USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. III > Part 94
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James V. Campbell was brought by his parents to Detroit when but three years of age and he resided in this city until the time of his death. He attended the local public schools and later became a student in a college at Flusbing, Long Island, from which he was graduated in 1841 with the degree of A. B. On his return to Detroit he took up the study of law in
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the office of Douglas & Walker and was admitted to the bar in 1844, when twenty-one years of age. He at once became a partner of his preceptors, who were at that time leading members of the bar of the state. For thirteen years Mr. Campbell was engaged in suc- cessful private practice at Detroit and in that time gained a reputation as one of the ablest attorneys of the local bar, representing many important interests in both the state and federal courts. Early in his career he had been appointed secretary to the board of regents of the University of Michigan, a position which he held for several years. In 1857 Mr. Camp- bell was elected one of the four justices of the reor- ganized supreme court of Michigan, his associates being many years older than he, and by successive re- elections the Judge was continued on the same bench until his death thirty-three years later. The fol- lowing tribute to his ability as a lawyer and jurist was paid by Hon. Charles A. Kent, who was long associated with the Judge as a member of the faculty of the law department of the State University:
"Judge Campbell had great learning, not only in the American and English cases and textbooks, includ- ing admiralty law, but also in the history of our insti- tutions, local as well as general. He knew much of Roman law and the law of nations and of early French customs and something of other continental laws. He was remarkably free from political bias or fear of public opinion or subservience to any tem- porary wave of public passion. The trust in his ab- solute integrity of motive was absolutely perfect. He was very independent in his opinions. He had a very strong sense of the justice of a case and was very reluctant to yield his views of justice to the opinions of courts, or to any precedents. He wished to decide every case that appeared to him to be right, but he never manifested that love of arbitrary power, that disposition to have one's own way at all hazards, which is natural to almost all human beings, and appears occasionally on the bench. He had great faith in the people and in popular institutions and in all the great maxims and traditions of the common law, but he had not the slightest trace of the demagogue. He had strong prejudices, but they were generally good prejudices, of a kind necessary to stability of character in the best men. He had no subtle theories or much refined, abstruse reasoning. In all of his opinions he appeared to have chiefly in view the effect of the decision on what he thought the merit of the case before him. I think he seldom made a decision likely to strike the average mind as unjust. Perhaps the largest bar meeting ever held in Detroit attested the shock of his sudden death and the uni- versal feeling that a great and good man, a learned and upright judge had passed away. His memory is lovingly cherished by all who knew him. His fame as a judge will depend on the number and importance of the legal principles established in his opinion. His life is a worthy model for imitation by all lawyers
who would be governed by the highest ideals in private and public life."
Though Judge Campbell was prominent in many affairs outside of his profession, his best work was done as a jurist. His opinions as a justice of the supreme court appear in the state reports from the fifth to the seventy-ninth volumes, and the opinions thus credited to him number about three thousand. This record is in itself an important part of the history of Michigan and is evidence of the patient and conscientious labors of a noble man and an honest and able jurist. In 1876 Judge Campbell pub- lished a volume of several hundred pages, entitled "Outlines of the Political History of Michigan." He also contributed articles to law magazines and was called upon to deliver addresses on various publie oe- casions.
When the law department of the University of Michigan was established in 1858, Judge Campbell was called to the Marshall professorship in that de- partment aud served as a member of the university faculty for a quarter of a century. The law depart- ment of the university now ranks as one of the best law schools in America, and its upbuilding during earlier years was in many ways influenced and pro- moted by Judge Campbell. In 1866 the University of Michigan conferred upon Judge Campbell its first honorary degree of Doctor of Laws-a unique distine- tion. His interest in educational matters never ceased, and from 1854 to 1858 he served as a member of the Detroit board of education, while one of Detroit's public schools now bears his name. In the early days Judge Campbell was a member of the Young Men's society of Detroit, and this literary and social or- ganization, of which he was president in 1848, formed the nucleus of the present fine public library. In 1880, when the library was placed under the control of a board of commissioners, Judge Campbell was made president of that body. In politics Judge Camp- bell was a republican, having supported the party from 1856 until the time of his demise, but was never active in political matters. He was for many years a liberal supporter and an active worker in the Epis- copal church of Detroit, serving as a vestryman of St. Paul's parish, and for more than thirty years was secretary of the standing committee of the diocese of Michigan.
On the 9th of November, 1849, Judge Campbell was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia Hotchkiss, who was born in Oneida county, New York, August 17, 1823, and was a representative of an old New Eng- land family. Her death occurred in Detroit, May 2, 1888. Of their children, six reached adult age and five are now living: Henry M. and Charles H. are lawyers of this city; James V. Campbell, Jr., born in Detroit, July 8, 1856, was a stock broker and died in September, 1894; Cornelia Lois is still a resident of this city; Douglas H., born September 16, 1859, grad- uated from the University of Michigan and later re-
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ceived the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He studied in Germany and took the chair of botany in the Uni- versity of Indiana in 1888, while in 1891 he was called to the chair of botany at the Leland Stanford University of California; Edward D., the youngest son, was born September 8, 1863. He was graduated from the State University in 1885, and became a member of the faenlty as director of the chemical laboratory.
Charles H. Campbell attended the publie schools of his native city and afterward entered the University of Michigan, in which he won the Bachelor of Philos- ophy degree as a graduate of the class of 1880. Hav- ing prepared for the bar, he first engaged in practice in connection with Alfred Russell, having been licensed as an attorney of Michigan in 1882. The following year he joined the firm of Russell & Campbell, which through successive stages has become Campell, Bulk- ley & Ledyard. For many years Mr. Campbell has been recognized as one of the most eminent repre- sentatives of the Michigan bar, his course being marked by that steady advancement which is the out- come of close application, thorough study and analyt- ieal reasoning.
Mr. Campbell is the secretary of the Woodlawn Cemetery Association. He is of the Episcopalian faith and is a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital and also a trustee of the Mariner's church. His political en- dorsement is given to the republican party and he keeps thoroughly informed concerning the vital prob- lems that are before the country for settlement through political channels. Along professional lines his mem- bership is with the Detroit, Michigan State and Amer- ican Bar Associations. He is widely known in club circles in this cty and elsewhere, belonging to the Lawyers, Detroit, Yondotega, University, Detroit Boat and Country Clubs of Detroit, the University Club of New York city, the Delta Kappa Epsilon Club, also of New York, and to the National Geographic Society. His deep interest in Detroit's welfare and upbuilding has long been manifest in his active cooperation with the Board of Commerce and in March, 1920, he was elected to the presidency of this association, whose thoroughly organized efforts have been a most potent force in the upbuilding of the city in meeting the civic problems and in upholding the highest civic standards.
HERBERT WINDHAM HEWITT, M. D., has been a representative of the medical profession in Detroit during the past seventeen years and has won a position of leadership in this connection, becoming a surgeon of note. He was born at Milford, Michigan, October 13, 1875, his parents being John Smith and Eunice Adelaide (Hills) Hewitt, the former a native of Oakland county, Michigan, and the latter of New York, in which state their marriage was celebrated. John S. Hewitt, who was a pharmacist by profession, successfully conducted a drug business at Milford, Michigan, to the time of his demise. His wife there
passed away in 1878. Their family numbered two children, but Herbert W. is the only survivor. The latter, however, has a half sister, Mrs. Floyd B. Bab- cock, who is a resident of Pontiac, Michigan.
In the acquirement of his education Herbert W. Hewitt attended the public schools of his native town, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from the Milford high school with the class of 1892. To prepare for his chosen profession he entered the Detroit College of Medicine, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1903. For one year thereafter he served as interne in the Children's Free hospital and was then for an equal period similarly connected with the Harper hospital. It was in 1904 that he began to practice independently in Detroit, where he has long since demonstrated his skill and ability and now ranks with the leading and prominent representatives of the profession. At the present time he is devoting himself exclusively to surgery, in which branch he excels, and he is now attending surgeon to the Grace hospital of Detroit. He at all times keeps in elose touch with the advance- ment made by the profession through his membership in the Wayne County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, the American Medical Associa- tion and the American College of Surgeons. He is also a member of the American Association of Ob- stetricians, Gynecologists and Abdominal Surgeons. In January, 1921, Dr. Hewitt was one of the organ- izers of the Academy of Surgery of Detroit and be- came its first vice president.
On the 1st of October, 1910, Dr. Hewitt was united in marriage to Miss Sila Hovey of Detroit, daughter of Horatio N. Hovey, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this work. They have become par- ents of three children, all born in Detroit, namely: Ellen Merrill, whose birth occurred in 1913 and who is now attending school; Eunice Adelaide, whose natal year was 1915 and who is a kindergarten pupil; and Herbert W., born October 16, 1917.
Dr. Hewitt gives his political allegiance to the republican party and in religious faith is a Presby- terian. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M .; and Monroe Council R. & S. M. He is likewise a member of the Nu Sigma Nu. a college fraternity, and in club circles is popular as a member of the Detroit Athletic, Detroit Boat, Ingle- side, Detroit Golf Club and the Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club. Fishing and golf afford him recreation when leisure permits. Dr. Hewitt's residence is at No. 251 Rowena street, while his office is at 1131 David Whitney building.
HENRY STEFFENS, JR., the city controller, has the distinction of being the youngest man who has ever held that office in Detroit and is proving fully equal to the responsible duties which devolve upon him in this connection, the worth of his work being
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widely acknowledged. He was born in New York city, January 14, 1891, a son of Henry and Anna (Ebling) Steffens, who became the parents of four children, the other members of the family being: Charles, Frieda and Bertha. He pursued his education in the public schools of his native city and subsequently entered New York University from which he was graduated in 1912 with the Bachelor of Commercial Science degree. While attending school Mr. Steffens was also employed by the firm of Lawrence, Turnure & Company, bankers, as an assistant in the foreign ex- change department. Following his graduation he took up the work of a public accountant, in which he con- tinued active for a year, and subsequently was iden- tified successively with the Eastman Kodak Company, the American Telephone Company, the National Mal- leable Castings Company, and also was for a time paying teller in a Chicago bank. In 1913 he was made assistant director of the bureau of municipal research at Milwaukee, and in May, 1914, he became identified with the Civic & Commercial Association of Minneapolis, Minnesota, interesting himself in civic and commercial enterprises. In September, 1916, he came to Detroit as chief accountant in the bureau of governmental research and on the 1st of July, 1919, was made city controller, in which office he is now serving. In 1918 he received his degree as a cer- tified public accountant of the state of Michigan. Since 1918 he has lectured in the political science depart- ment of the University of Michigan on municipal finance and accountaney.
1n 1916 Mr. Steffens was united in marriage to Miss Dorothea Pearce Beard of Minneapolis, and they have become the parents of a son, Henry Richard. Mr. Steffens is a republican in his political views and a member of the Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club. He holds to high ideals in his public service and brings to his official life the same shrewdness, initia- tive spirit and marked executive ability which have gained him success in business life and have made his service to the city most effective. He regards a publie office as a public trust, and no trust reposed in Mr. Steffens has ever been betrayed in the slight- est degree.
R. H. MILLER, president of the Miller Tool Com- pany, one of the growing concerns of the kind in De- troit and one that has already assumed extensive and gratifying proportions, came to this city from Sarnia, Canada, where his birth occurred May 15, 1886. He is a son of James D. and Anna (Eaton) Miller, and has a brother Alvin Miller, who is associated in busi- ness with him as secretary and treasurer of the Miller Tool Company; and a sister, Mrs. George Rowe. Mr. Miller obtained his education in the public schools of Sarnia and started out in the business world as an employe of the Canadian Steam Pump Company, work- ing as an apprentice at the toolmaker's trade for three years in Toronto, Canada, gaining most valuable
experience during that period. He was afterward as- sociated with Westen & Mott, toolmakers, for two years. He dates his residence in Detroit from 1910 and for a time was associated with Parke, Davis & Company as a tool maker. On leaving that employ he worked in various shops, gaining experience and knowledge concerning the methods of shop operation and the work conducted therein. On the 25th of March, 1913, the Miller Tool Company was organized and has enjoyed remarkable prosperity through the intervening period of eight years. The company is engaged in the general manufacture of tools and pro- duction work and the steady growth of the business now admits of the employment of thirty people, who are constantly engaged in making tools for such im- portant corporations as the 'Dodge Company, the Dodge Service Tools, the Hudson, Essex, Ford and Studebaker companies. Most of the firm's work along this line is contract work. It also does a large amount of work for concerns that want to speed up their own pro- duction. The Miller Tool Company has been running full force, while most of its competitors have been shut down. The company features service and high grade workmanship and the business is carried on under the personal supervision of R. H. Miller, whose broad experience in the field of toolmaking well qual- ifies him to direct the labors and activities of those who are now in his employ.
In July, 1916, Mr. Miller wedded Miss Marian Bow- ersmith, a Detroit girl, and to them has been born a son, Robert S., whose birth occurred December 2, 1918. Politically Mr. Miller is a republican and fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Palestine Lodge, and also to the Masonic Country Club. He is likewise identified with several manufacturing societies and is interested in all that makes for advancement and progress along the line of his chosen life work. He is truly a self- made man, deserving much credit for what he has accomplished, for his capability and energy have carried him to a point in advance of that reached by many who started out in life ahead of him and under more advantageous circumstances.
JAMES H. DOHERTY is a prominent representa- tive of financial interests in Detroit as cashier of the Detroit Savings Bank, with which he has been con- tinuously identified for almost a third of a century, working his way steadily upward from a humble capacity to his present position of importance. De- troit numbers him among her native sons, his birth having here occurred on the 13th of January, 1870. His parents, Joseph and Eliza (Coyne) Doherty, were born in England. He obtained his education as a pupil in the public schools and by private tuition and also pursued a course of study in a business college. After putting aside his textbooks, and when still a mere boy, he became associated with Newcomb-Endi- cott & Company, later with C. R. Mabley, but a few months later entered the Pingree shoe store, in which
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he was employed for four years. It was in 1888, when a youth of eighteen years, that he became identified with the Detroit Savings Bank as general assistant. Through the intervening period, covering almost a third of a century, he has won various promotions, acting successively as assistant bookkeeper, discount clerk and mortgage elerk, while in 1918 he was made assistant cashier and vice president of the institution. In January, 1920, he was advanced to the cashiership and his efforts in this position of administrative direction and executive control are contributing in no small measure to the continued growth and snecess of the bank, for he has become thoroughly familiar with every phase of the banking business through his long and varied connection therewith.
On the 13th of August, 1897, Mr. Doherty was united in marriage to Miss Carol C. Townsend and they have become parents of two sons, Donald T. and James H., Jr. The elder, Donald T., enlisted for service in the World war in March, 1918, en- tered the Flying Corps and went to Kelly Field, whence he was transferred to Camp Merritt, New Jersey, sailing for France in May, 1918. While over- seas he was located at Romantin, France, and in con- nection with the flying department had considerable experience in assembling Liberty motors. Before join- ing the army he held a position in the People's State Bank, to which he returned after the war.
Mr. Doherty is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Oriental Lodge, No. 240, A. F. & A. M., and he is also a member of the Detroit Boat Club and the Order of the Amaranth Society. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian, being a devoted and consistent member of the Church of the Messiah. His life has been upright and honorable in every relation and he has long enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of the substantial and respected resi- dents of the city in which he has always made his home.
J. CONRAD BREDE, of the firm of Brede & Schroeter, interior decorators, was born in Detroit, October 16, 1858, and comes from one of the old families of this city. He is a son of John J. and Marie (Scherer) Brede, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came to the new world in 1854, settling in Detroit, where the father afterward engaged in mercantile pursuits on his own account. Both he and his wife are now deceased. In their family were seven children: F. W .; Herman A .; Carl E .; Johanna, now the wife of Richard A. Flechsig of Detroit; J. Conrad; Alexander; and Oscar. All are residents of Detroit.
J. Conrad Brede was educated in the city schools, attending the Capital high school and also the Ger- man-American Seminary. He subsequently engaged in the grocery business and afterward learned the trade of paper hanging in 1878. This he has followed to the present time, although long since the actual work
has been done by others and he has given his attention to the direction of a constantly growing business as an interior decorator. In fact his interests have developed until he is today one of the prominent representatives in this line of trade, and the firm of Brede & Schroeter is one of the oldest of the kind in Detroit. They deal in imported wall hangings, special furniture, window shades, draperies, etc., everything that adds to the beauty of a home in the line of interior decoration. Their show rooms and general office at 80 Canfield avenue, West, is one of the most attractive places of business in their line in Detroit.
On the 3d of October, 1882, Mr. Brede was married to Bertha Reuther and they have eight children who are living, while one has passed away: Herman F., born in Detroit, now in business with his father; Lena, the wife of J. Chester Wilkie, a resident of Elyria, Ohio, and the mother of two children, James B. and J. Conrad Wilkie; Hertha, the wife of Edwin R. Wegener and the mother of one child, Dwight Spencer Wegener; Hulda, who was born in Detroit; Minnie, now the wife of Edwin L. MacPhee of Louis- ville, Kentucky; Richard A., who pursued a course in the Chicago Art Institute and is now with his father in business but during the war was a member of the navy, serving for twenty-two months on the transport Von Stuben; Erwin, who was a member of the Students Army Training Corps during the World war and is now attending the University of Michigan; Marie, who was graduated from the Northern high school, Detroit, and took a course at the University of Wisconsin, is now a member of the class of 1922 at Sweet Briar Institute, Sweet Briar, Virginia; and J. Conrad, who was accidentally drowned in 1902, when thirteen years of age.
Mr. Brede is prominently known in Masonic circles, having taken the degrees of both the York and Scot- tish Rites. He belongs to Kilwinning Lodge, No. 297; King Cyrus Chapter; Detroit Commandery, No. 1; and also to Michigan Sovereign Consistory, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He belongs to the Masonic Coun- try Club and is likewise a member of the Detroit Athletic Club and the Ingleside Club. He belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce and is interested in all that has to do with civic progress and devel- opment. His political support is given to the re- publican party, and while he has never been an office seeker, he has always been deeply interested in those matters which have to do with progress and improve- ment in city and state.
JAMES ALBERT ROBISON, for thirty-one years a member of the Michigan bar, successfully practicing in Detroit for an extended period, was born in Sharon, Michigan, January 1, 1859, and is a son of John Jay and Altha Esther (Gillet) Robison. The father fig- ured prominently in public affairs in his section of the state, serving for four terms as county clerk and
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also for an equal period as mayor of Ann Arbor, seeking ever to promote those activities and issues which have led to the upbuilding and development of his city. He made farming his life occupation but divided his time between private pursuits and public offices, to which he was called by the vote of his fellow townsmen.
James A. Robison was educated in the public schools and in the University of Michigan, becoming a law student in the State University and also pursuing his law reading under the direction of his brother, George F. Robison. The year 1881 witnessed his admission to the bar and he entered upon the gen- eral practice of law in Detroit. The years have chron- icled his steady progress in his profession. He served as assistant prosecuting attorney for a short time and was prosecutor of Wayne county from 1907 until 1909. Before preparing for the bar he had served as deputy county clerk. For fourteen years he acted as court reporter for the Detroit Free Press and he has long been well known in professional circles, enjoying the confidence and goodwill of his fellow members of the bar.
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