USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 35
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He was admitted to the bar in 1912 and has since engaged in the active work of his profession, in which connection he has made continuous advancement. He tries all kinds of cases and tries them well, his success being the outcome of the thoroughness with which he prepares his cases and the clearness and force with which he presents his arguments and the points in litigation.
On the 15th of August, 1914, Mr. Rix was married to Miss Mabel E. Griffiths of Essex, Canada, and they have one son, Carl William. Mrs. Rix is also an attorney, having graduated from the Detroit College of Law in the class of 1912, at which time she won valedictorian honors over the eighty members of the class. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rix are members of the Detroit Bar Association and fraternally he is con- nected with the Masons and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Endowed by nature with keen mentality, he keeps in touch with the general interests, questions and problems of the age and at the same time is thoroughly informed concerning the principles of jurisprudence, being a close student of his pro- fession and constantly broadening his knowledge by reading, investigation and research.
JAMES E. McCANN, one of Detroit's native sons and a leading representative of the bar of this city, has also become well known as a progressive and saga- cious young business man, being prominently identified with a number of important commercial enterprises of this locality. He is alert, energetic and optimistic and in the conduct of his various interests has dis- played sound judgment and marked executive ability. He was born December 19, 1895, a son of James J. and Lulu (Knowles) MeCaun, who reared a family of two children, James E. and Mark. Both parents are deceased, the mother's demise having occurred in 1899, while the father passed away in 1912. He was also engaged in the practice of law and won high standing in his profession.
In the public and high schools of his native city James E. McCann pursued his education and in 1914 he entered the Detroit College of Law, from which he was graduated in 1917 with the LL. B. degree. He at once took up the work of his profession, opening his present office in the Penobscot building, and has since engaged in the general practice of law. He was not long in demonstrating his ability and in the trial of cases committed to his care he has won notable verdicts. He has much natural ability but is withal a hard student and is never content until he has mastered every detail of his cases. The list of his clients has already become an extensive one and he is making continuous progress in his profession. Mr. McCann is a man of versatile talents who is bound to make a success of anything he undertakes. In business circles of the city he occupies a foremost position, being secretary-treasurer of the Wayne Lumber Mills, Incorporated, in which he owns a half
MARK McFADDEN
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interest, and he is also half owner of the Gratiot Theatre Company and the Detroit-Toledo Express Com- pany. His activities are varied and important and he does not hesitate to extend his interests as opportunity offers, for his initiative spirit and keen insight enable him to carry forward his projects to a successful termination.
On the 29th of September, 1917, Mr. McCann was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Adelsberger and they have become the parents of a daughter, Eliza- beth, who was born November 18, 1920.
In his political views Mr. MeCann is a republican, interested in the welfare and success of the party, and in religious faith he is a Methodist. He is also a member of Palestine Lodge, No. 357; Detroit Lodge of Elks and the Detroit Yacht Club. His interest in the welfare and progress of his city is indicated by his membership in the Board of Commerce, whose plans and projects for the upbuilding and development of Detroit receive his hearty cooperation, and he is also identified with the Automobile Club of this city. Mr. McCann is a most progressive and public-spirited young man of unusually high professional and busi- ness attainments who has won a notable measure of success for one of his years and Detroit is proud to claim him as one of her native sons.
JAMES DANIEL KENNEDY is president of the J. D. Kennedy Company, handling builders' supplies and conducting a wholesale coal business in Detroit. He was born June 30, 1875, at Bay City, Michigan, and is a son of Daniel J. and Marian (McDonald) Kennedy, the former a native of Prince Edward island, while the latter was born in Canada. Both came to America in early life and settled in Detroit. The father afterward removed to Bay City, Michigan, where he became a widely known contractor and dealer in lumber, but eventually he disposed of his interests there and returned to Detroit, where he has made his home since 1907. He is now living re- tired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former industry and carefully directed business affairs. His wife passed away in Detroit in 1915. Their family numbered eight children: Mrs. Arthur Brookman, living in Detroit; Mrs. George C. Keech of Chicago, Illinois; James D., McDonald, Floyd E. and Russell S., all of Detroit; Mrs. Frank Whitehall of South Bend, Indiana; and Grace, the widow of Dr. N. P. Linger- hausen of Mount Clemens, Michigan.
James D. Kennedy acquired his early education in the grammar and high schools of Bay City, Mich- igan, and afterward entered the Bay City Business College, while still later he became a student in the University of Ann Arbor. He there pursued a course in law and won his LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1896. He then entered upon the active practice of his profession in Chicago, Illinois, for a short period, but later came to Detroit, where he opened a law office and successfully practiced for
six and a half years. At the end of that time he decided to abandon professional interests and enter industrial circles. He became a contractor and builder and has since operated profitably as president of the J. D. Kennedy Company, handling all kinds of building supplies and conducting an extensive business as a wholesale dealer in coal, as a member of Kennedy, Floyd & Company. In 1911 he also organized the Superior Sand & Gravel Company and conducted the business in connection with his other activities. He likewise had charge of the stone products sales of the Solvay Process Company and still later organized the J. D. Kennedy Company, which is today one of the foremost concerns of Detroit, handling builders' sup- plies and also engaged in a wholesale trade in coal. Of the last named company he was the organizer and is the secretary and treasurer, and the success of the enterprise rests upon his well formulated plans, close application and capable management.
At Piqua, Ohio, December 14, 1899, Mr. Kennedy was married to Miss Mary Frame, daughter of Dr. A. B. Frame of that place. They now have two children: Morris Frame, who was born in Detroit, February 16, 1904, and is now attending St. John's School of New York; and Andrew Benjamin, who was born in Detroit, March 1, 1906, and is also in school.
Mr. Kennedy is well known in various fraternal and social connections. In Masonry he has taken the degrees of lodge, chapter and commandery and has also become a Noble of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the Detroit, De- troit Athletic, University, Detroit Boat and Detroit Curling Clubs, the Lochmoor Country Club, Old Club, the Detroit Automobile Club and of the Detroit Board of Commerce, the latter association indicating his interest in civic welfare and civic development. He also belongs to Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Detroit Alumni.
CHARLES AUGUSTUS LORENZO, engaged in gen- eral law practice in Detroit, was born in New York city, January 28, 1887, and is a son of Joseph and Maria (Farry) Lorenzo. After acquiring a public school education, the son attended the Pennsylvania State College through the years 1905 to 1907 inclusive. He took up the study of law in the office of William M. Gillespie, who directed his reading for three years. He next entered the law department of the University of Michigan in 1911 and remained a student there until graduated with the class of 1914. He at once opened his office in Detroit and through the interven- ing years has been a representative of the bar in this city, continuing in general practice, trying all kinds of cases and trying them well. He is a member of the Detroit Bar Association and also of the Law- yers Club.
On the 19th of June, 1913, Mr. Lorenzo was united in marriage to Miss Helen E. Manning, a native of Pennsylvania, and they have become the parents of
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three children: Heloise Isabel, Marjorie Jean and Frances. For rest and recreation Mr. Lorenzo turns to fishing and hunting, greatly enjoying his trips into the open. He is a Catholic in religious faith and has membership with the Knights of Columbus.
WILLIAM HENRY KLUG. Extensive and impor- tant operations in real estate have brought William H. Klug to a prominent position among the successful business men of Detroit. For over a quarter of a century he has been connected with this line of activ- ity and he has so directed his efforts as to develop and improve the city as well as to promote his in- dividual prosperity. He is of European extraction and was born August 24, 1870, a son of Henry and Dorothy (Niebauer) Klug, who brought their three sons to the United States in 1870 in order that they might escape the military oppression of their native land and enjoy the blessings and privileges of a free country. The family at once came to Michigan and located near Detroit. The father had been ac- tively engaged in husiness in the country of his birth, but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, as he passed away two weeks after the arrival of the family in Michigan. The mother courageously took up the task of rearing her little family in a strange land and accepted any honest employment which was offered, in order that she might provide them with the necessities of life. For many years she labored unceasingly and uncomplainingly in order that her children might have the benefit of an educa- tion and her self-sacrificing efforts were well repaid, for her sons have become successful business men and highly respected citizens of the state. John, the eldest of the family, is an engineer for the Detroit United Railway; Fred is a resident of Pontiac; and William H. is a substantial business man of Detroit.
The last named acquired his early education in the public schools of Detroit, after which he was appren- ticed to the trade of carpenter and builder. He then took up electrical work, steamfitting, plumbing, and plastering, so that he might thoroughly fit himself for his chosen life work-that of general contracting and building. In 1895, having acquired a compre- hensive knowledge of the requirements necessary for success in the builder's line, and his previous experi- ence having been in positions of overseeing and of other responsibilities for contractors and builders in the general building line, he was convinced that his mastery of that work fitted him to enter that field himself. He started in business on his own account and purchased vacant property, which he improved with attractive modern homes. He was among the first to launch an enterprise of this character in the city and the homeseeker found his proposition a most attractive one, so that Mr. Klug had no difficulty in disposing of his property. His business has grown steadily from year to year with the development of the city, until it has now assumed extensive and
profitable proportions. lle is recognized as a thor- oughly reliable and progressive business man, who has never resorted to questionable or unfair methods in his transactions with the public. He has built and sold over six hundred homes and also owns several fine properties in the city, being recognized as one of the leading building and real estate operators of Detroit. Mr. Klug has other interests of various kinds, being a large owner of stock in the Lincoln Bond & Mortgage Corporation, The National Mortgage Corporation, and the Commercial State Savings Bank.
On the 16th of November, 1899, Mr. Klug was united in marriage to Miss Rosette Wegener, a daughter of Ernest and Louise (Kohn) Wegener, prominent resi- dents of this city. Four children have been born to this union: Gertrude Dorothy Louise, whose birth oc- curred May 11, 1902, and who graduated from the Eastern high school in 1919; Mildred Wilhelmina Ro- sette, born July 17, 1911; Eleanor Bertha Augusta, born August 27, 1913; and Wilford John Adolph, born November 26, 1914, who is the only male representa- tive of the family in his generation.
Mr. Klug is independent in his political views, and his religious faith, as well as that of his family, is indicated by his membership in the Emanuel Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he is actively and helpfully interested, being a member of the build- ing committee and also of the board of trustees. He is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty- second degree in the Scottish Rite Consistory and heing a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while socially he is connected with the Caravan Club and the Masonic Country Club. As the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well, and the force of his personality, the keenness of his in- sight and the soundness of his judgment have brought him to a position of prominence in the real estate circles of Detroit. His operations have been con- ducted on an extensive scale and he has gained finan- cial independence, while at the same time the city has greatly profited by his enterprise and progressive- ness. Mr. Klug resides at 3987 Seyburn avenue, where he built his home in 1906.
JOHN H. HOLMES, president of the National Sales Corporation of Detroit, was horn in Yale, Michigan, May 12, 1874, and is a son of Henry and Clarissa (Tool) Holmes, who were natives of the state of New York and of Ontario, Canada, respectively. They came to Michigan in early life. The father afterward engaged in business at Yale, this state, and was also actively connected with farming in that locality. He died in 1914 at the venerable age of eighty-four years. The mother is living and is past the age of eighty-four years, her hirth having occurred July 9, 1836. She makes her home with her son John and is still active and retains her faculties unimpaired. In their family were ten children, as follows: Mrs.
WILLIAM H. KLUG
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Sarah Hollenbeck, living at Valley Center, Michigan; Jacob of Kingston, Michigan; Mrs. Emeline Worden, whose home is at Port Huron, Michigan; Mrs. Mary Muir of Valley Center, Michigan; Mrs. Ardelia Dechene of Detroit; John H., of this review; and four who have passed away.
John H. Holmes, who was the seventh in order of birth in the family, attended school at Yale, Michi- gan, mastering the branches of learning taught in the district schools and later in the high school. Determining to devote his life to the work of the ministry, he joined the Methodist Protestant con- ference and for four years gave his attention to the work of the church as a pastor. His throat failed him, and in 1903 he came to Detroit and here entered another field of labor, becoming connected with the real estate business, and in this field as well as in other activities he has been very successful. He is also engaged in the automobile accessories business as a distributor and is the Michigan district man- ager for the National Salesmen's Training Association of Chicago. His natural adaptation for this latter line of work is well exemplified in the fact that thirty-two years have passed since he became an active salesman. He first began selling books and has throughout the intervening period been engaged more or less extensively in promoting sales of some commodity or another. He is now the Michigan distributor for Magic Rubber Mend, a rubber com- pound to mend automobile tubes, tires and other rubber articles, Mr. Holmes selling only to the wholesale trade. He is also a director of the Palmer Manu- facturing Company of Detroit.
On the 17th of July, 1913, Mr. Holmes was married to Miss Clara Kemter of Detroit, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Max Kemter. They now have one child, John W. Holmes, born February 6, 1918, in Detroit. Mr. Holmes became an Odd Fellow in 1901 and is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, having taken all of the Scottish Rite degrees. He is a member of Michigan Sovereign Consistory, likewise a member of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine and the Caravan Club. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, in which he takes an active part. He lives in a pleasant home in Richmond, a suburb of Detroit.
LEWIS KELLY WALKER, vice president of the Security Trust Company of Detroit, was born at Adrian, Michigan, December 6, 1886, and is a son of Milton C. and Susan (Lewis) Walker. His father was born in Springfield, Ohio, and his mother in Watertown, New York. In early life they became residents of Michigan and the father was a successful farmer of this state for many years but is now re- tired, living at Adrian. His wife passed away at Adrian in 1909. They were the parents of three children: Mrs. Edna W. Geiger, now residing at Los
Angeles, California; Nellie L., living at Greensboro, North Carolina; and Lewis K.
The last named attended the graded and high schools of Adrian, graduating in 1904. He then entered the Adrian State Savings Bank as a clerk in September, 1904, and in March, 1911, came to Detroit to accept the position of teller with the Security Trust Com- pany. From that position he has steadily risen to the vice presidency, which office he now holds. Through- out his business career he has been identified with banking interests.
On the 18th of October, 1911, Mr. Walker was mar- ried to Miss Arlie B. Morey of Adrian, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Welcome J. Morey. He is a member of the Bloomfield Hills Country Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Ingleside Club and the Detroit Bankers Club. Fraternally he is a Mason.
CHARLES E. BRYANT, who in the conduct of a real estate, building and insurance business has con- tributed in substantial measure to the upbuilding of Detroit, to the development of several leading sub- divisions and the erection of many attractive homes, apartments and store buildings, was born August 16, 1872, in the city where he still resides, his parents being Hugh and Cordelia (King) Bryant, the former a native of Ireland, while the latter was born in New York and came to Michigan in early life. The father engaged in the wholesale flour and feed busi- ness and after long connection with the commercial interests of Detroit passed away in 1900, being sur- vived by his widow, who is yet a resident of this city. Their family numbered two daughters: Emma, who is living in Detroit; and Mrs. Offner, also of this city.
The only son, Charles E. Bryant, attended the high school of Detroit and afterward entered the Detroit Business College, from which he was graduated in 1891. He then became an employe of the Citizens Bank of Detroit, with which he remained until it was absorbed by the Dime Savings Bank. He was a representative of the latter organization for some time. He served successively as messenger, auditor, assistant cashier and branch manager in the twenty years in which he was identified with banking, becom- ing one of the most efficient and reliable represeuta- tives of the company. He resigned to engage in the real estate, building and insurance business on his own account and since that time he has put upon the market and sold several fine subdivisions, has also erected many homes, apartments and store build- ings and thus has contributed in substantial measure to the progress and upbuilding of the city.
On the 26th of April, 1893, Mr. Bryant was married to Miss Grace B. McMahon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McMahon. They have two children: Mrs. Ruth H. Wetmore, who was born in Detroit in 1895 and who now has one child, Doris Ruth; and Charles Earl, who was born in Detroit in 1900 and
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is attending Albion College at Albion, Michigan. He was a member of the Students Army Training Corps there during the war period.
Mr. Bryant is a member of the Mendelssohn Club. He also belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce and is in hearty sympathy with all of its plans and pro- jects for the improvement and upbuilding of the city and the development of its civic standards. He is likewise a member of the Woodward Avenue Presby- terian church. His life has been guided by high and honorable principles, characterized by devotion to duty and marked by a recognition and utilization of op- portunity.
HORACE E. DODGE. So close, so beautiful, so ideal was the relationship that existed between two brothers, John F. and Horace E. Dodge, that when the death of the elder occurred in January, 1920, it seemed that the younger could not long survive, and when December came he passed on to that reunion which has been promised in a life eternal. Every interest, every ambition, every hope and purpose the brothers shared together. As their childhood sports gave way before manhood's activities, their interests continued inseparable and the tie between them strengthened rather than diminished as their activities grew in volume and importance, taking them from the little machine shop of their father in Niles, Michigan, through the stages of steady development to a point where they were a dynamic force in the business de- velopment of Detroit, employing twenty-three thousand people.
Horace E. Dodge was born May 17, 1868, in Niles, Michigan, one of the three children of Daniel and Marie (Casto) Dodge. The brother, John, was four years his senior, and there is a sister, Mrs. Delphine Dodge Ashbaugh, who is now the only survivor of the family.
The brothers attended the public schools of Niles and their business activity began when Horace E. Dodge was only eight years of age, for at that time they were taking jobs of repairing fenees and em- ploying a few negro lads of the town to do the work, which they superintended. They early developed me- chanical ingenuity and skill and throughout their lives they felt the keenest interest in mechanical pursuits. Horace E. Dodge passed upon all the intricate and complex mechanism that had to do with the develop- ment of the Dodge cars and the various phases of the automative industry with which they were connected. In fact, he specialized upon that branch of the work, while his brother gave more attention to the business and executive management.
The brothers thoroughly learned the machinist's trade under the direction of their father, but felt that there was little opportunity to broaden the scope of their activities in Niles, and consequently left that city when Horace E. Dodge was eighteen years of age. Their father's shop specialized in marine motor
work and it was there that the brothers gained their initial knowledge of the intricacies of the internal combustion engine and thus laid the foundation of their later marvelous success. Ambition to make a name for themselves in the mechanical field led to their departure from Niles in 1886 for Battle Creek, Michigan, whence, after a brief period, they went to Port Huron and from that city to Detroit.
In Detroit they entered the employ of "Tom" Murphy, at the old Murphy Boiler Works, where their wages were eighteen and twenty dollars per week. "Work in that line and in those days was in both social and physical aspects a strength test. Only the fittest survived and the unfit fell quickly. To their last days the Dodge brothers retained the rugged impress of those rough and ready days, as they did the fondness for practical mechanics which was bred in them there."
Constantly seeking broader opportunities, they went to Windsor in 1894 and became machinists for the Canadian Typograph Company, where their experience in the building of bicyeles (as youngsters they had already planned and constructed one of their own, the first to be seen in Niles, Michigan) led to their first invention and first important business venture. This invention, a ball-bearing mechanism, was invented by Horace E. Dodge and built in his own home. It was used by the bicycle maker under a royalty arrange- ment. A short time later the Dodge brothers joined Fred S. Evans of Windsor, Ontario, in organizing the Evans & Dodge Bicycle Company, and leased the plant of the Canadian Typograph Company in Windsor. After a few years the Dodge brothers disposed of their interests in that business and in 1901 returned to Detroit. Here they established a machine shop in the Boydell building on Beaubien street, which was their first undertaking under their own name, with twelve men on the pay-roll.
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