The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV, Part 82

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 82

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Aside from the fact given through the copious bio- graphical record of Mr. Hannan it should be stated that he was identified with the Masonic fraternity and held membership in the Detroit Club, the Country Club, and other social and business organizations. He was one of the founders of the new Detroit Ath- letie Club, and was a member of St. Paul's cathedral, while his political allegiance was always given to the republican party. He passed away December 24, 1917, and thus ended a life of notable activity, of successful achievement, of bigh purpose and of plans accomplished.

Mrs. Hannan, who survives her husband, was, in her maidenhood, Luella Greene, of Ann Arbor, Mich- igan. She is a daughter of Byron and Escalala (Ar- nold) Greene, the latter an only daughter, whose father was one of the first settlers of Ann Arbor, coming overland to Michigan from New Hampshire. Having arrived at Ann Arbor at the age of twenty-two years, Mr. Arnold took up an immense tract of land and upon this land lived a long and eventful life. His place was called Honey Creek farm. He acted as judge and was familiarly known as Squire Arnold. He was a capitalist and an energetic, farsighted business

man, who accumulated considerable wealth as wealth was rated in those days. His only son, Captain Henry Clay Arnold, was killed in the second battle of Bull Run. Mrs. Hannan's father, Byron Greene, was one of thirteen children, all of whom arrived at adult age. He was born in Rushville, New York, and there ac- quired his education. He married Miss Escalala Ar- nold of Ann Arbor and they settled in Canandaigua, New York, and there Luella Greene was born. While still an infant her parents came to Detroit and Mr. Greene engaged in business here, but later Mrs. Greene's father, Mr. Arnold, sent for them to come to Ann Arbor, where they lived for many years. Here a son, Clay A. Greene, was born. Their daughter, Luella Greene, was an only daughter, and at Ann Arbor she became acquainted with Mr. Hannan, who sought her hand in marriage, after which they removed to Detroit to live. Upon the death of Mrs. Hannan's grand- father, Mr. Arnold, at Honey Creek farm, Mr. and Mrs. Greene came to Detroit, where subsequently both passed away.

Since the death of her husband Mrs. Hannan has endeavored to carry out many of the projects which they had so often discussed before he passed on. She has recently sent her check for two memorial win- dows to be placed in St. Paul's Episcopal cathedral, one to be inscribed with Mr. Hannan's name and the other with her own. In considering the different plans which she had discussed with Mr. Hannan the one which pleased them most is the plan of donating a public park, which should be a place of pleasure and recreation for all the people, to be known as the Hannan Memorial Park. It is her purpose to place a statue of Mr. Hannan in this Park, also a fountain, possibly combining the two, and she is now working upon plans for such a memorial, which will certainly be a most fitting one to the man whose deep interest in the welfare and progress of his city was manifest in so many tangible ways.

EDWARD A. ATLAS was born in Russia, October 7, 1885, but was brought to America by his parents before he was six months old, so that the United States is the only country he has ever really lived in, and he is typically American in ideas, energy and success. His parents settled in Bay City, Michigan, and he received his early education in the schools of that city.

After his school days Edward A. Atlas was engaged in the fruit business for four years, and then took the position of collector for the Gately Company, and was so employed for a year, after which he joined his father in the hide business at Cadillac, Michigan. After a time he became thoroughly fa- miliar with the hide business and became buyer for the Crohon-Roden Company of Grand Rapids. He oc- cupied that position for two years and then started in the hide business in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. He remained in Mount Pleasant for a short time and then

EDWARD A. ATLAS

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rejoined his father. His energy and ambition con- tinually carried him along in the endeavor to reach pronounced success, and in 1914 he moved into Detroit and opened an office as a broker in hides. His business succeeded and he broadened his operations rapidly, finally becoming president of the National Hide & Leather Company in 1916. In 1917 he bought out all the other interests in that corporation and has since conducted the business in his own name. In the spring of 1920 he bought out the tannery of the Roden Leather Company in Grand Rapids, of which he had once been an employe, and reincorporated the business as the Roden Leather Company, Inc., of which he is president. This company is incorporated for five hundred thousand dollars. His offices are located at 360 Twentieth street, Detroit, and there he personally directs all the operations of the two important companies of which he is the sole head and directing force. He is still a young man and in a few years has raised himself by his own unaided ability from the position of an employe to that of a leader in his line of business in Michigan. He radi- ates energy and mentality, which are the prime forces behind his remarkable success. Among his other inter- ests he is president of the Michigan Hide Company, of Grand Rapids, of which he was an organizer.

Mr. Atlas married Miss Ethel Burak. Mr. Atlas is a thirty-second degree Mason and his affilia- tions with this order are with Perfection Lodge F. & A. M., Michigan Sovereign Consistory and Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the B. P. O. E. His clubs are the Masonie Country Club, the Detroit Automobile Club and he also belongs to the Board of Commerce. He finds his recreations in fishing and golf, is fond of outdoor sports and an enthusiastic baseball fan and also plays the game for recreation. He is a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. In polities he is a republican and his religious affiliation is with the Shaarey Zedek church. He is recognized, not only in Detroit, but throughout the state, as one of the enterprising, suc- cessful business men of the dynamic city.

ROLAND C. GIES, a prominent and successful archi- teet of Detroit whose ability is demonstrated in the liberal patronage accorded him, is well aud favorably known in this city, where he has passed his life. He is a representative of old and prominent families of Detroit, his parents, John M. and Elizabeth (Ludwig) Gies, both being natives of this city, while his grand- parents emigrated to the United States from Germany. In the parish schools and University of Detroit, form- erly Detroit College, he acquired his early education and he pursued his professional studies in the Detroit Art schools. His further experience along architec- tural lines was obtained in the office of R. E. Roseman, and for a long time afterward he was identified with the firms of Albert Kahn and Donaldson & Meier, and in 1905 he engaged in business independently,

building up a good patronage in the intervening period. He engages in a general architectural business but makes a specialty of domestic work and many fine homes in Detroit stand as examples of his skill and ability. He has also been the designer of several attractive commercial buildings in Detroit and his thorough technical training and broad practical ex- perience have brought him expert ability in all branches in his chosen profession.

In 1903 Mr. Gies was united in marriage to Miss Edwina Baumann and they have become the parents of four children: Roland C., Jr., Virginia, Gilbert and Edwina. In the management of his business affairs he has been progressive, energetic and capable and in the discharge of his duties as a citizen he has at all times been actuated by a regard for the publie wel- fare. His labors have ever been of a constructive character, contributing to the upbuilding and adorn- ment of his city as well as to individual success, and his sterling qualities of manhood and citizenship have gained for him the respect and esteem of a large cirele of friends.

VICTOR FRANCIS DEWEY. Many lines of ac- tivity have felt the stimulus of the enterprise, keen discernment and well defined plans of Victor Francis Dewey, who wields a wide influence in business circles of Detroit, his forcefulness and determination enabling him to carry to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He is vice president and general manager of the Detroit Steel Products Company, vice president of the Fenestra Construction Company and is also interested in other important enterprises, being a man of large affairs. He is a native of Michigan, his birth having occurred at Cambridge on the 24th of February, 1876, and his parents were Albert F. and Ellen (Steves) Dewey, in whose family were five children.

Mr. Dewey was accorded liberal educational ad- vantages, attending the grammar and high schools of Brooklyn, Michigan, after which he became a student at Adrian College of this state, in which he completed a four years' course, being graduated from that in- stitution in 1897, at which time the degree of Bachelor of Science was conferred upon him. His initial busi- ness experience was obtained as an employe of the Detroit City Gas Company, with which he remained for twenty years, starting as assistant chemist and winning successive promotions to the positions of chief chemist, superintendent of distribution, general super- intendent of divisions and of the engineering depart- ment. Still higher honors awaited him and he was at length made vice president and general manager of the company whose present high state of efficiency is in large measure due to his intelligently directed efforts and thorough understanding of the business. In July, 1918, Mr. Dewey became vice president and general manager of the Detroit Steel Products Com- pany, in which connection he is a directing head of

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one of the great productive industries of the city. He is likewise vice president of the Fenestra Con- struction Company and a director of the Coldwater and Grand Haven Gas Companies and also of the Highland Park State Bank. He possesses the fore- sight, self-reliance and administrative powers neces- sary to carry on large enterprises successfully and he has been a persistent, resolute and energetic worker, keeping his hand steadily upon the helm of his affairs and manifesting at all times strong executive ability.

On the 21st of December, 1898, Mr. Dewey was united in marriage to Miss Julia Myers of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and they have a son, Francis M., whose birth occurred on the 2d of March, 1901. In politics Mr. Dewey maintains an independent at- titude and that he is a public-spirited and progressive citizen is indicated by his membership in the Detroit Board of Commerce, whose projects for the upbuilding of the city receive his earnest support. His social nature finds expression in his connection with the Detroit, Ingleside, Detroit Boat, Detroit Country and Detroit Golf Clubs, and of the last named organiza- tion he is a director. His business career has been one of continuous progress and what he has accom- plished represents the fit utilization of his innate powers and talents. His labors have ever been of a constructive character, contributing to public pro- gress and prosperity as well as to individual aggrand- izement, and Detroit numbers him among her fore- most citizens. Mr. Dewey resides at 18801 Hamilton boulevard.

WALTER SCOTT ALLEN, for several years con- nected with the steel business in its various branches, is now secretary of the Detroit Steel Castings Com- pany, which position he has been occupying for the past twelve years. He is a native of the Buckeye state, born in Alliance, Ohio, May 28, 1867, a son of Pliny and Hettie M. (McElwain) Allen, well known citizens of that part of Ohio.

Mr. Allen is another example of what may be ac- complished even when the start is made from small beginnings. He was educated in the public schools of Alliance, Ohio, later commencing to work on his own account, first as a newsboy and then as an office boy. He learned the foundry business in one of the first steel foundries built in America, at Alliance, Ohio. This is now one of the plants of the American Steel Foundries.

Becoming thoroughly grounded in every phase of the steel foundry business, Mr. Allen gradually ad- vanced to the position of assistant superintendent. His next place was with the Ohio Steel Company at Youngstown, Ohio, where he remained for seven years. After moving elsewhere about the country, still con- nected with the steel trade, Mr. Allen came to Detroit in 1909, as salesman, at which he remained for about twelve months. In the following year, 1910, he was made secretary of the corporation, holding this re-

sponsible position ever since, bringing to the duties a ripe experience and sound judgment, enjoying the confidence of the company and of its customers.

In 1889 Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Woods, and they have become the parents of four children: Robert W., Catherine, Elizabeth and Gladys. Mr. Allen is a member of the Ohio Society of Detroit and of the Board of Commerce, in the affairs of which he takes a practical interest. In matters pertaining to the civic advancement of De- troit, Mr. Allen gives his hearty support. He has not, however, been an aspirant at any time for polit- ical honors.

FRANK DWIGHT TAYLOR. No biographical record in this volume illustrates more clearly the fact that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously than does that of Frank Dwight Taylor. The attainment of prosperity was but one end and aim of his life. Various other interests have bene- fited equally by his energy, his sound judgment and his contagious enthusiasm. There is no citizen in all Detroit to whom the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation is more largely indebted than to him, and those who knew him from his boyhood to his death recognized the fact that humanitarianism was ever one of the strongest traits of his character. Michi- gan is proud to claim him as a native son. He was born at Dryden, this state, June 11, 1842, his parents being Nathaniel T. and Laura N. (Winchell) Taylor. He was descended from English ancestry, the pro- genitor of the family in America being the Rev. Edward Taylor, who in 1662 braved the danger of a long ocean voyage at that period and became a resi- dent of Boston, Massachusetts, afterward removing to Westfield in the same state, where he spent his re- maining days. He was a dissenting clergyman in his native land and was one of the first representatives of his denominational faith in the New England col- onies, where it is said "he attained to marked prom- inence and influence and where his name is held in lasting honor." The grandfather of Frank D. Taylor. was the Rev. John Taylor, who removed from Massa- chusetts to Michigan, establishing his home in Macomb county in 1832, several years before the state was admitted to the Union. He was one of the pioneer representatives of the Congregational clergy in Mich- igan and was the founder of the Congregational Acad- emy at Romeo. His son, Nathaniel T. Taylor, re- moved in 1848 from Dryden, Lapeer county, to De- troit, and in 1850, attracted by conditions brought about in California through the discovery of gold, be made his way to the Pacific coast and in that state established a general store, which he conducted until 1852, when he became a victim of the widespread cholera epidemic. His wife survived him for a number of years. They had a family of three sons and two daughters, all of whom have passed away.

Frank Dwight Taylor was a resident of Detroit from

WALTER S. ALLEN

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the sixth year of his age to the time of his death on March 12, 1920. His educational opportunities were limited to six years' attendance at the public schools of this city and then at the age of twelve he began providing for his own support by becoming an employe in the tea and coffee house of L. F. Harter. Ilis identification with the dry goods trade began in 1860, when he secured a position with the firm of Farrell & Brother, with whom he remained until 1867. He was next with Newcomb, Endicott & Com- pany until 1880 and associated with J. B. Woolfenden, he then organized the dry goods firm of Taylor, Wool- fenden & Company, which in 1894 was incorporated under the name of The Taylor-Woolfenden Company and so conducted until 1909. In the latter year it was consolidated with the house of William H. Elliott & Company and the firm name of Elliott, Taylor & Woolfenden Company was assumed. Mr. Taylor was chosen the president of the new concern and so con- tinued until 1913, when he retired from that office but remained with the house as a director. The firm with which he was connected maintained the highest standards in the personnel of the house, in the treat- ment accorded patrons and in the line of goods carried.

On the 21st of February, 1866, in Detroit, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe E. Shourds, daughter of James Shourds, of Rochester, New York. She passed away at the summer home of the family at Orchard Lake in 1885 and is survived by three children: Florence G., of Detroit; Harriet, the wife of Bertrand S. Summers, of Port Huron; and Mabel, the wife of Clarence S. Fleming, of Pasa- dena, California. On the 27th of May, 1890, Mr. Taylor married Mrs. Eleanora H. Snover of Detroit.

Mr. Taylor belonged to the Detroit Boat Club. In his political views he was independent and the nature and extent of his interests were further in- dicated in the fact that he was a member of the Pioneer Society, a member of the Archaeological Society, of which he was president at the time of his demise, the Sons of the American Revolution, of which he was an ex-president, and of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, of which he was honorary president. He was also a member of the New England Society of Detroit, and the Detroit Chamber of Commerce. His religious faith was that of the Congregational church and he was always untiring in his activity to promote the principles of Christianity. His chief work, perhaps, was in connection with the Detroit Young Men's Christian Association, of which he was a member for fifty-five years and of which for many years he was president. He has written a comprehensive history of the Asso- ciation in Detroit and there is no one in the city who was more closely associated with the work of the organization or for a longer period. A most inter- esting article was published in October, 1919, con- cerning the thirteenth international convention of the Young Men's Christian Association, which was

held in Detroit in 1868, and over which Frank D. Taylor presided at the opening session as the president of the Detroit organization. He assisted in founding the Association in the city in 1864 and four years later war work was a large feature of the interna- tional convention here. Again this subject was the prominent one at the convention in 1919. Starting out in life for himself with but limited educational op- portunities and no financial advantages, yet with an ancestry back of him that gave to him strong intel- lectual powers and a natural refinement, Frank Dwight Taylor steadily progressed along the lines that build character. Without thought of fame or position he used his opportunities to assist his fellowmen and aid in the upbuilding of the city. His position in publie regard was indicated when on the evening of April 12, 1910, the most prominent business men of Detroit gathered at the Hotel Ponchartrain and extended to Mr. Taylor a complimentary dinner "mark- ing his successful completion of a half century in business." When he passed away on March 12, 1920, his loss was mourned by a host of friends and a large circle of acquaintances.

MAYNARD D. SMITH, president of the A. J. Smith Construction Company of Detroit since it was established and incorporated in 1910, was born in Port Huron, Michigan, December 22, 1876. He is a son of Andrew J. and Mary M. (Quinn) Smith, the father a native of Scotland, while the mother was born in Michigan. Andrew J. Smith still resides at Port Huron, where he is president of the A. J. Smith & Son company.

After completing a public school education Maynard D. Smith became the associate of his father in busi- ness at Port Huron and there remained until June, 1910, when he came to Detroit and here organized the A. J. Smith Construction Company, which was in- corporated in the same year and of which he has since been the president. As the head of this company Mr. Smith has had an extensive and important connection with building operations during the decade when De- troit made the greatest progress in her history, and a number of the most important business and industrial structures erected during that period were handled by the A. J. Smith Construction Company. This, however, indicates but one line of his activity, which has covered a broad field. He is the president of the Fort Shelby Hotel Company of Detroit, president of the Cameron Steamship Company of Detroit, a director of the Sampson Trailer Company of Grand Rapids, one of the organizers and now a director and treasurer of The Electrical Warehouse, Incorporated, of De- troit, a director of the Turner Engineering Company of Detroit, a director of the Consumers Gravel Company and a director of the United States Savings Bank of Port Huron, Michigan.

On the 14th of January, 1904, Mr. Smith was mar- ried to Miss Laura Seville Reynolds, a native of

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Lewiston, Maine, then residing in Atkins, Michigan, and a daughter of Frank O. Reynolds. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two sons: Andrew Reynolds, born in April, 1905, at Port Huron, Michigan, and now a student at St. John's Military Academy of Delafield, Wisconsin; and Maynard Seville, who was born at Port Huron, Michigan, in October, 1906, and is now attending the Detroit Country Day school.

Mr. Smith has an interesting military chapter in his life record, having served as a member of Company F. Thirty-third Michigan Volunteers, during the Span- ish-American war, participating in the Santiago cam- paign. He was honorably discharged and mustered out in November, 1898, and then went south for a year, after which he entered business connections, as pre- viously indicated. He is now a member of the Spanish War Veterans Association and a Veteran of Foreign Wars. He belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Employers Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, in which he was chairman of the financial committee for the year 1920, while in 1919 he was chairman of the labor committee. He has at- tained the thirty-second degree in Masonry, belonging to both the Consistory and the Shrine, and also to the Elks, of which he is a life member. He also has membership in the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Bankers Club, the Cross Country Riding Club, and the Detroit Automobile Club, and the Port Huron, Michigan, Golf & Country Club.

PAUL H. KING, who since 1904 has been a member of the Michigan bar, now one of the two referees in bankruptcy for the Eastern District of Michigan and located in Detroit, has also been active along other business lines and is prominently known as one of the leaders of the republican party in Michigan. Moreover, his labors in war activities were notably successful, particularly in Red Cross and Liberty Loan campaigns.

Mr. King is a native of Arapahoe, Nebraska. He was born August 22, 1879, of the marriage of Dr. John S. and Agnes A. King, the former a distinguished physician and surgeon, who was born at Rochester, New York, and actively engaged in the practice of his profession, principally in Chicago, Illinois. In later years he practiced in Nebraska and Iowa, but finally removed to Minnesota for his health, and there passed away in 1891. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Agnes A. Smead, was a school teacher. She died in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1911.

Paul H. King acquired his early education through home instruction and also as a pupil in the public schools of South Omaha, Nebraska, Wadena, Minnesota, and Dowagiac, Michigan, as the family removed to the various points indicated. He was the main sup- port of his mother and sister, and at the age of twelve was the bread winner of the family, so that it was with the greatest difficulty that he was able to graduate from the Dowagiac high school with the

class of 1898. Even previous to this time he had entered upon a career of public service which has been continuous down to the present. He was a page in the Minnesota house of representatives in 1893 and 1895 and on the 25th of April of the latter year became a resident of Michigan. In 1897 he was appointed a page in the Michigan state senate. In 1901 he was made assistant secretary of the senate and in 1903, 1905 and 1907 served as journal clerk in the house of representatives, while from 1901 until 1905 he was private secretary to the secretary of state between the legislative sessions. About this time he was pursuing his law studies and on the 15th of April, 1904, was admitted to the bar by the State Board of Law Examiners, with the highest standing in a class of twenty-three members. Since this time he has practiced in Lansing and in Detroit. In 1906, he was one of the compilers of the index to the Com- piled Laws of 1897, and in 1907-08 he was secretary of the Michigan constitutional convention. Mr. King was secretary of the Townsend senatorial campaign committee in 1910, and in the same year was made secretary of the republican state central committee, which position he filled for two years.

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The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV, Part 82

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