The Niles Star

Reddick family were early Entrepreneurs

By Staff
Silverbrook Legacies / By The Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery
NILES – Today working in a global economy is something we take pretty much for granted.
When John B. Reddick traveled from Germany to Niles in 1831 to engage in the clothing business, little did he know his son would one day create a business with considerable trade exported to England and Australia.
Reddick married Nancy Emmons of Kentucky in 1832 and they had three children: Louise, John L. and William A.
Louise, born in 1834, married Mahlon A. Smith of Coldwater in 1858 and gave birth to Carmi R. Smith in 1862. Her son went on become a member of the State Legislature from Berrien County Second District in 1898.
Smith served as mayor of Niles in 1903 for a short period then resigned. He was also postmaster and continued his political aspirations in 1924 as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
John L., born in 1836, built a prosperous business through the sale of lumber, wood and lime. An advertisement in the Niles City Directory of the day shows that he also dealt in coal and received orders at the "Boot and Shoe store of J.T. Wares &Co." on Main Street and at the offices of Reddick and Wares on Front Street.
It is possible that a young Carmi Smith got his business tutelage through John L. as his politicalgraveyard.com biography suggests he was a "supplier of straw and pulp for paper mills and in the lumber business."
However, it was William A. the youngest son of the German immigrant who became the globe trotting entrepreneur.
The History of Berrien County article states " The Reddick Hardware Specialties is owned by W. A. Reddick. The business was established in 1880.
"The goods principally manufactured are wire potato scoop, flesh forks and wire doll beds. The number of hands employed is 35, wages ranged from five to 12 dollars per week. A considerable export trade is done with England and Australia."
Documentation found at footnotes.com a division of RootsWeb and Ancestry.com, shows that William A. Reddick filled out his passport application in 1898.
The products themselves are interesting and an insight into the culture of the time. Agricultural, indeed with wire potato scoops used to pick up potatoes on the ground or still partially buried in the soil while leaving the soil behind.
Flesh hooks were described in an article on Furniture and Utensils of Soldier's Mess in Barracks at http://www.royalengineers.ca/FUSMB.html:
"The 49th Regiment required their messes to have flesh forks at a proportion of one for every two large dishes. A typical 15 inch, two prong iron flesh fork can be found in an 1801 manufacturer's sample book (Collection of the Essex Institute). The 49th Regiment also required their messes to have iron ladles in the same proportion as the flesh forks.'
A current www.powerhousemuseum.com listing has an even more interesting description with perhaps a telling origin: "Fork, flesh, three prongs, iron, one curved backwards to face handled end, long handle, hook at end of handle, this type of fork is known as a tormentor, used by cooks, [Australia], c. 1890 – 1920"
Could this item have been forged in the Niles shop? One can only imagine.
Doll Beds as a major export? Ah, but the reflection is one of simpler times, when for little girls their doll was in part training for their expected role in life. Tucking their baby dolls into Reddick's wire doll bed at the end of the day mimicked the actions of the mother and wife they would day become.
With this story, as with each of our Silverbrook Legacies, we uncover interesting little known facts and interesting sidebar tidbits.
If you find yourself intrigued by these essays on those who once walked our streets and now rest within Silverbook; why not join in the adventure with the Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery who care for their final resting place?
For more information on Friends of Silverbrook with regards to memberships and work days to help restore and catalog the monuments contact: Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery c/o 508 E. Main St. Niles MI 49120, Tim and Candace Skalla at 684-2455, wskalla@sbcglobal.net or contact Ginny Tyler at 684-3687, SPHINX1974@aol.com.