USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 91
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national office. Mr. Miller was given a great deal of authority which thereby expedited the progress of the work enormously. Michigan's record in Red Cross work may well be regarded with pride by all of the citizens, and by far the largest share of credit for this splendid result is due Mr. Miller's untiring efforts and willingness to sacrifice all other interests in order to devote himself to this great cause.
In politics Mr. Miller is ranked as a democrat but has refrained from any prominent part, except in the first Wilson campaign, in which he was very active. After President Wilson took office Mr. Miller was asked to accept a diplomatic appointment but declined.
JOHN MICHAEL SCHUNK is engaged in the real estate and insurance business as a member of the firm of Parker, Schunk & Fry. The development of their interests has brought them to a prominent position in real estate circles of the city, with a clientage that enables them to command and negotiate many im- portant realty transfers. Mr. Schunk is one of the native sons of this state, his birth having occurred in the town of China, St. Clair county, Michigan, August 23, 1871, his parents being Louis and Eliza- beth (Emig) Schunk. The father was born in Ger- many in 1847, but was only twelve years of age when he left that land and came with his parents to the United States, the family home being established in 1859 in China township, St. Clair county, Michigan. He was reared on the home farm and after reaching adult age he married Elizabeth Emig, who was born in St. Clair county. He carried on agricultural pur- suits until the last seven or eight years of his life, when he retired from active business. He passed away October 26, 1918, having for four years survived his wife, who died July 6, 1914.
John M. Schunk pursued his education in the schools of his native county and for several years in his youth and early manhood sailed on the Great Lakes. He afterward secured a clerkship at Marine City, Michigan, being employed in a general store there. Desiring to equip himself further for life's practical and responsible duties, he pursued special courses in the Cleary Business College at Ypsilanti, Michigan, and in 1889 removed to Detroit, where he obtained a position in a retail shoe store at five dollars per week. He spent seventeen years in filling posi- tions as salesman and in 1908 he embarked in the real estate and insurance business, in which he has since been engaged. He formed a partnership with Henry J. Parker and Fred A. Fry, organizing the firm of Parker, Schunk & Fry. Before the organization of the present firm Mr. Schunk was connected for a time with the real estate business thus gaining his initial experience in the line of work that has since claimed his efforts. The firm of Parker, Schunk & Fry was originally organized to conduct a general real estate business, which later was enlarged so as to include a general insurance business. The latter branch of
the business has been added to in the meantime until it now includes practically every form of insurance underwriting excepting life insurance. In the manage- ment of its rapidly growing business the firm has wou a large and desirable clientage and maintains a posi- tion of high standing in realty and insurance circles. Its personnel was unchanged until 1917, when Mr. Fry withdrew. The firm style, however, remains the same as when organized. Mr. Schunk is also connected with other real estate projects, among them being the Oak Grove Land Company, of which he is a director, and the Hillsboro Land Company.
In Detroit, on the 26th of August, 1908, Mr. Schunk was married to Miss Ellen Ford, daughter of William C. and Alice (Underwood) Ford, both of whom were natives of England. Mr. and Mrs. Schunk attend the Presbyterian church and he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Corinthian Lodge, No. 241, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the former he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Michigan Sovereign Consis- tory, and has become a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a life member of the Detroit Masonic Country Club and the nature of his recreation in indi- cated in the fact that he belongs to the Mendelssohn Bowling Club. He is fond of outdoor life, delights in hunting and fishing trips, and is an enthusiastic motorist. He is also identified with the real estate board of Detroit. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and during the period of the war he assisted in the sale of Liberty Bonds. He has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, his efforts and attention being concentrated upon his business affairs, and his thoroughness, diligence and energy have been salient qualities in the attainment of his present-day success.
HENRY WARRINGTON HOYT, who is now retired from active business, was for thirteen years vice presi- dent of the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Detroit. He was one of the organizers of the business and a contributing factor toward the result accomplished -that of developing it into one of the important in- dustries of this section of the country. Something of the magnitude of the undertaking is shown in the fact that the company built under contract for the federal government seventy steel vessels.
Henry W. Hoyt was born July 29, 1852, in Wal- worth county, Wisconsin, his parents being Avery A. and Caroline M. (Hoyt) Hoyt, both of whom were natives of Vermont, becoming pioneer settlers of the western state. In the midst of the wilderness the father eleared a farm, where he spent his life.
Henry W. Hoyt attended the district school and local academies and afterward continued his education in the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1872. Following the completion of his college course he turned his attention to newspaper work in Crete, Nebraska, becoming editor and proprie-
JOHN M. SCHUNK
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tor of the Saline County Post, there remaining from 1872 until 1877, and during the last two years of that period he served as postmaster of Crete. Returning to Wisconsin, Mr. Hoyt became chief editor and part owner of the Daily Democrat at Madison and filled that position for six years, or until 1883, when he became proprietor of the Gault House, one of the old and well established hostelries of Chicago. He con- tinued in that business until 1887 and then turned his attention to the industrial field by becoming secretary and general manager of the Gates Iron Works of Chicago, occupying the position from 1887 until 1901. In the latter years he was elected second vice presi- dent and appointed sales manager of the Allis-Chal- mers Company of Chicago, and when four years had been devoted to that business he retired in order to give his attention to private interests, which claimed his time and energies from 1905 until 1907.
In May of the latter year Mr. Hoyt located in Detroit. Here he became vice president of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, shipbuilders and ship re- pairers, with three large plants located at various points along the water front of Detroit and at Ashta- bula, Ohio. This became one of the great industrial concerns of the city.
In Chicago, in December, 1875, Mr. Hoyt wedded Florence Hastings, daughter of Samuel D. Hastings, who was a prominent member of the Wisconsin state legislature and for eight years state treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt have become parents of four daugh- ters: Mrs. Madge H. Williams, who resides in Cali- fornia; Hazel H., the wife of Fred P. French of New Plymouth, Idaho; Sue H .; and Florence H., who is the wife of Barton Stevenson, a resident of Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Hoyt belongs to the Detroit Club, the Detroit Athletic Club and the Detroit Boat Club and his re- ligious faith is that of the Christian Science church. For a long period he figured prominently in connec- tion with the manufacturing interests of the middle west and became a 'dominant factor in connection with the productive interests of Detroit.
THOMAS MAYBURY. So sweet in its sim- plicity, SO
strong and courageous in its pur- poses, so successful in its achievements and so far-reaching and influential in its effect was the life of Thomas Maybury that it must ever constitute an interesting chapter in the history of Detroit. Thomas Maybury was born in Cork, Ireland, Decem- ber 26, 1807, and there lived until after he was mar- ried to Margaret Cotter of Cork. With his bride and his brothers, William and Henry, he came to America, making his way at once to Detroit. Arriving in this city, which at that time (1830) was little more than a village, he began life as a farmer in the township of Springwells, but soon abandoned agricultural pur- suits for the work of contracting and building and
from the first he began buying real estate, recogniz- ing the opportunity for judicious investments.
In 1835 Mr. Maybury built a home at the corner of Lafayette and Eighth streets and this old home- stead is still standing in good condition in the year 1922. He purchased land from the Woodbridge and Thompson additions and from time to time erected houses which he sold. During the early period of his residence in Detroit Mr. Maybury was also a customs house officer and continued in the position for many years. Continuing his investments in property his va- rious land acquirements ultimately made him the larg- est tax payer in Detroit. He owned and operated a large farm in Greenfield township, which is now being divided into city lots, and a farm of forty acres in Redford which is soon to be platted into lots. While a contractor he built the first Woodward avenue sewer, which was to open into the river. Many pub- lie and private works were constructed by him during the fifteen years he remained in the business. Later he devoted his entire time to developing and acquiring real estate.
Mr. Maybury was a most lovable man and counted his friends by the number of his acquaintances. He was affectionately known as "Uncle Tommy May- bury," and not only did he win the love of those with whom he came into contact but also their high- est respect and regard, for he was a man of unim- peachable integrity. He was likewise an enthusiastic and ardent republican. He ranked with the most influential members of the Masonic lodge and was one of the oldest Knights Templars in the city. In his honor the Zion Masonic Lodge placed in St. Peter's church, of which he was an attendant in his later years, a very large and exceedingly beautiful window, on which is inscribed "In Memoriam, Thomas May- bury." There are also other evidences of his high standing in the city, for Maybury avenue was named for him whom the citizens of Detroit delighted to honor. On the 24th of February, 1868, he was pre- sented with a gold-headed cane by the brethren of Zion Lodge. There was no man who stood more faith- fully and loyally as an exponent of the high standards of Masonry than did he. In the work of the church Mr. Maybury was also equally well known, for his labors were untiring in connection with the moral progress and development of Detroit. He was first a member of St. Paul's Episcopal church and later be- came one of the founders of St. Peter's Episcopal church, giving freely of his time and money to its upbuilding and for many years he was its senior warden, continuing in the office to the time of his death, which occurred at his home on Lafayette ave- nue, November 13, 1882, when he was seventy-five years of age. He had long survived his wife, Mrs. Margaret Cotter Maybury, who died June 9, 1851. They were the parents of eight children: Eliza, who married James Denton of Flint, Michigan, is now de- ceased; Henry of Tampa, Florida, has also passed
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away; Thomas, a veteran of the Civil war, served with the rank of first lieutenant in a New York regi- ment and afterward became captain of Company C, Eighth New York Heavy Artillery. He was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness and died a number of years later in California, his remains being brought back to Detroit for burial in the family lot at Elm- wood; William C. Maybury, the fourth member of the family, was an attorney and at one time mayor of Detroit; Katherine married John Guiness and died in Detroit; Mary, who became Mrs. Joseph F. Weber, also of this city, has likewise passed away; Jane resides at what was the home of her brother, William, on West Grand boulevard; Mrs. Margaret Morris, the youngest of the family, is buried in the family lot in Elmwood cemetery.
JOHN LESINSKI, president of the Hamtramck Lumber & Supply Company, is widely and favor- ably known in Detroit, where practically his entire life has been spent. He has been an influential factor in promoting the development and improvement of this section of the city and is now at the head of a pros- perous lumber business, displaying keen sagacity, energy and determination in the conduct of his in- terests. He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1885, of the marriage of Michael and Katherine (Nowakowski) Lesinski, who reared a family of seven children.
When John Lesinski was but a few months old his parents took up their residence in Detroit and until he was about eleven years of age the family home was maintained on Canfield, East, after which the parents removed to Forest avenne, East. His educa- tion was acquired in parochial schools of this city. His initial business experience was obtained in the employ of his father, who was identified with hard- ware, grain and milling interests. He remained in that connection until he was eighteen years of age, when he formed a partnership with Stanley Rozycki under the firm name of Rozycki & Company. This firm was engaged in the contracting business and Mr. Lesinski retained his interest therein for about one year and a half. On the dissolution of the partner- ship Mr. Lesinski entered into the real estate and building business as an individual, operating in both lines in connection with Homer Warren, the well known real estate dealer. In 1911 Mr. Lesinski formed a partnership with Edward Leszeynski, continuing in the same lines and association. They operated a branch office maintained by Mr. Warren, who awarded them all of his building contracts, and they also negotiated many important realty transfers. Mr. Lesinski erected over two thousand cottages for Mr. Warren, subsequently selling them at a profitable figure, and he had the handling of the sale of the allotment made from the Whitney estate, in which connection be opened up the Hamtramck district for settlement. In 1913 the Hamtramck Lumber & Sup-
ply Company was formed and two years later it was incorporated as a close corporation. Mr. Lesinski has since acquired control of the business, owning prac- tically all of the stock, and as president he is ably guiding its destinies. He has had broad experience along business lines and through unremitting industry and judicious management he has succeeded in de- veloping one of the leading enterprises of this char- acter in the city. In 1915 the company erected a large office building, which also contains a store- house, and they employ forty people, while they utilize seven trucks for delivery purposes, their equipment being of the most modern type. They deal in building supplies and have ample accommodations for lumber storage, catering exclusively to the retail trade. Julius Lesinski, a brother of the subject of this review, is secretary and treasurer of the com- pany and his cooperation is a valuable asset in the development of the business.
Mr. Lesinski has been married twice. His first wife was Stella B. Leszcynski, whom he wedded on the 11th day of January, 1911. She passed away in May, 1916, leaving two children; Joan, and John Alexander, the later born on the 28th of December, 1914. For his second wife Mr. Lesinski chose Barbara Jankowski.
In his political views Mr. Lesinski is a republican and he is a valued member of the Detroit Board of Commerce and is vice chairman of the Polish board Americanization committee of that organization. He is also chairman of the Polish citizens' committee of the Detroit branch of the Polish National Department of Chicago and is vice chairman of the Michigan Association. Mr. Lesinski is one of the prominent and best known Polish-Americans in Detroit. Among his other connections he is a member of the Springwells Board of Commerce and the Milwaukee Junction Manufacturers' Association, being a member of the grade department committee of that organization. He is also connected with the Polish National Alliance and is a member of the Fellowcraft Club, the U & I Club and is identified with the Falcons, of which he has been instructor. Impelled by a laudable ambition, he has eagerly availed himself of every legitimate opportunity for advancement and exemplifies in his life the progressive spirit that has been a dominant factor in the upbuilding of this great industrial cen- ter. During the war Mr. Lesinski's services were refused for overseas duty on account of the fact that both of his parents were born in Europe. He bas been connected with and has aided in recruiting sol- diers for the Polish army through the Polish national department, which work had the approval of the United States and foreign governments. Confidence in his own judgment may be said to be one of Mr. Lesinski's prominent traits. He had implicit confi- dence in the growth of Hamtramck, despite adverse predictions of others and subsequent developments in that village have more than borne out his contentions. He has contributed in many ways toward the develop-
JOHN LESINSKI
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ment and improvement of the city and the substantial worth of his character is indicated in the fact that he is held in the highest esteem by those among whom his life has been passed.
HIRAM H. WALKER, vice president and treasurer of Hiram Walker & Sons, Limited, and prominently identified with various enterprises having an im- portant bearing on the business and industrial life of Detroit and the border cities, was born August 4, 1886, in Walkerville, Ontario. His parents were J. Har- rington and Florence A. (Holcomb) Walker, while his paternal grandfather was Hiram Walker, one of the foremost figures of his generation. A more extended mention of both the father and grandfather may be found elsewhere in this work.
Hiram H. Walker attended St. Panl's School, Con- cord, New Hampshire, following which he entered Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University, grad- uating with the class of 1906. He then entered Cor- nell University, where he continued his engineering studies. Since the death of his father in December, 1919, Mr. Walker, with his brothers, Harrington E. and F. Caldwell, has been managing the large estate left by their parent.
Hiram H. Walker, besides being vice president and treasurer of Hiram Walker & Sons, Limited, is closely identified with a number of other concerns in Wal- kerville and is also a director in the Garden Court Realty Company of Detroit; president of the Hoskins Manufacturing Company of Detroit; a director of the Fibre Package Company of Detroit; vice president of the American Transit Company; a director of the Concrete Steel Company of Canada, Limited; and president of the Border Cities Hotel Company, Lim- ited. On May 9, 1911, Mr. Walker was married to Miss Elsa Stroh of Detroit, a daughter of the late Bernard Stroh and a member of one of the prom- inent families of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have a daughter, Phoebe, born in June, 1915. They reside at 1441 Burns avenue.
Mr. Walker is well known in club circles, holding membership in the Detroit Club, Detroit Athletic Club, the University Club, the Detroit Country Club, the Old Club, the Essex County Golf and Country Club, the Grosse Pointe Riding and Hunt Club, the Beach Grove Golf Club, the Windsor Club, the Walkerville Boat Club, the St. Clair Country Club, the Walker- ville Tennis Club, the Yale Club of New York, and the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
At various times in recent years Mr. Walker has held executive position with different civic and trade organizations. In 1911 he was president of the Walkerville Board of Trade; in 1917 he was a director of the Border Chamber of Commerce; in 1918 and 1919 he was chairman of the manufacturers' section of the Border Chamber of Commerce; and from 1912 until 1918 he was chairman of the Walkerville Board of Fire Commissioners.
An excellent type of the present-day wide- awake and progressive business man, Mr. Walker is included among Detroit's strong and capable men of affairs. His marked executive ability is evidenced by his successful official iucumbencies, the number of which is rare among men of his age. Per- sonally, his estimable traits of character have won for him many friends. In brief, Mr. Walker well up- holds the best traditions of the honored name.
H. H. SERVIS, a leading business man of Detroit, who since 1912 has had charge of the real estate interests of the S. S. Kresge Company in this city, is proving most capable in the discharge of the duties which devolve upon him in this connection, his services being of great value to the corporation which he represents. He was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, a son of David O. and Evelyn (Hixson) Servis, representatives of two of the oldest families in America, John Hart, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this review, having been one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
In the grammar schools of Trenton, New Jersey, and at Lewis Institute, Chicago, Illinois, H. H. Servis acquired his early education, after which he entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he won his LL. B. degree upon graduation with the class of 1908. Going to the west, he was for a time engaged in the practice of his profession at Seattle, Washington, and then returned to the east, entering business cireles of Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a real estate operator. He was very successful in the conduet of his interests and continued a resident of that city until 1912, when he came to Detroit to assume charge of the real estate department of the S. S. Kresge Company and is now a vice presi- dent of that company in charge of real estate and also on the board of directors of this corporation, whose business not only in this city but throughout the coun- try has assumed very extensive proportions. He is well qualified for the duties of his present position, being a resourceful, farsighted and astute business man who is very familiar with realty values through- ont the country and is most capably looking after the interests under his charge.
Mr. Servis was united in marriage to Miss Carlotta M. Stretch of Ann Arbor and they have become the parents of three children: Jane Evelyn, Elizabeth Ann and John Richard. He is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church and fraternally is identified with the Masons, belonging to Detroit Commandery, No. 1, and to Palestine Lodge and Chapter. He is a member of Phi Alpha Delta, a national law fraternity, and for recreation he turns to golf, being a member of the Detroit and Red Run Golf Clubs and is also a mem- ber of the Detroit Athletic Club and of the Ingleside Club. In business matters his judgment has been found sound and reliable and his enterprise unfaltering and his success is the merited reward of his elose applica- tion and spirit of determination. He is a man of high
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personal standing, of marked business integrity and ability, and the sterling worth of his character is recognized by all with whom he is brought into contact.
ALBERT GRIFFING BEDFORD, a prominent real estate dealer of Detroit, whose operations have been condneted on an extensive scale, is recognized as a most progressive, energetic and capable business man. His plans are carefully formulated and promptly ex- ecuted, and success in substantial measure has re- warded his efforts. He was born in Ionia, Michigan, January 21, 1871, and comes of honorable and dis- tingnished ancestry, tracing his descent in the paternal line to John de Bedford and Gunning Bedford, whose portrait hangs in Independence Hall at Philadelphia. On the distaff side he is a direct descendant of Jasper Griffing and Benjamin Griffing, who defended Ameri- can interests in the Revolutionary war. His paternal grandparents were Ashbel F. and Maria H. (Pratt) Bedford, the former of whom was born August 14, 1809, and died June 30, 1876, while the latter was born January 20, 1812, and passed away April 3, 1902. His maternal grandfather, George J. Griffing, was born October 31, 1815, and removed from Elmira, New York, to Michigan in 1836. He married Elizabeth Rosa- mond Murray, who was born February 18, 1819, and passed away February 18, 1898, while his demise oc- curred on the 3d of June, 1894. Their daughter, Georg- ianna M. Griffing, was born at Hartland, Michigan, December 24, 1847, and died at Ionia, this state, April 22, 1893. She married Robert H. Bedford, who was bern at Northville, Michigan, July 19, 1847, and they became the parents of Albert Griffing Bedford, the subject of this review.
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