William Henry Powers is the eldest son of the Hon. William Thompson Powers, and was born in the City of Troy, New York, 7 April 1841. He came to Grand Rapids with his parents in the June, 1847, where he has resided ever since. He received a common school education, and at the age of 18 entered the employ of his father as clerk and bookkeeper, in which position he continued until 1863, when his father closed out his furniture business.
In the spring of 1862 he was elected City Clerk, in which position he served one year; his office where the city business was transacted being with that of his father. At the conclusion of his term of office he, in company with Dudley H. Waters, secured from the city the contract for grading, graveling and paving the gutters of Lyon Street from Canal Street east to Union Street; and subsequently they also secured the contract for grading Kent Street from Lyon to Bronson, and Ionia from Lyon to Hastings. At that time this was the heaviest grading contract ever let by the city.
These contracts afforded a fair profit, and this was the business starter for Mr. Powers. From this he went into manufacturing, having rented from his father the old furniture factory with its machinery on Erie street, where the office and steam fitting shop of Adolf Leitelt now are. Here he did a small amount of business at job work, turning, planing and sawing, employing two or three men, running the machines principally himself, wood turning and scroll sawing being his forte. After operating in this way for some time with but fair profit, be put in shingle machinery and operated one winter on contract for Powers & White, cutting out bolts which were run down from Rouge River and pulled out at the head of the rapids.
In 1866, in company with Ebenezer Morris Ball, John Ball's nephew, he purchased the interest of the George Whittemore estate, and subsequently the remaining interest of his father, in the steam saw mill on the west side of the river at the head of the rapids, and they commenced manufacturing lumber, continuing the business with reasonable profit until 1868, when they sold their mill to A. B. Long & Sons.
They then invested their means in a water power site on the then new West Side canal, upon which they erected a planing mill and sash and door factory, where the Powers & Walker Casket Company's works are now situated. Mr. Powers is the principal stockholder and President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, whose business was founded in 1875, and which is now classed among the largest manufacturing concerns in the Valley City.
In 1885 Mr. Powers, in company with his father, purchased the plant known as the Michigan Iron Works, at the foot of Louis street, and he at once assumed the management of the machine shop and foundry comprising this plant, giving the business his personal attention, and operating it with marked success to the present, time. Mr. Powers has been, and is still, interested in many other manufacturing enterprises, and has filled many positions of trust of both business and public nature, among which are: President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, President of the Wolverine Chair & Furniture Company, Secretary of the Grand Rapids Brush Company, Secretary and Treasurer of the Rouge & Grand River Log Running Company (which position he held for sixteen years), Secretary and Treasurer of the Grand Rapids Electric Light & Power Company (which position he has held since the first organization of the company in 1880), President of the Martins' Middlings Purifier Company, and for ten years Manager of Powers' Grand Opera House.
Among the public positions which he has filled are those of City Clerk, Alderman, Member of the State Legislature, Member of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, at the present time serving his second term as President of this Board, and now just completing his second term as member of the Board, to which position he was first appointed in 1881, being one of the original members named in the Act of the Legislature creating the Board.
He is also an active member of the Board of Trade, being one of its Directors ever since its organization. He was one of the Charter Members of Mystic Lodge of the Knights of Honor, and has filled all the chairs in that order, to that of Grand Dictator. Mr. Powers married, 9 February 1865, Sarah Leonard Bradford, daughter of Durfee Turner and Hannah Munro Bradford, of Walker Township. They have had seven children, of whom they have buried three — Emma Leona, George Ball and Leona B. The four now living are Frederick William, Frank Charles, Carrie Louisa and Gertrude Bradford Powers.
The record of the Hon. William H. Powers is that of a busy life, marked by energy, industry, enterprise, sagacity, integrity and thrift. His work and the positions accorded him show, better than mere words could, his standing as a man and citizen, and the place he has won in the public esteem. In the zenith of middle manhood he is yet at work, with apparently no abatement of vigor.
In the spring of 1862 he was elected City Clerk, in which position he served one year; his office where the city business was transacted being with that of his father. At the conclusion of his term of office he, in company with Dudley H. Waters, secured from the city the contract for grading, graveling and paving the gutters of Lyon Street from Canal Street east to Union Street; and subsequently they also secured the contract for grading Kent Street from Lyon to Bronson, and Ionia from Lyon to Hastings. At that time this was the heaviest grading contract ever let by the city.
These contracts afforded a fair profit, and this was the business starter for Mr. Powers. From this he went into manufacturing, having rented from his father the old furniture factory with its machinery on Erie street, where the office and steam fitting shop of Adolf Leitelt now are. Here he did a small amount of business at job work, turning, planing and sawing, employing two or three men, running the machines principally himself, wood turning and scroll sawing being his forte. After operating in this way for some time with but fair profit, be put in shingle machinery and operated one winter on contract for Powers & White, cutting out bolts which were run down from Rouge River and pulled out at the head of the rapids.
In 1866, in company with Ebenezer Morris Ball, John Ball's nephew, he purchased the interest of the George Whittemore estate, and subsequently the remaining interest of his father, in the steam saw mill on the west side of the river at the head of the rapids, and they commenced manufacturing lumber, continuing the business with reasonable profit until 1868, when they sold their mill to A. B. Long & Sons.
They then invested their means in a water power site on the then new West Side canal, upon which they erected a planing mill and sash and door factory, where the Powers & Walker Casket Company's works are now situated. Mr. Powers is the principal stockholder and President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, whose business was founded in 1875, and which is now classed among the largest manufacturing concerns in the Valley City.
In 1885 Mr. Powers, in company with his father, purchased the plant known as the Michigan Iron Works, at the foot of Louis street, and he at once assumed the management of the machine shop and foundry comprising this plant, giving the business his personal attention, and operating it with marked success to the present, time. Mr. Powers has been, and is still, interested in many other manufacturing enterprises, and has filled many positions of trust of both business and public nature, among which are: President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, President of the Wolverine Chair & Furniture Company, Secretary of the Grand Rapids Brush Company, Secretary and Treasurer of the Rouge & Grand River Log Running Company (which position he held for sixteen years), Secretary and Treasurer of the Grand Rapids Electric Light & Power Company (which position he has held since the first organization of the company in 1880), President of the Martins' Middlings Purifier Company, and for ten years Manager of Powers' Grand Opera House.
Among the public positions which he has filled are those of City Clerk, Alderman, Member of the State Legislature, Member of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, at the present time serving his second term as President of this Board, and now just completing his second term as member of the Board, to which position he was first appointed in 1881, being one of the original members named in the Act of the Legislature creating the Board.
He is also an active member of the Board of Trade, being one of its Directors ever since its organization. He was one of the Charter Members of Mystic Lodge of the Knights of Honor, and has filled all the chairs in that order, to that of Grand Dictator. Mr. Powers married, 9 February 1865, Sarah Leonard Bradford, daughter of Durfee Turner and Hannah Munro Bradford, of Walker Township. They have had seven children, of whom they have buried three — Emma Leona, George Ball and Leona B. The four now living are Frederick William, Frank Charles, Carrie Louisa and Gertrude Bradford Powers.
The record of the Hon. William H. Powers is that of a busy life, marked by energy, industry, enterprise, sagacity, integrity and thrift. His work and the positions accorded him show, better than mere words could, his standing as a man and citizen, and the place he has won in the public esteem. In the zenith of middle manhood he is yet at work, with apparently no abatement of vigor.
William Henry Powers is the eldest son of the Hon. William Thompson Powers, and was born in the City of Troy, New York, 7 April 1841. He came to Grand Rapids with his parents in the June, 1847, where he has resided ever since. He received a common school education, and at the age of 18 entered the employ of his father as clerk and bookkeeper, in which position he continued until 1863, when his father closed out his furniture business.
In the spring of 1862 he was elected City Clerk, in which position he served one year; his office where the city business was transacted being with that of his father. At the conclusion of his term of office he, in company with Dudley H. Waters, secured from the city the contract for grading, graveling and paving the gutters of Lyon Street from Canal Street east to Union Street; and subsequently they also secured the contract for grading Kent Street from Lyon to Bronson, and Ionia from Lyon to Hastings. At that time this was the heaviest grading contract ever let by the city.
These contracts afforded a fair profit, and this was the business starter for Mr. Powers. From this he went into manufacturing, having rented from his father the old furniture factory with its machinery on Erie street, where the office and steam fitting shop of Adolf Leitelt now are. Here he did a small amount of business at job work, turning, planing and sawing, employing two or three men, running the machines principally himself, wood turning and scroll sawing being his forte. After operating in this way for some time with but fair profit, be put in shingle machinery and operated one winter on contract for Powers & White, cutting out bolts which were run down from Rouge River and pulled out at the head of the rapids.
In 1866, in company with Ebenezer Morris Ball, John Ball's nephew, he purchased the interest of the George Whittemore estate, and subsequently the remaining interest of his father, in the steam saw mill on the west side of the river at the head of the rapids, and they commenced manufacturing lumber, continuing the business with reasonable profit until 1868, when they sold their mill to A. B. Long & Sons.
They then invested their means in a water power site on the then new West Side canal, upon which they erected a planing mill and sash and door factory, where the Powers & Walker Casket Company's works are now situated. Mr. Powers is the principal stockholder and President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, whose business was founded in 1875, and which is now classed among the largest manufacturing concerns in the Valley City.
In 1885 Mr. Powers, in company with his father, purchased the plant known as the Michigan Iron Works, at the foot of Louis street, and he at once assumed the management of the machine shop and foundry comprising this plant, giving the business his personal attention, and operating it with marked success to the present, time. Mr. Powers has been, and is still, interested in many other manufacturing enterprises, and has filled many positions of trust of both business and public nature, among which are: President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, President of the Wolverine Chair & Furniture Company, Secretary of the Grand Rapids Brush Company, Secretary and Treasurer of the Rouge & Grand River Log Running Company (which position he held for sixteen years), Secretary and Treasurer of the Grand Rapids Electric Light & Power Company (which position he has held since the first organization of the company in 1880), President of the Martins' Middlings Purifier Company, and for ten years Manager of Powers' Grand Opera House.
Among the public positions which he has filled are those of City Clerk, Alderman, Member of the State Legislature, Member of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, at the present time serving his second term as President of this Board, and now just completing his second term as member of the Board, to which position he was first appointed in 1881, being one of the original members named in the Act of the Legislature creating the Board.
He is also an active member of the Board of Trade, being one of its Directors ever since its organization. He was one of the Charter Members of Mystic Lodge of the Knights of Honor, and has filled all the chairs in that order, to that of Grand Dictator. Mr. Powers married, 9 February 1865, Sarah Leonard Bradford, daughter of Durfee Turner and Hannah Munro Bradford, of Walker Township. They have had seven children, of whom they have buried three — Emma Leona, George Ball and Leona B. The four now living are Frederick William, Frank Charles, Carrie Louisa and Gertrude Bradford Powers.
The record of the Hon. William H. Powers is that of a busy life, marked by energy, industry, enterprise, sagacity, integrity and thrift. His work and the positions accorded him show, better than mere words could, his standing as a man and citizen, and the place he has won in the public esteem. In the zenith of middle manhood he is yet at work, with apparently no abatement of vigor.
In the spring of 1862 he was elected City Clerk, in which position he served one year; his office where the city business was transacted being with that of his father. At the conclusion of his term of office he, in company with Dudley H. Waters, secured from the city the contract for grading, graveling and paving the gutters of Lyon Street from Canal Street east to Union Street; and subsequently they also secured the contract for grading Kent Street from Lyon to Bronson, and Ionia from Lyon to Hastings. At that time this was the heaviest grading contract ever let by the city.
These contracts afforded a fair profit, and this was the business starter for Mr. Powers. From this he went into manufacturing, having rented from his father the old furniture factory with its machinery on Erie street, where the office and steam fitting shop of Adolf Leitelt now are. Here he did a small amount of business at job work, turning, planing and sawing, employing two or three men, running the machines principally himself, wood turning and scroll sawing being his forte. After operating in this way for some time with but fair profit, be put in shingle machinery and operated one winter on contract for Powers & White, cutting out bolts which were run down from Rouge River and pulled out at the head of the rapids.
In 1866, in company with Ebenezer Morris Ball, John Ball's nephew, he purchased the interest of the George Whittemore estate, and subsequently the remaining interest of his father, in the steam saw mill on the west side of the river at the head of the rapids, and they commenced manufacturing lumber, continuing the business with reasonable profit until 1868, when they sold their mill to A. B. Long & Sons.
They then invested their means in a water power site on the then new West Side canal, upon which they erected a planing mill and sash and door factory, where the Powers & Walker Casket Company's works are now situated. Mr. Powers is the principal stockholder and President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, whose business was founded in 1875, and which is now classed among the largest manufacturing concerns in the Valley City.
In 1885 Mr. Powers, in company with his father, purchased the plant known as the Michigan Iron Works, at the foot of Louis street, and he at once assumed the management of the machine shop and foundry comprising this plant, giving the business his personal attention, and operating it with marked success to the present, time. Mr. Powers has been, and is still, interested in many other manufacturing enterprises, and has filled many positions of trust of both business and public nature, among which are: President of the Powers & Walker Casket Company, President of the Wolverine Chair & Furniture Company, Secretary of the Grand Rapids Brush Company, Secretary and Treasurer of the Rouge & Grand River Log Running Company (which position he held for sixteen years), Secretary and Treasurer of the Grand Rapids Electric Light & Power Company (which position he has held since the first organization of the company in 1880), President of the Martins' Middlings Purifier Company, and for ten years Manager of Powers' Grand Opera House.
Among the public positions which he has filled are those of City Clerk, Alderman, Member of the State Legislature, Member of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, at the present time serving his second term as President of this Board, and now just completing his second term as member of the Board, to which position he was first appointed in 1881, being one of the original members named in the Act of the Legislature creating the Board.
He is also an active member of the Board of Trade, being one of its Directors ever since its organization. He was one of the Charter Members of Mystic Lodge of the Knights of Honor, and has filled all the chairs in that order, to that of Grand Dictator. Mr. Powers married, 9 February 1865, Sarah Leonard Bradford, daughter of Durfee Turner and Hannah Munro Bradford, of Walker Township. They have had seven children, of whom they have buried three — Emma Leona, George Ball and Leona B. The four now living are Frederick William, Frank Charles, Carrie Louisa and Gertrude Bradford Powers.
The record of the Hon. William H. Powers is that of a busy life, marked by energy, industry, enterprise, sagacity, integrity and thrift. His work and the positions accorded him show, better than mere words could, his standing as a man and citizen, and the place he has won in the public esteem. In the zenith of middle manhood he is yet at work, with apparently no abatement of vigor.
Inscription
William H.
Apr. 7, 1841
Feb. 25, 1895
Family Members
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