McCullough, William Davis

Birth:	January 26, 1886, Detroit, Michigan	Open
Death:	May 30, 1940, Detroit , Michigan
Spouse:	Grace M Cahoon
Children:	Jack Davis McCullough Virginia Grace McCullough
Parents:	Gilbert Charles McCullough Marcelina Davis
Siblings:	Hattie E. McCullough Gilbert C. McCullough Florence E. McCullough Virginia M. McCullough

William D. McCullough was born in Detroit in on January 26, 1886 to Gilbert Charles McCullough and Marcelina Davis.¹ His father died of tuberculosis in 1899, when McCullough was only 13.² McCullough was forced to fend for himself, driving a grocery delivery wagon. He then obtained a position in Charles Lang Freer’s Michigan-Peninsular Car Company where he stayed until until 1901.

In 1901, he headed west and spent two years on a cattle ranch. In 1903, he moved to Indianapolis where he worked as a clerk and messenger for the Adams Express Company. In 1905 McCullough moved to New York and became a traveling salesman for the Motor Parts Corporation of New York.

In 1910 McCullough returned to Detroit and became a purchasing agent for Cadillac Motor Company, a job he held for three years. In 1913, he went to work for Detroit Wire Spring Company, later to be known as the L. A. Young Wire and Spring Co. Ultimately, in 1915 McCullough organized his own company, the Premier Cushion Spring Co. This company was very successful, and in 1920 erected a large plant in Detroit on Bellevue avenue, covering two acres of ground, whereby its facilities were greatly enlarged, leading to an increase in its working force to 400 workers.

During Word War I, McCullough organized the Premier Machine Company for the purpose of making tools for plants engaged in munition work, and furnished a large quantity of tools, dies and fixtures to the Ford and Dodge corporations. The company also supplied parts for airplanes and Liberty motors. In fact, the company was entirely devoted to patriotic work during the war.

McCullough married Miss Grace Cohoon of Detroit. William D. McCullough and his wife lived at 1115 West Boston in the 1920s and 1930s with their adopted children, Jack and Virginia.  He was part of a movement at the time in which wealthy Detroiters such as John Dodge, Alfred & Matilda Wilson, Charles Fischer, Crowley, and Kern bought property around Rochester to serve as weekend getaways and income producing farms.  McCullough purchased the farmhouse at 1750 W. Tienken, where he kept a stable of jumping horses.  He then hired John Kiekbusch, a local famer, to run a dairy farm on the property.  McCullough housed the Kiekbusch family along with two hired hands in the house at 1470 Tienken. 

McCullough was a member of several social clubs and organizations including the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Oakland Hills Country Club and the Player's Club. He also belonged to the Board of Commerce in Detroit.

³Courtesy of Historic Boston Edison Association's website: http://www.historicbostonedison.org/history/people_man.shtml  accessed July, 7, 2014.

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