USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. IV > Part 95
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George G. Epstean, their only child, attended the public schools of Detroit during the period of his boyhood and youth aud afterward became a student in the Detroit University, from which he was grad- uated on the completion of a Business administration course in 1891. He then became cashier for the real estate firm of MeLaughlin Brothers of Detroit, with whom he continued for several years, his experience there awakening his deep interest in the business and a recognition of its possibilities. He soon acquired a good working knowledge of real estate and after resigning his position he decided to engage in business on his own account. It was not long before he had become a successful operator in this field, specializing in central business property and he is now an acknowl- edged authority on real estate values. He conducts a general real estate business, handling all kinds of property, principally on his own account. He belongs to the Detroit Real Estate Board, helping to reor- ganize it in 1906 and being its first secretary. He is also a member of the Detroit Board of Commerce.
On the 5th of February, 1902, Mr. Epstean was married to Miss Anna Fraukensteen, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. LaBelle Frankensteen of Detroit, and they have three children: Agnes Florence, born in 1905; Kenneth Ralph, born in 1908; and Marjorie Irma, born in 1910. All were born in Detroit and are attending school here. Mr. Epstean is a member of the Phoenix City Club and also of the Redford Country Club. He deserves much credit for what he has ac- complished in a business way, as his enterprise and energy have enabled him to overcome all obstacles and difficulties in his path. He has ever made it his purpose to study thoroughly every question re- lating to his chosen line of labor and there is perhaps
no one who can speak more intelligently concerning the real estate situation and the property that is on the market in Detroit than can Mr. Epstean.
ROBERT B. SWART, general manager of the Detroit Heater Corporation, was born in Margaretville, New York, and pursued his early education in the dis- trict school, while later he attended the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie and eventually be- came an assistant professor in that commercial school. Later, however, he went west and for twelve years was engaged in general merchandising and banking in the state of Washington. It was in November, 1898, that he arrived in Detroit and after a year spent as shoe salesman in the employ of G. A. Lindke he entered the shoe department of the Partridge & Blackwell Company as manager. He was afterward manager with the Emerson Shoe Store for five years and then became special agent for the Sun Life Insurance Com- pany, a position which he occupied for four years. On the expiration of that period he embarked in the manufacture of metal window screens and later be- came state manager in Michigan for the Burrowes Screen Company of Portland, Maine, occupying the position for three years. In the summer of 19IS he became the general manager of the Detroit Heater Corporation and has since acted in this capacity. The business is a growing concern, with trade covering the entire United States. They make gas and kerosene heaters, which have already become most popular on the market. The sale of their heaters is now very extensive and the enterprise has become one of the important industries in Detroit. He is a man of great energy, remarkable for his initiative and for his executive ability. He forms his plans readily, is determined in their execution and never stops short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose be- cause he recognizes the fact that when one avenue of opportunity seems closed he can carve out other paths whereby to reach the desired goal.
In 1889 Mr. Swart was united in marriage to Miss Ora Pearsall and they have two sons: Carl B. and Robert Emerson. The elder son enlisted in July, 1918, after being rejected upon several previous at- tempts to enlist. He was at length accepted, however, and was assigned to the Quartermaster's Department at Camp Johnston and served there until given his honorable discharge in January, 1919; the younger son is a student in the University of Michigan, class of '22.
Mr. Swart is a member of the Central Methodist church of Detroit and for several years served as as- sistant superintendent of its Sunday school and a member of its board of stewards. He is keenly in- terested in all that pertains to the moral progress of the community or that has to do with the uplift of the individual and the advancement of public welfare. He has so arranged his time and divided his interests that he can successfully carry on business affairs and also find leisure for activity along other directions,
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and his cooperation can be counted upon for any project that tends to further the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community.
GLENARD FRANK SAXE is a well known repre- sentative of the automobile industry in Detroit, being secretary and treasurer of the Walker-Saxe Company, dealers in Ford cars. He was born at Whitehall, Illinois, January 16, 1882, a son of Elias James and Julia (Musson) Saxe, both of whom were natives of Ohio. He obtained his education in the public schools of his native city and in 1898, when a youth of six- teen years, he came to Detroit, here accepting a posi- tion in the stationery department of the firm of Wright, Kay & Company, with which he was identified for three years. Subsequently he spent four and a half years in railroad work and on the expiration of that period became connected with the automobile business in the service of the Regal people. Event- ually, however, he associated himself with Henry Ford, continuing with the mammoth Ford enterprise until August 25, 1916, when the Walker-Saxe Com- pany was formed and Mr. Saxe became the secretary and treasurer of the incorporated concern. They are Ford authorized dealers in Ford cars and in this connection have built up an extensive and most grat- ifying patronage. Mr. Saxe is a member of the Fel- loweraft Athletic Club, and is widely recognized as a self-made man whose enterprise and reliability have been salient factors in his successful business career.
In 1902 Mr. Saxe was united in marriage to Miss Grace C. Fisher, a daughter of James Fisher. They have won many warm friends during the period of their residence here, their genuine personal worth having commended them to the confidence and esteem of all with whom they have been associated. Mr. Saxe resides at 8524 Lasalle boulevard.
FRED WARDELL is the president of the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Company and in this connection is demonstrating Detroit's right to rank with the most rapidly growing industrial centers of the world. That he is placing upon the market a product equal if not superior to all others is indicated in the fact that at the recent Hygenic Exhibition in Brussels, Belgium, the Eureka vacuum cleaner was awarded the grand prize-a record of which the company has every reason to be proud. Moreover, the company is build- ing up a splendid organization not only in the manu- facturing department but in the salesmanship depart- ment as well, and today its product is known through- out the world. Classed with the representative busi- ness men of Detroit, Fred Wardell was born in Toron- to, Canada, March 30, 1866, and is a son of Orrin and Mary (Pennock) Wardell, both of whom were of Canadian birth. They removed with their family to Detroit in 1873 and the father established what was known as the firm of Wardell & Sons, auctioneers.
The business gradually developed and the firm was well known throughout Detroit and the surrounding country, the father enjoying an enviable reputation as an auctioneer for forty years. Both he and his wife passed away in Detroit in 1915. Their family numbered seven children, three of whom are living: Charles R., Mrs. W. G. Evans and Fred, all of Detroit.
The last named was a lad of but seven years when he accompanied his parents to this city and here in the public schools he pursued his education. After his textbooks were put aside he became associated with his father and soon gained a wide reputation as an autioneer, studying closely every point of sales- manship having to do with that line of business. He was thus active with his father for twenty-one years and then in 1902 engaged in the electrical busi- ness, eventually developing the Eureka vacuum cleaner. The company of which he is now the head was estab- lished in 1909 and the vacuum cleaner is recognized as one of the most useful and valuable household necessities. The business was started on a small scale but through judicious methods has grown to be one of the largest in the country. The building now occupied by the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Com- pany on Broadway in Detroit constitutes the home office and is devoted exclusively to this business, which is now growing with notable rapidity. Salesrooms are also maintained in practically all the different countries of the world, over two thousand agencies having been established throughout this country and abroad. The Eureka is one of the best advertised vacuum cleaners on the face of the globe and is one of the best sellers, which fact is due not only to the splendid organization that has been built up for placing the product upon the market but also because of the superiority of the cleaner over all others. The officers of the company are: Fred Wardell, president; A. L. MeCarthy, vice president and general manager; P. A. Barnard, secretary and treasurer; V. W. Young, sales manager; and C. E. Smock, advertising mana- ger. The company issues a monthly magazine called "Volume and Velocity," in which is discussed every problem that relates to the trade in point of manu- facture and sales. Many of its articles are contrib- uted by the concern's own representatives from all sections of the country and various articles are also written by prominent representatives of commercial and industrial activity in other lines. The magazine constitutes a stimulating influence in the development of the business, which is now one of the large and growing concerns of Detroit, contributing to the well earned reputation of the city as one of the great industrial centers of America. One of the local papers said recently: "Demand for Detroit-made products in the industrially-paralyzed countries of Europe and the high regard in which these locally manufactured goods are held is reflected in the award of the Grand Prix just made to the Eureka vacuum cleaner at the Hygenie Exhibition, Brussels, Belgium. Word of the
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FRED WARDELL
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CITY OF DETROIT
award has just been received in Detroit by the com- pany from its European representative. With the necessity for employing available labor, much reduced by war casualties, to a degree of highest efficiency, the vacuum cleaner has been seized upon by large hotels and thousands of private home owners as the best means of solving the cleaning problem. Only the difficulty of supplying the home demand has pre- vented the Detroit concern from meeting the request of its agents for machines in full. With the enlarge- ment of the plant last fall and the erection of a modern daylight factory at Dewey and Greenwood avenues to take the place of its outgrown quarters on Bates street, the company expects an increased output that will enable it to fill adequately the export demand. This is the second award to be made the Detroit company, its machines having taken the grand prize at the San Francisco-Panama Exposition." Per- haps no better indication of the growth of the busi- ness can be given than the fact that the sales force of the company now numbers two hundred and eighty- five, while its employes number one thousand people, all told.
On the 25th of January, 1893, Mr. Wardell was married to Miss Helen F. Williams of Detroit, daugh- ter of Captain and Mrs. W. H. Williams. Mr. Wardell is a communicant of St. Andrew's Episcopal church and his political belief is that of the republican party. He belongs to the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Golf Club, the Oakland Hills Country Club, the Pine Lake Country Club, the Detroit Automobile Club and the Columbia Country Club of Washington, D. C. Fraternally he is a Mason and has taken the degrees of the York Rite and of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs also to the Detroit Board of Commerce. In a review of his career it will be noted that opportunity has ever been to him the call to action. The chance for progress and advancement finds him alert and he has eagerly embraced every advantage that has been offered for the legitimate development of his busi- ness affairs. A broader vision has constantly opened up before him as he has advanced and he has learned to value correctly every chance and business opening and to judge correctly every condition. Through the war period, when manufacture and trade were largely paralyzed, he safely guided the industry and then with the close of hostilities he was ready to build upon a sure and stable foundation. His sound judg- ment is evidenced in the success of his undertaking, which has become an important one even in this city of great industrial activity.
HARRY W. WYATT, who is rapidly coming to the front in manufacturing eireles in Detroit, being now secretary and treasurer of the Detroit Gray Iron Foundry Company, was born in Omaha, Nebraska, June 10, 1885, and is a son of Henry and Alice Jane (Hop- kins) Wyatt, both of whom are natives of England. They came to America in the early '80s, settling in
Omaha, where the father was employed as an account- ant and auditor, devoting his life to that profession. He became assistant auditor for the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy Railroad Company at Omaha and later resigned that position in order to remove to Detroit. Here he occupied the position of assistant auditor with the firm of Parke, Davis & Company and is still a representative of that corporation. His wife is also living, as are their two children, Sidney Thomas and Harry W., who is the elder.
In his boyhood days Harry W. Wyatt attended the public schools of Omaha and continued his education in Creighton University of that city, from which he was graduated in 1902. He then entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quiney Railroad at Omaha and in June, 1906, came to Detroit with his parents. Here he was in the treasurer's office of Parke, Davis & Company until 1912, when he resigned and opened a publie accountant's office in the Security Trust building, after which time he conducted a very successful business, his clientage steadily growing until January, 1917, when he sold out and became in- terested in the Detroit Gray Iron Foundry Company, of which he has since been the secretary and treasurer and also one of the board of directors. His broad experience and business capacity are contributing to the further success of this enterprise.
On the 23d of June, 1917, Mr. Wyatt was married to Miss Irene Isabelle Holmes of Detroit, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Wallace Holmes. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Fellowcraft Athletic Club and is highly esteemed, having a large circle of warm friends in Detroit as well as many pleasant business associates.
DR. ALPHEUS F. JENNINGS is one of the younger representatives of the medical profession in Detroit. Since 1912 he has practiced in association with his father, Dr. Charles Godwin Jennings, who was born in Leroy, New York, February 4, 1857, his parents being Thomas A. and Matilda (Godwin) Jennings. Thomas A. Jennings is a graduate of Mynderse Academy of Seneca Falls, New York, being numbered among its alumni of 1875. His professional course was pursued in the Detroit Medical College, which con- ferred upon him his M.D. degree in 1879. The follow- ing year he entered upon active practice in this city and has remained in the work of the profession, long' since reaching a place of leadership as a most able physician. Since 1897 he has been professor of the practice of medicine in the Detroit College of Medi- eine and he is now consulting physician of Harper Hospital. Since 1901 he has been president of the Detroit Clinical Laboratory and he is chiefly interested in everything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life. He holds the rank of captain in the U. S. A. Medical Reserve Corps and he belongs to the Wayne County and Michigan State Medical Societies, the Detroit Academy of Medi-
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eine and the American Medical Association, also to the American Climatological Association, the American Pediatrie Society, of which he was president in 1904, and various social and eivie organizations. He mar- ried Helen Louise Feleh, a daughter of Governor Alpheus Felch.
Their only child is Dr. Alpheus Felch Jennings of this review, who was born in Detroit, June 22, 1884, and reared in this eity. He attended the Detroit University School and afterward entered the Univer- sity of Michigan for a classical course, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1907. He then went east for professional training and matriculated in the medi- eal department of Harvard University, which con- ferred upon him his M.D. degree in 1910. After two years spent as interne and house physician in the Massachusetts General Hospital he returned to Detroit in 1912 and became associated with his father in the practice of medicine. He is now junior attending physician to Harper Hospital and is engaged in gen- eral practice. He is a member of the Wayne County and Michigan State Medical Societies, the American Medical Association and the Detroit Academy of Medicine.
On the 17th of April, 1912, Dr. Jennings was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Longworth Anderson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. P. Anderson, repre- sentatives of a very prominent family of Grosse Ile, Michigan. Dr. and Mrs. Jennings have become parents of three children: Charles Godwin, (II), born in Detroit, in March, 1914; Fred Anderson, born in Detroit, in December, 1915; and Richard Hall, born in May, 1917. The two elder sons are in school. Dr. Jennings belongs to the Delta Kappa Epsilon frater- nity and has membership in the University and Coun- try Clubs. He is also a member of Christ church.
FREDERICK S. STOEPEL is the president of the Stoepel Land Company of Detroit and by reason of indefatigable energy, elose application and diserimin- ating enterprise he has made for himself a most ereditable place in real estate circles. He was born in this city in 1882. His father was Frederick C. Stoepel, whose birth occurred in Germany in 1846 and who was a son of William Stoepel, a native of Ger- many, who came to Detroit about 1851, casting in his lot with the early residents of the city. He was a , building contractor and here passed away. His son, Frederick C. Stoepel, established a wholesale dry goods business in Detroit in 1875 as a member of the firm of Burnham, Stoepel & Company, which is still in existence. A branch house was opened in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1890, under the firm style of Burnhanı, Hanna, Munger & Company, which today is carried on under the name of the Burnham-Munger-Root Dry Goods Company. For an extended period Frederick C. Stoepel was thus prominently associated with the commercial interests of Detroit, occupying a com- manding position in wholesale dry goods circles. In
188I he married Anna R. Sutton, who is still living in Detroit, but the death of Frederick C. Stoepel occurred in 1917.
To some extent in publie but largely in private schools of Detroit, Frederick S. Stoepel was edu- eated and after mastering the preliminary branches of learning he went east to Exeter, New Hampshire, where he entered the Phillips Exeter Academy, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901. He then returned to Detroit, where he became connected with the wholesale dry goods business of which his father had been one of the promoters and in which he is still interested. His active association with that undertaking covered a period of twelve years, after which he turned his attention to the real estate busi- ness, primarily to look after his father's real estate and also property holdings belonging to his mother. He has so continued and is now the president of the Stoepel Land Company, also the president of the Stoepel Realty Company and conducts his own real estate business under his individual name. He like- wise maintains a general insurance agency and dis- plays splendid business ability in the management of the interests under his direction.
On the 27th of December, 1906, in Memphis, Ten- nessee, Mr. Stoepel was married to Miss Iorantha Mary Semmes, a daughter of James Malcolm Semmes, the latter a nephew of Admiral Semmes. Mr. and Mrs. Stoepel have become the parents of four children: Mary Anne; Iorantha Jordan; Ellen Semmes; and Fredericka Josephine.
Mr. Stoepel served iu the quartermaster's depart- ment in St. Louis during the period of the World war. He was commissioned a first lieutenant on the 29th of October, 1918, and was honorably discharged in January, 1919, spending that period in St. Louis. His politieal endorsement is given to the republican party and he is a well known figure in social eireles, his personal qualities making for popularity in the different clubs to which he belongs, including the Detroit Club, Detroit Athletic, Detroit Country, Bloomfield Open Hunt and Indian Village Clubs and to the Board of Commerce. He belongs also to the First Congregational church and the motive forces of his life have ever been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, measuring up to the high- est standards of manhood and citizenship.
DR. HARLOW B. DRAKE, who for many years was numbered among the most prominent physicians of Detroit, passed away July 5, 1921. He was born at Fremont, Indiana, on the 27th of November, 1848, and was the son of Dr. Elijah H. and Cornelia R. (Blakes- lee) Drake. The father brought his family to Detroit in 1852 and here entered into partnership with Dr. John R. Ellis. He became a well known and noted representative of the medical fraternity, practicing for a time in association with his son, under the style of Dr. E. H. Drake & Son.
FREDERICK S. STOEPEL
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Harlow B. Drake obtained his early education in the public schools of Detroit and later entered the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, from which he was graduated with the class of 1869. Hav- ing determined to follow in his father's professional footsteps, he matriculated in the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. at his graduation in 1873. In April of that year he began practice in Detroit in association with his father, with whom he remained until November, 1874, while from 1875 until 1877 he was in partnership with Dr. Miller. After eight years of success as a homeopathic prac- titioner of Detroit he was obliged to give np his work because of impaired health and went west to live on a stock ranch. When the ontdoor life had fully re- stored his health he settled in Portland, Oregon, where he practiced his profession from 1885 until 1900. The following year he returned to Detroit, here re- maining an active and leading representative of the medical fraternity to the time of his demise. "Devo- tion to his profession and nntiring care of his patients are ontstanding characteristies in the long and sue- cessful career of Dr. Drake," said one of the local papers in reviewing his life. He was a member of the medical staff of Grace Hospital and 'belonged to the American Institute of Homeopathy, the Homeopathic Medical Society of Michigan, the Detroit Practitioners Club, the American Medical Association, the Wayne County Medical Society and the Homeopathie Medical Society of Oregon.
On the 22d of April, 1874, in Detroit, Dr. Drake was nnited in marriage to Miss Eleanor C. Swain, who passed away in January, 1910. To them were born two daughters, Mrs. C. D. Johnston of Los Angeles, California; and Eleanor J., who resides in the Pasadena apartments, where Dr. Drake spent the last years of his life. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Union Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M., and he was likewise a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. Driving afforded him needed recreation but his leisure honrs were few, as he was an extremely busy and successful practitioner, constantly over- burdened by demands for his services, both profes- sionally and socially. His death brought a sense of deep bereavement to many, for he was held in high esteem wherever known and had gained many friends in this city during the long years of his professional service here.
DANIEL A. SULLIVAN, engaged in the brokerage business as a member of the firm of Sullivan & Driggs, was born in Ireland but was only three years of age when brought to the United States by his parents. For two years the family home was maintained in New York and at the end of that time was established in Detroit. Daniel A. Sullivan attended the parochial schools of this city and also the Detroit University, then known as Detroit College. After a four years' college course, in which he
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