USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 10
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1898 he received appointment from Governor Pingree to the Wayne county jury commission and on the expiration of his six years' term of service he was reappointed by Governor Fred M. Warner and so continued until 1908, when he resigned. He was then elected register of deeds and is now serving for the sixth term in that position. No higher testimonial of his capability and fidelity could be given than the fact that he has been so many times reelected to that office. By the introduction of economical and efficient methods in handling the work of the office he has succeeded not only in making it self-sustaining but also in producing a large profit for the county over and above the expenses of the office. The volume of business handled by him during his incumbeney can be judged from the fact that half of the volumes in the office of the register of deeds have been filled during his administration. The recent grand jury in- vestigation of all the offices found that of the register of deeds without a blemish. His management of the office has won most complimentary attention and com- mendation from practically all the banks, also from prominent members of the Detroit real estate board and many of the large business houses of the city. Public endorsement came to him in his reelection in 1920. Aside from discharging the duties of his posi- tion Mr. Stoll is engaged in the insurance business.
In February, 1885, Mr. Stoll was joined in wed- lock to Miss Mary Lechner of Detroit, by whom lie had three children: Otto Edward, Carrie J. and Charles James. The daughter, who became the wife of Ed- ward Theiner, passed away on the 9th of February, 1919, leaving two children, Edward Otto and Marion.
In fraternal circles Otto Stoll is a well known figure. He belongs to Friendship Lodge, No. 417, A. F. & A. M., and is at present treasurer of the lodge, which position he has held since 1912. He is also a member of the Michigan Consistory, of Moslen Temple of the Mystie Shrine and of the Grotto. He likewise has membership with the Order of the Amaranth, with which he has been identified since its organization. He belongs also to the Improved Order of Red Men, the Social Order of Moose and the Ar- beiter Society. A lifelong resident of Detroit he has ever stood for those activities and interests which are of vital force in the development of the city and the establishment of high civic standards, and in every relation of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of his fellowmen.
HON. ARTHUR J. LACY, lawyer, jurist, success- ful business man and ex-president of the Lawyers Club of Detroit, was born at Nirvana, Lake county, Michigan, September 30, 1876, a son of Francis D. and Eunice A. (Stephens) Lacy. After mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools he continued his education in the Northern Indiana Nor- mal School at Valparaiso and in the Northern Indiana College of Law of the same city. He further qualified
for the bar by study in the University of Michigan and located for the practice of his profession in Clare, Michigan, on the 1st of January, 1899. For ten years he continued a member of the bar of that place and on the 1st of July, 1909, became a resident of Detroit, where he entered into active association with the law firm of Lucking, Emmons & Helfman. On the 1st of May, 1912, he became one of the organizers of the law firm of Millis, Griffin & Lacy and so con- tinued until July 1, 1913, when he was appointed judge of the Domestic Relations Court, ex-officio circuit judge of Wayne county, entering upon the duties of that position on the 1st of September following. He continued upon the bench until April 17, 1914, when this court was abolished by decision of the supreme court. The record of Judge Lacy and his work in connection with this court was both able and unique and received the highest comments from legal writers over the country. A contemporary writer said of him in part:
"Although connected with some of the largest liti- gation Detroit had to offer and enjoying an enviable clientele, he had a hobby and wanted to ride it, and that hobby was the infusion of the social and personal service principle into court procedure. The new court probably possessed the broadest nisi prins scope of any American tribunal, it having combined jurisdiction over all causes, civil, criminal and quasi criminal, involving non-support, abandonment, has- tardy, child cruelty, assaults, compulsory education, contributing to child delinquency, divorce, separate support and other family litigation for one-fifth of the people of Michigan-it stood in a class by itself. Judge Lacy started with a full load of work. On the opening day over four thousand pending family cases were assigned to him from the other courts from which he drew his jurisdiction; yet in the brief span of eight months he, without ample pattern or prece- dent, organized his court as one of record, devised and made workable its new and unique administrative machinery and made a truly amazing development of judicial power usually latent or else dissipated by distribution among several distinct tribunals. He created an organization of expert and reliable inves- tigators, making the state as an active party to all family litigation. He adopted a policy of preventive measures and conciliation. Social justice, amelioration and the conservation of family ties were made para- mount. In court procedure he made no new rules or innovations; but the administrative side of the court was saturated with the spirit of social service. Dur- ing his leisure he elicited the cooperation of fraternal, religious and social organizations, the employers of lahor and the press; and beneath a manner kindly and patient he showed his firmness and fighting qualities in his dealing with nagging politicians who engaged in hostile criticism, and when the court was abolished the press commended its work in unstinted terms.
"Judge Lacy was of conciliatory rather than arbi-
HON. ARTHUR J. LACY
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trary type. He possessed the saving sense of humor. He believed in adjustments, and in simple, practical business methods in reaching them. His trite aphor- isms disclose his processes: 'Thrift lies close to the base of domestic felicity'; 'Most of the conversation of quarreling spouses relates to what happened day- before-yesterday, not what will happen day-after-to- morrow'; 'A troubled family is a matter of public concern'; 'Most unfortunates need ladders, not crutches'; 'Most family trouble is due to intemper- ance-the intemperate use of the human tongue'; 'Fault-finding and flaw-picking require less moral and mental energy than any other avocation on earth.' "
The tributes paid to Judge Lacy's work on the bench are numerous. The Chicago Legal News said: "The methods and ideals of this young judge may well serve as a model for American jurisprudence." The American Legal News editorially echoes this sen- timent, adding: "This expresses our views to a dot." The American Society for Thrift announced, "Judge Lacy's family accounting department was a compul- sory school of thrift."
Mr. Herbert Hawley, secretary of the American Judicature Society, said: "The court made a won- derful record in a short time, not so much because of the provisions of the statute as because Governor Ferris appointed a judge, both aggressive and sensi- tive, having both daring and finesse. If left to the voters in a county of seven hundred and fifty thou- sand population to elect the rarely endowed lawyer who could fulfill so difficult a role, there could not, save by infinitesimal chance, be so happy a choice."
After leaving the bench Judge Lacy returned to business practice as a member of the well known law firm of Anderson, Wilcox, Lacy & Lawson and has since specialized in banking, corporation and real estate law. As a lawyer he has a wide acquaintance and enjoys the high regard of bis contemporaries in practice. He is a member of the faculty of the De- troit College of Law, being professor of sales, and is an authority on that subject. He has been a fre- quent contributor to legal publications. He was chair- man of the Committee on Statutory Consolidation of the Michigan State Bar Association, and initiated the movement to consolidate and revise the law of pro- cedure and practice of Michigan, which has been editorially characterized in the New York press as the "beginning of the most comprehensive, conserv- ative, practical and far-reaching legislative reform toward the simplification of the practice, condensation of the law and the elimination of expense and delay in judicial administration ever inaugurated in this coun- try." He belongs to the American Bar Association, the Detroit Bar Association and the Commercial Law League of America. He is likewise a prominent mem- ber of the Lawyers Club, in which he has been chairman of the legislative and law reform committee and of which he was elected president in June, 1919. Aside from his professional activity he is a director
of the Bank of Detroit and interested in various other business activities and is the owner of large real estate holdings in this state. He is a trustee and on the executive board of the Michigan Hospital School. He is a democrat and was first called to office when in Clare, Michigan, he was made city attorney, serving from 1899 until 1909. In 1902 he was elected mayor of that city and continued in the office for four terms, or until 1906. In the latter year he was the democratic candidate for congress from the eleventh district and in 1908 was candidate for the office of regent of the University of Michigan. In 1908 he was a delegate to the democratic national conven- tion which convened in Denver, and was financial sec- retary of the democratic state central committee of Michigan in 1912 and 1913. He is a member of the Civil Service Commission of the city of Detroit, being appointed in June, 1919, by Mayor James Couzens.
On November 1, 1898, Judge Lacy was married to Miss Beth Garwick of Morrison, Illinois. He and his wife are members of the North Woodward Congre- gational church and he is well known in fraternal and club circles, being a member of Detroit Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M .; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; Michigan Sovereign Consis- tory; and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. In club circles he holds membership in the Detroit Ath- letic, the Detroit Golf and the Red Run Golf Clubs. He is an enthusiastic golfer and finds great pleasure in this exhilarating sport.
MOSES B. DELANEY, an enterprising and public- spirited citizen of Detroit, secretary and treasurer of the Michigan Metal Spinning Manufacturing Com- pany, and otherwise for years connected with commer- cial life, is a native of Detroit, where he was born in 1872, a son of William and Margaret (Hourley) De- laney, who in their time were worthy and well known citizens.
Mr. Delaney was educated in the public schools of the city, and for several years afterwards he was engaged in the mercantile business. In 1910 he joined his brother, John J. Delaney, and incorporated the Michigan Metal Spinning Manufacturing Company, with John J. Delaney as president and Moses B. Delaney as secretary-treasurer.
John J. Delaney is a practical man, having spent all his life in manufacturing plants, and was thus well fitted for his present line of industry. The prin- cipal business of the company is stamping, although it continues to operate spinning also, and the scope of its trade covers the United States, its products being found in every market. The company make it a business principle to sell direct to customers. It is well and favorably known for the excellence of its products and has been steadily advancing since 1910, the volume of trade each year showing appre- ciable growth.
In 1898 Moses B. Delaney was united in marriage
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to Ellen Lyons and they are the parents of four children: William, Ethel, John and James. Mr. De- laney takes a deep interest in the affairs of the Knights of Columbus, of which he has been a member for several years. He is a member of the Board of Commerce, and gives practical support to all matters calculated to promote the commercial development of his native city, where he is regarded as a prominent factor in industry.
RICHARD HENRY CONNOR reached the advanced age of ninety-one years and the long period of his life was spent in Detroit, which he saw developed from a tiny hamlet to one of the great metropolitan centers of the middle west. It seems hardly possible, as one travels over the broad boulevards of Detroit, amid its mammoth business blocks and its beautiful resi- dences, that one man could have lived to see the re- markable transformation that converted a wild and undeveloped region into a great and populous city, with its ramifying trade interests reaching out into every section of the world. The memory of Richard Henry Connor, however, compassed the period when the Indians far outnumbered the white settlers in this region. He was born at Grosse Pointe, Michi- gan, November 5, 1812, and passed away on the 10th of August, 1903. He was a son of Henry and Theresa (Trombley) Connor, the. former a native of Mount Clemens, Michigan, and the latter of Grosse Pointe. From the Catholic records (the proper names being spelled in several ways), has been gleaned the history of the Connor family, compiled by C. M. Burton and reading as follows: During the War of the American Revolution the Christian Indians, among whom were the Moravian missionaries, located in the northern part of Ohio, were nearly all massacred by the Americans, or Virginians. There is no need to review one of the blackest pages of American his- tory. The details were horrible in the extreme and the event much more horrible and unpardonable when we understand that it was committed by our own people. The remaining Indians, with their Moravian teachers, Zeisburger, Jungman, Edwards and Jung, were summoned to Detroit by the commandant here, Schuyler De Peyster, and arrangements were made to settle the colony on what was then called the Huron river of Lake St. Clair, now called the Clinton river, near the present site of Mount Clemens. The late Judge James V. Campbell says that there were some white families with the Indians, including that of Richard Connor. This was in 1782, and is the first mention I have found of the Connor family. The Moravians remained at their new settlement several years and built up quite a village, but the land they occupied belonged to the Chippewa Indians and they were forced to surrender the lands to the proper owners and the Moravians removed, part back to Ohio and the remainder to Chatham, in 1786. The Connor family remained behind and included, at that
time, Richard Connor and his three sons: Henry, (father of R. H. Connor), William and James, and perhaps another son, John.
"Henry Connor was a noted interpreter, according to Judge Campbell, and was known as Wabishkindibe, or White Hair. He was a very upright man. After the Americans took possession of the county, the Connors set up claim to the lands they had occupied and obtained grants from the United States, con- firming their possessory titles. The Moravians were Protestants, but the Connors were apparently Catholics, for frequent mention of their names is found in the records of the Catholic church, and from these and other records I have gleaned the following dates:
" 'Jacques (James) Connor, aged twenty years and five months, son of Richard Connor and Marguerite, of the Irish nation (Irlandois de nation), was baptized February 12, 1792.
" 'Henry Connor, major son of the deceased Richard Connor and of Marguerite Boiver, born near Mari- etta, "state of Penn.", and residing in this (Detroit) parish for many years, married Therese Tremble, major daughter of Louis Tremble and Cecile Yax, February 23, 1808. The witnesses to the ceremony were Michael Tremble, Joseph Tremble, Francois Tremble, James Connor, Elisha Harrington and James Abbott, all well known citizens.
" 'William Connor, of "Clinton River," married Susannah Connor, June 29, 1830; in the presence of Henry Connor and John Connor.
" 'Mary Connor witnessed a marriage April 26, 1831.
" 'Charles Cavana, major son of James Cavana and Margaret Money, native of Belaged, diocese of Kil- kany, married Mary Donahar, major daughter of the deceased Michael Donahar and of the deceased Mary Connor, native of the parish of Callcaper, diocese of Limeric; February 5, 1834.
" 'John H. Connor married Josephine J. Bondi, October 6, 1835.
" 'Richard Connor and Elizabeth Etiebin were mar- ried August 30, 1841.
"' 'Cecile Connor, born April 12, 1809, daughter of Henry Connor and Therese Tremble.
" 'Richard Connor, son of Henri Connor and of Therese Tremble, died August 6, 1813, aged about six months.
" ' Marie Aimee Harington, daughter of Elisha Har- rington and Susanne Connor, born April 17, 1812, died January 29, 1814. The parents were married by a civil judge.
" 'Benoit Conor, son of Henri Conor and of Therese Tremble, died August 4, 1822, aged eight months.
" 'Henry Connor, aged sixty years, was buried September 15, 1840. At the burial there were present Richard and Jean Connor. He was a marguillier of Ste. Anne's church, elected December 27, 1829.
" 'Michael Connor, aged thirty-five years, was buried August 1, 1834. This was the cholera season.
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" 'Richard Connor, born November 5, 1812, son of Henry Connor and Therese Tremble.
" 'Richard Connor, born July 15, 1814, son of Henry Connor and Therese Tremble. He was a trustee of Ste. Anne's church in 1852.
" ' Marie Connor, born July 15, 1816, daughter of Henry Connor and Therese Tremble.
" 'Marguerite Ann Connor, born July 17, 1817, daughter of Henry Connor and Therese Tremble.
" 'James Connor, born December 21, 1819, son of James Connor and Marie Welch (married by a civil judge).
" 'Benjamin C. Conor, born December 21, 1821, son of Henry Conor and Therese Trambley.
" 'James William Henry Connor, born January 2, 1821, son of Henry Conard and Therese Trambley.
" 'Cecile Connor was godmother of Cecile Tremble, May 18, 1824.
" 'Therese Conor, born October 13, 1825, daughter of Henry Conor and Therese Tremble.
" 'Mary Connor, godmother of Patrick Canneau, April 26, 1829.
" 'Andre J. H. Conor, born February 26, 1829, son of Henry Conor and Therese Tremblay. The god- father was Jean (John) H. Conor and the godmother Suzanne (Susann) Conor.
" 'Henry Ottis Connor, born May 1, 1831, son of William and Susanne Connor.
" 'Sara Connor, born August 30, 1832, daughter of Henry Connor and Therese Tremble.
" 'Richard James Trowbridge, born October 15, 1831; son of James Trowbridge and Mary Connor (married by Methodist minister), the said Mary hav- ing obtained a divorce from Henry Yansy.
" 'Catherine Carey, born September 6, 1834; daugh- ter of Robert Carey and Mary Connor.
" 'Francois de Sales Connor, born December 18, 1841, son of John Connor and Josephine Bondi.
" 'Elizabeth Tremble, wife of Henry Connor, was godmother to Marie Suzanne Palmer, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Palmer, November 3, 1836.
" 'Jean (John) Connor, born November 14, 1835, son of Guillaume (William) Connor and Cecile Suz- anne Connor; the godparents were Jean Connor and Josephine Connor.
" 'Marie Elizabeth, born October 2, 1843, daughter of Richard Connor and Elizabeth St. Aubin.
" 'Anne Connor, born February 6, 1834; daughter of Guillaume Connor and Cecile Suzanne Connor.
" 'Adelaide Connor, born March 30, 1847; daughter of William Connor and Maria Henrietta Dumais.
" 'David Zeisberger, the Moravian, left a diary in which are several references to the Connor family. It appears that the wife of Richard Connor was a woman who had been captive many years among the Shawanese. Richard was from Maryland, and at the close of Dunmore's war they settled at Pittsburgh, but later came to Schonbrunn in search of his son, who was among the Indians. He and his wife were per-
mitted to remain with the Christian Indians and be- came members of the church. Zeisberger refers to him as "Brother Connor." He ransomed his little son from the Shawanese in the winter of 1775-76, re- turned to the Moravian settlement and lived with the Indians from that time forward. He accompanied them to Detroit and to their new settlement on Clin- ton river, and remained there until it was broken up in April, 1786. When the time neared for departure the Moravians were in great trouble, for they did not know what fate was before them. For days pre- ceding the departure, religious services were con- stantly held and the days were spent in preparation for the exit and in praying. The diary records that on Thursday, April 20, "after we have early, for the last time, assembled in our chapel and thanked the Savior upon our knees for all the goodness we had en- joyed from him, and further committed ourselves to his mercy upon the journey, we loaded our canoes, and all went away together in the afternoon. None of us all remained behind save Conner's family, who himself knew not whether to go nor what to do." The Mo- ravians heard no more from Connor for six years, when a member of the Chippewa tribe visited Zeis- berger and told him that Connor still lived on the Huron (Clinton) river by permission of the Chippewas, but that no other white men lived there. So here Richard Connor continued to reside and bring up his family. He died before the year 1807 and left his wife, Margaret, and four sons, James, Henry, William and John. Each of the sons obtained a tract of land from our government. Henry purchased the land at Connor's Creek and at his death in 1840 left children whose names appear above, to wit: John H., whose wife was named Josephine J. Bondi; Richard H., whose first wife was Theresa St. Aubin, and whose second wife was Catherine, widow of Charles Rivard; Susan, who probably married a cousin, William Con- nor, June 29, 1830; Therese Hanley; Margaret, who became the wife of Nicholas Thelan, an old-time sur- veyor; Benjamin H., Andrew H., whose wife was named Elizabeth; and Sally.
" 'From personal knowledge I could fill in a little of the later generations, but not much. Richard H. Connor's first wife was a daughter of Bosalique St. Aubin, and there were three children: Richard; Frank; and Mrs. Marie Elizabeth Moran, wife of the late Charles G. Moran. But I cannot give dates or further names.' "
It was following the marriage of Henry Connor and Theresa Trombley that the former took up his abode at Detroit, her father turning over to him all of his land upon the agreement that Mr. Connor was to maintain a home for Mr. and Mrs. Trombley throughout their remaining days. The place was sit- uated along the creek that has since been called Connor's Creek. The reminiscences of Richard Henry Connor concerning those early times were most inter- esting. He would often tell of how the Indians out-
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numbered the white men ten to one, his father acting as Indian agent. Each fall the red men would come to the Connor place to get ready for the winter, the father purchasing cattle for them, which they ate; and when they were ready to go back into the woods he would get ponies for them and they would pack their stuff upon the animals and make their way into the interior. When Henry Connor went to war in 1812 his wife was staying at Mount Clemens. Follow- ing the battle of the River Raisin, in which many whites were slain, the Indians threatened to kill her, and she took her two children in a canoe, paddling down the Clinton river to Lake St. Clair and so down to Connor's Creek. On one occasion, before her hus- band's return from the war, the Indians pointed out a scalp among several which they had hanging to their belts, telling her that it was that of her hus- band. One of the duties of Henry Connor was to pay the Indians their annuity from the government, and before the time came his son, Richard H., whose name introduces this review, would go around and tell the red men to gather at a certain place to get their money, it requiring a six weeks journey on horseback through the woods to complete this task. The woods were dense and wild in those days and game was abundant. A man could go half a mile back from his home and kill three or four deer every day. Bears also were plentiful and there was any number of ducks and other wild fowl. When Richard H. Connor was seven or eight years of age his father sailed away with General Cass on an expedition to make a treaty with the Indians. They started in a sailboat and it was necessary to go to the farther end of Lake Superior, so that their people never expected to see them again. At Mackinaw they obtained from the Indians big birch bark canoes that were sev- enty-five feet long and twelve feet wide, it requiring fourteen men to paddle each one. The trip was a very hard one and for five days and nights the party were without food but finally killed and ate an eagle. Near Mackinaw they were sleeping in an Indian vil- lage when in the middle of the night a squaw came to the father of Richard H. Connor and told him that he would have to get out at once, as the Indians had planned to kill all of the party. Mr. Connor then wakened his companions and they quietly stole away, going to Fort Mackinaw, where soldiers were sta- tioned. The treaty was made at La Pointe, near Duluth. Gradually time and man made many changes and as the years passed the Connor family bore their full share in the work of development and improve- ment at Grosse Pointe and this section of the state.
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