USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 42
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BURR OTIS. Industrial activity in Detroit finds a prominent representative in Burr Otis, who since 1908 has been at the head of the Otis Cement Con- struction Company and in this connection controls a constantly expanding business, which is now one of the important interests of this character in the city. Mr. Otis is a native of Michigan, his birth having occurred at Ionia on the 4th of October, 1882, his parents being Amon and Cynthia (Harwood) Otis. In the acquire- ment of his education he attended the high school at Saranac, Michigan, and also had the benefit of five months' study in the Ferris School at Big Rapids. Throughout his business career he has eagerly em- braced every opportunity that has made for advance- ment, for at all times he has been characterized by a laudable ambition that has prompted him to take a forward step whenever the way was open. Desirous of engaging in business on his own account, in 1908 he organized the Otis Cement Construction Company,
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of which he has since been president and general man- ager. This company engages in the execution of con- tracts for general concrete work and has thus been closely associated with building operations in Detroit. Mr. Otis was married to Miss Edith C. McDonald, daughter of Charles and Mary Catherine (McFarland) McDonald.
Mr. Otis has always given his political allegiance to the republican party but has never sought nor desired office as a reward for party fealty. Fra- ternally he is connected with Union Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master, and has also taken the Royal Arch degrees in Peninsular Chapter and the Commandery degress in Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T., the craft finding in him an exemplary representative. He is a member of Michigan Sover- eign Consistory and a Noble of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Fellowcraft and Ingleside Clubs and for a number of years a member of the Rotary Club. His life il- lustrates the possibilities for successful accomplishment through individual effort, and the story of his ac- tivities indicates what may be accomplished when there is a will to dare and to do. The residence of Mr. Otis is at 1646 Virginia Park.
JOHN DONALD MacKAY, for a quarter of a cen- tury a member of the Detroit bar, was born in Atlantic, Iowa, in 1871. He was a son of Thomas Compton MacKay and Johan Mackay, and is of pure High- land Scotch descent. In 1880 the MacKay family removed to Spink county, South Dakota, John D. being at that time nine years old.
The latter's education was obtained in the district schools of South Dakota, the high school of Atlantic, Iowa, and the Preparatory school of Olivet College. In 1894 he was graduated from Olivet College, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He entered the De- troit College of Law, and was graduated in 1895, with the degree of LL. B. The next year he was admitted to the bar, and has since practiced in Detroit, being a member of the firm of Stellwagen, Mackay and Wade, formerly Cutcheon, Stellwagen and Mackay.
It is an age of specialization, and the most capable men concentrate upon a single line. Mr. Mackay has given his attention almost exclusively to corporation law, and is regarded as one of the leaders of that branch of the profession.
On the 17th of January, 1900, Mr. Mackay was married at Wayne, Michigan, to Miss Isabella Hosie, a daughter of James R. Hosie of Wayne, Michigan. The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Mackay is that of the Presbyterian church. In club circles of De- troit he is a prominent figure, being well known as a member of the Detroit Club, the University Club, the Detroit Country Club, the Indian Village Club, and the Lawyers' Club. He also belongs to the Detroit Bar Association, the Michigan State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. His political en-
dorsement is given to the republican party, and he has figured more or less prominently in connection with the political history of the state. He was agent for the provost marshal general for the Twenty-Second district of Detroit, was a director of the legal ad- visory board, and for three terms, from 1905 to 1911, represented his district in the state senate.
CHRISTIAN HENRY HABERKORN, JR. Four members of the Haberkorn family have been rep- resented in Detroit and it was in this city that Chris- tian Henry Haberkorn, Jr., was born on the 24th of May, 1889. The family was founded in America by his paternal grandfather who was the youngest son of John Henry Haberkorn, mayor of Altenburg, Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany, and who came to the United States in 1851, settling in Detroit. The following year he wedded Martha Kolby, who had come from Germany to Michigan a few years before. Their son, Christian Henry Haberkorn, Sr., was born in Detroit, July 27, 1856, and was the founder of the firm of C. H. Haberkorn & Company. He is mentioned at length on another page of this work. He married Miss Frances Harriet Ruehle, whose great grand- father was one of the first settlers of Detroit and whose father, Frederick Ruelle, was a prominent figure in connection with municipal affairs at an early day, having been a member of the Board of Public Works and one of the four founders of the old Mich- igan Democrat.
C. H. Haberkorn, Jr., whose name introduces this review acquired his early education in the Detroit Uni- veristy School, which he attended from 1889 until 1908. He spent the summer of 1906, and also the summer of 1908, in Europe, where he studied French and German and also traveled extensively through England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. He became a Harvard student in 1908 and during his college days had membership in the Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Alpha Phi, the Harvard Mission, the Star Chamber, the Student Council, the Harvard Cosmopolitan Club, the Deutcher Verien, the Cercle Français and the Harvard History Clubs. Upon the completion of his course he was awarded the Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1912. During his sophomore, junior and senior years he held an hon- orary John Harvard scholarship and in his senior year was the first marshal of the Phi Beta Kappa. In June, 1913, in recognition of graduate work done dur- ing his fourth year at Cambridge, Harvard bestowed upon him the Master of Arts degree.
With the completion of his university course Mr. Haberkorn returned to Detroit and entered at once into active connection with the furniture manufactur- ing business that had been established by his father more than a third of a century before. He took up his task with a thoroughness and an energy that promised success and steadily mastered every phase of the busi- ness. He became the secretary and treasurer of the
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company and took over the management of all the detail work of the enterprise. Since his father's death he has succeeded to the presidency of the busi- ness and is therefore at the head of one of the import- ant productive industries of Detroit. The firm is extensively engaged in furniture manufacturing and its large output is always salable because of the ex- cellent character of the work done in the plant, the reasonable prices and the straightforward business dealing of the firm. In 1913 Mr. Haberkorn became sec- retary of the Grosse Pointe Park Corporation which was formed to develop, improve and prepare for sale, a large tract of land in the suburbs of Detroit, in which he and his father were heavy investors. In the following year he became secretary and treasurer of the Haberkorn Investment Company, a corpora- tion formed to manage the various real estate invest- ments held by Mr. Haberkorn and his father. C. H. Haberkorn, Jr., was likewise made secretary and treas- urer of the Beck Cereal Company, which under license of the United States Food Administration took an important part in meeting the war-time demand for food products. Moreover, during the war period the furniture company placed the facilities of the factory at the disposal of the government and was engaged first in the small scale production of complete aero- planes and later in the large scale manufacture of aeroplane parts. In addition to his other interests Mr. Haberkorn is a director of the Security Trust Company of Detroit and also- of the Bank of Detroit and is one of the youngest bank directors of the city.
In Detroit in 1913 was celebrated the marriage of C. H. Haberkorn, Jr., to Miss Charlotte Madeline Beck, a daughter of George Beck, the president of the Beck Cereal Company, who controls one of the oldest manufacturing industries of this character in the city. He is also a past president of the Detroit Board of Trade. To Mr. and Mrs. Haberkorn have been born four children: Frances Madeline, whose birth occurred December 25, 1914; Christian Henry, (III), born in June, 1916; Charlotte Elizabeth, born March 10, 1918; and Mary Margaret, born June 30, 1920. Mr. Haberkorn largely devotes his leisure hours to golf and to companionship with the men of master minds of all ages, through the contents of a carefully selected library. His home-Lawn Leighton -in Grosse Pointe Park, is one of the beautiful resi- dences in that section of the city. He and his family spend most of the summer season at their place- Nordhome-at Charlevoix, in northern Michigan. In club circles Mr. Haberkorn is prominently known, having membership in the Detroit, Detroit Athletic, Detroit Country, Lochmoor, Detroit Boat and the Old Club of Detroit, also the Board of Commerce. He likewise belongs to the Harvard Club of Michigan, the Harvard Club of New York city and the Harvard Club of Boston. He is a man of most progressive spirit who has accomplished much in the business world and at the same time has found opportunity
for those interests of recreation and cultural value which maintain an even balance to business activity and lead to the development of a well rounded char- acter.
L. EUGENE SHARP. Upon the pages of American history there stand out prominently those men who have defended the interests of the country during various phases of military activity and recently a new chapter has been written and another glory page added to American annals. Among those men of whom Michigan has every reason to be proud, who aided in waging the war for world democracy, was Captain L. Eugene Sharp, who was born at North Baltimore, Ohio, in 1884, a son of John W. Sharp, whose birth occurred at Rising Sun, Ohio, and who in early man- hood was married at Bairdstown, that state, to Miss Louise Baird. He died in the year 1910, having for almost two decades survived his wife, who passed away in 1891.
L. Eugene Sharp was reared at North Baltimore, where he attended the public schools, later entered the Ohio Northern University at Ada, Ohio, and was there graduated in 1908, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Determining upon the practice of law as a life work, he then 'entered the Detroit College of Law and won his LL. B. degree by graduation with the class of 1911. He located for practice in this city and has since been a representative of the Detroit bar. In 1921 Mr. Sharp was appointed justice of the peace, which in this connection is similar to the office of police judge, so that he devotes all of his time to the duties of this office. Mr. Sharp was one of the organizers and is secretary, treasurer and a director of the Kent Folding Dresser Table and Furni- ture Company. He is also one of the organizers and a director of the Michigan Motor Express Company.
On the 14th of November, 1908, in Detroit, Captain Sharp was married to Miss Ruth Harper, a daughter of the late Charles Harper, and they have one child: Marjorie Jane. The parents attend the Methodist Episcopal church and in Masonry Captain Sharp has become a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His politi- cal allegiance is given to the republican party and his position upon any vital question is never an equivo- cal one.
Captain Sharp is now a director of the Armory Cor- poration, owning the Detroit Armory. His interest in military affairs has covered a long period. In 1906 he enlisted as a private in Company G of the Second Regiment of the Ohio National Guard. In 1912 he joined the Michigan National Guard, becoming a private of Company G of the First Michigan Regiment. In January, 1914, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and in March, 1914, became first lieutenant of Company F, Thirty-first Michigan In- fantry. On the 19th of June, 1916, he was sent with the Thirty-first Regiment to the Mexican border and
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was mustered out of the federal service on the 20th of January, 1917, retaining his rauk as first lieutenant in the Michigan National Guard. In June, 1917, he was promoted to the rank of captain of Company F, Thirty-first Regiment of Michigan Infantry, and entered the World war with that rank. In February, 1918, he went overseas, his company being assigned to the One Hundred and Twentieth Machine Gun Bat- talion of the Thirty-second Division. Captain Sharp served for eighteen months, returning to the United States on the 5th of July, 1919. He participated in many of the battles and offensives of the Alsace- Lorraine district. He took part in the battle of Chateau Thierry, in the Marne-Aisne offensive, in the Oise-Aisne offensive and was with the reserves at St. Mihiel, while during the latter phases of the Argonne offensive he commanded the machine gun battalion. He then went on the march to the Rhine and for four months was with the Army of Occupation in Germany-from the 13th of December, 1918, to the 20th of April, 1919. Although in some of the most hotly contested battles of the war, he was only once slightly wounded-in the Oise-Aisne offensive. He was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, re- ceiving four letters of commendation, one from the commanding general of the Third Army Corps, two from the commanding general of the Thirty-second Division and one from the commanding general of the Sixty-third Brigade. He was also recommended for promotion to the rank of major by the commanding general of the Sixty-third brigade.
THE CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION. The Annunciation parish of the Roman Catholic church in Detroit was founded on the 1st of May, 1906. This was done after James Howard had made a house to house canvass and secured a list of all the Catholic families east of Burns avenue to Connors creek and north as far as the present Charlevoix avenue. The list became a petition of four hundred names, which was carried to Bishop Foley, who readily consented to form a new parish, and a lot was purchased on Bowen avenue, now Parkview avenue. Father James Stapleton was appointed to take charge of and assume the organization of the new parish and the first mass was celebrated in the residence of Arthur L. Holmes in May, 1906. A short time afterward the old public school on Hibbard avenue was offered for sale and a part of this was purchased and moved to the lot which had been acquired by the parish, the building serving as a church through the succeeding six years. In August, 1908, plans were made resulting in the breaking of ground for Annunciation school and in September, 1909, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart opened the school with four hundred children. The attendance increased so rapidly that in 1915 ten rooms were added to the original building and there are now, (1920) nine hundred children enrolled in the school. The first church building of the parish was a long, low
frame structure, but the 1st of June, 1911, saw the beginning of the new church and on the 9th of August the corner stone was blessed by the venerable Bishop Foley and the first mass was said in the new church on the 9th of June, 1912. The building, of the Romanesque style, was erected and furnished at a cost of eighty-four thousand dollars. In 1914 a resi- dence for the priests was completed and an addition to the school was begun in June, 1915, thus providing eighteen rooms, including the department for music and an assembly room for the various church societies. The work of the church has been thoroughly organized under the efforts of Father Stapleton, who with the growth of the parish has been accorded several as- sistant priests. Various societies have been organized in connection with the church, which stands as a visible evidence of the zeal and devotion of the people of the parish.
GUERT ELMORE WILDER, M. D., although a graduate physician, is now devoting his attention to manufacturing interests as the vice president of the Gemmer Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of automobile steering gears. This is one of the largest industries of the kind in the country, a mammoth business being developed.
Dr.' Wilder was born in Sinclairville, New York, March 13, 1869, his parents being Amasa Daniel and Marian M. (Marsh) Wilder, the former a native of the state of New York, while the latter was born in Brownhelm, Ohio, and was descended from John Marsh, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1635. In her early girlhood Mrs. Wilder went to the state of New York and was there married, after which she and her husband continued residents of New York, where he conducted an extensive business as a stock raiser to the time of his death. His wife has also passed away.
Dr. Wilder, their only child, obtained his preliminary and high school education in Sinclairville, New York, and afterwards came to Michigan, entering upon the study of medicine in the State University at Ann Arbor. He was graduated with the class of 1891 and in the following year pursued a postgraduate course in the New York Post Graduate Hospital, de- voting his attention to diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Following the completion of his State University course he was appointed first assistant to the chair of ophthalmology and otology. Opening an office in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1892, he there engaged in practice for a decade with excellent success but on the expiration of that period gave up his profes- sion to turn his attention to manufacturing interests at Canton, Ohio. For five years he was engaged in that business in Canton and in 1909 he came to Detroit to accept the position of sales manager with the Gem- mer Manufacturing Company, of which he later was elected vice president and director. This company is engaged in the manufacture of steering gears for
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automobiles and the business has been steadily de- veloped, growing year by year, until six hundred people are employed in the various departments. Dr. Wilder is also a director of the Plywood Manufacturing Com- pany of Detroit, an industry recently established.
On the 5th of October, 1893, Dr. Wilder was mar- ried to Miss Adele M. Findlay of Franklin, Pennsyl- vania, daughter of A. Y. Findlay. They have one child, Dorothy, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, and is a graduate of the Detroit Central high school. The parents hold membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church and Dr. Wilder is also a member of the De- troit Athletic Club and of the Auto Country Club, of which he is the president. He is a Knights Templar Mason, is a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. His life has been one of intense and well directed activity, in which when leisure permits he has turned to golf and fishing for recreation and diversion. Progress has prompted his efforts at all points in his career and notable prosperity has accompanied his efforts until his name is now well known in the man- ufacturing circles of Detroit.
RICE ALVA HOWELL, one of the rising young real estate men of Detroit, who is specializing in han- dling of business and industrial property, was born in Ingham county, Michigan, December 30, 1884, and is a son of Floyd P. and Lucy Ann (Mapes) Howell, who are also natives of Michigan, having spent their lives in this state. The father is a successful farmer of Livingston county. They became the parents of four children: Rice A .; Emmett, who resides in Liv- ingston county, Michigan; Leo P., also of Livingston county; and Effie, who is the widow of Charles Lyons and resides in the same county.
After attending the public schools of Fowlerville, Livingston county, Rice A. Howell pursued a special business course in the Fowlerville high school and when his textbooks were put aside he entered the department store of W. P. Schenk & Company of Chelsea, Michigan, there remaining through the suc- ceeding three years. On the expiration of that period he resigned his position and removed to Seattle, Wash- ington, where he was employed by the dry goods firm of MeDougall, Southwick & Company, with whom he continued for two years. Returning to Michigan, he located at Detroit and obtained a position in the dry goods house of the Newcomb-Endicott Company, and after a year in their employ he spent two years in the dry goods house of Carson Pirie Scott & Company of Chicago. He then came once more to Detroit and was for a year an employe of the J. L. Hudson Com- pany. Up to this period of his business career Mr. Howell had been identified entirely with mercantile lines, and while he had ably filled various positions in that connection, he was convinced that the real estate business offered a greater future. He entered that field of activity in the employ of the Forsyth
& Merry Company. Two years' connection with that firm brought him broad experience along real estate lines and he then entered business on his own account in 1917, since which time he has specialized in the handling of industrial and business properties. He has sold various factory sites and is regarded as one of the most successful real estate operators in his city. His thoroughly reliable business methods and his progressiveness have won for him not only a high-class clientele but as well the commendation of his asso- ciates and all with whom he has been brought into contact through his business relations, which are con- stantly growing in volume and importance.
On the 16th of June, 1909, in Seattle, Washington, Mr. Howell was married to Miss Vera G. Glazier, who passed away in that city on the 30th of June, 1910. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Glazier of Chelsea, Michigan, and at her death left one child, Geraldine Elizabeth, who was born March 9, 1910, in Seattle, and is attending school in Detroit. Mr. Howell was married on the 4th of October, 1916, to Miss Lucille Leggett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Leggett of Highland Park, Michigan, and they have one child, Joann Virginia, who was born in Highland Park, Michigan, October 3, 1919.
Mr. Howell belongs to Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M., also to the Eastern Star and to the Detroit Board of Commerce. In his political connection he is a republican, taking a business man's interest in polit- ical affairs. His chief recreation is found in motoring and gardening. He is interested in all those forces which make for development and betterment in the city and gives hearty support to all interests which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride.
Since February, 1920, Mr. Howell has resided on Southfield Road, Birmingham, where his residence, . Hillside View, is one of the very pleasant homes of that highly desirable suburban section. Hillside View was formerly known as the Warren D. Clizbe home and the original semi-colonial type of architecture has not only been intensified but complete moderniza- tion of the structure, including the addition of a three- car garage, has been carried out by Mr. Howell. The natural elevation of the property, overlooking Bir- mingham Park, the Oakland Hills Golf Club and the spring-fed water courses leading to the River Rouge, all contribute to an attractiveness that only nature could supply.
HON. GEORGE P. CODD, a member of the Detroit bar since 1892, who has won well earned fame in his native city, was born December 7, 1869, his parents being George C. and Eunice (Lawrence) Codd, the former having established his home in Detroit in 1850. As the years passed he exercised considerable influence over public affairs, filling various positions of honor and trust and laboring untiringly and effect- ively to advance the welfare and upbuilding of the community at large. He was a recognized leader
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in republican circles and upon the party ticket was elected to the office of sheriff of Wayne county, which position he filled for four years. From President Hayes he received appointment to the position of postmaster of Detroit and was reappointed by President Arthur. He died in the year 1904, having for only a brief period survived his wife, who passed away in 1903.
At the usual age George P. Codd entered the public schools of Detroit, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from the Detroit high school. In 1887 he became a student in the University of Mich- igan, where he pursued a classical course and was graduated in 1891 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. With broad literary learning to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge, he at once took up the study of law under the guidance of Alfred Russell, then a leading member of the Detroit bar, and after thorough preliminary reading he was admitted to practice in the courts of Michigan in 1892, while later upon examination he secured admission to practice in the federal courts, including the United States su- preme court. Early in his professional career Mr. Codd became associated with the firm of Griffin, Warner & Hunt and in 1893 he was called by ap- pointment to the office of assistant city attorney, in which capacity he served for two and a half years. Following his retirement from that position he joined Carlos E. and Willard E. Warner in the organization of the law firm of Warner, Codd & Warner, an asso- ciation that was successfully maintained until the death of the senior partner in 1901. The firm was then dissolved and Mr. Codd practiced independently until 1906, when he was joined by A. B. Hall in the organization of the firm of Codd & Hall, so practicing until 1911, when he was elected circuit judge of Wayne county and remained on the bench, where he made an enviable record, until January, 1921, when he resigned to take his seat as a member of the Sixty- seventh congress as representative from the First Michigan District. At the same time he became senior member of newly organized law firm of Codd, Bishop and Kilpatrick.
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