Detroit Mayor. He received recognition as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, serving one year as a Democrat from 1876 to 1877. Born a Canadian, he came to Michigan in 1837 as a teenager and became a successful businessman in wholesale goods, insurance, and real estate. His mother was Jeanne Villiers, the daughter of Louis Villiers, one of the founders of Detroit. He, his brother, Samuel, and Horace Gray developed the firm of Bridge & Lewis. Besides a successful wheat and grain business, he was active with the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company, a director of the Detroit National Bank, president of Detroit Gas Light Company, and in 1862 president of the Detroit Board of Trade. He served as Police Commissioner from 1865 to 1875 and co-founded the Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, serving as the first Vice President in 1877. He was of the Roman Catholic faith. In 1850, he married Elizabeth J. Ingersoll and the couple had 13 children. In 1900 he built for his resident the mansion "Gross Point," which was on a 6-acre piece of property. The mansion consisted of two houses connected by a two-story classical portico, with the east house was demolished by 1950. The remaining house was eventually donated to St. Paul Catholic Church of Gross Point and demolished in 2018. Their daughter Julia relocated to Colorado and became the wife of entrepreneur Spencer Penrose, who developed the Colorado Springs area. Lewis's family cemetery plot is marked with a huge Greek Revival upright marker with four columns. His actual grave has a cross as a slab.
Detroit Mayor. He received recognition as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, serving one year as a Democrat from 1876 to 1877. Born a Canadian, he came to Michigan in 1837 as a teenager and became a successful businessman in wholesale goods, insurance, and real estate. His mother was Jeanne Villiers, the daughter of Louis Villiers, one of the founders of Detroit. He, his brother, Samuel, and Horace Gray developed the firm of Bridge & Lewis. Besides a successful wheat and grain business, he was active with the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Company, a director of the Detroit National Bank, president of Detroit Gas Light Company, and in 1862 president of the Detroit Board of Trade. He served as Police Commissioner from 1865 to 1875 and co-founded the Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, serving as the first Vice President in 1877. He was of the Roman Catholic faith. In 1850, he married Elizabeth J. Ingersoll and the couple had 13 children. In 1900 he built for his resident the mansion "Gross Point," which was on a 6-acre piece of property. The mansion consisted of two houses connected by a two-story classical portico, with the east house was demolished by 1950. The remaining house was eventually donated to St. Paul Catholic Church of Gross Point and demolished in 2018. Their daughter Julia relocated to Colorado and became the wife of entrepreneur Spencer Penrose, who developed the Colorado Springs area. Lewis's family cemetery plot is marked with a huge Greek Revival upright marker with four columns. His actual grave has a cross as a slab.
Bio by: Linda Davis
Family Members
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