USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 23
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WILLIAM D. ELLSWORTH has completed the second decade of a successful law practice, his posi- tion being such as many an older member of the bar might well envy. He was born in Detroit, December 28, 1878, and is a son of William Wallace and Alice (Day) Ellsworth, the former born in Wentworth, New Hampshire, and the latter in Ogdensburg, New York. In early life they came to Michigan and afterward settled in Detroit, where the father was agent for the Northern Transportation Company, controlling one of the largest navigation interests on the Great Lakes, this being owned by his brother-in-law. Mr. Ellsworth continued in that connection until he retired from active business. He is still living in Detroit, but his wife passed away in 1894.
William D. Ellsworth, their only child, largely de- voted his youth to the acquirement of his education in the public and high schools of Detroit and in the University of Michigan, in which he prepared for the bar, winning his LL. B. degree in 1899. He has since been engaged in successful practice, for though ad- vancement at the bar is proverbially slow, no dreary novitiate awaited him. He had thoroughly prepared for the practice of law and it was not long before he gained a good clientage which has constantly in- creased in volume and importance. He continues in the general practice of law and prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care, so that he is always able to meet the attacks of the opposing counsel. He belongs to the Detroit and Michigan Bar Associations and is also a member of the Law-
yers Club of Detroit, being treasurer of the latter organization.
On the 5th of April, 1904, Mr. Ellsworth was mar- ried to Miss Flora D. Malone of Bay City, Michigan, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Malone. The father was a prominent lumberman of Bay City. Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth have one child, Alice Elizabeth, who was born in Detroit in 1907 and is now attending the Liggett school.
Mr. Ellsworth is a prominent and exemplary rep- resentative of the Masonie fraternity. He is past master of Friendship Lodge, No. 417, F. & A. M., is a member of Damascus Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, a member of the Grotto, of which he was mon- arch for three terms, and is also a member of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the Detroit Whist Club and the Michigan Whist Asso- ciation, and has been president of both of these or- ganizations. He is now firmly established as a rep- resentative member of the Detroit bar, having gained an enviable position among those who find ready so- lution for intricate and involved legal problems.
FELIX ALOYSIUS DOETSCH is numbered among the native sons of Detroit who have won distinction and success as members of the bar of the city, having practiced here continuously for twenty-eight years. His father was Matthias Doetsch, a native of Germany, who was born in 1838 and who in 1855 came to the United States with his widowed mother. They settled in Detroit, where the mother passed away in 1880. After residing for five years in Detroit Matthias Doetsch became a merchant of the city and con- tinued actively in the business from 1860 until his death on the 22d of January, 1893.
Felix A. Doetsch pursued his education in the Detroit schools and in 1889 was graduated from Detroit Col- lege, now the University of Detroit. He took up the study of law in his native city and after thorough preliminary reading was admitted to the bar in 1892, in which year he entered upon active practice. Ad- vancement at the bar is proverbially slow but step by step he advanced, proving his capability to handle intricate and involved legal problems. For many years he has enjoyed a large clientage of a distinctively rep- resentative character.
On the 9th of May, 1894, in Detroit, Mr. Doetsch was married to Miss Charlotte Trombley, who passed away in 1897, leaving two children: Marie Celeste, who died July 4, 1906; and Corinne C. On the 20th of June, 1898, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Mr. Doetsch was married to Miss Helen Max and they have become the parents of eight children, seven of whom are living: Pauline H .; Eleanor A .; Francis B .; Charles E .; Hubert J .; Katherine B .; and Frederick R.
Mr. Doetsch is identified with the Knights of Co- lumbus, the American Insurance Union and the Royal Arcanum. In politics he maintains an independent
WILLIAM D. ELLSWORTH
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course. He belongs to the Lawyers Club, to the De- troit Bar Association, to the Michigan State Bar Asso- ciation and to the American Bar Association.
WILLIAM SAVAGE MOORE. With the excep- tion of a period of five years William Savage Moore was from 1882 to the time of his death in 1906 a resident of Detroit, where he was widely known and honored, having a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. Mr. Moore was a southern man, his birth having occurred in the beautiful old city of Richmond, Virginia, May 17, 1846, his parents being James and Louisa Moore, who were of English descent, although the respective fam- ilies were established in Virginia at an early period. His ancestry in one line can be traced baek to Wil- liam Talman, who according to Sir Horace Walpole in his "Anecdotes of Painting," "was born at West Larington in Wiltshire, where he had an estate; was comptroller of the works in the reign of King William. * * * He was an architect employed in considerable works. In 1671 he built Thoresby House in Not- tinghamshire, Dryham House in Gloucestershire in 1698, Swallowfield in Berks and Chatsworth; the ele- gance and lightness of the latter front do great honor to the artist-the other sides are equally beautiful." The Parish Register of West Larington, Wiltshire, shows that "William Talman, ye son of Christopher Talman and Joanna, his wife, was baptized April 5, 1663." He was probably at that time about thirteen years of age. About 1700 he bought Felmingham Manor and eleven years later he petitioned the Lord High Treasurer for permission to surrender his patent as Queen's waiter in her Majesty's customs to his brother-in-law, James Tate. His will mentions his wife, Hannah, and children: John, to whom he be- queathed his collection of prints, drawings and books; Hannah; James; and Henry. It is through the last named that the line is traced down to the Moore family of Richmond, Virginia. This Henry Talman was in possession of the original will of his father, William Talman. He resided in St. Peter's parish, New Kent county, Virginia, but spent much of his time on the sea as captain and owner of the ship Vigo, running between Bristol and Virginia. The coat-of-arms of the family represents a Norman shield, the crest an arm in armor embowed, wielding a battle-axe. The vertical lines on the shield are crim- son; on the chevron are three round silver coins (Byzantian), indicating that the bearer was a Cru- sader; above the chevron, on each side, are two daggers or swords, hilts up, points downward; at the base of the shield is also a sword, hilt down, point upward; the Norman shield indicates its an- tiquity and early origin; the motto is "In Fide et in Bello Fortis," and translated reads, "Faithful in friendship, strong in war."
William S. Moore obtained his education in the schools of his native city, which he attended until a
lad in his teens, when he and two of his brothers joined the Confederate army. They were southern born and bred and loved their southland with an intensity of spirit that manifested itself in what they conscientiously believed to be patriotic service to the Confederacy. William S. Moore was first at- tached to Parker's Battery, which he joined March 18, 1862, when a youth of but sixteen. After serv- ing a year with that branch of the Light Artillery he was transferred to the First Company of the Richmond Howitzers during the winter of 1863 and was on duty with that command until the 3d of May, 1864, when he sustained a wound at Pale Green Church. Subsequently he was transferred to Wise's Brigade and again he was wounded and captured at Sailor's Creek, April 3, 1865, after which he was imprisoned in Washington, D. C.
When the war was over Mr. Moore, still lacking two years of attaining his majority, went to New York city, where he entered the employ of A. T. Stewart, then owner of the largest mercantile enter- prise in the eastern metropolis. At a subsequent pe- riod Mr. Moore turned his attention to the life in- surance business and was thus engaged during his remaining days. After devoting some time to the business in New York he removed to Detroit in 1882, here representing the Equitable Life Insurance Com- pany of New York. About a year later he was sent to Europe by the New York Life Insurance Company and remained abroad for a year. Upon his return to the United States he was sent south by the com- pany which he represented and remained there for about five years, building up an extensive business for the corporation, which greatly desired that he con- tinue in charge in that portion of the country; but his year's residence in Detroit determined him to re- turn to this city, and refusing flattering offers to remain below the Mason and Dixon line, he again came to Michigan and was prominently known in insurance circles in Detroit to the time of his death. In fact, through his business connections he became widely known throughout the country and was re- garded as one of the representative insurance men of the United States. He was always known by the title of Colonel-a name at once indicative of the affection, the respect and the confidence entertained for him by those with whom he was associated.
On the 17th of May, 1882, at Springfield, Ohio, Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Mrs. Miranda Hefle- bower, the widow of Abraham Heflebower, a soldier of the Union army, who died from the results of hardships and exposure while on military duty in the field. Her ancestors settled in Maryland and later removed to Urbana, Ohio, where Mrs. Moore was born. Their marriage was blessed with three children: Rhea M., at home; Dr. John W. Moore, who is a graduate of the Detroit College of Medicine and is now practicing in Houghton, Michigan; and Mrs. Sara Moore. Mrs. Moore and the family are faithful
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members of the First Presbyterian church. Mr. Moore belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution and also to the Country Club. Politically he main- tained an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than party. However, he stood at all times for progress and improvement in public affairs and gave his aid and cooperation to many plans and measures for the general good. Those who knew him, and he had a wide acquaintance, respected him for his unswerving loyalty to friendship, for his devotion to duty and for his high standards of life at all times, and deep regret was felt at his passing on the 22d of June, 1906, his remains being interred in Wood- lawn cemetery. His friends still cherish the memory of his kindly spirit and his attractive social qualities and felt that something much worth while was taken from their lives when death deprived them of his companionship.
ROBERT WATSON STANDART, chairman of the Standart Brothers Hardware Corporation of Detroit and thus occupying a central place on the stage of commercial activity in Michigan's metropolis, was born in Auburn, New York, on the 12th of June, 1846, and is a son of Henry Winslow and Ann (Gardner) Standart. The father was born near Utica, New York, while the mother was a native of Nantucket, Massa- chusetts. Henry W. Standart engaged in the hard- ware business in connection with his son, George Standart, in Detroit in June, 1863, and in the follow- ing January they were joined by Joseph G. Standart, thus promoting the business which is today one of the largest wholesale hardware interests of the west. Henry W. Standart had previously been engaged in various lines of business, but concentrated his ef- forts and attention upon the hardware trade from 1863 until his demise in 1872. For a number of years he had survived his wife, who passed away in 1868.
Robert W. Standart pursued his education in the public schools of Auburn, New York, and was a youth of seventeen years when in 1863 he came with his parents to Detroit. Here his father and brothers founded a hardware business and Robert W. was employed as a clerk in the establishment. In 1873 he was admitted to a partnership and throughout the intervening years has been active in the management of the enterprise, concentrating his attention upon constructive effort and administrative direction. When the business was incorporated in 1900 he was elected to the office of treasurer and continued in that posi- tion until the death of his brother Joseph in 1912, when he became chairman of the Standart Brothers Hardware Corporation, under which name the busi- ness is now conducted. It had been incorporated in 1900 as Standart Brothers, Ltd., and the present name was adopted in 1919. From the age of seven- teen years he has been continuously in the business circles of this city and step by step has worked his way upward, each forward step bringing him a broader
outlook and wider opportunities. James Russell Lowell said: "An institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man," and the great hardware estab- lishment owned by the Standart Brothers Corporation indicates, therefore, that hack of it are men of marked business ability and notable enterprise whose busi- ness balances up with the principles of truth and honor. Throughout his career Mr. Standart has ever displayed keen discernment and the faculty of sepa- ration of the important features of any subject from its incidental or accidental circumstances.
In 1876, at Brookline, Massachusetts, Robert W. Standart was married to Miss Harriet C. Hyde and they are the parents of two sons: William Esty and Robert Watson, Jr., the former born October 25, 1879, and the latter on the 21st of June, 1884. The family home is one of the attractive social centers of Detroit, justly celebrated for its warm-hearted hos- pitality. With interests of vital force in the life of Detroit, Mr. Standart has been closely associated. He has held membership in the Detroit Board of Com- merce and has cooperated in all of the progressive movements of that organization to maintain the high- est civic standards and advance civie betterment. For twenty-six years he was the treasurer of the News- boys Association and did much to stimulate higher ideals and laudable ambition among the newsboys of the city. His political allegiance is given to the re- publican party and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Fort Street Presbyterian church. For fifty-eight years Detroit has numbered him in its citizenship. Here he has grown to young manhood and passed the years of his mature life, advancing along the lines of activity and usefulness to an hon- ored age. He has passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey and yet remains a forceful factor in the world's work, ever conscious of his obligations and his opportunities and utilizing his chances for the promotion of Detroit's welfare just as surely and just as effectively as he has his opportunities for the promotion of his business interests.
CHARLES WHITAKER, well known in insurance circles as senior partner in the Whitaker-Kennedy Insurance Company, was born in Detroit, November 6, 1854, and is a son of Byron and Fidelia (More) Whitaker, the former a native of New York and the latter of Detroit. The father came to Detroit in 1848 and for a time was connected with the ice trade. Later he became associated with navigation interests and passed away in the year 1907, having for a quarter of a century survived his wife, whose death occurred in Detroit in 1882. In their family were four children, one of whom, William H., has passed away. The surviving children are: Mrs. George D. Mason, Mrs. Albert W: Allen and Charles Whitaker of this review, all residents of Detroit.
Charles Whitaker attended the public and high schools of Detroit and when eighteen years of age
Rw.Standart
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made his initial step in business by entering the office of his father, who was a vessel owner, at one time owning twelve vessels, and was also engaged in the marine and fire insurance business. Charles Whitaker closely applied himself to the mastery of the tasks assigned him and after three years, in 1875, was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of B. Whitaker & Son. That association was main- tained until 1890, when Charles Whitaker and his brother, William H., purchased the father's interest in the business, which they continued under the firm name of Whitaker Brothers. In 1911 they incorpo- rated under the name of Whitaker Brothers & Liv- ingston and in 1912 this corporation was changed to Whitaker, MeNaughton & Livingston through the ad- dition of Mr. MeNaughton to the partnership, Charles Whitaker becoming the president of the corporation. In 1916 Mr. Whitaker disposed of his interest in the corporation of Whitaker, MeNaughton & Livingston and soon after formed a new corporation under the name of the Whitaker-Kennedy Insurance Agency, which continues to the present time. They handle gen- eral insurance lines and surety bonds, have gained an extensive clientage and are among the foremost in- surance men of the city.
On the 15th of May, 1889, Mr. Whitaker was mar- ried to Miss Edith A. Farquhar of Detroit, a daughter of S. M. and Frances Farquhar. Mrs. Whitaker passed away February 2, 1919, in Detroit, her death being the occasion of deep and widespread regret to many friends, as well as to her immediate family.
Mr. Whitaker belongs to the Detroit Underwriters Association. He is a lover of the national game of baseball and largely turns to this for recreation. His business success is the result of elose application, indefatigable energy and perseverance. From the out- set of his business career he has been more or less closely associated with insurance interests.
BENJAMIN ARTHUR WELLS. There is no record the American public holds in higher regard than that of the man who has worked his way upward through individual effort and merit to a commanding posi- tion in his chosen field of labor. It is well that this is so, for such a record is always a source of stimulus and encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished. Among Detroit's self-made men is Benjamin A. Wells, a leading figure in insurance eir- eles. He is a native son of the city in which he has so successfully directed his labors, his birth having here occurred January 2, 1867, his parents being Job and Mary (Lees) Wells, who were natives of England and in early life came to America. The father was for forty years a trusted employe of the Michigan Central Railroad and was foreman of the coach-build- ing shop. He died in Detroit in 1907, while his wife passed away the following year.
Benjamin A. Wells is the only survivor in his father's family, which numbered five children. He
attended the public schools and afterward pursued a stenographic course in the Spencerian College, from which he was graduated. Later he entered the law office of Corliss & Andrus, with whom he continued for two years, while subsequently he became a stenog- rapher with the Detroit Electrical Works, there spend- ing, however, but nine months. From 1901 until 1911 he had conducted insurance interests in partnership with L. F. Margah, under the firm style of Margah & Wells and when the ten years' partnership was dissolved he continued the business alone and has since been sole owner. He has thoroughly acquainted himself with every phase of insurance and is able to diseuss most intelligently and instructively every point that has to do with the business and with the ad- vantage of insurance. The progressiveness and re- liability of his business methods have been potent factors in the attainment of the large clientage that is now accorded him.
On the 14th of September, 1893, Mr. Wells was mar- ried to Miss Nettie J. Turver, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin C. Turver of Saginaw, Michigan. They have become the parents of four children: Russel P., who was born in Detroit in 1894 and is now with the Detroit National Fire Insurance Company; Irma F. C., born in 1896; Ila M., in 1898; and Annetta, in 1911. All were educated in Detroit and the daugh- ter Ila is now acting as her father's assistant in the office.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church and in his political belief Mr. Wells is a republican. Fraternally he is connected with Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Detroit, with Monroe Council, R. & S. M., and Detroit Com- mandery, No. 1, K. T. Throughout his career he has been actuated by a laudable ambition that has caused him to put forth the best possible effort in the busi- ness world. In his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. He is determined and energetic, and early recognizing the eternal principle that industry wins, he has made industry the beacon light of his life.
JAMES J. ALLEN, a well known and progressive young business man, who came to reside in Detroit, in 1916, and is now the purchasing agent for the Puritan Machine Company, is a native of Oklahoma, born in Guthrie, that state, July 1, 1895, a son of George D. and Rhoda (Fawbush) Allen, prominent citizens of that part of Oklahoma.
James J. Allen was educated in Culver Military Academy and in the Missouri School of Mines, where he became a student of metallurgy and civil engi- neering in the class of 1916, earning much distinc- tion in his studies, and while not following up either of these two branches as a means of living, they have proved of benefit to him in other directions.
It was in 1916 that Mr. Allen came to Detroit, and shortly after his arrival he joined the firm of Bryant & Detweiler, contractors, with whom he remained for
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about six months. He then became associated with the Puritan Machine Company, beginning at the bot- tom and acquiring a sound general knowledge of the goods handled by the Puritan Company, gradually improving his position as he went along, and was ultimately appointed to the responsible post of pur- chasing agent, which he has been holding since May 16, 1917. In this representative capacity Mr. Allen has been giving evidence of his ability successfully to handle the business intrusted to him, and he enjoys the confidence of the company to a very marked degree.
FRANCIS LUDWICK SWARD. The name of Francis Ludwick Sward figures in a new chapter that has recently been added to the military history of America, for with the country's entrance into the great World war he joined the army and was engaged in active overseas service. He is now devoting his attention to the practice of law, for which he quali- fied before entering the army. . Mr. Sward was born at Axtell, Nebraska, November 16, 1882. His father, John Sward, a native of Sweden, was born in 1845 and in that country was married in 1863 to Eva Marie Streed. In the same year they left their native land for the new world and became residents of Knox county, Illinois, where they resided until 1880. At that date they removed to a farm in Kearney county, Nebraska, purchased by the father, and there Mrs. Sward passed away in 1907.
Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Francis L. Sward, who was for four years a student in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, winning his LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1904. Immediately afterward, however, he went to West Point and entered the United States Military Academy, in which he completed his course in 1908. He remained in the service until November 11, 1913, when he resigned and opened a law office in Detroit, being admitted to the bar of Michigan in that year. Here he continued in active practice until May 10, 1917, when, following the declaration of a state of war with Germany, at that time holding the rank of major in the Reserve Corps, he entered upon active duty with the army and on the 22d of July, 1918, went to France. In March, 1919, he was pro- moted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and on the 6th of June, 1919, was discharged. On leaving the army he returned to Detroit to resume his law prac- tice, becoming associated with the firm of MeGregor & Bloomer, and is winning recognition as one of the able young representatives of the bar in this city. In July, 1920, Mr. Sward was appointed by Mayor Couz- ens a member of the board of water commissioners.
On the 28th of April, 1908, in the state of New York, Mr. Sward was married to Miss Bertha F. Oldfield, a daughter of John Oldfield, a manufacturer of the Empire state. They now have one child, Francis L., Jr. Mrs. Sward was graduated from Vassar College.
Her brother, John C. Oldfield, a first lieutenant of the One Hundred and Third Infantry Regiment of the Twenty-sixth Division, was mortally wounded at Chateau Thierry, July 20, 1918, and died on the 5th of August following, when but twenty-six years of age.
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