The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV, Part 3

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932, ed; Stocking, William, 1840- joint ed; Miller, Gordon K., joint ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Detroit-Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 3

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In the public schools of Detroit, Frederick R. Austin pursued his education, later entering the law depart- ment of the University of Michigan, which he at- tended from 1897 until 1900, when he received the degree of LL. B. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession, becoming associated in the general practice of law with A. J. Groesbeck of Detroit, gov- ernor of Michigan for the term extending from 1920 until 1922, and this relationship was maintained until 1904, when Mr. Austin went to Washington, D. C., to accept a legal position in the government service, where he was connected with the Department of the Interior for six years. He continued to follow his profession for the next six years, gaining broad and valuable practical experience, and in 1910 he went to New York city, where he entered the publishing business, being associated with John Robert Gregg, a prominent educational publisher. In January, 1911, he returned to Detroit and purchased the American Legal News, a monthly law publication of national circulation. The American Legal News has been the recognized organ of the collection and commercial law world, for over thirty years, and numbers among its subscribers leading members of the bar throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. Austin is conducting the publication along the most progressive and modern lines, and he is a trenchant and forceful writer with a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the sub- jects which he handles.

On the 1st of March, 1905, Mr. Austin was mar- ried to Miss Mabel C. Dunbar and they have three children: Robert Dunbar, born October 23, 1905; Fred- erick, Jr., born April 9, 1913; and Elizabeth Rosemary, born Aubust 29, 1914.

CITY OF DETROIT

In his political views Mr. Austin is a stanch repub- lican and he takes an active and helpful interest in civic affairs. He has been a close student of the questions and issues of the day as affecting the wel- fare of the community, state and nation, and his aid and influence are at all times on the side of advance- ment and improvement. He is an active and earnest member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and is now serving on its Americanization committee. He is also actively identified with the Commercial Law League of America, the Vortex Club of Detroit, and is a member of the University of Michigan Club and the Detroit Automobile Club. During the period of the World war he rendered effective service to the govern- ment as the secretary of the Four-Minute men of Detroit and made many addresses as a worker in that organization.

ROBERT M. BROWNSON, a well known and suc- cessful attorney of Detroit, was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, November 21, 1865, and comes from one of the most honored and highly respected families in western Pennsylvania. His father, the late Rev. Dr. James Irwin Brownson, D. D., LL. D., was pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Washington, Penn- sylvania, for fifty years and took a foremost part in the religious and educational work in that section of the Keystone state, exerting a wide influence as an ecclesiastic and in connection with educational insti- tutions. He died July 4, 1899, in Washington, Penn- sylvania. The mother of Robert M. Brownson was Eleanor Acheson, now deceased, who belonged to one of the pioneer families of Washington, Pennsylvania, and one that has been prominent in the business and professional life of that city ever since its early his- tory. Her brother, Hon. Marcus W. Acheson, was circuit judge of the third circuit, United States cir- cuit court of appeals.

Robert M. Brownson was the youngest son in a family of nine children. His older brothers living are: Judge James I. Brownson of the twenty-fourth judi- cial district of Pennsylvania; and Rev. Marcus A. Brownson, D. D., pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his early life Robert M. Brownson attended the schools of his native city and afterward continued his education in Washington and Jefferson College, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886. He studied law in the office of his brother, James I. Brownson, Jr., in Washington, Pennsylvania, previous to coming to Detroit, where for several years he was identified with mercantile lines. His interest in the legal profession, however, led him, as a preliminary to active practice in Detroit, to enter the Detroit Col- lege of Law, from which he was graduated in 1902. That same year he was admitted to the Michigan bar and entered upon the practice of his profession in this city. Through the intervening period, cover- ing nearly twenty years, he has built up a large and

desirable practice and has been very successful in its conduct. He has been connected with many important litigated interests and it is well known that he pre- pares his cases with great thoroughness and care and displays marked resourcefulness in their presentation. While his devotion to his clients' interests is prover- bial, he never forgets that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law.

On the 12th of October, 1896, Mr. Brownson was married to Miss Lillian Strokes, daughter of J. S. Strokes of Cleveland, Ohio. They have gained many friends during the period of their residence in Detroit, occupying now an enviable position in social circles. Mr. Brownson is fond of all phases of outdoor life, to which he turns for rest and recreation. The practice of law, however, claims the greater part of his time and attention and he enjoys the respect and confidence of his colleagues and contemporaries in the Detroit Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

DAVID BERLIN. When the public to a man calls an individual by his first name without adding any modifying adjectives it is sure proof of certain things: first, that he is approachable; second, that he is genial; and third, that he is square. His conver- sation may lack "the embellishments of culture" and "the draperies of literature" but men have learned to know what he says he will do, that his word is dependable and that his course will at all times bear close scrutiny. Such is the record of David Berlin, who has had a notable career, having within four years built up a business that amounts to six hundred thousand dollars annually.

Mr. Berlin was born in Chicago, February 16, 1886, a son of Jacob and Emma (Jacobstahl) Berlin, who were natives of Germany. The father engaged in va- rious occupations throughout his life and died in De- troit when still a comparatively young man. The mother survives and lives in Detroit. Their family numbered seven children: William, a resident of Win- nipeg, Canada; and Gustave, Louis, Herman, David, Hattie and Morris, all of Detroit.

At the usual age David Berlin of this review entered the public schools of Detroit and passed through con- secutive grades to the sixth grade. He then started out to earn his living and was employed at various kinds of work but none brought him any notable remuneration. He was filling a clerkship at a salary of twenty-one dollars per week when he conceived the idea that a popular priced automobile accessory business would be a paying one. His start along this line was characteristic of the man and his methods. He purchased four tires on a ninety-day credit and these he persuaded a friend to buy. With the money thus secured he obtained a little stock of auto acces- sories and opened a place known as "Dave's Hole in the Wall." This was in 1910. There was something unique about his methods, something attractive about his prices, and soon his establishment won the atten-

ROBERT M. BROWNSON

CITY OF DETROIT

tion of a number of automobile owners, who, once patronizing him, returned to give him further trade. Soon the business outgrew its quarters and he re- moved to his present location, where he is now carry- ing an enormous stock of all kinds of automobile accessories. His first three months' profits enabled him to pay for the four tires which he had pur- chased on credit and he made immediate investment of all of his earnings, carrying today a stock of auto- mobile accessories and blankets that is valued at fifty thousand dollars, while his annual sales reach six hundred thousand dollars.

On the 19th of May, 1912, Mr. Berlin was married to Miss Rose Abraham of Detroit, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Abraham. He belongs to the Detroit Automobile Club and he is a Master Mason. He has little time, however, for outside interests, owing to the rapid growth of his business, which claims his entire attention. He attributes his notable success in the past four years to advertising, saying that he had noticed that the methods of advertising then in vogue won little attention, and he resolved to put before the public new ideas that would attract. It may have been advertising that won him success, but back of the advertising was the initiative and the sagacity that enabled him to know what to say and that brought about a recognition of the fact that adver- tising methods then in vogue meant little in business development. What he has already accomplished is indicative of the fact that his future career will be well worth watching.

CHARLES ALFRED FAGG. As Michigan state manager for the Fidelity & Deposit Company of Mary- land, one of the country's largest and most important bonding and burglary insurance corporations, Charles Alfred Fagg maintains his office headquarters on the thirteenth floor of the Dime Savings Bank building and is a prominent and popular figure in insurance cir- cles and business in the Michigan metropolis, the while his executive position vouches for his special ability in his chosen sphere of activity.

Charles Alfred Fagg was born at Madison, the fair capital city of Wisconsin, on the 9th of April, 1881, and is a son of Peter and Mary (Tillema) Fagg. In the public schools of his native city Mr. Fagg con- tinued his studies until he had completed a course in the high school and he gained his initial business ex- perience through his service as a bookkeeper in the State Bank of Madison, with which institution he was connected for three years. He then accepted the position of credit man for the Stoughton Wagon Works, at Stoughton, Wisconsin, and served in this capacity for three years. During the ensuing six years he was credit man for the firm of Bradley & Clark of Minneapolis, Minnesota, engaged in the handling of agricultural implements and machinery on a large scale. He next became assistant manager of the American Surety Company of Minneapolis, the bond-

ing functions of which extended through Minnesota and North and South Dakota. In the interest of this corporation Mr. Fagg came to Detroit in 1914, and assumed assistant management of the office opened by the company in the Majestic building. In Feb- ruary of the following year, however, he greatly ex- panded the scope and field of his service, as he then became Michigan state manager for the Fidelity & Deposit Company, the headquarters of which are in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Iu this connection Mr. Fagg has made a splendid record, for under his forceful and progressive direction the increase of the business of the company in Michigan from the thirty- two thousand dollars of the first year of his associa- tion with the concern, was represented in the amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars for the year 1920. Under his supervision in a general way are working fully four hundred agents of the company in Michigan and he has shown fine executive ability in the marshaling and directing of the coustructive forces at his command. His activities are mainly concerned with banks and their clients and he has done an excellent missionary work in bringing to his clients a due appreciation of the value and pro- tection afforded through the bonding of employes. He is a progressive business man and loyal citizen who has found an appreciative welcome to the business and social circles of Detroit. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, is a stanch republican in polities, and he and his wife are earnest communicants of St. James Protestant Episcopal church, of which he is serving as treasurer.

On the 31st of August, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fagg to Miss Helen Ballantyne of Charleston, South Carolina, and they have three daugh- ters: Helen A., born February 5, 1907; Elizabeth M., born April 24, 1911; and Shirley, boru June 12, 1913.

HENRY JOSEPH CLEMENS, who has made for himself an enviable place in engineering cireles in Detroit and also has become widely known as an edn- cator through his teaching connection with the Detroit technical evening schools, was born April 9, 1880, in the city which is still his home, his parents being Joseph and Catherine (Stellberger) Clemens. Liberal educational advantages were accorded him, resulting in his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1904. He was afterward with the engineering depart- ment of the Reliance Automobile Company and throughout his business career his activity has been directed in the field of engineering. He was thus associated with the Western Electric Company of Chi- cago for a time, and returning to Detroit spent two years as engineer with the MeCleary Electric Com- pany. He was afterward with F. F. Van Tuyl of Detroit, for four years and also was engineer with the Edward A. Field Company. On the 1st of August, 1909, he begau selling and taking contracts for power plants as representative of the Skinner Engine Com-

CITY OF DETROIT

pany of Erie, Pennsylvania, and yet retains that connection, at the same time conducting business as a contracting engineer for power plants on his own ac- count. He devoted five years to work as special teacher of drawing and mathematics in the Detroit technical evening schools and he is well known as a member of the University of Michigan Engineering Society and the National Association of Stationary Engineers.

On the 27th of June, 1906, Mr. Clemens was married to Miss Ada B. Campbell of Detroit, and they became the parents of two daughters and a son: A. Isabel, Lois E. and Neil C. One the 29th of April, 1919, the wife and mother passed away, her death being the occasion of deep regret to many friends as well as to her immediate family, for she occupied an enviable position in the social circles of the community in which she lived.

Mr. Clemens is a member of the Board of Commerce of Detroit and for two years occupied the position of trustee of the village of St. Clair Heights. His polit- ical allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is manifest in his membership in the Presbyterian church. He is identified with Hotah Atchay, a fraternity of Detroit, and also with the United Commercial Travelers and he has membership in the Exchange and Felloweraft Clubs. Motoring, golfing, boating and bowling constitute his diversions and he is a man whose life has been characterized by high principles and actuated by the most honorable purposes.

CHARLES T. BUSH, vice president of The Charles A. Strelinger Company of Detroit and Windsor, On- tario, and vice president of the Federal Machinery Sales Company of Chicago, dealers in tools and ma- chinery, was born in Detroit, June 2, 1875, a son of William R. T. and Anna H. (Witherspoon) Bush, the former a native of the state of New York, while the latter was born in Canada and came to Detroit about 1850. Mr. Bush won prominence in connection with the hardware business in the city, conducting busi- ness on his own account for many years, and contin- uing a factor in commercial circles here until his death in 1919. He had long survived his wife, who died in Detroit in 1908. In their family were three children: Robert W., William T. and Charles T. of this review.

The last named is the eldest of the family. He obtained his education in the public schools and in the Paul Ziegler Church School of Detroit, and ini- tiated his business career as a salesman for the T. B. Rayl Company, with which he remained for some time, and then became identified with The Charles A. Strel- inger Company, dealers in machinery and tools. He started with this house in a minor capacity in 1896, and by unfaltering industry, close application and ready adaptability to the demands made upon him he worked his way upward through various positions and eventually was called to official position, being

now vice president of this company, which is the largest operating in its line in the middle west. The Charles A. Strelinger Company is engaged in the sale of machinery, tools and factory supplies exclusively. It utilizes one hundred thousand square feet of floor space, occupying a building at No. 43 East Larned street, where it employs two hundred and forty people. The firm carries the largest stock of the kind in the middle west, and Mr. Bush is today regarded as one of the representative business men of Detroit of notably high standing. Not by leaps and bounds but by steady progression throughout his business career he advanced to the executive head. He is also presi- dent and one of the directors of the Allinger-Bush Realty Company, is the president of the Detroit Real Estate and Investment Company, a director of the Detroit Motorbus Company and chairman of the Bureau of Public Safety of Detroit. Thus his activ- ities cover a wide field and indicate his capability and resourcefulness in connection with business affairs.

On the 12th of July, 1899, Mr. Bush was married to Miss Harriett. V. Stansell of Detroit, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Stansell and they have three children: Helen Harriett, who is attending the Lig- gett school; Charlotte Virginia, a student in the same school; and Arthur Stansell. Mr. and Mrs. Bush are connected with many of the leading organizations of the city. Mr. Bush belongs to a number of the im- portant clubs of Detroit, including the Detroit, De- troit Athletic, Bloomfield Hills Country, Detroit Riding and Hunt, Bloomfield Hills Open Hunt, Detroit Auto and the Automobile Country Clubs, in the two latter of which he is a director, and he also holds membership in the Detroit Golf, Boat and Aviation Country Clubs. He is likewise a member of the Board of Commerce and the Society of Automotive Engineers. He is a member of Palestine Lodge, F. & A. M., Detroit Com- mandery, No. 1, Knights Templar and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He stands as a splendid example of what can be accomplished through individual effort. He is truly a self-made man in the highest and best sense of the term and his example should well serve to encourage others, showing that one may mark out the path to success and by perseverance continue therein until the objective is reached.

J. ADOLPH KRUG. As an expert maker of violins J. Adolph Krug is known to musicians throughout this country and he has also gained prominence as a collector of rare instruments, having in his posses- sion one of the most notable collections of violins to be found anywhere in the United States. He has resided in this city since 1887, or for a period of thirty-four years, and is now conducting a business of extensive proportions. He was born in Altenberg, Germany, March 13, 1863, a son of Gottlieb and Maria (Haertel) Krug, who were also natives of that city. The father was a carriage maker by trade and an expert workman, and he continued active along that

CHARLES T. BUSH

CITY OF DETROIT

line until his demise, which occurred in 1870, and the mother afterward emigrated to the United States, passing away in 1908. She had reared a family of two children: Mrs. Charles Bower, now a resident of Yonk- ers, New York; and J. Adolph, of this review.

From his sixth to his fourteenth year Mr. Krug attended the schools of Germany and was then ap- prenticed to one of the leading violin makers of that country, under whom he received most thorough in- struction, acquiring a comprehensive knowledge of the art. Thinking to find better business opportunities in the United States, he crossed the Atlantic with his mother and sister in December, 1881, when a young man of eighteen, and on reaching New York city he there secured a situation. At the end of a few years he left that city and went to Chicago, Illinois, where he was employed at his trade until 1887, when he came to Detroit, arriving here on the 3d of March. Opening a small shop, he engaged in making and repairing violins and also bought and sold rare and valuable violincellos, bass viols and other stringed instruments, being an expert judge of their value. His first place of business was at No. 16 East Lafayette street, where for many years he re- mained almost hidden away from the world, but known to artists on the violin and stringed instruments gen- erally, as an expert in his line. In 1920 he was pre- vailed upon to move to a more central location and is now conducting his interests at No. 1459 Woodward avenue and the wisdom of this decision is indicated in the fact that within the past year the volume of his business has been more than trebled. He is recog- nized as one of the best violin makers in the country and as an expert judge of the value of stringed instru- ments. He is the possessor of one of the finest and most valuable collections of rare violins in the United States, made by the old masters, painstakingly col- lected in the musical centers and remote and hidden places of Europe. He is an expert judge of tone and technique and his services are constantly employed in the selection of artists for concert work and other professional connections, his opinion being regarded as authoritative. His supremacy in his art is further indicated in the fact that at the Detroit International Exposition of 1889 he was awarded first prize for a quintet of stringed instruments of his own make and in 1890 he again won the first premium for violins rep- resented by a beautiful bronze medal, which he treas- ures very highly.

On the 17th of June, 1888, Mr. Krug was united in marriage to Miss Hulda Wailand, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Wailand, who formerly resided in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, but are now well known in business and social circles of Detroit. Three chil- dren have been born to this union: Edward, the eldest, was born in 1891 and is a graduate of one of the high schools of the city. He is a veteran of the World war; Arthur K., born February 28, 1893, attended the publie and high schools of Detroit and is associated

with his father in business. While serving as a mem- ber of the American Expeditionary Forces in France he was able to secure a collection of rare old violins, all of which were badly in need of repair. In gath- ering the instruments he experienced many difficulties and often came in for his share of criticism and repri- mand when his zeal for an old instrument kept him away from camp longer than his pass allowed. Most of the purchases were made in the smaller towns of France and in the more inaccessible portions of the country. Many of the instruments are reposing in a strong safe in the Krug shop, awaiting the time when the experienced hand of the repair man will restore to them their long silent voices and put them into the hands of a player, where they can produce again the tones that made their makers famous. Arthur K. is a member of Palestine Lodge, F. & A. M., Michigan Consistory and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine; Harold Krug, the youngest of the sons, was born in 1897 and is a graduate of one of the high schools of the city.

In his political views Mr. Krug, Sr., is a republi- can, interested in the welfare and success of the party. He is a popular member of the Harmonie Club of Detroit and fraternally is identified with the Masons, belonging to Schiller Lodge, No. 32, F. & A. M., Michigan Consistory, and to Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. From an early age Mr. Krug has been dependent upon his own resources and life has brought to him many varied experiences. Possessing marked force of character and strong determination, he has persevered in the pursuit of a fixed purpose and success in substantial measure has rewarded his efforts. He has attained that preeminence which follows superior ability and concentrated effort and his supremacy in his art is widely acknowledged.

DAVID W. SIMONS, whose extended activities in real estate and in banking in Detroit have won him classification with the leading citizens of Michigan's metropolis, was born in Kalwaryea, Russia, September 7, 1856, his parents being Simon and Celia (Epstein) Simons. In his youthful days he was a pupil in public and private schools of his native city and in 1870, when fourteen years of age, he became a resi- dent of Detroit. Through the early period of his con- nection with this city he was a junk dealer, operating as a member of the firm of S. Simons & Son. From that initial point in his business career he extended his efforts to paper manufacturing, in which he was engaged until 1890. In the latter year he concentrated his efforts and attention upon real estate dealing, buying and selling realty and also engaging in specula- tive building, constructing many houses and also fac- tories in Detroit, his operations being carried on under the name of the Simons Realty Company. He is, however, sole owner of the business, which has constituted an important element in Detroit's de- velopment, for he has negotiated many important

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The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV, Part 3

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932, ed; Stocking, William, 1840- joint ed; Miller, Gordon K., joint ed Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Detroit-Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1024

Author: Burton, Clarence Monroe, 1853-1932, ed; Stocking, William, 1840- joint ed; Miller, Gordon K., joint ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Detroit-Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024