brokerage business. They began in a very modest way, but have steadily developed their interests until their clients number five hundred or more at the present time. The leading business houses, manufacturers and others are patrons of these two popular and ener- getic young men, who recognize the fact that industry, perseverance and diligence spell success.
Captain Trego is a member of the Country Club, the University Club, the Cornell Association of Michigan and the Cornell Club of New York. He is widely known, having gained many friends during his residence in Detroit, and he is rapidly winning for himself an enviable position in its business circles.
HENRY W. LEACH has been engaged in the real estate business in Detroit since 1892. Ambitious to engage in business on his own account and believing that the real estate field offered opportunity for con- genial and successful activity, he opened a real estate office, which he has since conducted under his own name. Through the intervening period he has gained a large clientage and has negotiated many important realty transfers. He has kept constantly abreast with the progress of the times and has profited by Detroit's marvelous growth in the last few years through the development of the automobile industry and other prominent manufacturing interests of the city.
Mr. Leach was prominently known in military cir- cles. His military record dates from 1892, when he became a member of the Michigan National Guard, his connection therewith continuing until the Spanish- American war, in which he served as sergeant of
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Company L, Thirty-second Michigan Volunteer In- fantry. After the elose of the war he again became identified with the National Guard and was elected second lieutenant of Company H, of the First Regiment. He has served on the staff of Generals Terrill, Boynton and MeGuerin and was chief commissary on Governor Warner's staff, with the rank of major, until 1911.
Mr. Leaeh finds his recreation in outdoor life and activity. His entire course measures up to the high- est standards of manhood and citizenship, while the integrity of his business eareer marks the sterling worth of his character.
WILLIAM BRUSHABER. Detroit has been called a dynamie eity. Its growth has been so rapid as to appear marvelous, and yet there are within its borders many enterprises of long standing, which have given a most substantial character to the business activity . and development of Detroit. Such is that conducted by J. Brushaber Sous, whose house was founded in 1871, and has continued a most important factor in connection with the furniture trade of the eity. Throughout his business life William Brushaber has been identified with this undertaking, and is now the secretary and treasurer of the company. Detroit num- bers him among her native sons, his birth having here occurred August 14, 1877, his parents being John and Mathilda (Hamburg) Brushaber, the latter also a native of Detroit. The former was of European birth, but came to Detroit in early youth, and was here reared and married. He later established business that ultimately developed into the house now con- ducted under the name of J. Brushaber Sons. This business was established on a small scale in 1871, the store being opened on Woodward avenue, between Columbia and Elizabeth streets. Mr. Brushaber con- dueted the business until his death, which occurred in 1902 when he was fifty-three years of age. The mother survives him and is yet a resident of Detroit. In their family were two sons: Charles, who is the president of the J. Brushaber Sons company; and William, of this review.
The latter attended the publie sehools of Detroit in early life and afterwards continued his education in Caton's Business College, thus gaining a theoreti- eal knowledge of trade conditions which he put to the practical test in his father's furniture store and factory. No task was too small and insignifieant for him to undertake. He desired to master with thorough- ness every phase and branch of the business and he found that his father was a strict taskmaster but a liberal-minded one. The father instructed the sơn in all the work necessary to the successful manage- ment and conduct of the business and William Brush- aber gained valuable knowledge of the trade, which has been of untold worth to him. He has always been associated with the sale and manufacture of furniture and with the passing years the business has steadily increased until now the J. Brushaber
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