USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 57
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In April, 1909, Mr. Canton was united in marriage to Jane McCrae Nierman of Kansas City, Missouri, and they have become the parents of a son, William E., Jr., born June 19, 1913, in Detroit. In his political views Mr. Canton is a republican and he is an at- tendant of the Christian Science church. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to City of the Straits Lodge, F. & A. M., and the nature of his recreation is indicated by his membership in the Oakland Hills Country Club and the Detroit Athletic Club. In his business career Mr. Canton has been a persistent, resolute and energetic worker, keeping his hand steadily upon the helm of his affairs and mani- festing at all times strong executive power. He ranks with the foremost merchants of Detroit and his pro- gressiveness has been a potent factor in promoting the industrial development of the city, his influence being ever on the side of advancement and improvement.
A. A. CARSON, manager of the Curtis Detroit Company and thus identified with one of the prominent lumber companies of the country, was born near Ottawa, Ontario, in 1868. His family is a branch of the same family as Carson, the leader of the Ulster
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population in Ireland. His parents were John and Nancy Margaret (Wood) Carson. The father was born on the Emerald isle but came to America at the age of twenty-one years and continued his residence on this side of the Atlantic, making his home in Ottawa, Michigan, for a number of years.
A. A. Carson completed his education in the high school of his native town and later secured a position in connection with railroading, serving as baggage- man for six months. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the lumber business and was in the employ of wholesale and retail lumber concerns for a period of six years. Then on account of his health he spent a year in Denver, Colorado. Later he returned to the lumber business, which he followed in upper Michigan and in Minnesota, and in February, 1898, he went to work for G. M. Curtis as a sash and door salesman and opened up the state of Michigan to the Curtis trade. In June, 1910, he established the house in Detroit and is the secretary, manager and one of the directors of the Curtis De- troit Company. They conduct some manufacturing in Detroit, but this is mainly a distributing office for the lower peninsula of Michigan. The other officers of the Detroit concern are: G. M. Curtis, president; G. L. Curtis, vice president; and E. J. Curtis, treas- urer. The Curtis Company had its inception in 1866 and has since engaged in woodwork and furniture manufacturing. Today the company is represented by branches in Clinton, Iowa; Wausau, Wisconsin; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sioux City, Iowa; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Lincoln, Nebraska; Topeka, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; and Day- ton, Ohio, in addition to the Detroit plant. In pro- moting the success of the Detroit establishment Mr. Carson has shown excellent powers of organization, combined with executive ability, and his intelligently directed energy has brought most gratifying results.
In April, 1899, Mr. Carson was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Dudley of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they have become parents of two sons and a daughter: Russell A., Charles Dudley and Elizabeth. The elder son is a lieutenant-colonel in the R. O. T. Cadets. He took special training in radio operating and then took the short course in military training and was made a captain. He is now a lieutenant-colonel in the First Regiment. He also took the intensive training course at Camp Custer and is now a member of B Cavalry of Detroit.
Mr. Carson belongs to the Masonic order, being connected with Dorie Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Grand Rapids; Columbian Chapter, R. A. M., of Grand Rapids; Detroit Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the council at Grand Rapids and in elub circles he is well known, having connection with the Detroit Ath- letic Club, the Canopus Club, the Detroit Curling Club and the Board of Commerce. His political views prompt his active and continued support of the repub-
lican party, while his religious faith has made him a communicant of the Episcopal church. Practically his entire life has been spent in Michigan and since 1898 he has been a representative of the Curtis Com- pany and active in the commercial circles of Detroit since June, 1910. He is thoroughly conversant with every branch of the trade handled by this house and the success of the Detroit establishment is attribut- able in no small measure to his efforts.
JOHN A. KRONK, member of the common council of Detroit, and active in business affairs as head of Kronk's Four Percent Savings Bank, and Real Estate Insurance & Overseas Steamship Ticket Agency, was born April 19, 1882, in the city which is yet his home, his parents being Martin and Hedwig (Czajka) Kronk, both of whom were of European birth. They came to America about 1880, settling in Detroit, where the father engaged in the real estate and other lines of business, here continuing to reside until called to his final rest on the 1st of October, 1896. His widow survived for almost fourteen years, her death oc- curring May 12, 1910. The family numbered six children: Andrew; Jacob A .; Mrs. Mary Swantek; Mrs. Agnes Sokolowski; Mrs. Aun Oleszkowicz; and John A., all living in Detroit.
The last named, the youngest of the family, at- tended the St. Kasmir and St. Francis parochial schools of the Catholic church, and afterwards became a student in the Polish seminary in which he pur- sued a classical course, being graduated in 1898. He then entered the University of Detroit, which he left to engage in business, turning his attention to real estate. In the handling of property he has shown won- derful foresight and keen sagacity. He acquired property out on Michigan avenue near the junction, which in the past few years has rapidly increased in valne and which has made him a nice profit. As the years passed he extended the scope of his business to include banking, foreign exchange and the sale of steamship tickets and likewise established an in- surance department. All of these branches of his business are well organized and are proving profit- able. In connection with his brother, Andrew Kronk, he is also extensively engaged in the wholesale and retail coal trade, under the firm style of Andrew Kronk & Company. His other brother, Jacob A. Kronk, is a graduate of Detroit College of Law, was admitted to the bar in 1902, and is at present man- ager of the Wayne County & Home Savings Bank, Junction avenue branch.
On the 1st of May, 1907, Mr. Kronk was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Rosalik of Detroit, a daughter of James and Sophia Rosalik. They have become parents of six children: Anthony, born in Detroit in 1908; Alphonse, horn in 1909; Adam, born in 1911; Mary, born in 1913; Leonard, born in 1915; and Celia, horn in 1917.
In recent years Mr. Kronk has become quite prom-
JOHN A. KRONK
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inent in local political circles. At the urgent request of his neighbors and friends he accepted the nomina- tion for alderman from the sixteenth ward, and was elected by a large majority. So excellent was the service which he rendered in this connection that he has been reelected for a second term and also for the third time to the small council, under the new charter of the city of Detroit, and he has also been chosen chairman of the board of supervisors, acting in that capacity in 1920 and in 1921. Many important measures and city laws have been promoted and passed through the efforts of Mr. Kronk, who is a recognized leader among those who are in control of public affairs. Moreover, his patriotie devotion to his country was manifested during the World war when he served as a member of the draft board, and did active work in promoting the sale of Liberty and Victory Bonds and thrift stamps. In fact he worked along many lines to uphold American interests and promote the wel- fare of the American Expeditionary Forces. Mr. Kronk and his family are communicants of St. Hed- wig's Roman Catholic church. He is a third degree member of the Knights of Columbus and belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Loyal Order of Moose. He is likewise a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce, and is much inter- ested in all that pertains to the city's advancement and welfare, while his office enables him to do effective work for publie benefit. He resides at 3531 Junction avenue.
ALEXANDER WILLIAM BEAL, president of the Beal Realty Company, was born in Detroit, February 3, 1864, and is a son of William and Elizabeth Mary (Stockdale) Beal. The father, who was born in Eng- land, came to Detroit in 1832, when this city was but a hamlet. He was later the owner of vessels plying on the Great Lakes and he also engaged in the ice business. As the years passed and his business pros- pered he acquired much valuable property in Detroit and vicinity and his activities were also an element in the commercial upbuilding of this section of the state. For more than three-fourths of a century he retained his residence in Detroit, here passing away in 1909, while his wife survived until 1911. In their family were four children: Frank E., who resides in Atlanta, Georgia; Mrs. John A. Stevenson of Duluth, Minnesota; Mrs. H. B. Earhart of Ann Arbor, Mich- igan; and Alexander W.
The last named completed his public school educa- tion by a high school course in Detroit and then en- tered the Detroit Business University, while later he attended the Detroit College of Law. When his text- books were put aside he became connected with the wholesale coal business in Detroit, handling coal for vessels on the lakes. For a quarter of a century he was a big factor in supplying coal to the shipping trade on the lakes. He was for a time in the employ of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company and
afterward became connected as bookkeeper with the firm of Smith & Campbell, wholesale coal dealers, in 1882. Five years later, when the firm became Stanley B. Smith & Company, he was admitted to a partner- ship and remained an active factor in the conduct and control of the business until the partnership was dis- solved on the 4th of February, 1913, Mr. Beal selling his interest. He then entered the real estate field and is president of the Beal Realty Company, handling his own property exclusively. He has made extensive and judicious investments and has won a most grati- fying measure of success in handling the realty of which he has been the owner.
On October 22, 1913, Mr. Beal was united in mar- riage to Miss Estella MeCrum and they are prominent in the social circles of the city. Mr. Beal is a Mason, belonging to Palestine Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Palestine Chapter and Detroit Commandery, K. T. He is like- wise a member of the Detroit Athletic Club, the De- troit Golf Club, the Ingleside Country Club and the Detroit Boat Club-associations which indicate much of the nature of his recreation and interests outside of business. In polities he is a republican and he belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce, which is indicative of his interest in community welfare. Dur- ing the World war Mrs. Beal was very active in the Woman's National League, while Mr. Beal was a member of the committee on the sales of Liberty Bonds and also a member of the Detroit British. Committee on Allied Recruiting. He devoted his time to government service without pay and was treasurer and captain of different teams, having in charge the promotion of the bond drives and other war work. In this age, when there is a sharply defined line between loyalty and disloyalty, there has never been a question as to where Alexander W. Beal stands nor as to the real and ap- preciable value of his service.
ELIAS FRANK is secretary and treasurer of the Chicago Hosiery Company of Detroit, in which con- nection he is conducting the largest business of the kind in America. Since starting out on his own account Mr. Frank has made steady progress and he may truly be called a self-made man, his success being attributable entirely to his own labors, capability and the wise use of the opportunities that have come to him. He was born in Germany, December 29, 1857, and acquired his early education in his native country. When a young man of twenty-two years he arrived in the new world, and on the 15th of January, 1880, he reached Detroit, where he has since resided. Through the intervening period of forty-one years he has seen the small city grow into a great metropolis, and has ever rejoiced in the progress that has been made.
After coming to the new world Mr. Frank, with two cousins, owned two country stores, and to his connection with the business was largely attributable the organization of two other stores within a few years, so that the company owned and controlled four
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different stores, Mr. Frank having an interest in all of them. He is still financially connected with one of these, which is situated in Holly, Michigan. At the present, however, he gives his entire time and atten- tion to the interests of the Chicago Hosiery Company, which was established in Chicago. He became one of the large stockholders in the business in 1897, and the plant was removed from Chicago to Detroit. In 1912 he bought the interest of his cousin and has conducted the business with four other partners since that time. Through his able guidance, his careful management and undaunted enterprise he has devel- oped the biggest concern of the kind in America, the mills manufacturing socks to take the place of felt boots for lumbermen, farmers, teamsters, etc. The trade has now reached mammoth proportions, and the concern-surpassing all others of the kind in America -is the measure of Mr. Frank's business ability and progressiveness.
On January 22, 1884, Mr. Frank was married in Detroit, but his wife died in 1910, leaving a son, Emanuel George, born December 23, 1884, who is now associated with the Campbell Ewald Company. He is a graduate of the Michigan University of the class of 1908, at which time the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred upon him.
Mr. Frank is a member of Temple Beth El but spends most of his time outside of business at his home, for he is a man of very domestic tastes. All who know him speak of him in terms of high regard and recognize in him a progressive citizen who is keenly interested in the welfare and upbuilding of Detroit to the point of giving active cooperation to all measures and movements for the general good.
GEORGE STROH, JR., is recognized as a dynamic force among the younger generation of the business men of Detroit. He is the secretary-treasurer of the American Tap Bush Company and is identified with a number of other important business interests of the city. He was born June 3, 1892, and his parents were George and Lillie Adele (Benoit) Stroh, and the father, who was a very prominent manufacturer and widely known business man of Detroit, passed away May 12, 1916.
The son obtained a public school education and from 1914 until 1916 was connected with the Ecorse Salt Company, with which he is now identified in an official capacity. In 1916 he succeeded to his father's interests upon the death of the latter and has shown ready adaptability and unfaltering enterprise in car- rying forward the work which he thus took up. In addition to his connection with the American Tap Bush Company he is the vice president of the Willing Overall Company, secretary-treasurer of the Ecorse Salt Company and a director of the Schaefer Roller Bearing Company of Chicago. He displays great thor- oughness in everything that he undertakes and ac- quaints himself with every phase of the business, so
that he is able to pass sound judgment upon any question that may arise in connection with the man- agement of the enterprises in which he is a controlling factor.
Mr. Stroh belongs to the Board of Commerce and also has membership with the Michigan Manufacturers Association, while his appreciation of the social ameni- ties of life is indicated in his connection with the Detroit Athletic Club and with the Detroit Auto- mobile Club.
GEORGE B. WALBRIDGE is the vice president and general manager of Walbridge, Aldinger Company, con- tractors and engineers, and in this connection he has built some of the largest and most prominent struc- tures of the city, which stand today as monuments to his skill and ability. He dates his residence in Detroit from 1914 and had both thorough training and broad practical experience when he came to this city to enter upon the line of work which has claimed his attention throughout the intervening period. He is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Wellsboro, July 6, 1874, his parents being Robert and Mary (Cop- steek) Walbridge, who were natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. Following their marriage they always resided in the Keystone state, the father there engaging in the lumber business. During the Civil war he served as a private in a Pennsylvania regiment, and thus aided in the defense of the Union. Both he and his wife have passed away, as has one of their three children. The surviving sons are: George B., and Alfred C., the latter a resident of Stevensville, Montana.
In his boyhood days George B. Walbridge attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and the Lafayette College at Easton, Pennsylvania, subsequent to which time he entered Cornell University, from which he was graduated in 1900, upon the completion of a course in civil engineering. He then became asso- ciated with the firm of D. Burnham & Company, archi- tects of Chicago, and no better training could have come to him than he received through his association with that firm, for Mr. Burnham was the acknowledged leader in the profession in the entire United States. For six years he had the benefit of work with Mr. Burnham, and then became general superintendent of the Hedden Construction Company of New York city. Later he resigned that position to become vice presi- dent of the George F. Fuller Company of New York city, one of the largest contracting companies in the country, with which he was associated until 1914, when he came to Detroit and organized the Walbridge, Aldinger Company, which has since been a big factor in the building operations and improvement of Detroit. The company can point with just pride to many mag- nificent structures of the city which have risen through their ability as engineers and building contractors. They were the builders of the Penobscot building, then the tallest in Detroit, being twenty-three stories in
GEORGE STROH, JR.
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height, also of the Wayne County and Home Savings Bank buildings, the Book building on Washington boulevard, which is one of the finest office buildings in the United States, the Peoples State Bank building, the National Bank of Commerce, the Michigan Central Station, Lincoln Motor plant, and many others which are features of architectural adornment in Detroit. After broad college training Mr. Walbridge has worked his way upward from the position of draughtsmau to a commanding place in building circles and the middle west and his activities have gained him a reputation which has made him known over a wide territory.
On the 3d of January, 1903, Mr. Walbridge was united in marriage to Miss Helen M. McCaulay of Chicago, a daughter of Charles MeCaulay, now of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. They are parents of four children: Clare, who was born in Chicago in 1906; George, born in Houston, Texas, in 1911; Joseph H., born in Detroit in 1916; and Jane, born in Detroit in 1920.
Mr. Walbridge gives his political endorsement to the republican party, and fraternally he is a Mason who has taken the degrees of both York and Scot- tish Rites. He belongs to the Detroit Club, University Club and Red Run Golf Club and manifests his inter- est in the welfare and progress of the city as a mem- ber of the Detroit Board of Commerce. He was private in the Light Artillery in the Spanish-American war, serving in Porto Rico, and in the World war received the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Engineers Corps. His capability and resourcefulness make him a valued factor in any organization with which he becomes con- nected, while in his chosen profession he has risen to eminence through the development of his native and acquired powers.
EDWARD A. STRICKER, general manager of the Roger J. Sullivan Furniture Company, was born in Wayne county, Michigan, in 1870, his parents being Christian F. and Dorothy (Gartner) Stricker. His father was a retired farmer. His mother was a sister of Judge Gartner and was born in Detroit, near where the county building now stands.
Edward A. Stricker passed through the high school and then entered the Michigan Agricultural College, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890. He afterward pursued a law course in the University of Michigan and won the LL. B. degree upon graduation iu 1892 and the same year was ad- mitted to the bar. He then located in Detroit for the practice of his profession and for a time was in the office of Frederick A. Baker, while later he be- came a junior partner of George Gartner. After three years, however, he withdrew and practiced alone. He later relinquished his law business to devote his time entirely to the management of the Roger J. Sullivan Company, furniture dealers.
Mr. Stricker wedded Fannie Sullivan, a sister of Roger J. Sullivan. The business placed in his hands
occupies his time and attention to such a degree that he is neither a fraternity nor a club man, but he has long taken a very personal interest in military affairs and in the political situation of the country. He started his military training when a young man in the Agricultural College and when the Spanish-American war broke out he enlisted in the Thirty-second Mich- igan Regiment and served with that command duriug the summer of 1898 as sergeant of his company. Suh- sequently he joined the National Guard and was com- missioned captain and later succeeded to the command of his battalion. He is greatly interested in military organizations and keeps in close touch with all mili- tary affairs and with legislation relative thereto. In politics he is a democrat, but his legal training and business experience have raised him above partisan politics. He reveres the democratic principles of a democratic America but will not blindly follow po- litical devices to attain office. At one time he was a candidate for the state legislature on the democratic ticket and that year the vote was so close as to bring a recount, which, however, he did not ask for. On the recount the democratic candidate was defeated by the small majority of about four hundred. Mr. Stricker is not an office seeker-in fact has no time to devote actively to political affairs, but he always desires to see able, public-spirited men in all offices throughout the country that the best interests of America may be conserved and promoted.
HERBERT L. BAKER, numbered among the able and successful attorneys of Detroit for more than a half century, died on the 9th of June, 1921, at the ripe old age of seventy-five years. His birth occurred in Pennsylvania on the 14th of March, 1846, his par- ents being Mr. and Mrs. John Baker, who reared a family of six children. By occupation the father was a farmer, devoting his life to general agricultural pur- suits in the Keystone state and winning prosperity in his undertakings.
In the acquirement of his education Herbert L. Baker attended the public and high schools and later prepared for a professional career as a law student in Lafayette College of Easton, Pennsylvania, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1868. He was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1871 and opened an office in Detroit the same year, continuing an active and prominent representative of the legal profession in this city to the time of his demise, or for a period covering more than a half century. For a number of years he practiced as a member of the firm of Baker, Montrose & Flowers, while subsequently he became the senior partner in the firm of Baker & Campau, his associate being Daniel Campau. As a lawyer he was sound, clear-minded and well trained. An excellent presence, an earnest manner, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability accurately to apply its principles, made him an effective and successful advocate. He held
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membership in the Detroit Bar Association, the Wayne County Bar Association, the Michigan State Bar Asso- ciation and the American Bar Association.
Mr. Baker was twice married, his first wife being Mrs. Jennie Simrell. On the 21st of April, 1917, he wedded Mrs. Louise Turner, a daughter of Robert E. Greenanger of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a popular member of the Detroit Boat Club and also belonged to the Old Detroit Club and the Prismatic Club. llis professional and social connections had brought him an extensive and favorable acquaintance during the long years of his residence in this city, so that his demise was the occasion of deep and widespread regret and his memory will long be cherished. Mrs. Baker resides at No. 62 West Forest avenue.
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