USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 46
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The last named, the youngest of the family, is indebted to the public school system of Montreal, Canada, for the educational opportunities which he en- joyed and after leaving high school he became a clerk in a broker's office in that city. He rose to a position of responsibility and trust but in 1902 left Montreal for Chicago, believing that he might have better op-
portunities across the border, where competition is keener but where advancement is more quickly se- cured. He continued in the brokerage business, later following that line in New York city and in various places in Iowa. He was likewise a broker at Lima, Ohio, for a time and subsequently came to Detroit. In most of these places he was a representative of E. W. Wagner & Company and at length was offered the position of manager of the Detroit branch of the firm. Accordingly he came to this city on the 1st of Feb- ruary, 1919, to take charge and his course has fully justified the confidence reposed in him. He has made the Detroit office a paying proposition and here handles all kinds of stocks, bonds and dependable securities, having already won a large clientele.
On the 30th of March, 1913, Mr. Ellis was married to Miss Eleanor Morton of New York city, a daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Morton. Fraternally he is a Mason and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the Michigan Sovereign Con- sistory, while with the Nobles of Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is at all times an exemplary representa- tive of the craft, loyal to its teachings and its high purposes. He is also a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce. His record is that of a man who has worked his way upward entirely through his own ef- forts, winning a most creditable position and an equally creditable name.
SANFORD WEBB LADD, practicing at the De- troit bar as a member of the firm of Warren, Cady, Ladd & Hill to the time of his death, which occurred on September 1, 1920, was numbered among Michi- gan's lawyers since 1902. He was born in Milford, Michigan, December 2, 1877, his parents being Frank M. and Mary Elizabeth (Webb) Ladd, while his an- cestral line shows long connection with one of the old families of New England. In the acquirement of his education he attended the public schools of his native town and afterward entered the high school at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. His college course was pursued in the University of Michigan, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901. He afterward became a student in the law department of the State University, where he devoted two years to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence and thus qualified for examination for the bar.
Mr. Ladd entered upon active practice at Port Huron, Michigan, in 1902, and some time later became a member of the firm of Moore, Brown, Miller & Ladd. Following his removal to Detroit in the fall of 1908, he practiced alone for a time and then joined the firm of Merriam, Yerkes, Simons & Ladd, which association was maintained until March, 1911, when the firm of Warren, Cady & Ladd was organized which subsequently became Warren, Cady, Ladd & Hill. With the passing years this office has held a place in the front rank of the leading attorneys of Detroit, and Mr. Ladd enjoyed a well earned reputa- tion, having specialized in corporation law.
On the 29th of June, 1904, Mr. Ladd was married to Miss Nina Axtell Truesdell of Port Huron, Michi- gan, and they became the parents of five children: Helen Elizabeth; Virginia Mary; Elizabeth Mary; Sanford Montgomery; and David MeCleary.
Mr. Ladd found diversion from professional duties in outdoor life and exercise. He belonged to the Detroit Club, the Detroit Country Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit University Club and also to the University Club of Chicago. He belonged like- wise to the Beta Theta Pi and the Phi Delta Phi and to the Detroit Bar Association and the American Bar Association. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and his religious faith was that
ROLAND J. ELLIS
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of the Congregational church. Mr. Ladd's death was a distinct loss to the community, where his circle of friends was almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances.
BERNARD YOUNGBLOOD, who figured in public office in Detroit for a number of years and was long identified with mercantile interests of the city, was born in Trierscheidt, Kreis Adenaus, Coblenz, in the Rhine province of Germany, June 21, 1840, his parents being Stephen and Gertrude (Krischer) Youngblood, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father became a farmer and a dealer in wine. In the family were ten children: Nicholas, Catherine, Gertrude, Mary, Bernard, Peter, Jacob and three who died in infancy in Germany. In the year 1852 Nicholas Youngblood of this family came to America to look over the country and that he reported favorably to the family is indi- cated in the fact that in 1854 the father, mother aud six children emigrated to America, crossing the Atlantic on the sailing vessel Lochinvar, which was forty-nine days in making the voyage. They brought with them seven thousand dollars in gold and during a very stormy voyage were much afraid that their lives and their money would be lost, greatly regretting that Nicholas did not have the money in his possession. However, the voyage was at length safely ended, their capital was safe and they journeyed across the coun- try to Detroit. The father purchased property on Orleans street near Gratiot, where he built a home. He died in 1868, his wife surviving until 1873.
In his early life Bernard Youngblood attended the district schools of Germany and assisted his father on the home farm. He was a youth of fourteen years when the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world and after reaching Detroit he worked at odd jobs with his brother Nicholas, who was a grading con- tractor on the Michigan Southern, between Ecorse and Trenton. In 1857 he became a wood-working ap- prentice, building carriages for Reichle, Drayer & Schafer until 1860, when he went to New York, where he worked at the building of carriage bodies.
Owing to paralyzed business conditions in New York, resulting from the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Youngblood returned to Detroit in 1861 and again entered the employ of Reichle, Drayer & Schafer. In the following year his brother Nicholas desired to engage in the grocery business and asked his brother Bernard to join him. The latter had no capital but said he could build a wagon and that was his in- vestment in the grocery business of the firm of Young- blood Brothers in the spring of 1862. The original two partners were joined by their brothers Peter and Jacob, but in the fall of the same year they all sold out, realizing a good profit on their investment. In the winter of 1862 Bernard Youngblood purchased a small place at 518 Gratiot avenue, where with his brothers he engaged in the grocery and feed business and gradually acquired other property on each side of
his store. In 1864 he and his brother Peter purchased the interest of Jacob Youngblood in the business and in 1865 they acquired the interest of their brother Nicholas, the two thus becoming proprietors of the establishment. Prices were then very high, Mocha coffee selling at seventy-two cents per pound, sugar at forty-eight cents, brown sugar at thirty-five cents, choice tea for two dollars and a half per pound and flour as high as seventeen and a half dollars per barrel. Mr. Youngblood was a large buyer of mer- chandise and made frequent trips to New York and other points to purchase advantageously. In 1869 Mr. Youngblood erected a three-story brick building at 520 Gratiot avenue and there conducted a profitable busi- ness enterprise in the wholesale and retail grocery and feed trades. He thus engaged until Sunday, July 13, 1872, when a disastrous fire occurred and the Youngblood Brothers, who were conducting the busi- ness, suffered a heavy lass. Bernard Youngblood was under the impression that some of his children were lost in the fire and did not learn until the following morning that all were safe. This was such a nervous shock that it necessitated his taking a trip abroad. Accordingly, he sold the branch store at Maple and St. Aubin to Martin Baier, one of the clerks, and his brother Peter conducted the main store. In the fall of 1873 Mr. Youngblood returned from Europe much improved in health and purchased five acres of land at Gratiot and Moran, where he established his family home after improving the property thereon.
From time to time Mr. Youngblood acquired val- uable land holdings in Detroit. One farm on the east side of Woodward avenue at the corner of the six- mile road, directly across from Palmer Park, com- prising one hundred acres, he sold for only one hun- dred and seventy dollars an acre.
In 1885 he sold his interest in the grocery business to his brother Peter and engaged in the hardware business with Seth Hunt. In 1889 he sold his hard- ware interest and reentered the grocery and feed trades. In 1899 he erected a new building on St. Aubin at the corner of Hendricks and to that location removed his grocery business, which he conducted until 1900, when failing health caused him to sell out, after which he lived retired until his death.
It was in May, 1865, that Mr. Youngblood married Frances Meyers, who passed away in 1883, leaving ten children. On the 9th of February, 1885, he married Minnie Walters. The children of the first marriage who survive are: Edward B .; Minnie, the wife of Anthony J. Schulte; Harriet, the wife of Harry C. Miller of Akron, Ohio; William H .; and Mabel, the wife of John F. Rosier. Four children of the first marriage who reached mature years have passed away: Matilda, the wife of Thomas H. Lynch; Anna, the first wife of John R. Bodde; Frances, the first wife of Frank Cody; and Jacob F. By the second mar- riage there are four children: Raymond J., Bernadette R., Margaret E. and Eleanore M. The family circle
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was once more broken by the hand of death when on the 26th of April, 1919, Mr. Youngblood was called to his final rest.
While he had been an active business man through the many years of his residence in Detroit, he was also well known by reason of his earnest support and leadership in the democratic party. In 1874 he became a candidate for alderman in the thirteenth ward and was elected, while in 1878 he was nominated for the office of county treasurer and again in 1880. While defeated on both occasions, he was once more his party's nominee in 1882 and this time was elected. So creditable a record did he make in office that he was reelected in 1884, so that he served for two terms in that position. In 1895 he was made the demo- cratic nominee for alderman in the ninth ward and filled the position, through reelection, for two terms. He gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to the municipal questions which came up for settlement and at all times was most loyal to the interests of the eity and its upbuilding.
For almost two-thirds of a century Bernard Young- blood was a resident of Detroit. Progressive in busi- ness and public-spirited in citizenship, he left his impress for good upon the history of the city.
JUDGE WILLIAM LOOK, who formerly occupied the circuit court bench of Wayne county and is now actively engaged in the practice of law in Detroit, his native city, has been closely associated with public interests of a political as well as of a professional character and has exerted a widely felt influence over public thought and opinion. He was born on the 16th of March, 1857, of the marriage of Arnold Nicholas and Catherine (Canto) Look. The father was a native of Cleve, Rhenish Prussia, in the district of Dusseldorf, Germany, which previous to the Con- gress of Vienna in 1815 belonged to Holland. He was a grandson of Jean Look, a veteran of the Na- poleonic wars who followed the great Corsican leader in his peninsular campaign, participating in many of the memorable battles that convulsed continental Europe in the early part of the last century. He also served under Marshal Davoust, Prince of Eck- miehl, Massena and Soult, taking part in all the engagements of the campaign that terminated with the first abdication of Napoleon in 1814, and was discharged for physical disability on July 27, 1814, during the campaign of France. He came to America in 1850 and settled on a farm near Detroit, and upon the anniversary of the birth of Napoleon in 1869, Jean Look, the oldest living veteran of the Napoleonic wars, was chosen president of the day. He died in October, 1876, at the age of ninety years, respected and honored by all. The maternal grand- father of Judge Look was Blasius Canto, a native of Belfort, in the province of Lorraine, France, who came to the United States in 1823 and died on his
farm on the border of Wayne county, Michigan, when eighty-nine years of age.
William Look was the eldest of a family of eight children and when but twelve years of age largely had to assume the responsibility of providing for the household. His education has largely been self- acquired, showing the native elemental strength of his character, for with limited opportunities in youth he has made steady progress, wisely utilizing his time and his advantages. He first entered the large bank- ing and real estate offices of his uncle, Judge Joseph Kuhn of Detroit, serving as office boy for two years, and later, having manifested marked capability in mastering the various phases of the business in prin- ciple and detail, he was left in sole charge when his uncle made a tour of Europe. He carried on the busi- ness during his uncle's absence with such capability and faithfulness as to win the warmest praises on the return of the proprietor. At length Judge Look determined upon the practice of law as a life work and in 1880, after thorough preliminary reading, was ad- mitted to the bar. While he studied alone, he fre- quently sought the advice of such men as Hon. Don M. Dickinson; Edwin F. Conley, Hon. Otto Kirchner, Wil- liam C. Maybury and James A. Randall, who, admiring the ambition and energy of the young man, gladly as- sisted him in solving many intricate legal problems. Following his admission to the bar he entered at once upon active practice in 1880 and has since followed the profession, save for the period of his service upon the bench. He made steady advancement, gaining a good clientage, and in 1887 he was elected judge of the Wayne county circuit court, which position he filled for two years. In 1885 he had been chosen a member of the board of councilmen, the upper bouse of the municipal legislature, to fill out an un- expired term. He at once became an earnest oppo- nent of the loose relations between the corporation contractors and the city government. In 1885 he was elected to the board for a full term of four years by an overwhelming majority. It was due to the stand he took while a member of the board regarding the act of 1885, governing the appointment of the boards of registration and election, that that act was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court of the state. He was also very active during his entire term in pro- moting the best interests of the city of Detroit in every possible way. In 1887 the state legislature passed a bill abolishing the board of councilmen and he was then nominated and elected one of the judges of the Wayne county circuit court. He took his place on the bench as one of the youngest men who had ever filled so important a position and disposed of his cases with such rapidity and thoroughness that his course excited the surprise, the admiration and the gratitude of the public and of the Detroit bar as well. With his retirement from the bench he resumed the private practice of law and from 1894 until 1900 was a mem- ber of the law firm of Look & Humphrey but through
JUDGE WILLIAM LOOK
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the past two decades has practiced alone, being ac- corded a large clientage of a distinctively representa- tive character.
On the 22d of July, 1879, Judge Look was married to Miss Christine Audretsch of Detroit, who passed away on August 7th, 1905, at the age of forty-eight years, leaving five children: Cordelia; Florence, who is the wife of Charles R. Dickinson; Viola, the wife of Norman J. Chapoton; Engene Edwin; and Virginia. The son, Eugene Edwin, was reading law in the office of his father when the United States declared war against Germany and soon afterward enlisted as a private in the Michigan National Guard, serving first with a division of cavalry in the National Guard, while later he was transferred to Battery F of the One Hun- dred and Nineteenth Field Artillery, Thirty-second Division (Red Arrow), with the commission of lieu- tenant. He was seut to Camp McArthur at Waco, Texas. Subsequently he was transferred to the Four- teenth Field Artillery, school of fire, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was located until after the sign- ing of the armistice.
Judge Look has been a lifelong resident of Detroit and throughout the entire period has stood for those things which are elements in progress and improve- ment in connection with municipal and civic affairs. His life history is another proof of the fact that it is under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the best and strongest in men is brought out and developed. With limited opportunities in his youth, he made the most of every chance that came to him and has promoted his progress with a consistency of purpose that could not fail to accom- plish results.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Look is interested in fishing, sailing and rowing, to which he turns for recreation in his leisure hours. His political endorse- ment is given to the democratic party and in 1885 he was elected to the upper house of the city council and served for two years, or until the abolishment of the board. He has always kept thoroughly informed concerning the vital questions and issues of the day, but his ambition is not in the line of office holding, as he considers the pursuits of private life in them- selves abundantly worthy of his best efforts and in the path of his profession has gained for himself a credit- able name and place.
ARTHUR COOPER, proprietor of the Lillibridge Lumber Company of Detroit, was born in the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, but came to Michigan in 1885, when a lad of but eight years. That was twenty years prior to the great automobile industry in Detroit, and the consequent expansion and growth of the city to a world famous metropolis. In this phenomenal growth the lumber business has been one of the great factors and through his connection in this industry Mr. Cooper has played an important part in the up-
building of greater Detroit. His youthful days were spent in the home of his parents, Walter and Eliza (Frazer) Cooper. The father was a civil engineer who for years acted as an engineer with the Grand Trunk Railway Company, and also did a great deal of surveying for the Canadian government. He was accidentally killed by a railway train and soon there- after the family came to Detroit.
Arthur Cooper was educated in the high school here and after leaving school was in the employ of the late William H. Elliott for a time. Subsequently he secured a position in a box factory, and at the age of nineteen years he entered the employ of the Dwight Lumber Company, with which he remained for fifteen years. It was in 1905 that he joined Mr. Francis M. Lillibridge and organized the Lillibridge Lumber Company. This association was maintained until 1916 when Mr. Lillibridge passed away, and Mr. Cooper purchased his interest in the business in which he has since been sole proprietor, although conducting his interests under the old name. He handles all kinds of lumber, interior finish and cabinet work, con- fining his business to Detroit and neighboring places, the Lillibridge Company ranking as one of the most reliable lumber concerns of the city. The offices are from 3810 to 3818 Grand River avenue, where he occupies premises one hundred and fifty by eighty feet and his yards cover three acres on Warren avenue and the Pere Marquette Railway.
Mr. Cooper is well known in Masonic circles, for he holds membership in Union Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Peninsular Chapter, R. A. M .; Michigan Sovereign Consistory; and Moslem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is also a member of the Diamond Lodge of Odd Fel- lows, and the nature of his interests and activities are further indicated in the fact that he belongs to the Presbyterian church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. Entirely through his own efforts and ability he has raised himself from a position of a struggling boy to that of a prosperous proprietor of a large and important business and be is regarded as one of the able and responsible representatives of the lumber trade in Detroit. This record he has achieved through constructive efforts, winning a good name as well as success, and his life should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others.
LOUIS SCHNEIDER, for years a well-known ac- countant in Detroit, where he has been living since 1910, is a native of the great Empire state, born in New York city, August 16, 1888, a son of John and Henrietta (Snyder) Schneider.
Mr. Schneider was educated in the public schools of his native city, and later entered the wholesale piano business, at which he remained for a time. He studied auditing and accountancy during his private hours and acquired a considerable degree of proficiency in both branches.
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It was in 1910 that Mr. Schnedier came to Detroit and in that year took a position with the Fisher Body Corporation, and for five years was assistant auditor in the offices of that corporation. He then entered the Detroit Trust Company as senior accountant, which position he still occupies, rendering excellent service in the discharge of his onerous duties and enjoying alike the confidence of the company and of his immediate colleagues.
In 1910, the year of his coming to Detroit, Mr. Schneider was united in marriage to Bertha Emily Franz, and they have become the parents of three children: Marion, Henrietta and Emily. Mr. Schneider takes an active part in the affairs of fraternal organ- izations. He is a member of the Harmonie Club, of Friendship Lodge, No. 417, Free and Accepted Masons; Blue Lodge, No. 54, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and also a member of the Encampment, Ger- mania, No. 45. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have made many sincere friends in Detroit and their efforts are always directed toward the advancement of the wel- fare of the community in which they reside.
CLAIRE L. STRAITH, M. D., D. D. S. The name of Straith is a prominent one in professional circles of Detroit and Dr. Claire L. Straith has become well known as a specialist in the treatment of hare lip and cleft palate and also in oral and plastic surgery. He has been very successful along both lines of work and is enjoying a large and most remunerative pat- ronage. He was born at Harrow, in the province of Ontario, Canada, August 30, 1891, a son of Samuel and Sarah Adelle (Green) Straith, the former a native of Buxton, Canada, while the latter was born in Stock- bridge, Michigan. The father is one of the leading dentists of Detroit, having practiced his profession in this city since 1903. A record of his life appears elsewhere in this work.
When Claire L. Straith was twelve years of age his parents removed to Detroit and he attended the public schools of this city, being a pupil in the old Central high school. Subsequently he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, which con- ferred upon him the B. S. degree, and he obtained his M. D. degree in Rush Medical College, while the degree of D. D. S. was bestowed upon him following his graduation from the Chicago Dental College, his studies in the last named institution being guided by Dr. T. W. Brophy, the distinguished oral surgeon. For a time he was connected with the staff of St. Joseph's Hospital as a general surgeon, devoting his attention largely to oral surgery, and he now has charge of oral surgery at Harper Hospital, along which line he has been very successful. He is also special- izing in the treatment of hare lip and cleft palate and is devoting the greater part of his attention to his large private practice. He is a very capable and progressive young man and his notable work in con- nection with oral surgery has gained him wide recog-
nition. He has ever remained a close and discriminat- ing student and is a member of a number of dental and medical societies, including the First District Dental Association, the Michigan State Dental Asso- ciation, and the National Dental Association, the Wayne County Medical Society and the American Medical Association, thus keeping in touch with the onward march of the profession.
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