USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 17
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MICHAEL W. DILLON. Wherever tobacco is used in this country-as it is throughout all the states of the Union-it is probable that the name and products of the Scotten-Dillon Company, tobacco manufactur- ers, of Detroit, are known to all devotees of the fra- grant weed. For upwards of fifty years Michael W. Dillon of Detroit has been identified with the manu- facture of tobacco, and he has gradually risen from the very humblest of beginnings to his present re- sponsible and representative position as president of the Scotten-Dillon Company, with which business he has been associated since 1879.
Mr. Dillon was born March 25, 1856, in what is now Wheeling, West Virginia, and was a small boy when his parents removed to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was reared. He spent a brief period in acquiring the rudi- ments of an education, and at the early age of twelve years he started to learn the tobacco trade and has fol- lowed this business all through the intervening years, gradually advancing in status as time went by until he reached his present position. In 1879 Mr. Dillon joined the Daniel Scotten Company in Detroit, con- tinuing with that firm until 1901, when the Scotten- Dillon Company was formed, with a capital of one million five hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Scotten, the senior member of the company, died in 1910, and it then devolved upon Mr. Dillon to assume the active management of the company's affairs and he has been at the head of the company ever since. The factory finds employment for upwards of seven hun-
dred people and keeps sixty salesmen on the road. Since Mr. Dillon became president of the company there has been a steady expansion of trade, due no less to his wise management than to the reputation of the company's products. Considering the early educational disadvantages under which Mr. Dillon la- bored, his progress and prosperity have been remark- able, beginning at the bottom of the ladder as he did. He is a pleasant cultured man to meet, and takes great pride in his family, as he also does in the civic advancement of Detroit during the years he has been a resident of the city.
Mr. Dillon is the father of seven children, namely: Margaret; William, assistant manager of the Scotten- Dillon Company; Ray; Helen; Edward, engaged in the brokerage business in Detroit; Len, connected with the Scotten-Dillon Company; and Frances, all of whom have had college educations. Ray and William grad- uated from St. Mary's College, Kansas; Len graduated from Georgetown University, and Edward graduated from the University of Detroit, and the girl mem- bers of the family graduated from the Grosse Pointe Academy.
Ray and Len entered the service of the United States and participated in the World war, and of these boys the father is very proud. Len served two years with the Harper hospital unit, in the Medical Corps. Ray entered the Officers Training Camp at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and stood so high in his examination that he was given a captain's com- mission. Later, he was sent to Camp Taylor, Ken- tucky, and in order that he might be sent overseas to France, he offered to go with colored troops. He was thereupon made a major and went across with the Eight Hundred and First Colored Regiment. Shortly after reaching France Major Dillon took a test examination and made so remarkable a pass that he was transferred to the Ninety-second (Buffalo) Divi- sion and got into the actual fighting during the latter part of the Argonne offensive. He remained in France until after the armistice was signed, shortly follow- ing that event returning to this country and was de- mobilized in due time. He now represents the Scotten- Dillon Company in the state of Wisconsin.
RICHARD HENRY LAURENCE, who for eleven years has been manager of the Garrick Theater of Detroit, was born in Clayton township, Genesee county, Michigan, on the 11th of May, 1887. His youthful days were spent on the farm of his parents, Richard Conklyn and Hannah (McGlinchey) Laurence, with the usual experiences of the farm bred boy who divides his time between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. He attended the rural schools of Clayton town- ship to the age of nine years. He afterward had the benefit of a business course of nine months in the Ferris Institute at Big Rapids, Michigan, but other- wise has learned the lessons of life in the school of
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experience. That. he has been an apt pupil is in- dicated in the success he has attained.
Mr. Laurence started out to provide for his own support as an employe of Thomas A. Carten, a dry goods merchant of Ionia, Michigan, in 1900, when a lad of but thirteen years. Later he returned to farm life and was employed for two years at one hundred and fifty-six dollars per annum, thus spending his time until Jannary, 1903. Believing that he might more quickly secure advancement if he were better qualified by educational training, he then left home to enter the Ferris Institute, in which, as previously stated, he spent nine months as a student. In 1903 he became connected with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Chicago in a clerical capacity and in March, 1904, he entered the employ of E. D .- Stair, a well known theatrical manager of Detroit, as a ste- nographer. Through the succeeding five years he made steady progress in his business career, his powers rapidly developing, and since 1909 he has been the manager of the Garrick Theater, in which connection he has placed upon the boards some of the best at- tractions, making the Garrick a most popular resort for the theatre-going people of the city.
On the 12th of June, 1915, Mr. Laurence was united in marriage to Miss Myra Amanda Martin and they have become the parents of a son, Richard Martin. Mr. Laurence is a Mason of high standing. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the consistory and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and has membership in the Rotary and Oakland Hills Country Clubs. He has a wide acquaintance in Detroit, where his friends are many, and they find him a most congenial companion when he has opportunity to join them in fishing, hunting and other outdoor sports.
ELMER . WILLIAM MULFORD. Since his admis- sion to the bar at Lansing in 1900, Elmer William Mulford has engaged in the practice of law in De- troit, his native city, and through the intervening years has made steady professional progress. He was born November 13, 1876, a son of George Mahon and Julia (Ruehle) Mulford, the former born in Detroit in 1852, representing one of the old and well known families of the city, where he still makes his home, being connected with the Free Press. He was married here in 1875 to Julia Ruehle, who passed away in 1902.
In the attainment of his education Elmer W. Mul- ford attended the public schools and was graduated from the Detroit high school with the class of 1895. He then entered the literary department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, where he spent one year. De- . termining upon the practice of law as a life work he began preparation for the bar as a student in the law department of the University of Michigan and was there graduated in 1900. The same year he was
admitted to practice in the Michigan courts at Lan- sing and opened an office in Detroit, where he has since remained, a well known representative of the legal profession in his native city. He also extended his efforts into business fields and is now the secre- tary and treasurer of the Cornelius Manufacturing Company of Detroit.
On the 5th of October, 1911, Mr. Mulford was mar- ried to Miss Louise A. Tighe, a daughter of Edward H. Tighe, and they became parents of twin sons: Rob- ert Edward and Richard George, born September 20, 1912. The religious faith of the family is that of the Universalist church.
Mr. Mulford is a member of Palestine Lodge, F. & A. M., attaining the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish Rite in Michigan Sovereign Consistory. He also belongs to the University of Michigan Alumni Asso- ciation and to the Lawyers Club. He is a member of the Detroit Bar Association and during the World war served on the legal advisory board. His political endorsement is given to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attrac- tion for him, as he has preferred to concentrate his attention and energies upon his steadily growing law practice.
W. F. SHEETZ, who since 1916 has been secretary of the R. C. Mahon Company, sheet metal workers of Detroit, is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and a son of Frank and Wealthy A. (Neff) Sheetz. He comes of old historie families in both the paternal and maternal lines. His paternal grandfather was a soldier of the Union army in the Civil war and laid down his life on the altar of freedom, being killed in battle. The maternal grandfather was also a Union soldier and was wounded and taken prisoner, after which he was incarcerated in Libby prison for several months. His last days were spent in the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, Ohio.
W. F. Sheetz spent his youthful days in his native city and pursued his education in the public schools there. In 1906 he became an employe at his father's plant in Columbus and continued in active connection with the business until 1910. In that year he re- moved to Detroit and joined the forces of the De- troit Copper & Brass Company, continuing an employe of that firm until 1912. In the following year he became superintendent of the R. C. Mahon Company, sheet metal workers, and by reason of his developing capability and progressiveness he was chosen to the position of secretary of the corporation in 1916. In this capacity he has continued, concentrating his ef- forts and attention upon executive and administrative direction, and by reason of his keen insight into business affairs finding ready solution for many in- tricate trade problems.
On the 15th of November, 1916, Mr. Sheetz was married to Miss Stella G. Fancher, who passed away December 15, 1918. Fraternally he is a Mason, con-
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nected with Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M., while in the Michigan Sovereign Consistory he attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He also belongs to Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine and is a member of the Masonic Country Club. He like- wise has membership with the Detroit Wheelmen and with the Board of Commerce, while his political en- dorsement is given to the republican party. He is known as a very careful and critical business man, thoroughly reliable and conscientious, fully meeting every responsibility and neglecting no duty.
ALBERT JOHN HETCHLER, attorney at law, was born in Linden, Genesee county, Michigan, December 19, 1875, and is a son of Robert F. and Jane E. (Stevens) Hetchler, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Ohio. In early life the father same to Michigan and as the years passed he gained prominence as a mason contractor, remain- ing a resident of Linden to the time of his death, which occurred in 1917. From boyhood he was a lover of a good horse and age showed no diminution of this feeling. During the later years of his life this en- thusiasm was manifested in his work with horses and as a developer and driver he was well known and successful and owned at different times some fine speci- mens of horse flesh. His widow survives and yet makes her home in Linden. Albert J. Hetchler feels that no small part of his progress and success in life is directly attributable to elements of character in- herited from his mother, together with the sacrifices which she made for him and the influence of her beau- tiful life on his own. His brother, Clarence O., who was born in Linden, April 17, 1872, and is now a resident of Flint, Michigan, was at one time county treasurer of Genesee county, Michigan, and is also a former member of the republican state central com- mittee. The other member of the family is a sister, Mrs. Ada Howe, who was born in Linden, April 19, 1878, and is likewise a resident of Flint.
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In his boyhood days Albert J. Hetchler attended the public schools of Linden and the high school of Fenton, Michigan. He then took up the profession of teaching, which he followed in the district schools, continuing in educational work for two years. On the expiration of that period he joined his brother in the conduct of a general merchandise store at Linden, where they conducted a successful business for a decade. Albert J. Hetchler then decided to withdraw from commercial pursuits and prepare for the legal profession, to which end he entered the Uni- versity of Michigan and was there graduated with the LL. B. degree in June, 1911. Selecting Detroit as the scene of his professional labors, he has since here engaged in the practice of law and his clientage is now extensive. The general public bears testimony to his capability in his chosen profession and his large business attests his power in the conduct of the liti- gated interests entrusted to him. He belongs to the
Detroit, Michigan State and American Bar Associa- tions and in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit he has worked his way steadily upward.
On the 14th of May, 1896, Mr. Hetchler was mar- ried to Miss Jennie Judson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Judson. She passed away December 14, 1897, and on the 14th of August, 1907, Mr. Hetchler was married to Miss Jennie Fielden of Milford, Mich- igan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Judson Fielden.
Mr. Hetchler was a charter member and is a past master of University Lodge, No. 482, F. & A. M .; a member of Genesee Chapter, No. 29, R. A. M .; and of Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he was one of the early members of the Wanamaker Club of De- troit, of which he was elected president in 1920. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Congregational church, of which he is an active supporter, serving at the present time as a member of the board of trustees of the North Woodward Congregational church, being an ex-chairman of that board. That he is a man of strong character and laudable ambition is shown by the fact that he worked his way through college and without the aid of influential friends has become well established as an able representative of the Detroit bar.
FREDERICK NICHOLAS HENRY, M. D. For al- most three decades Dr. Frederick Nicholas Henry has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Detroit, having located in this city in 1892, fol- lowing his graduation from the Trinity University of Toronto. Throughout the intervening years his prac- tice has steadily grown in volume and importance and he is today one of the representative physicians of the City of the Straits. His birth occurred in Thorn- ton, Ontario, September 22, 1867, his parents being James and Mary (Dunn) Henry, both of whom were born in the north of Ireland and came to the new world with their respective parents when seven and five years of age. The grandfather in the paternal line was James Henry, who settled at what is now Thornton, Simcoe county, Ontario, in 1831, becoming one of the pioneer residents of that district. He secured a large tract of government land there and the property is still in possession of his descendants. He was a native of County Derry, Ireland, and when he left the Emerald isle for the new world he was accompanied by his wife and five children: James, Thomas, William, Mary and Margaret. The family resolutely set themselves to the task of clearing the land and developing a farm and in the course of years the property has become one of the most valu- able agricultural tracts in Simcoe county, the town of Thornton standing upon a part of the old home- stead. James Henry built the first schoolhouse in Simcoe county and taught school there. He also
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filled the position of postmaster, notary public and magistrate and before leaving his native land he had occupied the position of sheriff in County Derry. The sterling traits of his character were many and he enjoyed the respect and high regard of all who knew him.
James Henry, the father of Dr. Henry, was reared in Simcoe county and, having arrived at years of maturity, wedded Mary Dunn, who had come to America with her sister Rebecca, settling in Phila- delphia but afterward removing to Thornton. where Mary Dunn became the wife of James Henry, while her sister married another son of the Henry family. Mrs. Mary Henry passed away in January, 1911, at the advanced age of eighty years. Mr. Henry for an extended period followed farming in Canada and won substantial success as the years passed by. He, too, passed away in that country. Their family numbered ten children, six of whom reached adult age, namely: William C., of Canada; James W., also of Canada; Frederick Nicholas of this review; Dr. Daniel B. Henry, who is practicing medicine at Northville, Michigan; Dr. Thomas B. Henry, also a physician of Northville; and Mrs. Mary Craw, living in Ontario.
Frederick Nicholas Henry attended the graded schools of Canada and afterward continued his educa- tion in the Toronto high school before entering the University of Toronto as a medical student. He was there graduated in 1892 and came direct to Detroit, where he established himself in the practice of his chosen profession, which he has continuously followed in this city. He has built up a large and profitable practice of such volume that it is necessary to have three assistants, all of whom work under his super- vision. At all times he has been a close and discrim- inating student of the science of medicine and surgery and has kept in touch with the trend of modern prog- ress and advancement through wide reading and in- vestigation. He is about to take a trip abroad with . a patient, not as a physician but as a friend. They will tour the British islands, continental Europe and the Orient. Dr. Henry belongs to the Wayne County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Asso- ciation and the American Medical Association.
In October, 1896, Dr. Henry was married to Miss Sophie M. Schaeffler of Detroit and they have become parents of two children: The elder, Frederick Kraft, born in Detroit and educated in the graded and high schools of the city, is now manager with the Detroit Motor Sales Company. He married Miss Agnes Wis- susik of Detroit, and they have three children: Fred- erick A., Robert H. and Donald C .; Mildred L., born in Detroit, is a graduate of the high school and spent two years as a student in the University of Michigan, while at the present time she is a senior in the Uni- versity of California at Berkeley, California, there pursuing a course in journalism.
Dr. Henry is a faithful follower of Masonic teach- ings, belonging to Kilwinning Lodge, No. 297, A. F.
& A. M., while in the Michigan Sovereign Consistory he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish Rite. He likewise belongs to Moslem Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and has member- ship in Riverside Lodge, I. O. O. F. He is not a club man in the usually accepted sense of the term but belongs to the Caravan Club of Detroit. His keen intellectuality, his professional ability, his genial nature and his unfeigned cordiality have made him a popular physician and an esteemed friend, Detroit giving him high place in professional and public regard.
JOEL LOUIS STOCKARD, engaged in the bond brokerage business, is a splendid type of the highly successful group of younger business men in Detroit. He is now operating under the style of Joel Stockard & Company, of which he is the president and general manager. He is a native of Texas, his birth having occurred in Corsicana on the 11th of August, 1883, his parents being James Harvey and Louisa A. (Staaden) Stockard.
After attending the high school at Dawson, Texas, and the Sam Houston Normal Institute at Huntsville, Texas, he devoted two years to teaching in the schools of the Indian Territory and later studied for a year in the University of Texas. He then entered Purdue University of Lafayette, Indiana, in which he con- tinued his studies for two years, putting aside his college textbooks in 1908. In that year Mr. Stockard went to Hartford, Connecticut, to attend the Travel- ers Insurance Company's School for Managers and for two years he acted as special agent for the Trav- elers Company. In March, 1910, he became connected with the bond department of the Security Trust Com- pany and in March, 1911, he entered into association with Allerton, Greene & King, bankers of Chicago, to take charge of their Detroit and Michigan interests, thus entering the financial circles of this city. In October, 1914, he withdrew to organize the investment and banking house of Joel Stockard & Company, with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. He is now president and general manager of this com- pany, which is housed in elaborate offices of the Penob- scot building. A branch office has also been estab- lished at Pontiac, Michigan.
On the 30th of December, 1911, Mr. Stockard was married to Miss Marjorie Katherine Davies, daughter of William L. Davies of Detroit, and they have three children: William Davies, Louise Elizabeth and Su- zanne Marjorie, who are with their parents in an attractive home at No. 393 Washington road, Grosse Pointe.
Mr. Stockard gives his political allegiance to the republican party and his religious faith is evidenced in his membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church. He belongs to the Town Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, the Lochmoor Club, the Detroit Golf Club, Detroit Boat Club and Essex County Country Club, and his
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name is also on the membership rolls of the Board of Commerce. Actuated by a most progressive spirit he has made steady advancement in his business career and has won notable success in the past decade and particularly in the past six years, in which he has been at the head of his own company, being now an honored factor in the financial circles of his adopted city.
CLYDE W. TRUXELL, secretary of the W. H. Hill Company, proprietary medicine manufacturers of De- troit, was born in Williamston, Michigan, November 9, 1875, and is a son of Lee and Jane (Waldo) Truxell, the former born in Quincy, Ohio, while the latter is a native of Williamston, Michigan. The father came to Michigan when about twenty years of age and engaged in business as a millwright, taking part in the construction of mills all over the country. He is now a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, where he aud his wife are well known. They have reared a family of four children: James L .; Guy M .; Hazel, the wife of Stanley Esselstyne of Detroit; and Clyde W.
The last named mastered the branches of learning taught in the schools of Williamston and of Lansing, Michigan, and then entered the literary department of the University of Michigan, while following the com- pletion of his college course he became an employe of the government in the treasury department at Washington, D. C., where he continued in the service until the Spanish-American war broke out, when he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-first Michigan Volun- teer Infantry, and later was transferred to brigade headquarters as secretary to different commanders. He served in the army for four years, in the United States and Cuba, and rose from the rank of private to a second lieutenaney.
After his discharge Mr. Truxell was appointed chief of customs at Matanzas, Cuba, where he discharged the duties of his office for three years. While in the service he had one very interesting experience, that of inspecting the various ports of the island, under Captain William H. Hay, U. S. A., now Major Gen- eral Hay. While on this inspection trip which re- quired many months, traveling from one port to an- other, a number of interesting and exciting incideuts occurred. Some ports were on rivers in the interior and while only forty or fifty miles inland the trans- portation was so poor that it would sometimes require an entire week to reach the destination, or proceed from one point to another customs house. Mr. Truxell has some interesting trophies of this trip, which he prizes very highly, one of these being a monster snake skin, said to be the largest skin in existence today. This snake was killed by the natives and skinned and tanned. It measures twenty-two feet in length, and is almost as large around as a man's body. It is said that the snake was entirely harmless and when encountered offered no resistance whatso-
ever, the natives easily dispatching snakes of this kind with a club.
Following his service in connection with the inspec- tion department Mr. Truxell returned to his native state and became associated with the W. H. Hill Company in 1902 as an employe. Since that time he has been advanced steadily through various positions until he is now secretary and manager. The company is widely known all over America and Europe as the manufacturers of Hill's Cascara, Bromide Quinine and other well known remedies for various ailments. Their output is shipped all over this continent and into various foreign lands, and the success of the business is most gratifying. Mr. Truxell is also a director and the vice president of the Rubber Distributing Com- pany, vice president of the India Rubber Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, and connected with other interests.
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