James A. Weaver
On the opposite page appears a portrait
of this gentleman, who was identified with the business interests
of Saginaw for a quarter of a century. After a protracted
illness he passed from live on the 12th of April 1880. He
was born at Vernon, N.Y., March 21, 1830, and his parents were
Zachariah and Maria (Truax) Weaver, both natives of New York
State and of old Holland ancestry. The father was born
November 25, 1786, and the mother July 15, 1790.
At
Rochester our subject learned the carpenter’s trade at
an early age, and was only eighteen years of age when he came
West. His first work in
Michigan was done in the car shops of the Michigan Central Railway
at Detroit, and
in a short time he was promoted to superintending the supply
department
in the building, which place he held up to the time of his
coming
to Saginaw in 1865, a period of fifteen or sixteen years. In
that trusted position of responsibility he was considered by his
employers to be one of best men they ever had.
When Mr. Weaver came
to Saginaw he engaged with his nephew, Charles H. Wilkins, in
the boot and shoe business and later formed a partnership in
the same line with Jacob Seligman, the firm being Weaver and
Seligman. Meanwhile
the senior member of the firm was the proprietor of a furniture
house and, until his factory was destroyed by fire, gave employment
to a large number of men. The boot and shoe business was
closed in 1885, but the furniture establishment was conducted
until 1888. Thoroughly practical in his transactions and
understanding every department of his business, he built up a
prosperity commensurate with the merits of his goods and the
superior facilities he enjoyed.
A
conservative and successful business man, Mr. Weaver never met
with failure during his entire business career. His
store was located at No. 220 Genesee Avenue, where the People’s
Savings Bank is now situated, and the property is still in the
hands of the family. He became
one-forth owner of the Everett House Block in 1877. Eight
years after his health commenced to fail and he was obliged to
abandon his business. Previous to his illness he was a
man of fine physique, tall and stately. In his political
views he was in sympathy with the Republican party but never
devoted his attention to politics, as his time and strength were
all absorbed by his private business.
The
family mansion at No. 325 South Jefferson Street, was erected
in 1875, at a cost of not less than $12,000, and is
finished in elegant style, with hard wood trimmings. The
marriage of Mr. Weaver took place September 25, 1856 at Oneida,
N.Y., and he was then united with Miss Nancy M., daughter of
Solomon and Lean Ann (Flanders) Klock.
Mr. Klock is still living at the age of eighty-eight years. The family,
which has lived for generations at Albany, is of old Dutch stock and Grandfather
Flanders was active in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver were blessed
by the birth of two daughters; Emma A., who now Mrs. P.J. Doyle of Chicago,
and Agnes C., who is a graduate of the Class of ’84, of the Literary Department
of the State University of Michigan, and in 1990 to her degree in Medical Department
of the same institution. She is now employed in hospital work in Boston,
where she spent one year at the New England Hospital for Women and Children,
and will, during 1892-93, spend a year abroad in study. The death of Mr.
Weaver was deeply felt in Saginaw, although he had been for several years withdrawn
from active participation in the affairs of business.