Cyrenius A. Newcomb Sr.

Cyrenius Adelbert Newcomb Sr. (1837 -1915) founded Michigan's first department store, Newcomb-Endicott, which became one of the largest merchantile firms in the Midwest prior to World War I. He was also a leader in reform and philanthropic work, including being one of the founders of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

New England Roots

Cyrenius Newcomb Sr. was born to Hezekiah and Nancy (Rounds) Newcomb in Cortland, NY, Nov. 10, 1837. His family can be traced to the Newcombs that were actively involved in the American Revolution. Starting in the dry goods business at age 18, Newcomb Sr. came to Detroit from Taunton, MA in 1868 and set up a dry goods store on the corner of Jefferson and Woodward. Three years later, the store moved to the first floor of the original Detroit Opera House Building. By 1881, the store moved again to a location on Woodward Avenue where Hudson's would later occupy. Newcomb Sr. was first married to Mary Haskell in Connecticut and they had three sons and a daughter. After her death, he married Mary Sharp in 1899 in Detroit.

Partnership with John Endicott

Massachusetts native and Harvard graduate John Endicott came to Detroit in 1891, becoming head bookkeeper of Newcomb's enterprise. He was “admitted as a member of the firm” in 1896 and became treasurer when Newcomb-Endicott was incorporated as a department store in 1903, according to The Book of Detroiters. He was married twice, first to Elizabeth Watson, who died, and the in 1902 to Mary Elizabeth Booth and had three children. His other endeavors included being director of the Michigan State Agricultural Society, and owner of a large stock farm near Birmingham where he bred Hackney horses. Newcomb Jr., the second of C.A. Newcomb Sr.'s children who was born in 1871, joined his father's business in 1893 after obtaining a bachelor of letters degree from U of M. He became director and secretary of Newcomb-Endicott and also a trustee of the North Chicago Land Association. He married Brownie Jenness Kelly and had two sons, including C.A. Newcomb III, and daughter Alice Jenness Newcomb who later married DAC member Warren Scripps Booth. Newcomb Jr.'s hobbies included sailing and hew was also a member of the Detroit Boat, Detroit Curling and the Aldine (NY) clubs. Little information was found about C.A. Newcomb III other than he lived in Palo Alto, CA, at the time of his father's death in 1958. Scott was born in Colborne, ON, but at one point lived in Indianapolis where he married Harriet C. Cane. He came to Detroit in 1881 where he joined Newcomb-Endicott and became second vice president in 1903. He also owned Halcyon Farm, which exclusively stocked imported Guernsey cattle. He lived on Grosse Ile and also belonged to the Detroit Club, Detroit Boat Club, Old Club, and Aldine (NY). Cyrenius Newcomb Sr. died in late 1915, according to an information index card at the Detroit Public Library.