Undoubtedly the Coss brothers sought out Hubbard, who obviously must have put in a good word for them, since they both were hired by JDL, William as a foreman and 

Daniel as a clerk. They moved into the Southern Hotel, located in the neighborhood at Seneca and Michigan and near the boarding house in which DDM was ensconced. We know that Hubbard and his family often included DDM in family activities. Were the Cox brothers as well, especially since they knew no one else in Buffalo? I wonder how DDM perceived them? They, too, seemed to be without a family and no particular experience or training to justify being hired, let alone the stature they achieved over the 

next few years.

 

DDM, according to Dan Larkin was referring to William as a chemist by 1909 and said that JDL had trained him in the art of soapmaking. What chemistry he knew was probably learned on the job.

 

Dan Larkin notes in the biography, that Daniel, though older than William, always stayed in his shadow. William was clearly the more capable of the two, and the fact that it appears they never engaged in much social activity, did not seem to have interested family, never married and always lived together, suggests that Daniel must have suffered from some infirmity that made William quite protective of him.

 

Dan Larkin comments on this strange pair. They were quiet and industrious. much like JDL had taken to DDM, he exercised his keen insight into character, knowing that, like DDM, he could trust and rely on them. Like DDM, he gave the Coss brothers a chance and was never given a reason to regret that decision.

 

When LSC first incorporated in 1892 and again in 1899 the officers included JDL as President and Treasurer, his son, Charles, as Vice-President, DDM as Secretary and son JDL, Jr. as Asst. Treasurer. Remarkably, both Coss brothers and Later, William Heath were named as Directors. They continued to be directors of subsequent reincorporations. While we have some knowledge of board decisions, including input from William, I find no mention of Daniel other than his vote. Even as William was protective and inclusive of his brother, JDL seemed sensitive to that relationship and respectful of it even though, in effect, it gave William two votes.

 

The disparity in abilities of the two brothers was apparent, however, in their pay levels. While William became Supervisor of the manufacturing department, Daniel was at first a night watchman and was eventually put in charge of the shipping department. The Buffalo History Museum archives possess a small pocket notebook that DDM, for some reason, kept notes about pay levels.   As of 1/1/1905 William made $10,000 a year; as of 1/1/1906 he was up to $12,000 and the next year his salary was increased to $14,000.

 

On the other hand, Daniel made $4000 in 1906 and $5000 in 1907. Contrast this with the salaries of sons Charles at $7000 in 1906 and JDL. Jr. at $6000 that year. Perhaps they were only working part-time. However, over the years there is evidence of tension between DDM and especially William. The market crash of 1893 left the LSC cash-strapped. For about three months that year neither DDM nor the Coss brothers received their salaries. The economy improved the next year and the LSC declared a small profit so JDL proposed to the then five directors that a modest dividend be paid. Interestingly, JDL, Jr. and Charles voted for the payment while DDM and the Coss Brothers voted against it.  The motion was reintroduced the next week and this time passed.. It left JDL worried, however, about having non-family members as directors.

 

While DDM and the Coss brothers were on the same page at least, initially, on the 

dividend issue, that was not the case on other issues, such as the chimney of the power 

house, built in 1903, at the corner of Seneca and Larkin Streets. The chimney was to 

rise 250 feet and would be the tallest chimney in Buffalo. DDM, along with William 

Heath, wanted the full name of the company to be etched into the brick. JDL and 

William Coss opposed the idea. By the time JDL changed his mind, it was too late to put 

the full name on and even putting just "Larkin", according to the contractor, could cause 

the chimney to crack.

 

DDM's diary at the time noted that he was on a collision course with JDL, Jr. and 

William Coss over the chimney inscription issue. DDM complained that the two 

protagonists would make remarks so DDM could overhear them, like shoving the 

chimney up about 10 feet a day just to annoy DDM.

 

When the chimney was near completion, JDL, Jr. attended a conference in

another city where he heard of a similar chimney having been built and had been 

celebrated with holding a board of directors meeting on its top before the chimney was 

put in use. DDM had come up with a similar idea at the same time, so the two men 

proposed they do something like this to celebrate and create publicity. The board 

approved the idea with only William Coss objecting. William was asked to arrange the 

event with the contractor. JDL had been out of town, but on his return, he and William

went up to the top of the chimney for a final inspection. As soon as they came down, the 

contractor dismantled the scaffolding. William had never talked to the contractor, 

completely sabotaging the plans.

 

Another issue arose between DDM and William over the placement of JDL's

office in the new Administration Building. After receiving Frank Lloyd Wright's 

plans, Coss prepared a competing plan that would have JDL and his sons in adjoining 

offices in the annex. DDM felt such a plan would ruin the FLW design for the central 

court and argued that the best place for an involved executive of a factory should 

be in the factory itself, especially since there were already good office spaces in 

Building H of the complex. Nevertheless, DDM proposed a compromise which Wright 

and JDL accepted, for the executive offices to be at the south end of the main

building. (See Jack Quinan's, "FLW's Larkin Building: Myth and Fact.")

In his book, Quinan says, " The Larkin clients - JDL, DDM, William Heath, the 

Coss brothers and JDL's sons, JDL, Jr. and Charles, represented a many-headed hydra of 

motives and opinions, stemming in part, from a sharp division in the company between 

The soap manufacturing and the mail order businesses." Quinan explains, JDL, his sons and the Coss Brothers tended to identify themselves with the basic production of soap

and related products while DDM was responsible for the growing success of the 

accessory mail order business. Both William Coss and JDL' Jr. were openly hostile and 

antagonistic towards DDM while Heath tended to be on DDM's side. Quinan adds that 

JDL's feelings were "characteristically opaque."

 

Dan Larkin also comments on JDL's demeanor through these tensions. He felt 

that JDL must have felt a great sense of satisfaction sitting at his desk in 

the Administration Building from where he could see his three sons in the adjoining 

accounting office. Heath and DDM sat nearby in the central atrium. From his window he could see the manufacturing complex where the Coss brothers oversaw manufacturing 

and shipping. JDL had, himself, engaged in all phases of the business in his past  including soapmaking, selling, marketing, accounting, and engaging in the premium 

 

Even as the Coss brothers were hired on the same day, they left on the dame day, 

 

The Buffalo News reported on April 28, 1914 that Daniel had died a few days before in East Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 61. He had never married and had been 

residing with his brother, William. It added that Dan had travelled extensively, always m

staying at Hotel Tourine whenever he was in Buffalo, and to which the brothers had 

moved in 1903.

 

Who did he see when he was here? Was William with him on those visits? And 

what happened to William? Pat Mahoney reports in his book, "Frank Lloyd Wright's 

Scholarly Clients: William and Mary Heath," that William died in 1922. Even as their 

early life is a mystery, so is their later life.