USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 81
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WALTER CRAIGHEAD BRANDON, treasurer and manager of the Bankers Trust Company of Detroit, has spent practically his entire life in this city, having been but two years of age when his parents, Calvin K. and Louisa (Russel) Brandon, removed to Mich- igan from Missouri. He was born in Saline county, Missouri, June 25, 1871, while his father was a native of Ohio and his mother of Pennsylvania. Calvin K. Brandon removed to Missouri at an early day and arrived in Detroit when this was but a struggling city. He engaged in the cooperage business and be- came a prominent factor in the manufacturing circles of the city, being active along his chosen line until his death, which occurred in Detroit in 1910. During the Civil war he enlisted and became a captain of the Fourth Illinois Infantry, serving throughout the period of hostilities and taking part in many important en- gagements, including the battle of Shiloh and others of equal note. His widow is still a resident of De- troit. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are living: George R., of Chicago; Walter C .; and Louise and Margaret, both of Detroit.
Walter C. Brandon was educated in the public schools of this city and following the completion of his high school course entered the employ of the Mer- chants & Manufacturers National Bank, serving in a clerical capacity. After five years he resigned his position there and went to the southwest, settling in Prescott, Arizona, where he became assistant cashier of the Prescott National Bank and after a brief period was advanced to the position of cashier. He remained
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in that city for a decade and then returned to De- troit in 1906. Here he became the office manager for the Murphy estate interests, owners of the Penobscot building and other valuable properties in Detroit, and continued to act in that capacity for three years or until 1909,when he resigned and engaged in the build- ing and contracting business, successfully conducting this for several years. At the end of that time he organized what was then known as the Urban Realty Mortgage Company of Detroit, which later became the Bankers Trust Company, specializing in the con- struction loan and mortgage business. From the be- ginning he has been director, treasurer and manager and has been instrumental in developing the business of the company to extensive proportions.
On the 29th of October, 1902, in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, Mr. Brandon was married to Frances Bethune, daughter of Judge Joseph D. Bethune, a prominent member of the supreme bench of Arizona. Mr and Mrs. Brandon have became parents of four children: Agnes Louise, who was born in Prescott, Arizona, in 1904; Elizabeth Bethune, born in Detroit in 1908 ;. Samuel Craighead, born in Detroit in 1911; and Be- thune, born in Detroit in December, 1918. The three eldest are now in school.
Mr. Brandon is a Master Mason and belongs also to the Detroit Boat Club, the Lochmoor Country Club, the Bankers Club, the Detroit Board of Commerce and the Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian church-associations which indicate the character of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. He is interested in the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community.
ALANSON S. BROOKS, for many years vice presi- dent and treasurer of the Michigan Drug Company, conducting a wholesale business which is one of the largest enterprises of the kind in Michigan, was born in Detroit, January 7, 1862, his parents being David W. and Emma (Sheley) Brooks, the former a native of Ohio, while the latter was born in Detroit. The father was a graduate in law and became a well known, promi- nent and highly respected attorney of this city, where both he and his wife passed away. They had a family of three sons: Alanson S., Walter, now of Detroit; and Stanley, who is living in Pasadena, California.
Alanson S. Brooks pursued bis education in Patter- son's Private School for Boys at Detroit and made his initial step in the business world in connection with the wholesale drug business in September, 1877. He became the secretary of the Williams, Davis, Brooks & Hinchman's Sons Company, a business that was estab- lished in 1819 and is therefore one of the oldest of the drug houses of the state. He continued to act as the secretary until 1912 and since that time has been the vice president and treasurer of the Michigan Drug Company, the business having in the meantime been reorganized under its present form. His first work was washing bottles and performing other such tasks as
might be assigned to him. As the years have passed he has risen steadily, being advanced from one position to another until in 1883 he became a member of the firm. Since 1883 he has been a partner in the business or an officer in the incorporated company. The busi- ness has been developed along the most progressive lines and as one of the executive officers Mr. Brooks has contributed much to its success. On January 1, 1920, he retired from active business.
On the 29th of September, 1886, occurred the mar- riage of Alanson S. Brooks and Miss Zaidee Hubbard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bela Hubbard. The only child of this marriage died in infancy. Mr. Brooks belongs to the Detroit, Detroit Athletic, Detroit Boat and Detroit Country Clubs and to the Yondotega Club, of which he is registrar; also to the Automobile Coun- try Club and the Detroit Board of Commerce. His cor- diality and geniality have made him popular in these various organizations and his sterling worth is ac- knowledged by all with whom social or business rela- tions have brought him into contact.
HARRY LENOX, merchant tailor; born, Victoria, Ontario, Canada, November 22, 1854, son of James and Sarah (McKenna) Lenox; public school education. Married. Learned the merchant tailoring business under the direction of his father; came to Detroit in 1896, from London, Ontario, where he had been in business for eight years, and engaged in the tailoring business at 56 Lafayette boulevard, West. Member, National Marchant Tailors' Association, Detroit Board of Commerce, Men's Club of St. Joseph's Episcopal church. Clubs: Felloweraft Athletic, Dynamic. In- terested in all athletic sports. Republican. Office: Broadway and Witherell. Residence: 243 Owen avenue.
RALPH COLLAMORE, secretary of the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, architects and consulting engineers of Detroit, was born in Toledo, Ohio, Feb- ruary 2, 1875, his parents being George Anthony and Sarah Ann (Gates) Collamore. Mastering the branches of learning taught in the successive grades of the Toledo schools, he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1892. Developing his natural ability and taste, he took up the study of mechanical en- gineering in the University of Michigan and won his Bachelor of Science degree in 1897. He has since been connected with the firm of Smith, Hinehman & Grylls, architects and engineers of Detroit. He entered the employ of that firm as a draughtsman and by reason of his ability won promotion to the position of chief draughtsman. In 1903 he was admitted to a partner- ship and is now the secretary of the firm. They are condneting an extensive business as architects and consulting engineers and their work is of the highest professional order. Mr. Collamore has at all times kept abreast with the trend of modern professional thought and progress and his deep interest in engineer-
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ing problems is indicated in the fact that he is a member of the American Institute of Architects; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; is an associate member of the American Institute of Elec- trical Engineers; a member of the American Society of Heating & Ventilating Engineers; of the Illuminat- ing Engineering Society; and the Detroit Engineering Society. His reading along professional lines has been most broad and comprehensive and constant experience as well as study have continually added to his knowl- edge and efficiency.
On the 22d of August, 1899, Mr. Collamore was married to Miss Gracia Beatrice Rhead of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they have a daughter, Alice, who is now Mrs. Frederic W. Dennis, Jr., of Detroit. Mr. Collamore belongs to the Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He is well known in Masonic circles, having member- ship in Corinthian Lodge, No. 241, F. & A. M .; Pen- insular Chapter, R. A. M .; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; and Michigan Sovereign Consistory, A. A. S. R. He is likewise identified with Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Detroit Boat Club, Old Colony Club, Detroit Automobile Club, Ohio Society of Detroit, the Fellowcraft Club, of which he has been president, the Ingleside Club and the Michigan Commandery of the Loyal Legion. All these connections indicate the breadth and nature of his interests, showing him to be a man of well bal- anced forces, capacity and power, while his high pro- fessional standing is indicated in the fact that he is a past president of the following organizations: Detroit Engineering Society; Detroit Chapter Ameri- can Society of Mechanical Engineers; Michigan Chap- ter American Society of Heating & Ventilating En- gineers; and the Detroit-ass'n. section of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.
ANTHONY M. BASMAN, secretary and treasurer of the firm of A. M. Basman & Company, sheet metal manufacturers of Detroit, was born in Germany, Feb- ruary 26, 1866, a son of Joseph and Katherine (Adas) Basman, who came to America in March, 1867, and established their home in Detroit, so that Anthony M. Basman has practically spent his entire life in the city. The father afterward became a wrecking engineer for the Grand Trunk Railroad and was with that company for thirty-five years but is now de- ceased. His wife passed away in 1895. They had a family of four children: Mrs. Mary Rohr, of Detroit; Anthony M .; August, also of this city; and Joseph, who died in 1904.
Anthony M. Basman pursued his education in the graded schools of this city and then started out in the business world by becoming an apprentice to the boiler-maker's and sheet metal worker's trade. After qualifying in both particulars he became a traveling representative of the American Boiler Company, erecting boilers and doing general mechanical work for that corporation. At a later date he returned to
Detroit and became superintendent for the W. J. Burton Company. Later he purchased an interest in the business and remained in active connection there- with nntil 1909, when he sold out and organized an independent business under the name of A. M. Basman & Company, general sheet metal contractors and man- ufacturers of ventilators, exhaust piping and general factory work. The business was incorporated in 1916, with James E. Marentette as president, Eugene Maren- tette as vice president and A. M. Basman as secretary and treasurer. The building in which the business is being conducted was built especially for their pur- pose and is owned by the company. They employ from twenty to sixty people.
On the 5th of February, 1890, Mr. Basman was married to Miss Elizabeth Goebel, who passed away December 13, 1919. She was a daughter of Henry and Katherine Goebel of Detroit, and by her marriage she became the mother of eight children: Mrs. Nettie Esser of Detroit, who now has four children, Grace, Dolores, Jay and Max; Mrs. Edna Armstrong of De- troit, who has two children, Inez and Arthur; Marcella; Henry A., who resides in Detroit, is married and has one child, Margaret Murray; Walter, who is with the Fisher Body Company; Cyril; Corinne; and Anthony J. The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Basman is identified with the Knights of Columbus and also with the Benev- olent Protective Order of Elks. He has practically made Detroit his home throughout his life, for he was but a year old when brought to this city. Here he has worked his way upward, winning a creditable place in industrial circles, and is now at the head of a growing business.
THOMAS FORMAN, who in 1893 organized the business that is now conducted under the name of the Thomas Forman Company of Detroit, dealers in lum- ber and hardwood flooring, was born in La Fayette, Indiana, August 7, 1853, his parents being George S. and Emma (Leaming) Forman. His youthful days were passed in his native city, where he acquired his education, completing the work of the grades and then attending high school. He came to Detroit in 1879, when a young man of twenty-six years, and here entered into partnership with Charles Dickerson under the firm style of Dickerson & Company, hatters. Three years later, or in 1882 he removed to Petoskey, Michigan, and initiated his experience in connection with the lumber trade as manager of the Pine Lake Lumber Company, in which he was associated with Colonel F. J. Hecker and C. L. Freer. He began bus- iness independently in 1893, when he incorporated the Thomas Forman Company for the sale of lumber and hardwood flooring. From the beginning he has been president and manager of this business, which in 1901 was removed to Detroit, and through the in- tervening period of twenty years has figured as one of the leading concerns of the kind in the city. He
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was also the president and manager of the Forman- Earle Company of Heidelberg, Kentucky, and in these connections has become widely known to the lumber trade of the middle west. His business connections now cover wide scope and his enterprise, initiative and progressiveness have been potent elements in the attainment of the substantial success which is today his. He is also a director of the Commonwealth Federal Savings Bank, of which he was one of the organizers.
Mr. Forman has been married twice. In Logansport, Indiana, in 1878, he wedded Miss Martha Jeroloman, who passed away in 1882. At Petoskey, Michigan, in 1890, Mr. Forman wedded Miss Minnie Hankey and they have three children: Mary, the wife of Ralph H. Mowbray, of Culver, Indiana; Isabelle, the wife of Paul Roberts of Detroit; and George, of Detroit. He graduated from Dartmouth College, in 1921, and is connected with the Thomas Forman Company.
The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Forman is that of the Presbyterian church and in political belief he is a republican. He belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce and is much interested in the plans and purposes of that organization for the benefit of the city, the development of its business connections and the promotion of all those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. The social nature of Mr. Forman finds expression in his member- ship in the Ingleside Club, of which he is a director. He is a member of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian church, of which all his family are members.
LEWIS H. PADDOCK, member of the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Perry, and a practitioner at the Detroit bar since 1893, was born in this city March 20, 1866. His father, Bishop Benjamin H. Paddock, was born in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1828 and came to Detroit in 1861. Benjamin H. Paddock was rector of Christ church from 1861 to 1869, dur- ing which time the present building was erected. From Detroit he went to Grace church, Brooklyn, New York, where he was rector until 1873, when he became bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in Massachusetts. He died in Boston in 1891.
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Lewis H. Paddock was largely reared in the east, where he attended the Boston Latin school and after- ward Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut, in which he completed a course hy graduation with the class of 1888, at which time the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him, while in 1892 he re- ceived the Master of Arts degree from his Alma Mater. He prepared for the bar as a law student in the Uni- versity of Michigan, receiving his LL. B. degree in 1893. The same year he was admitted to the bar and has since engaged in practice, having for nearly twenty years been a member of his present law firm. He is also the vice president of the Hygeia Filter
Company of Detroit and a director of the United States Radiator Corporation.
On the 12th of April, 1898, in Detroit, Mr. Paddock was married to Miss Jessica Ferguson, daughter of the late Thomas Ferguson, and they are the parents of two sons and a daughter: Thomas F., who was born in 1899; Benjamin H., born in 1900; and Virginia Ferguson, born in 1907. The two sons entered the Naval Service from Princeton University in 1918 and were discharged in 1919, after which they returned to Princeton and are members of the class of 1921.
Mr. Paddock served on the various Loan drives in Detroit and also was an active worker for the American Red Cross. An Episcopalian in religious faith, he has membership in Christ church, serving as a member of the vestry and treasurer of the church for many years. He has been chancellor of the Diocese of Michigan since 1917. Fraternally he is identified with the Psi Upsilon and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities, belongs to the Detroit Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, the University Club, the Country Club, the Detroit Boat Club, and the Church Club, while along more stricty professional lines he has connection with the Lawyers Club, the Detroit Bar Association and the Michigan State Bar Association.
ALBERT BRUCKNER LOWRIE. One of the suc- cessful business enterprises of Detroit is the Lowrie & Robinson Lumber Company, of which Albert Bruckner Lowrie is the secretary and treasurer. He has won substantial success in the conduct of his business affairs and is a man of resolute spirit whose plans are carefully formulated and promptly executed. He is one of Detroit's native sons and was born April 2, 1870, his parents being George P. D. and Justine E. (Bruckner) Lowrie. He attended the public schools of the city and was graduated from the Detroit high school in June, 1890. On starting out in life for him- self he obtained a position with the Cutler & Savage Lumber Company and worked in their sawmill at Le Roy, Michigan, and also in the woods, remaining in the employ of that firm from 189I until 1894. He then came to Detroit and was made manager of the West Detroit Lumber Yard, continuing to act in that capacity until 1904, when, in association with Fred J. Robinson, he purchased the yard. They organized the Lowrie & Robinson Lumber Company, of which Mr. Lowrie has since been secretary and treasurer, and in the intervening period they have built up a large patronage, having one of the leading lumber yards in the city. Mr. Lowrie is thoroughly familiar with every phase of the business and in the man- agement of his interests displays energy, foresight and marked executive ability.
On the 25th of June, 1902, occurred the marriage of Albert B. Lowrie and Miss Mabel Gale of Aurora, Illinois. Two children have been born of this union: Justine G. and Edmund G. In his political views Mr. Lowrie is a republican and from 1912 until 1915 he
LEWIS H. PADDOCK
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served as a member of the board of education, during which period he aided largely in promoting the public school system of the city. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian and he is well known in social circles as a member of the Fellowcraft, Rotary, Detroit Athletic, Detroit Golf, Ingleside and Grosse Ile Coun- try Clubs, while fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Reed City Lodge, No. 363, F. & A. M. at Reed City, Michigan; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M., at Detroit; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, of which he has been eminent com- mander; to Michigan Sovereign Consistory; and Mos- lem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His career has been marked by steady advancement, owing to his close application, his thorough knowledge of the busi- ness in which he is engaged, his unremitting energy and his strict integrity. He ranks with the successful business men of Detroit and his sterling traits of char- acter have won for him the esteem and good will of a large circle of friends. He resides at 651 Boston boulevard, and his summer home, "Sweet Brier," is on Grosse Ile.
JACOB GUTHARD. Although Jacob Guthard has reached the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey, he is still an active factor in business circles, being at the head of the insurance agency conducted under the name of Jacob Guthard & Son Company. His residence in Detroit covers a period of sixty-seven years, during which time he has been known as an able public official as well as a successful business man. He was a lad of eight years when he arrived in Detroit. His birth occurred in Germany, June 7, 1846, but in 1854 his parents started with their family and other relatives for America. Cholera broke out on shipboard and forty-two of the passengers were buried at sea, including his mother and sister. The others of the family continued their journey to De- troit, where the father passed away at the age of sixty-nine years. Soon after taking up his abode here, however, he left this city for the mines of the upper peninsula and Jacob Guthard earned a living as best he could by selling newspapers on the streets of the city and sleeping cold nights in dry goods boxes or wherever he could find shelter. On his father's re- turn from the north he was apprenticed to a plumber and was employed along that line until he reached the age of fifteen years, when in response to the country 's call for aid in the Civil war he joined the Union army and went to the front-one of the youngest Michigan soldiers to serve in that long and sanguinary con- flict. He was wounded at Murfreesboro, which pre- vented further active service, and returning to Detroit, he began shoemaking, for his wounds prevented him from again engaging in an active trade like plumb- ing. After gaining some financial start in this way he established a grocery store, which he conducted until 1891 and then sold to his son, Charles J. In the latter year he turned his attention to the insurance
business, organizing the firm of Jacob Guthard & Son Company, and in this connection the insurance agency has since been carried on. The company represents twenty-eight different insurance corporations, handling all kinds of insurance save life.
In the year 1870 Mr. Guthard was united in mar- riage to Miss Louise Aberle and they became the parents of three sons: Henry J., Charles J. and Wil- liam A., all of whom are married and reside in Detroit. On the 2d of March, 1920, Mr. Guthard and his wife celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary-a quiet affair because of the ill health of Mrs. Guthard but one that will never be forgotten by those who par- ticipated therein.
It was in 1872 that Mr. Guthard first became an active factor in public life and through the inter- vening period he has figured conspicuously and hon- orably in connection with many activities of munici- pal importance. He was first elected alderman from the sixth ward and filled that position until 1876, or for four years. He likewise served for three years as county superintendent of the poor, filling the office in the '80s, and for five years he was receiver of taxes. In 1890 he was appointed commissioner of public works by Mayor Hazen S. Pingree and he became a member of the first charter commission, serving as alderman for three terms ending in 1919. He was also president of the forty-fourth council of Detroit in 1919 and at the present writing is serving on the board of county supervisors. He has likewise been a member of the board of health and thus for almost half a century he has continuously been active in connection with public affairs of the city. On the 11th of November, 1918, as acting mayor, he issued the proclamation of peace, published in the papers and entered upon the city records. He displays the keenest interest in all that has to do with Detroit's welfare and progress and his enterprise is an import- ant force in the city's development.
PHILIP J. REID. For over thirty years Philip J. Reid has devoted his attention to newspaper work and as editor of the Detroit Free Press he has attained high standing iu a profession which calls for alertness and talent, not absolute requisites in many other vo- cations, but highly essential in order to achieve suc- cess in the field of journalism. He was born in Prov- idence, Rhode Island, July 19, 1865, a son of Patrick Henry and Katherine (Finnegan) Reid. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native city and subsequently entered Brown University, from which he was graduated in 1887, with the A. B. degree. From 1888 until 1890 he was connected with the postal service and in the latter year became iden- tified with the Detroit Tribune as sporting editor. His identification with the Detroit Free Press dates from 1891, when he became police reporter for the paper. He was court reporter from 1892 until 1894; night city editor from 1894 until 1896; city editor
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