USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 28
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employ of the Michigan Malleable Iron Company. In 1903 he organized the Detroit Testing Laboratory, of which he is the president, and through the intervening period he has conducted a constantly increasing busi- ness. He holds a high rank as a chemist and the efficiency of his work has brought him a very liberal patronage.
At Detroit, on the 11th of June, 1900, Mr. Putnam was married to Miss Alice A. Fuller and they have one daughter: Marcia L. The parents are members of the Universalist church and Mr. Putnam belongs to the Detroit, Detroit Boat and Ingleside Clubs. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the Detroit Board of Commerce, while along strictly professional lines he is identified with the American Chemical Society, the Detroit Engineering Society, the Society of Detroit Chemists, Mining & Metallurgical Engineers, and the American Society for Testing Materials. His patriotic devotion to his country was manifested by his active service in the World war. He was commissioned a major in the ordnance department of the United States army on the 22d of January, 1918, being sta- tioned in Washington, D. C., and later in Detroit, acting as inspector of ordnance material. He was discharged January 15, 1919, and resumed the active management of his business interests, which are con- stantly developing in extent and importance.
THOMAS C. STARRET of Detroit, whose extensive operations in connection with the lumber industry have not only compassed Michigan but have also been carried into the south and the west, was born in Brampton, Ontario, February 9, 1855, his parents being Andrew and Fanny (Merigold) Starret, the latter a representative of the well known Merigold family of Toronto. The father was a sawmill owner and rail- road contractor.
Thomas C. Starret completed his education in Can- adian schools and received his early business training in connection with the lumber industry under the di- rection of his father. When interest was awakened in the vast forests of Michigan he became active as a representative of the lumber industry at Detroit and afterward removed to Muskegon. In 1875 he was employed by the Blodgett & Byrne Lumber Company and subsequently was made manager of their sawmill at Holton. When that company discontinued its op- erations he purchased its commissary and another sawmill and remained a factor in the lumber trade of the state. His brother, Edgar Starret, at that time owned and operated the grading and lumber in- spection company at Muskegon, known as Starret Inspection, and later removed to Detroit, establishing the Edgar Starret Lumber Company on the Detroit river. As operations in connection with the lumber business declined in Michigan, Thomas C. Starret sought the rich forests of the south, where he pur- chased large tracts of timber land and then again
followed the industry in the west, where with others he controlled a large body of timber with log booms and logging companies. Through the handling of the timber lands his sons received their early training in real estate values and they were the first of the Starrets to leave the lumber industry in four genera- tions, preferring to remain in Detroit, operating the Starret Land Company.
At Muskegon, Michigan, on the 2d of June, 1880, Thomas C. Starret was married to Delphine Anderson and they became the parents of two sons and two daughters: Alza, who is a graduate of the University of Michigan and is now the wife of Dr. Charles L. Chambers of Terre Haute, Indiana; Muriel, a grad- uate of Wellesley College; and Howard Andrew and John W., graduates of Cornell and Yale Universities, respectively. Something of the activities of the sons is indicated in the fact that Howard A. Starret is a member of the University Club, the Delta Kappa Epsilon, the Sons of the American Revolution, is a lieutenant of the Reserve Corps of the United States army and belongs to the Detroit Boat Club, the Am- erican Legion, the Cornell Alumni Association, the Detroit Real Estate Board and is a partner in the Starret Land Company. The younger son, John W. Starret, has membership in the University Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Zeta Psi, the Yale Alumni Association, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Detroit Board of Commerce and the American Legion. He is also connected with the Detroit Real Estate Board and is a partner of his brother in the Starret Land Company. The mother, Mrs. Starret, is a Daughter of the American Revolution and belongs to the Twentieth Century Club, the Mount Vernon Society, and the Community Garden Club.
Mr. Starret's social connections are with the De- troit Club and the Bankers Club of Detroit. He is also identified with the Board of Commerce and is keenly interested in the efforts of that organization for the benefit of the city. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and the nature of his business activities is further indicated in the fact that he is the president of the Suislaw Boom Company and a director of the Detroit Trust Company.
GEORGE FRANCIS MONAGHAN. It has been said that death loves a shining mark and this cer- tainly was exemplified when the grim reaper called George Francis Monaghan, whose brilliant career was cut short when he was but forty-three years of age, the date of his passing away being the 11th of July, 1920. While yet a comparatively young man, he had attained eminence both as a lawyer and lawmaker and as one who in every relation of life measured up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship. He possessed the characteristic mental alertness of the Irish people and was ever ready with answer- witty, logical, serious or defensive, as the case might demand. He had become a member of the bar ere
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he was old enough to practice and a force in politics before age had brought to him the right of franchise.
Detroit numbered Mr. Monaghan among her native honored sons. He was born October 27, 1876, a son of Patrick and Margaret (Kiley) Monaghan. At an early age he was left an orphan and through his own labors provided the means for his education. His early training was received in the Holy Trinity parochial school and in 1894 he was graduated from Detroit College with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. Two years later he completed a course in the Detroit College of Law, winning his LL. B. degree in 1896. As his youth at that time precluded his admission to the bar, according to the state law, he continued in the office of James II. Pound and after three years was admitted to a partnership-the only ease on record where Mr. Pound entered into a partnership relation, although he was active in training many young men for the profession. In 1902 the partnership was dissolved and for four years Mr. Monaghan practiced alone, while in 1906 he was joined by his cousin, Peter J. Monaghan, under the firm style of George F. & Peter J. Mon- aghan. Almost immediately he won recognition of his ability and gave demonstration of his compre- hensive familiarity with the principles of jurispru- dence. In young manhood he made a statewide reputa- tion for himself as a student of criminal law, but though he figured in some of the most famous murder trials of Michigan, he deserted this branch of the legal work early in his career and concentrated his efforts and attention upon civil law, largely special- izing in corporation practice. In recent years the partners were joined by Ernest A. O'Brien and David H. Crowley, the firm being Monaghan, Monaghan, O'Brien & Crowley since 1917. Mr. Monaghan was attorney for the Detroit Employers' Association, gen- eral counsel for the National Founders' Association and the legal representative of the Winton Automo- bile Company, the Hugh Chalmers interests, the Royal Indemnity Company, the Massachusetts Bonding & Indemnity Company, the Hartford Insurance Company, the Automobile Insurance Corporation and others. He was also the secretary and treasurer of the American Discount Corporation, a director of the Peninsular State Bank of Highland Park, president of the Taxi- cab Service Company and president of the Yellow Taxicab Company.
It was while associated with James H. Pound that the suggestion was made that Mr. Monaghan become a candidate on the democratic ticket for the state senate. At that time Hazen Pingree was engaged in one of his railroad battles-this time against the Michigan Central. There were twelve candidates seek- ing the nomination for senator, and although Mr. Monaghan was a democrat, his cause was openly espoused by the fighting governor, a republican. Mr. Monaghan was elected, becoming a member of the upper house of the Michigan general assembly when
only twenty-two years of age, at which time the leg- islative body was dominated by the now historic "Immortal 19." He at once became a close student of political problems and conditions and, believing that injustice was being wrought, he denounced the "Immortal 19" in a terrific arraignment which brought about a resolution demanding his expulsion from the senate and a request that he explain or retract his charges. Mr. Monaghan himself voted for the resolu- tion, which was carried, and boy that he was, he arose among the old and well known political leaders of the state and gave tangible proof of the statements which he had made. In his address he began by telling of a bribe of one thousand dollars which was offered him for his vote for the closed season fish bill, and when he had concluded, all talk of expulsion had been for- gotten and he had his enemies on the defensive.
Mr. Monaghan was never ambitious to hold office and did not remain long in the senate, preferring to enter upon private practice. That he chose a life work for which nature evidently intended him was manifest in the positions to which he soon attained. His brilliant mind, naturally analytical, logical and inductive, brought him prominently to the front and for many years he was a most distinguished figure at the Michigan bar.
On the 25th of February, 1908, Mr. Monaghan was united in marriage to Miss Alice May Kotcher, a daughter of Charles W. Kotcher of Detroit. To them were born three children: George Francis, Jr., born May 6. 1911; Alice Elizabeth and Margaret.
Mr. Monaghan was a leader in club and fraternal circles of Detroit and was one of the early organizers of the Knights of Columbus, being called the "father" of Detroit Council. He was installed a special state supreme deputy and in that capacity aided in the organization of the Detroit body. For some time prior to his death he was a member of the supreme board of directors and was very active in the work and councils of that organization, many of the national leaders thereof coming from long distances to attend his funeral services. Aside from his connection with the Knights of Columbus he was a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Harmonie Society, the Felloweraft Club, the Detroit Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, the Rushmere Club, Bloomfield Hills Country Club, Cross Country Riding Club, and the Country Club. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Detroit Patriotic Fund, a member of the American Protective League and dur- ing the World war period was a Four Minute speaker. He was a great lover of outdoor life and was an ardent horseman. His membership relations along the line of his profession were with the Detroit Bar Association, the Michigan State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Seldom has there been a funeral in Detroit so largely attended by people from all walks of life as was that of George F. Monaghan, the church being packed to the doors,
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while hundreds could not gain admission thereto. Among those in attendance were many of the most prominent men in the political, business and civic life of the city, distinguished lawyers, eminent judges, supreme court officials, manufacturers and merchants. The services in the church were deeply impressive and the eulogy pronounced by Rev. Michael Bourke, life- long friend of Mr. Monaghan, brought tears to the eyes of all who heard him. It was a beautiful and well deserved tribute to the worth of the man as a lawyer, as a citizen, as a factor in public life and as a Christian, and the thousands of beautiful floral offerings which were sent bore silent but eloquent testimony to the high regard in which he was held by those who knew him in every station of life. All felt that there had passed on one whom the world could ill afford to lose.
RICHARD J. HAMLEN, M. D. When a youth of sixteen years Dr. Richard J. Hamlen became a resi- dent of Detroit and twelve years later was graduated from the Michigan Medical College, after which he devoted his life to the practice of his profession in this city, his ability winning his prominence and renown. Dr. Hamlen was born in Ontario, September 3, 1864, in the little village of West Nanosh and was one of a family of ten children, whose parents were John and Elizabeth (White) Hamlen. Several sons of the family became representatives of the medical profession. Determining to engage in the practice of medicine as a life work Richard J. Hamlen entered the Michigan College of Medicine and was graduated therefrom in 1892 at the same time as his brother Dr. R. P. Hamlen. Still another brother, Dr. William I. Hamlen, was professor of chemistry in the college at that time and was one of the instructors to the two brother graduates. A fourth brother, Fred Hamlen of Rochester, Michigan, is also a physician.
Dr. Hamlen engaged in the drug business previous to his graduation from medical school. His first store was on the corner of Joseph Campau and Gratiot avenues and later he was located on the corner of Twenty-fourth street and Memiek avenue, for twenty- three years, when he disposed of it.
Following his graduation Dr. Richard J. Hamlen opened an office in Detroit, where he remained until his death and throughout the intervening period of twenty-eight years was accounted a most capable physician. Among his salient characteristics was his devotion to the interest and welfare of his patients. He did everything in his power to restore health and was constantly adding to his capability through wide reading and scientific research. He belonged to the- Wayne County Medical Society, the Michigan State and American Medical Associations and through the proceedings of these bodies kept well informed con- cerning the latest discoveries of the profession and the advancement made by its representative members. He was also on the staff of the Marine Hospital.
On the 23d of May, 1888, Dr. Hamlen was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Herrington of Blyth, Ontario, a daughter of William Herrington, a pros- perous farmer and representative of a prominent Can- adian family. Dr. Hamlen belonged to a number of the leading clubs of Detroit and his social nature and kindly spirit gained him the warm friendship of all with whom he came into contact. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also to the Foresters of America and for thirty years was grand chief ranger of the Grand Court of Michigan Foresters, being widely known in the order and enjoying the fullest confidence and goodwill of his brethern in the fraternity. The motive principles of his life were further found in his membership in the Grand River Avenue Methodist Episcopal church. He always di- reeted his interests and activities into those channels through which flow the greatest good to the greatest number and his ideals of life were at all times high, so that many friends felt deep regret at his passing when on the 8th of September, 1920, he was called to the Home beyond.
MARCUS R. BURROWES, architect of Detroit, was born in Tonawanda, New York, April 8, 1874, his parents being Decimus and Elizabeth (Faithorne) Burrowes, the former a native of Wales, while the latter was of Canadian birth. In his boyhood days the father left the little rock-ribbed country in which he was born and crossed the Atlantic to the United States, settling with his parents in New York. Later he was married at Woodstock, Ontario, and subse- quently he removed from his New York home to Denver, Colorado, where he engaged in the lumber business. He afterward returned to Canada and passed away in Sarnia, while the death of his wife also occurred at that place. They had a family of ten children, six of whom are living, namely: Richard; William; Kathleen B., who is the widow of M. E. Macauley; Mildred, the widow of C. V. Plummer; Nancy; and Marcus R.
The last named pursued his education in the public schools of Denver, Colorado, passing through con- secutive grades to the high school, and later he be- came a student in an art school of Denver where he took up the study of architecture. When his parents removed to Sarnia, Canada, he accompanied them and entered upon his professional career there, spend- ing five years at that place. He next became asso- ciated with the firm of Stratton & Baldwin of De- troit, in 1907, and at that time remained a resident of the city for two years. Since then he has been engaged in business in Detroit and in the practice of his profession has erected some of the prominent buildings of this city and elsewhere. He was the builder of the Duffield, (Mich.) public library, also of the Grosse Pointe school and the clubhouse of the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club, also of the Grosse Pointe Golf Club, together with many beautiful homes. Ex-
DR. RICHARD J. HAMLEN
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perience and study have greatly augmented his skill and efficiency in his chosen profession and he has reached a creditable position among the leading arch- itects of Detroit. He is a member of the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and was at one time its president. He is also a director of the Michigan Society of Architects and belongs to the Arts and Crafts Society and to the Detroit Athletic Club.
On the 29th of September, 1905, at Sarnia, Canada, Mr. Burrowes was united in marriage to Miss Kath- leen E. Pardee, daughter of Hon. and Mrs. T. B. Pardee, the former commissioner of crown lands of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Burrowes have become parents of four children: Louise, born in Sarnia, Canada, in 1906 and now attending the Liggett school of Detroit; Richard, who was born in Sarnia in 1907 and is a high school pupil; Mary, born in Detroit in 1913; and Helen, born in Sarnia in 1916. The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church and they are communicants of St. Joseph's church of Detroit.
R. G. MALONEY, president of the Maloney-Camp- bell Realty Company, with offices in the Free Press building, has been identified with commercial interests of Detroit since 1910 and has become recognized as one of the progressive and substantial business men of the city. He is a native of Michigan, his birth having occurred at Hillsdale on the 15th of July, 1873, and is a son of David and Josephine Maloney, who reared a family of five children. His education was acquired in the public schools of Junction City, Kansas, his parents having removed to that locality when he was quite young, and on laying aside his textbooks he took up the occupation of farming, which he followed for a time. He then returned to Michigan and for ten years conducted a retail mer- cantile establishment as Ithaca. In 1910 he came to Detroit as vice president of the Michigan Leather Packing Company, which has become one of the largest enterprises of the kind in the country, his efforts having been a potent factor in the development of the corporation. Subsequently he became one of the organizers of the Maloney & Campbell Company, of which he was made president, in which capacity he has continued to serve. The company handles all types of property and owing to their reliable and progressive business methods they have won the con- fidence of the general public and have built up an enterprise of substantial proportions, being recognized as one of the leading real estate firms of the city. Mr. Maloney has had broad experience in a business way and in the conduct of his affairs he displays sound judgment, energy and enterprise.
In 1900 Mr. Maloney was united in marriage to Miss Carrie A. Rockwell of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they have become the parents of a daughter, Mabel, who was born December 12, 1902. In his
political views Mr. Małouey is a democrat, interested in the welfare and success of the party. He is a member of the Detroit Automobile Club and fraternally he is a Mason, guiding his life by the beneficeut teachings of that order. He has attained high stand- ing in real estate circles of the city and has also become interested in financial affairs, serving on the directorate of the Ithaca National Bank. He is a man of marked strength of character, determined aud energetic, who carries through to successful completion whatever he undertakes, for in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. In all civic matters he is deeply and helpfully interested and his progressiveness has been an important element in promoting the development and upbuilding of Detroit.
JOHN LLOYD DEXTER. The notable success which John Lloyd Dexter has achieved as a whole- sale flour and hay merchant, conducting business under the name of John L. Dexter & Company of Detroit, has enabled him to put forth activity along two other lines whereby he has become nationally known as a sportsman and as a benefactor of newsboys. Born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, April 4, 1859, he is a son of Moores R. and Mary A. (Purington) Dexter and has back of him an ancestry honorable and dis- tinguished, being able to trace his lineage through three direct lines to Mayflower descendants.
He acquired his early education in the public schools of his native state and was yet in his 'teens when he started out in the business world unaided. The indication of his character and ability is epitomized in the fact that he has "worked for but two firms in his life and was never fired." In 1875 he became asso- ciated with the noted old whaling merchant, Jonathan Bourne, Jr., of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and under this grim but sympathetic old gentleman he learned not only principles of business but of life, that have molded his later career. Mr. Bourne manifested a strong interest in the young man and this was recip- rocated with devotion by Dexter and the comradeship thus began was terminated only by the death of the old merchant.
Becoming interested in the west, Mr. Dexter decided in 1882 that he had no further desire to be a whaler, and seeking his old preceptor in that line of labor, he explained that he was ready to strike out for "the great unknown," thus following the advice of Horace Greeley in seeking his fortune beyond the Atlantic seaboard. With some warnings and with much sad- ness Bourne bade him Godspeed and he came to De- troit, where he had been offered the position of book- keeper and salesman with the Union Flour Mills Company, continuing to act in that capacity until 1886. In the meantime he had gained a comprehensive knowledge of the business and forming a partnership with W. H. Sawtelle he established business on his own account under the name of John L. Dexter & Company, wholesale dealers in flour and hay. For
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more than thirty years this business has been main- tained in the same location on Atwater street, in Detroit, and not long after the establishment of the business Mr. Dexter became president and owner. Most substantial success has followed his labors. His close application, keen discrimination and business sagacity have enabled him to develop his commercial interests until long since he has won a place with the men of affluence in Detroit and in fact is now known as one of the leading business men of the city. His prosperity, moreover, has faciliated his activities in other directions, resulting in a popularity enjoyed by few men. The two interests which have made him nationally known are his work with the Newsboys Association and his interest in yachting and water sports. The Detroit Newsboys Association was founded in 1892 and Mr. Dexter became connected with it in the capacity of director. He was afterward elected vice president and in 1900 was chosen president, in which position he has rendered such signal service to the organization as to be retained as its head throughout the intervening period. To the boys he has been father, protector and confidant. Of the thousands of newsboys who have come under his care and tutelage, hundreds have been inspired to better things by his precept and his example and many have risen to great heights in business and professional circles. He has treated them not as waifs but as human beings and his course has enabled him to refine the gold and destroy the dross. His office often becomes a confessional where tragedies are told to sympathetic ears, confidences exchanged, encouragement given-all because he understands boy character and they understand him. Not alone in Detroit has his influence been felt, for his methods and his personal assistance have been extended to other fields, always with the same result. Twain and Tarkington have written of boy character, but their insight into this complex subject, expressed ever so brilliantly, cannot measure with the assured knowledge and natural sympathy possessed by Mr. Dexter. He is a man "with real friends, both big and little." It may be said relative to his activities in yachting and kindred sports that Mr. Dexter is one of the best known sailors on fresh water. As the owner of several yachts, as commodore of the Detroit Boat Club Yachtsmen from 1904 until 1906 and as admiral of the Inter-Lake Yachting Association, he became known at every lake port. His work in yachting circles has been characterized by his usual energy and efficiency and everyone acknowledges his personal popularity. Much of the success of the Detroit Boat Club Yachtsmen is due to him. Instinctively he be- came an able sailor and has managed his boats, even in times of extreme peril and danger, with the reserve and care of a hardened sea dog. The Detroit news- papers have occupied much space with a discussion of the good fellowship personified by John L. Dexter and it is to be regretted that he has dropped out
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