The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV, Part 66

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

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 66

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In 1903 Captain Goss was married to Miss Marcia Grace Sherman and they have two children: Claudia May and Joseph Charles. Captain Goss is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Zion Lodge, No. I, A. F. & A. M., and also to the Michigan Sov- ereign Consistory. He is likewise a member of the lodge, canton and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is greatly interested in the subject of good roads for Michigan and actively supports all measures of that character. He is a big, affable man of superior business capacity and of large life experience, which has developed in him a broad humanitarianism.

JOHN H. KENNEDY. For thirty-one years John H. Kennedy has been identified with the plumbing and heating business in Detroit and owing to the superior quality of his work in this connection his reputation has spread beyond the boundaries of the state and he has been awarded important contracts in many large cities in various parts of the country. He is a native

son of Detroit and a member of one of the old fan- ilies of the city. He was born September 29, 1856. The house in which Mr. Kennedy was born stood on the south side of Lafayette, East, (old No. 62), just east of Beaubien street. This was the old homestead of his mother's brother, James Eagan, who was for more than forty years an employe of the Old Detroit Gas Company. He lived to the age of ninety-two. His brother, Patrick, was also connected with the Gas Company for more than forty years. He lived to the age of ninety years. Mr. Kennedy's parents were Patrick and Nora (Eagan) Kennedy, who were na- tives of Limerick, Ireland, and shortly after their marriage emigrated to the United States, arriving in this country in 1854. The father obtained employment at clerical work and later became connected with the Detroit Gas Company, with which he remained for many years. In 1858 he was sent by the company to take charge of their gas plant at Ypsilanti, Michigan, which he managed until 1870, when he resigned and took up other work in that city, residing there until 1880. He then returned with his family to Detroit and again entered the employ of the Gas Company, with which he continued until his demise in 1895. The mother survived him for many years, passing away in this city in 1918, at the age of eighty-six years. She was a daughter of James Eagan, who died in Detroit, at the age of one hundred and six years. He lived for many years at No. 476 (old No.) St. Antoine street. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Kennedy were nine children, of whom five are living, namely: John H., Mrs. Mary Walsh, Martin, Mrs. Josie Sheehan, and Edward, all of whom are residents of Detroit.

In the grammar and high schools of Ypsilanti, Mich- igan, John H. Kennedy acquired his education and on entering the business world he started to learn the trade of a plumber and steamfitter in Detroit. On completing his apprenticeship he worked for a time as a journeyman, visiting several large cities in the state, after which he returned to Detroit, becoming foreman for Alexander MeKay, a well known plumber and steam-heating engineer of this city. He remained with Mr. MeKay until 1890, when he embarked in business on his own account, and has continued in this field, in which he has been very successful. Long experience has made him thoroughly familiar with the trade and he has developed a large business, in- stalling the plumbing and heating systems in many of the large buildings not only of Detroit but also of other cities, among which may be mentioned Chi- eago, Illinois, and St. Louis and De Soto, Missouri. He has done much municipal work, securing the plumb- ing and heating contracts for city halls, county build- ings and other large institutions of a publie char- acter. His work is always done promptly and in a thoroughly satisfactory manner, thus winning for him a large share of publie patronage, and in the control of his extensive interests he displays marked execu- tive ability, enterprise and determination. Mr. Ken-

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nedy is also interested in a number of other business concerns of Detroit.

Mr. Kennedy gives his political allegiance to the republican party and in religious faith is a Roman Catholic. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus, in which he has taken the fourth de- gree, and his publie spirit finds expression in his mem- bership in the Detroit Board of Commerce. He has never married, but has done all in his power to promote the welfare and happiness of his parents and also of his brothers and sisters. He gives freely of his time and means to charitable causes and is actuated by high and honorable purposes in all relations of life. In his business affairs he has displayed keen discernment and unfaltering enterprise and none can grudge him his present success, so worthily has it been won, so well used.

CHARLES EDWIN FREESE. Many important commercial enterprises have felt the stimulus of the progressive spirit, business discernment and well de- fined plans of Charles Edwin Freese, who wields a wide influence in business circles of Detroit. He possesses initiative, combined with marked executive ability, and to him opportunity has spelled success. Moreover, he is numbered among the self-made men who owe their advancement and prosperity entirely to their own efforts, for he started out in life as a newsboy and by perseverance and diligence has gained the place which he now occupies as a leading repre- sentative of insurance interests in Detroit.

A native son of Michigan, Mr. Freese was born October 28, 1881, and comes of honorable and distin- guished ancestry, members of the Freese, Antisdel and Hobart families, of which he is a representative, hav- ing served as soldiers in the Revolutionary war, and he has the distinction of belonging to one . of the oldest families in America. His paternal grandfather, E. W. Freese, went to California in 1849, crossing the Isthmus in a boat which he had dug out of a log, and making his way to San Francisco. When the Panama canal was being projected under the Roose- velt administration Mr. Freese figured out the amount of excavation necessary for the canal, sending in his estimate to Washington, which proved so close and accurate that the engineers connected with the project wrote him, expressing their surprise at his ability to form so close an estimate from memory.

Charles Edwin Freese has spent practically his entire life in Detroit, for he has here resided from the age of one and a half years, having been brought to the city by his mother, Mrs. Mary (Hobart) Freese. His father died two months before his birth. He attended the grammar schools of Detroit and from an early age has been obliged to depend upon his own efforts for a livelihood, his first work being as a newsboy, and for nine years he followed that occu- pation. When seventeen years of age he became identified with the insurance business as a broker, con-

tinuing to act in that capacity until the 1st of Jan- uary, 1903, when he became special agent in Michigan for the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. At the end of six months, however, he severed that connection and engaged in an independ- ent business venture, establishing his offices in the Chamber of Commerce building in Detroit, and on the completion of the Dime Bank building he there leased a fine suite of offices and has since been at that loca- tion. He conducts his interests under the name of the Freese Insurance Agency but is the sole owner of the business, and he deals in all kinds of insurance, having become a recognized expert in this field, owing to his long connection therewith and his close study of everything pertaining thereto. His reputation as an authority on all lines of insurance has gained him widespread recognition and he draws his patron- age not only from Detroit but from large corporations in all parts of the United States, being regarded as a most astute business man, whose reliability and in- tegrity are unassailable. He is now writing a million dollars worth of insurance annually and is one of the successful men in this field of activity in the United States. His genius for organization and successful management has also led him into other connections and he is serving as a director of various corporations. He possesses the foresight, self-reliance and business sagacity necessary to carry on large enterprises and his connection with any undertaking insures a pros- perous outcome of the same.

Mr. Freese was united in marriage to Miss Nathalie Irma Tuthill and they have become the parents of three children: Charles Edwin, Jr., born August 12, 1911; Marjorie Elaine, born March 13, 1914; and Lawrence A., born June 16, 1920. He is a promi- nent Mason, belonging to City of the Straits Lodge, No. 452, F. & A. M., and to Michigan Sovereign Con- sistory, and he is also identified with the Sons of the American Revolution, the Fellowcraft Club, the Red Run Golf Club, the Detroit Athletic Club and the Vortex Club and was vice president for two years. He is chairman of the Insurance Committee of the Detroit Credit Men's Association. He is a man of pleasing personality, with broad mental vision, and in his business career he has been a persistent, reso- lute, energetic worker, keeping his hand steadily upon the helm of his business and manifesting at all times strong executive power. As the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well and he has made his life count as a forceful factor in ad- vancing the interests of his city along many lines. He resides at No. 64 Woodward avenue.

ELIAS H. SELLERS. Aside from his status as one of the venerable and honored members of the Detroit bar, Elias H. Sellers has the further distinction of being a native son of Michigan and a representa- tive of one of the sterling pioneer families of this state. He was born in Livingston county, Michigan,

CHARLES E. FREESE

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on the 5th of May, 1848, and is a son of John and Almira (Filkins) Sellers. In his ancestral lines are represented two families that were founded in Amer- ica in the early colonial period of our national history, and one of his ancestors in direct line was a patriot soldier in the War of the Revolution. He is in the sixth generation of descent from the founder of the Sellers family in America, the original progenitor having come from Germany and the orthography of the family name having originally been Soeller. From this ancestor the line of descent to the subject of this review is traced through Philip, Philip (II), William, and John, the last named having been the father of him whose name initiates this review. The maternal ancestors of Mr. Sellers came to America in 1687, and Colonel Dusenberry, a great-uncle of the mother of Mr. Sellers, served with distinction as an officer of the Continental Line in the War of the Revolution, in which he was colonel of a regiment that was a part of the command of General Wash- ington. The Dusenberry family is of Holland Dutch origin. The father of Mr. Sellers was born in the state of Pennsylvania and as a Michigan pioneer he gave his attention to the vocation of mechanics and farming, during the major part of his active career, both he and his wife having been residents of Liv- ingston county from 1840 until 1868, when the family removed to Fenton, Genesee county, where Mr. and Mrs. Sellers resided to the time of their death.

After completing the curriculum of the common schools, Elias H. Sellers entered the literary or aca- demic department of the University of Michigan, and after completing his freshman year he entered Cornell University and was graduated as a member of the class of 1878, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Thereafter he completed a course in the law depart- ment of the university, and in 1880 he was admitted to the bar of his native state. Mr. Sellers has had a long and honorable career as one of the representative members of the Detroit bar, and in his personality and his admirable achievement has lent dignity to the profession of his choice. He has long controlled a large and important general practice, has proved a resource- ful trial lawyer and is especially well known as a conservative and safe counsellor of broad and exact knowledge of the science of jurisprudence. By tem- perament and appreciative application Mr. Sellers has been a close student, along both academic and profes- sional lines, and his fine intellectuality involves his familiarity with Latin and Greek, as well as thorough command of French, German and Spanish. A stalwart in the ranks of the republican party, he has songht no public office for himself but has been a vigorous cam- paign speaker and has otherwise been influential in forwarding the cause of his party. As a young man he served as supervisor of his native township, and in 1918 he was a republican candidate for the office of judge of the circuit court at Detroit.

On the 28th of April, 1898, Mr. Sellers wedded Miss Susan M. Zanitz, of Detroit. They have no children. In the Masonic fraternity the ancient-craft affiliation of Mr. Sellers is with Ashlar Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons, Detroit, and at Fenton, Genesee county, where he was formerly engaged in practice, he joined the chapter of Royal Arch Masons and the commandery of Knights Templars. He is affiliated also with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the latter of which he has been especially active and in- finential, as is evident when it is stated that he served as grand master of the grand lodge of the order in Michigan in 1898-99. Mr. Sellers is still actively engaged in the work of his profession and maintains his office at 702 Old Whitney building.

JOHN C. WITHERSPOON. Well known as one of Detroit's popular citizens and representative business men is John C. Witherspoon, the secretary of the firm of Berry Brothers and also connected with many other substantial business enterprises in the city which have contributed in large measure to Detroit's growth and upbuilding, giving the municipality fourth place among the leading metropolitan centers of the country. Mr. Witherspoon was born in Detroit, December 25, 1872, and is a son of John and Emma (Lodge) Wither- spoon, both representatives of prominent old families of this section of the country. The father was born in Canada and the mother in Cincinnati, Ohio, but both came to Detroit in early life and were here reared and married. The father was for some time in the government service as deputy collector of eus- toms, holding the office for twenty-five years-a fact indicative of the signal capability and faithfulness which he displayed in the discharge of his duties. At the outbreak of the Civil war he was commissioned captain of a Michigan company of infantry and fought valiantly throughout the entire period of hostilities between the north and the south. He passed away in Nebraska. His widow still makes her home in Detroit.

John C. Witherspoon began his education in the city schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, after which he became an employe of the Globe Tobacco Company and here remained for a number of years. Later he was connected with the estate of Joseph H. Berry and for an extended period has been identified with the Berry Brothers Company, of which he is now the secretary. His course has been characterized by continnous progress as the re- sult of developing skill and power in the business world. Aside from his official connection with the Berry Brothers Company he is identified with other important business concerns of the city, being the secretary and treasurer of the Dwight Lumber Com- pany, which is owner of a large lumber-yard and planing mill. He is the treasurer of the Welded Steel

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Barrel Corporation and is financially interested in other business concerns of importance.

On the 16th of August, 1897, Mr. Witherspoon was married to Miss Arminthia Chesley of Detroit, and they have three children: John Homer, who was born in Detroit in 1903 and is now a law student in the University of Michigan; Edwin L., who was born in 1906; and Bruce, born in 1909. The younger sons are pupils in the public schools of Detroit.

Mr. Witherspoon gives his political allegiance to the republican party but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. Fraternally he is a Mason, having membership in the lodge and chapter, and is recognized as a most faithful follower of the teachings and high purposes of the craft. A lifelong resident of this city, he has a wide acquaintance here and that his course has ever been a commendable one is indicated in the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boy- hood to the present time. His residence is at No. 6759 Vinewood.

DAVID COWAN BAYNE. Among the alert, ener- getic and progressive young business men of Detroit who have already attained a gratifying measure of prosperity is numbered David C. Bayne, secretary of the Saxon Motor Car Company. He is quick to recognize and utilize an opportunity and equally ready to meet any emergency and his business career has been one of continuous advancement. He was born in Kincardine, in the province of Ontario, Can- ada, February 8, 1891, a son of Peter and Margaret (Cowan) Bayne, who are also natives of that country, where they continued to reside until 1892. In that year they came to Detroit, where they have since made their home. The father successfully followed the blacksmith's trade and also engaged in the livery business. He is now living retired in this city and the mother also survives. In their family were eight children: E. M., William M., Mrs. Elmer S. Moon and Mrs. A. H. Kling, all of whom are residents of Detroit; J. M., whose home is in Montclair, New Jer- sey; David C., of this review; and E. P. and J. E., who are also residents of Detroit.

In the acquirement of an education David C. Bayne attended the grammar schools and the Central high school of Detroit, from which he was graduated in 1909, and his initial business experience was obtained as a clerk in the employ of the Packard Motor Car Company. He served that corporation for a short time and then resigned to accept a similar position with Wright, Kay & Company, leading jewelers of this city, with whom he continued until the 1st of September, 1910, when he entered the service of the Chalmers Motor Car Company. He remained with that firm until 1917, working in various departments of their plant, and then secured employment with the Saxon Motor Car Company, with which he has since been identified, first acting as assistant to Mr.

Pfeffer, who later became comptroller for

the creditors of the company after it went into the hands of a receiver. In 1919 the company was reorganized with Mr. Pfeffer as the president, while Harry L. Bill was made vice president and general manager and Mr. Bayne became secretary, which office he is now capably filling, his thorough knowledge of the business, enterprise and close application being im- portant elements in the upbuilding of the enterprise, which is rapidly taking its place with the leading manufacturing interests of this character in the city. Mr. Bayne is also connected with other lines of activ- ity, being a director of the Consumers Ice & Creamery Company of this city.

On the 15th of January, 1916, Mr. Bayne was united in marriage to Miss Myrtle Murray, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Murray, the former of whom was prominently identified with business interests of De- troit but is now living retired. To this union has been born a son, David C., Jr., whose birth occurred January 15, 1918. Mr. Bayne is a member of the Oakland Hills Country Club and the Detroit Automo- bile Club and fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Oriental Lodge, F. & A. M. He is thoroughly reliable in all business affairs and his close application and untiring efforts have carried him into important commercial relations. He is accounted one of the enterprising and progressive men of his city and is highly esteemed by all who know him. Mr. Bayne resides at No. 908 Webb avenue.

THOMAS HENRY WALKER was one of the promi- nent figures in early automobile circles and today is equally well known in connection with the sales department of the automobile industry. His connec- tien antedates that of most dealers in Detroit. Mr. Walker is the vice president and general manager of the Knight Motors, Incorporated, and has recently ac- quired the selling rights for the new Handley-Knight four-cylinder car. In a word he is developing a busi- ness of extensive proportions and his progressive spirit never stops short of the successful accomplish- ment of anything which he undertakes. 'There is much that is interesting in his life history, which had its beginning in Birmingham, England, September 18, 1880, his parents being William Theodore and Har- riett Blount (Wayne) Walker, who were also natives of that country, whence they came to Detroit in 1888. The father was for a time superintendent of the Springwells Brick Company and afterward took over the business and organized the Walker-Frank Brick Company, manufacturers of bricks. He became the president of this concern and so continued to the year of his death-1917. His widow is still a resi- dent of Detroit. In their family were four children: William Wayne, who is now president of the Walker- Frank Brick Company; Mrs. R. H. Macauley, who is interested in the Macauley book and stationery store of Detroit; Mrs. Arnold Robinson, whose hus-

DAVID C. BAYNE

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band is manager of the music department of the J. L. Hudson Company; and Thomas H., of this review.

The last named attended the public schools of De- troit and made his initial step in the business world during vacation, in the employ of William H. Thomp- son, the grocer, at Fifth and Grand River. After leaving school he entered the employ of Edward J. Burrows, who conducted a repair business, and here young Walker secured his first mechanical experience, doing repair work on bicycles and pneumatic door- bells. Both were comparative novelties at that time. Later he was employed by Huber & Metzger at No. 13 Grand River avenue as bicycle instructor at their bi- cycle riding academy over the salesroom. He was sub- sequently in the employ of William E. Metzger at 252 Woodward and later when the business was located in the old Biddle House. Following the introduction of motorcycles he was the first in Detroit to use the new invention and he afterward assisted in the selling of the first Oldsmobile, thus becoming a real pioneer in connection with the automobile industry of the city. He was one of the first men known in automobile racing circles, driving the Oldsmobile in one of the first races at the old Grosse Pointe track. For a time he withdrew from connection with the automobile industry and secured a position as salesman with the Regina Company of Rahway, New Jersey, in which connection he covered seventeen states. He returned to the automobile business in 1915, being in the service of the King-Dort Sales Company. He next became vice president and manager with the George Franklin Company at 700 Woodward avenue, dealers in auto- mobiles, and continued in that connection until 1917, when he disposed of his interest in the business and became identified with Guy O. Simons as retail man- ager of his business. Mr. Walker remained there until March, 1920, when he took over the Knight agency and is now handling the Knight sleeve valve motor cars. The business was incorporated in February, 1920, under the name of the Knight Motors, with Mr. Walker as the vice president and general manager. This is a close corporation. The business was suc- cessfully established and recently the company has entered on a new stage of expansion with the signing of contracts acquiring the selling rights for the new Handley-Knight four-cylinder car, produced by the Handley-Knight Motor Company at Kalamazoo. Mr. Walker has the agency for this car in thirty-five counties in Michigan, also the Detroit dealership of the famous Willys-Knight line of automobiles, adding the business to that of the sale of R. & V. Knight six and four. Mr. Walker has already organized the district for handling the new car and the business is entering upon an era of substantial growth. Mr. Walker was one of the original stockholders of the Michigan Acceptance Corporation and he is promi- nently known in trade circles, belonging to the Na- tional Automobile Dealers Association and the Detroit Automobile Dealers Association.

On the 22d of May, 1902, Mr. Walker was mar- ried to Miss Blanche R. Mann, daughter of Austin F. Mann, a prominent artist of Mount Clemens, Michigan. They have one child, Phyllis R., born in Detroit in 1903. She is a graduate of the Northern high school of this city and is now attending the Liggett School for Girls. She is an ardent motor enthusiast and an expert driver, having driven a motor car for six years. She is also fond of outdoor sports and ath- letics and is a skilled swimmer.

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The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV, Part 66

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

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