• Funeral services for John C. Mulkey, retired secretary of the Mulkey Salt Co., will be held at his home, 4295 W. Buena Vista, at 3:30 p. m. Saturday. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Mr. Mulkey, who has been retired for the last eight years, died Thursday after a long illness. He was born Aug. 6, 1880 at Hutchinson, Kans., and had been a resident of Detroit for 50 years. He became a member of the salt company when his father, J. M. Mulkey, and his uncle, O. W. Mulkey, founded the organization.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Downie Mulkey, and four sons, John, Robert, James and Richard.166

• 1910 Census: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. Age 29, b KS. Single. Broker, Stocks. Parents b IL. Living with parents.167
• 1920 Census: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. Age 36, b KS. Sec. Treas? of Co; Salt Mfg. Parents b IL.168
• 1930 Census: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. Age 50, b KS. Realtor, Real Estate. Parents b IL. Age 37 at 1st marriage [sic].169

• Codicil [to Nelson Mills Will] appoints son David W. Mills as joint executor with Myron W. Mills.104, p 6,105, p 50, #172

• SUIT INVOLVING OVER $1,500,000
[excerpts] A suit was begun in the circuit court on Monday afternoon which involves real and personal property amounting to a million and a half dollars. Myron W. Mills and David Mills, executors of the estate of the late Nelson Mills are the complainants, and Mary M. Mills and Hannah E. Mills, administratrixes of the estate of the late Barney Mills, are the defendants. The suit is a friendly one, and is begun for the purpose of winding up the co-partnership of N. & B. Mills.
Judge Law ordered that Myron Mills and David Mills continue the business, sell the property, and close the estate as soon as possible.106

• The marriage of Miss Maud Merrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Merrell, to Mr. David Williams Mills, of Marysville, was quietly celebrated yesterday. The ceremony took place at the home of the bride’s parents, Commonwealth Avenue, and Rev. William T. Jaquess officiated. Only the immediate families were present. After the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Mills left for a trip south, where they will pass the remainder of the winter.107

• David W. is vice president of the Mills, Gray, Carleton Lumber Company, and makes his home in Cleveland. He was married in 1909 to Miss Maud Merrell, of Detroit, and they have one son, Nelson.11, p 684

• Lived in Cleveland, Ohio, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif.108

• Resided at 14186 Euclid Avenue, East Cleveland.1

• D. W. Mills, of Northern Ohio Lumber & Timber Co., Cleveland, Ohio, on his recent visit to California stated his company handled principally southern pine and Douglas fir, with small quantities of California sugar and white pine and red cedar siding.
Mr. Mills says the general feeling is towards a better business than last year.109, p 2

• It is a good question why David W. Mills picked up and moved to California? I don’t know for sure, but I think I know some reasons why that might be the lumber business was changing…lumber products were becoming more mechanically produced, and that likely meant it became even more of a commodity-priced product. (The high margin days…were likely behind him…in a significantly developed and mechanized market like Cleveland. Plus, going into the 1900s…steel was king.) But in California…it was still highly undeveloped. And the lure of going west where you can lead in an immature market likely had something to do with it as well. He probably had a good payday too…and like all business owners, perhaps seized upon “an exit strategy opportunity.”110

• Informant on Edward George Merrell death certificate; 4 Aug 1924; his address given: 1886 Carter Road (address for Northern Ohio Lumber & Timber Co.)98

• Resigned as President of Monterey Bay Lumber Company; about Nov 1928.111

• Mr. Mills, father of the injured young man, formerly was president of the Monterey Bay Lumber company, resigning several months ago.12

• Dear Beth
We arrived here Tuesday afternoon, Bertha having decided she would like to have another look at St. Cloud, something we had decided not to do when we left home. However, we are leaving for Duluth this afternoon and hope to be in Mackinaw Friday night and Leland early Saturday. Expect to leave Leland early next Monday and should be passing through Ogemaw sometime around noon that day and in Port Huron late afternoon.
A fine trip so far.
Love,
Dave112

• MILLS – Mr. David W. Mills, beloved husband of Mrs. Bertha Mills, father of Nelson M. Mills, grandfather of Nelson E., David W. and Donald C. Mills. Service Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the “Wee Kirk O’ the Heather,” directed by Forest Lawn Mortuary. Friends may send flowers to Stanford Convalescent Home, Palo Alto, Calif., or make contributions to the American Heart Assn.113

• David W. Mills
Funeral services for David W. Mills, 78, retired lumber executive and father of Nelson M. Mills, president of Pacific Outdoor Advertising Co., will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. today in Forest Lawn’s Wee Kirk o’ the Heather under the direction of Forest Lawn Mortuary. Mr. Mills lived at 615 E California Ave., Pasadena. He died Tuesday at Huntington Hospital, leaving his widow Bertha, his son Nelson, and three grandsons.114

• 1880 Census: Marysville, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 11/12ths, b MI.115
• 1884 Michigan Census: Port Huron Township, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 3, b MI.116
• 1894 Michigan Census: Port Huron Township, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 15, b MI.117
• 1900 Census: Marysville, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 20, b Jul 1879, MI. At school. Father b Canada (Eng); mother b MI.118
• 1900 Census: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan. Age 20, b Jul 1879, MI. Student. Father b Canada (Eng); mother b MI. [Note: counted twice in 1900.]119
• 1910 Census: East Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Age 30, b MI. President, lumber co. Father b Canada Eng; mother b MI.19
• 1920 Census: Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Age 40, b MI. Corporation official/retail lumber. Father b Nova Scotia; mother b MI.20
• 1930 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 50, b MI. Partner. Occupation Code 97 91: “Retail dealers: other specified dealers.” Father b Nova Scotia; mother b MI.21
• 1940 Census: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Age 60, b MI. Widower. 4 years of college. Has lived in same place 5 years.120
• 1950 Census: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Age 70, b MI. Married. Residing at 1550 Oakdale Street.121

• The Wreck of the David W. Mills [excerpts]
The “David W. Mills” was a typical Great Lakes cargo vessel of the late 19th century. Measuring 202 feet by 34 feet by 13 feet, this wooden “steam barge” could carry over one million board feet of lumber. Built by Thomas Quayle and Sons Shipyard, the vessel was originally named “Sparta” and was launched at Cleveland, Ohio on April 11, 1874. The vessel was renamed in 1910 after the manager of the Port Huron Navigation Company, the firm that owned the ship. Captain Frank J. Peterson bought the “Mills” in 1919.
The “Mills” ran aground on Ford Shoals on August 11, 1919 in dense smog created by forest fires in Canada. Attempts to free the boat failed and it broke apart during a violent October storm.122, p 2

• I thought you might enjoy the knowledge that your family’s history is still actively operating in Cleveland. That’s just a great thing, I think. So I’m sending this note to share that.
NORTHERN OHIO [Lumber & Timber] is the oldest lumber company and sawmill in the State of Ohio, founded in 1864, and has been operating for 156 continuous years in downtown Cleveland. The Company (around 12-15 employees) is a wholesale, commercial lumber and building materials supplier…for Professional Contractors, not a retail lumberyard with walk-in homeowner customers. We’re still a sawmill…and cut custom heavy timber stock on a Mershon Timber Saw and an AM Timber Moulder-Planer, bought new at the time in Saginaw, Michigan — we assume by Nelson Mills — and installed here at NORTHERN OHIO in 1893. (Yes, they still operate on our Millhouse deck…we cut heavy timbers on them for other retail lumberyards and mostly commercial projects. I have attached some pictures of those machines. They were originally steam powered, but were converted to electric power in 1910.) We do other things now too…make heritage wood tabletops, doors, flooring, things like that. I joke that 156-year old companies have clearly learned to adapt. But that is totally accurate.
…with a lot of foresight and smarts, he [Nelson Mills] began assembling collaborative and timber supply partnerships (and shareholders in NORTHERN OHIO LUMBER in 1864 with Caleb Jewett and George Carleton) with multiple, local lumberyards and mills in what was then known in Cleveland as “The Lumber District,” riverfront land on a bend in the Cuyahoga River just upstream from Lake Erie called Scranton Peninsula. NORTHERN OHIO strictly milled and supplied lumber for other Yards, not the public. That didn’t stop him from also opening a local yard too though, N&B Mills. His son, David W. Mills (always signed his name DW Mills), was also a principal of NORTHERN OHIO up until the mid-1920’s or 1930’s when the company would eventually buy out all of the other Yards in the Lumber District.
We mention Nelson Mills in our history section. You can see it here: https://noltco.com/about/#history123

• find his will and probate in Los Angeles County.

• 1914: Resided at 1839 Forest Hill Avenue, East Cleveland. Secretary-Treasurer of the Mills-Carelton Co.
1915: Resided at 13112 Forest Hill Avenue, East Cleveland.124, p 2
1923: Resided at 2218 Chatfield Drive, Cleveland Heights. Secretary, The Northern Ohio Lumber and Timber Co.
1925: same business. Residence: Fenway Hall Hotel.
1926: no listing in Cleveland.124

• 1926: Residence: 406 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, Calif.
1936: Residence: 692 S. Grand Avenue, Pasadena, Calif.102, p 1

• 1942: Residence: 1340 N Harper Ave, Los Angeles, Calif.125

• I haven't heard of David Williams Mills but a search on newspapers.com shows that he arrived in Santa Cruz ca 1925 and only stuck around for about five years. The article says he was president of the Monterey Bay Redwood Company and was succeeded in that role by J. A. Harris, with whom he still apparently had a relationship since Harris's wife attended Mills' wife's funeral in 1937. The Monterey Bay Redwood Company incorporated on January 24, 1925 to harvest the remaining old growth redwood trees in what would become the Soquel Demonstration State Forest. I suspect I'll read more about your grandfather when I'm editing the third book by Ronald Powell, which will include the history of that lumber company. I haven't gotten to it yet, unfortunately. I'm still struggling through volume 2! Still, there are lots of articles on the Monterey Bay Redwood Company on newspapers.com, so I'd check that out as a starting point if you haven't already.3, p 1

• [excerpts] In a deal indicated by revenue stamps used in the transaction of approximately $500,000, the Monterey Bay Redwood company comes into ownership of the peak of Loma Prieta, the highest in the Santa Cruz mountains, and a forest of 5000 heavily wooded acres, mainly virgin redwood, with a considerable stand of pine.
The Monterey Bay Lumber company is headed by D. W. Mills and a group of other capitalists of Cleveland, Ohio.
Fred D. Hihn and Ruth Younger, heirs of the Hihn estate, are the largest stockholders in the Valencia-Hihn company…126

• “Thus it was that the big Hihn Sawmill which had been erected at Laurel at the beginning of the century was able to ship to San Francisco the lumber the city needed so desperately for rebuilding after the quake and fire. F. A. Hihn. who had made himself Santa Cruz first millionaire, announced the construction of the new mill at Laurel after his crews had logged off the country around Aptos and Valencia and delivered the timber to Hihn's mill on Soquel creek. Hihn's move to Laurel was to open a stand of timber virtually untouched. The bright new machinery, for a Stearns mill, was bought from the Eby Machinery company in San Francisco and transported to Laurel on the railroad. The mill, the pride of its owner, had a steam operated single band saw. Its capacity was rated at 50,000 feet a day. with a possibility of crowding the run to 60,000 feet if the logs ran good. The installation of the mill at Laurel virtually marked the end of the days of logging with oxen in the Santa Cruz mountains. Hihn installed donkey engines which dragged the logs over skidways. The Hihn mill, which operated for 17 or 18 years, reached its peak of production during the years San Francisco was rebuilt. A few years after Hihn's death in 1913. the Laurel mill ceased operations, with most of the available timber cut. In 1917 the machinery was bought by the California Fruit Growers association and moved to Mather, in the Hetch Hetchy country of Tuolumne county. It operated there until 26 years ago when it was moved to Soquel creek by James A. Harris. Jr., and David Mills, and operated there until four or five years ago as the Monterey Bay Redwood company. Last month some of the machinery from the mill was sold to interests at Areata, in Humboldt county, and the remainder disposed of to dealers in used mill machinery.”127

• For the purpose of increasing production of redwood lumber for the coming year the Monterey Bay Redwood company has installed a band resaw at its mill on the Soquel creek, it was announced today by officials of the company. The installation work was completed last week. At the same time it was announced that at a recent meeting of the board of directors of the company J. A. Harris Jr. was elected president of the company to succeed D. W. Mills, resigned.111

• Mills - Merrell.
The marriage of Miss Maud Merrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Merrell, to Mr. David Williams Mills, of Marysville, was quietly celebrated yesterday. The ceremony took place at the home of the bride’s parents, Commonwealth avenue, and Rev. William T. Jaquiess officiated. Only the immediate families were present. After the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Mills left for a trip south, where they will pass the remainder of the winter.107

• Rev. William T. Jaques is pastor of the Trumball Ave. Presbyterian Church, h. 90 Avery Ave.140, p 3

• Married one year in 1910 Census.19

• Marriage witnessed by W. B. James.139