Samuel McBirney Lemon
Samuel McBirney Lemon, one of the prominent wholesale grocers of Grand Rapids, as the senior partner and president of the Lemon & Wheeler Co., was born November 27, 1848, at Corneycrew, parish of Mullabrack, in the county of Armagh, Ireland. His parents, Samuel and Rachel (McBirney) Lemon, were of the famous Scotch-Irish ancestry, which sturdy stock has left a lasting mark on American institutions, in the great names it has contributed o every department of American life. As has been well said, "the Scotch-Irish were the first to declare independence from Great Britain, and foremost in the Revolutionary struggle, leaders in the formation and adoption of the constitution, and its most powerful defenders; most active in the extension of our national domain, and the hardiest pioneers in its development." The Puritan, the Huguenot and the Dutch must gratefully salute with admiration this race which has given to the American Pantheon the names of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, James Madison, John Marshall, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Horace Greeley, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.
Mr. Lemon was blessed only with the characteristics which he inherited from such a race but, although the record of his life is short, it exhibits a singleness of business which has commanded success even under adverse conditions. It was the intention of his parents that he should prepare for the ministry, but he early expressed his desire to follow a mercantile life, and after receiving the best education his native county afforded, his father apprenticed him at the age of eighteen years to one of the largest grocers in Ireland, at Portadown, Armagh county. Here he remained for five years, without pay, working hard to perfect his knowledge of the business, and soon after the completion on his apprenticeship, in November, 1870, set sail for America. On landing in New York, he secured a place with the grocery firm of Acker, Merrill & Condit, at the modest salary of $10 per week, paying $8 of this per week for his board. But within seven months, so valuable were the services of Mr. Lemon to his employers, that his salary was raised three times. His next move was to accept a position with A. M. Semple, of Rochester, and after five years of service there, Mr. Lemon had become manager of that extensive wholesale and retail grocery business at a fine salary. Tempted by a better offer, he then transferred his service to Lautz Brothers & Co., of Buffalo, and for five years was engaged in selling their goods, with conspicuous success. Although drawing a salary which was equaled by few in his line, the ambition which would not let the Irish lad remain in his native land still impelled him on, and he decided to begin business for himself. His travels had familiarized him with the growth and prospects of Grand Rapids, and, admiring its push and enterprise, he decided to link his fortunes with its future. In 1880 Mr. Lemon removed to Grand Rapids, and became a member of the wholesale grocery firm of Shields, Bulkley & Lemon, which after years of successful operation has been succeeded by the firm of Lemon & Wheeler company. His career has been marked by a steady and undeviating purpose to succeed in his chosen business. He has aimed to be a wholesale grocer, and has not been tempted into other lines, but has made himself a place in the business world which does him credit. For the last eight years, however, he has been a director in the Fourth National Bank.
Mr. Lemon was married January 17, 1883, to Miss Mary M. Peoples, a daughter of James and Margaret Peoples, of Rochester, N. Y. Both Mr. Lemon and his wife are members of the Westminister Presbyterian church, of Grand Rapids. Fraternally Mr. Lemon is a Mason, and has attained the rank of knight templar. Politically he has always been a republican, and has been influential in the ranks of his party of this state. November 1, 1897, Mr. Lemon was appointed, by President McKinley, collector of internal revenue for the Grand Rapids district.
In the prime of life, with a fine presence and the qualities of mind and heart which have made him a host of friends, Mr. Lemon is one of the business men of Grand Rapids who believe thoroughly in its future, and who show in their own lives the advantages America gives, and what may be done in a few years by a poor foreign boy in this favored land. Patriotic and public spirited, intensely American because he knows personally the difference between a republic and a monarchy, he is an example of the man from whom the high types of American citizens are ever coming.