USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 8
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Mr. Humphrey entered the United States army on the 6th of July, 1917, enlisting as a private. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in January, 1918, was promoted to the rank of captain September 6, 1918, and honorably discharged January 10, 1919.
Mr. Humphrey belongs to the Congregational church and is connected with varions fraternal and club or- ganizations. He belongs to Palestine Lodge, F. & A. M., has attained high rank in Masonic circles and is a Mystic Shriner of Moslem Temple. He belongs also to the Detroit Board of Commerce, the American Legion, and to the Detroit Real Estate Board and his name is on the rolls of membership of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Univer- sity of Michigan Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Oakland Hills Country Club and the Detroit Athletic Club. His social qualities make for personal pop- ularity and the circle of his friends is constantly increasing. Again in this connection he has made good use of his spare time. He strongly endorses the phil- Vol. IV-5
osophy of Herbert Kaufman, editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune, who said: "Success does not depend upon a map but upon a time-table," and by a schedule of his own planning Mr. Humphrey has guided his course, making each honr count, while each day has marked off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more.
HARRY JOSEPH FOX, president of the Central Savings Bank of Detroit and the Peoples National Bank of Hamtramck, throughout his active business career, dating from 1888, has been identified with the banking business, and his long experience and thorough study have well qualified him for the onerous and re- sponsible duties that devolve upon him in his present connection. He is a prominent figure in the financial circles of Detroit, where he was born September 21, 1871, the son of Martin and Matilda (Van de Zandt) Fox. His education was received in the public schools of Detroit.
In the year 1888, when at the age of seventeen years, he made his initial step in the business world by be- coming bookkeeper in the Peninsular Savings Bank. Two years later, or in 1890, he was made assistant cashier of the Home Savings Bank and on the 1st of January, 1900, was called to the cashiership of the Central Savings Bank. He held this position, together with the vice presidency, until January, 1920, when he became president. In April, 1920, he was elected president of the Peoples National Bank of Hamtramck. Mr. Fox has always made a close study of banking and financial problems and his activities have been an ele- ment in the continued growth of the institutions with which he is now associated.
On the 29th of January, 1896, Mr. Fox was married to Miss Agnes Barlum and they have one daughter: Thelma. The family adheres to the Roman Catholic faith. Mr. Fox's interest in his city and its welfare is manifested through his support of the Detroit Board of Commerce and the efforts put forth by that organi- zation to advance the municipal welfare and uphold civic standards. He turns to athletics for recreation and is a member of the Detroit Club, the Detroit Ath- letie Club and the Bankers' Club.
SEYMOUR S. RUTHERFORD is the head of the Rutherford & Gillespie Lumber Company, one of the more recently organized business enterprises of De- troit, but its comparative youth seems to be no bar to its success, for the business has steadily grown, and the patronage is now most gratifying. Mr. Ruth- erford came to Michigan from the east. He was born in Waddington, New York, November 17, 1885, a son of John S. and Margaret N. (Corrigan) Ruth- erford, and pursued his early education there, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, while still later he attended Dartmouth College of New Hampshire, from which he was graduated with the class of 1908, the degree of Bachelor of Science being
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at that time conferred upon him. He then sought the business opportunities of the far west, making his way to Spokane, Washington, where for three and a half years he was engaged in the lumber trade. Returning to the east he continued in the same line in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, until 1912.
It was in the latter year that Mr. Rutherford came to Detroit as representative of the Empire Lumber Company of Pittsburgh, and remained with that com- pany in this city until 1915, when he became one of the organizers of the firm of J. D. Elliott & Company. He was associated with the latter concern until Jan- uary, 1919, when he resigned, and aided in forming the Rutherford & Gillespie Lumber Company, of which he has since been the head. Throughout his life he has been connected with the lumber industry, and his broad experience, his thoroughness and progressive- ness have promised well for the future success of the undertaking which is now directed by him.
On August 10, 1915, in Beckley, West Virginia, Mr. Rutherford was united in marriage to Miss Edith Wallace Keatley of Charlestown, West Virginia, daugh- ter of Edwin and Alethia P. McCreery, and they have become parents of two children: Seymour S., Jr., born December 19, 1917, and William Wallace, born De- cember 18, 1918. Politically Mr. Rutherford is a re- publican, having stanchly supported the principles of the party since reaching adult age. He belongs to the Fellowcraft Club and the Aviation Country Club, and finds diversion and recreation in fishing, but never allows pleasures to interfere with business affairs, and his close application and indefatigable energy have been potent elements in winning for him his present-day success. He is thoroughly familiar with the lumber trade in every particular, and his opinions are authority upon many points relative to the in- dustry.
DAVID A. MOLITOR, a native son of Detroit and a construction engineer of national repute, has been connected with some of the most important engineer- ing projects in this country and abroad, and he has also become well known as an author, contributing valuable works on scientific subjects. He is a son of Edward and Catherine (Young) Molitor, the former a native of Wurttemberg, Germany. When sixteen years of age the father emigrated to the United States and gallantly defended the cause of the Union during the Civil war, enlisting in Grant's division. After the close of hostilities he came to Detroit and with the exception of a few years, this city has been his home. For fifty-seven years he was in the employ of the United States government in connection with the United States lake survey, resigning from the service in August, 1920. He is now living retired.
Mr. Molitor attended the Detroit public schools until 1881, at which time his father, who was a government employe, was transferred to St. Louis,
Missouri, and in that city the son completed his high school course. He then entered the Washington University of St. Louis, from which he was graduated with the class of 1887, winning the degree of C. E. The family returned to Detroit but David Molitor was desirous of seeing the world and went to Germany, where he secured a government position, and aided in the work of building a railroad through the Black Forest-an enormous project. He remained in Germany until 1890 and with the money which he had saved from his earnings he again started out on his travels, returning to Detroit when he had completely exhausted his funds but was richer in knowledge of conditions in various parts of the world. Not long afterward he was placed in charge of the erection of the super- structure of the bridge spanning the Mississippi river at Memphis and after completing this work returned to Detroit, becoming United States assistant engineer under General O. M. Poe and also acting as general utility man in his office until 1898, when the latter passed away. Colonel Lydecker then took over the office and Mr. Molitor remained with him until 1900, being engaged in diversified work during that period. He drew up the specifications and superintended the construction of the lock gates at the "Soo" and also did some important work for the United States deep water-ways commission, being thus occupied until 1900. He next went to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he became associated with his brother-in-law, Fred Rueping, in the conduct of a tannery, a relationship which existed until 1906, when he again took up the work of his profession, becoming designing engineer on the Panama canal. He was connected with the Panama canal commission from the time Mr. Stevens became chief engineer and also served for a year under General Goethals. He made most of the preliminary designs for the locks and spent the last year in de- veloping designs for the emergency dams, this being the most difficult work on the whole project, involving some hitherto unsolved problems in hydraulics as well as very complicated structural designing. In September, 1908, he became professor of civil en- gineering at Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, continuing to occupy that chair until February, 1911, when he went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he joined the firm of Warnell & Harrington, consulting bridge engineers, with whom he was associated for a year. For several months thereafter he was oc- cupied with special work on the New York barge canal and was then made chief designing engineer for the Toronto Harbor Commission, with which he was connected until May 1, 1916, when he became construction, efficiency and chemical engineer for Carl E. Schmidt & Company, conducting an extensive leather business in Detroit, and is now acting in that capacity. He has also gained prominence as a writer on subjects pertaining to his profession and is the author of the following works: Hydraulics of Rivers, Weirs and Sluices; Kinetic Theory of Engineering
DAVID A. MOLITOR
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Structures; aud fourteen monographs on engineering subjects.
Mr. Molitor has been married twice, his first union being with Miss Clara Rueping. To this union were born three children: Margaret, Clara and Anita, all of whom are married. For his second wife he chose Miss Mabel White of Toronto, Canada. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and was president of the Detroit section of that society during 1921; the Engineering Institute of Canada; the Detroit Engineering Society; and the Washington Academy of Science. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Masons, belonging to Palestine Lodge, F. & A. M. He is a man of high scientific attainments whose professional career has been marked by continuous advancement, and his contribution to the world's work has been a most valuable one.
GUSTAV W. ZANGER, whose extensive operations in real estate have made his name almost a synonym for activity on the west side of the city, has reached his position of leadership as the result of his close study of property conditions and his sagacious under- standing of the trend of the times. In all of his operations he has looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities of the future and while neglecting no chance of the present he has been pre- pared to meet oncoming demands.
Mr. Zanger is a native son of Detroit. He was born March 26, 1876, his parents being Ferdinand and Magdalena (Stickel) Zanger, who were of German birth but in early life came to the new world. The father engaged in various lines of business and is now living retired, making his home at Marshall, Michi- gan. The mother passed away in Detroit in 1893. In their family were twelve children, of whom Gustav W. was the fifth in order of birth. In early life he attended the public schools of Marshall, Michigan, and was there graduated from the high school. He afterward returned to Detroit, where he learned the fur business, to which he devoted twenty-five years of his life, being one of the successful fur men of the city, maintaining a manufacturing and sales estab- lishment. In 1916 he sold out to F. F. Beckman, who is still carrying on the business, Mr. Zanger having decided to turn his attention to real estate operations on an extensive scale. He began by first purchasing large tracts of land, which he improved with all modern conveniences and improvements, including sewerage systems, sidewalks, shade trees and street lighting. The lots were then sold to home seekers and he has placed on the market and sold such well known divisions as Lincoln Park, No. 1, and Lincoln Park, No. 2, containing eleven hundred and ninety-two lots; Maple Ridge, containing three hundred lots; the G. W. Zanger Oakwood Division of four hundred and fifty lots; and various other properties. He erected the Bixby building on Bagley avenue and he is now con-
centrating his efforts and attention upon the develop- ment of West Detroit property, knowing just what it will mean with the building of the Pennsylvania Rail- road and the building of factories out in that section. The G. W. Zanger Realty Company has been incorpo- rated with a capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars, with Mr. Zanger as president, Neil McMillan, Jr., vice president, and Ward H. Barnett, secretary and treasurer. The company not only handles undeveloped property but will also build for purchasers and at all times arranges easy terms so as to accommodate the prospective buyer.
On the 18th of December, 1909, Mr. Zanger was married to Miss Julia Woodridge of Detroit, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Dudley B. Woodridge. He belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Country Club and the Lochmoor Country Club and is most favorably known in these organizations. He is a very alert and energetic man and there is much that is stimulating and encouraging in the story of his career, inasmuch as he came to Detroit in 1893 with a cash capital of but one dollar and is today one of the foremost real estate men of the city. He early recognized the value of diligence, determination and industry and upon these qualities he has builded his success.
CHARLES HENRY BECK. A capable and progress- ive young business man of Detroit is Charles Henry Beck, who is at the head of the Beck Investment Company and the C. H. Beck Realty Company. He is keenly alive to the possibilities of every new ave- nue opened in the natural ramifications of trade and in his commercial career has been a persistent, resolnte and energetic worker, keeping his hand steadily upon the helm of his business and manifesting at all times strong executive power.
Mr. Beck was born in Charlotte, Michigan, Novem- ber 23, 1884, a son of John F. and Ella (Foster) Beck and one of five children, the others of the family being: Mary, Pearl and Ruby of Detroit; and Ira A., an attorney of Battle Creek. Both parents are living and the father was formerly engaged in business as a cement construction contractor. The son attended the public schools, after which he pursued a commercial course in the Miles Business College and on starting out in life for himself he first entered the employ of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company of Detroit, working in the advertising department, where he re- mained for two years, gaining valuable experience regarding business methods, under E. St. Elmo Lewis. In 1907 he entered commercial circles on his own ac- count, opening an office in the Majestic building. He handles business and investment properties and is now at the head of two successful enterprises, The Beck Investment Company, which is a real estate hold- ing company, and the C. H. Beck Realty Company, which handles business properties on a commission basis, in connection with which he employs a number
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of experienced salesmen, conducting his operations on a large scale. He deals in none but high class prop- erties and has negotiated many important realty trans- fers, his business now having reached extensive pro- portions. He is very enterprising and progressive and does not hesitate to extend his interests as oppor- tunity offers, while he also possesses the sound judg- ment and executive ability which enable him to carry his affairs to successful completion.
In his political views Mr. Beck is a republican, in- terested in the welfare and success of the party, and he is an earnest and active member of the Board of Commerce and the Detroit Real Estate Board. He belongs to Corinthian Lodge, F. & A. M., and is also identified with the Old Colony Club and the Oakland Hills Country Club and finds recreation in a game of golf, being a member of the Detroit Automobile Club. He takes a deep interest in civic matters and sup- ports those plans and projects which he deems of greatest value in the improving and upbuilding of the city along lines leading to its material progress.
JOHN FRANCIS ANTISDEL. In a history of De- troit's business development it is imperative that men- tion be made of John Francis Antisdel,- for many years a leading hotel man and substantial citizen whose activities extended to those forces which have to do with the moral as well as the material development of the community. He was born in Paris, Oneida county, New York, June 13, 1829, and was descended from one of the old American families of English origin that was established on this side of the Atlantic while the country was still numbered among the colo- nial possessions of Great Britain. In England the name was originally spelled Antisdale. The father of John F. Antisdel was a farmer who came to Michigan with his family while this state was still under terri- torial rule. He settled near Brooklyn in 1835 and John F. Antisdel, who was then about six years of age, began his education in the public schools of Michigan. He had not yet attained his majority when his father passed away, and being the eldest son of the family, upon him devolved the main support of his mother and several brothers and sisters.
In 1850 John F. Antisdel arrived in Detroit and secured employment as clerk in a hotel, thus making his initial step in the line of business to which he devoted so many years of a successful career. His pleasing personality, his unfailing courtesy and his good business ability soon gained him many friends, and finding the hotel business a congenial pursuit, he began laying plans whereby he might eventually en- gage in the business on his own account. In 1857 he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, James Parshall, and they became proprietors of the Finney hotel, which occupied a site at the southeast corner of Gratiot and Woodward avenues. The hotel proved a prosperous institution from the beginning and about a year later Mr. Antisdel became proprietor of the
Railroad hotel, which stood where the Detroit Opera House is now seen. This venture also proved profit- able and within a few years Mr. Antisdel was able to purchase the property. He successfully conducted the hotel for many years and as his financial resources increased added other property to his holdings, ex- tending from his hotel to Gratiot avenue. At length he accepted the offer of fifty thousand dollars for the property, then considered a phenomenal price. Fol- lowing the sale he purchased the Blindberry hotel at the corner of Michigan and Washington avenues, where the Cadillac now stands, and after remodeling the building gave to it the name of the Antisdel hotel. For many years it was a leading and popular hostelry of the city and one of the most popular hotels in the west, as well as one of the best conducted. Then he became proprietor of the Biddle house, then in its prime and one of the largest hotels in the state. This hotel was patronized by Detroit's leading men and many of them with their families lived there. Having at length attained wealth through the con- duct of his hotel management and judicious invest- ment in property, Mr. Antisdel retired from active business life and took up his abode in the family home at No. 319 Jefferson avenue. Indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature and he could not be content without some occupation or business in- terest. Accordingly he removed to Milwaukee, Wis- consin, and became the proprietor of the Newhall house, the finest hotel in that state at the time. There he lost a part of his fortune in the years which fol- lowed the widespread financial panic of 1873 and 1874. In 1884 he again became a resident of Michi- igan and leased the Fraser house in Bay City, of which he continued in charge until 1894. In that year he again came to Detroit and made arrangements whereby he leased the celebrated summer resort hotel, the Mettewas, at Kingsville, Ontario, Canada. He con- tinued profitably to conduct that hotel to the time of his death, which occurred on the 15th of May, 1900.
Mr. Antisdel left a widow and four children. He was married in Detroit, June 6, 1855, to Miss Sarah J. Parshall, a daughter of Joseph Parshall, a prosperous farmer of Drayton Plains, Oakland county, Michigan. They became the parents of seven children, four of whom lived to maturity: James F., who was engaged in the newspaper advertising business in New York city and died in May, 1916; John P., who is men- tioned elsewhere in this work; Ella M .; and Minnie Blanche, both of Detroit. The wife and mother passed away April 3, 1912. Mrs. Antisdell was a most lovable character and her gracious manner endeared her to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Of at- tractive personal appearance, she retained her personal beauty to the last and in her eighty-first year was remarkably well preserved mentally and physically.
Mr. Antisdel was devoted to the welfare of his wife and family and found his greatest happiness at his own fireside. He was a prominent and consistent
JOHN F. ANTISDEL
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member of the First Baptist church of Detroit for nearly a half century and took a most active part in the church and Sunday school work, serving as a trustee of the church and as superintendent of the Sunday school. He was also a trustee of and most generous giver to the Kalamazoo College, conducted under the auspices of the Baptist church, and his mem- ory is honored as one of Detroit's sterling Christian gentlemen.
MAURICE W. FOX is a most alert and successful business man who in 1916 established an agency for the Ford Motor Company. He is a native son of Detroit, born March 2, 1883, and is a son of Charles E. and Emma A. (Stowell) Fox. His ancestors have lived in the United States since pre-Revolutionary war days. His mother is oue of the best known and most highly esteemed women of Detroit, holds mem- bership with the Daughters of the American Revolu- tion and has served as a member of the Detroit board of education. She is recognized as one of the best parliamentarians in the country and her services in this connection have been sought in many public gatherings. The father was a well known merchant tailor of Detroit and for years was manager of the tailoring department for Mabley & Company. He passed away at the age of seventy-two years.
Maurice W. Fox was educated in the Central high school of Detroit and in the University of Michigan as a member of the class of 1906. He pursued a course in mechanical engineering and was graduated with the B. S. degree. After his college days were over he became a mechanical draftsman on the Pan- ama canal and was thus engaged for nine years, residing in the Canal Zone throughout the entire time. His was a civil service position, held under the United States government.
With his return to Detroit, Mr. Fox entered the shops of the Ford Motor Company in September, 1915, and afterward became a salesman for the Ford Com- pany, representing the corporation for a time, but ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he established an agency under his own name on the 1st of August, 1916, at No. 156 East Milwaukee avenue. His interests developed into a corporation on the 22d of May, 1917, under the name of Maurice W. Fox & Company. They maintain an agency for the Ford cars under the Ford Motor Company and Mr. Fox is president of the corporation and has the complete management of the business. He is a re- markably bright and successful young business man who has already attained a marked degree of success and has built up a strong commercial organization. The company occupies a fine building, having large salesrooms, offices and stockrooms on Grand boule- vard. In 1918 Mr. Fox became interested in the pur- chase of notes given in payment for automobiles with Mr. Charles R. Talbot and Mr. Claud M. Beers of the National Bank of Commerce. He organized the Auto
Investment Company for the purpose of handling antomobile notes. At the present time Mr. Talbot is president of the company, Mr. Beers is vice presi- dent, and Mr. Fox is secretary-treasurer. The com- pany's business has been highly snecessful.
Mr. Fox is a member of the Ingleside Club and also of the Board of Commerce of Detroit and is well known in these connections. He is also most pleas- antly situated as to his home life. On the 25th of March, 1913, he wedded Esther Gelirke of Laporte, Indiana, and they have become parents of three chil- dren: Phyllis Rae, Irma Jeannette and Charles Fred- erick. Mr. and Mrs. Fox are well known socially, having an extensive circle of friends in the city of Mr. Fox's nativity, in which he has so directed his efforts in a business way as to win a most creditable place and position among its representatives of com- mercial interests.
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