USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 112
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at the time also maintaining a downtown office in the MeGraw building. In all business affairs he was thoroughly reliable and progressive and his carefully managed affairs brought to him a gratifying measure of prosperity.
In Toledo, Ohio, on the 26th of June, 1872, Mr. Zacharias was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth E. Tillott, a daughter of William H. Tillott, a native of England, in which country the birth of Mrs. Zach- arias also occurred. To this marriage were born two sons: Allen H., whose birth occurred February 12, 1875, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and who is now one of the prominent business men of Lima, Ohio, being assistant to the president of the Garford Motor Truck Company. He wedded Gertrude Wiley, a daughter of Jefferson Wiley, in June, 1898; Frederick T., the younger, was born December 4, 1878, in California, and died September 4, 1896.
Mr. Zacharias was of the Presbyterian faith and at one time served as a trustee of the Trumbull Avenue Presbyterian church, while later he became a member of the Woodward Avenue church, his association there- with continuing to the time of his demise. He did everything in his power to promote the growth of the church and extend its influence and his life was ever governed by its high principles. In politics he was a republican, but never an aspirant for office. He was well known in Masonic circles as a member of Kilwinning Lodge, F. & A. M .; King Cyrus Chapter, R. A. M .; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; and the Mystic Shrine. He was also active in organizing the Detroit Coal Exchange and served as president of that body for many years. His carefully directed business affairs enabled him to leave his family in comfortable financial circumstances and Mrs. Zach- arias is now the owner of a number of fine residential properties in Detroit, from which she derives a grat- ifying annual income, enabling her to enjoy all of the comforts of life and many of its luxuries. She, too, is highly esteemed in Detroit, where her circle of friends is an extensive one.
ELMORE R. DUNLAP, who has largely specialized in designs for buildings for industrial and commercial purposes, enjoying an extensive patronage since starting in business independently in 1910, was born in Pontiac, Michigan, April 8, 1873, his parents being Harper and Julia (Button) Dunlap. He was a student in the Univer- sity of Michigan and also in the University of Illinois, his college training thoroughly qualifying him for large responsibilities in the business world. He early de- termined upon architecture as a profession and gave his attention thereto at Pontiac, Michigan, from 1895 until 1899. In the latter year he removed to Detroit and was principally connected with Albert Kahn, one of the leading architects of the city, prior to entering upon business on his own account in 1910. Through the intervening decade he has been accorded a liberal patronage and he has done important work in connection with the designing
PETER H. ZACHARIAS
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of leading industrial and commercial buildings, notable examples of his work being the buildings of the Michigan Farm Colony for Epilepties at Walyainega, Michigan; Beyers Memorial Hospital at Ypsilanti, Michigan; buildings of the Hupp Motor Car Company and of the Hyatt Roller Bearing Company at Detroit.
In 1897 Mr. Dunlap was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lucile Robbins, of Pontiac, and they have become parents of two daughters and a son: Winona, Laverna and Harper. The elder daughter is now the wife of Mark Ayers, of Detroit, and the mother of one daughter Barbara. Mr. Dunlap's mother is also a member of his household, his father having passed away.
Mr. Dunlap has membership with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Michigan Architectural Society, the Architects Club, the Masonic fraternity, the Masonic Country Club, the University of Michigan Alumni Association and the University of Illinois Alumni Asso- ciation.
DANIEL T. CROWLEY. The old Greek sage, Epicharmus, admonished his followers, "Earn thy reward: the gods give naught to sloth." The truth of this admonition has been verified through all the ages which have run their course since that day. Enterprise and intelligently directed effort are the basic elements which today constitute the foundation upon which success is built, just as they were centuries ago, and a recognition of this fact has led to the close application and inde- fatigable energy which Daniel T. Crowley has always displayed since starting out upon his business career. He is a representative of one of the old families of Detroit, his parents being Cornelius and Catherine (Brosnan) Crowley. He was born March 13, 1864, and pursued his education in the public schools of his native city. He started out in the business world as bookkeeper with the firm of James K. Burnham & Company, wholesale dealers in dry goods, entering upon a six years' connection with that house in 1880. In 1886 he entered the employ of the Peninsular Stove Company and through the inter- vening period, covering more than a third of a century, he has remained an active factor in the successful conduct and in later years in the management of the business. From his initial position he was advanced to that of cashier, was afterward made auditor and director of the company, so continuing from 1896 until 1911, when he became secretary, and in 1920 he was made vice president and general manager, thus occupying a position of executive control in connection with one of the im- portant business interests of the city. He is also vice- president of the firm of Crowley Brothers, wholesale dry goods merchants, and a director of the Crowley-Milner Company, conducting an extensive retail department store.
In I894, in Detroit, Mr. Crowley was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dwyer and they have one daughter, Marion. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Crowley is a member of the Knights of Columbus. His appreciation for the social amenities of life and the line of his recreation is indicated
in the fact that he has membership in the Detroit, the Country, the Curling, the Automobile and the Lochmoor Clubs. A lifelong resident of this city, he has a very wide acquaintance here, the sterling worth of his character gaining him the unqualified regard of his colleagues and contemporaries in business and of all with whom he has come in contact in other relations of life.
WILLIAM CORNELIUS CROWLEY. In the whole- sale district of Detroit stands the large dry goods estab- lishment of Crowley Brothers, of which William Cornelius Crowley is secretary and treasurer-another proof of the fact that "an institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man," for this business is the crystallized effort and enterprise of William C. Crowley and his brothers, who since 1902 have conducted a growing and profitable business as wholesale dealers in dry goods, notions and furnishing goods. Born in Detroit on the 8th of Feb- ruary, 1869, William C. Crowley is a son of Cornelius and Catherine (Brosnan) Crowley. He supplemented his early educational advantages by a course of study in the University of Detroit and in 1887 started out upon his business career as a clerk in the employ of J. K. Burnham & Company, proprietors of a wholesale dry goods house. From that point he has steadily advanced. He made it his purpose to thoroughly master every task assigned him and to gain from each well performed duty and experience the lesson therein contained. Step by step he has progressed and since 1902 he has been the secretary of the firm of Crowley Brothers, conducting an extensive wholesale business as dealers in dry goods, notions and furnishing goods. From the beginning the firm has recognized the fact that satisfied customers are the best advertisement and they have put forth every effort to please their patrons, while the integrity and soundness of their business methods is acknowledged by all who have had dealings with them. Aside from this interest William C. Crowley is secretary and a director of the Crowley-Milner Company, proprietors of a de- partment store.
On the 22d of May, 1907, Mr. Crowley entered upon a happy home life through his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Sullivan Freeman, of Detroit, and they have three chil- dren: Eleanor, Betty and Catherine. The family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Crowley belongs to the Knights of Columbus and to the Knights of Equity. He is likewise a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and he belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Club, the Lochmoor Club, the Country Club, the Detroit Curling Club, the Players Club and the Bloomfield Hunt Club. He finds recre- ation in yachting, golf and baseball and he spends the winter seasons with his family at Palm Beach, Florida. While he started out in the business world in a humble clerkship, he is today at the head of one of the important commercial enterprises of Detroit. The methods which he has pursued in the attainment of this position are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, for there is not a single esoteric phase in his career. By
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close application, persistent effort and indefatigable energy he has advanced step by step until he has now reached a height that gives him a commanding outlook over the commercial world.
LEWIS N. VALPEY. In the year 1884 Lewis N. Valpey eame to Detroit from New Brunswick, Canada, and throughout the intervening period to the time of his death thirty years later, he was a resident of this city. He advanced steadily to a position of leader- ship in mercantile and real estate circles and con- trolled considerable valuable property here. He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, July 6, 1854, a son of Joseph H. and Abbie Fielding (Lewis) Valpey. The father was a native of Massachusetts and later moved to St. John, New Brunswick, where he was exten- sively engaged in the manufacture of shoes. His death occurred in 1910, in Detroit, to which eity he had re- moved in 1882 and where he engaged in the retail shoe business for a number of years. His wife sur- vived until 1912. Lewis N. Valpey was six years of age when the family made St. John, New Brunswick, their home, and it was in the schools of that city that he acquired his education. In his youthful days he became associated with his father in the shoe busi- ness. He afterward established business on his own account in the same line and continued as a shoe merchant of Detroit from 1884-the date of his arrival in this city-until 1902. In the latter year he turned his attention to the real estate business and had charge of and managed several prominent buildings which he leased, among them were the Valpey building and the Woodward Arcade, the latter being one of the first buildings for small retail shops in Detroit. His real estate activities were of an important character and he continued active in that field of business, win- ning substantial snecess, nntil his demise.
In the year 1877 Mr. Valpey was married in St. John, New Brunswick, to Miss Ella Gerow of that city, a danghter of Stephen and Mary (Humbert) Gerow. To Mr. and Mrs. Valpey was born one child, Edna Gertrude, who is at home with her mother, their residence being at No. 50 Edison avenue, which home Mr. Valpey built. Mr. Valpey belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he was for many years an active member of the Woodward Ave- nne Baptist church. For a good many years he was closely connected with the Bible school, in which he held varions offices from time to time. He took a most active and helpful interest in various lines of Christian work, especially the Young Men's Christian Association and the Wayne County Sunday School As- sociation. He was a lover and owner of fine horses and belonged to the Detroit Riding Club, Rushmere Club, and the Bloomfield Hills Golf Club, obtaining his recreation largely in this way. In 1903 Mr. Valpey made an extended trip to Central America, traveling across Honduras by mule back from the coast to the capital city-Tegucigalpa-and back, a distance of
one hundred and seventy-seven miles each way, over the roughest mountain country; and here he lived under most primitive conditions in order to get in touch with the people of the country. The interests and activities of his life were well balanced and his progressive spirit was manifest in all that he under- took. While for many years he successfully con- ducted commercial interests, he later recognized the possibilities in the real estate field and so directed his efforts along that line that success in substantial measure became his. His high ideals were carried out in his business life and many times he refused sub- stantial finaneial gain for the sake of principle. More- over, he won the respect and goodwill of all by reason of his friendly spirit and the fact that his business methods would at all times bear the closest investigation and scrutiny.
ROBERT McFATE is well known in business circles of Detroit as a member of the Southwick-Pom-McFate Company, successful building contractors of this city. He is thoroughly familiar with the business in which he is engaged, having devoted his entire life to this line of activity. He was born in St. Catherines, in the province of Ontario, Canada, a son of Robert and Margaret Catherine (Kilman) McFate. The father was an Amer- ican citizen and a stanch defender of the Union cause during the Civil war, serving as a lieutenant of the Third Iowa Battery, and following the war he engaged in the lumber business.
In the schools of Canada, Robert McFate acquired his education and when twenty years of age he came to Detroit, where he became identified with the contracting business as an employe of the Vinton Company, which was established by Warren G. Vinton, one of the largest construction contractors in the city. He joined that company on the 3d of August, 1891, working at first in the lumber-yard, and through determined effort and the faithful performance of every task assigned him he won promotion from one position to another of greater im- portance and responsibility until he became general manager and treasurer, while subsequently he was made vice president, remaining with the company until the business was discontinued in 1916. His identification with that firm covered a period of twenty-seven years and in 1918 he joined the Southwick-Pom Company, at which time the present style of the Southwick-Pom- McFate Company was assumed. They specialize in interior finishing and are equipped to handle large jobs. In the execution of contracts they adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of the agreement and the superior quality of their work, combined with their reliable and progressive business methods, has secured for them an extensive patronage. Examples of their handiwork are to be seen in many of Detroit's finest edifices, among which may be mentioned the interior woodwork of the Orpheum Theatre and the Cadillac Service buildings, both of which are in walnut; and the interior finishing in the Detroit Savings Bank and United Savings Bank
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buildings and the Nurses Home maintained in connection with Harper Hospital. Mr. McFate's broad experience in the contracting business has been a valuable asset in pro- moting the success of the company and the members of the firm are enterprising, progressive and capable business men who rank with the leading contractors of the city.
On the 15th of March, 1906, Mr. McFate was united in marriage to Miss Maude Mary Todd and they enjoy a wide acquaintance in Detroit. He is a valued member of the Board of Commerce, actively supporting its plans and projects for the welfare and development of the city, and he is also connected with the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Yacht Club and the Birch Hill Country Club and fraternally is identified with the Masons, belonging to Oriental Lodge, F. & A. M .; to Michigan Sovereign Consistory, A. & A. S. R., in which he has attained the thirty-second degree; and to Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His business record is one of continuous advancement. Early in his career he realized that one must be willing to pay the price of success, which is only gained at the cost of earnest, self-denying effort. He has ever directed his interests by the rules which govern strict integrity and unfaltering industry and he stands today among the foremost business men of Detroit, honored and respected by all who know him.
FREDERICK NEAL, president of the Central Ice & Fuel Company, was born in Bay City, Michigan, October 25, 1859, his parents being William and Elizabeth (Owens) Neal, who were natives of England and of Wales, re- spectively. They went to Canada in early life and thence removed to Lexington, Michigan, where they resided for about seven years and then became residents of Bay City, Michigan. The father was always a prosperous and energetic farmer and he died at Bay City in 1893, having for ten years survived his wife, who passed away in 1883. In their family were five children; Mrs. Navinia Coon of Chicago, Illinois; Joseph, living in Michigan; Godfrey of Bay City; John, who also makes his home in Bay City; and Frederick.
The last named acquired his education in the graded schools of Bay City but at an early age went to work in connection with the lumber trade, and so well did he perform his tasks that his services were sought by a lumberman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He joined the firm of George W. Kagler & Company, lumbermen and mill owners, remaining a faithful and trusted employe of that concern for eighteen years. He then decided to engage in business on his own account and at the earnest solicitation of his eldest son removed from Philadelphia to Detroit in 1915. Here he entered the ice and fuel business under the name of the Central Ice & Fuel Company, of which he has since been president. In later years, however, he has disposed of the ice business owing to failing health, his family physician advising him to give up that branch. He is still engaged in the coal and fuel trade, however, and has built up a large business, his extensive patronage making this a profitable concern.
In May, 1882, in Bay City, Mr. Neal was married to Miss Esther M. Peck, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Peck. They have become parents of five children. Mrs. Effie Peer, born in Bay City, Michigan, was educated there and in Philadelphia and now resides' in Detroit. She has one child, Lillian Peer. Ralph B., who was born in Bay City and is now secretary and treasurer of the Monarch Coal Company of Detroit, married Miss Anna Mccutcheon of Philadelphia and they have one child, Robert. Mrs. Libbie Hoffman, the next of the family, was born in Bay City and there began her education but continued her studies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she now makes her home. Mrs. Jessie H. Tusson, born in Bay City and educated there and in Philadelphia, has one child, Helen Tusson. Norman W. Neal, born in Bay City, is now in business with his father. He married Miss Viola Viger of Detroit and during the World war he enlisted with a Michigan company in the transport division.
Mr. Neal belongs to the Ancient Order of Foresters and he is also a member of the Baptist church. His business career has been one of steady and orderly progression. At the outset he recognized the fact that industry, per- severance, determination and faithfulness are the most potent forces in the attainment of success, and cultivating these qualities throughout his entire life, he has con- tinuously worked his way upward and is today at the head of a large and profitable business.
EDWARD J. BOOTH, one of the widely known insur- ance men of the middle west, now vice president of the Michigan Fire & Marine Insurance Company of Detroit, was born at Enfield, Connecticut, April 9, 1864, a son of John R. and Julia (Heath) Booth, both of whom were natives of Connecticut, where their ancestors had lived through several generations. In fact representatives of the Booth family had come to Connecticut at an early period in the colonization of the state, acquiring property there in 1689. The farm thus secured and other property owned in the ancestral line is still in possession of Edward J. Booth and other members of the family. The father, John R. Booth, was a farmer, who was reared and educated in his native state, was there married and made his home, his last days being passed in Enfield, where his death occurred in 1886. His widow long survived him and died in Enfield in 1912. In their family were six children, three of whom are yet living: Charles F., who is a prac- ticing physician of New York city; Mrs. G. B. Disbrow, of White Plains, New York; and Edward J., who was the fourth in order of birth.
The last named obtained a grammar school education in his native town and attended high school at Hartford, Connecticut. At the age of seventeen he came to De- troit, where he entered into the fire and marine insurance business as a representative of the Michigan Fire & Marine Company, of which he is now the vice president. From office boy he has worked his way steadily upward through the various departments of a business that is now one of mammoth proportions and he is today unques-
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tionably one of the best informed men on this class of risks handled in Detroit. He has kept abreast of the times and has continued to inform himself concerning any change in methods or any change in laws relative to the insurance business. His position as one of the executive officers places him in control of important interests and he has contributed much to the steady growth of the corporation.
On the 9th of April, 1890, Edward J. Booth was mar- ried to Miss Jessie Crawford, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Crawford, of a prominent Detroit family. They have one son, E. Bartlett, who was born in Detroit, December, 1897, and who is a graduate of the Detroit high school. He is now attending the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He enlisted during the World war with the United States Marines as a private and following his discharge again became a student in the university, where he is now pursuing his course.
In his political views Mr. Booth is a republican. He belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club, to the Detroit Boat Club and to the Board of Commerce, being concerned in all that is a matter of vital interest to the community. He belongs to the Episcopal church and wherever known he is spoken of in terms of highest regard by reason of what he has accomplished in business and by reason of character development.
RALPH SPENCER, president of the Dresden Brick Company of Detroit, was born on a farm in Muskingum township, Muskingum county, near Dresden, Ohio, on the 24th of November, 1864, and is a representative of one of the old families of Pennsylvania, his great- grandfather being Wiseman Spencer, who spent his en- tire life in the Keystone state. He was the father of Wilson Spencer, who was born in Pennsylvania but became a pioneer resident of Ohio. He in turn was the father of John Spencer, whose birth occurred in 1837 on the same farm near Dresden on which his son, Ralph Spencer, was born. There John Spencer was reared to manhood and wedded Virginia Frazier, who passed away in the year 1910. For many years John Spencer was actively identified with agricultural interests in Ohio and occupied the old homestead, where he lived retired during the latter years of his life and there passed away on April 23, 1920, aged eighty-two years.
At the usual age Ralph Spencer became a pupil in the country schools of Muskingum county, Ohio, and afterward attended the public schools at Frazeysburg in the same county. Still later he became a student in a commercial college at Columbus, Ohio, from which he was graduated with the class of 1887. Returning to Frazeysburg he became interested in the manufac- ture of brick and so continued for two years, at the end of which time he disposed of his business there and again became a resident of Dresden, Ohio, where he built a brick manufacturing plant, devoting his attention to its conduct for a period of five years, when he disposed of the business and began the work
of constructing brick plants, being interested in this enterprise for four years, or until 1901. He then went on the road as a traveling salesman out of Cleveland, handling brick as a jobber for a number of years, when he established his home in Detroit, Michigan, and became a salesman of brick machinery. Actuated by the laudable ambition of engaging in business on his own account, in 1909 he organized the Dresden Brick Company, of which for a number of years he acted as secretary and treasurer. The com- pany was incorporated in 1912 and he is now president. This has developed into one of the important busi- ness concerns of the city, having an extensive pat- ronage and the success of the undertaking is attribut- able in large measure to the efforts of Mr. Spencer, whose thorough kuowledge of every phase of the brick business has been gleaned from an experience dating from 1888.
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