USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 89
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LEWIS H. TANNER
Vol. III-49
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He then borrowed enough money to buy the storage business and was making splendid headway when in 1897 the building took fire and was destroyed, whereby he sustained a loss of twenty-two thousand, five hun- dred dollars. After several years of hard struggle he paid up all indebtedness to the last penny and started anew in the business world, borrowing capital with which to erect the plant of what is now the Central Storage Company. Mr. Tanner bought the ground and erected thereon a six-story building, to which he has siuce made several additions, so that he now has a modern fireproof structure for storage purposes and offices, and is in very comfortable circumstances. He could easily dispose of his holdings for a large sum and seek comfort in a life of ease but prefers the active business life which he has always led. It was in 1906 that he erected the warehouses and offices at Nos. 2510-2514 Third avenue, and several years later he bought additional ground and built the new fireproof building. He is now carrying on a storage, packing and forwarding business, handling household furniture, and his patronage is extensive. He is sole owner of the business and of the property and his high standing in business circles is shown in the fact that he was recently elected chairman of the moving and storage division of the Detroit Transpor- tation Association, which comprises in its membership thirty firms of this city. He is a member of the Exchange Club of Detroit, of which he has served as president.
On the 3d of October, 1892, Mr. Tanner was married to Miss Lizzie Webb, a daughter of R. S. Webb, and they have become parents of five children: Gene- vieve A., who was born in Detroit in 1894, and who married Frank Tilghman, by whom she has one son, Clifford R .; Edith C., who was born in Detroit in 1895, and is now in her father's office assisting him in his business; Marion E., who was born in 1898 and is now a student in the University of Michigan; Harmon W., who was born in 1905 and is attending the Northern high school of Detroit; and Louise H., who was born in 1912, and is also in school. Liberal educational advantages were accorded the children and those old enough have all graduated from the high schools of this city. The family are members of the Grand River Baptist church, Mr. Tanner serving as trustee for the past twenty years. They are well known socially, and Mr. Tanner is one of Detroit's representative business men, whose methods are char- acterized by integrity and progressiveness. More- over, he is a public-spirited citizen, devoted to the interests and welfare of Detroit, giving hearty co- operation to all plans and projects which seem for general betterment.
CLARENCE E. BLAESSER, secretary and treas- urer of the firm of Joseph N. Smith & Company, man- ufacturers of automobile hardware, comes to Mich- igan from Iowa, his birth having occurred in Gran-
ville in the latter state on the 14th of July, 1884, his parents being Charles and Regina (Smith) Blaes- ser. He pursued a public school education in Cherokee, Iowa, starting out in the business world as clerk in the passenger ticket office of the Central Railroad at that place in 1903. He occupied the position for two years and was then connected with the city ticket office of the Northern Pacific Railroad at Spokane, Washington, in 1905 and 1906. He was bookkeeper for the Art Stove Company through the succeeding three years. In 1909 he entered the employ of the Joseph N. Smith Company and was advanced through intermediate positions until he was called to the office of secretary and treasurer in 1913. He has since occupied this position. The firm is extensively en- gaged in the manufacture of automobile hardware at Dubois and East Grand boulevard. The business has enjoyed steady growth. In 1908 their sales amounted to one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars and eleven years later or in 1919 the annual sales had reached one million, six hundred and forty-five thousand, four hundred and seventeen dollars. Moreover, it is a notable fact that nearly all of the customers who gave them their patronage ten years ago are still among their patrons and ample proof of the integrity of the management of the company is found in the fact that a large proportion of the business for the current year is in the shape of orders on which no prices have been quoted.
On the 29th of November, 1911, Mr. Blaesser was married to Miss Loretta Marenette of this city, and they have become the parents of four children: Angela M., born in 1912; Jean, born in September, 1914; Clar- ence E., born April 15, 1917; and Karl H., born De- cember 12, 1918. All were born in Detroit.
Mr. Blaesser is a member of the Detroit Automo- bile Club, also the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Detroit Credit Men's Association, and is a third de- gree member of the Knights of Columbus, which is indicative of the fact that he is a communicant of the Catholic church. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he does not seek nor desire public office. He concentrates his efforts and attention upon his business affairs, and throughout his entire career has been actuated by a laudable ambition that has led to the attainment of most gratifying results. Steadily he has worked his way upward, each step in his career being a forward one, and today he stands among the repre- sentative and thoroughly progressive young business men of his adopted city.
RALPH S. MOORE. Michigan has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench and bar and the representatives of the profession are continu- ally securing additional members to sustain fully the record made by the legal profession here throughout the history of the state. For thirteen years Ralph S.
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Moore has continued in the general practice of law at Detroit, winning that success which is the out- come of personal ability, close application and thoroughness in the preparation of cases. His reason- ing is always clear, his deductions sound and his de- votion to the interests of his clients is one of the strong points in his success.
Mr. Moore was born in Washtenaw county, Michi- gan, May 28, 1879, and is a son of Robert R. and Josephine (Hall) Moore. The latter is still living and makes her home in Hamburg, Michigan. At the usual age Ralph S. Moore became a pupil in the public schools of the state and after thorough training of that character qualified for a professional career as a student in the Detroit College of Law, from which he was graduated in 1907, winning the LL. B. degree. In the same year he opened an office in Detroit and has since practiced alone, depending upon no partnership relations for advancement. He has never specialized in any particular line but has continued in the gen- eral practice of law and his ability has brought him steadily to the front. He has also become the secre- tary of the Sewell Cushion Wheel Company, of which he was one of the incorporators ten years ago, and his activity in this connection has contributed toward making this one of the successful corporations of the character in the city.
On the 3d of May, 1911, Mr. Moore was married to Miss Marie Hogan of Detroit, and they now have five children: Josephine E., Rose Marie, Jane Eliza- beth, Carol C. and Robert M. Fraternally Mr. Moore is a Mason of high rank, having taken the Scottish Rite degrees in the consistory and having become a member of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Masonic Country Club. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church and his political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party. He is the secretary of the Arnold Home for Aged People, a connection that indicates his benevolent spirit, which is frequently manifest in generous as- sistance to those in need of aid. He belongs to the Detroit Bar Association and also to the Lawyers Club and many of his stanchest friends are numbered among the members of the profession.
FRANK J. NAVIN. To the world of baseball, fol- lowers of the national sport know him as Frank J. Navin, vice president of the American League, but in Detroit he is known as Frank Navin, owner of the Tigers.
In October of 1903, Mr. Navin and the late William H. Yawkey purchased the Detroit Baseball Club from S. F. Angus. The team then was known as it is now, but its home lot went under the name of Ben- nett Park.
Many things have happened aince 1903. From a struggling second division team that was used as a stepping stone by pennant contending clubs, the Ti- gera became a power in baseball. Four years after
he acquired part ownership in the franchise and be- came the directing genius of Detroit'a baseball affairs, the Tigers, under the skillful handling of Mr. Navin, won the American League pennant and repeated the next two years. From a team never considered se- riously the Tigers developed into the biggest drawing card in the game's history, the most spectacular base- ball organization in the last fifteen years. How he accomplished all this is a long story in itself; the mere fact that he did accomplish it will suffice for this paragraph in his biography.
Gradually baseball discovered that a new force had arrived. One successful stroke followed another. Mr. Navin became what sport calls a "big gun." A keen student of human nature, enriched with world wisdom, shrewd of mind and with a deep appreciation for the science of the game, together with a knowledge of business methods, Mr. Navin became successful among owners. His team made money for Mr. Navin and Mr. Yawkey, likewise made money for the other ball club owners. A million dollar steel and concrete stadium was erected at Michigan and Trumbull ave- nues in 1912 and by popular vote it was called Navin Field as a tribute to the skill of the man who made its existence possible. In 1919 he was elected vice president of the American League and he stands today next to B. B. Johnson as the most powerful figure in all baseball.
Mr. Navin is the son of Thomas and Eliza (Crotty) Navin, both natives of Ireland. He was born in Adrian, Michigan, April 18, 1871. His father came to America at an early age, following the trade of carpenter and later worked for the Lake Shore Rail- road for thirty years. He retired from active busi- ness, moved his family to Detroit and spent his re- maining days here. He died in 1887. His widow followed him in 1902. There were nine children but only two are living: Frank J .; and John Navin of Rochester, New York.
In his boyhood days Frank J. Navin attended the public schools of Adrian and later he became enrolled® in a business college in Detroit. He secured a cler- ical position with the National Life Insurance Com- pany under Samuel F. Angus. While working for Mr. Angus he also attended the Detroit College of law and graduated from that school in 1897. At that time Detroit was not quite the booming metropolis that she is today and her ball team was not getting the world on fire. Mr. Angus owned the team and Mr. Angus was not highly delighted with his invest- ment. Mr. Navin saw opportunities. Then, as today, he had plenty of vision and induced Mr. Yawkey to see his point, with the result that a partnership was formed and in 1903, as related, they purchased the franchise from Mr. Angus.
Mr. Navin was married on November 21, 1899, to Miss Grace M. Shaw, daughter of Charles and Min- nie (Moore) Shaw.
Baseball is not Mr. Navin's sole business. He is
FRANK J. NAVIN
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also vice president of the Michigan Steel Tube Prod- uets Company. He belongs to a large number of fra- ternal and social organizations. He is a third degree Knight of Columbus and a member of the Detroit Ath- letic, Detroit Golf, Bloomfield Hills Golf, Detroit Riding, Detroit Automobile and the Red Run Country Clubs. He is prominent in the Detroit Board of Com- merce and has done much splendid work to add to the prestige of Detroit among the cities of the world. He is a "regular fellow" in the literal sense of the word.
ROBERT BURTON LOCKE. Since 1918 Robert Burton Locke has been manager and chairman of the board of the Detroit branch, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and in financial circles of the coun- try he occupies a foremost position, having devoted his life to this field of endeavor. Thorough technical training and broad practical experience have given him a comprehensive knowledge of the banking busi- ness and under his capable management the institu- tion has enjoyed a most substantial growth.
Mr. Locke is a native of the east. He was born in Fryeburg, Maine, in 1882, and the period of his boy- hood was spent in Portland, that state, where he attended the common and high schools, subsequently completing a business course. Upon starting out in life independently he entered the employ of the Old Colony Trust Company of Boston in the capacity of stenographer, and his faithful, efficient and conscien- tious work soon won recognition in merited advance- ment. He remained with that institution for twelve years, having been made manager of the credit depart- ment, and was then chosen to go to Detroit for the purpose of reorganizing the Clearing House Associa- tion, owing to his thorough training and large ex- perience with credits. Here he demonstrated his genius for organization and aptitude for successful management, instituting the cheek system and gen- erally reorganizing the clearing house, thus resulting in a distinct saving in exchanges. At the time of the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank in Detroit Mr. Locke was named by the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago as manager and chairman of the Detroit board and in March, 1918, he entered upon the duties of that position, for which his successful work in connection with the re- organization of the Detroit Clearing House has made him the logical candidate and which appointment was entirely unsolicited on his part. The territory of the bank covers Detroit and nineteen adjacent counties in Michigan and at the time Mr. Locke as- sumed the management, its office force numbered twenty-one people, while it now has one hundred and sixty-four employes. His business resources and abilities seem limitless and his initiative spirit has enabled him to formulate plans which have resulted in the enlargement and substantial growth of the en- terprise. With a keen insight into business affairs
and situations, he takes genuine pleasure in solving intricate and complex financial problems. He is shrewd, systematie and unquestionably honest and these qualities have gained for him the respect and confidence of all with whom he has had business deal- ings. He is a member of the American Institute of Banking, in which he received his technical training along financial lines and of which he is a most en- thusiatie supporter. When asked to state the one greatest single benefit he had derived from his Insti- tute training, Mr. Locke instantly replied: "The in- spiration to self-development." This strikes the key- note, not only to his usefulness and success as an Institute man, but also of his remarkable success as a leader of men. He was president of the Boston chapter of the American Institute of Banking and is president of the Detroit chapter, having the distine- tion of being the only man who has ever been presi- dent of two different chapters. He is also president of the American Institute of Banking, having been elected to that office in July, 1921, at the annual meeting, which was held in Minneapolis, having pre- viously served as vice president.
In 1907 Mr. Locke was united in marriage to Miss Harriette Gilmore of Exeter, New Hampshire, who previous to her marriage was successfully engaged in teaching in Boston. The two children of this union are: John Gilmore, born at Wollaston, Massachusetts, August 30, 1914; and Elinor. Mr. Locke is a member of the North Woodward Congregational church and for recreation he turns to fishing. He has membership in the Board of Commerce and the Ingleside Club. Under his guidance the Detroit branch has gained rec- ognition as among the best managed of the Federal Re- serve institutions and is one of the few branches which has been granted the full functions of a main office. He has ever based his activity in business affairs upon strict integrity and close application and his success represents the wise utilization of his time and talents, combined with a ready recognition of opportunity. He is interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of his city, state and nation and his aid and influence are always on the side of advance- ment and improvement. He ranks with the leading financiers of the country and Detroit is proud to claim him as a citizen.
ANTHONY MENKE, engaged in the stocks and bonds brokerage business in Detroit as senior partner in the firm of Menke, Fries, Needs & Company, was born in Brandon, Wisconsin, November 20, 1876, his parents being Anthony and Sophia C. Menke. The father was a native of Germany and the mother is a native of the state of New York and is still living.
Anthony Menke was educated in the public schools of Charleston, South Carolina, and supplemented his early training by a course under the direction of the International Correspondence schools. When a youth of about fourteen years he was anxious to secure a commercial edneation, wishing to enter work imme-
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diately, but to this his father, wiser in years of ex- perience, objected and advised him to acquire all the education possible before leaving school and taking up business life. At length after putting aside his text- books Anthony Menke entered the grocery store of Wilson & Company at Charleston and there remained for about ten years, winning promotion through inter- mediate positions to that of chief salesman. Having had convincing proof of the efficiency of the Interna- tional Correspondence schools, he then became inter- ested in the work of the schools, assisting in organ- izing the sales force in the southern states and also in the eastern states. He spent about ten years in that position and then turned his attention to the real estate business, going to Toronto, Canada, where he became general sales manager for the Foster Realty Company, in which connection he established branch offices throughout the Dominion, proving very capable and successful in that work.
In 1910 Mr. Menke organized the National Land & Construction Company of Detroit and Flint and the office at the latter place is still in existence. He con- tinued with the company until the summer of 1918, at which time he removed to Detroit and became sales manager with Hamlin & Company, with whom he re- mained until September, 1919, when he organized the firm of Menke, Fries, Needs & Company for the con- duet of a stocks and bonds business. The firm was or- ganized as a copartnership with each member upon an equal footing. The firm deals only in the highest grade bonds, especially on local issues, and has very promi- nent connections. Mr. Menke is a director of the Curran-Detroit Radiator Company.
On the 19th of October, 1896, Mr. Menke was mar- ried to Miss Ethel C. Ham of Charleston, South Caro- lina, and they have three children: Rosa Lee, Lucille and Antoinette, all of whom are pursuing commercial courses at the Central high school of Detroit. Mr. Menke believes in a practical education as the best insurance in case of necessity.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church and fraternally Mr. Menke is a Knights Templar and Consistory Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Benev- olent Protective Order of Elks, to the Detroit Automo- bile Club and the Detroit Masonic Country Club. He was chairman of finance in the Michigan Hoover Republican Club of 1920, is a member of the execu- tive committee of the Masonie Temple Association in the drive for the new two million dollar Masonic Temple in Detroit and is a member of the board of governors of the Caravan Club. He is president of the Lions Club, an organization similar to the Rotary or Exchange Clubs, and is district governor for Michi- gan of the International Association of Lions Clubs. Mr. Menke is an expert in advertising and recogni- tion has come to him by his appointment to the man- agement of a number of important publicity cam- paigns. He has always studied the subject of live
advertising and has ever demonstrated successfully his theories of the art. He never stops short of the successful accomplishment of any purpose which he undertakes and may well be called a dynamic force in business circles.
WILLIAM STOCKING comes as near being a Con- nectieut Yankee as any one now living in Detroit. He is descended from George Stocking, a squire in Stock- ingham, England, who was listed as a freeman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1635, and was in the Rev. Thomas Hooker's colony that founded the town of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636. Seven generations of the Stockings lived in Hartford and adjoining counties and it was only in the eighth generation that one got away and came west. On his mother's side he is descended from Thomas Newell, who was born in Hertfordshire, England, went from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1638, and was one of the original proprietors of the town of Farmington, Connecticut, in 1640. His descendants oc- cupied for over a hundred years a farm situated in that part of Farmington that was afterwards set off as the town of Southington. Through marriages made by two of the early settlers descent also comes on the Stocking side from Samuel Hopkins, one of the signers of the Mayflower compact, and on the Newell side from Henry Wolcott, who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1630, and whose descendants fur- nished three governors to the colony or state of Con- necticut.
William Stocking was born in Waterbury, Con- necticut, December 11, 1840. He was the son of John Miles Stocking, who was born in Goshen, Connecticut, March 15, 1811, and Emeline Newell, born in South- ington, Connecticut, October 26, 1804. The father was a button burnisher and was also at different times engaged in the foundry business and in the manu- facture of matches. He was, like most of his an- cestors, deacon in the Congregational church, and was one of the early temperance workers and an ardent abolitionist. His barn was a way station of the underground railroad and he assisted several fugi- tives on their way to Canada. His family was brought up on anti-slavery literature and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was read aloud while it was running as a serial in The National Era, before it was ever printed in book form. The son imbibed these sentiments and was the only boy in his town who put up a Free Soil flag in the Presidential campaign of 1852. His first vote was cast in 1862 in favor of amending the Connecticut Constitution so as to allow Negroes to vote. John M. Stocking was one of a family of nine, and it is a notable fact that every male relative within the military age served in the Union army between 1861 and 1865.
William Stocking studied in the district and high schools in Waterbury, was clerk in the local bank from 1857-60, went in the latter year from New York to
WILLIAM STOCKING
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Liverpool in a sailing packet, and made a short tour through part of England and Scotland. He then took two terms of study at Williston Seminary, Easthamp- ton, Massachusetts, and entered Yale College in the fall of 1861. In July, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company F, 60th Massachusetts Infantry. When the regiment was mustered out five months later, he returned to New Haven and graduated with his class, taking the degree of B. A. in 1865 and M. A. in 1868.
With a liking for polities and with something of a literary turn, young Stocking took the first news- paper job that offered, that of local editor on the Hartford Evening Press, then run by General Joseph R. Howley and Charles Dudley Warner. Two years later, in November, 1867, he came to Detroit as man- aging editor of the Daily Post. His occupation for the next thirty-five years was chiefly in connection with the Post and its successors in the various ca- pacities of managing editor, legislative correspondent at Lansing, Washington correspondent, editorial and special writer and editor in chief. He also furnished a good deal of literary matter for the republican state central committee through three campaigns. In senti- ment he was always in accord with the radical, or as it was called in Michigan the "stalwart," wing of the republican party. Since October, 1903, he has been connected with the Detroit Board of Commerce in various lines of secretarial, statistical and cor- respondence work.
Aside from regular newspaper work Mr. Stocking's contributions to literature have been considerable. He was compiler of the Michigan Almanac, a statis- tical publication, for six years, and in 1880 furnished several chapters for a Life of Zachariah Chandler, published by The Post and Tribune Company. In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the republican party at Jackson, July 6, 1854, he prepared in 1879 the first complete account of that convention and the events that led up to it. He furnished a large part of the matter contained in a History of the Republican Party published in 1900, in two volumes, pp. 960, and rewrote in different form the History of the Jackson Convention for a book entitled Under the Oaks, published by the De- troit News Association in 1904. He also wrote for newspapers and magazines a number of separate articles on different phases of the political revolution which started in 1854. On account of these various contributions he was frequently referred to by the Michigan press of the time as "the historian of the republican party." He collaborated with Emory Wendell in the preparation of a History of Banks and Banking in Michigan, 2 vols. pp. 760, published in 1902, and wrote a History of the Courts in Wayne County, published by the Detroit Bar Association at the time of the dedication of the new courthouse in 1903. During his connection with the Board of Commerce he has prepared a large number of articles about Detroit for the Board's own publications, for
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