See other formats

Full text of "History of Milwaukee, city and county"

NYPL 



RESEARCHUBBARIES 




^^ 




j"he New York 
Public Librar^' 




I lu/<i'jp< 

rucc 

z 



HISTORY 

OF 

MILWAUKEE 

CITY AND COUNTY 



VOLUME II 



ILLUSTRATED 



CHICAGO— MILWAUKEE 
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1922 



^ naRK %^^ 








EDWARD P. ALLIS 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



EDWARD P. ALUS. 

Edward P. AUis, for many years an outstanding figure in ccmnt'Ctiiin with the 
development of Mil\vaul<ee, tjecanip prominently known througliout the country as an 
iron manufacturer. The extent and imi)ortance of liis business activities brouglit him 
to a place of leadership in this field of labor. He was resourceful, alert to every 
opportunity and possessed notable energy and determination, so that he ultimately 
arrived at his objective and the results achieved were of benefit to city and state at 
large as well as to his individual fortunes. He felt, too. that political questions are a 
matter of personal concern to every loyal American citizen and therefore he stood 
stanchly by the political organization with which he was allied. It is doubtful if 
he ever weighed an act of his life in the scale of policy, for his gauge was ever 
that of right and justice, 

Mr. Allis was born in Cazenovia, New York, May 12, 1824, and was of English 
lineage, the ancestral line being traced back to William Allis, who was born between 
1613 and 161IJ, probably in Essex or London, England. William Allis came to Americ.i 
in 1630 with Winthrop's fleet, as a passenger on the Mayflower, which was then making 
its third voyage to the new world. They landed at Charlestown Harbor, Boston (then 
called Trimountain), on the 1st of July, 1630. William Allis was a surveyor and 
before 1634 laid out the town of Mount Wollaston, afterward Braintree, comprising 
fifty square miles. During that year, by order of the general court, it was annexed 
to Boston. To induce settlement in the town large grants of land were made and 
William Allis received twelve acres on February 24. 164(1. On the 13th of May of that 
year Mount Wollaston was incorporated as the town of Braintree and with Dorchester, 
Dunham, Hingliam. Natasket and Roxbury was incorporated to form the city of Boston. 
On that date William Allis was made a freeman. To him and his wife Mary, whom 
he wedded in 1641. there were born eight children. William Allis was prominently 
connected with public affairs and lived in Braintree until IHW, when he removed to 
Wethersfield. Connecticut. There the tow'n of Hadley was established and the home 
of William Allis was on the west side of the main street in the center of the settle- 
ment. The present meeting house, tow-n hall and Congregational parsonage stand 
on the lot which was assigned to William Allis. That part of Hadley afterward became 
the town of Hatfield and there William Allis held the offices of deacon, justice of 
the peace and selectman and was often on advisory committees. He took part in 
the battle of Great Falls against the Indians, serving as a captain there, and with him 
in the engagement were three of his sons, one of whom, William Allis, Jr., was killed. 
About tw'o years later his wife Mary met death when there was an Indian massacre at 
Hatfield and his granddaughter. Abigail Allis. was captured by the red men. On 
the 25th of June, 167S, William Allis wedded Mary, daughter of John Bronson and 
w-idow of John Graves of Hatfield, and on the Bth of September of the same year 
William Allis passed away. 

Representing the second generation of the direct ancestors of Edward P. Allis of 
Milwaukee was John Allis, son of William, who was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, 
March 5, 1642, and died in Hatfield in January, 1691. He was married December 14, 
1669, to Mary, daughter of Thomas Meekins and widow of Nathaniel Clark. John 
Allis resided in Hatfield, near his father's home, was a millwright and carpenter of 
note and prominent in public affairs of the community. He built many churches 
and was erecting the first corn mill at Mill River when lie died. Ho served in King 
Philip's war and was in the fight at Great Falls on May 19. 1676, while afterward he 
became a captain in the militia. It was his daughter Abigail who was captured by 
the Indians at the time of the massacre and it was not until eight months later that 
she and other captives were returned to their homes. 

Ichabod Allis, son of John Allis, was born in Hatfield, July 10. 1675, and became 
a farmer and builder, spending his entire lite in his native city, his death there 
occurring July 9. 1747. In 1698 he wedded Mary, daughter of Samuel Belden, Jr., who 
was born August 27, 1679, and died September 9, 1724. Ichadob .'Mlis was married 
again November 25. 1726, his second marriage being with Sarah, daughter of Benjamin 
Waite and widow of John Belden. By his first wife. Mary, he had eight children, the 
youngest being Elisha Allis. who was born in Hatfield. December 3. 1716. and there 
died in 1784. In the meantime, however, he had resided at different periods in 

5 



6 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

Whately, Massachusetts, and Somers, Connecticut. Both he and his wife possessed 
large landed interests and their marriage agreement is a most quaint and unique 
document. He first married Anna, daughter of Sergeant John and Sarah (Williams) 
Margh of Hadley, on the 20th of December, 1744. His second wife, Sarah, was a 
daughter of Samuel Reade of Burlington and widow of Thomas Cutler. Her death 
occurred March 25, 1807. By his first marriage he had seven children, the fourth 
being Josiah Allis, who was born about 1754, in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and died in 
Whately, Massachusetts, April 17, 1794. Like his father, he was a wealthy farmer 
and was prominent in church and town affairs, holding various town offices and acting 
as representative to the general court in 1787-8 and" as a delegate to the convention 
to revise the federal constitution in 1788. He served as a colonel in the militia. He 
was married March 1, 1774, to Anna, daughter of Elislia and Lucy (Stearns) Hubbard 
. of Hatfield. Their family numbered eleven children. 

Jere Allis, the seventh in order of birth, was born July 25. 1786, in Whately, 
Massachusetts, and was a hatter and furrier by trade. At an early date he removed 
to Prattsburg, New York, and afterward to Cazenovia, that state, while later he became 
a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but passed away in Franklin. New York, April 
19, 1885, when almost ninety-nine years of age. He retained his physical and mental 
faculties to a remarkable degree and it was said of him that "his memory remained 
clear and acute and his temper exceedingly sweet and sunny." He was married 
October 1, 1814, to Mary, daughter of Deacon Salmon and Lydia (Amsden) White 
of Whately, Massachusetts, who was born June 3, 1793, and died February 2, 1877. 
This worthy couple were the parents of Edward Phelps Allis, Milwaukee's distinguished 
and honored manufacturer. 

In the acquirement of his education Edward P. Allis attended the academies of 
Cazenovia and of Geneva, New York, before entering Union College at Schenectady, 
New York, from which he was graduated with high honors in 1845. Immediately 
afterward Mr. Allis started out independently in the business world. He came to 
Milwaukee in 1846 and for a short time read law with the intention of entering 
upon a legal career but did not find this congenial and wisely changed his plans, turn- 
ing his attention to commercial life. He became a dealer in leather in 1S46 and was 
one of the builders of the large tanneries at Two Rivers, Wisconsin, now owned and 
operated by the Wisconsin Leather Company. He remained the active head of the 
business until 1857, when he sold his interest to his partners and for three years de- 
voted his attention to business activities that seemed to indicate no marked change 
nor advance in his career, but when the opportunity came for advancement he eagerly 
seized it. For a time he was associated with John P. McGregor, under the firm style 
of Allis & McGregor, in the conduct of a private banking business, dealing also in 
coin and exchange. In that undertaking, however, he did not feel the keen joy which 
every man should find in the successful accomplishment of his business purposes and he 
therefore withdrew from banking circles to become a factor in the manufacturing 
interests of Milwaukee. In connection with C. D. Nash and John P. McGregor, he pur- 
chased the Reliance Works formerly owned by Decker & Seville, a business which at 
that time was in a state of decline. Mr, Allis attacked its problems with zeal and en- 
thusiasm and saw the opportunities for constant growth and development in that field 
Before the close of the first year he had purchased the interest of his partners and 
from that time forward directed the operation of the works through all the stages of 
rapid development and growth. One writing of his activity at the time said: "The 
extent of the business is already beyond the managing capacity of most men yet it 
does not appear to have reached the limits of his administrative powers They seem 
to be measure<l rather by the work he finds to tJo than by his ability to perforin By 
his labors in building up the iron manufactures of the city he has put his indelible 
stamp upon it for all time to come, and ranks among the foremost masters and workers 
in iron in the country." 

In the genealogy of the Allis family appears the following concerning the busi- 
ness career of E. P. Allis: "From a moderate beginning Mr. Allis enlarged and ex- 
tended the original Reliance Works until the buildings covered three city blocks and 
he was the life and moving spirit of the immense industrial establishment he created 
Starting with a business of thirty-two thpusand dollars a vear, with twenty employes 
and a payroll of thirteen thousand dollars, the enterprise broadened under his man- 
agement into a business of three million dollars a year, with between twelve hundred 
and fifteen hundred employes and a payroll of over seven hundred thousand dollars 
Those iron works were the first in the country to make roller mills for the making 
of flour by the roller process, and were also prominent in the manufacture of steam 
engines, sawmill machinery, mining machinery and heavy pumning machinery Their 
products were sent to all parts of the world, including Cuba, Mexico, South America 
Europe, Japan Australia .and Sandwich Islands. The turning point in the life of the 
old Reliance Works came in 1869, when the city of Milwaukee voted to erect and install 
Its own waterworks and advertised for piping and machinery. Bids came in for 
piping from all over the country and nobody dreamed of Mr. Allis bidding on the work 



HISTORY OK .MIIAVAIKKK 7 

as his foundry was not equipped tor tlie making of pipe, but when the bids were 
opened it was found that he had secured the contract. Of course the first thing to be 
done was to build a pipe shop, and in lour months from the date of signing the con- 
tract the shop was completed and the first casting made, and from that time on the 
goods were made and delivered as fast as human skill could turn them out. He 
also secured the contract tor the pumps and engines, and the machinery which he 
made and installtd for the city of Milwaukee is an everlasting monument to his 
memory. That work brought an immense amount of engine work to the company, 
causing extended enlargements and improvements in the property, and the business 
was given such an impetus that very soon the Reliance Works of E. P. AUis became 
the largest machine shop in the west. For nearly thirty years he gave to the great 
work of his life all that could be given by tireless industry, unflagging energy and 
persevering determination. Besides the Reliance Works he owned and operated the 
large Bay State Works in Milwaukee, a foundry on Bay street, and rented and operated 
another foundry in the same city." 

From a biography of Mr. Allis, which appeared in the proceedings of the American 
Society of Civil Engineers, we quote the following: "Mr. .Mlis was not an engineer, 
not an inventor, not a mechanic, but he had in full measure that rare talent for 
bringing together the work of the engineer, the inventor, the mechanic, that it might 
come to full fruition, and the world at large be a gainer thereby. From the day he 
took charge of the small, struggling, bankrupt pioneer shop, until the day of his 
death, he was the life, the moving spirit of the immense industrial establishment he 
had created. For nearly thirty years he gave to the great work of his life all that 
could be given of tireless industry, unflagging energy, and persevering determination." 
The character of the man could largely be estimated in his treatment of his employes. 
The fourth floor of the central building of the immense plant which he created was 
used as a dining and reading room and hall for the social and literary meetings of the 
employes, and he frequently met with them and spoke to them upon questions of 
public concern or of interest to them as factors in the great business establishment 
which he built up. When death called him there were more than a thousand of his 
employes who assembled together to pay their last tribute of respect to him. passing 
quietly by his bier to look upon his face for the last time. The Allis Mutual Aid 
Society, an organization formed of his employes, passed the following resolutions: 

"Whereas, Death has taken from us our much loved and respected employer, to 
whom we have been in the years that have passed so deeply indebted, not only for 
the work he has done in our behalf, but much more than this for the kindly personal 
interest he has always taken in all that has concerned our well-being and prosperity: 
and 

Whereas, As his employes, bound to him by so many ties of mutual sympathy and 
common interest in the building up of the great business which has been his life work 
and which remains his most fitting monument, we are desirous of paying our tribute 
to his memory; therefore be it 

Resolved, That by the death of Edward P. Allis, we have lost not only a kind, 
conscientious and liberal employer, but also a personal friend, endeared to us by 
his winning manners and by so many instances of thoughtful kindness and dis- 
interested generosity, ever ready to meet with us on the broad plane of a common 
manhood. 

Resolved, That we have ever found him in' his dealings with us to have been 
honorable and upright, sympathizing with us in our desires and ambitions for advance- 
ment; and always willing to consider our interests in preference to his own, holding 
both subject to the welfare of the shops, which have been our common pride. 

Resolved, That such of our number as are members of the Allis Mutual Aid 
Society, cannot express too strongly our appreciation of the spirit of humanity which 
prompted him to found it and to contribute so generously to its support. 

Resolved, That we extend to his sorrowing family our most heartfelt sympathy in 
this the hour of their bereavement; and that we pledge to them the same loyal service it 
would have been our greatest pleasure to render to him had he been spared to con- 
tinue his work with us." 

On the 12th of September, 1848, Mr. AJlis was married to Miss Margaret Marie 
Watson of Geneva. New York, who was born September 28, 182S, a daughter of 
William W. Watson. She survived her husband for about twenty years and was 
eighty-one years of age when she passed away December 20, 1909. They became the 
parents of twelve children, the sons becoming active associates of their father in 
business as they attained sufficient age to take up the responsibilities of life. Further 
mention is made elsewhere in this work of three of the sons: William Watson, Charles 
and Louis. Mrs. Allis was a charter member of the Woman's Club of Wisconsin and 
an earnest worker for the erection of the Athenaeum, the first woman's clubhouse in 
the United States. She assisted in establishing the Wisconsin Industrial School for 
Cirls and the Wisconsin Training School for Nurses and was one of the organizers 
of the Unitarian church in Milwaukee, which she earnestly supported to the time of 



8 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

her death. On the 1st of April, 1909, as a memorial of her husband, she gave to 
the Wisconsin University Settlement Association the settlement house and grounds on 
First avenue. On her eightieth birthday she gave the settlement twenty acres of 
gi-ound tor their summer camp on Lake Beulah. Her philanthropies were many. 
She was a woman of broad sympathy, culture and refinement. She used the means 
at her command to relieve suffering wherever she found it and she took a keen personal 
interest in every movement for the betterment of the city. She was one of the earnest 
supporters of the Associated Charities, yet, notwithstanding the time and energy which 
she gave to social and public interests, she was always a devoted mother. Coming to 
Milwaukee with her husband as a bride, she found time to devote to music and the 
study of art, in which she was always a connoisseur. The costly and beautiful paint- 
ings that made the Allis home a veritable gallery of art were of her selection and in 
her home she dispensed a most generous and charming hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Allis 
took the deepest interest in their children and it is said that it would be difficult to 
find a home in which the educational standards of an entire family were so high. Mr. 
Allis felt the keenest interest in all of his wife's activities. He was a man of much 
culture and possessed an appreciation and love for the finer things of life in an emin- 
ent degree. He was actively interested in the association for the advancement of 
Milwaukee and in July, 1883, he became a fellow of the American Society of Civil 
Engineers and manifested an intense interest in its affairs. While Mr. Allis gave the 
major part of his time and attention to the interests and duties of business and of 
home, he also found opportunity for public service and at no time neglected any duty 
of citizenship. He was a stanch advocate of all republican principles until 1877, when, 
differing from the party upon its financial policy, he publicly withdrew from active 
affiliation therewith and accepted the nomination of the greenback party for governor 
of Wisconsin. Up to the time the nominating convention was held on the 4th of 
July. 1877, the greenback party had no state organization worthy of the name, although 
there were many advocates of the party principles throughout Wisconsin. Mr. Allis 
at once resolutely set to work to perfect an organization and promote the interests 
which he championed. He coordinated seemingly diverse elements into a unified and 
harmonious whole and conducted one of the most brilliant political campaigns known 
in the annals of the state. He made a thorough canvass throughout Wisconsin, winning 
hundreds of adherents to the hitherto unpopular doctrines by his persuasive speech 
and the magnetic and irresistible force of his earnest conviction. After four months 
of effort in behalf of his party, a vote of twenty-six thousand two hundred and sixteen 
gave the party a sufficient number of representatives in the general assembly to con- 
trol the activities of that body and placed the hitherto dominant republican party in 
a numerical minority in the state. The political activity of Mr. Allis arose from his 
earnest belief in the cause which he championed. He had no desire for office as a 
reward for party fealty nor was he ambitious to occupy positions of political honor 
and prominence. No one ever questioned the integrity of his position and no one ever 
challenged his right to rank with the most eminent and progressive citizens of the 
state. His business activity was a most valuable asset in the growth of Milwaukee and 
the extension of Wisconsin's commercial connections and his name is honored and 
his memory revered wherever he was known. 

One who knew Mr. Allis intimately tor many years said of him: "The panegyrist 
of Edward P. Allis, no matter how eloquently he speaks, can never express the deeper 
feeling of silent and true appreciation of those with whom he was intimately acquainted. 
His success in business would have marked him a prominent man in any community. 
His retiring modesty, his fine culture and broad learning, would have given him high 
social standing anywhere, but when to these qualities, great in themselves in him, 
were added the higher principles of benevolence, fraternity and human feeling, which 
prompted him to conceive and carry out his plans for the benefit of his workingmen, 
we see in every phase of his being the true man. His name will live in the future 
a powerful example for employers to follow, and will do more to harmonize capital and 
labor in our city than statutes or boards of arbitration." To which another adds: 
"Modest yet bold, tender yet strong, mild yet firm, unusually successful, in still greater 
measure useful, he was above all men I know beloved by the people. The world is 
better for his having lived." 

The editorial which appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel at the time of his death 
said: "Mr. Allis was something more than an ordinary business man. He was college- 
bred, and a man of cultivated and refined tastes. His pleasures, outside of his business, 
were found largely in books and pictures. Within a few years past, he had been a 
liberal patron of art, and in his home are many choice paintings by the best modern 
European masters. In his relations as a citizen and neighbor, and as an employer 
of men, Mr. Allis was fortunate. He was kindly and genial, and made few or no 
enemies. While never a robust man, his health was usually good, and he seemed to 
have the promise of many more years of activity and usefulness. By his death Mil- 
waukee loses one of its most enterprising and valued citizens. The heartfelt sym- 
pathy of the whole community will be extended to his deeply bereaved family." 




LOUIS ALLIS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 11 

Edward P. Allis was laid to rest in Forest Home cemetery with tlie quiet aud 
simplicity that marked his entire lite. Many organizations to which he belonged passed 
suitable resolutions of respect and the president o£ the Merchants Association, with 
which he was long associated, said on this occasion: "The names of the older members 
of the Merchants Association are fast being transferred from the roll call to the roll 
of honor. The name now in sorrow to be added to that cherished and revered list is 
the name of our late highly esteemed friend aud associate, Edward 1'. Allis. He was 
a man endowed by nature to govern and to lead. Acuteness to foresee, readiness and 
wisdom to contrive, vigor and decision to act, were the characteristics of this great 
industrial leader of our city. Although his life, work was largely restricted to this 
locality, his fame is national, and those who know and appreciate his worth are to 
be found in every quarter of the globe. His busy and useful life should prove a 
powerful incentive to the grand army of youth who aspire to walk also in the path of 
honor and attain the goal of success. Edward P. Allis executed with fidelity all trusts 
reposed in him. His phenomenal executive ability in numerous and large transactions 
for the advancement of public and private interests have made his name an honor 
and a credit to our city. His modest bearing and miny estimable traits of char- 
acter — preeminently his loyalty and devotion to Milwaukee — nuide him an exem- 
plary citizen. Tireless In the pursuits of business, ttiis earnest and sympathetic man, 
amid the engrossing cares of a busy life, cherished the beautiful in nature and in art. 
He was a man of culture, a patron of art, a kind and considerate employer, a true 
and genial friend, a wise and devoted husband and father, a Christian gentleman. 
He championed the cause of the weak, and with willing hand gave bountifully to 
rear and maintain the temples of education, of religion, and of art. Silence and 
shadow stand now forever between our associate and ourselves, but we lay this 
day upon the altar of our friendship the choicest tribute we can bring — the tribute 
of cherished and honored memory. Better than chiseled stone to perpetuate his name 
and fame, are the words he uttered when among us: 'It has always been my rule of 
life to speak of my fellowmen charitably, or not at all.' " 



LOUIS ALLIS. 



Louis Allis, who is the active representative of the Allis farnily in connection with 
the great industrial enterprise established and developed by his father, Edward 
P. Allis, was born In Milwaukee, December 30, 1866. While the family has been 
represented on this side of the Atlantic since the earliest period in the colonization of 
Massachusetts, there are many references to the Allis family in the old Doomsday 
book of England. The family had many representatives in London until the great 
plague of 1665, at which time it was nearly exterminated. More extended reference 
Is made to the ancestral line In the historical sketch of Edward P. Allis. from the 
arrival of the American progenitor, William Allis, down to the present time. 

At an early age Louis Allis displayed keen interest in manufacturing, a consider- 
able part of his childhood having been spent in his father's shops, where he was a 
great favorite with the men. He was educated at Markham Aculemy in Milwaukee 
and In the Pennsylvania Military College, winning the Civil Engineer degree in 
June, 1888. Following his graduation he entered the employ of the Edward P. Allis 
Company in the capacity of storeroom clerk. His advancement in the business world 
since that time has been continuous, but the attainment of wealth has never been 
the sole end and aim of his life. Other interests have been outstanding features in 
his career, making his record one which might well serve as an example to employ- 
ers throughout the country. About 1889 he was responsible for the installation of 
first aid and hospital facilities at the Edward P. Allis Company, and from this nucleus 
in connection with the then established Allis Mutual Aid Society, developed one of the 
first complete welfare organizations of any consequence In this country. His advance 
to receiving clerk and purchasing agent was rapid, and although he nominally re- 
tained that title, he expanded his activities until he was virtually general manager. 
He left the employ of the Edward P. Allis Company, due to Illness, in July, 1901. 
From then until March. 1906, Mr. Allis was interesteil In the control of eighty thou- 
sand acres of timber land and various mining properties. 

In 1903 Mr. Allis was elected president of the Mechanical Appliance Company, 
his manufacturing and executive talent making it natural that he should get back 
into the manufacturing business. There was another and more important motive 
which actuated Mr. Allis in assuming the presidency, and that was a broad and sym- 
pathetic comprehension of and a desire to aid in the improvement of conditions 
surrounding employes. Those who have been closely associated with him have good 
reason to remember numerous Instances in which, through advice and in a much 
more substantial manner, be has enabled them to improve their condition and char- 
acter. Under his guidance the Mechanical Appliance Company has grown from a 
comparatively small and Insignificant beginning to a position of very considerable 



12 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

importance in tlie electrical industry. His policy has been one of consistent integrity 
as regards the quality of apparatus, and under his encouragement a very consid- 
erable amount of specialized development has taken place, which has resulted in 
placing the Mechanical Appliance Company in a unique position among the American 
electrical manufacturers. Under his guidance the condition of the company has shown 
a steady improvement to the point that today it has become a real institution. Mr. 
Allis is or has been a director and president of the Cazenovia Land Company, Battery 
Light & Power Company, the Edward P. Allis Company, Elizabeth Mining Company and 
the Mechanical Appliance Company; director, vice president and treasurer of the Mil- 
waukee Boiler Company; director and general manager of the Gogebic Lumber Company; 
director and treasurer of the Geneva Land & Mining Company; director and vice presi- 
dent of the Central Improvement Company; general manager of the Horseshoe Mining 
Company, all of Milwaukee; and director of the National Wrapping Machine Com- 
pany, noAv of Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Mr. Allis has been married twice. On the 17th of September, 1S90, he wedded 
Carol Yates and on the 1st of May, 1911, Louise Hegen became his wife. The son of 
his first marriage is Edward Phelps (HI) and of the second marriage there are three 
sons: Louis, Jr., John Watson and William White. Louis Allis, Jr., was born April 14, 
1916. Edw^ard Phelps Allis (III) was born August 1, 1892, was graduated from 
Harvard University at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1915 and had previously completed 
a preparatory course at Milton School in Milton, Massachusetts. Since his college 
days he has been identified with the manufacturing interests of Milwaukee in con- 
nection with his father and bids fair, like his father and grandfather, to become a 
notable figure in the industrial and financial circles of the city. At the age of five 
he was playing a notable game of golf and as the years passed he won championships 
in state and college contests. His father, Louis Allis, has largely found his recreation 
on the links and is a prominent figure in club circles, having membership in the Mil- 
waukee Club, Milwaukee Country Club, University Club, Blue Mound Country Club, 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, Town Club of Milwaukee, Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Mil- 
waukee Association of Commerce and the Electrical Association of Milwaukee, all of 
Milwaukee; the Electric Power Club, Electrical Manufacturers Club; the Travelers 
Club of Paris, France; and the Societe de la Boulie, Golf de Paris, near Versailles. Mr. 
Allis is also particularly interested in the American Constitutional League of Wis- 
consin and in the hospitals of the city, which largely claim his active cooperation along 
philanthropic lines. He resembles his illustrious father in his notable powers of 
organization, his ability to foresee and foretell coming events and conditions and to 
plan accordingly. 



WILLIAM WATSON ALLIS. 



William Watson Allis was a man of most scholarly attainments and patriotic de- 
votion to community, commonwealth and country. Milwaukee profited largely by his 
efforts in many directions and mostly along those cultural lines which lift the individual 
above the merely sordid things of life. He was a native son of Milwaukee, born No- 
vember 14, 1S49, and his entire life was passed in this city, where from early youth 
to the time of his demise he commanded and enjoyed the respect and confidence of all. 
He was the eldest son of Edward Phelps Allis, one of Milwaukee's honored pioneer 
business men and manufacturers, and he carried to still larger fields the business 
instituted and directed by his father. His public school education was supplemented 
by study in Markham's Academy and in Little Blue Academy at Farmington, Maine. 
For a time he was also a student in Franklin, New York, under his uncle, Henry Calla- 
han. He then entered into business with his father, and after assuming the duties of 
a salesman for a short time he was promoted to sales manager of the flour mill depart- 
ment of his father's institution. After the death of his father William W. Allis became 
president of The Edward P. Allis Company, due to his alertness in matters pertaining 
10 sales and finance, and after The Edward P. Allis Company sold its interests to the 
present Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Mr. Allis was elected chairman of the 
board of directors of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, which position he 
resigned in a short time on account of his health. 

On the 14th of November, 1877, Mr. Allis was married to Miss Mary Simmons 
Phillips, a daughter of George A. and Mary (Nazro) Phillips, who were natives of 
Boston and came to Milwaukee soon after the close of the Civil war. They cast in 
their lot with the pioneer residents of the city and long occupied a position of social 
prominence here. Mr. Phillips, too, was a dominant figure in business circles. He was 
associated vv'ith a Mr. Stone in the hardware trade under the firm style of Stone & 
Phillips, recognized as leading merchants of the city. 

Mr. Allis was distinctly a home man and found his greatest enjoyment at his 
own fireside with his family. During the summer and autumn months they spent their 




WILLIA^r W. ALLtS 



HISTORY OF :\I1L\VAT'KEE 15 

time at their beautiful summer home, AUlen Wood, on the banks of Nemahbin lake, in 
one of the most picturesque spots in all Wisconsin. Upon the grounds are found nearly 
all varieties of timber native to this section of the country. Mr. and Mrs. AUis were 
members of the Unitarian churcli and the former was a lifelong republican, giviUR 
unfaltering allegiance to the party and its principles. He passed away October 10, 
1918, but many years will have been added to the cycle of the centuries ere bis name 
ceases to be a household word among the many friends who knew, loved and honored 
him. He was a man of most kindly disposition and refined taste. He found the 
greatest enjoyment in literature and in his homo at No. .S2() Marshall street he had a 
splendid library, containing one of the finest ccUections of rare editions and auto- 
graphed copies of books in the country, including one which bears the autograph of 
Queen Victoria. He read most widely and along many lines. He contributed most 
generously to all patriotic calls and there was no good work done in the name of 
charity or religion that sought his aid in vain. There was no resident of Milwaukee 
who took a more intense and kindly interest in educational problems and in all the 
questions relative to the school system of the city. Nor was he unappreciativc of the 
social amenities of life. On the contrary, anything that pertained to his fellowmen 
was of interest to him. He belonged to the Milwaukee Club, the Town Club, the Mil- 
waukee Country Club and the Athletic Club. Because of the natural refinement of his 
nature he shunned anything gross or common and sought out those things which add to 
the beauty and to the cultural values of lite. Association with him meant expansion 
and elevation. 



CHARLES ALLIS. 



When death called Charles AUis he was serving as chairman of the Milwaukee 
County Council of Defense, giving practically his entire time and effort to the cause of 
his country, having been the one man upon whom diverse factions would unite as an 
acceptable leader in this crisis of world history. A son of one of Milwaukee's honored 
pioneer business men and manufacturei-s, he carried to still larger fields the business 
instituted and directed by his father. He became a forceful factor jn connection with 
the successful management of various corporations and financial interests of Milwaukee 
and the middle west and was equally well known as a patron of art and as a leader in 
the social life of the city. 

A native of Milwaukee, Charles Allis spent his entire life in this city, where he 
■was born May 4, 1853, his parents being Edward Phelps and Margaret M. (Watson) 
Allis. He was one of a family of eleven children and acquired his early education 
in tlie public schools, while later he attended Markham's Academy and subsequently 
the Little Blue Academy at Farmington, Maine. In the meantime his father had be- 
come one of the prominent iron manufacturers of the upper Mississippi valley and 
Charles Allis became secretary apd treasurer of the Edward P. Allis Company follow- 
ing his father's death. In 1901 the business was reorganized as the AUis-Chalmers 
Company, of which Charles Allis became the first president. He likewise extended the 
scope of his interests by becoming vice president and one of the directors of the Mil- 
waukee Trust Companv. with which he remained until it was merged into the First 
Savings & Trust Company. He was likewise a director of the First National Bank 
and a trustee and member of the finance committee of the Northwestern Mutual Life 
Insurance Com.pany. He aided in organizing the Chicago Belting Company, of which 
he became the president. ,,.,-,, t-. .i n n 

In October 1S77, Mr. Allis was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Esther Ball, 
a daughter of Edward Hvde and Sarah E. (Cobb) Ball. Extensive mention of her 
father is made in the review below. From the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Allis made their home in Milwaukee, residing for many years at No. 400 Royal Place, 
whpre Mr Allis erected a fireproof residence for protection of his valuable art col- 
lections Aside from his home and his business there was no other interest which 
claimed so much of his time and attention as art and he had membership in a num- 
ber of the leading art societies of the country. He became one of the organizers of the 
Milwaukee Art Society, which elected him its first president, and he was also a trustee 
of the Layton Art Oa'llerv and a member of the American Numismatic Society and of 
the Circle of Friends of the Medallion as well as of the Metropolitan Museum of Art of 
New York He was likewise vice president of the Bureau of Municipal Research of 
Milwaukee and belonged to the State Historical Society. His home contained a notable 
knd valuable collection of rare pictures, bronzes, porcelains and rugs, which he 
gathered in his travels in all parts of the world. He was well known in club circles 
in New York and Chicago as well as in Milwaukee, having membership in the Union 
and Whitehall Clubs of New York, the Chicago Club, the Chic>ago Athletic Assm-iation, 
the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Town Country and Fox 
Point Golf Clubs of Milwaukee. When he passed away on the 22d of Jul> , 1918. one of 



16 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the local papers said: "The death of Mr. Allls is a great loss not only to the County 
Council of Defense but to all Milwaukee, said Willits Pollock, secretary of that body. 
When the council was reorganized recently Mr. Allis was the only man upon whom 
all the elements could agree as the head. Everyone had the utmost confidence and 
faith in him, in his judgment and wisdom and absolute fairness. He took up the office 
of chairman of the council really at the risk of his life and against his doctor's advice, 
although it is not felt that his death was caused by overwork. His physician urged 
him to drop all work and attend to the care of his health. This he refused to do. 'I 
should hate myself all the rest of my life,' he said, 'if I were to refuse this call of 
duty to our country.' " 

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, in a memoir prepared fol- 
lowing the death of Mr. Allis, said: "The executive committee has learned with great 
sorrow of the sudden death on Monday, July 22d, 1918, of its valued member, Mr. 
Charles Allis. Mr. Allis has served continuously as a member of the board of 
trustees of this company since 1892. and a member of its finance committee since 
July, 1908, and has freely given his time and counsel to its interests. We record here 
our appreciation of his service. His long and useful career in business matters in 
this city, his zeal in the interest of this company and attention to the performance of 
his duties, and his uniform modesty and courtesy form the framework of his outer 
life, while his strength of character, his unswerving integrity in purpose and action, 
his patriotic feeling, his devotion to good works for mankind and his sense of duty 
to every trust submitted to his care, portray a friend and associate whose memory 
we cherish and whose loss we mourn." 

An excellent characterization of Mr. Allis was written by Judge James G. Jenkins, 
as follows: "He was an able business man, careful and prudent, a public-spirited 
citizen, willing to devote his time for the public good, upright and honest in all his 
dealings. He led a life without reproach. It is seldom that the community loses a 
man who has so quietly and unostentatiously performed every duty that devolved 
upon him, seeking neither praise nor public recognition. He was deserving of the 
highest regard of the public." 

The mayor of the city expressed appreciation for the life and work of Charles 
Allis as foliows: "The city of Milwaukee not to speak of the County Council of 
Defense, suffers a great loss in the untimely death of Charles Allis. He was a big- 
hearted, broad-minded, public-spirited citizen. His sense of justice and duty knew 
no bounds. He accepted the chairmanship of the County Council of Defense with the 
knowledge that he was jeopardizing his own life, for no other reason than he knew 
his services were needed and desired by all. In short, Charley Allis loved his fellow- 
men." 



EDWARD HYDE BALL. 



On the pages of the pioneer history of Wisconsin appears the name of Edward 
Hyde Ball, who came to the state in the period of its early development. He was born 
May 29, 1825, in Ogden, Monroe county, New York, where his parents, Joseph and 
Esther Ball, had settled, removing to the Empire state from Lee, Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts. In his youthful days Edward Hj'de Ball acquired a good public school 
education and also attended a select school for one year. He received his initial busi- 
ness training in the- store of Church & Ball at Spencerport, New York, then one of 
the largest mercantile establishments in the western part of that state. After seven 
years' connection with that firm, during which period he had gained comprehensive 
knowledge of business methods, he removed to the west with the thought of engaging 
in business on his own account. 

It was in 1846 that Mr. Ball took up his abode in East Troy, Walworth county, 
Wisconsin, where he opened a store, and for sixteen years was busy in the conduct of 
that enterprise. He was located in the midst of a frontier district where settlers were 
few and where their finances depended upon the growth of crops. It was necessary 
to extend credit to many, but he carefully watched all points of his business and so 
directed his affairs that he soon won a substantial measure of success as the years 
passed en. He enjoyed an unassailable reputation for straightforward dealing and 
reliability and as the years progressed he secured for himself a comfortable competence. 
He also built up a most enviable reputation as a citizen and his advice and counsel 
were sought in many connections having to do with public welfare. In 1862 he dis- 
posed of his mercantile interests in that town and removed to Milwaukee, where he 
broadened the scope of his activity by becoming connected with a wholesale grocery 
house as a member of the firm of Dutcher, Ball & Goodrich. This association was 
maintained until 1869 when Mr. Dutcher withdrew, the business being then carried 
on by the firm of Ball & Goodrich until the death of Mr. Ball, which occurred in Mil- 
waukee, September 7, 1878. His business career in Milwaukee was characterized by the 




CHARLES ALLIS 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 19 

success wliich liucl hitherto attended him and was marlved by unswerving honesty 
and uprighlnoss, which made him a model worthy o£ lasting remembrance and emula- 
tion. 

On the 26tli of August. 1847, Mr. Ball was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. 
Cobb, a daughter of Dr. John Cobb, of Ogden, Monroe county. New York, and they 
became the parents of four daughters and a son. Mrs. Ball passed away March 30, 1897. 

When but eleven years of age Mr. Ball became a member of the Plymouth Presby- 
terian church and later was one of the organizers of the Immanuel Presbyterian 
church, of which he was made an elder, and he also took an active part in the Sunday 
school, teaching the young men's Bible class. No more fitting tribute to his memory 
can be paid than by quoting from the Rev. G. P. Nichols, pastor and friend of Mr. Ball, 
who on the occasion of his funeral said: "A thoroughly good, wholly useful, truly 
admirable man of God has ascended to his crown. There are few who live from 
beginning to end who will yield so much pure wheat, so little worthless chaff. I never 
heard him utter a foolish word. I never saw him do a selfish act. His integrity was 
without a flaw, his honor without a spot. He had a strong Conscience himself, without 
anything of intolerance or imperiousness towards others. The young men of Milwaukee 
sustain irreparable loss today. They lose a model to imitate, a friend to sympathize, 
a counsellor to guide and encourage. His memory remains to cherish, his spirit 
remains to animate, his image remains to comfort, his work remains to be taken up 
and carried forward." 



JOHN HOFFMANN. 



From obscurity to prominence is the phrase that suras up the life record of John 
Hoffmann, who for many years was at the head of one of the largest wholesale grocery 
houses of Wisconsin. During many years he concentrated his efforts and attention 
upon the development of his trade_until his business was one of extensive and gratifying 
proportions and, moreover, he had made for himself an honored name in the com- 
mercial circles of the state. While he quietly pursued the even tenor of his ways, 
building up a business by progressive methods, close application and honorable com- 
petition, there is much of inspirational value in his life record, proving as it does 
what may be accomplished by personal labor intelligently directed. Mr. Hoffmann 
was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, December 4, 1839, and was a youth of 
seventeen years when in 1857 he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, making 
his way at once to Milwaukee, with the hope of finding employment in a grocery 
house of this city, having previously served an apprenticeship to the business in his 
native land. He did not win the coveted position here, however, and was forced to 
accept any employment that would yield him an honest living, eventually gaining a 
position in a butcher shop. He had to learn the trade and while thus engaged saved 
a little money from his meager wages. The hope of finding better opportunities 
further west led him to remove to St. Louis, but he did not see a favorable opening 
there and proceeded down the Mississippi to New Orleans, establishing a small shop 
in the old St. Mary's market, where he soon gained a profitable trade. 

When Mr. Hoiimann saw the war cloud gathering and recognized the imminent 
danger of hostilities between the north and the south, he sold his business in New 
Orleans and returned to Milwaukee. This time the city seemed more hospitable from 
a business standpoint and he opened a butcher shop at 500 East Water street. His 
trade steadily grew and a little later he purchased the corner of East Water and 
Market streets, now the site of the city hall. In 1875 he broadened the scope of his 
activities by entering into partnership with Jacob Wellauer and establishing a whole- 
sale grocery business, which was conducted under a partnership relation until 1898, 
when Mr. Hoffmann became sole owner thereof. He carried on the business in that 
way until 1904, when a corporation was formed and the name of John Hoffmann & 
Sons Company was adopted. Since the death of the father the business has been 
carried on by the sons, the present officers being; Willibald Hoffmann, president; 
Emil O. Hoffmann, vice president; H. J. Hoffmann, vice president; Walter Hoffmann, 
treasurer; Edward W. Hoffmann, secretary. The sons have followed in the footsteps 
of the father, becoming most progressive, alert and energetic business men and the 
wholesale grocery house remains one of the foremost commercial interests of the 
city. After engaging in the business for a brief period the father began the manu- 
facture of sausage in a wholesale way and was one of the first western manufacturers 
to make such a shipment in large quantities to New York and other eastern markets. 

On the 7th of July. 1861, Mr. Hoffmann married Suzanne Schweitzer, who sur- 
vived him only a few months. Their seven children are the five sons already men- 
tioned and two daughters, Mrs. Oscar Schmidt and Mrs. George Salentine. All are 
residents of Milwaukee. As the years passed John Hoffmann become more and more 
firmly established in the business circles of the city as a prosperous merchant and 



20 HISTORY OF JMILWAUKEE 

in the regard of his fellow townsmen as a progressive and highly esteemed citizen. 
He had reached the age of seventy-nine years when death called him in 1919, at which 
time one of the local papers characterized him as "an ideal citizen and a good man." 
Rev. S. T. Smythe, president of St. John's Military Academy at Delafield, said at 
the funeral services: "I am not here to pronounce words of eulogy. John Hoffmann 
needs none such. Writ deep in the hearts and memories of us who knew and loved 
him is the record of his worth. I am not here because John Hoffmann was a great 
man. I know of no man, I never shall know a man, who cared so little for what the 
world calls greatness. His life was lived above the petty ambition of notoriety. We 
are not here because our friend was a charitable man. He was all that, but few I 
fancy, knew of his charities. I fancy that many a one, a lowly man, some humble 
woman, some man once down and out — on his feet again — may read of his death 
notice through unhidden tears. 

"We are not taking leave of a boon companion. This man, loved the hearth, the 
quiet of his home, the companionship of her who had been sweetheart in his earliest 
years and was sweetheart still as the years gathered. This man loved children. We 
are not here because in a day of loose living and looser morals this man was a pattern 
and type of what a husband and father should be. We are not here because in a day 
of civic unrighteousness, of graft, of greed, this man rendered unto Caesar the things 
that of a right belong to Caesar. We are not gathered here to do honor to a successful 
business man, though he was superlatively that, a man of rare integrity in his dealings 
with other men. 

"We have not come today because John Hoffmann was a religious man. I, who 
was his friend, knew little of his inmost thoughts concerning those great mysteries 
which are collocated under that word 'religion.' As I think of his life free from cant 
and hypocrisy, I say to you that this man's life began where ours so often ends, in 
service to his fellows. Maybe his religion was not yours, perhaps not mine, but we 
shall wander tar afield ere we find a better one. Xo, you are not gathered with me 
here today because of any one of these things, nor of all of them. We are about to 
bear away to the quiet of God's acre the mortal remains of a good man. Yea, a good 
man. Need we say more?" 



OLIVER CLYDE FULLER. 



During a residence of thirty-one years in Milwaukee. Oliver Clyde Fuller has come 
to occupy a central place on the stage of financial activity in the city. Honored and 
respected by all, his prominence is due not alone to the success he has achieved hut 
also to the straightforward business policy which he has ever followed. In the line of 
an orderly progression he has reached the presidency of the First Wisconsin group of 
financial institutions, which includes the First Wisconsin National Bank, the First 
Wisconsin Trust Company and the First Wisconsin Company. 

His birth occurred at Clarkesville, Georgia, on the 13th of September, 1S60, his 
parents being Henry A. and Martha Caroline (Wyly) Fuller. He numbers among his 
ancestors some of the oldest and most honorable names in the south. On the maternal 
side he is descended from General John Sevier of Revolutionary war fame, who was the 
first governor of Tennessee. Mr. Fuller's father was a well known merchant of Atlanta, 
Georgia, being the head of one of the largest wholesale grocery firms in that city. 

Mr. Fuller attended public and private schools in Atlanta and afterward completed 
his education in the University of Georgia as a member of the class of 1880. He then 
accepted a clerkship in the wholesale grocery house of Fuller & Oglesby, of which his 
father was the senior partner, and v/as admitted to the firm in 188.3. when the style was 
changed to H. A. Fuller &. Son. A few years later the father retired from business 
and the son, Oliver C. Fuller, concentrated his attention upon the investment banking 
business, becoming a member of the firm of Jones & Puller, investment bankers, with 
which he was identified from 1886 until 1889. Seeking a larger field, he then removed 
temporarily to the city of New York, where he resided until 1891, when he came to 
Milwaukee. Two years later he organized the firm of Oliver C. Puller & Company, 
investment bankers and dealers in high-class bonds. It was not long before the new 
firm had gained a large clientele. In 1903 Mr. Fuller organized the^Wisconsin Trust 
Company, taking over the business of Oliver C. Puller & Company. He became the 
president of the Trust Company and on the 1st of July, 1919, was elected to the presi- 
dency of the First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee, an organization resulting 
from the consolidation of the First National Bank and the Wisconsin National Bank. 
In August, 1919, he was elected president of the First Wisconsin Trust Company, a 
consolidation of the First Trust Company and the Wisconsin Trust Company, and on 
the 1st of January, 1920, he organized and was elected president of the First Wisconsin 
Company, dealers in investment securities, the latter corporation being closely affiliated 
with the former. The nature and importance of his interests establishes him in a 




OLIVER C. FULLEE 



HISTORY OF illLWAUKEE 23 

position of learlevphip iimong tlie financiers of liis adopted city, where for almost a third 
of a century his name and place have been an honored one. In 1906 he was elected a 
member of the executive committee of the trust company section of the American 
Bankers Association and in I'JdS was made chairman of that committee and a member 
of the council. In 1909 he was elected vice president and in 1910 was elected to the 
presidency of the trust company section of the American Bankers Association. 

The scope and the importance of Mr. Fuller's business interests outside of the field 
of banking is indicated in the fact that he is a director of the Allis-Chalmers Manufac- 
turing Company, the Milwaukee Mechanics Insurance Company, the Wisconsin Tele- 
phone Company, the Baltimore Dry Docks & Shipbuilding Company, the Wisconsin 
Securities Company and the Milwaukee Auditorium and is a trustee of the North- 
western Mutual Life Insurance Company. 

On the 25th of May, 18S1, Mr. Puller was married to Miss Kate FitzHugh Caswell 
of Atlanta, Georgia, and they have become parents of two sons and four daughters. 
Mr. Fuller belongs to various social organizations, including the Milwaukee Club, the 
Milwaukee Country Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Town Club. He is also 
a member of the Wisconsin Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, of which 
he was formerly president, and of the Society of Colonial Wars. He and his family 
occupy an attractive country residence, "Riverdale," at North Milwaukee, while their 
city home is at No. 585 Marshall street. His religious faith is indicated by his mem- 
bership in St. Paul's Episcopal church. His political endorsement is given to the 
republican party, but political activity has had little place in his life, his efforts and 
attention being concentrated upon the careful management and development of his 
business and financial interests. 



HON. JOHN COLONEL KAREL. 

Hon. John Colonel Karel, judge of the second division of the probate court of 
Milwaukee county, came to this state from Nebraska, having reversed the usual order 
of immigration westward. He was born in the city of Schuyler, Colfax county, Nebraska, 
February 28, 1873, his parents being John and Elizabeth Karel, the former born in 
Briza, Bohemia, in 1851, while the latter is a native of Calumet, Wisconsin, born in 
1852. Coming to the new world he settled in Wisconsin and became a prominent 
factor in democratic circles in this state and was called to fill various city and county 
offices. In 1884 he was a candidate on the party ticket tor the position of insurance 
commissioner, but met defeat with the others on the ticket. In 1888 he received presi- 
dential appointment to the office of consul at Prague, Bohemia, and six years later 
was appointed by President Cleveland consul general at St. Petersburg. While he 
was traveling in Europe with his wife in 1883 she passed away and her remains 
were interred in a cemetery in the city of Prague. The family numbered two sons 
and a daughter: Albert Karel, who is a banker at Kewanee, Wisconsin; Flora, who 
is now engaged in teaching; and Judge Karel, of this review. 

In his youthful days Judge Karel attended the public schools of Kewanee, Wis- 
consin, passing through consecutive grades to the high school and later he supple- 
mented his studies in educational institutions of Prague, Bohemia, while eventually 
he matriculated in the State University at Madison, which conferred upon him the 
Bachelor of La%vs and Bachelor of Letters degrees, in recognition of work completed 
in that institution. He entered upOn the practice of his profession in Milwaukee and 
had gained a large and distinctively representative clientage, when on the 1st of 
June, 1907, he assumed the office of judge of the second division of the probate court, 
which had been created by the legislature of that year and to which he was elected 
on a non-partisan ticket. Previous to taking up the work of the profession he had 
been a purser on Lake Michigan boats and had also been employed in the bank of 
Kasper & Karel of Chicago. He had likewise done newspaper work on various publi- 
cations and all of his previous experiences have been of benefit to him in the discharge 
of his professional duties. 

On the 11th of June, 1901, Judge Karel was married to Miss Josephine A. Henssler, 
daughter of Louis and Bertha Henssler of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and they have one 
child, Gladys Josephine, born March 28, 1905. The parents are members of the Roman 
Catholic church and he belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to the 
Bohemian Athletic Club, the Jefferson Club, of which he was president for two terms; 
the Milwaukee Press Club, the Bohemian American Club, the University Club, the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Canoe Club, the Woodmen of the World, the Modern 
Woodmen of America, the Fin de Siecle Club and tlie Illinois Athletic Club of Chicago. 
He is also identified with the Bohemian Slavonian Brotherhood and the Equitable 
Fraternal Union and is now state president of the latter organization. He has ever 
given unfaltering support to the democratic party since age conferred upon him the 
right of franchise and was elected on its ticket from the ninth Milwaukee district 



24 • HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

to the general assembly, In which he served during the sessions of 1901 and 1903. 
In the latter year he was made register of probate of Milwaukee county and con- 
tinued in that office until elected probate judge. He is an expert linguist, having a 
comprehensive knowledge of the English, German, Bohemian and Polish languages and 
he has traveled extensively through all the continents of the globe. His lectures relating 
to his travels have received high commendation from the press and from the general 
public, and he is also known as a lecturer on legal subjects before the Milwaukee 
Law School. He has taken the initiative in all movements having for their object 
the betterment of the Bohemian element in this country and has represented various 
Bohemian societies, with which he is affiliated, in public movements of varied characters. 



HERMAN FEHR. 

Herman Fehr, who in January, 1920, was elected to the presidency of the National 
Bank of Commerce of Milwaukee, has long been a close and discriminating student of 
the problems of finance and for eighteen years has been associated with the institu- 
tion of which he is now the head, making it one of the strong and substantial moneyed 
concerns of the state. Milwaukee numbers him among her native sons, his birth 
having occurred February 27, 1S65, his parents being Jacob and Katharine (Stocker) 
Fehr, who were natives of Switzerland. They came to this country in early life and 
were' married in Milwaukee, where they had settled in 1852. The father was a black- 
smith and followed that trade among the earliest representatives of the business in this 
city. The family home was on Prairie street, between Third and Fourth streets, now 
in the down-town district. 

Herman Fehr was educated in the public schools, passing through consecutive 
grades until graduated from the high school of Milwaukee, after which he entered the 
University of Wisconsin and there completed a course in 18S4, obtaining the degrees of 
Bachelor of Science and Mechanical Engineer. He afterward took up the study of 
law and in 18S6 was graduated from the law department of the University of Wisconsin 
with the LL. B. degree. The same year he was admitted to the bar and entered upon 
active practice in Milwaukee and later became a member of the firm of Austin, Fehr, 
Mueller & Gehrz, which is still in existence. In 1911, however, Mr. Fehr went to New 
York city, where he engaged in the theatrical business for a number of years, retiring 
therefrom in 1919, when he returned to take up his abode in Milwaukee. He has been 
a director of the National Bank of Commerce since its organization in 1903 and in 
January, 1920, was elected to the presidency. This is one of the leading banks of the 
city and has had a steady and satisfactory growth from the beginning. Mr. Fehr 
has been retired from active law practice for the past twelve years but is still a 
director of the Orpheum Theatrical Circuit. This and his banking Interests constitute 
the scope of his business connections at the present time. He has met with success, 
carefully and wisely directing his activities, and the soundness of his judgment is 
manifest in what he has accomplished. 

Mr. Fehr is an active member and one of the directors of the Milwaukee Associa- 
tion of Commerce. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, the Wisconsin Club, the Calumet Club, th« ' Milwaukee Country Club and the 
Blue Mound Country Club, while in New York he has membership in the Lambs 
Club, one of the most noted organizations of this character in the country. The interests 
and activities of his life have been broad and varied, making him a man of liberal 
culture and of wide vision. 



HON. DANIEL WEBSTER HOAN. 

Hon. Daniel Webster Hoan, attorney at law, who for many years has devoted his 
life largely to public service, filling the position of mayor for five consecutive terms, 
was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, March 12, 1881|. His father, Daniel Webster Hoan, 
was born in Canada of Irish parentage and when sixteen years of age emigrated to 
the United States. He volunteered for service in the Union army and was promoted 
to color sergeant of the One Hundred Ninety-third New York Volunteers. After the 
war he settled in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he resided until his death in 1895. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret A. Hood, was of American ancestry 
dating back to Revolutionary war days. She was born in Waukesha, where she still 
resides. 

Mayor Daniel W. Hoan obtained a public school education and won the Bachelor 
of Arts degree upon the completion of a course in the University of Wisconsin in 1905. 
His professional course was pursued in the Chicago Kent College of Law. His start 
in life was a humble one. His early youth was spent as a cook and the money thus 




HERMAN FEHR 



HISTORY OF MILWAT'KEE 27 

earned was saved to pay the expenses of his college education. The elemental strength 
of his character and the laudable ambition which he thus early displayed have carried 
him forward to a prominent position in professional and political circles. His first 
big work as a lawyer was the drafting of a workmen's compensation act and the prepara- 
tion of a brief on its constitutionality for the State Federation of Labor. Both attracted 
the interest of thoughtful people and led to Governor Davidson's advocating the measure 
and the creation of a legislative committee which rounded the measure in workable 
shape, with the re.sult that Wisconsin was the first state in the Union to put such a 
measure in operation. 

In his political views Mr. Hoan is a socialist and his efforts have all been directed 
toward making Milwaukee in particular and the world at large a better place in which 
to live. He tilled the office of city attorney from 1910 until 1916, resigning the position 
in the latter year to assume the duties of mayor. One who has been an interested 
witness of his public activity writes of his services as city attorney and as mayor 
as follows: "While serving as city attorney he fought the railroads public utilities 
and secured a legal enforcement of their duties according to their franchises and the 
statutes under which they were operating. In this way local improvements approxi- 
mating fifteen million dollars in value were wrested from the companies, such as 
elevating and depressing railroad tracks, paving, sprinkling and removing snow be- 
tween the street railway tracks and reduction of rates. Another accomplishment of 
his was that the amounts paid out annually in settlement of miscellaneous damage 
claims against the city was reduced over three hundred per cent. This saving alone 
equalled the salary of himself and his staff during the six-year period. During this 
time he and his staff compiled the city charter laws and the city ordinances in separate 
volumes. 

"City Attorney Hoan also managed to defeat in the common council by a narrow 
margin of one vote, an attempt to railroad through a proposed ten-year contract be- 
tween the city and the electric company for furnishing city illumination. This contract 
would have lAirdened the city with a costly and inefficient privately owned lighting 
system. Its defeat brought about the adoption of the present scientific and economical 
street illumination with its municipally owned distribution system designed for beauty 
as well as utility. Its construction was instituted during Mr. Hoan's first term as 
mavor and is rapidly nearing completion. 

" "His term as mayor from 1916 to 1921, though marked by a common council set 
on obstruction has shown our greatest advance in civic progress. Tremendous strides 
have been made in city planning, including the civic center, the passage of the zoning 
ordinance, the development of arterial highways, the securing of a municipal airport, 
the expansion of the greater municipal harbor plan, the filtration of our drinking 
water supply and the restoration of the central purchasing bureau unfortunately abol- 
ished after Mayor Seidel's defeat. 

"He succeeded with the aid of his able housing commissioners in securing state 
legislation authorizing a modern and progressive housing program under a plan which 
secures the benefits not only from the economy of wholesale home building and the 
desirability of private ownership of homes, but also secures the cooperative benefits 
of community playgrounds and other joint opportunities for the development of good 
citizens as a group. 

"The labor policy of his administration beginning with the drafting of the eight- 
hour law and the minimum wage ordinance during his term as city attorney con- 
tinues to stand out as a real accomplishment. 

"Organized labor is consulted on all questions in which it is interested and is 
fairly represented in the various commissions and departments of the city govern- 
ment Mayor Hoan has not hesitated to state his stand without compromise. His 
reply to the local Association of Commerce when they requested him to invite the 
King of Belgium to this city was: 'I stand for the man who works, to hell with 
kings.' , , ■ 

"The police department has carried out, at the mayor s request, the labor policy 
which meets with the approval not only of union labor but good citizens generally, 
namely, that no violence or destruction of property in times of strikes is to be per- 
mitted but every constitutional right of the worker on strike is to be strictly enforced. 
This policy has kept Milwaukee free from the disorders which have taken place in 
most American cities during labor disputes. 

"In addition. Mayor Hoan undertook a thorough investigation and clean-up ol 
the police department in which several prominent members resigned rather than 
face the mayor's charges. This clean-up has been followed by courtesy and efficiency 
on the part of the police force and has earned the commendation of every citizen. 

"During the years 1918 to 1920 the high-cost-of-living problem was met by Mayor 
Hoan personally because the city government liad no legal authority to take action. 
On his personal" credit he bought and sold over two hundred carloads of food products 
direct to the people at a saving of over one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. 
These sales together with the operations of the public markets which were carried 



28 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

on despite much bitter opposition, forced down prices not only of the products sold 
but of other related articles. 

"As a socialist party leader and as mayor of the city, he has led the fight in the 
legislature which secured the passage of the home rule amendment and of measures 
granting authority for municipal ownership, city planning, city forestry and housing. 

"One feature of the mayor's work has been the constant effort to arouse public 
sentiment against militarism as well as promoting sentiments for peace. 

"In conclusion, Mayor Daniel W. Hoan and his socialist associates have been a 
powerful factor in achieving clean and progressive city government. 

"From 1910 to 1921 he has been successful at the polls five times, four times by 
a majority vote of the electors. The mandate of these elections to carry out the 
policies here reviewed has been very clear and the construction of his majority at 
every election has been unique. In the five elections he has never yet carried a single 
ward in the down-town rooming-house, so-called slum districts, nor has he ever car- 
ried a single ward occupied by the very wealthy. Mayor Hoan's support has been 
from the solid, substantial hard working productive element in the community which 
has encouraged him to pursue this progressive policy and which has strengthened 
his hand at every turn."' 

At Morris, Illinois, October 9, 1909, Mr. Hoan was married to Miss Agnes Bernice 
Magner, whose gi-andfather was one of the early well known settlers of Chicago — 
Michael Walsh. He sold his holdings at the time of the epidemic and removed with 
his family, including Mrs. Hoan's mother, to Morris, Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Hoan 
have been born two children: Daniel Webster and Agnes Bernice, aged eleven and 
five years. Mr. Hoan's activity during the World war lay along the lines of work 
taken up by the Milwaukee county council of defense, of which he was chairman. 
Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, with the Benevolent Pro- 
tective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and Traveling Men's Protective 
Association, and he is a member of the Community Club. His interest centers in 
those channels through which flow the greatest good of the greatest number and his 
activities have at all times been forceful factors in bringing about reform, progress 
and improvement in public affairs. 



CHARLES QUARLES. 



Charles Quarles was not only a lawyer of eminent ability but was a thorough student 
of the great industrial, economic, political and sociological problems of the day and at 
all times kept abreast with the best thinking men of the age. He delved deep into every 
matter which claimed his attention, and his opinions were never of a superficial char- 
acter but showed a thorough investigation which brought him comprehensive and accu- 
rate knowledge. The analytical mind of the lawyer enabled him to solve other questions 
outside the strict path of his profession, and thus it was that his opinions came to be 
an influencing force upon many matters which had to do with the progress of Wisconsin. 

Mr. Quarles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, February 13, 1846, his parents being 
Joseph Very and Caroline (Bullen) Quarles. The father, a descendant of sturdy colonial 
stock, came to Wisconsin in 18.38. The maternal grandfather, John Bullen, was one of 
the first settlers of Kenosha, which was then known as Southport. Their son, Joseph 
Very Quarles, Jr., became prominent in politics and represented Wisconsin in the United 
States senate. The father, Joseph Very Quarles. Sr., was actively connected with the 
industrial development of Kenosha as the founder and promoter of a large wagon factory 
in that city. 

Charles Quarles obtained his early education in Kenosha and in 1863 became a stu- 
dent in the University of Michigan, where he pursued a classical course. Going to 
Chicago in 1868 he there became identified with the Home Fire Insurance Company of 
New York, spending five years in that connection, after which he returned to his native 
city and entered upon the study of law in 1873 in the ofRce of Head & Quarles, well 
known and prominent attorneys of the city. He was admitted to practice in 1875 and 
entered upon his professional career in his native city. 

In 1888 Charles Quarles came to Milwaukee and was one of the organizers of the 
firm of Quarles, Spence & Quarles, the senior partner being his brother. Senator Quarles, 
and the second member of the firm Thomas W. Spence. Prom the outset the professional 
career of Charles Quarles was one of steady advancement. He studied most carefully 
every case which came under his direction and displayed great strength in the presenta- 
tion of his cause, while his deductions were at all times clear and logical. A contempo- 
rary writer has said of him: "He was a ruthless cross-examiner, persistent in following 
out a line of inquiry and dogged in his efforts to obtain the result he desired. The purity 
of his diction, the rhetorical charm of his sentences and the clearness of his thought 
made argument on the most commonplace subject a delight to the ear. His jury addresses 
were masterful and characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the evidence, and a pro- 




CHAKLES QUARLKS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 31 

found knowledge of human nature. So great was his acumen and ability as a lawyer, 
that he rarely suffered defeat in a case, and his record of successful work in the supreme 
court stands as a monument to his industry and high ability as an advocate. In the 
celebrated Schandein will case he successfully resisted the efforts of a son and daugh- 
ter of Wisconsin's wealthiest woman to break that document. In 1905 he was special 
counsel for the government in the suit against the General Paper Company for viola- 
tion of the Sherman law, which resulted in the dissolution of the concern, and later in 
the government's suit against the Milwaukee Refrigerator Transit Company and several 
railroads, for alleged rebating, and in which he was successful. One of his most brilliant 
achievements was his prosecution of the libel suit of Charles F. Pfister against the Mil- 
waukee Free Press, in which, after one of the most bitterly contested battles that ever 
took place in Wisconsin, his client was awarded a heavy verdict. Tlie successful out- 
come of the libel suit of Emanuel L. Philipp, now governor of Wisconsin, against Mc- 
Clure's Magazine, which was tried in New York city in 190S, was likewise largely due 
to his ability. An earlier case in which he was prominent was that of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad Company, in which he appeared as attorney for the striking railroad 
men. Subsequently he was attorney for the receivers of that road. In proceedings 
before the supreme court in 1908 which resulted in the release of Fred C. Schultz, con- 
fined in the house of correction after a conviction for bribery, he wrote the reply brief 
for Schultz, in which he demonstrated to the court conclusively that the law of con- 
spiracy had not been properly laid down in the proceedings in the municipal court. 
Among the instances of his sagacity may be cited the Milwaukee street car franchise 
fight of 1900. when he advised the city council to pass a certain franchise regardless of 
the injunction by which opponents of the measure sought to prevent its passage; the 
supreme court sustained the action of the council in passing the ordinance and of the 
mayor in signing it." 

On the 10th of November, 1S81, Mr. Quarles was married to Miss Emma W. Thiers, 
a daughter of David B. Thiers, of Kenosha, and they became parents of four children: 
Louis and Charles B., lawyers; Henry C, in the bond business; and Ethel, the wife of 
L. 0. French. 

The family circle was broken by the hand of death when Mr. Quarles passed away 
in Milwaukee, April 8, 1908. There were many reasons that caused his death to be 
regarded as a calamity to the city in which he had long made his home. He had greatly 
influenced public thought and action, and his efforts and influence were always on the 
side of progress and improvement. In politics he was ever a stalwart republican and 
from time to time was active in the campaign. In 1897 he was chosen a school director 
and later was unanimously elected president of the board. His genial nature and kindly 
spirit made him a most popular member of the Milwaukee, Deutscher, Country, Uni- 
versity and Milwaukee Yacht Clubs, and he belonged also to the Wisconsin Humane 
Societv, in which connection he did great good. He was a lover of scientific research 
and gathered a most valuable and interesting collection of mineralogical and archaeo- 
logical specimens. 

A contemporary writer said of him: "By his death Milwaukee loses its most brilliant 
legal practitioner and a man who for several years has been unanimously accorded the 
foremost position at the AVisconsin bar. His fame was not confined to his city and state 
but among attorneys all over the country. He was well known and recognized as a 
lawyer of abilitv and strength. Mr. Quarles added to his great ability as a lawyer a 
profound scholarship and a wide knowledge of current affairs, which made him remark- 
able outside his professional work, to which the greater portion of his time was devoted. 
The labor question was one in which he was deeply interested, as in many other econom- 
ical and political subjects and at various times he has addressed different civic societies 
and other gatherings on phases of the industrial problem. His views were well defined 
and logical on these matters and his utterances were always regarded as those of one 
who thoroughly understood his subjects. Personally, Mr. Quarles was one of the most 
genial and lovable of men and he numbered as his friends all who were brought in 
contact with him. He had a keen, incisive wit, a kindly humor and a suave and affable 
manner which won the hearts of his associates and many young lawyers are indebted 
to him for wise advice and counsel on difficult points. Even in the midst of the im- 
portant litigation which engaged his time, he was never too busy to receive a visitor 
with cordiality and the newspaper man who went to him for information was always 
treated consideratelv, frankly and with a genial kindness that was wonderfully pleas- 
ant In court Mr. Quarles was always courteous and his keen wit found Irequent 
expression even in the dullest of cases. He was always ready for an encounter of \yits 
and few of his brother lawvers cared to engage him in a tilt of that kind. In physical 
appearance Mr. Quarles corresponded to his intellectual make-up. Frail of physique 
he was nevertheless possessed of a nervous energy which enabled him to perform an 
almost miraculous amount of work and in the court room his restlessness was one of 
his marked peculiarities. His keenly intellectual face and his brilliant eyes made him 
a man who would be observed even by a stranger in the court room even before he 
spoke." 



32 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

The life and: character of Charles Quarles were as clear as the sunrise. No mau 
came in contact with him but speedily appreciated him at his true worth and knew he 
was a man who not only cherished the high ideal of duty but who lived up to it. He 
constantly labored for the right, and from his earliest youth he devoted a large portion 
of his time to the service of others. He was not an idle sentimentalist but a worker. 
He was at the head of an extensive law practice, which he managed successfully, yet it 
was his rule to set apart some time each day for the labors of love to which he was so 
devoted. His friends will miss him, but the memory of his great and beautiful life, of 
his sincerity and simplicity, will not be forgotten. 



RT. REV. MSGR. DAVID J. O'HEARN. 

Rt. Rev. Msgr. David J. O'Hearn, a distinguished representative of the Catholic 
priesthood in Wisconsin, now in charge of St. John's cathedral in Milwaukee, was 
born in this city March 27, 1867. a son of. Thomas and Ellen (Keogh) O'Hearn, the 
former born in St. Johns. Newfoundland, and the latter in Wexford, Ireland. His 
maternal grandfather came to Milwaukee in 1847 and his mother arrived in 1854. 
Both parents are now dead. 

Msgr. O'Hearn acquired his early education in St. John's Cathedral school, was 
graduated with the class of 1882, afterward attended St. Francis Seminary, was 
ordained to the priesthood November 24, 1889, and later became a student in the 
Catholic University of Washington, D. C, in which he pursued postgraduate work, 
remaining there for three years. On his return to Milwaukee, he was appointed as 
assistant to Father Keogh, his uncle, who was pastor of St. John's cathedral, of which 
Msgi". O'Hearn now has charge. He acted as assistant until 1898, when he went to 
Rome, spending three years in the Eternal City and pursuing a course in the Gregorian 
University which won him the degree of Doctor of Canonical Law in 1901. After an 
extended trip to Asia Minor, Palestine and Egypt he returned to his native land and 
in Milwaukee was again appointed assistant in St. John's cathedral, where he con- 
tinued until 1905. In that year he received the appointment from Archbishop Messmer 
to the professionship of canonical law and church history in St. Francis Seminary, 
filling the position for fifteen years and also occupying the chairs of Christian archae- 
ology, the Life of Christ and Italian. On the 1st of May, 1920, Msgr. O'Hearn was, 
appointed pastor of St. John's cathedral by Archbishop Messmer, this being the church 
in which he was baptized, made his first confession, received his first Holy Communion, 
was confirmed, ordained, and in which he also said his first mass. On the 4th of 
October, 1921, on the occasion of the celebration of Archbishop Messmer's golden 
jubilee in the priesthood, Msgr. O'Hearn, in company with Msgr. Bernard G. Traudt 
and Msgr. Boleslaus E. Goral, was invested with the monsignorship, to which dignity 
he had had been raised by Benedict XV. The work of the church has been carried 
steadily forward under the direction of Msgi'. O'Hearn. who during the past year 
has raised eighty thousand dollars for the improvement of the church building and 
charity work. Besides this the various church activities have been well organized, 
thus insuring a bright outlook for the future of St. John's cathedral. 



WILLIAM COOPER SARGENT. 

William Cooper Sargent, whose splendid business ability brought him to a position 
of prominence, calling him to a place that demanded exceptional executive force and 
administrative power, was long known in commercial circles as the secretary of the 
Chain Belt Company. The story of his life is an interesting one, owing to his steady 
rise and the methods that he pursued. 

Mr. Sargent was born in Troy, New York, February 2, 1849, and passed away on the 
5th of February, 1922, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his remains being laid to rest in St. 
Paul.' His parents were Leonard R. and Sarah (Downing) Sargent. The Sargent family 
traces its ancestry back through eight generations to early Puritans. Early settlement 
was made by representatives of the name at Maiden, Massachusetts, and at Everett, 
that state, and later they were in Connecticut and Vermont. Leonard R. Sargent was 
born at Fort Ann, New York, while his wife was a native of Bristol, Pennsylvania, and 
it was at the latter place that William C. Sargent pursued his education, his father 
having removed to Bristol with his f&mily that he might execute a contract which had 
been awarded him as civil engineer. 

After leaving school William C. Sargent entered a wholesale drug house in Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania, and was there employed for several years. In 1872 he resigned 
and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he became a partner in the firm of DeCou, 
Corlies & Sargent. Their business was the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds and 
they conducted a profitable enterprise until 1873, when during the widespread financial 
panic and the hard times that followed the firm failed. Mr. Sargent then became pur- 




WILLIAJf V. SARGENT 



Vol. n— 3 



IIISTOHY OK .MlhWAFKEE 35 

chasing agent for the St. Paul Harvester Works, in wliich C. W. Le Valley was a 
partner. Mr. Le Valley was an intimate friend of Mr. Sargent anil in later years upon 
hi^ removal to Milwaukee, where he organized the Chain Belt fonipany, Mr. Sargent 
was made secretary of the company and acted also as Mr. Le Valley's coiilidential 
advisor. It was largely through his efforts that they established their agencies all 
over the United States and also in France, India. Japan and various points in South 
America. Mr. Sargent continued to act as secretary until his death, and his sound 
business judgment and his ready discrimination between the essential and the non- 
essential in all business affairs were potent eletnents in the attainment of the success of 
tho company. 

In 1S73 Mr. Sargent returned to his native city and there married Miss Adele 
Packer a daughter of Albert and Elizabeth (Morgan) Packer, representatives of an old 
and highly respected family of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who trace their ancestry back 
through many generations, the family being one of distinction in that section of the 
country. To Mr. and Mrs. Sargent were born six children, live of whom are living. 
Caroline, the eldest, is the wife of William E. Walter of Swarthinore, Pennsylvania. 
Helen is the wife of William R. Langford of St. Paul. .Minnesota. Leonard K., a repre- 
sentative of the fifth generation to bear the name of Leonard, is a captain in the United 
States navy. He was graduated from Annapolis, and during the World war was 
stationed at Panr.ma. in charge of land and sea forces, guarding the Panama canal. 
He is now commander of the Destroyer Squadron Five, on the Flagship Birmingham. 
Howard H. is a graduate of Harvard and a resident of St. Paul. Minnesota. .lulian D., 
a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, also resides in St. Paul. 

Mr. Sargent was a member of the Minnesota Club and of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club. He was a man of great popularity, his social qualities winning him the friend- 
ship and kindly regard of all who knew him. He possessed a most sympathetic nature 
and was constantly extending a helping hand. He possessed considerable poetic talent 
and was the author of much creditable verse. His splendid business powers, too, made 
him known throughout the country, and when he passed away floral pieces and letters 
of condolence were received from all parts of the United States. His life left its im- 
press upon all who knew him, so that the news of his demise carried with it a sense 
of personal bereavement into many homes. He stood as a splendid type of American 
manhood and citizenship, honored and respected by all and most of all where he was 
best known. 



ERWIN FOERSTER. 



Through the steps of an orderly progression Erwin Foerster has become the 
first vice president of the W'illiam Frankfurth Hardware Company of Milwaukee. 
For fifty-five years he has been identified with the hardware trade and his thorough 
knowledge of the business and his unfaltering enterprise have long been important 
factors in the successful conduct of the institution of which he is now one of the 
chief officials. He was born in Huckeswagen, Rhineland, Germany, January 26, 1851, 
his parents being Franz and Caroline (Hiesfeldt) Foerster. The father was a baker 
and confectioner in Germany, but believing that the opportunities of the new world 
were greater he came to America in 1869, settling in Chicago, where both he and 
his wife passed away. 

Erwin Foerster was educated in the schools of his native country to his fifteenth 
year and in 1866 came to America, making his way to Chicago, where he secured 
employment as errand boy in a wholesale hardware store. He continued to occupy 
that position for three years and then went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he also 
spent three years in the same line of business. In 187.5 he came to Milwaukee and 
entered the 'retail hardware establishment of William Frankfurth & Company, who 
the same vear opened a wholesale department, Mr. Foerster becoming the first sales- 
man sent out from the wholesale section. He traveled for a year and then was called 
in from the road to become assistant buyer of the house, a position which he filled 
for many years In 1885 the retail department was separated from the wholesale 
and removed to 120 Clybourn street. It was at this time that Mr. Foerster was taken 
into the firm as secretary and treasurer, a position which he continued to occupy 
until 1917 when he was elected the first vice president. Thus from a humble position 
he has steadily worked his way upward. The errand boy of a half century ago is 
today one of the chief executives in a large commercial enterprise and his fifty-hve 
years experience in the hardware trade have constituted an important factor in making 
the business of the William Frankfurth Hardware Company one of eminent success. 

In 1875 the year of his arrival in Milwaukee. Mr. Foerster was married to Miss 
Sophia Emi'lv Hottinger of Chicago, and they have become the parents of three sons, 
who are all'living: Otto H.. a physician, located in Milwaukee; Oscar Lrwin, who 
is with the William Frankfurth Hardware Company; and Harry R., also a physician 
of this city. The two brothers who have entered the medical profession are now 
practicing together as dermatology specialists. ,,,„,. ■ r., > « 

Mr. Foerster is a member of the Athletic Club, also of the Wisconsin Club of 



36 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Milwaukee and occupies an enviable position in the club and social circles, just as 
he does in business connections. A laudable ambition brought him out of his native 
land that he might enjoy the broader chances of the new world and since that time 
each day has marked off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more. 
He early recognized the fact that success depends not upon environment, but upon 
the individual and the use which he makes of his time and with a clear understanding 
of this fact Erwin Foerster has progressed year by year until his name is high on 
the roll of the leading merchants of his adopted city. 



JOHN HUEGIN PUELICHER, 

John Huegin Puelicher, president of the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, has 
also been most prominently and actively identified with those organizations which are 
looking to the improvement of banking conditions for the purpose of rendering greater 
efficiency in service to the public, as well as the upbuilding of the entire banking sys- 
tem of tlie country. He has been an executive officer in many such organizations and 
is today chairman of the trade acceptance committee of the Wisconsin Bankers Asso- 
ciation and second vice president of the American Bankers Association. So compre- 
hensive has been his study of financial problems and so broad his experience in the 
field of banking that his opinions are largely accepted as authority upon the questions 
relative to many phases of the banking business. His record is an interesting one 
to his fellow townsmen, not only by reason of what he has accomplished but also owing 
to the fact that he is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having occurred December 
26, 1S69. His father, John Puelicher, was a tanner by trade and came to America in 
1S48 with his father, Peter Puelicher, who took part in the German Revolution in 
1848, and who crossed the Atlantic from Muenster, Maifeldt, Coblenz, Germany, and 
settled at Newburgh, New York. John Puelicher was married to Miss Mary Huegin, 
a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, born January 29, 1848. She was educated in Milwaukee. 
Her father, Peter Huegin, came from Basel, Switzerland. 

It was in the public schools of Milwaukee that John H. Puelicher obtained his 
education and he started out in the business world as assistant in a carpet store, while 
subsequently he was employed as a clerk in a shoe store and later became entry clerk 
in a wholesale millinery house. In 18S5 he entered the employ of the Wisconsin Marine 
& Fire Insurance Company Bank, thus initiating the banking experience that has 
brought him step by step to a point of leadership in financial circles not only of his 
city and state but of the country as well. His identification with the Marshall & 
Ilsley Bank dates from 1893, when he became discount clerk. Thoroughness has ever 
characterized him in all the relations of life and this quality, combined with his ready 
adaptability, enabled him to work his way steadily upward. In 190.5 he was made 
assistant cashier of the bank and the following year was promoted to the cashiership. 
In 1914 the duties of vice president were added to those of cashier and in 1920 he was 
elected to the presidency of the institution. He has long been an active directing force 
in the bank, largely shaping its policy and contributing to its growth by reason of his 
farsigbted vision, his comprehensive study of business conditions and the care with 
which he has safeguarded the interests of depositors. While efficiently performing 
the services that have devolved upon him in his various official connections with the 
Marshall & Ilsley Bank, he has also recognized the needs and the opportunities for 
organized effort in behalf of banking, bringing about a uniformity in system and 
method and at the same time seeking a solution for all the complex and intricate prob- 
lems that arise in connection with the business. This understanding on the part of 
Mr. Puelicher led in 1902 to the founding of the Milwaukee Chapter of the American 
Institute of Banking, of which he was the vice president in 1902, and president the 
following year. In 1905 he became secretary of the Wisconsin Bankers Associa- 
tion, occupying the position until 1908, and in the latter year he was elected to the vice 
presidency and made first chairman of the executive council of the American Institute 
of Banking, as well as its first representative on the executive council of the American 
Bankers Association. In 1916-17 Mr. Puelicher was one of the organizers and the first 
president of the State Bank Section of the American Bankers Association and from 
1917 until 1920 was chairman of the Federal Reserve Campaign Committee of the 
American Bankers Association, while in 1919 he served as vice president of the Mil- 
waukee Clearing House Association. In the following year he was made chairman of 
the trade acceptance committee and a member of the agricultural committee of the 
Wisconsin Bankers Association. The same year he became a member of the special 
railroad committee of the American Bankers Association, was elected the second vice 
president of the American Bankers Association and made chairman of its educational 
committee. It was also in 1920 that he became a member of the Clearing House com- 
mittee of the Milwaukee Clearing House Association. 

On the 29th of August, 1892, in Milwaukee, Mr. Puelicher was married to Miss 




JOHN PI. PUELICHER 



HTSTORY OF MTTAVAT'KEE 30 

Matilda Siefeit, a daughter of H. O. Sielert, and their children are: Gertrude, Albert. 
Elsa and Dorothy. The .son married Almira Asmus Mr. I'uelicher is well known in 
club circles, having membership in the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
the Robert Morris Cluli. the American I'liihitelic Society, the City Club of Milwaukee. 
the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce and the Milwaukee 
Art Institute. These raembershii) relations indicate moat clearly tlie nature of his 
interests, his active support of projects for the public welfare and the high ideals which 
govern him in bis personal relations. Outside of the field of banking he has rendered 
much valuable public service, having from liloT until 1911 been a member of the Mil- 
waukee school board and its president during the last year. In 1907 he also became 
president of the. Greater Milwaukee Association and in 1910 was elected to the presi- 
dency of the Association for Public Play and Social Education. In the same year he 
was made a trustee of the Milwaukee Public Library and a trustee of the Milwaukee 
Public Museum. In 1917 he served on the Wisconsin Liberty Loan executive com- 
mittee and in the same year was made state director of War Savings for Wisconsin. 
In 1919 he was made government director of savings for the Seventh Federal Reserve 
District and in that year became a trustee of the Mihvaukee-Ocjwner College and of 
Marquette University. He has also acted as treasurer of many philanthropic campaigns 
and is constantly extending a helping hand wliere aid is needed for the individual or 
for the community at large. 



AUGUST H. VOGEL. 



Many corporate interests have felt the stimulus of the sound judgment of August 
H. Vogel and profited l)y his cooperation. He is now connected with a num1)er of 
the important business interests of the city and since 1888 has been one of the executive 
officers of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company, acting throughout this entire period, 
covering a third of a century, as secretary, general manager and vice president. Mr. 
Vogel is a native son, having been born in :Milwaukee, December 16, 1862. His parents. 
Frederick and Auguste Vogel. were natives of Germany and emigrated to the new 
world in 1846. Frederick Vogel. Sr.. was associated with Guido Pfister in founding 
the present Pfister & Vogel Leather Company, thus establishing one of the important 
productive industries of the city. He was likewise active and prominent in public 
affairs, serving as a member of the common council in 1856, while from 1874 until 
1876 he represented his district in the general assembly. 

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, August H. Vogel attended 
the Milwaukee University School and was a student in the Milwaukee high school 
until 1878. He continued his education in the Adams Academy from 1879 until 1881 
and in 1882 matriculated in Harvard University, where he pursued a four years' 
course, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1886. 
Returning at once to Milwaukee, he entersd the banking business in connection with 
the Merchants Exchange Bank, of which he was an employe until 1888. In the latter 
year he became actively associated with the business of which his father was one 
of the founders and wliich from the beginning has been conducted under the name 
of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company. Through the intervening period of thirty- 
three years August H. Vogel has been the secretary, general manager and vice president 
of the'companv and his thorough knowledge of every phase and branch of the business 
has enabled him to so direct his labors as to make the understaking one of substantial 
success As the years have passed he has extended his efforts into various other 
fields and is now a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the vice president 
and a director of the Savings & Investment Association of Milwaukee, the vice presi- 
dent and a director of the Johnson Service Company of Milwaukee, vice president and 
director of the Western Leather Company, vice president and director of the Eagle- 
Ottawa Leather Company of Chicago. Illinois, and a stockholder in still other concerns. 
His judgment is sound, his discrimination keen and he readily recognizes and utilizes 
the opportunity that comes through the constant changes which occur in business lite. 

On the 16th of February, 1892, in Milwaukee, .Mr. Vogel was married to Miss Anita 
Hansen daughter of Theodor L. Hansen of this city. Their children are six in number: 
August H.. who wedded Virginia Cumner; Theodore F.. who married Kathryn James; 
Hugo C ■ Rudolph E.; Elizabeth A.: and Anita. The religious faith of the family 
is that of St. James Episcopal church, in which Mr. Vogel is serving as senior ^varden. 
and he is also identified with various church activities, being president of the Martha 
Washington Home and president of St. John's Home. , , •,„ 

In his political views Mr. Vogel has always been a stalwart republican, and while 
never an office seeker, he has done much efficient public service as the occasion and 
need have arisen. He served as a member of the .Milwaukee County Council of 
Defense in 1917 and 1918 and was regional advisor of the resources and conversion 
section of the war industries board. He acted as chairman during the first Libert> 



40 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Loan campaign and as a member of the executive committee during the second, third 
and fourth Liberty Loan campaigns. He is now a trustee of the Milwaul^ee Citizens 
Bureau of Municipal Efficiency and his deep interest in educational advancement is 
shown in his service as a trustee of the Milwaukee-Downer College and trustee of 
the Milwaukee University School. He also enjoys the pleasures and companionships 
of club life and has membership in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, University, Milwaukee 
Country, Chenequa Country and Pine Lake Yacht Clubs. The interests and activities 
of his life are varied, making his a well balanced character, and his most effective 
work has ever been done on the side of public progress and improvement as well 
as in the advancement of business interests. 



CHARLES G. STERN. 



No history of Milwaukee would be complete without mention of the Stern family 
who have for many vears been dominant factors in its development and improvement. 
The H Stern Jr & Brother Company is one of the oldest and representative wholesale 
dry goods establishments in Milwaukee, and Charles G. Stern, whose name initiates 
this review has been its chief executive since 1919. He was born in this city on the 
7th of October, 1S53, his parents being Henry and Julia (Popper) Stem, both deceased. 

Henry Stern was born in Germany and came to the United States m 184S, when 
but twenty-four years of age. For about a year or so after landing in this country he 
remained in New York but at the end of that time removed to Wisconsin and located 
in Milwaukee, where soon afterward he founded the present business with a capital of 
about five hundred dollars. He took into partnership Julius Goll, who remained with 
him for about two years, and they succeeded in putting the business on paying basis. 
From the start the firm handled wholesale notions and built up a reputation in that 
connection throughout Milwaukee and vicinity. In 1853, Hermann Stern, a brother of 
Henry, came to this country and they engaged in business under the name of H. Stern 
Jr., & Brother. On December 6, 1892, the business was incorporated with a capital 
stock of two hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars but today the capital stock 
totals five hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Henry Stern was likewise prom- 
inently known in connection with the German-English Academy, of- which he was 
secretary for some j'ears, and he took a great Interest in the school. His death in 
1903 caused a feeling of deep bereavement in the community for in his passing Mil- 
waukee lost a public-spirited man whose life, so far-reaching and beneficial in its 
effects, so honorable in its purposes and so varied in its activities, became an integral 
part of the city's history. His brother Hermann survived until August 11, 1919, when 
his demise occurred. Both demonstrated throughout their lives the hardiness and 
untiring energy characteristic of their ancestry. Their father, Samuel Stern, was a 
native of Germanv, where he spent his life and won prominence in the wholesale yarn 
business. Mrs. Henry Stern passed away in 1898. She was born in Prague, Bohemia, 
and came to the United States as a young girl accompanied by her mother. They 
located in Milwaukee, where she met and married Mr. Stern. 

Charles G. Stern received his education in the German-English Academy, now the 
University school, from which institution he was graduated at the age of fourteen 
years. He then went to Germany, where for three years he attended the Polytechnic 
Institute of Karlsruh, specializing in mechanical engineering. Upon completing his 
course, he returned to Milwaukee and in 1871 entered his father's business. He has 
been active in that connection ever since and upon the death of his uncle, Hermann 
Stern, was made chief executive of the company. Previous to that time .he had held 
the oflice of treasurer. His business affairs have been capably conducted and, although 
it is true that he became interested in a business already established, many a man 
would have failed in controlling and enlarging such an enterprise. Under his ex- 
cellent management the business has steadily continued to flourish and it now extends 
over five states which are thoroughly covered by fifteen traveling salesmen. The com- 
pany does a wholesale business in dry goods, notions and furnishing goods and are 
also importers and jobbers. In addition to being president of that company, Mr. Stern 
is a director of the Milwaukee Mechanics' Insurance Company. 

On the 21st of April, 1878, Mr. Stern was united in marriage to Miss Alma M. 
Cramer, a daughter of Adolph J. Cramer of Milwaukee, secretary of the Milwaukee 
Mechanics' Insurance Company. Her father was likewise a native of Germany and 
came to this country when a young unmarried man. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Stern two children have been born: Erich and Julia. The son is a well known mem- 
ber of Milwaukee's legal profession and maintains offices at 425 Water street. His 
birth occurred on the 8th of February, 1879, and he received his education in the 
German-English Academy, now the University school, and was graduated from the East 
Side high school with the class of 1897. He then enrolled as a student in Harvard, 
from which he received his A. B. degree in 1901, and, deciding upon a legal career, 




CHAELES G. STERN 



HISTORY OF .MIIAVAIKKK 43 

attended the law school there, from which he was graduated LL. B. in 1904. After one 
year spent in postgraduate work in the universities of Paris and Berlin, ho entered 
practice in Milwaukee and in 1911 formed a partnership with Burdette V. Williams, an 
association which is still maintained. Krich Stern, since attaining his majority, has 
been a consistent member of the republican party and was a representative of that 
party in the .Milwaukee common council, 1908-l(t, frcni the first ward and served in 
the legislature from 1911 to 191:i. From 1914 to 1919 he held a professorship in the 
Marquette I'niversity School of Law. As one of .Milwaukee's representative citizens he 
holds membership in the City Club and was acting president of that organization in 
1914. For two and one-half years he was president of the Central Ccnincil of Social 
Agencies and was, from 190.S to 191U, a trustee of the Johnson Emergency Hospital. 
The second member of the Stern family, Julia, is now" the wife of Edgar Baumgarten, 
ct IjOS Angeles. California, and they are parents of three children. 

Mr. Stern has never taken an active interest in politics although he casts his vote 
with the progressive republicans and he ha.s no affiliations with secret societies. Along 
social lines, however, he is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic, Wisconsin and City 
Clubs, and, always ready to cooperate in every movement which lends to promote the 
moral, intellectual and material welfare of the community, he is actively identified 
with the Association of Commerce. Mr. Stern is of a highly artistic nature and is a 
vocalist and pianist of ability. He is a leader in musical circles of Milwaukee and 
takes an active interest in the Milwaukee Orchestral Association. He is likewise a 
member of the Art Institute, of which he was one of the founders. Mr. Stern is a man 
of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his executive ability and excellent 
management have brought to the concern with which he is connected, a large degree of 
success. The safe conservative' policy which he inaugurated commends itself to the 
judgment of all, and he has secured for the company a patronage which makes the 
value of trade transacted over its counters of great importance and magnitude. The 
prosperity of the companv is certainly due in a large measure to its president and 
.manager — the gentleman whose name initiated this review. 



ALVIN PAUL KLETZSCH. 



Large and Important business interests are under the control of Alvin Paul 
Kletzsch, who is now the president of the Charles F. Kletzsch Company and the 
Kletzsch Realty Company and is also an officer and director in other corporate con- 
cerns. The constant development of his powers through the exercise of effort has 
made him a potent force in business circles and the soundness of his judgment is 
manifest in the success which has crowned his labors. 

Mr. Kletzsch was born August 21. 1S61. in Newburg. Washington county, Wis- 
consin, his parents being Charles Frederick and Ernestine Matilda (Pietsch) Kletzsch, 
the former of Bischotswerda, Saxony. He immigrated to this country in 1853. settling 
at Newburg, AVisconsin, where he established a hotel known as the Webster House, 
which he there conducted until 1868. He then took over the Newburg mills and 
thereby turned his attention to the manufacture of flour and of lumber and in con- 
nection with his sawmill operated a furniture factory. In 1873 he removed to Fond 
du Lac, Wiscon.^in. where he became proprietor of the Lewis House, which he con- 
ducted until December, 1875, and then sold. At the latter date he leased the Republican 
House of Milwaukee, which he purchased in 1883 and which was continuously con- 
ducted by the family until the 1st of January, 1920. 

Alvin Paul Kletzsch pursued his early education in the public schools of Newburg, 
Wisconsin, and afterward attended the Gernuin-K;nglish Academy at Fond du Lac 
and the Jlilwaukee high school, now the East Division high school. He then became 
a student in Stevens Institute of Technology at Hoboken, New Jersey, and was 
graduated in June, 1884, with the degree of Mechanical Engineer. During his college 
days he became an honorary member of the Tau Beta Pi fraternity. Following his 
graduation he had charge of the mechanical laboratory at the Stevens Institute until 
July 1885 making experiments and mechanical and scientific investigations under 
Professor Robert H. Thurston, C. E. & M. E. Later Dr. Thurston was a director of 
Sibley College at Cornell University, Ithaca. New York, but owing to the illness of 
his father in 1885 was called to assist in the conduct of the Hepulilican House and 
in February 1888, the Charles F. Kletzsch Company acquired the property, which 
it has since owned Alvin P. Kletzsch was secretary of the company until October, 
1894 and since that time has been its president. He likewise owns and controls 
mucii real estate in Wisconsin and Illinois under the name of the Kletzsch Realty 
Company of which he is likewise president. He is also the president and one of the 
directors'of the Milwaukee Auditorium Company and is a member of the governing 
board of the Milwaukee Auditorium. He is likewise a member of the .Milwaukee 
countv park board and while he is active in the management of his individual busi- 



44 HISTORY OF JIILWAUKEE 

ness affairs, lie has always found time and opportunity to cooperate in these interests 
of a public and semi-public character, which have to do with general advancement 
and improvement and with the promotion of interests of civic virtue and of civic 
pride In addition to his other activities of this character he was a trustee of the 
hospital for the insane in Milwaukee county, having been appointed by Governor 
La Follette and Governor McGovern. 

Mr. Kletzsch was a member of the Light Horse Squadron of Milwaukee, now 
known as Troop A, Wisconsin Cavalry, from which he received an honorable dis- 
charge in 1S92. In politics he is a progi'essive republican and was chairman of the 
state central committee from 1914 until 1916. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging 
to LaFayette Lodge, F. & A. M., and receiving the successive degrees of the chapter, 
the order of the Temple, and the consistory degrees up to and including the thirty- 
second. He is likewise a member of the Mystic Shrine and he served as commander 
of Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 24, K. T., in 1900, and was gi-and commander of the 
Grand Commandery of Wisconsin in 1908. He is likewise identified with the Benev- 
olent Protective Order of Elks and he has meiibership in the Western Stevens 
Club of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Country Club and in the University Club. He 
has used his talents and opportunities wisely and well, accomplishing his purposes 
by reason of close application, indefatigable energy and keen business insight and 
also rendering effective aid in public affairs, whereby the interests of city and com- 
monwealth have been largely augmented. 



LOUIS FREDERICK FRANK, M. D. 

Dr. Louis Frederick Frank, son of Priedrich August Frank and Anna Veronika 
(Kerler) Frank was born in Milwaukee, April 15, 1857. His father, Friedrich August 
Frank, son of the Lutheran pastor, Johann Heinrich Frank, of Dietlingen in Baden, Ger- 
many, came to the United States in 1850 and together with other relatives settled on a 
farm on the Tittibawassee river near Saginaw. Michigan. A merchant by training and 
experience and having been driven from Germany by the intolerable attitude of the 
Prussian government which led many to seek domiciles in other countries as the result 
of the collapse of the revolutionary agitation of 1S4S, he soon cast about for a suitable 
position, choosing Milwaukee for his future home. Upon the dissolution of the dry 
goods firm of Goll & Stern in 1852, he became associated with Julius Goll, entering as 
junior partner into the firm henceforth to be known as Goll & Frank, incorporated in 
1855, which since has enjoyed a steady and prosperous growth. 

Louis Frederick Frank received his early training at the parochial school of the 
present Grace Lutheran church, known at that time as Muehlhaeuser's after the Rev. 
Johannes Muehlhaeuser, previously pastor. H. 0. R. Siefert, later superintendent of 
Milwaukee's public schools, became one of his instructors, and he frequently remarked 
in later life that while the training might have been lacking in variety as compared 
with the demands of modern curricula, the thoroughness with which the elements of 
education were instilled left nothing to be desired. He next attended the Lutheran 
high school, formerly connected with the present Trinity church, and later pursued his 
studies at Markham's Academy, where he was graduated in 1875. 

Having decided upon the study of medicine as his future profession, he spent 
two years at the University of Michigan, completing the required course at the College 
of Medicine of the University of the City of New York, where he received his degree 
of M. D. in 1878. In order to prepare himself more fully for his future calling, he 
determined to devote another year of study at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, 
where he obtained his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1879. Dr. Frank began the 
practice of medicine in Milwaukee in 1880 by becoming for a time assistant to Dr. 
Nicholas Senn, who was later made surgeon-general of the Illinois National Guard dur- 
ing the Spanish-American war. 

In 1882 Dr. Frank married Emily Inbusch, daughter of the late John D. Inbusch, 
by which marriage there were three children, Edwin, who married Marie Meinecke, 
daughter of the late Ferdinand Meinecke of Milwaukee; Elsa J. aud Emily J. Frank. 
He suffered the loss of his wife in 1890 and later decided to leave for Europe in order 
to prepare himself for the specialty of dermatology, studying under Unna in Hamburg, 
Kaposi in Vienna and Fournier in Paris. After a year's absence he returned and began 
to follow the chosen specialty with greatest interest, introducing to Milwaukee the use 
of the X-ray and the Finsen ultra violet ray lamp for the treatment of malignant skin 
diseases. 

In May, 1888. members of the Bartlett Clinical Club, principally at the instigation 
of Drs. Horace M. Brown, A. B. Farnham and Samuel W. French organized the present 
Emergency Hospiial, of which Dr. BYank was elected president. 

In 1892 Dr. Frank's second marriage to Ella E, Schandein, daughter of the late 
Emil Schandein, took place. There were two children: Armin C, who married Elsie 




DR. LOUIS F. FRANK 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 47 

Espy, (laughter of Carl Espy of Savannah, Georgia; aiul Louise F., who ip.urrieil Walter 
S. Ott, son of Emi! H. Ott of Milwaukee. 

Dr. Frank was one of the charter members of the Clinical Club, later changed to 
Bartlett Clinical Club, thereafter to the Milwaukee Medical Society, now known as the 
Milwaukee Aculemy of Medicine. Of this organization he was president in 1S!)4, when 
tlie American Medical Association convened in .Milwaukee. He was a member of the 
Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin Medical Society and the American 
Medical Society, also a member of the "Verein Deutscher Aerzte." the object of which 
was the promotion of professional interests and to wliicli only physicians with German 
diploma (Austrii, Russia and Switzerland included) were eligible. In the founding of 
the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Frank was likewise actively 
interested and 'belonged to the initial teaching staff of that institution. In 1900 he was 
one of the delegates to the Pan-American Medical Congress in Havana. 

As a diversion from the more serious character of his work. Dr. Frank always 
took great interest in the development of the musical life and progress of the city 
and being himself an able performer on various instruments, including the pipe-organ, 
for which he had a particular fondness, he frequently arranged musical evenings in 
his home with professional and able amateur musicians, and these evenings spent in 
performing the works of the masters were a source of constant delight and recreation 
to him. 

He was also actively interested in various musical organizations of the city, having 
been one of the organizers of the A Capella Choir and for several years president of 
the Milw'aukee Musical Society, during which time the society — in 1900 — celebrated its 
semi-centennial by a series of splendid concerts, for which famous artists had been 
engaged. One of these evenings was made particularly memorable by the presence and 
speech of Carl Schurz, which proved to be his last visit to Wisconsin, the scene of his 
earliest activities in America. Dr. Frank was also one of the founders of the Wiscon- 
sin Conservatory of Music, which institution has developed into one of the leading 
music schools in the middle west and of which he was president at the time of his 
death. 

After a prolonged trip to Europe with his family in 1907-08, he gradually limited 
his practice in order to devote more time to various literary pursuits. Early Wisconsin 
history greatly interested him and having come perchance into possession of a number 
of family letters describing the pioneer days of his forefathers, he published these in 
a pretentious volume entitled "Pionier-Jahre der Familien Frank-Kerler." The success- 
ful completion of this work led him to undertake the writing of the "History of the 
Medical Profession of Milwaukee," his last work of this kind and for which he received 
many encouraging comments. 

He was an ardent lover of nature. His walks and rambles through the countryside, 
mostly Sunday mornings, gave him many silent hours for thought and contemplation. 
The result of these being his collection of poems of various characters gathered to- 
gether in a small volume entitled "Lebenserinnerungen eines Arztes," a true reflection 
of the jnv and exaltation derived from the great outdoors. 

Dr. Frank died after a lingering illness on May 12, 1918, and one of his many 
friends who paid him tlie last tribute may be quoted as follows: "His creed was his 
belief in the duty of each man to make life better worth living for others and with 
such a Bible for his guidance and with such a creed he passed his life among us, an 
inspiration and example to all w^ho knew him. His wit, his ability in his profession, 
his skill in the production of things that were beautiful, marked him as a man above 
the common herd and in the immortality he has left behind, is as much alive today, as 
when he first came among us and will so remain to those who knew him, so long as 
for them memory shall last!" 



PAUL J. STERN. 



Paul J. Stern occupies a leading position in business circles of Milwaukee as the 
president of the Atlas Bread Factory, which he established in 1900 and in which 
connection he has since developed an enterprise of mammoth proportions. Milwaukee 
numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred on the 23d of July. 
1876, his parents being Bernhard and Jennie (Poppert) Stern, both of whom are 
deceased. The father, who was long a prominent figure in business circles here, 
established the first machine shoe factory in Milwaukee and became the president 
of the Atlas Flour Mills. Also in connection with Robert C. Spencer be founded the 
Wisconsin School for the Deaf and Dumb. The mother was the first pupil and the 
first graduate of the Milwaukee University School. 

Paul J. Stern acquired his early education in the public schools, later attended 
St John's Military Academy and for three years was a student in the East Side 
high school. After putting aside his textbooks he turned his attention to bread and 



48 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

cake baking, which business has claimed his time and energies continuously. In 
1900 he established the Atlas Bread Factory, which he has since operated with a 
capacity of twelve thousand loaves per day, and is now building an addition which 
will increase the capacity to one hundred and twenty thousand loaves daily. In 
addition to discharging the important duties of president of the Atlas Bread Factory 
he is also serving as vice president of the Atlas Flour Mills and is widely recognized 
as a splendid executive of sound judgment and keen discernment, who well merits 
the prosperity which has come to him. 

In June, 1917, Mr. Stern went into active service in the World war with the 
rank of captain, remaining in this country as company commander until June, 1918, 
while from the latter date until the 15th of August, 1918, he was an inspector In 
France. In August, 1918, he was placed in command of the Mechanical Bakery at 
Is-sur-Tille, France, which bakery had a capacity of one million, five hundred thousand 
pounds of bread per day and a personnel of twenty-three officers and eleven hundred 
and thirty-four enlisted men. This was the largest bakery in the world and supplied 
all the bread to the American troops at the front, four freight trainloads of bread 
being shipped daily. Mr. Stern was promoted to the rank of major in August, 1918, 
and received his discharge on the 9th of February, 1919. 

It was on the 8th of November, 1905, in Milwaukee, that Mr. Stern was united 
in marriage to Miss Daisy Koch, a daughter of Henry C. Koch, who was one of 
Milwaukee's most prominent architects, and who acted as aid to General Phil Sheridan 
during the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Stern have been born three children: Elizabeth 
Ellen, Nancy Pauline and John Pershing. 

In politics Mr. Stern maintains a non-partisan attitude, supporting men and 
measures rather than party. He is a popular member of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, the Wisconsin Club and the Milwaukee Country Cltib. He was one of the or- 
ganizers of the Rotary Club, was its first treasurer, and past president in 1920. In 
Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and is likewise 
identified with the Mystic Shrine. His life has been spent in Milwaukee, where he 
has won a host of friends and where his reputation as a business man and citizen is 
a most enviable one. 



GEORGE ZIEGLER. 



In a history of Milwaukee's business and commercial development it is imperative 
that mention be made of George Ziegler, whose intelligently directed efforts and laud- 
able ambition took him out of humble business surroundings and placed him with the 
leading and representative merchants and manufacturers of the Cream City. He de- 
veloped a candy-making establishment second to none in Milwaukee and scarcely sur- 
passed in the middle west, and his position was long one of leadership in the line of 
business with which he became identified. 

Mr. Ziegler was born in Halsheim, Bavaria, Germany, in 1830, but was quite young 
when brought to the new world by his father, George Ziegler, whs was a well known 
and highly respected farmer of Halsheim. In 1845 the latter determined to seek a 
home in the new world and with his family sailed for the United States, landing on 
American shores on the 28th of August. Continuing their journey into the interior 
of the country, they settled on a farm at Columbus, Wisconsin, but George Ziegler was 
not desirous of devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits and soon obtained a 
clerkship in the general store of L. Pieron of Milwaukee, with whom he remained for 
three years, working seven days during the week, his salary being twenty-five dollars 
and his board for the first year, thirty-five dollars for the second year and forty-five 
dollars for the third year. It was thus that he made his entrance into the great busi- 
ness world where he was destined to become a striking figure, by reason of the success 
which he attained as the years passed by. In 1848 his health failed, owing to his 
strenuous work and close confinement and he was obliged to give up his position. He 
afterward became an apprentice at the shoemaking trade and after thoroughly master- 
ing the business, obtained a position with the firm of Bradley & Metcalf, being identified 
with the enterprise to the time when he turned his attention to the confectionery 
business. A writer telling the history of the George Ziegler Company and especially 
of the founder and promoter of the business, wrote as follows: "He was thoroughly 
trained in the work of the fields and the care of the crops; but he found such duties 
irksome and resolved to seek his fortune elsewhere. His father then took him to a 
tavern keeper in Milwaukee, at that time a small village, and he was bound out 
for a period of three years for a compensation of one hundred dollars, which sum 
was to be paid to the father. Did this tavern boy, tired from his toil in tap room and 
stable yard, dream in the twilight of great days to come? Did he look beyond the 
wooden walls of that sorry tavern shack to see three-quarters of a block of stately build- 
ings cf brick and steel and cement rising story upon story above any low roof of 




GEORGE ZIEGLER 



HISTORY OF -MILWAIKEE 51 

that then fruntier town? Did he hear the hum of half a million dollars' worth of 
machinery and the voices of half a thousand workers as they turned out sixty tliou- 
sand pounds of candy a day in those buildings? Did he glimpse his own name in gilded 
letters over the proudest door of that noble pile? Surely he did, for this tavern boy 
was George Ziegler, founder of the candy house of Ziegler, one of the old and great 
houses of this country. If this boy hart not been a dreamer of dreams and a seer of 
visions he could not have builded so greatly and so well. 

"Really and truly, tliis story of the founding of the Ziegler candy business is a 
romance, nothing less. It is a brave and strange tale. It is a part of the history of 
the candy industry of .Milwaukee, and should not be told apart as the achievement 
of an individual firm. The tavern boy served his three years of apprenticeship, 
and the industrial instinct being stronger than that of playing host to the public, 
he got a job in a shoe factory. He married at the age of twenty-one and stuck 
to the shoe business closer than the wax stuck to the thread with which he sewed 
the shoes. He saved a little money out of his salary. Mark this well, he saved some 
money! This is the first and the imperative step in a successful business career. All 
the talent and energy in the world will not avail to start a boy in a big business unless 
he has the saving habit to begin with. 

"In 1860 the Boll boys, John and Andrew, brothers-in-law of George Ziegler and 
candy workers in Chicago, were thrown out of work and came to Milwaukee to stay 
with their folks until business opened up again and they could resume work at their 
trade. But business showed no signs of resumption and time hung heavy on the hands 
of the two candy workers. Then it was that George Ziegler suggested to the Boll 
boys that since they could not make candy in a factory for some one else, they make 
it at home for themselves. They were more than willing, so George (who had saved 
his money ) bought a barrel of sugar and started the boys to work making candy in 
the former home of Peter Boll on the corner of Thirteenth and Vliet streets, w'hich 
had the partitions taken out and turned into a small factory. The fire they lighted 
that day under that little stove in that little kitchen was the first spark of a flame of 
industry that now gleams in that great factory on Florida street and occupies one 
hundred and eighty-four thousand square feet of floor space and makes a product 
known and sold in every state in the Union. 

"Now, the Boll boys had a father who was a tailor, and he peddled the candy they 
made. He was probably the first candy salesman in Milwaukee. The boys made good 
candy and their father was a good salesman, so the business grew apace. George 
Ziegler furnished more capital and the Boll boys more energy over the kettle and very 
scon the business reached a point where a business manager was an imperative neces- 
sity. The candy workers persuaded the shoe worker to quit his job and handle the 
candy business, and so it was that on January 11, 1861, the firm of Boll Brothers & 
Company was established, George Ziegler looking after the business end and the Boll 
boys making the candy. After four years, the quarters on Thirteenth street being too 
small, the factory was moved in the Lutz building on Third street, which was located 
where the south end of the present Steinmeyer building is located. From there, after 
the quarters became too small, the business was moved to Nos. 3 and 5 Spring street, 
where Gimbels are now located on Grand avenue. In 1882, after a disastrous fire, the 
property at Nos. 233 to 239 East Water street was acquired, where the fxctory re- 
mained until April, 190S, when it was moved to its present location at Nos. 362 to 3S6 
Florida street. 

"After seven years of steady progress the firm name was changed to Boll & Ziegler. 
one of the brothers, Andrew, dropping out. Then six years later, which is to say in 
1874, George Ziegler took over the entire business and conducted it in his name alone. 
Thirteen years passed over this candy house, and every year was kind. The farmer's 
son who would not be a farmer and who left the tavern after three years' apprentice- 
ship, had a genius for business and under his guiding hand the business prospered. And 
as his business grew so did his sons, each one of them a chip off the old block and born 
and bred to the candy game. In 1887 the father took the sons in with him in the busi- 
ness and the firm name was changed to the George Ziegler Company, a name that it 
bears to this day. George P., Frank P. and H. T. Ziegler became associated with their 
father at this time. A year later Charles I. and Andrew I. Ziegler entered the firm." 
The father, George Ziegler, remained the executive head and directing spirit of the 
business to the time of his demise. In the interim he had carefully trained his sons, 
so that they were able to continue the business without a break and now the third 
generation of the family is represented in the active conduct and management of the 
business. The biographer continued; "George Ziegler, the founder, builded well. He 
built up a great candy business and he raised a great family of candy makers. A house 
of steel and stone shall not endure unless there be hands and minds to keep it against 
the attacks of time and changing conditions and the offensive of the years. The first 
Ziegler laid down business principles in his office and installed manufacturing methods 
in his plant that were fundamental of success. These were carried forward by the 
second generation." 



52 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

In 1851 George Ziegler was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Boll, also a native 
of Germany, and their family numbered nine children, as follows: George P., Frank P., 
Charles I., Andrew I., Mrs. Joseph L. Gottschalk, Mrs. Joseph L. Ripple, Mrs. Anna 
B. Verhalen, Mrs. Margaret Rolfs and H. T. Ziegler. The last two named are deceased. 

In his political views Mr. Ziegler was always an earnest democrat and for two 
years he filled the position of alderman, while for a period of similar length he served 
as school commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. Ziegler were members of the Catholic church 
and in that faith reared their children. The family has long been prominently known 
in Milwaukee, enterprise and business honor being at all times associated with the 
family name. The great candy manufactory today stands as a monument to the un- 
daunted spirit and progressiveness of its founder and promoter, and the life story of 
George Ziegler is one that should serve as a stimulating example to the youth of the 
present who must start out, as he did, empty-handed. 



FRANK P. ZIEGLER. 



The history of business enterprise in Milwaukee would be incomplete were there 
failure to make reference to Frank P. Ziegler, who is the president of the George 
Ziegler Company, manufacturing confections, and who in the development of his trade 
has established a business that is notable among the interests of the kind in the middle 
west. Mr. Ziegler is a native of Milwaukee, his birth having here occurred on tlie 9th 
of October. 1856, his parents being George and Barbara (Boll) Ziegler, both of whom 
were natives of Germany and are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Prank P. Ziegler 
was their second son and third child and was reared at the family home on the west 
side of the city, acquiring his education in parochial and public schools. He entered 
the factory of Boll & Ziegler in 1871, when only fifteen years of age, as an apprentice 
and applied himself so closely to the business that he soon acquainted himself with the 
various methods of manufacturing candy and steadily worked his way upward, stimu- 
lated by a desire to one day engage in business on his own account. One of his early 
experiences was that of selling candy from a wagon from store to store. Inside of 
three years he had acquired such knowledge and efficiency in the work that he was 
able to assume control of his father's factory and it was not long before he was able to 
teach those who had previously instructed him. He had acquainted himself with every 
practical phase of the business and his initiative enabled him to bring forth new and 
valuable ideas in connection with candy manufacturing. Associated with his father, 
he was active in developing the factory until the small establishment, which had orig- 
inally forty employes when Frank P. Ziegler became connected therewith, had become 
one of the foremost establishments of the kind in this section of the country. On the 
30th of June, 1882, disaster overtook the business, a fire entirely destroying the plant, 
but with characteristic energy the firm sought new and larger quarters and the factory 
at Nos. 233 to 239 East Water street was then established. It was a difficult task to 
get the factory in operation by the time of the fall trade, but with determined purpose 
this was accomplished, although the health of Frank P. Ziegler was greatly impaired 
by the nervous strain which he put upon it and he was finally forced to seek a change, 
going on a trip abroad in 1887. When the business was incorporated in 1887, he was 
elected vice president of the company and continued to act in that capacity and as 
superintendent until the time of his father's death, which occurred on the 24th of Feb- 
ruary, 1904. Frank P. Ziegler was then elected to the presidency and has continued to 
act in that capacity, the business being now carried on under the name of George 
Ziegler Company, manufacturing confectioners. 

The story of the development of this business reads almost like a romance. It 
was founded by George Ziegler, a farm boy, who, tired of the work of the fields, went to 
Milwaukee, where he was bound out to an innkeeper for three years and then obtained 
a position in a shoe factory. Thrift and economy were among the marked character- 
istics of his early years and he carefully saved something from his earnings week by 
week, until when his brothers-in-law, John and Andrew Boll, candy makers, were 
thrown out of work in Chicago and came to Milwaukee, Mr. Ziegler was able to start 
them in business, the brothers manufacturing candy in the former home of Peter Boll 
at Thirteenth and Vliet streets. This constituted the nucleus of the present mammoth 
establishment which has since developed. George Ziegler continued to furnish the capi- 
tal for some time while the business was carried on under the firm name of Boll 
Brothers & Company, the practical candy makers caring for that end of the business. 
After seven years the firm name was changed to Boll & Ziegler and in 1874 Mr. Ziegler 
took over the entire business. As his sons attained sufficient age to take up business 
responsibilities they became associated with him in the enterprise. George Ziegler 
remained at the head of the business until his death, at which time Frank P. Ziegler 
became the president, with Andrew I. Ziegler as vice president and Charles I. Ziegler 
as secretary and treasurer. A third generation of the family has now become connected 




FRANK P. ZIKGLER 



HISTORY OP ^MILWAUKEE 55 

with the business, which is today one of the most importaiU proiluctive industries of 
Milwauliee. The present plant was erected in 1907 — a seven-story and basement 
building containing one hundred and tw-elve thousand feet of floor space. It was be- 
lieved that this would be adequate to the growth of the business for many years, but 
in 1920 an addition was made in the erection of a building eighty by one hundred 
and twelve and a half feet, seven stories and basement, containing seventy-two thou- 
sand square feet. Frank P. Ziegler is today at the head of a mammoth enterprise, 
to the success and continued growth of which he has made valuable contribution as 
the years have passed. 

On the 22d of January, 187.S, Frank P. Ziegler was united in marriage to Miss 
Mary Klein of Milwaukee, a daugliter cf Joseph and Madeline Klein, and they have 
become parents of six children: Margaret, who was born in ISSO; George, born in ISSl; 
Josephine, born in 1883; Clara, born in 1885; Lillia. born in 1886; and J. Edmund, 
born in 1890. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church, they 
being communicants of St. Joseph's church. Mr. Ziegler is also identified with the 
Catholic Order cf Foresters and St. Joseph's Sodality. His political support is given 
to the democratic party and he keeps thoroughly informed concerning the vital 
questions and issues of "the day but does not seek nor desire office. He is a member 
of the Merchants & Manufacturers Association and he concentrates the greater part 
of his time and attention upon his business affairs. He has always continued in the 
line in which he embarked on starting out in the business world, his enterprise and 
determination have carried him to the goal of success and today he enjoys a well 
earned reputation as being one of the foremost confectioners of the upper Mississippi 
valley. 



WILLIAM A. CONKLIN. 



William A. Conklin, proprietor and founder of the William A. Conklin Piano 
Company, was born in Milwaukee, November 18, 1862, and is a son of John Wesley 
and Mai'v (Enuis) Conklin. lioth of whom have passed away. The father was born 
in New York city, while the mother was a native of England. They were married 
in the eastern metropolis and became residents of Milwaukee prior to the Civil war. 
The father, who was a brick mason and contractor, devoting his life to that business, 
died in 1873, while the mother long survived him, her death occurring in 1915, when 
she was eightv-four years of age. 

William A. Conklin has spent his life in Milwaukee and was educated in the old 
Roche School, a private institution conducted by two sisters of the name of Roche. 
Later he attended the public schools of the first ward and also a private college on 
Grove street. Entering the business field, he concentrated his efforts and attention 
upon the retail furniture trade and upholstering, continuing actively in that line 
from 1885 until 1891. Since that time he has been connected with the piano trade, 
conducting business first on Kinnickinnic avenue for several years, while for eight 
years he owned and conducted a piano business in the Boston Store. For the past 
twelve years he has been engaged in business on the south side and for the last 
seven years his establishment has been on Eleventh avenue. His business career 
has never recorded failure in any way. His energy and determination have enabled 
him to carry his interests steadily forward and he is today at the head of a large 
piano establishment, enjoying a gratifying patronage as the result of his diligence 
and able management. 

On the 5th of August, 1895, Mr. Conklin .was united in marriage to Miss May 
E Momblow, who was born in Fond du Lac but was reared in Milwaukee. She 
passed awav June 13, 1917, leaving a daughter, Wildredth M., who is fifteen years 
of age and is now a high school student. Mrs. Conklin was during her lifetime 
a great help to her husband, aiding him in his business and frequently staying in 
the store, so that bv reason of her assistance in business and her companionship 
her death was a great blow to him. Mr. Conklin is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal 
church and is highly esteemed in Milwaukee and wherever known. 



STREISSGUTH-PETRAN ENGRAVING COMPANY. 

The Streissguth-Petran Engraving Company, better known as The S-P Com- 
pany of Milwaukee, is engaged in the manufacture of everything in the process 
engraving line used for newspapers, catalogues and periodicals, also wood engrav- 
ings and electrotypes. A large staff of artists is employed to make illustrations. 
The company makes copper plate engravings used for business and calling cards. 



56 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

wedding announcements and invitations, private and society stationery and in tact 
evervtliing in the engi-aving line. 

Tlie materials that enter into the making of engravings, such as zinc and copper, 
must be of the very finest quality. They are accurately rolled to sheets, measuring 
twenty-four by twenty-eight inches, on sixteen gauge thickness, highly polished, 
and must come in the very best condition. The chemicals that also enter into the 
S-P product are of the highest grade. 

The engraving business requires skilled labor that cannot be obtained locally. 
The workmen must display the highest proficiency in their line and put in five years 
at the bench before they become experts. The engravers have recently adopted a 
standard computing scale, which enables the consumer to very easily check up the 
invoices for the engravings by consulting this scale, which heretofore was mere 
guess work. 

The equipment of an engraving plant must be of superior order, too — ^the best 
machinery obtainable. The S-P Engraving Company is always on the alert for new 
devices, giving the consumer the very best engravings possible. 

The utmost care is exercised, no matter whether it is a minimum zinc or the 
very largest process plates. The officers, therefore, tell the public that if quality 
and courtesy are desired, their company qualifies in all of the branches. 

The company started in business April 13, 1908, with a force of eight persons, 
which included both Mr. Streissguth and Mr. Petran. The floor space then was 
twenty-five by one hundred feet; today, fifty-two persons are employed and the floor 
space is one hundred by one hundred and twenty-flve feet. The oflicers of the 
company are: Herman Streissguth, president; Otto Streissguth, vice president; and 
Henry Petran, secretary and ti-easurer. They attribute their gi-owth entirely to quality 
and service. Their plant is situated at West Water and Wells streets, occupying 
the entire second floor of the building, and the success of the enterprise, as they 
claim, is due to the high standards which they have always maintained in the character 
of work turned out. 



SAMUEL W. FRENCH, M. D. 

Dr. Samuel W. French, founder of the Emergency Hospital and Nurses Training 
School of Milwaukee and long recognized as one of the distinguished representatives 
of the medical profession in this city, was bom in Bennington, Vermont, in 1850, a 
son of Samuel and Sophia B. French, who were likewise natives of the Green Mountain 
state. The parents early removed with their family to Boston, Massachusetts, there 
taking up their abode in 1851, and in that city Dr. French acquired his early education. 
He attended Nobles private school in Boston and afterward prepared for his profession 
by matriculating in the medical department of Harvard University when a youth of 
nineteen j^ears. He there remained a student for four- years, closely applying himself 
to the mastery of the course, and was graduated in 187.3. The following year was 
spent in the study of medicine abroad and he gained much valuable knowledge along 
professional lines in the old world. He also traveled through various sections of 
Europe and learned much concerning the past history and the modern conditions of 
the countries which he visited. With his return to his native land he became a 
Harvard student and in 1877 he was appointed house surgeon of the Boston City 
Hospital. It was the follov.'ing year that he was graduated from the medical depart- 
ment of Harvard University, his professional degree being conferred upon him on 
the 26th of June, 1S7S. He continued with the Boston City Hospital for two years, the 
second year as house physician in charge of nervous and renal diseases. 

Subsequently Dr. French came to the west, settling in Milwaukee in November, 
1879. Through the period of his professional connection with this city he devoted his 
attention largely to surgery, although he continued in general practice and had many 
patients. He belonged to the Massachusetts State Medical Society and always kept 
in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and investigation through 
the proceedings of that body. He long ranked among the most prominent physicians 
of Milwaukee, where he practiced to the time of his death, and he deserved special 
mention as the founder of the Emergency Hospital and the Nurses Training School 
of this city. 

In 1880 Dr. French was united in marriage to Miss Minnie I. Bordman, a daughter 
of Israel and Caroline Bordman, natives of Danvers, Massachusetts. Three children 
were born of this marriage: Louis, a patent attorney, who was graduated from the 
Massachusetts School of Technology at Boston and is now a resident of Milwaukee; 
Inez, the wife of Louis Quarles, of Milwaukee; and Samuel L., who is a graduate of 
Harvard University and is now engaged in the leather business in Chicago. He was 
a lieutenant in the Aviation Corps during the World war. 

Dr. French was ever a republican, giving stalwart allegiance to that party from 




DR. SAMUEL W. FRENCH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 59 

the time he attained his majority. He belonged to A. M. P. O.. a medical order, and 
he had membership with the Masons and St. James Episcopal church — connections 
that indicated well the nature that governed his interests and ruled hi.s conduct. He 
died June 30, 1917. respected and honored by all who kntw him and most largely by 
those who knew him best, indicating that his lite was ever honorable and upright and 
that his entire course was such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. 



ALEX, McD. YOUNG. 



Alex. McD. Young, who for over a half century resided in Milwaukee, making 
his home here to the time of his death, and who for an extended period was known 
as one of the most prominent and successful grain dealers of this section of the 
country, was born in Coburg, Canada. October 5, 1S40, a son of James and Eliza 
(Mair) Young, He acquired his education in the schools of his native country and 
about 1S61 made a tour of the southern states. Me then came to Milwaukee and 
became associated with his brother William in the grain business, continuing their 
operations until the firm ranked as the most prominent representatives of the grain 
trade in this city. Milwaukee at the time was one of the primary wheat markets 
of the country and Mr. Young was associated in the trade with Alexander Mitchell, 
Peter McGeoch, Ed Sanderson, Philip Armour, Angus Smith and others prominent 
at that day. He and his brother operated in Chicago and New York as well as in 
Milwaukee and the firm became widely known in grain trade circles throughout 
the country. For some time they conducted a branch house in Chicago. 

On the 4th of December, 1867, Mr, Young was united in marriage to Miss Eliza 
Alice Wall, a daughter of Enoch and Eliza Alice (Williamson) Wall, the former a 
native of Maryland, while the latter was born in Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Young 
became the parents of two children: Mrs. Helen Richmond Morris, residing in New 
York; and John Mair, who is with the Northwestern .Mutual Life Insurance Company 
of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Young made his home at No. 294 Juneau avenue for a period of fifty-four 
years and passed away September 17, 1917. Although he lived in the United States 
"for more than a half century, he remained a thoroughly loyal subject of Great Britain. 
He was a man of strongly marked characteristics and unfaltering in support of what 
he believed to be right. Nothing could turn him from his honest convictions, yet he 
was a man of kindly feelings and those who came within the close circle of his 
friendship learned to value him for the many sterling traits of his character. In 
business life he displayed marked efficiency and capability. He seemed to discriminate 
with notable readiness between the essential and the non-essential in business and 
his affairs were most wisely, carefully and successfully nian^iged. 



MATTHEW SIMPSON DUDGEON. 

Matthew Simpson Dudgeon, librarian of the Milwaukee Public Library, has de- 
voted much of his life to public service and his labors have been far-reaching and 
beneficial in effect. He is a native of the state capital, his birth having occurred 
in Madison, June 18, 1871, his parents being Richard and Dilla (Ball) Dudgeon, 
the latter of Quaker ancestry, while the former was of Scotch-Irish parentage. He 
served as a Methodist minister and missionary in Wisconsin and in Minnesota prior 
to 1850, becoming one of the pioneer preachers of the middle west, 

Matthew S. Dudgeon, receiving liberal education opportunities, won his Bachelor 
of Arts degree in 1892 from Baker University of Kansas, and four years later his 
Alma Mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. In the meantime he 
had taken up the study of law and in 1895 received the LL.B degree from the Law 
School of the University of Wisconsin. After teaching in the public schools and 
in college he pracliced law for fourteen years in his native city and then became 
special draftsman for the legislature, having done the drafting work on the present 
public utility law l)esides work on the workmen's compensation law, the industrial 
commission law and others of equal import. From 1898 until 1902 he filled the 
office of district attorney of Dane county and then in 1903 served as a member of 
the Wisconsin legislature. From 1907 until 1909 he was engaged in special revalua- 
tion work for the state tax commission and in the latter year became secretary of 
the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, continuing to act in that capacity until 
1920, or for a period of eleven years. On the Hith of August, 1920, he assumed the 
duties of librarian of the Milwaukee Public Library and is giving excellent satis- 
faction in this position, discharging his duties with marked capability and to the 



60 HISTORY OF AIILWAUKEE 

satisfaction of all concerned. He is likewise a member of the board of directors 
of the Wisconsin Life Insurance Company, so serving for several years. 

On the 11th of July. 1900, Mr. Dudgeon was married to Miss Mabel Cunningham, 
a daughter of Judge E. W. Cunningham of the supreme court of Kansas, and they 
have become parents of two children: Lucile, who is seventeen years of age; and 
Edith May, ten years of age. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church and when in politics Mr. Dudgeon was a republican, but of recent years 
has taken no active part in political work. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, 
also to the Phi Delta Phi, a law fraternity, and the Delta Tau Delta. In club circles 
he is well known through his connections with the Milwaukee City Club and the 
Kiwanis Club. He has ever been a student of the questions and issues of the day, 
keeping abreast with the best thinking men of the age and likewise upon the 
sociological and economic problems before the country, his influence and efforts being 
at all times on the side of progress, improvement and reform. 



GENERAL OTTO H. FALK. 



General Otto H. Falk, who since March, 1913, has been the president of the Allis- 
Chalmers Company of Milwaukee, is one of the most prominent military figures of the 
state, having been" identified with the National Guard for many years. He is also num- 
bered among the veterans of the Spanish-American war and at various times has been 
called upon for special duty in the enforcement of law and order in the state. 

General Falk was born at Wauwatosa, Milwaukee county, on the 18th of June, 1865, 
a son of Franz and Louise (Wahl) Falk. He was a pupil In the German-English Acad- 
emy of Milwaukee during his boyhood days and afterward received collegiate training 
in the Northwestern College of Watertown. His taste directed him to the field of mili- 
tary action, however, and he became a pupil in the Allen Military Academy of Chicago, 
from which he was graduated as ranking captain. Then followed many years devoted 
largely to the military service of the state and nation. He became a member of the 
Light Horse Squadron Cadet Corps and on the 9th of March, 1SS6, was actively enrolled 
in the state military service as adjutant of the Fourth Infantry of the Wisconsin Na- 
tional Guard. Before two months had passed he had taken part in the suppression of 
riots which broke out simultaneously in Chicago and Milwaukee and he bore himself 
with such dignity of honor and valor that Governor Rusk appointed him as an aide-de- 
camp on his personal staff. Promotion after promotion followed. On the 24th of 
August, 1SS7, he became major in the Fourth Battalion and on the 29th of October of 
the same year he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Following the initia- 
tion of George W. Peck to the office of governor, he appointed General Falk quarter- 
master of the Wisconsin National Guard, his commission bearing date of January 5, 
1891. On the 5th of December, 1893, Governor Peck appointed him adjutant general of 
the Wisconsin state militia, and he was greatly honored in this, as no one of equal 
youth had been appointed to 'that important office in the history of the state up to that 
time. At his own application he was placed on the retired list January 10, 1895. In the 
meantime he had rendered very valuable public service on a number of occasions, par- 
ticularly in connection with the third ward fire in Milwaukee and the Camp Douglas 
fire, whereby he was commended in general orders from Wisconsin's chief executive. In 
August, 1893, the governor sent him to Ashland, Wisconsin, to investigate the dock riots 
and within two days he had settled the troubles to the satisfaction of both parties. It 
was at this time that Governor Peck received from the business men of Ashland the 
following message: "A resolution was adopted tendering your honor sincere thanks for 
the timely and efficient aid rendered in the past two days to the milling and business 
interests of this city through the personal efforts of General Falk, who readily grasped 
the situation." In July, 1892, General Falk was ordered to the scene of a strike at 
Merrill and his tactful course at that time led to allaying the difficulties between the 
contending parties without resort to the troops. 

It was due in large measure to the watchful care of General Falk that Wisconsin 
escaped the trouble caused by the great Pullman and western railway strike of 1894, 
the only disturbance in the state occurring at Spooner. In the winter of 1893 he was 
in command of the relief expedition sent to northern Wisconsin and Michigan to give 
aid to the starving miners. While serving as adjutant general he revised the rules and 
regulations of the laws governing the National Guard of Wisconsin. In 1894 he served 
as president of the National Guard Association. When at his own request General Falk 
was retired by Governor Upham, the latter said: "Few officers in the state have held 
so many appointments or filled them so well. Whether as adjutant, battalion com- 
mander, quartermaster or adjutant general, he brought to the discharge of his duties 
rare ability, sound judgment and enthusiastic devotion. In the equipment of the state 
force and in the system existing in this office, he has left a monument to his executive 




GENERAL OTTO H. FALK 



HISTORY OF :\niAVAT'Ki:K 63 

SKill. His unfailing courtesy and consideration will be long remembered, and he carries 
with him to his retirement the respect and esteem of the Wisconsin National Guard." 

With the outbreak of the Spanish-American war General Palk was once more called 
upon for active duty. While there were no vacancies in the state militia the president 
of the United States ciimmissioued him major and chief quartermaster on the .sth of 
June, l^SS.S, and the ;!mh of the same month he was assigned to the Third Army t'orps, 
reporting for duty at the corps headquarters on the 4th of July, after which he was 
assigned as chief quartermaster of the First Division with a station at Chickamauga 
Park. When two months had passed he was made quartermaster of the entire corps, 
stationed at Anniston. Alabama, and with the disbandment of the corps early in October 
he became chief quartermaster of the Second Division of the F'ourth Corps. On the 10th 
of December of the same year he was commissioned special inspector of the Quarter- 
master Department, U. S. A., with the rank of lieutenant colonel and in the months of 
January and February, 1S99, he visited many American camps and in tlie latter part of 
that period was ordered to take station in Washington. On the 4th of March, 1899, 
he received orders to start upon an inspection trip in Cuba and while thus engaged he 
inspected the camps at Havana, Pina del Rio, Guanajay, Buena Vista, La Union, Matan- 
zas, Cardenas, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, San Luis, Manzanillo, Santiago and Guantanamo. 
On the 1st of April' he joined the secretary of war at Santiago, proceeding on the 
United States transport Ingalls to Porto Rico, where he inspected the Quartermaster 
Departments at Ponce and San Juan, returning with the party to the United States and 
landing a Fortress Monroe in the latter part of April. He was tlien stationed at Wash- 
ington until he received his requested discharge on the 20th of June. 

General Falk. following his return to Wisconsin, was ordered by Governor Schofield 
to assume command of the First Regiment of Infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, at 
which time Milwaukee was made a military post with Troop A and Battery A as gar- 
rison and General Falk in command. In 1903 the First Wisconsin Infantry participated 
in the general army maneuvers at West Point and won the following commendation 
from General Wagner: "Their work in the field was most excellent and highly satis- 
factory," while in a letter to General Falk, General Kobbe of the United States army 
said: "The inspector general of the division made verbal report to me yesterday to the 
effect that the camp of the First Wisconsin was in most excellent condition and that 
the sanitary precautions enjoined in orders were implicitly followed. They have nothing 
to learn in this respect from any regiment on the grounds." In 1905 General Falk 
requested that he might be placed on the retired list, but Governor LaFollette refused 
the request because of the value of his service to the National Guard. A year later he 
was transferred to the general staff as a chief engineer officer, with station at Milwaukee 
and took up the important task of constructing Battery A barracks. 

While his military service has kept him prominently before the public. General 
Falk has also become recognized as one of the ablest and most resourceful business men 
of the city. He is the vice president of the Falk Corporation, vice president and director 
of the Falk Investment Company, a director of the Wisconsin Telephone Company, a 
director of the Milwaukee Mechanics Fire Insurance Company, a director of the First 
Wisconsin National Bank, a director of the First Wisconsin Company and a director of 
the First Wisconsin Trust Company, and in April, 1912. he became receiver for the 
local AUis-Chalmers Company until the reorganizition of the business in March, 191.3, 
when he was elected to the presidency of the Allis-Ch-ilmers Manufacturing Company 
and has so continued. He has thus been active in controlling and directing important 
manufacturing and commercial interests and has marshalled the forces of trade with 
the same thoroughness and precision that has marked his direction of military affairs. 

On the 10th of December, 1901, General Falk was married to Miss Elizabeth A. 
Vogel. a daughter of Fred Vogel, Jr., of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of 
two children: Elizabeth Louise and Otto Herbert. Politically General Falk is a stal- 
wart republican, where national questions are involved, but at local elections casts an 
independent ballot, regarding only the capability of the candidate for the discharge of 
the duties of the particular office which he seeks. General Falk has been an influential 
factor in many important business and other organizations. He was for a long period 
president of the Merchants & Manufacturers Association of Milwaukee, served on its 
legislative committee and became a member of the charter convention and the chairman 
of the track elevation committee. His work in behalf of the association has been far- 
reaching and beneficial. He has many membership connections, belonging to the United 
States Infantry Association, the Military Service Institute, the Americaii National Red 
Cross, the National Guard Association of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Rifle Associa- 
tion, the Military Order of Foreign Wars and also to the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee 
Country Club, the Milwaukee Club, the Town Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the 
Milwaukee Automobile Club and the Wisconsin State Automobile Association. General 
Falk is regent of :\larquette University; a life member of the Wisconsin Historic il So- 
ciety and Old Settlers Club; an honorary life member of Burgesses Corps. New York; 
meiiiber of the Spanish-American War Veterans Association; and a director of the Wis- 
consin Manufacturers' Association. The political positions which he has held are: 



64 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

fire and police commissioner of the city of Milwaukee; vice president of the public 
safety commission of Milwaukee; delegate representing the state of Wisconsin at the 
National Tariff Commission convention in 1909, the National Peace Congress, 1909, the 
Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterways convention, 1909-1910, National Irrigation Congress, 
1910, and National Conference on Social Insurance, 1916. He is appreciative of the 
social amenities of life and his genial manner and unfeigned cordiality which have 
flourished despite military discipline and regulation, have made for him many warm 
friends. 



GEORGE R. HARSH. 



George R. Harsh was born September 9, 1868, in Nashville, Tennessee, and died 
in the Johns Hopkins Hospital at Baltimore, Maryland, on the 31st of August, 1921. 
He was therefore in the fifty-third year of his age at the time of his demise. While 
he had not yet passed the prime of life, he had accomplished much during his earthly 
career. Energy and determination had carried him steadily forward until he long 
occupied a prominent position in business circles of Milwaukee in connection with 
shoe manufacturing. His parents were Nathan and Mary (Rutherford) Harsh. The 
mother died when her son George was but a year old and the father soon afterward 
removed with his children to New York, where he passed away when George R. Harsh 
was a little lad of but four summers. He was then taken to the home of his uncle, 
Captain George Harsh of Knightville, Tennessee, who was his guardian and who owned 
a large plantation near Nashville. There he pursued his education in private schools 
but when fourteen years of age, while at play with his schoolmates, he sustained an 
injury to one of his eyes that interfered with fui'ther study for months. He was 
then placed under the care of Mr. Whitman, an attorney of Nashville, who acted as 
guardian to the boy until he reached the age of eighteen years. During this period 
Mr. Harsh was a pupil in the schools of that city. When he was eighteen years of 
age be received some money which had been left him by his father and soon after- 
ward he went to Birmingham, Alabama, where he worked for an older brother for 
about two years. He next removed to Memphis, Tennessee, and there he became 
interested in a business enterprise In connection with his brother-in-law, E. A. Long, 
but the venture proved unprofitable, causing him the loss of all his savings. He next 
turned to the theatrical business and became assistant manager of the Grand Opera 
House of Memphis, while later he was made manager. He gave up this position, 
however, owing to the opposition of his people, who felt that there were higher things 
in life for him. He then became connected with the firm of Johnson, Carruthers 
& Hand, shoe manufacturers of Memphis. The firm, however, told him when he applied 
for a position that they had nothing for him, but he insisted, refusing to take "no" 
for an answer, saying that he would be willing to work without pay in order to learn 
the business. His insistence secured him a trial and his ability was soon manifest. 
He was placed on the pay roll and the results of his labors were at once evidenced. 
He applied himself with great thoroughness to the work, mastered every task that 
devolved upon him and soon became so efficient that be was sent on the road as a 
traveling salesman by the company and met with marked success from the start in 
the upbuilding of trade for the house. In the early part of 1897 the shoe firm of 
Roberts, Johnson & Rand was established in St. Louis, with Mr. Harsh as general 
superintendent of all their factories, and later he became assistant buyer. An ex- 
ceedingly warm friendship sprang up between him and Mr. Johnson and Mr. Harsh 
remained with the house for many years. In 1907, however, he withdrew from this 
firm, which afterward became the International Shoe Company, one of the largest 
in the country. He severed his connection with the St. Louis establishment in order 
to engage in business on his own account and to this end removed to Milwaukee, 
where he organized the Harsh, Smith & Edmonds Shoe Manufacturing Company. They 
began operating in a small way, but the business steadily developed. In the second 
year Mr. Smith withdrew and returned to St. Louis, the firm then becoming Harsh 
& Edmonds. They opened their own tannery, equipped their plant with the latest im- 
proved machinery and with remarkable progress the business soon became the largest 
in Milwaukee. After some time Mr. Edmonds withdrew, while Mr. Harsh, joined by 
another partner, established the Harsb-Chapline Shoe Company. In February, 1921, 
they consolidated their interests with the Craddock-Terry Shoe Company of Lynch- 
burg, Virginia. This was accomplished through the efforts of Mr. Craddock, who 
was a personal friend of Mr. Harsh. The Virginia plant is devoted to the manufacture 
of men's, women's and children's shoes but had no tannery in Virginia. The result 
of the consolidation has been most satisfactory. Mr. Harsh was made vice president 
of the Craddock-Terry Company of Lynchburg, while the Harsh-Chapline Company 
of Milwaukee remains under the same official direction. The business has become 




GEORGE E. HAESH 



HISTORY OF :\riLWAUKEE 67 

one of notable proportions and stands as a monument to the enterprise and capability 
of tlie founder. 

At the time of the World war Mr. Harsh, with notable sagacity and foresight, 
recognized something of what the country would need in the way of shoes for the 
army and generously made the offer to manufacture five hundred pairs of army shoes 
for the government per day as long as the war lasted, at actual cost, the government 
to place an expert accountant in the factory to see that costs were figured with accuracy. 
Mr. Harsh desired no publicity in this matter, but when he telephoned the district 
attorney's office to know with whom he should communicate in Washington, the district 
attorney urged immediate publicity, so that other manufacturers in all sorts of lines 
might be induced to make similar offers to the government to furnish goods for the 
conduct of the war at actual cost. Mr. Harsh said at this time: "Since I am too old 
to join the array, I would like to do something to help the nation. By offering one- 
eighth of the capacity of my factory as long as the war lasts, it will help a little to 
reduce the cost of the war and I think that enough shoe manufacturers can easily 
be found to furnish the government with all the shoes required without a penny 
of profit. The present generation should pay tor the war as far as possible, as the 
government has proposed. By reducing the war bill, the tax on the people will be 
much less. I think a man is a mighty poor citizen who would rob his own govern- 
ment at any time and especially in a crisis like this." Mr. Harsh accordingly sent 
the following telegram to Secretary of War Baker: "We are ready to make five 
hundred pairs per day of army shoes at cost. We believe other shoe manufacturers 
can be induced to do likewise. We are shoe manufacturers and tanners. We are 
equipped to make such shoes as the government buys for its army. We submit the 
following proposal. We will make five hundred pairs per day of shoes for the govern- 
ment on government specifications and under government supervision, at cost. We 
would suggest that actual cost can best be arrived at by an expert cost accountant 
selected by the government being placed in our factory. We make this proposal with 
the hope that packers, other tanners and shoe manufacturers may be induced to make 
the same proposition, which if done, will result in the government getting very excellent 
shoes at a cost far below prices now being paid. We have never bid on any army con- 
tracts because we have not needed the business, but we feel that it is our duty to help in 
any way we can to reduce costs. We believe that the majority of American-born 
manufacturers will be willing to serve the government in its present situation, to 
the extent of a part of their production, without profit. If this proposal does not 
happen to fit in with your requirements and there is some other way that occurs to 
you that all or any part of our organization may serve the government without com- 
pensation, please command us." 

At that time the government was not in position to accept the offer. In January, 
1918, Mr. Harsh went into the government service without title at the salary of one 
dollar per year. The secretary of war. through Major General George W. Goethals, 
issued an order that no person who was in any supply bureau of the war department, 
directly or indirectly, should participate in the negotiation or closing of any purchase 
or contract with any concern in which such person had relations, was an oflBcer, 
employe, stockholder or bondholder. Being official buyer of government shoes, Mr. 
Harsh's company was restricted from accepting any government contracts. Although 
not making shoes directly for the government, the entire capacity of the tannery and 
shoe factory was devoted to work shoes for farmers, laborers and mechanics — a war- 
time necessity. 

Mr. Harsh was made chief of the shoes, leather and rubber goods branch of 
the clothing and equipment division in the oflice of the quartermaster general of the 
army. He was appointed to this position as the successor of John W. Craddock. whose 
assistant Mr. Harsh had been. He therefore brought experience to the position as 
well as the sound judgment and the enterprise of a successful business man and the 
devotion of a patriotic citizen. In July, 1918, just a short time before Mr. Harsh 
was made chief of the department, his wife was in Washington with him and he had 
the first attack of the illness which three years later caused his death. His wife 
persuaded him to go with her to Baltimore to consult certain eminent physicians 
there, who told him that he should go home and rest, as the heat in Washington and 
the long hours were too strenuous and aggravated his trouble. Mr. Harsh, however, 
could not be made to see it that way. In fact, his reply was: "I could no more think 
of giving up now than a general would forsake his men." He returned to Wash- 
ington, where he remained until the end of the war, and was given a commission 
as colonel. When the war ended he tendered his resignation and in reply received 
the following letter: "I am informed of your desire to return to your family and 
business, and of the tender of your resignation as chief of the shoe branch of the 
clothing and equipage division. Under the circumstances of your having remained 
at your duty during the continuance of the war, I do not feel that at this time I 
should ask a further sacrifice from you and am therefore accepting your resignation, 
the war having closed. I know that you will carry away with you the appreciation 



68 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

in your own mind o£ a duty well performed, and I cannot allow you to depart from 
Washington without expressing my appreciation of the qualities in you which have 
made you so insistent in producing for tlie army what I believe is the best army shoe 
in the world. I feel that you have done your government a signal service in being so 
insistent that the word quality should be the watch word of every officer and every 
manufacturer working to produce our soldiers' shoes, and I hope that this appreciation 
of your efforts will to some extent reward you for the sacrifice which you have made 
in the past months. Sincerely yours, R. E. Wood, Acting Quartermaster General." 

The home life of Mr. Harsh was largely ideal. On the 22d of December, 1895, 
he was married to Miss Elizabeth Shwimmer, a daughter of William J. and Emily 
A. (Conklin) Shwimmer, of Pike county, Missouri, who are descended from Scotch- 
Irish ancestry. Her father was one of the close friends of Champ Clark and in an 
early day he was associated with Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) in editing a 
newspaper at Louisiana, Missouri. His father was a prominent business man. Both 
families have reason to be proud of their ancestry. In the maternal line Mr. Harsh 
came of notable ancestry, the line of descent being traced down from Lord Rutherford 
of Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Harsh became parents of five children: Estelle is the 
wife of John S. Disosway of Atlanta, Georgia, who is vice president of the Cotton 
States Belting & Supply Company of Atlanta and who served for eighteen months 
at the front in the World war, with the rank of first lieutenant; the second child, 
a daughter, died in infancy; William Alexander, twenty-one years of age, is employed 
in the shoe plant which his father established. He started at the bottom, as did 
his father, with the intention of working up and is thoroughly mastering every phase 
of the business; George Rutherford, the next child, is a student in the Milwaukee 
Country Day School; Oscar Johnson, the youngest, is deceased. 

Mr. Harsh held membership in the Christian church. He also belonged to various 
clubs, including the Milwaukee Club, the Town Club and several country clubs near 
his summer home. He was ever keenly interested in those things which pertained 
to public welfare and civic progress. He served as a member of the committee for 
the protection of Milwaukee school teachers in their efforts to secure higher salaries 
and more satisfactory conditions under which to labor. He was a most charitable 
and benevolent man, giving liberally where aid was needed but always unostentatiously, 
none knowing of his generosity save the recipient and himself. It is said that many 
small children were cared for by reason of his kindly nature. His interest centered 
in his home and he found his greatest happiness in promoting the welfare of his 
wife and children. He had a beautiful residence at Pine Lake and with his family 
spent the summer months there. He greatly enjoyed fishing and outdoor life. His 
standards of life were very high. He at all times recognized and met his obliga- 
tions as a man and as a citizen and sought ever to advance those interests which are 
a potent force in material, intellectual and moral progress. His was a notable record 
of a self-made man — one who carved out his opportunity and his success. He achieved 
much because he was willing to work for it and yet his chances were just such as 
come to all. It was because he used opportunities that others passed heedlessly by 
that he steadily climbed until he reached the plane of affluence, gaining not only 
material wealth but the highest respect and regard of his fellowmen.' 



GEORGE BRUMDER. 



To one who reflects upon the life of George Brumder the conviction grows that it 
typifies the life of an American pioneer to an unusual extent. We see him while he is 
earning his first dollar in the woods of southern Wisconsin in the year 1857 and thence 
walking some eighty miles and entering the city of Milwaukee, where he was destined 
to spend the years of his life in the development of ever growing interests attended 
by an ever widening sphere of influence. He combined in his personal qualities of in- 
dustry, perseverence, integrity and faith in and with himself to an unusual extent. 

There is, perhaps, no better key to the character of George Brumder than the "inci- 
dent of his early life when his fellow employes on a new structure chided him for his 
intense application to his work in the absence of the foreman, and he gave as an 
answer, "I have hired out my services and must do my best." As in this instance so 
throughout his life, he devoted himself conscientiously to everything he undertook 
whether it be with prospects of remuneration or merely to obey the dictates of his 
conscience. 

Free from any ambition to accumulate a fortune, this, nevertheless, resulted from 
the pioneer's instinct of "faith in and with himself." As the years advanced and a- 
business organization grew into being, this spirit, to a large extent, became a part of 
each individual thereof, and out of it grew the mutual goodwill, confldence and trust 
mdispensably necessary to the growth of every business organization He died re- 




GEORGE BRUMDEE 



HISTORY OF :\rTLWAUKEE 71 

spectetl and honored by the community and beloved by his employes. A greater 
tribute than this conies to no man. 

In the past century we, as a nation, were not so far advanced in our life but that 
the story of the typical American still found him leaving his home surroundings and 
going to new fields for the activities of his future life. Sometimes this was done with 
that purpose clearly in mind, sometimes a chance condition brought about the same 
result. So we find George Brunider at the age of eighteen bidding "goodbye" to his 
beloved mother and revered father, a respected schoolmaster in an Alsatian village 
near Strasbourg (Strassburg), to accompany an elder sister to America to attend 
her at her wedding to a minister of the gospel at Helenville, Wisconsin. It was here 
that he wielded the axe as a woodsman until the day that he started on foot tor 
Wisconsin's metropolis. 

Between the years of 1858 and 1863 he was engaged in various lines of work, and 
frequently, in his later years, derived a good deal of pleasure in referring to his work 
done on different houses of this city and in speaking of the time when he was engaged 
as foreman in the laying of, the first street car tracks in the city of Milwaukee. His 
solution of a problem arising at the time of the laying of these tracks came very near 
changing his career, when, for days, he debated whether he should accept the result- 
ing offer of the engineer in charge to become a member of his organization. 

Having been reared in the Protestant faith, George Brumder joined the Grace 
Lutheran church after his arrival in Milwaukee and there met his future wife, Hen- 
rietta Brandhorst. Immediately upon their marriage in 1863, they joined their little 
fortunes and opened a book store. As this prospered he engaged with his brother-in- 
law in the publication of a small weekly paper of the magazine character. It was the 
success of these two ventures that caused him to be selected to redeem a publication 
from apparently inevitable failure, and thereby to launch him upon that publishing 
business which, thereafter, became the venture of his life. 

To understand this offer and its subsequent effects it is necessary to go back some 
years to recall the influx of the European immigration, particularly that from Germany 
after the year of 1848. To serve this inflowing European population newspapers, in the 
several languages of these immigrants, sprang up freely. So, too, we see the growth 
of newspapers in the German language serving their destiny of acquainting the immi- 
grant with American institutions and ideals while giving them, in the only language 
w^ith which they were conversant, news items of their former home and of the world 
at large. 

But it is well known that those of that splendid type of Teuton who, for political 
reasons and personal safety, owing to their devotion to republican ideals, were forced 
to leave their home and sought refuge in America, chanced also to be to a large 
extent of the class who had broken faith with their religious traditions, so that the 
newspapers conducted by them unfortunately breathed antagonism to things religious. 

To provide a newspaper in their language and to protect the sensibilities of those 
immigrants who maintained their adherence to the church, we find a number of 
influential Protestants in the city of Milwaukee gathered together in the year 1870, 
organizing the Protestant Publishing Company, publishing a newspaper and selecting 
therefor the name "Germania." But the undertaking did not prosper; the money 
originally provided had disappeared in deficits, and obligations that could not be 
met had accumulated. It was at this period that Mr. Brumder was sought out. 
It so happened that in 1872 he took the management and presidency of a newly 
organized company, called the Germania Publishing Company, and ventured his 
gradually accumulated resources in the attempt to continue the publication. Growth 
of the circulation soon followed; nevertheless, it proved a difficult undertaking, and 
for some years the question of success or failure hung in the balance. It was only 
after five years of incessant effort of which George Brumder was capable, as few 
men are, that optimism supplanted uncertainty. Then, with the increasing influx 
of immigrants, the field widened, and the natural acumen and industry of Mr. Brumder 
permitted him to acquire a larger share of this developing field than was the fortune 
of his competitors. 

It so came about that, at the time of his death in 1910, George Brumder owned 
the most extensive line of newspapers published in the German language in America. 
This growth was outwardly typified in the successive buildings that housed the pub- 
lications, and, when the present Brumder building was built in 1896, it figured as the 
largest ofl^ice building in the city of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Brumder's success was not due solely to his own efforts but to the cooperatioit 
of all the forces employed in the organization, inspired by his characteristics, and 
it is in the spirit of George Brumder that a fitting tribute be extended to all of these 
individuals and in particular to the very able assistance given by the editor, George 
Koeppen. 

A secular newspaper, though independent in politics, must nevertheless have 
and express its opinion on matters political. And so it happened that, as George 
Brumder was of the political conviction largely represented by the republican party. 



72 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the paper in national elections almost always found itself allied, more or less strenu- 
ously, with the policies urged by the republican party. It is opportune to refer to 
the fact that in the campaign of 1900, while supporting the republican presidential 
candidate, the paper opposed the acquisition of the Philippine Islands as being a first 
step toward a contravention of the American traditional policy; and some of those who 
read these words will believe that the resulting chain of events is proof of his clear- 
sighted American forethought. 

When, in acquiring citizenship, Mr. Brumder foreswore allegiance to the govern- 
ment and the crown of France, he did so wholeheartedly and with a full appreciation 
of the import of his action; and frequently he would tell his children with great pride 
of his good fortune in being placed in a position to render America inestimable 
services by acquainting the immigrant so readily and completely with the American 
spirit and its institutions. This service, coupled with the recognition of the influence 
of the publications throughout the central west, inevitably brought about political 
recognition; and many were the offers of political preferment made to Mr. Brumder 
or to such men as he would, in his judgment, consider fit. But it was characteristic 
of him that he preferred not to enter political life nor to impair the independence 
and influence of his publications by a close personal association with political organiza- 
tions. 

Besides being at the head of liis publications, Mr. Brumder, at the time of his 
death, was president of the nationally operating Concordia Fire Insurance Company 
and president of the prosperous National Bank of Commerce, then known as the 
Germania National Bank. 

Mr. Brumder's death occurred suddenly on the 9th day of May, 1910, when he 
was nearly seventy-one years of age. Fitting tributes to his achievements and the 
feeling of loss to the community were . given expression in the messages of sincere 
sympathy received from the governor of the state of Wisconsin, its senators and the 
president of the United States. 



HORACE A. J. UPHAM. 



An absolute fidelity of purpose and clear judgment, coupled with an unusual sense 
of proportion and relative values, brought Horace Upham to the front rank of com- 
mercial and corporation lawyers of Milwaukee. Ability and integrity characterized 
him as a manager of trust funds. He was born in Milwaukee, August 14, 1853. His 
father, Don A. J. Upham, born in Weathersfield, Vermont, was a descendant in the 
eighth generation from John Upham of England, who settled in Weymouth, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1635. Don A. J. Upham graduated from Union College, New York, in 
1831, was admitted to the bar at Baltimore in 1835 and became city attorney of 
Wilmington, Delaware, the same year. There he married Elizabeth Jacques, daughter 
of Dr. Gideon Jacques, a Quaker of Wilmington, of Huguenot ancestry. In 1836 he 
sought his fortune in the west, settling in Milwaukee, whither in 1837 he brought his 
wife and infant son John. 

Horace Upham was the youngest of ten children. His early education was gained 
in the public and preparatory schools of Milwaukee, and he was graduated from the 
University of Michigan in 1S75. Returning to Milwaukee, he took up the study of 
law, first in the office of Wilson Graham, his father's former law partner, and later in 
the offices of Jenkins, Elliot & Winkler. He was admitted to the bar in 1877, and in 
1879 became identified with the old law firm of Wells & Brigham, which thereafter 
was known as Wells, Brigham & Upham. This association was maintained until the 
death of his partners. Charles K. Wells died in 1892, and Jerome R. Brigham a few 
years later. In 1897 the law firm of Fish, Cary, Upham & Black was formed through 
the coalition of the law firms of Fish & Cary and Upham & Black, Mr. Black having 
been associated with the firm of Wells, Brigham & Upham. Mr. Fish died in 1900 
and thereupon the firm became Cary, Upham & Black. Following the demise of Mr. 
Cary in 1914, the surviving partners were joined by Charles C. Russell and Emmet L. 
Richardson, who had for several years been associated with the firm, the firm becoming 
Upham, Black, Russell & Richardson. This association was maintained to the time of 
Mr. Upham's death. 

Mr. Upham always held the highest ideals of his profession and scorned to prosti- 
tute his ability by resorting to legal tricks or casuistical proceedings. His mind was 
singularly open to the main point at issue, and all matters in his charge were regarded 
as a sacred trust. 

Horace Upham became the legal representative and manager of the business, 
interests of Daniel Wells, Jr., brother of his first law partner, Charles K. Wells. His 
conscientious care and devotion to Mr. Wells' interests showed his appreciation of the 
trust imposed in him and proved how fully this confidence was justified. As Daniel 
Wells' representative he became identified with prominent lumber and related business 




HORACE A. .T. I'PIIA:\I 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 75 

concerns of northern Wisconsin and Michigan, notably the I. Stephenson Lumber 
Company, the N. Ludington Company, the Peshtigo Lumber Company, the Ludington, 
Wells & Van Schaick Company, and the H. Witbeck Company. Daniel Wells and Isaac 
Stephenson held large lumber interests in Louisiana, with wliich Mr. Upham was also 
identified. As the forests along the streams were gradually cleared, the hard wood 
timber of the interior was penetrated by the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad, the 
building and plan for financing of which he largely aided. 

Mr. Upham contributed in many ways to large building enterprises, as witnessed 
in the erection of the Wells building, the Stephenson building and the building 
occupied by the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He negotiated ninety-nine year leases of 
some of the most valuable properties in the city and was considered an authority on 
these long-term leases. • 

By the will of Daniel Wells, Jr., Mr. Upham was made an executor and trustee of 
his estate, the active care of which devolved upon him. He was also made executor and 
trustee of the will of Isaac Stephenson. He was a trustee under the will of John 
Plankinton, and by the death of Frederick Laytou, just a week before his own demise. 
he was named executor of that estate. At the time of his death he was president of 
the L Stephenson Company trustees, president of the Escanaba & Lake Superior Rail- 
road, president of the Marinette & Menominee Paper Company, director of the N. 
Ludington Company, the Ludington. Wells & Van Schaick Company, the H. Witbeck 
Company, the Northwestern National Insurance Company, the Milwaukee Mechanics 
Insurance Company, the Milwaukee Drug Company, and the Wells Building Company. 
He was trustee and member of the executive and finance committees of the North- 
western Mutual Life Insurance Company. 

On June 5, 1S89, Horace Upham was married to Mary L. Greene, daughter of 
Thomas A. and Elizabeth Cadle Greene, of this city. Mr. Greene was a representative 
of an old Quaker family of Providence. Rhode Island. He was a wholesale druggist, 
a member of the firm of Greene & Button Company, of which the present Milwaukee 
Drug Company is an outgrowth. Outside his business interests Mr. Greene maintained 
an interest in science, especially in geology and botany, and was well known in 
scientific circles. 

To Horace and Mary Upham were born three daughters, the eldest of whom, 
Elizabeth Greene, married Dr. Carl Henry Davis. They are living in Milwaukee and 
have two sons, Horace Upham and Henry Clinton. The second daughter. Mary 
Greene, died in 1903. Caroline, the youngest, lives in Milwaukee. She was graduated 
from Radcliffe College in 1920. 

Horace Upham was a deeply reverent man. He believed sincerely in the simple 
teachings of Jesus but was unable to subscribe to the theological dogmas of the 
Episcopal church, in which he was reared. He found great religious satisfaction in 
the Unitarian church and served as chairman of the board of trustees of that society 
for more than twenty-five years. 

As far as health and time would permit, he lent his aid and influence to all up- 
lifting forces in the lite of the community. He was a director of the Layton Art 
Gallery, a director of the Milwaukee Hospital Auxiliary, a director of the Bureau of 
Municipal Research, and a warm friend to the cause of the higher education of women. 
Before suffrage was granted to women he was its ardent advocate and was president 
of the "Men's Society for Equal Suffrage." 

He had broad scientific knowledge and was especially interested in the practical 
application of science. In his later years his leisure hours were largely given to the 
study of wireless telegraphy, and he established wireless instruments at both his city 
and country homes. At his country home near Kilbourn, Wisconsin, most of the hours 
he felt he could give from active business were spent. He loved the simple life 
among the Wisconsin hills and was always eager to share its hospitality with his 
friends. 

While not taking an active part in politics, few men were better informed than 
he on the large political and economical questions of the day. He brought to bear on 
these questions as in those of business and social welfare his broad experience, keen 
judgment and the conscientious effort to see clearly and to act wisely. In his sudden 
death on August 22, 1919, Milwaukee lost a noble citizen. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE BLUMENFELD. 

The history of commercial activity and advancement in Milwaukee would be 
incomplete and unsatisfactory were there failure to make prominent reference to 
Franklin P. Blumenfeld. the president of the Blunienfeld. Locher Company, manu- 
facturers and wholesalers of millinery. He is also identified with other corporate 
interests, and is recognized as a man of sound Inisiness judgment, discriminating 
readily between the essential and the non-essential in all business affairs. 



76 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Mr. Blumenfeld is a native son of Milwaukee, born June 16, 1853, liis parents 
being David and Nannie Blumenfeld, who were married in New York in 1852. The 
father was a pioneer German newspaper publisher in the middle west. He left his 
home in southern Germany when a young boy and after connections with several 
leading newspaper establishments of Germany sought the liberty and freedom of 
the new world during the Revolution of 1850. He made his way first to Philadelphia 
and thence removed to Milwaukee, establishing his home in Watertown, that state, 
in 1853. There he continued to reside for many years, passing away at that place 
in 1906. at the advanced age of seventy-eight. His wife, who was a very talented 
writer, died in Watertown in 1916. at the advanced age of eighty-four years. 

Franklin P. Blumenfeld, although born in Milwaukee, spent his youthful days 
in Watertown, where he acquired a public school education, after which he became 
a student in the Spencerian Business College at Milwaukee, being graduated there- 
from in 1869. He learned the printing business in the office of his father, who was 
the publisher of the Weltburger, a newspaper of Watertown, and after receiving 
training in all departments of the newspaper and job printing business he made 
his way to Chicago in 1870, and there worked on the Volksblatt, then a prominent 
newspaper printed in the German language. After the great Chicago fire of October, 
1871, he accepted a position with a new recently organized wholesale millinery con- 
cern and in 1874 he came to Milwaukee in the same line. For forty-seven years, 
therefore, he has been identified with the wholesale millinery trade of the city and 
is now at the head of the Blumenfeld, Locher Company, manufacturers and whole- 
salers of millinery. Their business has become one of substantial and gratifying 
proportions and back of their success is the unfaltering enterprise, keen sagacity 
and thoroughly reliable methods of the president and his associate. Mr. Blumenfeld 
is also the president of the Standard Crucible Steel Casting Company and is one 
of the directors of the National Bank of Commerce. 

In Ripon, Wisconsin, on the 26th of July, 1876, Mr. Blumenfeld was married to 
Miss Bertha Faustman, a daughter of Charles and Mary Faustman. Her father was 
a pioneer fish merchant on Washington Island in Lake Michigan, buying his supplies 
from the fisher folks from 1858 until 1863, and then packing and shipping from the 
island to eastern markets. In the latter year he removed to Ripon, Wisconsin, and 
in 1870 became a resident of California. Later he returned to Ripon, where he 
passed away in 1895, his widow surviving him for a decade, her death there occuring 
In ]fl05. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Blumenfeld were born two daughters: Clara, the wife of Paul 
M. Pamperin of La Crosse, Wisconsin, who is a prominent manufacturer of tobacco 
and cigars in that city; and Nannie, who is the wife of Dr. William H. Zwickey of 
Superior, Wisconsin, the county physician of Douglas county. Mr. and Mrs. Pamperin 
have two children, Irene and Franklin John, aged, respectively, eighteen and seven- 
teen years. 

Mr. Blumenfeld gave his political allegiance for many years to the democratic 
party and since 1916 has voted independently or with the republican party. He is 
a member of Kilbourn Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, of which he has served as a director and was a member of the building com- 
mittee at the time of the erection of its club house. He also belongs to the Wisconsin 
Club and the Elks Lodge. He is interested in organized efforts for the benefit of 
the trade development of the city, being president of the Merchants' and Manu- 
facturers' Association in 1913 and a director of the Association of Commerce since 
that time. He stands for all those forces which make for advancement in behalf 
of the general public and his attitude on all vital questions of civic improvement 
is one of progress. 



ALFRED CHARLES CLAS. 



Alfred Charles Clas, an architect of eminent ability, has not only achieved distinc- 
tion in the path of his profession but has been one of the most important factors in 
the development and improvement of Milwaukee upon the lines of a well formulated 
system and plan. Too great credit cannot be given him for his labors in this direction. 
Mr. Clas is a native of Sauk City, Wisconsin, born December 26, 1859, his parents being 
Adam and Magdalene Clas, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came 
to America in 1848, the year that brought such a great infiux of German people to this 
country that they might rid themselves of monarchical rule and enjoy the freedom 
and liberty of the new world, constituting a valuable contribution to American 
citizenship. Mr. and Mrs. Clas settled first in Milwaukee, where the father built 
his home at the northeast corner of Eleventh and Chestnut streets, on the site now 
occupied by the building of the Pabst Brewing Company. Later the family removed 




ALFRED C. CLAS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 79 

to Sauk City, Wisconsin, wliere the father built the first bridge across the Wisconsin 
river. 

Alfred C. Clas was educated in the schools of Sauk City, being graduated with 
tlie class of 1875. When his school days were over he became a messenger boy in the 
Wisconsiii State Senate and after completing that task he was apprenticed to an 
architect of Milwaukee and also benefited by two years of practical instruction on 
building construction. In 1879 he went to California, where he worked in an archi- 
tect's office for two years, after which he returned to Milwaukee and became asso- 
ciated with James Douglas, a well know architect of this city. At a later period he 
withdrew from business connections with Mr. Douglas and practiced his profession in- 
dependently, while afterward he became associated with George B. Ferry under the 
firm name of Ferry & Clas, the firm practicing architecture in the city of Milwaukee 
for twenty-five years. During the course of this partnership they were awarded a 
gold medal on the Milwaukee Library and Museum at the World's Columbian Ex- 
position at Chicago, at the St. Louis Exposition and the Paris Exposition. They also 
received a silver medal on the State Historical Library at Madison, at the St. Louis 
Exposition in 1904 and likewise received a commemorative diploma on the Wisconsin 
State building at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904. 

It was in 1884 in Milwaukee that Mr. Clas was united in marriage to Miss Louisa 
Wick, a daughter of John and Philapina Wick. Two children born of this marriage 
are living: Angelo Robert, who married Norma Huette of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; and 
Rubens Frederick, who married Florence Jensen of Madison. Fraternally Mr. Clas 
is a Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft. He belongs to the 
City Club of Milwaukee, is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a 
member of the Wisconsin chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He has 
done much important public work, in which he has used his professional knowledge 
to promote further the improvement and civic development of the city. He was a mem- 
ber of the board of park commissioners of Milwaukee for three terms, being first 
appointed by the former mayor, David Rose, and afterward by Mayor Sherburu 
Becker, while lastly his appointment came from Mayor Bading. He was also a mem- 
ber of the first county park board of Milwaukee county and he served as a member 
of the capitol commission during the construction of the Wisconsin state capitol, which 
appointment was made by Gov. E. L. Philipp. Through legislative enactment Governor 
Davidson appointed a special commission to make a survey and report on state parks. 
This commission was composed of Mr. Clas, Mr. Hutchins and Mr. Griffith and many 
of the state parks today are the result of the report and recommendations of this 
special committee. Mr. Clas was also a member and the president of the city planning 
commission. He is the father, so to speak, of Milwaukee's Civic Center, a project into 
which he put his heart and soul for many years and which is finally a reality. Mr. 
Clas conceived, designed and worked out the Civic Center as it will ultimately be and 
despite the city getting in experts for their opinions, this Civic Center is going ahead 
in accordance with Mr. Clas' original plans. In addition to his efforts in that con- 
. nection Mr. Clas designed, laid out and is executing Milwaukee's Lake Shore Drive, 
which includes the entire water front from Edgewood avenue on the north to Oklahoma 
avenue on the south, a distance of ten miles. The above two projects are stupendous 
and mean much to the progress and beautification of the city. Another project with 
which Mr. Clas has been closely associated is the Milwaukee river improvement, upon 
which he has been working for years and while this improvement is not under execu- 
tion at the present in its entirety, it no doubt will be started in portion in connection 
with the Civic Center project which involves the widening of Cedar and Riddle streets 
with an ornamental bridge spanning the river and ornamental balustrades above, con- 
crete retaining walls on both sides of the river to the north and south of this bridge. 
What more tangible evidence of Mr. Clas' public spirit and devotion to Milwaukee's 
welfare could be given? 



HON. MAURICE A. McCABE. 

Hon. Maurice A. McCabe, lawyer and lawmaker, is today the legal representative 
of many of the important corporation interests of Milwaukee, his standing at the 
bar being a most enviable one. The city numbers him among her native sons, his 
birth having occurred on the 25th of April, 1872, his parents being Patrick and 
Hannah (Boyle) McCahe. The father is a native of County Cavan, Ireland, while 
the mother was born in Maine. They came to Milwaukee in the early '60s and the 
father was one of the old-time railroad engineers on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul Railroad. He is still living, but the mother has passed away. 

Maurice A. McCabe was educated in the Marquette University of Milwaukee and 
in the University of Wisconsin, graduating from the former with the class of 1890, 
while he is numbered among the State University alumni of 1896. In the same 



80 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

year he was admitted to the bar and entered upon the practice ot his chosen pro- 
fession. He entered into partnership with Louis Dahlnian, an association that was 
maintained for twenty years, or until May, 1916, since which time Mr. McCabe has 
practiced alone. Through the intervening years he has had a large clientele and 
his professional work has been of a most important character. Step by step he has 
advanced to a point of leadership among the attorneys of Milwaukee and today 
lie is the legal representative of a number of the leading corporations of the city. 

On the 7th of November, 1906, Mr. McCabe was married to Miss Catharine O'Don- 
nell of Kenosha, and they have become parents of three children: Maurice, John 
and Mary, who are with them in an attractive home at 3121 McKinley boulevard — 
a home that is noted for its warm-hearted and generous hospitality. 

In his political views Mr. McCabe has always been a democrat and in 1901 he 
was called to serve his district in the state legislature, representing what are now 
known as the second and fourth wards, or the down-town district. He gave thought- 
ful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement 
and has ever been extremely interested in those problems which are a matter of 
public concern to the commonwealth. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to the Milwaukee Association of Com- 
merce and to other organizations which demand high qualities of personal integrity 
and of public service. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the 
Milwaukee, the Wisconsin State and the American Bar Associations. 



ALBERT T. FRIBDMANN. 



While Albert T. Friedmann has gained a commanding position as a merchant of 
Milwaukee, he has at the same time been identified with many interests of public con- 
cern, especially bearing upon the welfare, the progress and the philanthropic activities 
of the city. Mr. Friedmann is a native of Austria, his birth having occurred in Vienna, 
on the 13th of February, 1865, his parents being Theodore and Bertha Friedmann, 
the former a native of Burkundstadt, Bavaria, while the latter was born in Vienna, 
Austria. 

In the public schools of his native city Albert T. Friedmann acquired his early 
education, passing through consecutive grades to the high school and supplementing 
that training by study up to the second year college grade. Throughout his active 
business career he has been identified with mercantile interests. He came to America 
in 1S83 and in 1886 became a junior partner in the firm of Ed Schuster & Company 
of Milwaukee. Through the intervening period, covering thirty-seven years, he has 
been identified with its business and more and more largely has assumed responsibility 
in connection with the management and control of the house. He is now the president 
of Ed. Schuster & Company, Incorporated, controlling one of the fine mercantile estab- 
lishments of the city. Most progressive methods are maintained in the conduct of the 
business and a large and carefully selected line of goods proves most attractive to 
the patrons, who, moreover, find that the business methods of the house are thorough- 
ly reliable as well as progressive. 

In Milwaukee, on the 10th of January, 1S88, Mr. Friedmann was married to Miss 
Johanna B. Schuster, a daughter of Ed Schuster, founder of the firm of Ed Schuster 
& Company. They have become parents of two children: Max E., and Ralph T., aged, 
respectively, thirty and twenty-five years. Mr. Friedmann maintains membership 
relations with the Milwaukee Athletic, the Wisconsin and the City Clubs. In politics he 
is an independent voter, casting his ballot according to the dictates of his judgment, 
but that he is keenly interested in Milwaukee's welfare along many lines is indicated 
in the fact that he is not only a member but one of the directors of the Association of 
Commerce, also of the Citizens Bureau of Municipal Efficiency, the Centralized Budget 
of Philanthropy and the Associated Charities. No good work done in the name of 
charity or religion seeks his aid in vain and his loy.d endorsement is given to every 
plan which is working toward a greater and better city. 



WILLIAM GUTENKUNST. 



William Gutenkunst is one who in the battles ot life has always come out victor. 
The plain and undaunted story of his life, nevertheless, reads like a romance by 
reason of his successful achievement. It is an old adage that opportunity knocks 
but once. If this is true, William Gutenkunst made immediate response to the call. 
Throughout his life he has used his talents wisely and well, and today is one of 
the prominent and wealthy manufacturers and bank directors of his native city. 
He was born on the 6th of July, 1850, his parents being Jacob and Catherine (Haas) 




ALBERT T. FRIEDMANX 



HISTORY OF -MILWAUKEE 83 

Gutenkunst, who were natives of Baden. Germany. The father was born in 1829, 
and after spending his minority in his native land he started for America witli the 
hope of bettering his financial conditions on this side the Atlantic. Landing in New 
York, he there formed the acquaintance of Catherine Haas, who was born July 5, 1815. 
The young couple arrived in Wisconsin in 1849 and became residents of Milwaukee, 
then a small town of comparatively little commercial or industrial importance. 
Jacob Gutenkunst was then a young man of twenty years, and from that time forward 
until his demise he was closely associated with the business development of the 
city. Moreover, he took active part in promoting public progress along every possible 
line and became one of the early members of the volunteer fire department. When 
Company No. 3 of the paid fire department was estalilished, he served as the first 
driver of its hose cart and many years later his son and namesake, Jacob Gutenkunst, 
Jr., became engineer of the Milwaukee fire department, with which he has been 
connected for more than a third of a century. The father passed away September 
11, 1869, and was long survived by his widow, who died December 26, 1905, at the 
notable age of ninety years, their remains being interred in Forest Home cemetery. 
They were parents of five sons: Two who died in infancy; Jacob, previously men- 
tioned, who died in June, 1919; William; and Charles A., who is associated with his 
brother William in various manufacturing enterprises. 

Having mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools of Mil- 
waukee, William Gutenkunst afterward attended Engelmann's School and thus liberally 
qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. He was a pupil in the first 
public school on the south side of Milwaukee, and he also early learned many valuable 
lessons in the school of experience. On the 3d of May, 1873, when twenty-three years 
of age, he started out in the business world independently, taking up the task of 
repairing and rebuilding sewing machines, in the old gas house building on Reed 
street. He possessed natural mechanical skill and ingenuity and was constantly 
studying to improve machinery or to produce new devices which would be of practical 
utility in connection with the world's work. As an inventor he has made for himself 
a notable name and place and the growth of the Milwaukee Hay Tool Company, of 
which he is the president has resulted from his inventions of hay tools, corn buskers 
and others. After a time he admitted his brother. Charles A., to a partnership, under 
the firm style of William & Charles A. Gutenkunst and the steady development of 
the business later led to a removal to larger quarters at the corner of Park street 
and Eighth avenue. With the admission of Adam Loeffelholz to the business the 
name was changed to the Milwaukee Hay Tool Company, the brothers having pre- 
viously used the more lengthy business title of the Milwaukee Hay Tool & Manu- 
facturing Company. The plant was splendidly equipped for the manufacture of hay 
tools and corn buskers and the business steadily grew and developed, so that it 
again was necessary to secure more commodious quarters and in 1893 the company 
purchased a tract of land in Layton Park, whereon was erected a very substantial 
plant. On the 6th of June, 1899, the officials of the Milwaukee Hay Tool Company 
established a new enterprise under the style of the Milwaukee Malleable & Grey Iron 
Works and of this William Gutenkunst was also the founder and promoter and has 
been president and treasurer thereof from the beginning, just as he has of the Mil- 
waukee Hay Tool Company. The two concerns have ever maintained the highest 
standards in the value and workmanship of their output and in their relations to 
their employes and patrons. That these are two of the mammoth productive in- 
dustries of Milwaukee is indicated in the fact that they employ between five hundred 
and six hundred men, many of whom are skilled artisans. The Milwaukee Malleable 
& Grey Iron Works controls also a large amount of contract work and supplies 
malleable irons to other important industrial concerns, including the Moline Plow 
Company of Moline, Illinois. The Milwaukee Hay Tool Company manufactures the 
Leader litter carrier, the Milwaukee corn buskers and fodder shredders, steel and 
wood track hay-carriers, improved swivel-sling hay carriers and cable track carriers; 
hanging hooks for steel and wood tracks, rafter brackets, harpoon forks, grapple 
forks and derrick hay forks; Standard wagon slings; pulleys and pulley blocks and 
conveyors; wire stretchers, tackle hoists, cattle stanchions, ornamental iron fence 
pickets, etc. The major part of these devices manufactured by this company rep- 
resent the concrete results of the inventive genius of Mr. Gutenkunst and he gives 
much time to study and experiment which have brought about such valuable results 
and given him prestige as one of the resourceful and representative business men 
of Wisconsin. His activities have always been of a character that contributed to 
public progress and prosperity, as well as to his individual success and thus in a large 
sense he has been a benefactor of the community. Aside from his manufacturing 
interests he is a director of the Wisconsin State Bank. In a review of his life it 
is to be remembered that he is deserving of the greatest credit for what he accom- 
plished for he started out in the business world in a humble capacity. In those early 
days when he was endeavoring to establish his manufacturing interests he showed 
his initiative and progressive spirit by inaugurating a sprinkling system on Reed 



84 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

street, where his place of business was established. He utilized one of the primitive 
types of street-sprinklers and personally operated the same in the evenings after the 
completion of his regular day's work. He also took his father's place on the fire 
department when the latter was ill or unable to attend to his duties. As the years 
passed on his individual business claimed more and more of his time and attention 
until at length he could find no leisure for outside interests. His expanding powers, 
however, have enabled him most wisely and capably to control the mammoth interest 
which he has built up and developed, having long occupied a foremost position as 
one of the leading manufacturers of the city. 

On the 11th of November, 1871, Mr. Gutenkunst was married to Miss Katie Hostadt 
ot Milwaukee, and they became parents of a son and seven daughters: Sitonia, who 
is the wife of George W. Schubert of Milwaukee; Rose, the wife of Prank W. Fellenz; 
Alma the wife of Matthias Scholl; Nettie, the wife of Charles E. Van Sickle; Flora, 
the wife of Emil A. Prasser; Meta, the wife of Fred C. Seideman, of Kenosha. Wis- 
consin; Lillian, the wife of Otto R. Winkler; and Edwin William, who is the only son 
and is' associated with his father in business. Of the seven daughters, all of whom 
are married, five are residing in Milwaukee, one in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and one in 
Oak Park, .Illinois. , tt • 

Mr. Gutenkunst belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the National Union. 
He and his wife celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on the 11th of November, 
1921, on which occasion their eight children and twelve grandchildren were present. 
Theirs is a notable record, inasmuch as the family circle still remains unbroken 
by the hand of death. 

Mr. Gutenkunst's military record covers service as sergeant of the South Side 
Rifles, Company C, Fifth Battalion, for a period of five years, after which he received 
his honorable discharge on the 5th of June, 1884. He has served on the Milwaukee 
civil service board, of which he was a member from 1909 -until 1913, through appoint- 
ment of Mayor Rose. He did effective work for the city as alderman from the eleventh 
ward from 1885 until 1891, exercising his official prerogatives in support of many 
plans and measures for the general good. Since the year following Wisconsin's ad- 
mission to the Union the name of Gutenkunst has been associated with the develop- 
ment of Milwaukee and has ever been a synonym of business enterprise and loyal, 
progressive citizenship. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies 
a more enviable position in manufacturing and financial circles than William Guten- 
kunst, not alone by reason of the success which he has achieved but also owing to 
the honorable straightforward business policy which he has ever followed. 



GENERAL LOUIS AUER. 



Biography finds its justification in recording the lives of those men whose acts 
have constituted a valuable contribution to public progress and whose records have 
been an inspirational force for good among their fellowmen. Measuring up to the 
highest standards of manhood and citizenship. General Louis Auer was ever an out- 
standing figure in connection with those who have shaped the annals and controlled 
the destiny of Milwaukee. He was born in this city ere it entered upon the period of 
modern commercial progress and development, and with the latter period of substan- 
tial improvement and advancement he was closely associated. His activities in the 
real estate field were made a source not only of individual profit but a source of the 
city's adornment along architectural lines. He made the one supplement and serve the 
purpose of the other and at the same time his record proved that prosperity and an 
honored name may be simultaneously won. 

General Auer was born in Milwaukee, October 3, 1857. His father had established 
a real estate and insurance business here in 1S60 and after reaching manhood General 
Auer was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Louis Auer & Son. He had 
previously enjoyed excellent educational opportunities and was a young man of twenty 
years when he became his father's associate in business, the connection between them 
continuing until the father's death. He then assumed all of the burdens and responsi- 
bilities in connection with the control and further development of the business and 
eventually came to be recognized as the foremost real estate dealer of Milwaukee. He 
negotiated many important realty transfers and he became prominently known as a 
speculative builder, erecting some of the finest structures in the city. It is impossible 
to separate General Auer's business record from the other interests of his life. His 
opinions concerning various sociological questions dominated and colored his business 
activity. He had no sympathy with the landlord who refused to rent his buildings 
to families with children and after becoming cognizant of the fact that many families 
were having difficulty in finding suitable habitations because of the fact that there 
were little children to be considered, he erected the Stuart and Elizabeth flats (named 
after his children), and his work in this direction brought to him in time the sobriquet 




OENERAI. I.OriS AVER 



HISTORY OF :MILWArKEE 87 

of "The Baby Flat Landlord." In these apartments no expense was spared in making 
the floors as noiseless as possible and to provide playgrounds, courts and every other 
facility favorable for the rearing of children. Moreover, lie granted a month's rent free 
whenever a baby was horn in one of these apartments. When informed of the arrival 
of a little one, his letter of answer said: "I should like a picture of the little one for 
our album, 'Babies of Auer Court.' " The communication w'as signed, "Believe me. 
Yours for the Babies." People who expected to get rental concessions from him be- 
cause of the fact that there were no children in the family were much disappointed. It 
was his belief that there should always be from five to seven children in a family or 
as many as the parents could support in justice and comfort. In all sections of Mil- 
waukee stand substantial buildings which were erected by General Auer and at length 
he planned the construction of the Auditorium Court, which he determined to make 
his last building operation, hoping to retire from business on its completion. He 
had erected buildings on the entire block bounded by State, Fourteenth. Prairie and 
Fifteenth streets and as many as fifty other buildings besides. He then undertook the 
erection, at the corner of Ninth and State streets, of a gigantic apartment building 
to be called Auditorium Court, containing one hundred and forty-five apartments, with 
front and rear courts and each room having light and fresh air facilities. Before com- 
pletion of this building General Auer was called to the home beyond, but many years 
will have been added to the cycle of the centuries ere the influence of his life and his 
labors shall cease to be felt in Milwaukee. 

On the 26th of February, 1S95, at No. 137 Fifty-fifth street in I^w York city, Gen- 
eral Auer was married to Miss Jane Holahan, a lady of liberal culture and most pleas- 
ing personality, a daughter of the late Hon. Maurice F. Holahan, who for a number of 
years was president of the board of public improvement in New York city. The w'ed- 
ding of General and Mrs. Auer was one of the brilliant affairs of the season in the 
national metropolis and was attended by a large number of the friends of the con- 
tracting parties. Mrs. Auer had attained distinction in the theatrical profession under 
the stage name of Jane Stuart and was playing a leading part in the company of Rich- 
ard Mansfield until a short time prior to her marriage, at which were present promi- 
nent political leaders, including ofliicials connected with national, state and municipal 
government, and members of various business exchanges and representatives of the 
press, the medical, legal, theatrical and other professions. Letters of congratulation 
were received from President and Mrs. Cleveland, Secretary of War Lamont, Senator 
Murphy of New York and prominent members of congress. The bride received a most 
cordial reception in Milwaukee and the city is now endeared to her by many hallowed 
memories and associations. Mrs. Auer resides here with her daughter, Elizabeth, while 
her son, Stuart, has established his own home. Extended mention of the latter is made 
in the sketch below. Louis, the eldest son of Mrs. Auer, was killed by a falling tree 
at their country home when six and a half years of age and two other children, Angela 
and Frank, died in infancy. The residence of General and Mrs. Auer was the abode 
of a charming and gracious hospitality and an equally cordial welcome was ever 
bestowed upon their friends at their summer home on the shores of Pewaukee lake. 
Here in his bachelor days he had been in the habit of entertaining many friends and 
following his marriage the General delighted to surround himself with those whose 
kindred interests made association most companionable. There he and his friends 
engaged in ice boating, sailing, fishing and other outdoor sports and he always main- 
tained a kennel of the best hunting dogs of various blood. He greatly enjoyed the 
chase and in this sport his wife was his constant companion during the last eight 
years of his life. On the walls of his "shack" hung many most interesting trophies 
of his prowess as a huntsman in the northern woods or in the western wildernesses. 
Among his frequent guests were Eugene Field. Horace Fletcher and Julian Ralph, who 
gathered with him before the great fireplace and exchanged stories of their fishing 
experiences or discussed questions grave or gay. as the mood held them. The Mil- 
waukee Press Club was entertained at an annual outing by General Auer, each one 
leaving with the guests a never-to-be-forgotten memory. 

The demands of a mammoth business or the delights of hospitality and entertain- 
ment, however, did not comprise the full scope of General Auer's activities. His mili- 
tary title was won through a most interesting service in connection with the Wiscon- 
sin National Guard. As a young man he joined the state militia, belonging to the 
Light Horse Squadron, and from that time until his death he manifested the keenest 
and most helpful interest in all that advanced the standards of the National Guard in 
this state, of which he was one of the original founders. In 18S0 he joined the Light 
Horse Squadron, now known as Troop A, and rose to the rank of first lieutenant under 
Captain George Schoeffel, the command winning a merited reputation as one of the 
finest volunteer cavalry organizations in the country. This absolute priority was won 
not less through the means of competitive contests than by reason of the admirable 
personnel of its members. In 1886 Lieutenant Auer was promoted to the rank of 
major and given command of the four regiments known as the Fourth Battalion and 
later incorporated in the First Wisconsin Infantry. He subsequently became colonel 



88 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

of his command and he retained this rank until the election of Hon. George W. Peck 
to the position of governor of the state, when Colonel Auer was appointed by the gov- 
ernor to the position of quartermaster general of the Wisconsin National Guard, an 
incumbency which he held until the close of Governor Peck's term in January, 1895. 
After his retirement from office General Auer did not abate his interest in the Wis- 
consin National Guard, and in its history his name has a conspicuous and honored 

place. 

'General Auer was insistently loyal and public-spirited, and his noble qualities of 
mind and heart found exemplification in all of the relations of life. Though not 
animated with desire for public office, he was ever willing to give ready cooperation 
in the support of measures and enterprises projected for the good of his home city and 
state and his political allegiance was accorded to the democratic party. When the ori- 
ginal decisive action was taken for the improving and extending of the public park 
system of Milwaukee, General Auer was appointed a member of the first board of park 
commissioners, of which body he served for a time as secretary, the late Christian Wah, 
the late John Bentley and Calvin E. Lewis, and Charles Manegold, Jr., having been 
members of the board at that time. After giving seven years to earnest and effective 
service as a member of this department of the municipal government General Auer 
retired from office. He was a zealous worker in connection with every worthy civic 
movement and assumed many heavy responsibilities in this connection, including the 
organization and management of civic and industrial parades pertinent to public cele- 
brations. He brought to bear the same vitality and enthusiasm that characterized 
him in business and social life, and his last appearance as marshal of a great civic and 
military parade was on the occasion of a notable homecoming celebration in Milwaukee. 
He was a citizen-soldier and a genial host. Few citizens of Milwaukee were better 
known, had done more for the city or were more uniformly popular than this kindly 
and noble man, and concerning him and his attitude the following pertinent statements 
have been made: "For a quarter of a century there was not a movement of any 
civic importance and having for its object the advancement of Milwaukee which he did 
not support heart and soul, giving his time and energy freely and gladly to promote its 
success. General Auer's creed was 'Milwaukee first.' He did not approve of buying 
outside of his native city anything that could be purchased or manufactured here. No 
matter what it was, he always bought it in Milwaukee rather than in Chicago or New 
York, and this loyal and progressive policy he urged upon others, in season and out. 
Though essentially liberal. General Auer preferred to dispense his charities and benevo- 
lences in a private way rather than to avoid this responsibility by giving donations to 
institutions or organized charities. He was mindful of the poor and needy and 'remem- 
bered those who were forgotten.' On many an occasion he left his desk at the appeal of 
some poor unfortunate, whom he aided in securing food, or work or other needed 
support and encouragement, his heart being ever attuned to sympathy and this being 
manifested in a direct and practical way, without ostentation and with no thought that 
he was doing other than his simple duty. By his example, advice, moral support and 
financial aid he did much for others, and his memory is revered by many whom he 
thus aided." 

General Auer held membership in Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46, B. P. 0. B., and was a 
member of the Milwaukee Press Club and the Diana Club of Horicon. He was one of 
the original incorporators of the Milwaukee Real Estate Board. His lite was an exempli- 
fication of the Emersonian philosophy that "the way to win a friend is to be one." He 
always recognized sterling qualities in others and worth and not wealth determined 
his friendships. He was kindly, genial, generous, and he went about doing good, so 
that his life was of signal service and benefit to his fellowmen and the world is better 
tor his having lived. He was in the fifty-third year of his age when called to his 
final rest on the 15th of February, 1910. 



STUART F. AUER. 



Stuart P. Auer, president of Auer, Incorporated, carries on a real estate and insur- 
ance business, maintaining the high policy and standards of service that have ever 
been associated with the name of Auer since his grandfather entered the real estate 
field in Milwaukee. Mr. Auer was born in this city, June 7, 1898, his father being 
Louis Auer, whose sketch is given above. He received his education in St. Thomas 
Military Academy of St. Paul, Minnesota, Marquette University, and the University of 
Wisconsin. On the 8th of April, 1917, he enlisted for service in the Aviation Corps of 
the United States army and was sent to Kelly Field at San Antonio, Texas. Later he 
was transferred to Scott Field in Illinois and sailed for France, making the trip across 
in a small lake steamer. They left the United States on the 12th of December, 1917, 
and were twenty-seven days on the ocean, arriving in France on the 7th of January, 
1918, After further intensive training near Paris, Mr. Auer received his commission 




STUAET F. AUEB 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 91 

V 

on the 7tli of June, 1918, and for a time was assistant officer in charge of acrobatic 
instruction at Issoudun, France. Later he was in charge of tlie testing of pilots and 
planes and finally on the 19th of March, 1919. he sailed again for the United States, 
receiving his discharge on the 2d of June following. 

In September, 1921, Mr. Auer organized the Stuart F. Auer Company, a real estate, 
loan and mortgage company, thus following in the footsteps of his father. In October 
the business was reorganized and incorporated under the style of Auer, Incorporated, 
with Stuart F. Auer as president, C. C. Cross as vice president and treasurer, and 
John S. Bartlett as secretary. 

On the 7th of June, 1921, Mr. Auer was married to Miss Ruth Valentine Bartlett, 
a daughter of G. D. Bartlett, secretary of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. Mr. Auer 
belongs to the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Yacht Club, 
the Association of Commerce, and the Milwaukee Real Estate Board. He is a young 
man of high character, anxious to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious and honored 
father, and the course that he is now pursuing points to a successful future. 



RICHARD PAUL TELL. 



To seize an opportunity when it is presented and to make the best possible use 
of one's time and talents constitutes the secret of success. This course has been 
characteristic of the life of Richard Paul Tell, president of the National Brake & 
Electric Company of Milwaukee, who step by step has progi'essed in his business 
career until he occupies a commanding position in commercial and manufacturing 
circles. He was born in Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany, August 23. 1869, a son of 
Richard Carl and Ida Tell, who are also natives of that country, whence they came 
to America in 1882 with their only child, Richard P. Landing in Texas, where they 
had relatives, they remained in the Lone Star state for only a brief period and then 
removed to St. Louis, where the father worked at his trade — that of a machinist, 
having been manager of a machine shop in his native town ere he came to the new 
world. In 1885 he arrived in Milwaukee, where he and his wife are still living, 
having for thirty-six years been residents of this city. 

Richard Paul Tell was partially educated in Germany and -attended the famous 
Thomas Gymnasium at Leipzig after previously spending some time in a preparatory 
school. When the family home was established in St. Louis he worked in a brewery 
supply business for two years and after the arrival in Milwaukee he attended night 
sessions of a business college. After six months he was recommended for a position 
as bookkeeper to C. Niss & Son, furniture dealers, with whom he remained for three 
years. He next became timekeeper with the Northwestern Carriage & Sleigh Com- 
pany, filling numerous positions until finally he was sent out on the road as a traveling 
salesman. Subsequently he was with the C. J. Smith & Sons Company, one of the 
lai<gest bicycle parts manufacturing concerns in the country at that time, Mr. Tell 
having charge of the credit, accounts and costs systems. After this company became 
absorbed by the trusts he resigned and was employed as bookkeeper by the Christensen 
Engineering Company, of which he became vice president and general manager. In 
1903 the name of the company was changed to the National Electric Company and 
in 1905, on account of the failure of Frank G. Bigelow, the company went into 
bankruptcy and Mr. Tell then operated the plant under the trustee, John I, Beggs, 
and assisted in bringing about the purchase of the plant by the Westinghouse Air- 
brake Company in March, 1906. The business has since been carried on under the 
name of the National Brake & Electric Company. The plant has been more than 
trebled in size since 1906 and Mr. Tell was vice president and general manager 
from that date until 1916, when he was elected to the presidency of the company. 
The plant covers fifteen acres and the floor space occupied is five hundred and forty- 
four thousand square feet, while fourteen hundred men are employed. During the 
war they built for the French government four-wheel drive and steer tractors. They 
also built a great number of lathes, which were principally used for munition work 
in the allied countries. After the United States entered the war they manufactured 
principally for the shipping board, and also kept their steel foundry busy in making 
gun mount castings. The National Brake & Electric Company also sent nearly two 
hundred boys from their plant into the service and in every possible way aided in 
the promotion of the war by supplying the government demands for men and material. 

In addition to his connection with the National Brake & Electric Company as 
its president, Mr. Tell has become president of the National Steel Foundries, also 
of the Milwaukee Locomotive Manufacturing Company and the National Utilities 
Corporation. He is likewise a director of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce 
and chairman of the safety division. He has been one of the directors, since 1910, of 
the Milwaukee Metal Trades and Founders Association and served as ■ its president 
from 1917 until 1920. He is likewise the president of the Milwaukee Employers 



92 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Council, which was recently organized, being the first incumbent in this position. 
Through these varous connections he is closely studying trade conditions and every- 
thing that has to do with business lite, and especially with manufacturing and com- 
mercial interssts at the present time. 

On the 30th of April, 1895. Mr. Tell was married to Miss Margaret J. Lavin, a 
native of Milwaukee, and of Irish descent. They have one son, Carl John, who 
was attending the Union College at Schenectady, New York, when America entered 
the World war. He went into the service as a member of the Sixth Division, A. E. F., 
and was at division headquarters. He saw service in France for one year, after 
which he returned to Union College and was graduated in 1919. He is now secretary 
and assistant manager of Nuzum Electrotype Company of Milwaukee. 

During the war period Mr. Tell was chairman of the Wisconsin regional board, 
for the war industries board, industrial resource and conversion section. He was 
likewise a member of the executive committee of the Milwaukee County Council of 
Defense. During all the campaigns he was chairman of the metal trades section of 
Milwaukee county, which contributed and subscribed nearly twenty-five per cent of 
all contributions and subscriptions made to the war drives. The funds raised by 
this section exceeded twenty-eight million dollars. Mr. Tell enjoys a most enviable 
reputation among the business men of Milwaukee. He has ever given much of his 
time and money to the cause of making Milwaukee a greater and better city and is 
identified with every public movement that tends to promote civic progress and improve- 
ment. Moreover, his judgment is sound, his discrimination keen and his enterprise 
unfaltering and his efforts have at all times been attended with excellent and far- 
reaching results. 



JAMES A. SHERIDAN. 



James A. Sheridan, who in professional circles made a most creditable name and 
place for himself, devoting his attention to teaching and to the practice of law through- 
out an active and useful life, was born November 12, 1859, in Waterloo, Jefferson 
county, Wisconsin. His parents were John and Bridget (Burns) Sheridan, who were 
natives of Ireland but came to Wisconsin at an early period in the development of this 
state, the father taking up land from the government in the vicinity of Waterloo, 
where he spent his remaining days. 

James A. Sheridan acquired his early education in the schools of Waterloo and 
afterward attended the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 
1SS2. Several years later he returned to the University of Wisconsin for the study of 
law, completing the course in 1893. At that time he was serving as high school 
inspector of the state and occupied the position for two years. In the interim, 
however, he was engaged in teaching school and was principal of the schools at 
Chilton, Wisconsin, for a year, while in 1S84 he accepted the principalship of .the 
schools of his native city. Later in that year he was elected county superintendent of 
the schools of Jefferson county and made a most creditable record in the office, promot- 
ing the standards of education there maintained. In 1893 he was made state inspector 
of schools of Wisconsin and rendered most efficient service in that connection. In the 
latter part of 1894 he came to Milwaukee, where he opened a law office but continued 
to act as inspector until the 1st of January, 1895, when he resigned the position. He 
then concentrated his efforts and attention upon his law practice, in which he con- 
tinued to the time of his death on the 13th of October, 1912. While thus engaged he 
lectured in the law school of the city on corporation law and he also contributed to the 
benefit of the school system by serving as president of the school board for one term 
and member of the board for six years or until forced to resign on account of the 
growth of his law practice, which had assumed extensive proportions. He was con- 
nected with much important litigation tried in the courts of this district and his 
masterly handling of cases showed a thorough familiarity with the principles of 
jurisprudence and marked ability in applying these principles to the points in 
litigation. His presentation was always full and comprehensive, his reasoning logical 
and his deductions sound. While his law practice constantly increased in volume and 
importance, he nevertheless always found time to meet his public obligations and 
duties and in addition to his service on the school board he served as a member of the 
museum board. 

On the 11th of January, 1888. Mr. Sheridan was married to Miss Harriet Hoag, 
of Waterloo, a daughter of William L. and Caroline Lee (Bickford) Hoag, the former 
a native of Medina, Orleans county, New York, and the latter of Middleport, Niagara 
county. New York. Both her father and mother were teachers in early life. They 
came to Wisconsin in the early '50s and here many years later their daughter, Mrs. 
Sheridan, took up the profession of teaching, giving instruction in piano and elocution 
in Madison from 1890 until 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan traveled extensively in the 




JAMES A. KHEKIDAX 



IIISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 95 

United States and Canada and made several tours through Europe. While abroad 
Mrs. Sheridan greatly enjoyed the visits to the most noted art galleries of the old 
world and to many points of historic and modern interest, and following her return she 
began lecturing, her lectures being the outgrowth of her travels. There was a rare 
companionship between Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan, and Journeying through Europe they 
found the keenest interest in matters of history and of art. Mr. Sheridan specializing 
more in the former and his wife in the latter. She brought back a most interesting 
message concerning her travels and thus became well known to the lecture platform. 
On the 29th of June. 1907, she was enrolled as a life member of the National Art 
Society and is entitled to all its benefits and privileges, her certificate of membership 
being signed by M. Wheat, secretary. Her success on the lecture platform led to the 
extension of her efforts in this connection. She has always been prominent in women's 
suffrage movement and has been a factor in its success. Becoming widely known 
through her earnest and eloquent addresses, she was requested to assist in the last 
presidential campaign and spoke in favor of the League of Nations under the auspices 
of the democratic headquarters. Her success upon the lecture platform has been 
tremendous and her services are in great demand. While speaking she never uses 
notes and has her subjects so well in hand that she requires not even a memorandum 
and at all times carries the audience with her. A clear thinker, a cogent reasoner, her 
pujilic addresses ai'e characterized by logic and brightened by the play of fancy, of wit 
and of humor. Mrs. Sheridan belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution 
and is in hearty sympathy with its purposes. She acted as chairman of the Biblical 
department of the College Endowment Association through a period of four years. 
She also assisted in organizing the Tuesday Musical Society, which now has a very 
large membership. Her aid and influence have always been on the side of progress and 
Improvement and have been especially helpful toward those projects which are looking 
to the intellectual, cultural and moral advancement of the city. She always shared 
with her husband in the many benevolent projects which interested him and together 
they did many helpful things for the young people of the country, always encouraging 
and assisting them toward higher development. 

Mr. Sheridan was a Mason, belonging to Ivanhoe Commandery, having attained 
the Knights Templar degree. He was a lifelong democrat and took a deep interest in 
politics but never aspired to public office. He belonged to the Old Settlers Club and 
for many years his memory formed a connecting link between the primitive past and ■ 
the progressive present. He compiled a history of Waterloo from its earliest inception 
to the time of his death and this was published in the papers and is now on file in the 
library at Madison. Thus it was that he lent permanent aid and value to his state in 
many ways, his forceful character and marked ability leaving their impress upon the 
records of Milwaukee and the commonwealth. 



VALENTINE NORTMANN. 



Valentine Xortmann. who tor many years was actively connected with foundry 
interests in Milwaukee and was a prominent figure in the upbuilding of the southern 
section of the city, was here born on the 3d of February. 1S57, and had passed the 
sixtieth milestone on life's Journey when he was called to his final rest on the 9th 
of July. 1917. In the acquirement of his education ilr. Nortmann attended the 
parochial schools of Milwaukee and after leaving school learned the machine molder's 
trade, completing a full term of apprenticeship. He subsequently followed his trade 
for several years and in 188S he engaged in business on his own account as a member 
of the firm of Stamm & Nortmann. He thus operated a foundry for several years, 
at the end of which time the business was reorganized by the admission of Mr. 
Duffke to the firm and the name of the Stamm. Nortmann & Duffke Foundry Com- 
pany was assumed. At a later period Mr. Stamm sold his interest, after which the 
business was conducted under the style of the Nortmann-Duffke Foundry Company. 
They developed one of the largest and best foundries of the south side and their 
business became one of very gratifying proportions, owing to the enterprise, diligence 
and energy displayed by the partners, who surrounded themselves with a corps of 
capable workmen. 

On the 5th of June. 1884, Mr. Nortmann was united in marriage to Miss Catherine 
Link, daughter of Boniface and Catherine (Zecherle) Link, both of whom were natives 
of Germany. The father came to the new world in 1842, and the mother crossed 
the Atlantic in 1848. She took up her abode at Dousman, Waukesha county, -Wis- 
consin, and Mr. Link also went direct to Dousman. Mrs. Nortmann was born at 
Dousman and by her marriage she became the mother of a son, Albert V., who is 
now engaged in the real estate business with the Richter-Schroeder Company. He 
acquired a high school education and is regarded as an expert bookkeeper. 

Mr. Nortmann was always interested in public affairs and served as side super- 



96 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

visor of the town of Lake. He was not an aspirant for office, however, preferring 
to concentrate his efforts and attention upon business and other affairs. He served 
as a member of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart 
champion. In early lite he gave his political endorsement to the democratic party 
but later became a supporter of republican principles. This change in his political 
affiliation was indicative of the character of the man. He never hesitated to express 
his honest convictions nor to stand loyally by the principles in which he believed. 
He was also a member of St. Joseph's Society. Those who knew him, and he had 
a wide acquaintance, testify to the many sterling traits of character which he dis- 
played, while his business associates accorded him a prominent position in industrial 
circles, for steadily in that connection he worked his way upward and was known 
as one of the leading foundrymen of the city. 



WALTER H. NEILSON, M. D. 

Dr. Walter H. Neilson, a physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, largely specializing 
in internal medicine, came to this country from Canada, his birth having occurred at 
Val Cartier, Quebec, September 4, 1857. He is a son of Cornelius and Margaret 
(Ireland) Neilson. The former, a farmer by occupation, was also a native of Val 
Cartier, Quebec, and was of Scotch, Irish and French descent, while his wife was of 
Scotch and English lineage. In 1S60 they crossed the border to the United States, 
settling on a farm in Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, about five miles from the present 
city limits of Milwaukee but at that time ten miles distant. 

Dr. Neilson traces his ancestry from the Neilsons of Corsock, near Castle Douglas, 
Scotland, one of the most famous of the family being John Neilson, who married Lady 
Mary McLellan, Kirkcudbright. Near them lived the minister of Kirkpatrick Durham, 
who was so outspoken against the government that he was ejected from his parish 
and took refuge with the Neilsons, in wliose home he preached until his congregation 
became so large that he was obliged to take to the fields, being the first field preacher 
in Scotland. This gave such offense that John Neilson was arrested, lodged in jail and 
heavily fined. With other gentlemen in the neighborhood a rebellion was started which 
ended disastrously at the battle fought at Rullion Green. Being arrested, John Neilson 
freely confessed his part in the uprising but would not incriminate his friends. Al- 
though put to torture of the Boot, he steadily refused and on the 14th of December, 
1666, was hanged at the cross of Edinburgh and buried in Greyfriar cemetery. One 
of his descendants John Neilson, removed to Quebec, Canada, in 1787 and there engaged 
in the newspaper and publishing business, editing the Quebec Gazette for many years. 
Entering politics, he became a member of parliament and was a member of the privy 
council. He received many honors from the people, representing them on a mission 
to the court of St. James. 

Walter H. Neilson was reared on the old home farm in Milwaukee county and 
when eighteen years of age took up the profession of teaching, thus earning a portion 
of the funds for a college education. After studying for two years in the academic 
department of the University of Wisconsin he matriculated in Rush Medical College 
of Chicago, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. at his graduation 
with the class of 1881. He served for some time as an interne in the Milwaukee 
County Hospital and has pursued postgraduate work in the New York Postgraduate 
School, in the New York Polyclinic and also abroad. It was in the year of his gradua- 
tion fro7n Rush Medical College that he opened an office in Milwaukee, where he has 
remained throughout the intervening period of more than four decades and where 
he fonnerly devoted his attention to general practice but for the past twelve years 
has specialized in internal medicine. Associated with Dr. William H. Earles and B. G. 
Maercklein he was instrumental in founding the Milwaukee Medical College, of which 
school he was professor of internal medicine until that institution was merged with 
the Wisconsin Medical College to form the Marquette School of Medicine, in which he 
is associate professor of internal medicine. He is identified with the Milwaukee 
Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical 
Society, the Tri-State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. His 
high professional standing is indicated in the fact that he has been honored with the 
presidency of the Wisconsin State Medical Society and for nineteen years he was the 
editor of the Milwaukee Medical Journal, which he owned during that period. 

Dr. Neilson has been married twice. In 1881 he wedded Miss Clara Thomas, who 
died in May, 1906, leaving two sons. Dr. George W. Neilson and Walter R. Neilson, the 
latter engaged in the insurance business. The former. Dr. George W. Neilson, is a well 
known physician of Milwaukee, who is associated in practice with his father. His 
degree of Bachelor of Arts was received at the University of Wisconsin and that of 
Doctor of Medicine from Marquette University. In November, 1907, Dr. Walter H. 
Neilson was again married, at which time Miss Bessie B. Jeffers became his wife. 




DK. WALTEE H. NEILSON 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 99 

They have four living chiklren: John M. ("., Robert A., Mary L. and Charles Gordon. 
They lost one daughter. Elizabeth Margaret. 

Dr. Neilson has ever possessed a social, genial nature which has found expression 
in his membership in the Milwaukee City Club, as well as in many other ways. He 
is also a member of St. Andrews Society, Academy of Arts. Sciences and Letters of 
Wisconsin, and the Archaeological Society ot Wisconsin. He has long been a consistent 
member of the Presbyterian church ana for twelve years served as one of its elders. 
His interest in the church has never been of a lukewarm character but on the contrary 
has expressed itself in active service in the upbuilding of the church and in the ad- 
vancement of the moral welfare of the community. 



REV. GUSTAV STEARNS. 



Rev. Gustav Stearns, pastor ot the English Lutheran Church of the Ascension 
of Milwaukee, was born in New Richland, Minnesota, and is a son of Halvor and 
Bergette (Sevats) Stearns. The father came to America from Norway at the age of 
sixteen years and the mother was a little maiden of but six summers when she crossed 
the Atlantic. They were married near Beloit, AVisconsin, and afterward made the 
trip to Minnesota in a prairie schooner, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers 
of that locality, w^here the father conducted a general merchandise store. 

Rev. Gustav Stearns acquired his early education in the public schools and after- 
ward went to Northfield, Minnesota, where he was graduated from the preparatory 
department of St. Olaf College in 1892, while in 1896 he completed the collegiate 
course in the same institution, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Going to 
Minneapolis, he there completed a three years' theoretical course in the Lutheran 
Theological Seminary, receiving the degree of Candidatus Theologiae. He was presi- 
dent of the class, numbering eighteen members, and was one of three in the class, 
having "exceptionally competent" written on his diploma. He completed his studies 
in the summer of 1899 and was ordained to the ministry soon afterward. 

Rev. Stearns came to Milwaukee in the same year, arriving on the 16th of 
July, 1899, accepting his first call from the English Lutheran Church of the Ascension, 
of which he has since remained as the pastor. The church is located at Scott and 
Reed streets at the present time. The congregation, how-ever, has purchased a site 
on Layton boulevard, between Scott street and Greenfield avenue, and has decided to 
erect a new church edifice thereon soon. 

During the World war Rev. Stearns became a chaplain of the One Hundred and 
Twenty-seventh Infantry of the Thirty-second Division, A. E. P., and was with the 
army for more than twenty-two months. During fifteen months of this period he 
was overseas and was on duty on three battle fronts in France, including the Alsace 
trench sector, the Aisne-Marne offensive, at Chatteau Thierry, France, and the Oise- 
Aisne offensive near Soissons, France. He was wounded by the enemy's shrapnel 
fire July 12, 1918, at Badricourt, France, and following the battle of Juvigny, France, 
September 1, 1918, he was honored for gallantry in action, being awarded the highest 
of the three grades of citations, signed by General Pershing. On one occasion he 
preached to over four thousand wounded soldiers and he buried fifty-one fallen com- 
rades in one day on the battlefield under shell-fire. He wrote weekly letters to the 
Church of the Ascension in :\Iilwaukee, which were read to his congregation, and 
many of them were published in the newspapers. Since his return he has compiled 
and "published these letters in book form. Previous to the World war Rev. Stearns 
had been associated with the Wisconsin National Guard. In October, 1914, he was 
commissioned by the governor ot the state a chaplain in the Wisconsin National Guard, 
being given the rank of captain and assigned to the First Wisconsin Infantry. W'hen 
the Wisconsin troops were sent to the Mexican border in 1916 he went with them 
and remained with them six months until the troops returned, being mustered out 
in January, 1917. After the World war he received a commission in the reorganized 
Wisconsin National Guard, being appointed by Governor Blaine as chaplain with the 
rank of captain. He was also given federal recognition by the war department at 
Washington and was assigned to his old regiment— the One Hundred and Twenty- 
seventh Infantry of the Thirty-second Division. He performs his duties of a military 
character in addition to his service as pastor of his church, which has steadily grown 
under his guidance both numerically and spiritually. He is greatly loved by his 
parishioners and his labors have been a telling force for good in the moral develop- 
ment of Milwaukee. 

On the 22d of June, 1920, Rev. Stearns was married to Miss Reidun Moe, a 
daughter of the late John P. iloe, and a graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College. 
Rev. Stearns is widely known outside of his own denomination. He is the author 
of a book entitled "Army Camps and Battlefields," containing two hundred and eighty- 
two pages, published by the Augsburg Publishing House of Minneapolis in 1919. This 



100 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

and his work for civic righteousness and development and his association with the 
military organization of the state has brought to him a very wide acquaintance and 
all who know him esteem it a privilege to call him friend. 



SYLVESTER B. WAY. 



Sylvester B. Way. who since the 1st of April, 1914, has occupied the position 
of vice president and general manager of the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light 
Company and who is the patentee of various devices employed in construction and 
maintenance of electric distributing lines, has gained a position of professional emin- 
ence th-;t is the direct outcome of his thorough study, his scientific investigation and 
his broad practical experience. Throughout his life since completing his college edu- 
cation he has been identified with electrical engineering, for which he qualified by a 
thorough course of study in Philadelphia, his native city. He was born August 29, 
1874, and at an early age removed with his father to Kansas, there acquiring his 
education in district schools. He afterward returned to his native city to continue 
his education as one of the first students in the Drexel Institute of Philadelphia in 
1892, there pursuing a technical course in electrical engineering. On the completion of 
his course in 1896, he entered the service of the Electric Storage Battery Company 
as a draughtsman and subsequently was promoted to the position of erecting engineer, 
in which connection he installed central station batteries in various cities of the 
country and this brought him into contact with the public utility business. 

Mr. Way entered the latter field in St. Loviis in the fall of 1898 as chief electrician 
of the Imperial Electric Light, Heat & Power Company, which corporation by a series 
of purchases and consolidations about four years later became a subsidiary of the 
North American Company. Mr. Way remained as electrical engineer of the consolidated 
property until November 1, 1911, when he became assistant general manager of the 
Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, in charge of the electric light and 
heating business of that company. On the 1st of April, 1914, he was elected to the 
position of vice president and general manager of the Milwaukee Electric Railway & 
Light Company, assuming charge of the entire business of that corporation. In con- 
nection with his duties in the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, Mr. Way 
was also charged with the supervision of the Wisconsin Gas & Electric Company as its 
president and other smaller public utility properties as chief operating executive. 

Aside from achieving prominence and renown as the patentee of various devices 
employed in construction and maintenance of electric distributing lines, Mr. Way is 
also responsible for the maximum development of train operation on surface lines 
and particularly the conception and design of the articulated two-car train, permitting 
two cars to be handled by one conductor. 

Aside from professional connections Mr. Way has Decome well known in club 
circles of Milwaukee, having membership in the University, Milwaukee, Milwaukee 
Athletic, Milwaukee Country and Rotary Clubs. 



CHARLES EDGAR ALBRIGHT, M. D. 

A modern philosopher has said that "success does not depend upon a map, but 
upon a time-table." a fact which finds exemplification in the life record of Dr. Charles 
Edgar Albright, who by reason of the use that he has made of his time has become 
the largest individual writer in the field of any life insurance company in the world 
today. As the representative of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Cpmpany, 
he has the record of being prize winner for the amount of new business for ifourteen 
consecutive years, a record that equals more than that of any other representative 
of the company. He represents various other companies as well and has become, 
moreover, a stockholder and director in many corporations of nation-wide prominence. 
The story of his life as to the usual features of biography is commonplace; the story 
of his achievement is inspirational. Dr. Albright — for he was once a practicing 
physician and is always known by his title — was born in Dancyville, Tennessee, Janu- 
ary 1, 1867. His parents, George N. and Barbara (Thompson) Albright, were natives 
of North Carolina, but spent the greater part of their lives in Tennessee, where 
the mother died in 1877, leaving a family of six children, five of whom survive. 
At the outbreak of the Civil war the father joined the Confederate army as a member 
of the Seventh North Carolina Infantry and participated in many of the hotly 
contested engagements, including the battles of Bull Run and the seven days' battle 
of the Wilderness. As the war neared its close he was captured and for several 
months was incarcerated in the Federal prison on Johnsons Island in Lake Erie, 




SVLVKSTEK B. WAY 



HISTORY OF :MnAVAT'KEE 103 

off the coast of Ohio. He had previously been promoted to the rank of second 
lieutenant and as such was mustered out of the Confederate army. 

Dr. Albright, after completing his education in the public schools of his home 
town, qualified for the practice of medicine as a student in Rush Medical College 
of Chicago and won his M. D. degree on graduation with the class of 1889. He 
then spent two years as an interne in the Presbyterian Hospital of that city, after 
which he became connected with the medical department of the Northwestern Mutual 
Life Insurance Company at Milwaukee, continuing to act in that capacity until 1903. 
He then went abroad for European travel and study, spending a year and a half 
on the other side of the Atlantic. With his return to his native land he resumed 
connection with the Northwestern Mutual Life, but on this occasion became a rep- 
resentative of the soliciting department. During the first year or two he was con- 
stantly forging forward and in the year 1907-8 he had out-distanced all competitors 
in the volume of new business for the company. He has never lost his place of 
leadership through the intervening years, but has for fifteen consecutive years headed 
the list and today does about one per cent of the total business out of about six 
thousand agents under contract. His contract is the same as that of all other agents 
of the company and in 1919-20 his policies amounted to three million and two hundred 
thirty-four thousand dollars, exceeding his own record of his best previous years by 
over nine hundred thousand dollars. 

Naturally, to reach a point not only of company leadership but of world leader- 
ship in the amount of insurance written, has made Dr. Albright the subject of wide 
comment and his methods a question of keen scrutiny and analysis. There are 
some intensely interesting points in his career. There is scarcely a moment when 
he is not thinking insurance, but he does not talk it in season and out of season. 
On the contrary he never broaches the question of life insurance until it is spoken 
of to him. The Eastern Underwriter, an insurance journal has said of him: "There 
is nothing particularly striking nor conspicuous in his personality. He dresses modestly, 
but modishly, as becomes his vocation and station. He is quiet and earnest in de- 
meanor, indicating a forcefulness that certainly is his. He lacks that effervescence 
which some consider an asset in. salesmanship, and what affability he has is that 
of the gentleman. Indeed, in appearance Dr. Albright is exactly like countless other 
successful American men; nicely groomed, sure and certain of his steps, calm and 
sane in his actions and earnest and sincere in his endeavors. He is not a rusher, 
but a plodder. He may lack "pep,' but he has stability. The 'high pressure' man 
viewing him for the first time and not knowing upon whom he looked, might size 
him up for about a two hundred thousand dollar producer and not be uncertain of 
his judgment. Dr. Albright, himself, once said to his fellow agents that he had 
heard one of their number say, after listening to one of his speeches: 'Well, if 
that man can sell life insurance, I certainly can!' So it is not personality tliat 
characterizes his success. It is something else and something Albrightesque. We 
know what the doctor has said about it. He has ascribed his success to all the 
commonplaces of salesmanship. Let us analyze him a bit ourselves: 

"Item No. 1: Dr. Albright has the e.dvantage of an unusual equipment. His 
service as an officer of the company has given him an insight into certain features 
of the business that the average agent never knows. This is a big advantage, too, 
especially as he makes that knowledge and experience coordinate nicely with a splen- 
didly developed selling system. Just how this advantage has frequently redounded 
to his favor might be illustrated by numerous citations, but the tact is too apparent 
to need illustration. 

"Item No. 2: Dr. Albright has the advantage of unusual business relations. He 
is financially interested in numerous successful industrial concerns and is a director 
in one of the largest banks in the middle west. He maintains ofBces in several of 
the big cities of the United States and has the personal acquaintanceship of a larger 
number of the national leaders of industry and finance than any other life insurance 
solicitor. This gives him a tremendous prestige. He approaches big men as one 
of their number and has entree where mere life insurance agents would seldom get. 

"Item No. 3: Dr. Albright takes advantage of unusual methods. He never talks 
lite insurance until invited so to do. This remarkable statement is literally true. 
Dr. Albright makes it an inviolable rule never to introduce that subject. He always 
lets the 'other fellow' do it and the best of it is. the 'other fellow' always does. One 
cannot truthfully say that the doctor endeavors to dodge it, but he never takes the 
initiative. When he does start, though, his auditor — now a prospect — is astonished 
at the intimate knowledge Dr. Albright has of his business and family affairs. How 
he finds these things out is another story. This much must be said, however, and 
that is, that when Dr. Albright talks life insurance he is equipped. He knows what 
he is talking about and is never surprised. He is ready when a prospect is. 

"Item No. 4: Dr. Albright has the advantage of an unusual disposition. He 
loves his work. Not long ago a good friend suggested to him that as he had plenty 
of money and was about the right age. he would better retire and give up selling 



104 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

life insurance. 'No, sir,' he replied. 'I am getting too much fun out of this business 
to retire from it.' 

"Visualize 'this situation for a moment. Here is a man a little over fifty years 
of age, wealthy beyond the needs of any man, with business connections enough 
to keep him active and with a splendid home and wonderful family, who works harder 
every day of his life than most men in shops; who knows nothing of time and little 
of diversion; who is in New York today and possibly in San Francisco the next time 
one hears of him; a man who never tires and seldom rests and who refuses, withal, 
to retire and watch the world go by. Why? Because he is getting 'fun' out of his 
work! As our English- friends would exclaim, 'Fancy!' 

"Item No. 5: Dr. Albright has the advantage of a sustained interest in his 
work. Possibly in this we have discovered the true secret of his success. Other 
men may have won first prizes as many aggi'egate years as he but none so many in 
succession. He has never been headed since he started. For twelve years straight, 
he has distanced the field — last year writing more than the winner of second, third 
and fourth prizes combined — and he has already laid a strong foundation for 1919. 

"Summing up. Dr. Albright uses all the equipment which the science of selling 
recognizes and recommends; he has the advantage of the special items noted and 
he does all with a wonderful sustained interest that cannot help bring him his 
paramount place in the world of life insurance salesmanship." 

After all that has been written one must acknowledge several things. He did 
not start out in the business world with a wide acquaintance among prominent, 
successful and influential men and he had no preliminary training that would specially 
qualify him for insurance salesmanship. The result comes from the fact that he 
has wisely used his time, talent and opportunities as the years have gone on. His 
life proves that activity does not tire. It gives resistence and power. With him 
each day has marked off a fuU-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more and 
the constant expansion of his ability has resulted until his position is one of world 
leadership in the iield of insurance sales — a point, however, to which Dr. Albright 
would never himself refer. 

Nor has Dr. Albright studied only insurance. He has used the broad field of 
business with a discriminating eye and sound judgment, with the result that he 
is today a director of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, the First Wis- 
consin National Bank of Milwaukee, the First Wisconsin Trust Company of Milwaukee, 
the First Wisconsin Company of Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Securities Company of 
Milwaukee, the Globe Seamless Steel Tubes Company' and other corporations of na- 
tional importance. 

On the 21st of Xovember, 1S99, Dr. Albright was married to Miss Laura Uihlein, 
a daughter of Henry and Helena (Kreutzer) Uihlein, pioneer residents of Milwaukee. 
Dr. and Mrs. Albright have two daughters, Lorraine and Marion, and a son, David. 
He and his family hold membership in Emanuel Presbyterian church and Dr. Al- 
bright is a republican in his political views. He is also a worthy follower of Masonic 
teachings, having taken various degrees in the order up to and including the thirty- 
second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is likewise a member of the Mystic Shrine 
and in club circles he is widely known not only in Milwaukee but in various sections 
of the country, having membership in the Milwaukee, Milwaukee Country, Wisconsin, 
Town and University Clubs of this city, the Midday and University Clubs of Chicago, 
the Union Club of Cleveland, Ohio, the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh and the Union 
League Club of New York. He can use his club life as a means of recreation and 
relaxation, but he knows when the psychological moment comes to talk insurance 
and that the talk is convincing is shown by results that appear upon the books of 
the various companies which he represents. 



WALTER PALMER BISHOP. 

Walter Palmer Bishop, whose business career of steady progression brought him to 
the high position of president of the E. P. Bacon Grain Company of Milwaukee, was 
as the executive head of the business directing its affairs at the time of his death, 
which occurred October 10, 1917. He was then sixty-seven years of age, his birth 
having occurred at Twinsburg, Ohio, August 9, 1850, his parents being Sanford H. 
and Melissa (Cannon) Bishop, who were natives of Connecticiit. Removing westward, 
they settled in that part of Ohio known as the V/estern Reserve and there Mr. Bishop 
devoted his attention to merchandising. 

His son. Walter P. Bishop, acquired his education in Twinsburg, Ohio, and in 1868, 
when eighteen years of age, came to Milwaukee, where his older brother, A. V. Bishop, 
had been living for two years. Here, assisted by his father, he had established the com- 
mission firm of A. V. Bishop & Company and Walter P. Bishop joined the business as 
a partner of his brother and continued in the same for several years. Later the busi- 



■ 


^t^^^^^^^^tr' - ~ ^^l^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l 


^K 




H 




^^^^^^^^^^^^^K^^ ^^9 





WALTER P. BISHOP 



HISTORY OF :\IILWAUKEE 107 

ness association between them was dissolved and W. P. Bisliop in 1892 became identified 
witli tlie E. P. Bacon Grain Company. He was with this firm tor eighteen years and 
during eight years of the period was a partner in the undertalving. Elected to oflice, 
he served first as vice president and afterward as president, filling the latter position 
at the time of his death. He was in fact for a number of years the leading figure in 
the firm, active in directing its policy and promoting its development. He built up an 
extensive business in this connection, becoming prominently known as one of the 
leading grain merchants of the city. He possessed initiative and creative talent in 
business and his indefatigable enterprise and progressive spirit constituted the broad 
foundation upon which he builded his success. 

Mr. Bishop was married in 1S75 to Miss Mary E. Graham, a daughter of Nathaniel 
Merrick and Mary Louise (Foster) Graham, who were natives of the state of New 
York and came to Milwaukee in the fall of 1S60. They had a family of four daughters 
and two sons, of whom Warren M. Graham, the eldest son, was killed in action while 
serving in the Civil war. meeting death at the battle of Falling Water, near Hagers- 
town. Maryland, in 1S61. He was a well known young newspaper man at the time, 
working on the Evening Wisconsin of Milwaukee when he enlisted, becoming sergeant 
of Company B, First Wisconsin Infantry. To Mr. and Mrs. Bishop were born four 
children, two sons and two daughters: Sidney H., who is a resident of Davenport, 
Iowa; Warren J., living in Milwaukee: Adelaide V., the wife of Arthur V. D. Clarkson, 
vice president of the First National Bank; and Myrtle B., who is the wife of Paul W. 
Hammersmith of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Bishop was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution — a fact in- 
dicative of the long connection of his ancestry with American interests. He belonged 
to the Knights of Pythias; was a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club; was a life 
member and vice president of the City Club at the time of his death. Religiously he 
held membership in Plymouth church. He also figured prominently in musical circles 
and was a director and president of the Ryan Musical Club for many years. His in- 
fluence was thus an effective force for social and cultural progress as well as for the 
material development of the city and his life was indeed a potent element tor good in 
the city in which he so long made his home. 



JOHN T. JOHNSTON. 



■ John T. Johnston, president of the Mitchell Street State Bank and thus well 
known in financial circles in Milwaukee, is a native of this city and a son of John 
Johnston, deceased, who for many years was a prominent banker of this city. The 
son was educated in the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated 
with the class of 1905. He received his business training in some of the large banks 
of the city and as the years passed he constantly broadened his knowledge and effi- 
ciency through his training and experience. In 1911 he organized a bank called the 
West AUis State Bank and is still interested therein, being president of the bank. 
The Mitchell Street State Bank, of which he is the president, was organized in 1907 
and established business at Second and Mitchell streets. In 1916 a building was 
erected at Sixth and Jlitchell streets, a two-story brick structure, which is the largest 
outlying bank in the city. This bank carries on a general banking business very 
successfully and the active officers are: John T. Johnston, president, and Frank J. 
Grutza, cashier. In addition to his activities as president of the banks mentioned 
Mr. Johnston is also vice president of the Forsyth Leather Company and vice president 
of the Badger Manufacturing Company. 

On the 31st of August, 1912, Mr. Johnston was married to Miss Elizabeth Forsyth, 
a daughter of Charles S. Forsyth, and they have three sons: John, Forsyth and 
Douglas. Mr. Johnston belongs to the Milwaukee Club, also to the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, the Jlilwaukee Country Club and to the Town Club. He has many friends both 
within and outside these organizations and he is well established as one of the pro- 
gressive young business men of the city, his carefully directed affairs bringing him 
prosperity and prominence in financial circles. 



CLIFTON WILLIAMS. 



Clifton Williams, attorney of Milwaukee, was born in Richmond, Indiana, July 
1, 1885, a son of Isaac and Ruth Haisley (Peacock) Williams, who were likewise 
natives of Indiana. The mother is still the owner of the tract of land between 
Earlham College and Richmond. Indiana, which was taken up by the great-grand- 
father in 1808. In the Williams line the ancestry is one of long connection with 
America, for Otho Holland Williams was a general in the Revolutionary war. Isaac 



108 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Williams was born at Hinkle Creek, Indiana, and was a grandson of General Solomon 
Meredith. Isaac Williams became a manufacturer, conducting business along that 
line for many years. He came of a family of Quakers, prominent, honored and 
respected in Indiana for their valuable contribution to the material, intellectual and 
moral development of the state. The death of Isaac Williams occurred in 1917 and 
he is still survived by his widow, who makes her home in Connersville, Indiana. 

Clifton Williams, after completing a high school course in his native city, entered 
Earlham College and subsequently attended the School of Mines at Denver, Colorado. 
He next became a student in the State University of Indiana and later matriculated 
in the College of Law of the State University, from which he was graduated' in 
1908 with the LL. B. degi-ee. The same year he was admitted to practice at the 
Indiana bar and soon afterward went to Chicago, where he was assistant attorney 
for the Wisconsin Central Railway Company, which then had its head offices in that 
city. Mr. Williams remained there until the Soo Line purchased the Central in April, 
1909, after which he came to Milwaukee and entered the law office of Glicksman, 
Gold & Corrigan as an employe, remaining there for a year. On the expiration of 
that period he was appointed assistant city attorney in April, 1910, and became city 
attorney in April, 1916, to fill out the unexpired term of Daniel W. Hoan, who was 
elected mayor. In April. 1918, Mr. Williams was elected city attorney and has thereby 
devoted eleven years to service in the office, discharging his duties to the entire 
satisfaction of all concerned. He is most faithful, capable and efficient and his 
position is now a very important one, for the office covers all of the city's civic 
affairs, making the business one of large and substantial proportions. Mr. Williams 
has also been connected with the law faculty of Marquette University for ten years. 
He is at the present time a member of the firm of Scholtz & Williams, specializing 
in insurance law. He Is not only recognized as a leading attorney, ranking with the 
representative members of the bar of this city, but is also serving on the board of 
directors of the Vliet Street State Bank and is president of the Interstate Automobile 
Insurance Company. 

On the 16th of December, 1908, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Jessie Conger 
of Eaton, Ohio, a niece of General Andrew L. Harris, governor of Ohio from 1909 
until 1911 and lieutenant governor of that state under Major William McKinley. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born two children: Conger, ten years of age; 
and Jane Louise, a little maiden of three summers. 

Mr. Williams belongs to the Knights of Pythias, also to the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks and he is a member of the City Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club 
and the Press Club. His social position is an enviable one, while his record as a 
lawyer places him at a point of leadership in connection with the profession in this city. 



JOHN RAYMOND SMITH. 



A man of most progressive spirit is John Raymond Smith, who was the organizer 
of a company known as Ray Smith, Incorporated. This company was planned to take 
over the operation of hotels and in this connection Mr. Smith is now at the head of 
the Republican House of Milwaukee. His plans are always definitely defined, his 
purpose is strong and resultant and he never stops until he has reached the goal. 
He is, therefore, a most valuable factor in connection with hotel management and 
his standards of service in this connection are at all times- high. 

Mr. Smith is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Reedsburg, 
March 4, 1SS2, his parents being Seymour and Margaret (Durick) Smith. He is a 
descendant of John Smith, pioneer colonizer of Virginia. His early education was 
acquired in the public schools of Reedsburg and of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 
throughout his life he has been connected with the hotel business. In 1896 when a 
youth of but fourteen years he entered the employ of the Hotel Pfister in Milwaukee 
and there remained for almost a quarter of a century, or until 1920, during which 
period he worked his way upward through various departments and in 1911 assumed 
the management of that famous hostelry. He became known as one of the youngest 
hotel managers in the United States. He severed his connection with the Pfister in 
order to form the Ray Smith, Incorporated, a company organized for the operation of 
hotels. They purchased from the Kletzsch Brothers the Republican House in Decem- 
ber, 1919 and Mr. Smith has since been in charge. He was one of the active workers 
in charge of Michigan and Wisconsin to secure cooks for the first army which was 
mobilized for the government after America's entrance into the World war, turning 
to the hotel men of America to assist the government in its gigantic task of feeding 
the army. He is recognized by hotel men as an authority in the United States on cost 
accounting and food control and efficiency in food departments of hotels, having 
written numerous articles for hotel papers and for the United States government on 
subjects relative thereto. 




JOHN BAYMOND SMITH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 111 

In Milwaukee, on the Sutli of June, 1908. Mr. Smith was married to Miss Cecelia 
Mack, a daughter of Gustav A. Karass, a furniture manufacturer of Milwaukee. The 
three children of this marriage are: Lawrence Hubert, John Raymond, Jr., and An- 
toinette. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church. Mr. Smith 
is a republican in his political views, having always supported the party and its 
principles. He belongs to the Rotary Club, to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Ozaukee 
Country Club and to the Milwaukee Association ot Commerce, but his activity has 
always centered in the line of business in which he entered as a youth of fourteen 
years and his prominence in this field is indicated in the fact that he is now president 
of the -Milwaukee Hotel Association, president of the Wisconsin Hotel Association, 
president of the Northwestern Hotel Men's Association, preiident of the Yellowstone 
Trail Association and president of the Sheridan Road Association of Milwaukee. He 
stands for advancement in many fields of endeavor and his life illustrates what can 
be accomplished through individual effort, intelligently directed. From a humble 
position he has worked his way to leadership among the hotel men of the country and 
his opinions are regarded of equal worth and value on many questions of public con- 
cern. 



MAX SCHOETZ, JR. 



^^. 



Max Schoetz. Jr., cle n of the Marquette University School of Law at Milwaukee, 
was born in Menasha. Wisconsin, December 27, 1882; His father. Max M. Schoetz, 
was born in Milwaukee and was a son of Michael Schoetz, a native of Bavaria, Ger- 
many, whence he came to the United States in young manhood. After residing for 
a 'time in Milwaukee he removed to Boltonville, Washington county, Wisconsin, and 
there established a wagon making shop. He served in the northern army during the 
Civil war and was wounded. His son. Max M. Schoetz, became a member of the 
bar, practicing successfully at Menasha, and for many years he filled the office of 
mayor there, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He 
married Barbara Landgraf, who was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and died in 1911. 
Her father, Andrew Landgraf, was a hotel proprietor who was born in Darmstadt, 
Germany. He married a Miss Walter, whose father was one of the most prominent 
residents of Milwaukee in early times. Andrew Landgraf, coming to the new world 
in early life, served as captain of a transport on the Mississippi river during the 
Civil war as a representative of the Union army. He removed from Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, to Theresa, Wisconsin, while the war was in progress and after the close of 
hostilities he established the Theresa House, which became a well known hotel of 
Theresa and is still being conducted. Mr. Landgraf afterward removed to Menasha, 
Wisconsin, where he established the present Landgraf Hotel, conducting it to the 
time of his death, which occurred when he was fifty-flve years of age. 

Max Schoetz, Jr., acquired his early education in St. Mary's parochial school 
at Menasha and afterward attended the high school there, from which he was gradu- 
ated w-ith the class of 1898. Determining upon the practice of law as a life work, 
he became a student in the Lawrence College at Appleton, Wisconsin, and was graduated 
therefrom in 1902 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, this constituting the initial 
step which has brought him ultimately to the high professional position which he 
now occupies. From 1902 until 1904 he was a clerk in the Commercial National Bank 
of Chicago and in the latter year became law clerk for the firm of Bouck & Hilton, 
attorneys of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he remained until the following year. He 
then entered the University of Wisconsin Law School and was graduated in 1908 with 
the LL. B. degree. The same year he became a law clerk for the firm of Rubin & 
Zabel, well known attorneys of Milwaukee, and in 1910 he entered upon the general 
practice of law, being now senior partner in the firm of Schoetz & Williams, with 
offices at 902 Majestic building. From 1914 until 1916 he served as second assistant 
city attorney of Milwaukee and in the latter year he became dean of the College of 
Law of Marquette University and has since continued in this position. From 1918 
until 1920 he served as the first assistant city attorney of Milwaukee. He has made 
steady progress in his profession and his capability is widely recognized, as is evi- 
denced in the fact of his high position as a law educator and the liberal clientage 
accorded him in general law practice. In addition to his law practice Mr. Schoetz 
is a director and the vice president ot the Vliet Street Bank, which he organized 
in 1920 with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars and which now has a 
surplus of twenty thousand dollars. He is likewise treasurer of the Interstate Ex- 
change, conducting an automobile liability business. Of this company he was one 
of the organizers and he also was instrumental in forming the Community Building 
& Loan Association. Mr. Schoetz deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, 
as he worked his way through the law school, being revision clerk of the state senate, 
steward of his fraternity and a law clerk in the law office ot Olin & Butler. 



112 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

\\\'f K 

On the 27tli of June, 1913, Mr. Schoetz was married to Miss Mollie Knoernschild, 
a daughter of Charles Knoernschild, the secretary and treasurer of the Gem Ham- 
mock & Fly Net Company. The father was born in Darmstadt, Germany, and was 
brought to Milwaukee by his parents when but a year old. Mr. and Mrs. Schoetz 
have become parents of a daughter and two sons, Barbara, Max and David. 

Mr. Schoetz belongs to the Sigma Nu fraternity of the University of Wisconsin, 
also to the Phi Alpha Delta, a law fraternity, and is a member of the International 
Club at Madison, a member of the Order of Coif, which is the honorary law fraternity, 
and is also a member of Pere Marquette Council of the Knights of Columbus of 
Milwaukee, in which he is serving as advocate. His religious faith is that of the 
Catholic church, his membership being in St. Michael's parish. Along strictly pro- 
fessional lines he has membership with the Milwaukee, Wisconsin State and American 
Bar Associations and he enjoys the confidence and respect of his colleagues and con- 
temporaries by reason of what he has accomplished and by his close conformity to 
the high standards and ethics of the profession. 



ARCHBISHOP MESSMER. 



The estimates and measurments which men ilx upon a given human life, its value 
as a factor in inspiring the nobler impulses, in prompting higher aims and in radiating 
the spirit of beneficent service, are usually deferred until such life has spent its earthly 
existence. Tribute- is too frequently reserved until the grave has made its claims, 
when we begin retrospectively to weigh and record accomplishments and achieve- 
ments. 

It may be a far more graceful task to inveigh the living present in aid of recog- 
nizing the charm, the services, and the accomplishments of the worthy and great who 
may still be among us. Shall any one charge flattery when the living appraise the 
living justly? Or can any one deny the virtue of rendering tribute presently or retro- 
spectively where tribute is due? In discerning true nobility in others do we not exalt 
ourselves? 

"Archbishop Messmer is still among us," writes William George Bruce. "It has 
been my privilege, as an humble layman, to study his character and observe his great 
services at a close range. Let us analyze his worth as an ecclesiastical leader, as a 
man and a citizen. He has reached the pinnacle of a remarkable life — remarkable in 
service, in character, in accomplishment. He is still intensely active, giving each day 
of himself all that his generous heart and wonderful talents are capable of. In fact, 
never during his whole career was he able to do more work within the compass of a 
single day than he is now doing. He pursues his task with tireless energy from 
early morn until late hours of the night." 

With the growth of the archdiocese his duties have Increased in volume and in 
importance. Complicated and involved situations arise hourly. The demands upon his 
time and attention are incessant and pressing. Some of his problems are trying and 
vexatious. He approaches every task, every problem, every duty, cheerfully, con- 
scientiously and bravely, and is equally courteous to the humblest and the highest. 

What Archbishop Henni has accomplished in constructing a firm foundation Arch- 
bishop Messmer has achieved in strengthening and beautifying the superstructure. A 
worthy successor to the great pioneers and builders who have preceded him, he has 
extended, amplified and embellished the structure which they had so wisely planned 
and reared. Under his inspiring leadership it has assumed greater dignity and grace 
in outline and proportion. 

He approaches his task from the viewpoint of a scholarly executive and a spiritual 
leader rather than from the angle of a plant manager or a financial director. A great 
love for his fellowmen tempers and guides all his acts and conclusions. The charitable, 
the sympathetic, and the Christian spirit predominate his thoughts, his deliberations 
and his decisions. It would be as difficult for him to deal harshly with any one as it 
would be impossible for him to deal unjustly. No man could follow the precepts of 
Christ more faithfully and exemplify His teachings more effectively. 

Sebastian Gebhard Messmer was born August 29, 1847, at Goldach, a picturesque 
village situated on the banks of Lake Constance, in the Canton of St. Gall, Switzerland. 
Goldach is located at a distance of an hour's ride from St. Gall, the capital of the 
Canton of the same name. It is said of his father that he was a God-fearing man 
and a strict disciplinarian. His mother Rosa (Baumgartner) Messmer was a pious 
woman who reared her children along the righteous path. The parental home which 
overlooks the lake is known under the name of "Zum Rtittli". 

Sebastion was the eldest of five children and at an early age manifested a par- 
tiality for his church and became an altar boy. In his playful moments he was in- 
clined to assume the part of priest and instruct his associates in serving mass and to 
follow him ill prayer. Temperamentally he was bright and active and even as a boy 




ET. REV. SEBASTIAN G. MESSMEE 



HISTORY OF .MII.WArivKH 115 

revealed elements cf leadership and that determination which served him so well in 
later life. 

By an odd coincidence young Sebastian served mass in the year 1862 for Bishop 
Henni whom he was destined in iifter years to succeed as Archbishop of the Diocese of 
Milwaukee. This occurred at the preparatory seminary of St. George at St. Gall where 
:\lessmer made his classical studies, and where Archbishop Henni was an occasional 
visitor. 

In the year 1S66 he began the study of philosophy and theology at the University 
of Innsbruck, where he enjoyed the privilege of coming under the charge of some of 
the great theologians of his time. About this time he formulated the ambition to par- 
ticipate in missionary labors in foreign lands. 

The decision to come to America had its inception with a visit by the venerable 
Bishop Bailey of Newark. New Jersey who had come in the year 1869 to Innsbruck to 
secure workers for the missions of the new world. On the completion of his studies 
Messmer was ordained July -3d, 1S71, and a week later read his first mass at the parish 
church of his native village. Goldach. On this occasion Rev. Dr. Otto Zardetti, who 
had been a schoolmate of Rev. Father Messmer, and who later became the Bishop of 
St. Cloud, Minnesota, preached the sermon. 

Father Messmer arrived in this country in September, 1871, and was immediately 
appointed^ professor of theology at Seton Hall College, South Orange, New Jersey. In 
1885 he became the pastor of St. Peter's church at Newark. During the previous 
year he was called to Baltimore to assist in the preparatory labors for the Baltimore 
council. The services he rendered here were rewarded by a degree of Doctor of Canon 
Law conferred upon him by Cardinal Gibbons in ISSG. The pastorate at Newark, which 
he had filled in conjunction with his professorship at Seton Hall College, was re- 
linquished again by him during the year. He found it impossible to do justice 
simultaneously to both his college and the parish work. 

He held his position at Seton Hall College for a period of eighteen years, when 
in 1889 he was called to the Catholic University of America at Washington to accept 
the professorship of canon law. Before entering upon his new duties he went to Rome, 
where he exemplified his studies in canon law under the illustrious Dr. Giustini of 
the CoUegio Appolinare. His work at the Catholic University proved most congenial 
to his ti'ste and temperament. The study assigned to his care proved fascinating and 
he rejoiced in the thought that he had reached the great goal of his life. Here he 
would remain. 

But destiny decreed otherwise. On December 14, 1891, he was appointed Bishop 
of Green Bay, as the successor of Bishop Katzer who had been chosen Archbishop of 
Milwaukee. This distinction came to him in the form of a shock rather than a 
pleasure. He begged Rome to relieve him of the new task but the decision was 
final. 

Consequently he was consecrated bishop of Green Bay in St. Peter's church. Newark. 
on March 27, 1S92. Here by a delightful coincidence the consecration was performed by 
his schoolmate and lifelong friend. Bishop Zardetti of St. Cloud, Minnesota, the same 
friend that had preached the sermon when at the village church in Switzerland the 
young priest, now the newly consecrated bishop, had read his first mass. 

On April 4, 1S92, he left for Green Bay, where he was accorded a cordial welcome 
on the part of clergy and laity. He assumed his new task with enthusiasm and 
energy. The diocese numbered one hundred and twenty-six churches and seventy-two 
schools. A writer who knew something of his work said: "Everywhere in the diocese 
religious life was quickened, the influence of the church strengthened and the spirit 
of cordial harmony intensified." 

Bishop Messmer remained in the diocese of Green Bay for eleven years, when he 
was called on December 19, 1903, to succeed the late Archbishop Katzer. Two months 
later he came to IMilwaukee to take up the responsible duties of the archdiocese. The 
reception accorded him here was most cordial. 

In bis address of welcome the late Monsignor Keogh among other things said: 
"The clergy and laity have approved with glad acclaim your appointment as their arch- 
bishop — the approval is sincere and unanimous, irrespective of race, language or 
previous preference. Your scholarly attainments, your untiring zeal for religion, your 
intrepid leadership in every movement for the betterment of the people, your prudent 
and fatherly rule in the diocese of Green Bay, have merited and received the approval 
of our holy father, who has pleased to promote you to a wider field of usefulness, 
where you will be able to do even greater good for God and His church." 

The archbishop, in extending his thanks, said: "It is a great comfort and con- 
solation when the new shepherd is received by his flock with such a loyal welcome. 
I know that I am unworthy of the place to which I have been appointed but there is 
one consolation. I have not sought the place. I have only obeyed the supreme sheplierd 
of the flock of Christ, and as I have obeyed him I have a right to expect the same 
obedience of you. This work must be carried on in the spirit of Christian devotion 
and in loyal faith." 



116 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

During the first year of Archbishop Messmer's administration important changes 
were made in the province of Milwauliee. The diocese of Superior was created. This 
reduced the arclidiocese of Milwaukee by one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five 
square miles, which area was added to the dioceses of La Crosse and Green Bay. At 
the time of the separation the archdiocese of Milwaukee had two hundred and eighty- 
six secular priests, fifty-five priests of religious orders, two hundred and sixty-one 
churches and one hundred and thirty-five parochial schools. Today the archdiocese of 
Milwaukee numbers three hundred and three churches, one hundred and sixty-five 
parochial schools, three hundred and thirty-eight diocesan priests, and one hundred 
and two priests of religious orders. 

During his administration in* the year 1920 he inaugurated a movement in behalf 
of the educational and charitable institutions of the archdiocese. It meant that the 
transition period from a pioneer to a reconstruction basis had arrived. 

St. Francis Seminary, which had been conceived and constructed in an early day 
must, in its physical appointments, be brought more nearly up to modern standards 
of efficiency. The charitable institutions, which had grown in point of service beyond 
their own capacity, required more adequate financing. Many of them were over- 
crowded and burdened with indebtedness. 

His Grace, Archbishop Messmer, approached this huge enterprise with courage 
and persistency. He realized the wisdom of strengthening the several institutions by 
lifting them from their restricted condition to one of greater service and extended 
efflcienc}^ This memorable project will live as one of the crowning achievements 
cf his administration. 

Those who have been fortunate enough to come into personal touch with him 
have been impressed with his charm of manner and his genial disposition. If he has 
listened with serious concern and has shared in tlie discussion by submitting his sug- 
gestions, his counsel or his decision, there were also moments when he responded to 
the lighter vein that was introduced. A humorous turn in a conversation, a witty re- 
mark or a unique incident always brightened his countenance with a smile or drew 
forth a happy peal of laughter. His personality constantly radiates kindliness and 
friendship for those about him. At the same time among the latter there remained 
always the consciousness that he was actuated by a great ideal, a large purpose and 
a sacred mission. 

No man could be more vigorous that he is in the application of time and the 
regulation of personal habits. The physical and mental man is constantly taxed to the 
utmost. The v/orking hours are fixed at a maximum and the periods of rest and 
recreation are held at a minimum. He is an early riser and carries his duties into 
the late hours of the night. He reads until sleep asserts its demands. His food is 
simple and sparingly taken. 

What an exalting lesson is afforded in this noble life! After having passed the 
three score and ten milestone in age he continues to work with the enthusiasm and vigor 
of youth and the experience and wisdom of maturity. What an example to the layman 
who prematurely seeks his ease and comfort! At his age most men deem their earthly 
labors completed and seek quiet and seclusion. He continues to apply all his strength 
and energy to the calling to which his life has been dedicated. 

In a brief sketch on the life and labors of Archbishop Messmer written by Chan- 
cellor Traudt and published in The Salesianum, for April, 1917, he closes with the fol- 
lowing paragraph: "We have every reason to be proud of the men, providential men, 
who ruled the archdiocese of Milwaukee since its establishment, the saintly Archbishop 
Henni, the scholarly Archbishop Heiss, the learned Archbishop Katzer, and of our 
present beloved, pious, learned and scholarly Archbishop. We pray God that Arch- 
bishop Messmer may be spared to us for many years." 

The splendid task of writing a complete and exhaustive biography of the noble 
warrior in the cause of Christ will some day fall to the lot of some one worthy of the 
Fame. It will require the intimate touch of the priestly hand rather than of the 
layman, and will be assigned to one capable of valuing the beneficent influences which 
h've radiated for a half century from a great mind and generous heart. 



CARL FRESCHL. 



The name of Carl Freschl is well known not only in Milwaukee and Wisconsin 
but throughout the country, for he was the pioneer manufacturer of knit goods west 
of the Alleghanies and his initiative led to the practical utilization of an idea that con- 
stituted a most potent element in his success — the manufacture of Holeproof Hosiery. 
This he undertook in 1898 and continued in the business successfully for a number 
of years, when he retired. Nothing more truly indicates the value of an article than 
the fact that it has imitators. No sooner had Mr. Freschl placed his Holeproof 
Hosiery on the market than others began to use his idea, but from the beginning he 




GAEL FEESCHL 




EDWARD FRESCHL 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE . 121 

continued in the lead and no other manufacturers have really rivaled the Freschl 
company in its output. 

Carl Freschl was born in Prague, Austria. He spent the first twenty-six years of 
his- life in his native land and then emigrated to the United States, settling first in 
Manchester, New Hampshire. Later, however, he continued his westward journey 
and became a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, where in 1872, he founded the Kalama- 
zoo Knitting Works, this being the first hosiery manufacturing plant established in 
the middle west. He conducted business at Kalamazoo for a decade and in 1SS2 
removed his plant to Milwaukee, where he conducted his interests under the same 
name until 1904. In that yeiir he organized the Holeproof Hosiery Company. It was 
Mr. Freschl who originated the idea of guaranteeing hosiery and he began the manu- 
facture of this kind in 1S98. The idea was immediately endorsed by the public and 
the business proved a great success from the beginning — not from the fact of its being 
guaranteed but by reason of the good quality of the hosiery manufactured. A con- 
temporary writer has said of his work: "Never before had manufacturers of hosiery 
been able to guarantee satisfactorily their products, and it was Mr. Freschl's technical 
ability to put on the market an article which would stand all the tests of wear, com- 
bined with his courage to take the public into his confidence and issue an out and out 
guarantee, which caused such a revolution in the hosiery business and which well 
accounts for the remarkable success of the Holeproof company. The idea of guaran- 
teeing his product was only a manifestation of his deep-seated honesty. During his 
years in business the- late Carl Freschl became widely known and was not only ad- 
mired by all who understood his pioneer work, but was greatly beloved by those most 
intimately associated with him." Owing to illness Mr. Freschl ultimately retired from 
active connection with the business, which was taken over by his sons and associates 
and is still carried on by them. The father retired in 190S, spending his remaining 
days free from business responsibilities. The Holeproof Hosiery Company has its 
chief factory and general offices in Milwaukee but also has offices in New York, Chi- 
cago and on the Pacific coast, and the extent of the business is indicated by its foreign 
incorporations, which include the Holeproof Hosiery Company of Canada, Limited, at 
London, and the Holeproof Hosiery Company at Liverpool, England. 

Mr. Freschl was united in marriage to Miss Rose Alexander, a native of Mississippi, 
and they became parents of the following named: Edward, who is now president of 
the Holeproof Hosiery Company; William W., who is vice president; Max A., who is 
superintendent; and a daughter, Mrs. Henry Gattman. Mrs. Freschl survives her 
husband and makes her home in Milwaukee. The deatli of Mr. Freschl occurred in 1911 
and was the occasion of deep regret to his many friends and to his employes who 
had long been associated with him. He was well known and popular in various local 
organizations. Milwaukee claimed him as one of her valued citizens and leading 
manufacturers and all who knew him entertained for him the warmest regard. 



EDWARD FRESCHL. 



Edward Fi-eschl, president of the Holeproof Hosiery Company, one of the im- 
portant manufacturing enterprises of Milwaukee, was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, 
January 26, 1S77, his parents being Carl and Rose (Alexander) Freschl, the former a 
native of Austria, while the latter was born in Mississippi. Edward Freschl was 
educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, in the German-English Academy, in the 
East Side high school and in the University of Wisconsin. He graduated froin the 
state institution in 1S99 and immediately engaged in the business established by his 
father, of which L. Heilbronner was secretary, and which was ultimately developed 
into what is now known as the Holeproof Hosiery Company. The business was estab- 
lished on a small scale. Mr. Freschl himself looking after the shipping, bookkeeping, 
advertising and selling ends of the business. In fact he did most all of the office work 
that was to be done, but steadily the patronage of the house has increased until today 
the company occupies a half block, having four buildings six stories in height and 
employing about thirteen hundred people in the Milwaukee establishment and branch 
plants. They manufacture about three thousand dozen pairs of hose per day, guaran- 
teed in quality, and the goods find a sale in all parts of the world. The company 
always stands back of its guarantee and the value of the hosiery is everywhere 
recognized. The excellent quality has been the foundation of the success of the 
company and added to this have been the progressive business methods, sound judg- 
ment and unfaltering enterprise of the men in charge. The present officers are: 
Edward Freschl, president; William W. Fresclil, vice president; L, Heilbronner. secre- 
tary and treasurer, who has been connected with the company since 1884 and is now a 
large stockholder; and M. A. Freschl, superintendent. 

On the 26th of July, 1906, Mr. Freschl was married to Miss Gertrude Newelt of 
Atlanta, Georgia, and they have become parents of three children: Lisbeth. Ann and 



122. HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Edward, who are with their parents at 481 Terrace aventie, the attractive family resi- 
dence. Mr. Freschl is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also belongs to 
the Wisconsin Club, the City Club and the AVoodmont Country Club. That he has not 
confined his interests and activities solely to business affairs is indicated by the ex- 
cellent service he has done as a member of the board of education and as a trustee of 
Mount Sinai Hospital. His interest in public welfare has indeed been manifest in 
many tangible ways, malting him a valued and representative citizen. 



JUDGE LAWRENCE AVOODRUFF HALSEY. 

The history of Judge Lawrence Woodruff Halsey is the record of an exemplary 
life. He has now attained the venerable age of eighty-one, as rich in honors and 
successes as in years. He has made his labors count for good in behalf of his fellow- 
men at every point in his career and it is almost impossible to stress one line of his 
activity as more important or serviceable to mankind than other lines. He has not 
only figured as. an eminent representative of the Wisconsin bar, but also as one of 
the prominent Masons of the state, as a promoter of musical interests in the city 
and as a cooperant factor in many events which have shaped the annals of the 
commonwealth. 

Judge Halsey was born at Southampton, Long Island, New York, on the 8th of 
January, 1841. He first saw the light of day in the old ancestral home which was 
there founded by Tliomas Halsey in the year 1640. His parents were Captain Abraham 
and Eliza Augusta (Woodruff) Halsey, and while spending his youth under the 
parental roof he mastered the elementary branches of learning through study in 
private schools. He early manifested a love of books and could read before he was 
five years of age. In October, 1846, he accompanied an uncle, James T. Piersou, to his 
home in Crystal Lake, Illinois, the journey being made by steamboat from New York 
to Albany, by canal to Buffalo and then by steamboat to Chicago. In this then pioneer 
district of the west the future Jurist attended the common schools and continued his 
studies in the Crystal Lake Academy, while later he prepared for college and in 1860 
became a student in Batavia Institute at Batavia, Illinois. He was also a teacher 
for a short time before completing his course at Batavia. His youthful experiences 
were those of the farm bred boy, but his labors in the fields were not allowed to Inter- 
fere with the acquirement of his education and despite many interruptions he pre- 
pared for college. While of a studious nature he also enjoyed boyish activities and 
is said to have been a general favorite in school and out. He possessed an excellent 
voice and was popular in the singing schools, so common in that day. Industry, too, 
found its place in his makeup and was manifest in the ability which iie displayed with 
tools when assisting in local survey work. It was money that he earned in that 
way that enabled him to become a pupil in the high school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, 
in the fall of 1860, and thus continue his preparation for university work. While 
thus pursuing his studies he attended some of the lectures at the university but it 
was not until October, 1861, that he matriculated there, taking up the study of 
letters and of science. In 1863 he became a law student at Ann Arbor and at the same 
time continued some of his literary work in the university. He remained through 
the summer vacation, applying himself earnestly to his study, and later in the year 
1863 he became a law clerk and student in the ofiice and under the direction of ex- 
Senator Alpheus Felch. He next entered the law office of John N. Gott and in May, 
1864, resumed his reading under the direction of Judge Olney Hawkins, with whom 
he remained until December, 1864., While thus engaged he prepared a thesis on taxa- 
tion and another on banking, both of which received honorable mention and gained 
him permission to leave the university until commencement time. Accordingly he 
spent the winter in Chicago occupying a clerical position in the law office of P. L. 
Sherman until March, when he returned to the university for graduation, winning 
the Bachelor of Law degree at that time. While in Chicago he founded and organized 
the Moot Court of Debate. During his student days in the Michigan University he 
took an active part in many college events and interests, became an officer in the 
University Battalion and was commander of the High School Company in 1860-61, 
most of this company enlisting for service in the Union army during the Civil war, 
in which two of his brothers served with distinction, one being severely wounded, 
while the other laid down his life on the altar of his country. Judge Halsey's father, 
however, insisted that this son should remain in school and complete his studies, 
and although he acquiesced to parental authority he greatly regretted his inability to 
go to the front. He was made chairman of the School Literary Society and in Janu- 
ary, 1861, joined the Adelphi Society, with which he was connected till his college 
days were ended. He also became organizer and first president of the Jeffersonian 
Society and his ability in public debates was widely recognized. He was honored by 
being chosen to preside at the general exercises and inauguration held in the new 




LAWRENCE W. HALSEY 



HISTORY OF .Mll.WArKKE 125 

law building in 1S64. Following his grailuation from the law department of the 
Michigan University in 1865, Judge Halsey was admitted to practice at the Michigan 
bar on the 30th of March, of that year, before Judge Lawrence of the circuit court of 
Washtenaw county. 

After a visit at Crystal Lake, Illinois, in the home of his uncle, by whom he had 
been reared. Judge Halsey started out to seek a favorable location and took up his 
abode in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where on the 12tli of June, 1S65, he entered into 
partnership with Colonel H. B. Jackson, under the firm style of Jackson & Halsey. 
They soon gained a large clientage of an important character and, in fact, conducted 
many cases of state-wide importance. Twelve years were spent by Judge Halsey in 
Oshkosh, after which he removed to Milwaukee and on January 12, 1S77, he became a 
partner in the firm of Johnson, Rietbrock & Halsey, which thus existed until 18S8. 
when Hon. D. H. Johnson was elevated to the bench and the firm then became Riet- 
brock & Halsey, a partnership that existed until Mr. Halsey became Judge Johnson's 
successor on the bench. 

Not only did the law firm win prominence in the trial of cases before the court 
and as counselors in important business matters but also entered actively into busi- 
ness affairs of the state by acquiring large tracts of land in Marathon, Wood and 
Price counties, where they conducted an important colonization project, leading to 
the settlement of the district by a substantial class of ambitious and energetic farmers. 
They built and operated lumber and flour mills and also constructed a railroad, followed 
by the establishment of the village of Athens in Halsey township. The efforts of Mr. 
Halsey were in marked measure responsible for the success of the undertaking. He 
likewise became, in 1895, one of the founders of the Wisconsin Savings Loan and 
Building Association, of which he was elected the first vice president and still holds 
that office. 

It was in the early days of his professional career that Judge Halsey was married, 
December 26, 1S66, to Miss Mary Louisa Loveridge, a daughter of Dr. Edwin Dexter 
and Susannah Bodine (Pierson) Loveridge. Four children were born of this marriage, 
but only one is living: Louisa K., who on the 6th of November, 1SS9, became the wife 
of Phil'o C. Darrow of Western Springs, Illinois. Pierson L., who was educated at 
Cornell University and was graduated from the law department of the Wisconsin 
University in June, 1896, after which he became a member of the firm of Rietbrock 
& Halsey^ but located on a stock farm at Athens, Wisconsin, in 1910, and on July 18, 
1914, met a tragic death at the hands of a maniac, who at once committed suicide 
by shooting himself. Mrs. Halsey met a tragic death in a railroad wreck on the 
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway near Maysville, Kentucky, May 22, 1907, on which occa- 
sion Judge Halsey also sustained severe injuries. She was a lady of liberal education 
and culture, prominent in the social circles of Milwaukee and active in support of 
many civic, patriotic and educational interests, as well as a recognized leader in 
church and benevolent work. She likewise possessed musical talent of a high order 
and with her husband was a member of a number of the leading choral clubs and 
societies of Oshkosh and Milwaukee. The natural musical talent of Judge Halsey was 
developed until he was recognized as the possessor of a fine voice and not only became 
a leader in the singing schools of his boyhood, but also in later years a prominent 
member of various musical organizations. In 1877 he and his wife joined the Arion 
and Cecilian Clubs and the judge remains an honorary member of the former as 
well as of the Liedertafel and Milwaukee Musical Societies. He acted as chairman of 
the executive committee of these societies and was largely instrumental in bringing 
about the erection of the Auditorium, a great hall for conventions and concerts. 

It was during his student days in the Michigan University that Judge Halsey 
joined the Masonic fraternity, February 25, 1862, and for a long period he was secre- 
tary of Oshkosh Lodge, while later he became a member of Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13, 
A. F. & A. M., of Milwaukee, and of Wisconsin Commandery, No. 1, K. T. In 1871 
he joined the lOiights of Pythias and has been honored with the highest offices in that 
order, being a past grand chancellor and past supreme representative and also a lead- 
ing factor in the Uniform Rank, bringing this body to great efficiency and numerical 
strength as brigadier general of the Wisconsin Brigade. For some years he was judge 
advocate general of the national body of the military department of the Knights of 
Pythias and for many years after 1880 was a trustee of the Wisconsin Grand Lodge. He 
belongs to the University of Michigan Aluriini Association of Wisconsin and was chair- 
man of its scholarship endowment committee. Politically he has always been a stal- 
wart democrat, who without aspiration for oflSce has been a recognized leader in party 
ranks. He has frequently contributed to the editorial columns of the Oshkosh Demo- 
crat and the Oshkosh Times and his writings always awakened wide attention. While 
not an office seeker he has ever been keenly interested in civic matters and has sup- 
ported all those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. In 
many ways he has contributed to the educational development of the state. The only 
political offices that he has filled have been in the direct path of his profession. In 
April, 18S8, he was appointed counsel for the city of Milwaukee and as first assistant 



126 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

city attorney continued to serve until July 2S, 1900, when Governor Schofield named 
him judge of the second judicial circuit, comprising the city and county of Milwaukee, 
to succeed his former law partner Judge Johnson. The Milwaukee County Bar 
unanimously endorsed him for the position at the spring election in 1901 and by an 
overwhelming majority he was called to fill out the unexpired term and again became 
the single choice of the bar for the position to which he was elected for the full term 
of six years in 1906. In April, 1911, he was once more reelected, this time receiving 
a majority of fifteen thousand; and again reelected in 1917. for the term ending Janu- 
ary 1, 1924. His record as a judge has been in entire harmony with his record as a 
man and as a lawyer, distinguished by unfaltering fidelity to duty and by a masterful 
grasp of every problem presented for solution. The fairness and impartiality of his 
rulings have been based upon the equity of the case and a comprehensive knowledge 
of the principles of jurisprudence with ability accurately to apply these principles. 
As a jurist he ranks with the ablest representatives of the Wisconsin bar. 

With military interests Judge Halsey has also been connected. For thirty years 
he was an influential factor in the Wisconsin National Guard and was associated with 
others in the organization of the Light Horse Squadron, of which he was an officer 
for several years. His instrumentality in the work of erecting the fine stone armory 
in Milwaukee in 1SS5 was widely acknowledged and later he negotiated the purchase 
of a site of thirty acres for the present armory and the sale to the city of the Broad- 
way Armory. He did much toward the erecting of the new armory and barracks of the 
Light Horse Squadron, was president of the Light Horse Squadron Armory Associa- 
tion from its incorporation and continues in such office. He was likewise an important 
factor in the creation of new infantry companies, in one of which he was made an 
honorary life member. He belongs to the Wisconsin Historical Society and many 
other organizations, including his professional connections with the Milwaukee, Wis- 
consin State and American Bar Associations. He has long been identified with the 
Protestant Episcopal church, serving as one of the vestrymen of Trinity church in 
Oshkosli and later as vestryman in St. Mark's in Milwaukee. He was appointed 
chancellor of the diocese of Milwaukee, filling the position for many years, and for 
an extended period was president of the board of St. John's Home for Old People. 
No good work done in the name of charity or religion has sought his aid in vain. 
No plan or project for the city's upbuilding and improvement has been refused his 
cooperation and support. His life has at all times been purposeful and resultant and 
the influence of his labors for good is immeasurable. Milwaukee and the state ac- 
knowledge their indebtedness to him for his active and efficient cooperation in much 
that has meant material, intellectual, social and moral progress in the commonwealth. 



LOUIS FRANCIS JERMAIN, M. D. 

Dr. Louis Francis Jermain is a distinguished physician, concentrating his atten- 
tion upon consultation practice in internal medicine and diagnosis. He was born 
October 10. 1S67, at Meeme, Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, a son of George and Laura 
(Simon) Jermain, the former a native of Switzerland, while the latter was born in 
Malmedy, on the border of Belgium and Germany. The paternal grandfather was an 
attache to the consulate in Berne, Switzerland. His son George came to the United 
States and settled in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, where he became widely known 
as a contractor and builder of mills, erecting many of the mills In that section of the 
state. He was a democrat in his political faith and active in local politics. A man 
of prominence in his community, he did not a little toward shaping public thought and 
action. To him and his wife were born ten children. The parents are both deceased. 

Dr. Jermain obtained his early education in the public schools of his native county 
and in the normal school, fitting himself for the profession of teaching, which he fol- 
lowed for seven years. But he regarded this merely as an initial step to other pro- 
fessional labor, for he decided to study medicine and entered the Northwestern LTni- 
versity in Chicago, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1S94. 
Since then he has devoted his attention to medical practice in Milwaukee and is a 
specialist in internal medicine and diagnosis and at the present writing is president 
of the Jlilwaukee Clinic. He now confines his attention outside of the educational 
field to consultation practice in internal medicine and diagnosis and has the largest 
practice of this character in Wisconsin, extending over the entire state. He has been 
a medical educator since 1894 and has always been greatly interested in this branch 
of professional activity. It was through his infiuence that the Marquette School of 
Medicine was organized in 1913 and throughout the inteiwening period he has been 
dean of the institution. He was assistant commissioner of health for the city ot Mil- 
waukee from 1S9S until 1910, or for a period of twelve years. He was professor of 
internal medicine in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1S95 
until 190.5 and has been professor of internal medicine in the Marquette University 




DR. LOUIS F. JEEMAIN 



IIISTOUY OF .MILWArKKK 129 

from the latter year to the present. He has been a fre(iuent contributor to medical 
journals and has read many most interesting and valuable papers before different 
medical societies. He is also the author of the section on diseases of the lungs in 
Ticke's Practice of Medicine, which is just being publislied. In addition to serving as 
assistiint commissioner of health of Milwaukee he has held various offices in the dif- 
ferent medical bodies to which he belongs. He has membership in the Milwaukee County 
Medical Society, of which he was president in 1909-10; in the Milwaukee Medical 
Society, of which he was president in 1912; the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, of 
which he was president in 191IJ; and is also a member of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation and the Americim College of Physicians. He acted as chairman of the Medical 
Advisory Board. No. 2, of the county of Milwaukee, in draft examinations during the 
World war and as contract surgeon of the United States to the Students Army Train- 
ing Corps and also chairman of the board classifying all physicians of the state of 
Wisconsin for military service. 

In Milwaukee, on the 26th of June, 1894. Dr. Jermain w'as married to Miss Rose 
Barth, a daughter of Paul and Theresa Barth. residents of Louisville. Kentucky. The 
children of this marriage are: Teresa, now the wife of Raymond Jaekels, assistant 
city attorney of Milwaukee: W'illiam M., a senior student of medicine in the Marquette 
School of Medicine: and Angeliue. The religions faith of the family is that of the 
(^athoHc church and Dr. Jermain has membership with the Knights of Columbus and 
the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. In politics he has always maintained an inde- 
pendent course, voting sometimes with the democratic and sometimes with the repub- 
lican piirty, as his judgment has dictated. He is well known in club circles, having 
membership in the City Club, Cniversity Club. Calumet Club, Athletic Club and the Old 
Settlors Club. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life and his personal char- 
acteristics make for popularity wherever he is known. His attention, however, is 
chiefly confined to his professional duties, which are of growing importance, until he 
stands today as a most eminent representative of the profession in Wisconsin, con- 
stantly called into consultation with the leading physicians and surgeons of the state. 



J. H. STAPHER. 



J. H. Stapher, who made for himself a creditable position in the commercial 
circles of Milwaukee as a dealer in typewriter supplies, continued in the business 
to the time of his demise, which occurred on the 7th of August, 1921. He was then 
but a comparatively young man. his birth having occurred in New Hampton, Iowa. 
in 1878. His parents were Chrisjohn and Johannah (Hoffmaster) Stapher. the former 
a native of Germany, while the latter was born near Hartford, Wisconsin. The 
father was brought to the new world by his parents when but nine years of age. 
the family settling in Milwaukee. The grandfather was without financial resources 
at the ,time of his arrival but manifested unfaltering diligence and industry and 
prior to his death had acquired a goodly fortune. Chrisjohn Stapher early learned 
the worth of industry and determination as factors in the attainment of prosperity. 
Soon after reaching his majority he was married and removed to Iowa, where he 
purchased considerable land, and through the natural rise in property values he be- 
came a man of wealth. He led a busy life in the care, cultivation and development 
of his farms and the management of his property interests and at his death he was 
able to leave a fine farm to each of his ten children. 

J. H. Stapher obtained his early education in the public schools of his native 
state and was also for a short time a student in a business school. He possessed 
in large measure that quality which for want of a better term has been called com- 
mercial sense. He was about nineteen years of age when he left the parental roof, 
not liking farm life nor possessing the physical strength and endurance necessary 
to the work of the fields. He turned his attention to salesmanship and soon proved 
very successful in work of that character. He was therefore active along mercantile 
lines throughout his remaining days. He came to Milwaukee in 1916 as representative 
of the KeeLox typewriter supply house and his ability soon won him promotion to 
the position of manager of the Milwaukee branch. He continued to act in that capacity 
until 1918. when he resigned and established business of a similar character on his 
own account, continuing to deal in typewriter supplies until his demise, since which 
time the business has been carried on by his wife, who was his associate and assistant 
in the enterprise from the beginning and is thoroughly familiar with every phase 
of the trade. 

It was in 191.5 that Mr. Stapher was married to Miss Melevelle Baird. a daughter 
of Adam and Amy Helen ( Huggon ) Baird. who were natives of Canada. Mr. Stapher 
was a republican in his political views and attended the First Baptist church. His 
sterling worth of character won him the high respect of all who knew him, and those 
who came within the close circle of his acquaintance were glad to call him friend. 

Vol. 11—9 



130 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

As a result of carefully directed effort he had built up a splendid business. He was 
never a member of any clubs, preferring to spend his evenings at home when this 
was possible. A largely ideal relationship existed between Mr. and Mrs. Stapher, 
who was her husband's active assistant in business and who since his demise has 
given proof of splendid executive ability and marked enterprise in the further de- 
velopment of the business, of which she is now the head. 



CHARLES WINKE. 



Charles Winke, certified public accountant of Milwaukee and also prominently 
known in literary circles and through his authorship, was born in New York city, 
March 14, 1883. His father, Conrad Winke, was a native of Germany who crossed 
the Atlantic to New York when in middle life. He was an instructor in tailoring. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Dorette Werner, was also born in Germany 
and is now living in Milwaukee. 

Charles Winke acquired his early education at Brillion, Wisconsin, where his 
parents had removed when he was a youth of but six years. He attended the public 
and high schools to the age of sixteen, after which he pursued a course in a busi- 
ness college and then started out in the business world. He mastered stenography 
and entered the employ of a. firm of accountants in a stenographic position, after 
which he gradually worked into the accounting profession. His capability and fidelity 
are shown in the fact that he remained with the firm for seven or eight years and 
steadily advanced to the position of senior accountant. In 1906 he passed the Michigan 
examination for certified public accountant. In 1908 he opened an office in Mil- 
waukee and since that time has continuously practiced his profession here. His 
patronage now extends through this state and through Michigan. He was made a 
certified public accountant of Wisconsin in 1914. He handles the accounts of various 
kinds of business and also does municipal accounting and his patronage is of an 
extensive and important character. 

On the 28th of September, 1909, Mr. Winke was married to Miss Celia Sommer, 
daughter of Frank Sommer, of Rogers, Michigan. They have become parents of 
two children: Clement, ten years of age; and Noel, five years of age. 

In his political views Mr. Winke is a republican. In religious faith he is a 
Catholic, having membership in Sts. Peter and Paul parish of Milwaukee, as does 
his wife. He is a member of the Wisconsin Players. His name is a familiar one 
in literary circles and he is now associate editor of The American Poetry Magazine, 
published at Milwaukee and having a large circulation throughout the country. In 
1917 he published a volume, "Wisconsin Sonnets," and has been a frequent con- 
tributor to magazines and newspapers. He is an instructor in auditing at Marquette 
University and his activities are thus broad and varied. 



EDWARD JAMES KEARNEY. 

Familiar with the complex problems of finance, his powers developed through long 
experience, his activities guided by laudable ambition and shaped by sound judgment, 
Edward James Kearney is now the president of the American Exchange Bank, of 
which he has been a director since its organization in 1S93, while his election to the 
presidency occurred on the 1st of January, 1920. He was born at Little Cedar, Iowa, 
April 7, 186S, his parents being James H. and Emeline (Smith) Kearney, the former 
a native of New York, while the mother was born in Pennsylvania. The father 
followed the occupation of farming and was a veteran of the Civil war, serving as 
private in Company C, Ninety-Sixth Illinois Volunteers. Both he and his wife are 
deceased. 

Edward James Kearney attended the Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa, being 
there graduated with the class of 1893. In the same year he came to Milwaukee and 
for a time was employed in the locomotive shops of the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railroad, where he remained for six months. He next entered the service of the 
Kempsmith Machine Tool Company, now the Kempsmith Manufacturing Company, as 
a draftsman, and occupied that position for four years. In 1898 he organized the 
Kearney & Trecker Company, a partnership concern, which was incorporated in 
1906, and the business is still being profitably conducted. They are manufacturers of 
milling machines and employ about six hundred people, the enterprise having been 
developed from a small concern to one of mammoth proportions, its trade now reach- 
ing to all parts of the civilized world. Mr. Kearney became one of the directors of the 
American Exchange Bank in 1913 and acted as chairman of the board of directors 
for the year 1919. On the 1st of January, 1920, he was elected to the presidency. He 




EDWARD J. KEARNEY 



HISTORY OF MILWArKKK 133 

has been instrumental in malving this banic one of the sound finmcial institutions of 
the state, being one of its patrons and depositors for more than two decades. Ho was 
the director for tlie l-iberly Loan ilurinK the World war. for Wisconsin, in the Seventli 
Federal Reserve District, comprising forty-tive of the seventy-one counties of the state, 
and during tliis time raised approximately five luindreil million dollars. In addition 
to his connection with the American Exchange Bank he is the president of the Bay 
View Commercial & Savings Bank and secretary and treasurer of the Kearney & Trecker 
Company. His business interests are, therefore, of a most extensive and important 
character and he is recognized as one of the dynamic forces in the industrial and 
financial development of the city. 

On the 31st of December. 1S9.5. Mr. Kearney was married to Miss Ella Morton, a 
daughter of P. S. and Mary E. (Robeson) Jlorton, of Clarion. Iowa. Her father was 
a captain of the One Hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry during the Civil 
war. Mrs. Kearney was a classmate of her husband at college. They have become 
the parents of two daughters. Katharine M. and Alice M. 

Mr. Kearney has always been deeply interested in public affairs, giving his active 
aid and cooperation to all projects for the general good. He is a member of the state 
board of vocational education, which carries with it the trusteeship of the Stout In- 
stitute of Menomonie, Wisconsin. He is also a trustee of the Milwaukee-Downer College 
and has ever been a stalwart champion of the cause of education. He belongs to the 
Milwaukee Club and to the Athletic Club of the city and he and his wife are con- 
sistent members of the Congregational church of Wauwatosa, where they reside. There 
is much that is stimulating and instructive in the life history of Edward James Kear- 
ney, whose course has ever been characterized by his ready recognition and utilization 
of opportunities and who in following this course has reached a point of leadership 
in the business and financial circles of his adopted city. 



FRANK C. STUDLEV. M. D. 



Dr. Frank C. Studley. superintendent of The Riverside Sanitarium of Milwaukee, 
was born in New York city, January 23, 1S69. His father, William Harrison Studley, 
was also a physician and practiced in the eastern metropolis for a quarter of a century 
specializing as a gynecologist. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1827, and 
was graduated from Trinity College of that city. He then entered the Episcopal 
ministry and devoted several years to the work of pre:iching the gospel as a repre- 
senative of that denomination before entering upon the practice of medicine and 
surgery, which he followed successfully for an extended time. He was at one time 
rector of an Episcopal church at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, this being prior to the 
birth of his son. Dr. Frank C. Studley. At length, how^ever. he determined to take 
up the practice of medicine and was graduated from the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons in New York city with the class of 18.59. During the Civil war he served 
as an assistant surgeon in the United States army. He was a son of Jesse Studley, 
a manufacturer, and came of a family of English lineage. The mother of Dr. Frank 
C. Studley. was in her maidenhood. Caroline L. Heath. She vias born at Warehouse 
Point. Connecticut, in 1842. and was a representative of one of the old New England 
families. She died in 1905. having long survived her husband, who died in the year 1883. 

Dr. Frank C. Studley was reared in Xew- York city and obtained his early educa- 
tion in the public schools there, while later he attended a Military College at Claverack, 
Xew York. He determined to follow in the professional footsteps of his father and 
in 1893 was gi-aduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Xew York 
city. Prior to this time, however, he completed his more specifically literary course 
by graduation from the Lawrence University of Appleton, Wisconsin, with the class 
of 1890. Following his medical course he has been in active practice in Milwaukee 
for the past twenty-eight years. In 1904 he founded the Riverside Sanitarium, an 
institution for the diagnosis and treatment of nervous and mental disorders, at the 
corner of Edgewood avenue and Prospect avenue, and has been superintendent of 
the institution from its beginning, making it one of the scientific institutions of its 
kind in the city and state. Dr. Studley has taken postgraduate work in Heidelberg, 
Germany, having gone to that country in 1893, just prior to locating in Milwaukee. 
Throughout his professional career he has remained a close student of the science 
of medicine, keeping in touch with the trend of modern professional thought, re- 
search and investigation. His high standing in local professional circles is indicated 
in the fact that he was elected to the presidency of the MilwMukee Academy of Medi- 
cine and also of the Milwaukee County .Medical Society, and he is now president of 
the Wisconsin Xeuro-Psychiatric Society. He likewise has membership in the Amer- 
ican Medical Association, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the Tri-State Medical 
Societv. 

On the 17th of January. 1894. Dr. Studley was married to Miss Xellie West, who 



134 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

was born and reared in Appleton. Wisconsin. They have three living children: Theda, 
who is the wife of Glen Robertson; Elizabeth; and William Harrison, the last named 
now nineteen years of age. Dr. Studley served as a volunteer in the Medical Corps 
during the World war. His hobby is a good book, a good cigar and his family, but 
medicine is the really serious work in his life. Fraternally he is a Mason, who at- 
tained the Knights Templar degree in the York Rite and he belongs also to the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life and he 
has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. He 
comes of Revolutionary ancestry through both the paternal and maternal lines and 
belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution. The spirit of loyalty which prompted 
his forbears to espouse the cause of liberty has been manifest throughout intervening 
generations and is a strongly marked characteristic of Dr. Frank C. Studley. 



REV. HERBERT CHARLES NOONAN, S. J. 

Rev. Herbert Charles Noonan, S. J., president of Marquette University of Mil- 
waukee and recognized as one of the eminent Catholic educators of the state, was 
born in Oconto, Wisconsin, September 7, 1875, his parents being John and Mary 
(Moroney) Noonan. The father was very prominent in the public life of Oconto and 
for three successive terms served as mayor of the city. 

In the acquirement of his education Father Noonan attended the parochial schools 
until 1890 and then entered the Oconto high school, in which he completed a course 
by graduation in June, 1892. He next entered Marquette College and in June, 1896, 
the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him. He received his Normal School 
training in the St. Louis University from 1897 until 1899 and studied science and 
philosophy at the same university through the succeeding three years. His divinity 
course was pursued in the University of Innsbruck, Austria, from 1906 until 1910 
and in the latter year the Doctor of Divinity degree was conferred upon him. He has 
been identified with educational activities since 1902. He joined the Society of Jesus, 
(Jesuits) an educational order, in September, 1896, and was professor of Creighton 
University at Omaha, Nebraska in 1902-3. He then became connected with St. Mary's 
College, Kansas, and there continued for a period of three years, at the end of which 
time he entered upon his theological course. He was afterward professor of philosphy " 
in 1911-12 and of ethics and pedagogy from 1912 to 1915 in the St. Louis University, 
since which time he has been connected with Marquette University as its president. He 
lectures on natural law in the College of Law and is lecturer on professional ethics 
in the departments of medicine, engineering, dentistry and in the training school for 
nurses, all of the same university. Dr. Noonan was instrumental in raising five hun- 
dred and three thousand dollars for the Marquette University Building and Endow- 
ment fund in March, 1916. and one million and eight thousand dollars for the Mar- 
quette Medical School Endowment fund in July, 1918. At present he is engaged with 
eight other presidents of Wisconsin's higher institutions of learning in raising a five 
million dollar endowment for the Wisconsin Colleges, Associated, and he has done 
much to further educational interests through the Catholic institutions of the state. 

Dr. Noonan was a pastor of the Church of the Holy Trinity at Innsbruck, Austria, 
in 1909-10, and of the St. Francis Xavier church in St. Louis from 1911 until 1915 and 
since that time of Gesu church of Milwaukee. In June, 1920, he joined the Knights 
of Columbus. Along secular lines he is identified with the Rotary Club, of which he 
became a member in 1915. and of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, which he joined in 1918. 
His political allegiance was given to the democratic party until 1920, since which time 
he has voted with the republican party. He belonged to the American Legion, to the 
Wisconsin Patriotic League and the American Protective Association during the 
World war and also took a prominent part in the various Liberty Loan campaigns, 
the War Savings Stamps, the Red Cross and other drives. The gold palm of an officer 
of public instruction was awarded him by France, September 24, 1920, for "great 
services rendered to France." 



RUSSELL R. JOHNSTONE. 



Russell R. Johnstone, who is engaged in the advertising business in Milwaukee, 
his activities being characterized by a spirit of marked progress, was born in Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1878, his parents being Adam Clark and Bertha 
(Jones) Johnstone, who were natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. The 
father was a lawyer who practiced his profession in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for 
many years. Both he and his wife are deceased. 

The public schools of his native city afforded Russell R. Johnstone his educational 




REV. HERBERT C. NOONAX, S. J. 



HISTOHY OF MIIAVArKKK ■ 137 

privileges and after leaving school he engaged in tlie advertising husiness witli (ho 
Red Raven Corporation of Pittsburgh, working his way upward through all the virions 
departments of the business and actiuainting himself with every phase of this line. 
In 19IIG he cinie to Milwaukee and two years later he established business on his 
own account. Through the intervening period he has built up a very extensive pitron- 
age in high class advertising and in fact is today one of the prominent representatives 
of the advertising business in the middle west. His plans are carefully formulated 
and promptly executed and he is in close touch with all which has to do with progress 
and improvement in methods of advertising. In fact, he has instituted many new 
ideas and plans for the benefit of his patrons and his work is at all times effective 
and resultant. 

There is an interesting military chapter in the life record of Mr. Johnstone, for 
he is one of the veterans of the Spanish-American war. In 1898 he joined the army 
for military service against Spain and was on duty in Cuba until discharged. In 
1917 he became a member of the Wisconsin state militia and was commissioned a 
captain by Governor Philipp. He participated in every patriotic war measure or drive 
and received therefor an honorary certificate. He formed and handled all the patriotic 
parades and pageants during the war period and was chairman of the first armistice 
day ceremonies. He devoted all of his time to war duties during that period and 
gave up his business entirely for this work. He also drilled men continuously for 
the cantonments. 

On the 23d of March, 1902, Mr. ,Johnstone was married to Miss Lolo Maude Chaney 
cf Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they have become parents of three children: Wesley 
Stanley. Cody Cramer and Lois Ethel. Mr. Johnstone is a member of the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club, the City Club and the Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He also 
has connection with the Advertisers' Club. He is a believer in the brotherhood of 
man and in this belief is found the motive factor in many of his activities and interests. 
He is constantly extending a helping hand wherever aid is needed and in all things 
is prompted by a broad humanitarian spirit that seeks to ameliorate the hard con- 
ditions of life for the unfortunate and to bring cheer and goodwill as working forces 
into the world. 



LOUIS M. KOTKCKl. 



Louis M. Kotecki, filling the office of city comptroller of Milwaukee, has devoted 
much of his life to the public service and his record is characterized by the greatest 
faithfulness in office and by capability in the discharge of all of his duties. His 
parents, Alliert and Barbara Kotecki, came to America in the year 1873. The father 
was a tailor and worked at his trade until 1903 but is now living retired. In the 
family were twelve children, six of whom survive: Frank, Louis, Adam, Victoria, 
Laura and Mae. 

In the acquirement of his education Louis M. Kotecki attended the parochial and 
public schools, also a private high school and a law school. When fourteen years of 
age he began to earn his living as a newsboy and later was advanced to the position 
of reporter on one of the city papers, while subsequently he becime advertising agent 
and collector. He was a youth of eighteen years when he enlisted as a bugler for 
Company K of the First Wisconsin Regiment during the Spanish-American war. When 
twenty-two years of age he was elected constable of the tenth district and in 1906 
was again chosen to office, being elected .iustice of the peace, which position he con- 
tinued to fill until 1912 and was then called to the office of city comptroller. In the 
year 1910 he was a candidate for county clerk on the democratic ticket but was de- 
feated at the polls. From 1906 until 1912, while serving as justice of the peace, he 
often presided in the district court in flie absence of Judge Neelen. He has served 
for eight consecutive years as city comptroller, having been elected to tlie office five 
times — a fact which stands in indisputable proof of his capability and fidelity in the 
office. Abraham Lincoln said: "You may fool all of the people some of the time, 
and some of the people all of the time, hut you cannot fool all of the people all of 
the time." Recognizing this fact, it is evident that Mr. Kotecki has made good in 
office, else pul)lic opinion would have seen to it that so many reelections had not 
come to him. 

On the 21st of November, 1917. Mr. Kotecki was married to Miss Harriet Pozorski, 
a daughter of Stephen and Rosalie Pozorski. They have become parents of two chil- 
dren: Rose Mary, born October 18. 1918; and Jeannette Loraine. born September 10, 
1920. 

Mr. Kotecki is a member of Walker Lodge. No. 123, K. P. and the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks. He is the president of the Camels, of which he is the organizer, 
belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, to the Polish National Alliance and 
to the Polish Association of America. The greater part of his life has been passed 



138 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

in Milwaukee, wliere he is now widely and favorably known, for throughout the greater 
part of the period he has been in public oflBce, discharging his duties with marked 
thoroughness and capability. 



THEODORE 0. VILTER. 



History proves that Milwaukee has many adopted sons who demonstrated their 
intense '.oyalty to American interests during the World war, and their equal fidelity 
in days of peace, but none more so than Theodore 0. Vilter. Actuated by the most 
intense loyalty to his adopted land, he gave up his time and his service to the point 
of self-sacrifice. In fact, it is believed by many that his death was hastened by the 
demands which he made upon his strength and energy in his efforts to uphold Amer- 
ica's high purposes — purposes with which he was in full sympathy. He had been a 
resident of this country from the age of fourteen years, although bom in the province 
of Oldenburg, Germany, October 25, 1S57, his parents being Christian and Elise 
(Meiners) Oltmanns. His father, ■njho was a farmer, died when Theodore was an 
infant and his mother afterward married Ernst Vilter. In 1871 the family came to 
America and settled in Milwaukee, where Ernst Vilter became an interested principal 
in a company engaged in the manufacture of machinery. He continued a resident 
of this city to the time of his death in 1888, his widow surviving until 1912. 

After coming to America, Theodore 0. Vilter continued his education, which had 
begun in the schools of his native country, by study in the German-English Academy 
in Milwaukee. When his textbooks were put aside he became an apprentice in the 
machine shop that constituted the basis of what has been developed into the large 
industrial plant of the Vilter Manufacturing Company. This business had been 
founded by Peter Weisel in 1867. For three months Mr. Vilter worked without pay 
as a blacksmith's apprentice. Later he took a road position in erecting machines 
and in time became foreman. With his earnings he at length purchased an interest 
in the concern and the business was reorganized and incorporated under the name of 
the Weisel & Vilter Manufacturing Company. In 18S7 Mr. Vilter and his brothers pur- 
chased the interest of Mr. Weisel and continued the operation of the plant under the 
style of the Vilter Manufacturing Company. When Theodore 0. Vilter became ideU' 
tifled with the enterprise there were but four journeymen and three apprentices in , 
the establishment, and something of the development of the business is indicated in 
the fact that the Vilter Manufacturing Company, which is the outgrowth of the 
original business, now has seven hundred and fifty employes, while the trade has 
grown until the annual sale of products nets several million dollars. The factory 
was destroyed in the disastrous fire which swept the third ward of the city in 1892, 
but immediately the plant was rebuilt upon a larger scale and many improvements 
introduced, the present site on Clinton street, bordering the Chicago & Northwestern 
railroad, being chosen at that time. Many additions have been made at different 
periods until the plant now covers an area of nine acres and includes a number of 
substantial modern buildings, most of which are several .stories in height. 

As the years passed, Theodore O. Vilter and his brothers, William and Emil, of 
whom mention is made elsewhere in this work, acquired the controlling interest in 
this great industry and bent their efforts to administrative direction and executive 
control. The business had been organized for the manufacture of machinery for 
brewers and bottlers, but later they expanded the scope of their activities by including 
the building of the improved Corliss engines, while at the present time the extensive 
plant is devoted primarily to the manufacture of ice-riiaking and refrigerating ma- 
chinery. In this connection the company has won an international reputation, the 
output being sent to all parts of the world. They have erected refrigerating plants in 
South Africa, Japan, Mexico, South Ameri(?a, France, Germany and England. Mr. 
Vilter remained as president of the company to the time of his death. The family 
retains its interests in the business. The company has a membership in the National 
Metal Trades Association. Theodore 0. Vilter was ever a close student of business 
conditions and the public demand along the line of trade in which he engaged, and 
so directed his efforts and activities that gratifying results accrued. Mr. Vilter was 
not only a splendid executive but also a highly skilled mechanic. He could enter any 
department of his factory, take a tool from the hands of any workman and use it 
with skill and precision, owing to the fact that he had worked in every department, 
being at different times a machinist, salesman and executive. . 

On the 16th of February, 1884, Mr. Vilter was united in marriage to Miss Bertha 
Meiners, who was born and reared in Milwaukee and is a daughter of the late John 
Meiners, who was at one time a leading business man of the city. Mr. and Mrs. 
Vilter had four children: Erna; Alma; Ida; and Theodore, Jr., who died at the age 
of two years. 

Mr. Vilter was not only a very successful business man but he was much more. He at 




THEODORE O. VILTER 



IllSTOHV OK .MILWAIKKE 141 

all times recognized and met his duties ami oliligations in citizenship and to his 
fellowmen. and he was the champion and supporte'- of many projects contributing to 
the welfare and upbuilding of the comnuinity. He served for some time as a trustee of 
the German-English Academy, in which he completed his education, and tliat he waa 
a factor in the social life of the community is shown in his membership in the 
Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Turnverein and the Knights of Pythias. He belonged 
to the Association of Commerce, of which he was one of the directors, to the Amer- 
ican Society of Refrigerating Engineers, to the American Society of Mechanical En- 
gineers and also to the sewerage commission of Milwaukee. He attended the Inter- 
national Convention of Refrigerating Engineers at Vienna, Austria, in 1910, and 
through his efforts brought the convention to Chicago. Illinois, in the year 1913. One 
of the unique achievements credited to Mr. Vilter was that of bringing to Milwaukee 
the International Refrigeration Congress. Mr. Vilter had attended a meeting of the 
congress at Vienna in 191(1, and in a spirited address he invited the congress to visit 
Milwaukee. Its convention of 191.3 being held in Chicago, Mr. Vilter was active in 
perfecting plans whereby the members of the congress, about one hundred and fifty 
in number, were placed on a train at Chicago and brought to this city. They were 
shown the larger industrial plants of the city and were entertained at a noon luncheon 
and at an evening banquet given at the Palm Garden. The speeches were m.ide in 
Spanish, French English and German. The spirit of international friendship and 
good fellowship ran high. Wine flowed freely and the menu was designed to meet 
the appetites of all nationalities. The technical magazines in Europe were loud in 
their praises of Milwaukee hospitality. Nowhere on the American continent had the 
guests enjoyed greater and warmer hospitality or a mora pleasurable reception. The 
extension of Milwaukee's hospitality on this occasion was but characteristic of Mr. 
Vilter and his public spirit. He served as a member of the Milwaukee sewerage com- 
mission during the period when the more complicated engineering problems had to 
be determined. The system is regarded as the most scientific in the matter of sewage 
disposal ever undertaken by any city, either in the United States or Europe. Mr. 
Vilter's knowledge in the mechanical field enabled him to render most valuable aid 
in this connection. He studied every phase of the problems presented and his labors 
and his opinions were of the greatest worth. Again he contributed to the world's 
progress when he was called upon to cooperate at the time the industrial commission 
of Wisconsin proceeded to outline a set of rules on boiler regulation. His technical 
knowledge proved of immense service to the state in formulating standards and rules 
which are now permanent in connection with boiler safety. 

When America entered the World war Mr. Vilter demonstrated his loyalty to the 
country in a most practical and effective manner. Of German birth, he revered his 
mother country, but he felt that his allegiance belonged to his adopted land. He, 
therefore, gave liberally of his time and means in promoting war aid projects, render- 
ing effective assistance in Red Cross campaigns and Liberty Bond sales. In fact, his 
zeal w'as so intense that it impaired his health and by his close friends is believed 
to have shortened his life. His patriotism was one of his most marked characteristics 
and in every relation of life he measured fully up to the highest standards of manhood. 
His relations with his employes were always cordial and genial and they knew that 
justice could always be secured at his hands. Many there are who bear testimony to 
his sterling worth and kindly spirit, and the Association of Commerce, with which 
he was connected, spoke of his work for the organization as most energetic and un- 
selfish There was, therefore, a decided tug at the heartstrings of his many friends 
when Theodore 0. Vilter died on the morning of September 19, 1919. after an illness 
of several montlis' duration, leaving a memory that is cherished by all who knew him. 

The following tribute was paid at the funeral service of the late Theodore O. 
Vilter by William George Bruce on the 22d of September, 1919. "In the light of the 
character and disposition of the deceased it follows that no lengthy sermon nor fiow 
ot eloquence, ijut the truth, told in the simplest language, must serve us. The truth 
here calls for a tribute born out of the completion of a life's work, the contact of man 
with man, of associate with associate, of friend with friend. Truth here readily lends 
itself to the beauty of romance. It is with the close of a career that we secure a 
perspective of its value, its service, and its blessings. The career of the deceased was 
intimately associated with the material progress and prestige of the community. He 
was essentially a worker, a builder, a constructor. 

"The industrial life of the city had its inception in the skilled mechanics whose 
hands fashioned useful things. They were reinforced by those who possessed organiz- 
ing ability. Their vision and constructive ability carried them on to success. They 
became the founders of great industries. Theodore O. Vilter belonged to that rare 
type of man. He began liis career in a pair of overalls. He became a producer. More 
than that, he breathed his character into every article he produced. The product and 
his industry, carried him to success. His beginnings were humble and small. But 
the man became one. They stood for integrity and service. His enterprise, his energy, 
there was a power within him that reared an edifice of splendid proportions. His 



142 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

products went to the four ends of the world. His name was the guaranty that the 
product was perfect. He was always in sympathetic touch with his men. Having 
served for many years as a worker, he could understand his men, sympathize with 
them, fraternize with them. He was their coworker and friend. He was a true 
friend of labor. 

"As a citizen he had no peer. In peace and in war he worked loyally for his 
adopted country. In all the important war drives he was an important factor, giving 
liberally of his time and substance. When public sentiment at times became super- 
heated and here and there threatened to break into extremes, he held calmly to that 
Americanism which recognizes justice and tolerance. He did not believe that oppo- 
sition to autocratic power should degenerate into race hatred. He held that true 
culture wherever it may have its origin, must not be desecrated. Though German born, 
he was in the highest sense of that term a true American citizen. 

"But we cannot contemplate the man and his works without contemplating him 
also as an associate, a comrade, a friend. Who does not recall his hearty, whole- 
souled, infectious laughter, his vigorous slap on the shoulder, his strong sense of 
humor? He delighted in the spirit of good fellowship and always stood ready to help 
in counsel and in deed. He was not only a large man — large in body and in mind — 
but he was also a large man in soul and sympathy. In his departure we all lose a 
genial companion, a wise counselor, and a true friend. 

"The consolation that comes to the family and to the friends is found in the fact 
that he made a valuable contribution to the world's work and thereby added a full 
man's share to the sum of human happiness. It forms the richest legacy that man 
can confer upon man." 



WILLIAM ROBBINS McGOVERN. 

William Robbins McGovern, president and general manager of the Wisconsin 
Telephone Company, belongs to that large class of substantial business men who 
are natives of this city who have enjoyed its educational opportunities and who 
have so directed their labors that they have not only won success but have aided 
in promoting general prosperity, as well. Mr. McGovern was educated in Marquette 
University and was a member of the arts and science class of 1900, while in 1915 
the E. E. degree was conferred upon him. In 1900 he entered the employ of the 
Wisconsin Telephone Company as a draftsman, receiving a salary of twenty-five 
dollars per month. He worked his way upward through the different branches of 
the plant, serving in the construction, traffic, commercial and engineering depart- 
ments, until he became chief engineer of the company. In 1911 he went to Chicago 
as engineer of the Chicago Telephone Company and in 1916 was made chief en- 
gineer of the central group of the Bell Telephone Companies, with headquarters 
in Chicago, this including the Chicago Telephone Company, the Michigan State 
Telephone Company, the Cleveland Telephone Company, the Central Union Tele- 
phone Company and the Wisconsin Telephone Company. In 1919 he came to Mil- 
waukee as general manager of the Wisconsin Telephone Company. In 19 20 he 
was elected director and vice president and in January, 1922, was elected president. 
.Before entering upon active connection wath the telephone btisiness he had during 
school vacations and after school hours spent considerable time in contracting and 
construction work and this constituted an initial step to his advancement after en- 
tering upon his present line of business. He has steadily climbed to the position 
which he has reached as the result of earnest effort, close application and inde- 
fatigable industry. He is a self-made man in the highest and best sense of the 
term and his life record shotild serve to inspire and encourage others, showing 
what can be accomplished through individual effort when one has the will to dare 
and to do. 

On the 15th of May, 1906, Mr. McGovern was married to Miss Marie Alice 
Phelan of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of four children: Mary Alice, 
William R., Jr., David P. and Ruth Marie. 

Mr. McGovern is not only a native son of Wisconsin but also a representative 
of one of the pioneer families of this state. In fact, both of his parents were born 
near Milwaukee, the father in Waukesha county and the mother in Walworth 
county, and their respective parents established homes in this state at a very early 
day. They were farmers on both sides of the family and the original ancestors 
came from Ireland. The maternal grandfather of William R. McGovern bore the 
name of Patrick Robbins. Since that early day representatives of the McGovern 
and Robbins families have taken active and helpful part in the material develop- 
ment and substantial progress of this section and William Robbins McGovern has 
followed in the course that his forbears marked out in relation to public and civic 
interests. During the war with Germany he was a member of the legal advisory 




WILLIAM E. McGOVERN 



TTTSTORV OF MIIAVATKEE 145 

board. He organized two telegraph battalions of the Signal Corps that went over- 
seas. He participated most heartily in all the Liberty Loan drives and Thrift Sav- 
ings Stamps campaigns and received medals for his services. He has done much 
valuable service along other lines and is now a member of the Milwaukee county 
park commission. He likewise belongs to the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee 
..\thletic- Club, the University Club, the Press Club, the Rotary Club, the Wisconsin 
Club and the Blue Mound Country Club. He is a valued member of the Milwaukee 
Association of Commerce, also of the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Engineers So- 
ciety of Milwaukee and the Electrical Association of Milwaukee. Mr. McGovern is 
a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America and is a fellow of the American 
Institute of Electrical Engineers. He has keen interest in everything that tends 
to promote general progress and improvement and at the sairie time his activity 
centers in his chosen field of labor and he is much interested in those societies 
which have to do with advancement and improvement along electrical lines. His 
position as president and general manager of the Wisconsin Telephone Company 
is now one of large responsibility and his has been a purposeful career, his well 
defined plans crowned w-ith success. 



THEODORE E. LUSK. 



Opportunity is continually calling and the successful man is the one who makes 
ready response thereto. Among the energetic and enterprising young business men 
of Milwaukee county is Theodore E. Lusk, who has never allowed opportunity to call 
twice. He has used every chance for business advancement and is today cashier of 
the West AUis State Bank at Fifty-third and National avenue. He was born De- 
cember 20, 189L in Milwaukee, his parents being Theodore A, and Nora E. (Ploten) 
Lusk, the former a native of Michigan, while the latter was born in Norway. The 
father located in Milwaukee in 18(i5 and was engaged in the brokerage business for a 
number of years liut is now living retired and makes his home in Los Angeles, Cali- 
fornia, enjoying the sunny clime of the Pacific coast, 

Theodore E. Lusk was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and after 
he had completed his studies started out in the business world as a messenger boy 
in the First National Bank, working his way upward to a clerical position. He 
afterward entered the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank of Milwaukee in the capacity 
of bookkeeper and later served as teller, remaining in that institution for several 
years. In 1916 he became assistant cashier of the West Allis State Bank and was 
elected cashier on the 1st of January, 1921. He is now acting in this capacity, to 
the satisfaction of the officers and stockholders of the company and is regarded as 
one of the enterprising young business men of the city, having by individual merit 
and capability worked his way upward to his present enviable position in banking 
circles. 

On the 17th of June, 1916, Mr. Lusk was married to Miss Bessie L, Brown pf 
Milwaukee, and they have become parents of a daughter, Dorothy Florence, born 
April 10, 1919, Mr, Lusk is a member of Lafayette Lodge, A, F. & A. M., and is a 
loyal and worthy exemplar of the teachings of the craft. He took an active part 
as assistant chairman in the various drives of West Allis durilig the World war and 
devoted much of his time to this work, while now he is giving almost his undivided 
attention to his banking interests. The bank of which he is cashier was organized 
in 1911 with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars, while the capital and surplus 
now amounts to sixty thousand dollars. The business of the bank has been growing 
until they now have on deposit one million, one hundred thousand dollars, and the 
steady development .of the business is indicated in the fact that when Mr. Lusk be- 
came connected with the bank the deposits were only three hundred and sixty thousand 
dollars. He has been a very efficient cashier and has largely improved the business 
of the bank since becoming associated therewith. The bank draws its patronage 
largely from a foreign element that has been very thrifty in savings and the bank 
has done a large exchange business in sending abroad money for the patrons in 
Milwaukee. 



ERWIN G. WURSTER, 



Ability always comes to the front. Energy and determination are just as much 
determining factors in the attainment of success at the bar as in any of the industrial 
and commercial occupations and these qualities have brought Erwin Grover Wurster 
to a place of prominence as an attorney of Milwaukee, his native city. He was licirn 
on the 3d of February, 1884, his parents being Emanuel A, and Hattie S. (Schulz) 

Vol. 11—10 



146 . HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Wurster, well known residents of this city. In his youthful days the son made ex- 
cellent use of the advantages afforded him in the public schools of Milwaukee and 
completed a course in the East Side high school by graduation as a member of the 
class of 1902. Already he had determined upon the practice of law as a life work 
and he soon entered the University of Michigan as a law student, there completing 
his course as a member of the class of 1906, at which time the Bachelor of Law degree 
was conferred upon him. The same year he was admitted to practice at the bar 
of Michigan and the bar of Wisconsin and entered upon the active work of the pro- 
fession in his native city. He recognized the fact that advancement in the law is 
proverbially slow and that energy, thoroughness and close application must feature 
as factors in the attainment of advancement and success in the work of the courts. 
He, therefore, exercised these qualities and the thoroughness with which he prepared 
his cases and the clearness of his reasoning soon won him recognition and led to the 
steady growth of his practice. He has ever been a faithful minister in the temple 
of justice and while his devotion to his clients' interests is proverbial he has never 
forgotten that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law and in his 
practice has ever observed the most advanced ethics of the profession. After prac- 
ticing alone until November, 1907, he formed a partnership with Judge Albert Runkle, 
under the firm style of Runkle & Wurster, an association that was maintained until 
November 7, 1908, when the junior partner was appointed third assistant district 
attorney, under Hon. Francis E. McGovern, who was then district attorney of Mil- 
waukee county and later governor of the state. Mr. Wurster succeeded William A. 
Haynes in the position and entered upon the duties of the office with characteristic 
earnestness and circumspection. The ability which he displayed was manifest in his 
reappointment on the 1st of January, 1909, and his advancement to the position of 
second assistant district attorney, under the administration of August C. Bachus, later 
a judge on the municipal court bench of Milwaukee. From Charles A. A. McGee 
came appointment to the position of first assistant district attorney, the duties of 
which he discharged with characteristic zeal and efficiency until the socialists won 
their victory at the polls in November, 1910, leading to the retirement from office 
of Mr. Wurster and his associates in the office of district attorney in January, 1911. 
He now enjoys an extensive private practice and his ability is widely recognized by 
his fellow members of the profession as well as by the general public. He is the owner 
of a large and well selected law library, with the contents of which he is largely 
familiar and his position at the Milwaukee bar is today a most enviable one. 

Mr. Wurster has always given his political allegiance to the republican party and 
is one of the earnest workers in its ranks because of a most firm belief in its prin- 
ciples as factors in good government. He has membership in the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, the Deutscher Club, and the Knights of Pythias and his religious faith is mani- 
fest iii his membership in the Lake Park Lutheran church. His professional ability, 
his progressive citizenship, and his many sterling personal qualities are all combined 
to make him one of the valued and representative citizens whom Milwaukee delights 
to honor as one of her native sons. Along professional lines he is connected with the 
Milwaukee Bar Association and is also identified with the Masonic fraternity. Mr, 
Wurster is married and has two sons and one daughter. 



FRED T. GOLL. 



Fred T. Goll, son of Julius and Margaret Goll, was born in Milwaukee in 1854. 
After receiving his elementary education in a private school he entered, in 1869, the 
employ of Goll & Prank, wholesale dry goods merchants. In order that he might 
acquire a thorough knowledge of the business he was placed in a minor position at 
first and promoted from time to time as he deserved promotion. He began as stock 
clerk, which enabled him to become familiar with the various commodities dealt in by 
the firm. He later became a salesman, and eventually a buyer for the textile depart- 
ment. 

On the death of his father, Mr. Julius Goll, he was chosen president of the Goll 
& Frank Company which was incorporated in 1885. At the same time John H. Frank, 
eldest son of August Frank, was elected vice president, and Oscar LoefHer was made 
secretary-treasurer. In 1906 John H. Prank retired from the vice presidency and his 
youngest brother, Julius 0. Frank, was chosen his successor. 

In 1896 Mr. Goll was chosen a director and vice president of the First National 
Bank, which position he held until this bank was consolidated with the Wisconsin 
National Bank under the name of the First Wisconsin National Bank. He is now a 
director of this bank. 

In this connection it should be stated that Mr. Goll has for many years been a 
close student of currency and banking. Pew business men identified with a bank in 




FRED T. GOLL 



HISTORY OF MILWAIKEK . 149 

an advisory capacity are better informed on the theory of finance as well as on the 
practical operations of a banking institution. 

During the year 1S99 Mr. GoU served as the president of the Milwaukee Associa- 
tion of Commerce, tlien known as the Jlerchants and .Manufacturers Association. He 
is a member of various civic and social clubs, among them the Milwaukee Club, the 
Wisconsin Club, and the Milwaukee Athletic Club. 

The Goll & Frank Company has been in continuous existence, first as a firiii and 
then a corporation, since 1S.52. being founded by Julius GoU and August Frank, two 
pioneer merchants. The concern has won through its honorable business methods a 
large business constituency covering a wide territory throughout the west and north- 
west, and has been constantly growing since its foundation. The high standards in- 
augurated by the founders have been consistently maintained by Mr. Fred T. Goll 
and his business associates. 



ANGELO CERMIXARA. 



Angelo Cerminara, attorney at law and Italian consular agent at Milwaukee, was 
born in Platania. Italy, June 4, 1886. He was educated in the schools of his native 
land and came to America in 1903 when a youth of seventeen years. Making his way 
across the country he took up his abode at Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he was em- 
ployed in a lamp factory for about two years, and then, anxious to improve his position, 
lie attended a business college known as the College of Commerce, at Kenosha, from 
which in due course of time he was graduated. 

ilr. Cerminara came to ^lilwaukee in 19(17, and for about six months was employed 
on the Italian newspaper of this city, but in July, 1908, the publication was suspended. 
He afterward became secretary tor the Italian consular agent and in 1909, with the 
purpose of promoting his efficiency as a factor in the work of life, he attended the 
Marquette Law- School, and in 1910 matriculated as a law student in the University 
of Wisconsin at Madison. There he was graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1912, 
after which he returned to ililwaukee, where he entered upon law practice in which 
he has continued through the intervening period of nine years. In August, 1917, he 
was appointed Italian consular agent at Jlilwaukee for Wisconsin and Iowa, and the 
duties of this office now make heavy demands upon his time. His record is certainly 
an enviable and commendable one. He could not speak a word of English when he 
came to the new world, and today he uses the language most fluently. Moreover, he 
has become a man of broad and liberal education, well qualified for the important 
duties that devolve upon him as a member of the bar and also as the Italian consular 
agent. 

On the 2Sth of June, 1913, Mr. Cerminara was nuirried to Miss Al.na Heuel of Mil- 
waukee, and they have become the parents of a daughter, Louise Josephine. Mr. Cer- 
minara belongs to the Press Club, to Jlilwaukee Lodge. Xo. 46. Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks and to the .Milwaukee Bar Association. During the World war he was 
very active in support of all measures that tended to advance the interest of the forces 
that were fighing for world democracy. He gave most of his time to activities of that 
character, working among the Italian people in support of the Red Cross and the 
Liberty Loans. He also served on the draft board, explaining to the boys what to do 
and how to do it, and from his district there were tuore than twelve hundred soldiers 
who went into service. He never falters in the performance of any task that devolves 
upon him and he has made his life one of great activity and usefulness. By reason 
of what he has accomplished he is reckoned with the leading citizens of the state. 



HENRY BULDER. 



Henry Bulder, who was elected county treasurer of Milwaukee county by a sub- 
stantial majority on the 2d of November, 1920, and is, therefore, the incumbent in the 
position, was born in Hanover, Germany, March 30, 1867, and is a son of Henry and 
Anna (Stillwatch) Bulder, both of whom were natives of Holland, The father was a 
carpenter and contractor of Hanover and both he and his wife died in Germany. 

Henry Bulder was educated in the public schools of Hanover and there learned 
the tailor's trade, at which he worked until 1891, when he came to America with two 
sisters, Anna and Talea, landing in New York city. They then journeyed across the 
country to Milwaukee, where they took up their abode, and all are stilT residing here, 

Henry Bulder went to work at his trade in Milwaukee and in 1900 he ■?ngaged 
in merchant tailoring on his own account, opening an estalilislinient at S3 Oneida street, 
wjience he removed lo his present place of business at 31,5 State street in 1910. Here' 
he has built up a very substantial trade. He carries a large line of cloth and tailoring 



150 . HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

supplies and is always well equipped with the best tailored goods. He receives a very 
substantial patronage from many ot the best people of the city, the business being 
today one of gratifying proportions. In addition to his activities along commercial 
lines Mr. Bulder has become well known through his public service. He was elected 
alderman at large in 1908 and tied with Edward Wittig, alderman at large, by a vote 
of twenty-two thousand nine hundred and forty-nine for the long term. By drawing 
lots he became the incumbent of the office for the two-year term. In 1914 he was 
reelected for the full term, and again in 1918 for a four years' term. He became the 
candidate of the republican party for the office of county treasurer in the fall of 1920, 
and at the regular election on the 2d of November was chosen for that position, defeat- 
ing the incumbent, who was a socialist, by a good majority. 

Aside from his connection with political offices Mr. Bulder has been very prominent 
in the public life of the community. He served as a trustee of the public museum from 
1908 until 1910 and was appointed a trustee of the public library In 1918 for a term 
of two years, followed by his reappointment in 1920. In 1907 he was untiring in his 
efforts to create the Zoological Garden In Washington Park, which now has about one 
thousand animals, worth aproximately fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Bulder Is also the 
originator of the weights and measures ordinance, which saved to the city over one 
million dollars a year. This is one of the best measures that has ever been introduced 
by the city council, and in this and many other ways Mr. Bulder has shown his active, 
helpful and resultant interest In the welfare and progress of the city. Fraternally he 
is connected with the Elks Club, the Eagles, the Knights of Pythias, the Fraternal 
Line and other organizations, and his religious faith Is that of the Lutheran church. 
His life has been one of sigiral usefulness and worth and he is constantly reaching 
out a helping hand in many directions. 



FERDINAND SCHLESINGER. 

Interest in the history of Milwaukee is heightened by reason of the thrilling chap- 
ter contributed thereto in the life record of Ferdinand Schlesinger> who, coming to 
America a poor boy, achieved victory after victory in the business world through his 
unaided efforts. Industry and determination constituted his basic qualities and per- 
severance and the recognition and the utilization of opportunities led him to the goal 
of success. He saw and made use of opportunities which others passed heedlessly, by. 
He combined seemingly diverse elements into a united and harmonious whole and at all 
times he so directed his business affairs that he seemed to have accomplished at any 
one point In his career the possibility for successful accomplishment at that point. 

Mr. Schlesinger was born in Germany, February 21, 1851, and after enjoying the 
advantages afforded in the schools of that country he sought his fortune in the new 
world, when a youth of eighteen years. From the eastern coast he at once made his 
way to Wisconsin, settling In Kilbouru, Columbia county, and here his liberal educa- 
tion was put to good account as a teacher, particularly of German and French languages. 
He felt, however, that the business world offered much broader opportunities for 
attaining success and he removed from Kllbourn to Milwaukee, where he undertook 
the manufacture of harvesting machines. 

With his characteristic thoroughness Mr. Schlesinger began studying everything 
that had to do with the building of the machines and his attention was drawn to the 
Iron deposits of the upper peninsula of Michigan. He was one of the first to realize 
their value and he made investment In a number of mines In that section. From that 
time forward he figured most prominently in the development of the natural resources 
in that part of the state and he became an officer in a number of corporations of 
national scope. In 1904 he was Instrumental in organizing the Milwaukee Coke & 
Gas Company, of which he became the president, and four years later he purchased the 
plant and business of the Northwestern Iron Company at MayvIUe, Dodge county, 
Wisconsin, becoming president of the corporation on its reorganization and continuing 
as Its chief executive officer to the time of his demise. Moreover, his sound business 
judgment and well formulated plans led to the rapid and substantial growth of the 
business, for his cooperation at all times seemed to spell success for any enterprise 
■with which he became associated. He was one of the leading stockholders In the 
Newport Mining Company of Ironwood, Michigan, and was elected its president, and 
he became a director of the Boomer Coal & Coke Company, controlling valuable prop- 
erties at Boomer, West Virginia. He was also a director of the Detroit Iron & Steel 
Company of Detroit, Michigan, and he was at the head of the Northwestern Iron 
Company, the Milwaukee Coke & Gas Company, the Steel Tube Company of America 
and the Newport Chemical Company. In fact his infiuence and his activities were 
dominating factors in the control of many business enterprises of such extent as to be 
regarded as national In their scope and influence. He found the keenest pleasure in 
formulating, planning and developing business projects and at all times his enterprises 




FEEDINAXD SCHLESINGEE 



HISTORY OF MIIAVAI'KEE 1."):? 

were of ;i character that contributed to jiuljlic prosperity as well as to inilividual 
advancement. 

In 1S76 Mr. Schlesinger was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Stern, a native of 
Milwaukee and a representative ot one of the pioneer families of the city. They be- 
came parents of two sons and a daughter: Armin A., Henry J. and Mrs. Myron T. 
MacLaren, all residents of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Schlesinger, with practically no indication of ill health, passed away suddenly 
when en route to falifornia on the 3d of January, 1921. His loss was keenly felt in 
the Athletic, University and other clubs in whicli he held membership, in the Uni- 
tarian church, to which he and his wife belonged, in business circles where he had for 
many years been a dominant figure, and especially in his own home, for his devotion 
to the" welfare of his wife and children was ever one of his marked characteristics. 
He had remained throughout life a man of broad sympathies and of liberal culture. 
He kept in touch with the best that literature offered and ,was a patron of the other 
arts. His broad reading and study constantly enriched his mind and association with 
him meant expansion and elevation. One phase of his career that made his name 
known and honored was his liberality, especially to charitable and benevolent institu- 
tions. As his wealth increased there was no good work done in the name of charity or 
religion that sought his aid in vain. He was constantly extending a helping hand and 
there are many who have reason to bless him for his kindly assistance. In every 
field of endeavor and phase of life to which he turned his attention Ferdinand Schles- 
inger gained success and Milwaukee has placed him high on the roll of her honored 
men. 



ZACHARA T. MERRILL. 



Zachara T. Merrill, who passed away on the 14th of September, 1918, was well 
known as a representative business man of Milwaukee and had an extensive circle ot 
friends in this city. His birth here occurred on the 9th of April, 1847, his parents 
being William P. and Elizabeth (Harris) Merrill. The former, born in South Berwick, 
Maine, March 26, 1816, came to Milwaukee in 1836, when a young man of twenty years, 
and soon afterward was married, his wife being also numbered among the pioneer resi- 
dents of this city. William P. Merrill took up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres 
of government land, a part of which is now included within the limits of Layton park 
on the south side. He was identified with agricultural pursuits for a number of years 
and contributed to the early development and improvement of this section of the state. 
He belon-ged to the old Pioneer Club and became one of the first members of the Old 
Settlers Club. 

Zachara T. Merrill acquired his education in the public schools and in Markham 
Academy and in early manhood became connected with law and abstract business of 
the firm' of Kendrick, Merrill & Brand. Following his marriage he removed to Cold- 
water. Michigan, where for seven years he wiis engaged in the lumber business, but 
on the expiration of that period returned to Milwaukee, where he turned his attention 
to real estate dealing, to which he devoted his remaining days, and in connection 
therewith managed his father's estate. He handled much important property in Mil- 
waukee and negotiated many realty transfers. He had a large clientage that made his 
business one of substantial proportions and a gratifying source of revenue. At other 
times different business interests claimed the attention ot Mr. Merrill, who in 1884 
formed a partnership with Frank P. Wilbur for the conduct of a business in cement 
woi-k and introduced the first soft cement sidewalks in the city, these being as perfect 
today as when laid. He also organized the Lake Shore Stone Company, of which he 
was vice president, continuing to fill that position to the time of his demise. 

On the 26th of November, 1878, Mr. Merrill was married to Miss Anna M. Parker, 
a daughter of Edwin R. and Mary M. (Butts) Parker, who came to Milwaukee about 
1873 from Syracuse, New York, the father being employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee 
& St. Paul Railroad. To Mr. and Mrs. Merrill were born a son and a daughter: Wil- 
liam E., who is now engaged in the bond business in Milwaukee; and Maud M., the 
wife of H. H. Balding, also of this city. The son was a lieutenant of Company F, Three 
Hundred and Eleventh Ammunition Train of the Eighty-sixth Division, and served 
throughout the entire period of America's connection with the World war. 

Mr. Merrill was for many years a memljer of the Knights of Pythias and also 
belonged to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and the Town 
Club. He long ranked as one of Milwaukee's leading business men and enjoyed the 
affectionate regard and high esteem of all who knew him to the day of his death. 
During the last ten years of his life he resided in Chicago on account of his health, 
but directed his large business interests here and was again and again a visitor to 
his native city. He always attended the meetings of the Old Settlers Club, never 
missing the annual Washington banquet throughout the entire period of his connection 



154 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

with that organization. He was a most progressive business man, a loyal citizen, a 
faithful friend and an affectionate husband and father, and the admirable traits of his 
character were many. He found the keenest pleasure in his later years in meeting 
with the early settlers of Milwaukee and recalling events of the pioneer times when the 
conditions of villagehood prevailed in what Is now one of the great metropolitan cen- 
ters of the upper Mississippi valley. 



JACKSON BLOODGOOD KEMPER. 

The position of Jackson Bloodgood Kemper as a member of the law firm of 
Bloodgood, Kemper & Bloodgood, one of the most prominent firms of the Milwaukee 
bar. at once establishes his standing as a lawyer. Moreover, he is a representative of 
one of the old and honored families of the state and in person, talent and position he 
is a worthy scion of his race. His birth occurred January 25, 1865, in Nashotah, 
Waukesha county, Wisconsin, his parents being the Rev. Lewis A. and Anna (Blood- 
good) Kemper. The ancestral line is traced back to the great-great-grandfather who 
came from Germany in ,1740 and founded the Kemper family in the new world. His 
son, Daniel Kemper, served with the American army during the Revolutionary war and 
later became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, which drew its membership 
only from those who had served as offlcers in the struggle for independence. He was 
the father of the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, a distinguished divine of the Protestant 
Episcopal church, who at the time of his death was serving as bishop of the diocese 
of Wisconsin and who did much to mold the history of the Episcopal church in this 
state. It was in his honor that Kemper Hall, a girls' boarding school of Kenosha, 
Wisconsin, was named. He had a younger brother, Daniel R. Kemper, who was one of 
a company of young men that in 1S05 went to South America for the purpose of tender- 
ing their aid in winning independence for Venezuela, but they were captured by 
Spanish forces and were shot as a result of their patriotic devotion to the cause of 
freedom and liberty. Within a recent date, however, the citizens of Venezuela have 
erected a fine bronze monument to the memory of these gallant young Americans. 

Rev. Lewis A. Kemper, D. D., son of Bishop Kemper and father of Jackson B. 
Kemper of this review, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1829, and 
also, dedicating his life to the work of the ministry, became one of the leading 
Episcopal clergymen of Wisconsin. He was also prominently connected with edu- 
cational interests and for thirty years was professor of Hebrew and Greek in the 
Nashotah Theological Seminary, where his splendid qualifications and his broad sym- 
pathy won for him the love and honor of all of the students as well as the members 
of the faculty of that Institution. . In later years he also served as rector of Zion 
Episcopal church at Oconomowoc. He was a graduate of Columbia University of the 
class of 1849 and after taking holy orders concentrated his attention and labors largely 
upon Wisconsin, participating in the various activities of the church and serving on 
the diocesan standing committee, while frequently he was a delegate to the general 
conventions of the church throughout the United States. In 1874 he was mentioned 
for the bishopric and had he become a candidate would undoubtedly have been chosen 
for that high office. He passed from this life April 27, 1886, at Oconomowoc, Wiscon- 
sin. In tracing the ancestry of J. B. Kemper in the maternal line it is found that he 
is a descendant in the eighth generation of Francis Bloodgood, who in 1658 left his 
home in Amsterdam, Holland, and settled at Flushing, Long Island. His name was 
originally spelled Francois Bloetgoet, but was Anglicized after his removal to the 
United States. 

Well descended and well bred, reared in an atmosphere of liberal culture and 
refinement, the record of Jackson B. Kemper is one which reflects credit and honor 
upon the ancestral history, for while turning from the ministry to the law he has 
gained notable prominence in this field, his name being carved high on the keystone of 
the legal arch. After attending Racine College at Racine, Wisconsin, where he was 
graduated in 1884, the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts being conferred upon 
him, he took up the study of law in 1886 under the direction of his uncle, Francis 
Bloodgood, of Milwaukee, and passed the required examination which secured him 
admission to the bar in 1888. He then entered into partnership with his uncle and 
cousin under the firm style of Bloodgood, Bloodgood & Kemper and when in 1893 they 
were joined by William J. Turner, later a distinguished jurist of Milwaukee, the style 
of Turner, Bloodgood & Kemper was assumed. When in 1896 Judge Turner retired 
from the partnership they were joined by Wheeler P. Bloodgood, son of the senior 
partner under the present firm name of Bloodgood, Kemper & Bloodgood. Like his 
associates Mr. Kemper has argued many cases and lost but few. No one better knows 
the necessity for thorough preparation and no one more industriously prepares his 
cases and briefs. His course in the courtroom is characterized by a calmness and 
dignity that Indicates reserve strength. His handling of his cases is always full, 




JACKSOX B. KEJIPER 



HISTORY OF MII.WArKEE 1"'7 

comprehensive and accurate; liis analysis of the fact is clear and exhaustive; he sees 
without effort the relation and dependence of the fact and so proves them as to enable 
him to throw their combined force upon the point they tend to prove. He has been 
entrusted with much important legal business. He represented the trustees of the 
estate of the late Hon. Harrison Ludington, former governor of Wisconsin, in the 
cases brought for the construction of the will of the governor and he was also retained 
as representative of the trustees of the estate in the subsequent litigation with the 
widow of Governor Ludington. He likewise figured as attorney in cases growing out 
of tlie bank failure in Milwaukee occasioned by the panic of 1S93 and the rising since 
the passing of the present national bankruptcy laws. Few attorneys have made a more 
lasting impression upon the bar of the state than has :\Ir. Kemper. 

On the 3d of March, 1891, Mr. Kemper was married to Miss Luella Greer, daughter 
of William T. Greer, a well known resident of Louisville. Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kemper occupy an enviable social position, and he is identified with a number of the 
leading clubs of the city, including the Milwaukee, University, Milwaukee Country and 
Town Clubs. Both he and his wife are faithful members and active workers in the 
Protestant Episcopal church, and along strictly professional lines his membership is 
with the Milwaukee County and Wisconsin State Bar Associations. In politics he has 
always been a republican but not an office seeker, yet there is no phase of progressive 
and beneficial citizenship that does not receive his endorsement and cooperation. 
His entire course reflects credit and honor upon an untarnished family name that has 
long been regarded as a synonym of intellectual worth and moral progress in Wiscon- 
sin. 



GEORGE E. BALLHORN. 



George E. Ballhorn. attorney at law, court commissioner, and recently appointed 
general counsel for the Association of Commerce, is recognized as one of the ablest 
corporation lawyers of Jlilwaukee. Gifted by nature with strong mentality, he has 
used his talents wisely and well, so that he finds ready and correct solution for the 
intricate and involved problems of jurisprudence. Mr. Ballhorn is a native son of 
Wisconsin, his birth having occurred at Cascade, May 25,- 1875, his parents being 
Frederick and Margaretha (Miller) Ballhorn, both of whom were natives of Germany. 
The father came to America in 1852. and the mother crossed the Atlantic in 1860, 
their marriage being celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1862. At the close of 
the Civil war they came to Wisconsin, settling in Cascade, where they experienced 
the hardships of pioneer life. The father was a village harness maker, carrying on 
business along that line until death ended his labors. The mother is still living. 

George E. Ballhorn was educated in the country schools to the age of fifteen years. 
when he came to Milwaukee to earn a living, working as a clerk in a grocery store 
for a few months. He then entered the law office of Turner & Timlin, both of whom 
afterward became judges. He studied law under their direction until 1896. when he 
was admitted to the bar. He had no means with which to pursue a college course 
and with others he organized what was known as the Milwaukee Law Class, which 
later developed into the Milwaukee Law School and was subsequently taken over by 
the Marquette University, becoming the law department of that educational institution. 
Marquette afterward conferred upon Mr. Ballhorn and others who organized the original 
class, the honorary degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1898 Jlr. Ballhorn was appointed 
assistant city attorney and filled the position for eight years. He afterward entered 
into a partnership with General Joseph B. Doe. which connection continued until 1919. 
In 1914 he was elected president of the Milwaukee Bur Association, and in 1916 he was 
appointed commissioner of the state circuit court, and has also been acting as special 
master of the United States court. Thus various honors have come to him in the line 
of his profession — honors which have been a recognition of his professional skill and 
ability. 

During the World war Mr. Ballhorn served with the rank of major in the office 
of the judge advocate general at Washington, D. O., being connected first with the 
division of military justice and later acting as special counsel to the board of contract 
adjustment. In his practice he has specialized on commercial and corporation law, 
winning a large and notable clientage in this regard, and since February, 1920, he has 
been general counsel of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He belongs to the 
Milwaukee. Wisconsin State and American Bar Associations and steadily has advanced 
step by step until he stands today in the front rank among the leading lawyers of his 
adopted city. 

In 1898 Mr. Ballhorn was married to Miss Clara E. Weilep of .Milwaukee, and 
they became the parents of two children, Clara W. and Margaret E. The wife and 
mother passed away in 1903, and in 1905 Mr. Ballhorn wedded Meta B. Bruemmer of 
Kewaunee. Wisconsin, a daughter of .Judge Louis Bruemmer, and they have one son. 



158 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

George, Jr. Mr. Ballhorn is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also of the 
City Club. A resident of Milwaukee from the age of fifteen years and dependent upon 
his own resources for a living since that time, he stands today among the honored 
and representative residents of the city and his life record is of inspirational value, 
showing what can be accomplished through personal effort intelligently directed. 



OSCAR FREDERICK STOTZER. 

The word Rofarian has come to stand as a synonym for progress and enterprise in 
business. The organization has taken definite forward steps in the development of 
trade and trade relations and in various other fields and the men at the head of the 
various bodies have usually been men of definite purpose, of large vision and of un- 
failing energy. Oscar Frederick Stotzer has every reason to he thus classed. He is 
prominently known as the president of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and is also 
the secretary of the Statzer Granite Company of Wisconsin and president of the J. H. 
Anderson Monument Company of Chicago. Born in Portage, Wisconsin, on the 29th 
of August, 1SS4, he is a son of Samuel and Anna (Rohrer) Stotzer, both of whom were 
natives of Switzerland, whence they came to the United States in childhood, settling in 
Chicago. Following the Chicago fire they removed to Portage, Wisconsin, where the 
father established business under the name of the Stotzer Granite Company in 1876, 
remaining an active factor in the world's work to the time of his demise in 1904, 
when the two sons, Oscar F. and Rudolph G., took over the business, enlarged it and 
subsequently removed their headquarters to Milwaukee in 1913. 

Oscar F. Stotzer received liberal educational opportunities and is a graduate of 
the University of Wisconsin of the class of 1907. His business training was received 
under his father's direction and at the latter's death he became one of the partners 
in the enterprise and has continued active in its management since. As stated, the 
business was removed to Milwaukee in 1913 and here the company has a large show- 
room at No. 723 to 727 Grand avenue. They also have factories in Milwaukee, 
Columbus and Portage, Wisconsin, and confine their attention to the business of manu- 
facturing monuments. They are the largest exclusive producers of monumental works 
west of Barre, Vermont, -which is the granite center of the world. They have built 
up a very large business, covering the northwest and their patronage is continually 
growing. On the 1st of January, 1921, Oscar F. Stotzer became president of the J. H. 
Anderson Monument Company of Chicago, also the R. Hanson Granite Company of 
Chicago and in 1912 he became secretary of the Stotzer Granite Company. During 
the comparatively few years in which he has engaged in business in Milwaukee he 
has become very widely and favorably known and is regarded as a valuable asset to 
the commercial circles of the city. 

On the 7th of October, 1908, Mr. Stotzer was united in marriage to Miss Marguerite 
Stevens, a granddaughter of Colonel George Stevens, one of the pioneers of Milwaukee, 
having at one time a wholesale grocery business on what is now West Water street 
and Grand avenue. He was a soldier of the Civil war and was killed on the battle 
field of Gettysburg. Mr. and Mrs. Stotzer have two children: Jean Elizabeth and 
Stevens Samuel. Throughout the period of his residence in Milwaukee, Mr. Stotzer 
has manifested the keenest interest in its welfare and progress and was elected 
president of the Rotary Club on the 10th of May, 1921. He is alert to any idea or 
opportunity for the introduction of further progressive methods in connection with 
that organization and already has justified the faith of his supporters in placing him 
in the position. He is likewise well known as a member of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club and the City Club and is prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Wisconsin 
Commandery, K. T., and to the Scottish Rite bodies and also to Tripoli Temple of 
the Mystic Shrine. Early in his career he recognized the fact that a modern phil- 
osopher has tersely stated that "Opportunity is universal not local. It depends not 
upon a map but upon a time-table." He has used his talents wisely and well and 
with him each day has marked off a full-faithed attempt to know moi-e and to grow 
more. 



ARTHUR NYE McGEOCH. 



Among those who are actively contributing to the development and progress of 
West AUis is Arthur Nye McGeoch, who is conducting a real estate and insurance 
agency and has won a liberal clientage. His efforts have been a potent force in the 
development and improvement of the town and as the years have passed he has nego- 
tiated many important realty transfers. He was born in Milwaukee, April 19, 1869, 
and is a son of Peter and Catharine Ellen (Harvey) McGeoch. The father was born 




OSCAR F. STOTZER 



HISTORY OF .MILWAT'KEE 161 

in London, England, during a temiiorary sojourn of Ills parents in that city, they, 
however, being from Wigtown in Wigtownshire, Scotland. In 1851 William McGeoch, 
the gi'andt'ather, came to the United States with his family and settled in Waterloo, 
Jefferson county, Wisconsin. Peter McGeoch Ijecoming a resident of that place, there 
engaged in shipping grain to llilwaukee and became a well known commission mer- 
chant of Wisconsin, building up a business of extensive and gratifying proportions in 
connection with the grain trade. He became a member of the Milwaukee Board of 
Trade, and also of the Chicago Board of Trade, and was one of the active factors in 
the business life of this state to the time of his death, which occurred in November. 
1895. He had for several years survived his wife, who passed away in 1S88. 

Arthur JlcGeoch was educated in the Markham Academy and in Harvard Univer- 
sity, from which he was graduated on the completion of a classical course in 1891. He 
later became a law student at Harvard and won his professional degree upon gradua- 
tion with the class of 1894. He had been admitted to the bar the previous year and for 
a time was in the office of the law firm of Winkler, Flanders, Smith, Bottum & Vilas, 
remaining there for about a year. His father's death prevented the continuance of 
his law work, for it was necessary that he take charge of his father's business and he 
thus became interested in financial affairs as a stock and bond broker, with member- 
ship in the New "V'ork Stock Exchange and also on the Chicago Board of Trade. He 
continued in the business until 1905, when he removed to West Allis to develop his 
real estate holdings here, handling only his own property. He located the Allis- 
Chalmers Company in this district when the Ijusiness was still being carried on as the 
E. P. Allis Company in 1901. He has located nearly all of the large plants in West 
Allis and has been instrumental in building up the city, which now has a population 
of about seventeen thousand. He has erected between fifty and sixty houses each year 
and has owned between six and seven hundred acres of land, constituting the site on 
which the city now stands. In a word, his is the largest real estate concern in this 
section and he has developed a business of most satisfactory and gratifying propor- 
tions. In fact, credit must be given Mr. McGeoch for placing West Allis on the map. 
It was a wooded district when he began the development of the city which is now a 
thriving municipality of business and manufacturing interests, containing many large 
and important industrial plants. It was entirely through his efforts that West Allis 
was chosen as the site for these important business enterprises. He has developed 
several hundred acres of his own property into attractive residential districts, adorned 
with new and modern homes, many of which he has financed in the building. 

On the 22d of December, 1897, Mr. McGeoch was married to Miss Caroline Bigelow 
of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two children: Frank Gordon and 
Arthur N. 



HON. DELBERT MILLER. 



Hon. Delbert Miller, the efficient mayor of West Allis, whose administration of 
the city's affairs is characterized by a marked progressiveness and a definite public 
spirit, was born in Big Bend, Wisconsin, February 27, 1885, a son of Robert and Mary 
(Smith) Miller. The father w^s a native of the town of Muskego, Wisconsin, while 
the mother was born in Rome, New York. Removing to Milwaukee county about thirty 
years ago Robert Miller is now a resident of West Allis, where he is engaged in the 
hotel business. 

Delbert Miller oljtained a public school education in West Allis and after his text- 
books were put aside was engaged in the hotel business with his father for several 
years. Becoming interested in public affairs and political problems his devotion to 
the general good was recognized and he was elected to the Wisconsin general assembly 
in 1916, where he made so creditable a record by his stanch support of plans and 
measures for the general good that he was reelected in 1918, thus serving for two 
terms. He introduced for Milwaukee a bill to allow the city to take over the street 
railway interests, but this bill met with defeat. In 1917 Mr. Miller also served on 
the committee on public welfare of the general assembly and on the fish and game 
committee, while in 1919 he was made a member of the committee on finance. His 
fellow townsmen, appreciating his devotion to the general good, elected him mayor of 
West Allis in 1920, and he entered upon the duties of the position in the month of 
April. He has made an excellent official in every particular and in all the offices in 
which he has served. He is now giving to West Allis a businesslike and progressive 
administration and is making considerable headway in the improvement of the schools 
which constitutes one line upon which he is concentrating is efforts. Mr. Miller is 
studying every problem that has to do with the welfare, progress, happiness and 
improvement of his fellow townsmen and has gone so thoroughly into every subject 
that his opinions are accepted as authority upon any municipal question which he dis- 
cusses. He has learned that the sum of two hundred thousand dollars will have to be 



162 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

spent to get an adequate supply of water for the city and he is bending his efforts 
now in that direction as one pliase of his mayoralty service. 

On the 17th of January, 1911, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Gertrude M. Gardner 
of Buffalo, New York. His social interests find expression in his membership in the 
Elks' Club and in the Owls' Club. He has always been a stalwart republican, active 
in behalf of the party, and although yet a young man he has brought about steady 
advancement that is widely recognized by the community. All fair-minded citizens 
attest the worth of his official service and recognize the fact that West Allis will be 
benefited at any time when Delbert Miller is in public office. His labors have already 
brought about splendid results and his fellow townsmen believe that much more will 
be accomplished ere the term of his office is closed. 



JOHN T. HOFF. 



John T. Hoff, engaged in Ice manufacturing, has been a lifelong resident of 
Milwaukee, where his birth occurred July 26, 1S54. His parents, Stephen and Catherine 
(Liginger) Hoff, were both of Bavarian birth and spent their early childhood along 
the Rhine in Germany. Tliey came to Milwaukee about 1847. The father engaged in 
business as a contractor on public works until 1S60, devoting his attention to railroad 
building and to other important contracts. During the Civil war period, however, he 
engaged in the grocery business, in which he continued for ten years and during that 
time he also filled the office of city assessor. About 1870 he again took up contract 
work, which he followed until 1S77, when he retired from active business, spending his 
remaining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, his deatli occurring Novem- 
ber 5, 18S0. 

John T. Hoff obtained his early education in St. Mary's school and when but a 
youth began driving a grocery wagon, continuing in that employ until the early '70s. 
He also followed contracting in connection with the firm of Casper, Donohue & Hoff 
and remained in the general contracting business for some time and also during a part 
of that period engaged in handling natural ice. Steadily he advanced in a business 
way, owing to his thoroughness and persistency of purpose, and in 1903 he established 
an ice business on his own account. The contracting firm with which lie was asso- 
ciated did a larger part of the paving on the east side of Milwaukee for many years 
but at length, feeling that there were still broader opportunities in the way of handling 
ice, he developed his present enterprise which has grown steadily. In 1921 he erected 
a plant for the manufacture of ice, equipped with all modern machinery and having a 
capacity of one hundred and ten tons per day. He has thus remained an active factor 
in business circles for an extended period. The ice plant now has a capacity of fifty 
thousand tons per year, and the company handles both natural and artificial ice. The 
business has reached most gratifying proportions. 

In 1879 Mr. Hoff was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Schoenleber, a daughter 
of Adolph and Margaret Schoenleber, who became residents of Milwaukee at an early 
day. Mr. and Mrs. Hoff are the parents of eight children: Stephen, Adolph, Otto, John, 
Anna, Clara, Gertrude and Paul. 

Mr. Hoff belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also to the Old Settlers Club. 
He has membership in Sts. Peter and Paul church and in his political belief he is a 
democrat, having supported that party throughout his entire life save at the last 
election when he cast his ballot for President Harding. This was characteristic of 
Mr. Hoff, who has ever remained true to his honest convictions, and neither fear nor 
favor can swerve him from a cause which he believes to be right. 



WILLIAM GEORGE BRUCE. 

The life's story of William George Bruce, like that of many Americans, is one 
of humble beginnings, cast amid discouraging circumstances and severe struggles. 
The eldest of a family of nine children, he was at the age of seven stricken with 
illness which confined him to his home for four years. At the age of eleven he at- 
tended school for one year, and then at the age of twelve, a palefaced boy, limping 
on crutches, he began the struggle for an existence. He was born March 17. 18.56, 
on East Water street, near the southwest corner of Johnson street, within the 
shadows of the city hall, then a residence district, now covered by business blocks. 

His grandfather, Frederick Bruce, who came on from New York, settled on this 
spot in 1842, with his wife and four sons, William. Augustus P., Martin P. and 
John. The grandparents died of the cholera in the late '40s. Their son William 
died in boyhood. While still a young man, Martin P. Bruce went south and located 
at Pensacola, Florida. This was before the Civil war. John went to California. 




JOHN T. HOFF 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 165 

Augustus F., who later became the father of William George Bruce, remained in 
Milwaukee. 

The grandfather had been an ocean sailor and upon his arrival in Milwaukee 
followed the ship carpenter and caulking trade. His sons, after sailing on the Great 
Lakes for a few years, became ship carpenters, a trade which they followed until 
the end of their days. Martin succeeded in building large drydocks at Bagdad and 
Pensacola, Florida, and at Mobile. Alabama. After his death the Bruce interests 
were concentrated at Pensacola. where the Bruce Dry Dock Company, owned by the 
descendants, is known as one of the most important on the Gulf of Mexico. John 
Bruce followed the ship building trade at San Francisco and Oakland. California, 
until his death. 

When the elder Bruce came to Milwaukee with his family in 1842 his son 
Augustus was nine years of age. The latter frequently saw Solomon Juneau, the 
first permanent settler of Milwaukee, and trailed behind the Indians when these 
bore the remains of the great pioneer to his grave. He also used to tell his family 
how, while he was a boy. he had the task of driving a cow which the family kept to 
pasture over in Kilbourntown, now known as the west side. One day, through 
boyish playfulness or neglect, he drove the cow into a swamp where she was 
drowned. The site of this swamp is now covered by the Milwaukee Auditorium, and 
William George Bruce, who has been a director of that institution since its erection, 
has humorously boasted that "the Auditorium is a monument to my grandfather's 
cow." 

In 1855 Augustus F. Bruce was married to Apollonia Becker, a native ot Trier, 
Germany. Out of this marriage sprang four sons and five daughters, William 
George, Albert P., Augustus I., Martin P., Emma, Ida. Clara. Emily and Apollonia. 
Emma died at the age of fourteen. Ida became Mrs. Raymond Wolf, Clara became 
Mrs. Alonzo Fowle. Emily became Mrs. George Rinker, and Apollonia (Nina) be- 
came Mrs. Carl Marshall. Mrs. Rinker died in 1921. 

As already stated, William George began the battle for an existence at the age 
of twelve. After working for a few weeks in a crockery shop and then for a month 
in a soda water factory, wiring bottle tops, he was apprenticed in a cigar factory. 
Here he became an adept at rolling cigars. His ambitions toward a more useful 
career, however, now became aroused. His mother became the inspiration. He 
attended an evening school and rose early in the morning to read and study and 
thus prepare for a better position. 

At the age of fifteen his health broke once more and he spent two years at 
Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where he was employed in a cigar factory. The climate, 
however, and an occasional vacation on a nearby farm revived his health consider- 
ably. Then he traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked for seven months 
in a picture frame factory and attended night school. Upon his return to Milwaukee 
he entered a cigar factory once more and the Spencerian business night school. 

When Editor E. A. Calkins of the Milwaukee Daily News located in the Luding- 
ton block, where the Pabst building is now located, wanted an office assistant, Robert 
C. Spencer, the head of the school, recommended young Bruce. "He is a studious 
boy and the best penman in a class of two hundred and fifty." said the schoolmaster. 
This opened a new career for young Bruce. While he served as an accountant 
he soon became interested in reportorial and editorial work. After working here for 
six years he was employed in a similar capacity on the Milwaukee Sentinel. Here he 
remained for eleven years. During this time he became proficient as a writer, and 
while he served well in the business oflice, it became evident that his field was more 
along literary lines. The last six years ot his connection with the Sentinel he 
directed the advertising service and acted as assistant business manager. Horace 
Rublee, the editor, frequently commented on Bruce's ability to think correctly and 
write well. 

In 1891 he established the first publication in the United States devoted ex- 
clusively to school administration under the title of the American School Board 
Journal. This venture proved a highly successful one. At the end of twenty years 
he turned the enterprise over to his sons William C. and Frank Bruce, who enlarged 
the publication plant by the addition of the Industrial Arts Magazine, Hospital 
Progress, and a series of educational textbooks. 

For several years Mr. Bruce turned his attention to civic work, serving for 
three years as city tax commissioner and later as the manager of the Association of 
Commerce. In 1920 he returned to his publishing business, which had been organ- 
ized into the Bruce Publishing Company with himself as its president. 

His civic and political activities were manifold. While still a young man he 
was made the president of the Jackson Club and later was elected the head of the 
Jefferson Club, a time honored democratic organization. After two terms on the 
board of education and as tax commissioner, he became candidate for the mayor- 
alty but was defeated by a narrow margin. For ten years, beginning with 1896, he 
served as chairman of the democratic city and county committee, conducting a 



166 HISTORY OF illLWAUKEE 

number of political campaigns. The organization, which had been run down and 
considerably weakened, was during his administration brought upon a new basis of 
prestige and influence. 

When the project to provide the city with a large Auditorium was conceived, 
he laid out the plan of campaign and became a directive force in the same. He has 
been a director of the institution ever since its erection and for two years served 
as its president. He is now the vice president of the Auditorium governing board. 

During the Chicago World's Fair he was the chairman of the educational exhibit 
committee for the Milwaukee school system and during the St. Louis World's Pair 
he headed the Wisconsin State Educational Committee which had in charge both 
the university, high school and common school exhibits. 

His leading public effort in recent years has been centered upon the champion- 
ship of a deep waterway to the sea. When the project of connecting the Great 
Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean was considered several years ago, he was one of the 
organizers of the St. Lawrence Tidewater Association and became one of its active 
directors. In 1919, when the state of Wisconsin was asked to participate in the 
movement, the legislature sent for Mr. Bruce and requested him to provide complete 
information as to the feasibility and desirability of the project, and the manner of 
the state's identification with the same. When, in response to legislative action, 
the Wisconsin Deep Waterway Commission was created. Governor Philipp appointed 
William George Bruce as one of the three members of that body. 

In July, 1921, when the International Joint Commission of the United States 
and Canada called a hearing at Milwaukee in order to ascertain Wisconsin's concern 
in the great deep water>vay project, the duty of presenting the arguments fell upon 
Mr. Bruce. He presented a comprehensive brief on the subject and demonstrated 
the extent to which the agricultural, manufacturing and mining interests of the 
state were concerned in a direct outlet to the sea and to the ports of the world. 
Since 1910 Mr. Bruce has fought the illegal diversion of lake waters into the Chicago 
Drainage Canal, thereby lowering the levels of the lake waters and causing injury 
to the commerce of the Great Lakes. In 1912 he headed a delegation of lake city 
representatives which appeared before Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. Again 
in 1916, when the entire Great Lakes region protested against the excess waters 
being legalized and representatives from forty-two cities and six states appeared 
before Secretary of War Baker, he was chosen chief spokesman. In each instance 
he received a decision favorable to the protection of the lake interests. In April, 
1922, he was again chosen as the spokesman when a delegation of congressmen and 
city officials appeared before Secretary Weeks of the War Department in protest 
against the illegal diversion of lake waters. For some years Mr. Bruce has also 
served as a director of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress. 

When the Harbor Commission was created he was chosen a member and made 
its chairman against his own protest. - When several years later through legislative 
act it was transformed into a board with power to direct the construction of harbor 
work and administer port affairs, he was made its president, in which capacity he 
still serves. During his administi-ation a comprehensive harbor scheme was devised 
which is designated by the United States government engineers to be the most 
progressive on the Great Lakes. The plan, when completed, will serve the water- 
borne commerce of Milwaukee for the next one hundred years. This task Mr. Bruce 
regards as his best contribution to the material progress and stability of his native 
city. 

He has aside from his capacity as publisher and his civic labors been interested 
in other commercial and industrial enterprises, served as director in several of them 
and is at present a director of the American Exchange Bank. 

His literary productions have been mainly in the field of political economy, 
including such subjects as taxation, social insurance, community promotion, national 
monetary system, foreign trade, etc., etc. He also constantly writes on school 
administrative topics. In 1920 he prepared a comprehensive work on "Commercial 
Organizations, Their Function. Operation and Service." now recognized as the first 
authoritative work on the subject. His latest contribution is the "History of i\Iil- 
waukee, City and County." Besides, he is bringing to completion this year a large 
volume entitled "The American School Taxation Problem." 

As a public speaker Mr. Bruce has occupied a unique position in both the 
metropolis and the state. He has probably dealt with a larger variety of subjects 
than is usually assumed by men. His addresses are usually replete with instructive 
facts and statements and sound in conclusions. He speaks rapidly, in a spirited 
manner, and holds his audience to the end with the keenest attention and interest. 
His audiences have consisted of commercial and civic bodies throughout the state 
as well as of student bodies in colleges and schools. 

On May 4, 1881, William George Bruce was married to Miss Monica Moehring, 
daughter of Conrad and Renatta Romana (Buehler) Moehring. This marriage was 
blessed with three children. William Conrad, Frank Milton and Monica Marie. The 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 1G7 

two sons are associated with their father in the Bruce Publishing Company, tlie 
one serving as editor-in-chief, and the other as general business manager. 

William George Bruce is known to the people of Wisconsin as an exponent of 
true advancement and as one who has worked unselfishl.v and incessantly in that 
direction. He is recognized as a highminded and constructive citizen who has not 
only been successful in his private undertakings but has also earnestly sought the 
progress of the metropolis and the state along economic, civic and social lines. 



HON. GEORGE A. BOWMAX. 

Hon. George A. Bowman, attorney at law, was born in Shelbyville, Illinois, May 
29. 1S90. and is a son of Dr. Jesse A. and Anna (Reiss) Bowman, both of whom are 
natives of Illinois. The maternal grandfather. Charles Reiss, was born near Leipsic. 
Geimany. and with his wife came to America immediately after their marriage, 
settling in Shelbyville, Illinois, where he worked at the carpenter's trade. He was 
killed while trying to stop a runaway team when about seventy years of age. The 
grandfather in the paternal line was of Scotch-Irish descent and removed to Illinois 
from Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Jesse A. Bowman is a dentist who is conducting his office 
under the name of the People's Dentists in Milwaukee, where he has a liberal patronage. 

George A. Bowman pursued his education in the public schools of Shelbyville. 
Illinois, completing the high school course, after which he attended Sparks Business 
College and then entered the Marquette Law School of Milwaukee, from which he was 
graduated in 1912. He had become a resident of this city in 1908 and has liere 
remained. Following his admission to the bar in August. 1912. he entered at once 
upon active practice. He was one of only three out of a class of twenty five students 
of the Marquette Law School that succeeded in passing the required examination 
whereby he secured a license to practice law. Mr. Bowman became associated with 
William L. Tibbs. special assistant district attorney, a partnership that was continued 
for two years, since which time he has practiced alone and is now located in the 
Patton building at Fifth and Grand avenue. As the years have passed his practice 
has steadily grown in volume and importance. 

Into another field of activity Mr. Bowman has also directed his labors, for in 
1918 he was elected a member of the general assembly and served for one term. While 
in the legislature he introduced a number of bills, some of which became laws. He 
introduced a resolution for a constitutional amendment providing for a majority vote 
of a jury and not requiring a unanimous vote — a provision that would prevent cue 
man from holding up a jury. He also introduced a number of bills by request and 
did an important work against increasing the taxes. He stanchly supported all reso- 
lutions, bills and measures that he believed were beneficial to the commonwealth and 
to the country. He now devotes his entire time to law practice and to service as 
assistant manager of dental enterprises. 

On the 30th of June. 1915. .Air. Bowman was married to Miss Edna Hunter of Shelby 
county. Illinois, and they have three children: William, George and Lavone. Mr. 
Bowman belongs to the Young Men's Christian Association and to the County Bar 
Association. The sterling worth of his character is widely recognized and wherever 
he is known his friends speak of him in terms of high regard. 



JOHX W. KIECKHEFER. 

John W. Kieckhefer, president of the Kieckhefer Box Company, was born in Mil- 
waukee, December 3, 1886, and is a son of William H. and Louise (Schroeder) Kieck- 
hefer, who were also natives of this city. The grandparents came from Germany and 
settled in Milwaukee at a very early day. when the city was but a village on the 
western frontier. In fact, the maternal grandmother was born in Milwaukee. The 
grandfather in tlie maternal line was John Schroeder who established a business that 
is still carried on under the name of the Schroeder Lumber Company. The paternal 
grandfather, Charles Kieckhefer. was a retail merchant and came to Milwaukee about 
1848. William H. Kieckhefer and his brother. Ferdinand, organized the Kieckhefer 
Brothers Company, manufacturers of tin and enameled ware and the business which 
they established is now one of the plants of the National Enameling Company, which 
has grown to be a very large concern. Thus William H. Kieckhefer was actively and 
prominently identified with the business development of the city for many years. He 
passed away in 1913, while his %vife survived until 1916. They were the parents of 
eight children, seven of whom are living: Robert J., who is president of the American 
Lace Paper Company of Milwaukee; Mrs. E. G. Wurster, whose husband is an attorney 



168 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of this city; John W., of this review; Mrs. G. R. Seeger of St. Paul, Minnesota; William, 
Herbert and Walter, who are connected with their brother, John, in business. 

In the German parochial schools of Milwaukee, John W. Kieckhefer began his edu- 
cation, which he later continued in the city high schools. In 1904 he joined his brother, 
Robert J., who was then with the Enterprise Box Company, and in 1906 the name was 
changed to the Kieckhefer Box Company. In the following year John W. Kieckhefer 
became the secretary of the company and in 1915 was elected to the presidency. The 
business has developed to one of substantial proportions and has been thoroughly 
organized and every department thoroughly systematized under the capable direction 
of the president and his official associates. He is also the president of the Kaukauna 
Pulp Company of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, which was organized in 1916 and of which 
he has since been the chief executive officer. In 1917 he organized the Kieckhefer 
Paper Company of Camden, New Jersey, of which he has since been the president, 
and in 1919 organized the Kieckhefer Box Company of Utah, which has a plant located 
at Ogden, and of this corporation he has likewise been the president from the begin- 
ning. The plant in Milwaukee covers twelve acres of land and manufactures wooden 
boxes, fibre and corrugated shipping containers. The company's products are sold all 
over the country and something of the volume of its business is indicated in the fact 
that it now has four hundred and eighty employes in the Milwaukee plant alone. 
During the World war Mr. Kieckhefer manufactured war materials for the govern- 
ment. The concern made paper cans for filling charges of large guns, and at Waukesha 
manufactured wooden boxes for ammunition. The Waukesha Company has since been 
dissolved. Throughout the war period Mr. Kieckhefer was chairman of the box manu- 
facturing group. 

On the 20th of January, 1917, Mr. Kieckhefer was married to Miss Dorothy Hazel- 
wood of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two children: Robert H. and 
Ida Louise. In his political views Mr. Kieckhefer is a republican, giving stalwart sup- 
port to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is a member 
of the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Milwaukee Association of 
Commerce, of which he is serving as one of the directors. In all things he manifests 
a public-spirited devotion to the general good, cooperating heartily in any plan or 
measure for the city's benefit and upbuilding or for the support of those interests which 
are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. In his business career he has made 
steady advancement and each forward step has brought him a broader outlook and 
wider opportunities, which he has eagerly utilized. Moreover, his activities have ever 
been of a character that have contributed to public progress as well as to individual 
prosperity, for the various corporations of which he is the head are important factors in 
the manufacturing and Industrial development of the cities In which they are located. 



WALLACE MALCOLM BELL. 

Thirty-three years have been added to the cycle of the centuries since Wallace 
Malcolm Bell became Identified with the business interests of Milwaukee. Through- 
out the entire period he has been associated with the grain trade and is now conduct- 
ing his interests under the name of the W. M. Bell Company, Incorporated, of which 
he is the president. His experience has covered many years and his success has been 
assured owing to his thorough understanding of the trade, his close application and 
keen business sagacity. He was born in Brooklyn, Illinois, August 22, 1858. His father, 
Benjamin P. Bell, who was a stock dealer, died in 1891, having for twenty years sur- 
vived his wife, who passed away in 1S71. She bore the maiden name of Margaret 
Lewis and was a daughter of William Lewis, a merchant of Brooklyn, Illinois, who was 
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Lewis family came from Wales in 1683 and 
settled at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. There William Lewis, the great-great-grand- 
father of W. M. Bell, was one of the most noted and distinguished lawyers of his time, 
having been admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1777. 

After acquiring his early education in the public schools of Rushville, Illinois, 
where he passed through consecutive grades to his graduation from the Rushville 
high school, W. M. Bell entered Princeton College as a member of the class of 1883. 
When his college course was completed he spent six years in Chicago and then came 
to Milwaukee, where he has since been engaged in his present line of business, that 
of dealer in grain. He was at first in the employ of L. Bartlett & Sou, with whom 
he remained for a period of eight years. He was ambitious, however, to engage in 
business on his own account and eventually he found a way to do so, having secured 
sufficient capital through his industry and economy. In 1897 he founded his present 
business, in which he was at first associated with James Sawyer and Frank Rice. 
They incorporated their interests under the name of the Bell Commission Company 
and after about two years Mr. Sawyer and Mr. Rice retired. At the present time 
Mr. Bell is associated with William A. Hottensen and his son, Robert G. Bell, and the 




WALLACE M. BELL 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 171 

business is carried nn under the name of tlie \V. M. Bell Company, wliicli style was 
assumed in 1S9.S. He is thoroughly conversant with the grain trade in every particular 
and has built up a business of substantial proportions. 

On Thanksgiving day of 1S92 Mr. Bell was united in marriage to Miss Margaret 
J. Larramie, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, who passed away in 1919. leaving one son. 
Robert G. Bell, who was born June 20, 1^94, and was educated in the Milwaukee public 
schools, the East Side high school and the Culver Military Academy. He served 
during the World war and for eleven months was in France with the Medical Corps, 
receiving his discharge April 23, 1919. He is now secretary of the W. M. Bell Com- 
pany. 

Mr. Bell has never been active in politics but votes with the democratic party. 
In religious faith he is a Christian Scientist and attends the First church. Fra- 
ternally he is a Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge No. 265. F. & A. M.; Calumet 
Chapter, R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T.; and Wisconsin Consistory, in which 
he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a Mystic 
Shriner of Tripoli Temple and he belongs to the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks. He like- 
wise has membership in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, of which he served as president 
from 1899 until 1901, belongs to the City Club and is a prominent and valued member 
of the Chamber of Commerce, of which he was president in 1909 and 1910. He has 
always been interested in athletics and he keeps in touch with what is being done in 
the athletic field, especially in outdoor athletics. He is a tisherman and makes frequent 
trips to the northern waters to indulge his love of fishing. His life has Ijeen pur- 
poseful and his enterprise and determination have carried him to a most creditable 
point of success. He commands the respect of all and wins the friendship of many 
and deserves classification with the representative residents of Milwaukee. 



LOUIS MARSHALL WARFIELD, M. D. 

Dr. Louis Marshall Warfield. engaged in the practice of medicine since 1903, and 
president of the Milwaukee Medical Society. 1920-21, has resided in this city since 
1909. He was born in Savannah. Georgia. May 15. 1876. His father, Louis Marshall 
Warfield, deceased, was a cotton merchant, who was born in Maryland and passed away 
in Savannah, Georgia, in 1896. The Warfield family has long been represented on this 
side of the Atlantic and is of Welsh lineage. The doctor's mother, now a widow, was 
in her maidenhood Miss Tryphena D. Wayne. She was born in Savannah. Georgia, 
where she still makes her home and is a representative of the Wayne family long 
prominent in America, the family to which belongs "Mad Anthony" Wayne, the famous 
general of the Revolutionary war, whose courage and daring won for him the name 
of "Mad Anthony" Wayne. She is also related to the Smythe family of Virginia that 
was likewise represented in the Revolutionary war. 

Dr. Warfield was reared in his native city and acquired his classical education in 
the Johns Hopkins University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts 
degree in 1S97. He then continued in the institution as a medical student and gained 
his professional degree in 1901. For a year he served as an interne in the Johns 
Hopkins Hospital and then went abroad to study in Berlin in 1902-3. and took a post- 
graduate course in the University of Pennsylvania in 1903. He specializes in internal 
medicine and diagnosis and is regarded as one of the skillful physicians of Milwaukee. 
He practiced for a year in Savannah. Georgia, following his postgraduate work in the 
University of Pennsylvania, and then in 1905 went to St. Louis. Missouri, where he 
remained until 1908. He was again in Savannah in 1909, and in the latter part of that 
year came to Milwaukee, where he has remained. Through the intervening period of 
thirteen years he has made steady professional progi-ess and his success has long been 
assured. He served a term as the president of the Milwaukee Medical Society and 
belongs to the Tri-State Medical Society and to the American Medical Association. He 
is also a member of the Association of American Physicians, the only representative 
of that organization in Milwaukee. He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical 
Society and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. His connections of a 
professional nature are thus broad and indicate his deep interest in professional 
advancement and progress. 

On the 25th of April, 1914, Dr. Warfield was married in Oshkosh. Wisconsin, to 
Miss Lorna Hooper, representative of a prominent family of that city, and they have 
become parents of two children: Jack Wayne, seven years of age; and Lois Hooper, 
aged two. Dr. Warfield is fond of golf, hunting and fishing and belongs to the Mil- 
waukee Country Club. He also has membership in the Milwaukee City Club and in 
the Milwaukee University Club, and the nature of his interests is further indicated 
in the fact that he is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science. While his activities and interests cover a wide scope, his time is chiefly 
occupied by his professional duties, nor is he unknown in the field of medical author- 



172 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

ship. In fact, he has written mucli for medical journals and is the author of a medical 
treatise entitled Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension, which is now in its third edition. 
He is also the author of an article entitled. Diseases of the Arteries and Clinical 
Blood Pressure, published in volume six of a work entitled, Practice of Medicine, of 
which he is one of the authors. His writings have brought him prominently before 
the public and he enjoys in high measure the respect and confidence of his professional 
colleagues and contemporaries. 



JULIUS WECHSELBERG. 



Julius Wechselberg, realtor, who is today the oldest representative of real estate in 
Milwaukee, has at various periods been prominently identified with manufacturing and 
industrial interests as well as with the handling of real estate. His name, too, is asso- 
ciated with the public records of city and state, he having filled important political 
positions, including that of state senator, so that he has left the impress of his in- 
dividuality and ability upon the legislative annals of the state. He still remains an 
active factor in the world's work although he has passed the eighty-fourth milestone 
on life's journey — a notable record and one that should serve to inspire and encourage 
others. 

Mr. Wechselberg was born on the 9th of March 183S, in Barmen, Germany, a son of 
John P. and Johanna (Klein) Wechselberg. In 1848, when he was ten years of age, his 
father decided to migrate to America in order to keep his family of boys from serving 
in the Prussian army. In the spring of that year the family sailed in the Shakespeare, 
one of the old-time sailing vessels, for New York, and they were forty-eight days com- 
pleting the voyage. Prom New York they took passage on the Rip Van Winkle, a side- 
wheeler, up the Hudson river to Albany; from there to Buffalo by way of the Erie 
canal and thence by steamer through the Great Lakes to Milwaukee, landing at the foot 
of Huron street on the 25th of September 1848. The father had been a manufacturer 
in Germany and after coming to the new world purchased a tract of land in the town 
of Lake, Milwaukee county, and devoted several years to improving this farm, later re- 
turning to the city of Milwaukee, where he spent the remaining years of his life. 

Julius Wechselberg, of this review, acquired his early education in the district 
schools, pursuing his studies in one of the old-time small log schoolhouses, while later 
he spent several terms as a pupil in a commercial college in Milwaukee. At the age 
.of sixteen years he left the farm. Making his way to the city, he entered the shop of 
Isaac Kingsley, a carriage and wagon manufacturer, by whom he was employed for 
three years; receiving thirty dollars per year and board for the first year; forty dollars 
and board for the second year; and fifty dollars and board for the third year. 

After thus completing his apprenticeship, Mr. Wechselberg was employed in dif- 
ferent shops until the spring of 1861, when he established business on his own account, 
opening a carriage shop at the corner of Michigan and Milwaukee streets, where stood 
a building that had formerly been occupied as an organ factory but had been vacated on 
account of the owner losing his life on the Lady Elgin. Mr. Wechselberg purchased 
this building for one hundred and forty dollars, after obtaining a lease of the lot from 
Elisha Eldred. There Mr. Wechselberg engaged in manufacturing hand-made carriages 
and cutters, the new enterprise flourishing from the start. He remained at his original 
location for about five years, when the business outgrew its quarters and he purchased 
a lot on the east side of Second street between Wells and Spring streets (now Grand 
avenue), erecting thereon a three story brick building, in which he conducted the 
Novelty Carriage Works. Later he admitted his brother and Thomas H. Brown to a 
partnership, under the firm style of Wechselberg, Brown & Company, carriage manu- 
facturers. In 1871 they were burned out and owing to the insurance company's heavy 
losses that year in the big Chicago fire they were able to collect only a part of the 
insurance. That same fear they purchased a lot on Third street, north of the Wiscon- 
sin Hotel, fifty by one hundred and fifty feet, the purchase price being seventy dollars 
per front foot or three thousand five hundred dollars. Today this lot is valued at 
five thousand dollars per front foot or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Upon 
this lot was erected a large building, which still stands today, but is about to be 
razed to make way for another unit of the Wisconsin Hotel. Here the firm continued 
to manufacture carriages for several years, and the business steadily grew and de- 
veloped. 

In the fall of 1876 Mr. Wechselberg sold his interest in the business to his brother 
and Mr. Brown, who were his pai'tners in the undertaking. Three years before this 
time, or in 1873, he had been elected alderman of the fourth ward and served in the 
office for four years. In the fall of 1876 he was elected clerk of the circuit court, and 
it was by reason of this election, the office demanding his entire time, that he sold his 
interest in the business. He proved most capable in the discharge of his duties and 
was twice reelected. While serving as clerk of the circuit court he studied law and was 




JULIUS WECHSELBEKG 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 175 

admitted to the bar. In 1881 he began dealing in real estate. On the expiration of bis 
third term, January 1, 1S83, he turned his entire attention to the real estate business, 
in which ha has since engaged and is today the oUlest real estate dealer in Milwaukee. 

Mr. Wechselbtrg has from time to time been called upon to serve in positions of 
public honor and trust. In the fall of 1886 he was elected a member of the state senate 
and served in the upper house of the general assembly for four years. In 1S90 he was 
tendered, by Congressman Isaac W. Van Schoick, the position of census enumerator 
for the eastern district of Wisconsin, but on account of his growing real estate activities 
he declined the position. In 1S92 he was the republican candidate for congressman in 
the fifth district but failed of an electiton owing to a democratic land slide that year, 
the year Grover Cleveland was elected president for the second time. 

Mr. AVechselberg has been president of the ^Milwaukee Real Estate Board and of 
the Old Settler's Club, is an attendant of the Grand Avenue Congregational church and 
has been identified with the Masonic fraternity for fifty-nine years. Today he is the 
oldest member of and also the dean of past masters of Kilbourn Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. 
M., and has been a member of the Supreme Council thirty-third degree Masons, for 
twenty-six years. His life has been guided by the beneficent spirit and principles 
which imderlio the craft. 

In 1SIJ2 Mr. Weehselberg was united in marriage to Miss Cecilia Louise Whitney, 
a daughter of Walter and Phoebe (Sweeny) Whitney. They became the parents of two 
children: William, who is now deceased; and Nellie P., the widow of Arthur Henne- 
kemper. The wife and mother passed away in 1893. The children of a second wife are 
Edward F. and Edith R. 

Mr. Weehselberg is recognized as a man of influence in every field into which he 
has directed his labors, and his sterling worth is recognized and attested by all. For 
nearly three-fourths of a century he has lived in AVisconsin and through much of this 
period in Milwaukee, so that lie is familiar with the history of the city and of the state. 
He has taken an active interest in all that has pertained to public progress and im- 
provement; has contributed much to the industrial and commercial- development of the 
community and to the political activity. He was a member of the original volunteer 
fire department and served as secretary of supply hose company. No. 1, just prior to 
the establishment of the paid fire department. In building up different sections of 
Milwaukee his efforts proved an important and resultant factor, as he was the originator 
of numerous subdivisions in various parts of the city which are now thickly populated. 
The sterling worth of his character is attested by all, and he has a circle of friends 
almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. 



EDWARD H. SCHWARTZBURG. 

Through the steps of an orderly progression Edward H. Schw-artzburg of Mil- 
waukee, has worked his way steadily upward until his advancement brought him to 
the responsible position of manager of the Milwaukee plant of the National Enameling 
& Stamping Company. He has spent his life in this city and has an enviable record 
for steadfastness of purpose, for thorough reliability and for undaunted enterprise in 
business affairs. His birth here occurred November 25. 1871, and he is a representative 
of one of the oldest and best known families of the city, identified with progress and 
improvement here through three generations. His paternal grandfather. Christian 
Schwartzburg, was one of the first settlers of Milwaukee and the station on the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, now kn(5wn as North Milwaukee, was first named 
Schwartzburg in his honor. His son, Henry A. Schwartzburg, was born in Milwaukee, 
and after the outbreak of the Civil war joined the Union forces as a member of the 
navy, participating in all the important battles which were waged on the Mississippi 
river. He married Sophia Eggensperger, a native of Steubenville, Ohio. 

At the usual age Edward H. Schwartzburg became a pupil in the public schools 
of Milwaukee and completed the work of various grades until he had finished his high 
school course. He next spent a year as a student in the College of Law of the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin. He started out in the business world as a lad of sixteen years 
by entering the employ of the Kieckhefer Brothers Company, and throughout the 
Intervening period to the present has been connected with the business. He worked 
his way upward through various positions with that company until the time of its 
consolidation with the National Enameling & Stamping Company and he is now a 
director as well as manager of the Milwaukee plant of the latter concern. He readily 
recognizes and utilizes opportunities that others have passed heedlessly by and has 
never Ijeen afraid to take a forward step when the way was open. 

On the 21st of September. 1897, Mr. Schwartzburg was married to Miss Clara T. 
Kieckhefer, a daughter of Ferdinard A. W. and Wilemine ( Kuetemeyer ) Kieckhefer! 
They have become parents of five children: Mildred S., Edward H., Frederick W.! 
Grace E. and Thomas C. The parents are members of the St. James Episcopal church 



176 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

and have contributed generously to its support and take an active part in its work. 
Mr. Schwartzburg is also connected with the Milwaukee Athletic and the Milwaukee 
Gun Clubs and is popular in these social organizations. His political support has 
ever been given to the republican party since he attained his majority, yet he has 
never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring at all times to con- 
centrate his efforts and activities upon the increasingly important business affairs which 
have claimed his attention and which now rank him with the leading representatives 
of industrial and commercial activity in Milwaukee. 



REV. FRANCIS J. PETTIT. 



Rev. Francis J. Pettit, pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic church of Milwaukee, was 
born in Springvale township, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, January 15, 1868. He 
is a son of Joseph and Mary (O'Reilly) Pettit, the former a native of Ireland, while 
the latter was born in Rhode Island. The father came to "Wisconsin with his parents 
in 1844, when a youth of but nine years, and was among the early pioneers of this 
state. Joseph Pettit spent his entire life as a farmer and passed away in the year 1916, 
while the mother is still living and now makes her home on the farm on which she 
has spent her life. 

Rev. Father Pettit acquired his early education in the country schools near his 
father's home and in 1886 he entered St. Francis Seminary for ten years in preparation 
for the priesthood, being ordained on the 16th of June, 1895. He was then assigned to 
duty at Shullsburg, Wisconsin, where he became assistant pastor of St. Matthew's 
church, there continuing his labors for eight years. He was next sent to St. Mat- 
thew's church at Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where he took charge of the parish. He also 
had charge of St. John's, a mission in South Milwaukee. Here he built a parish house 
in 1908. He was transferred from the Oak Creek church to St. John's church in South 
Milwaukee in that year and there continued his labors uninterruptedly until October, 
1920, when he was assigned to the pastorate of St. Patrick's parish in Milwaukee to 
till a vacancy caused by the death of the Rt. Rev. John Morrissey. Here he has a 
parish of about four hundred families and in the intervening period he has done 
excellent work in systematizing and promoting the work of the church in all of its 
departments. 



CHARLES MANEGOLD, JR. 

Charles Manegold, Jr., president of the Milwaukee-Waukesha Brewing Company,- 
with plant at No. 155 South Water street in Milwaukee, was born September 15, 1851, 
in the city which is still his home. His father, Charles Manegold, was a native of 
Braunschweig, Germany, and came to the United States in 1848. For a time he re- 
sided in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then removed to Milwaukee. He was a blacksmith by 
trade but in later life turned his attention to the ice business in this city and in 1868 
built a flour mill on South Water street, which he continued to own and operate until 
his death in May, 1879, his son Charles, Jr., being associated with him in this under- 
taking. He was a most active and progressive business man and he enjoyed the respect 
and confidence of all. His father was Henry Manegold, who was likewise a black- 
smith by trade. The mother of Charles Manegold, Jr., bore the maiden name of Wil- 
helmina Notbohm, and she too was born in Braunschweig, Germany, while her death 
cccured in Milwaukee in 1909, Our subject has two brothers, Henry and William, who 
are yet re^ir^ents of Milwaukee, the former now living retired. Two other brothers, 
Fred and Albert Manegold, are deceased. 

Charles Manegold, Jr., obtained a public school education in his native city, after 
which he learned the miller's trade in his father's mill, serving an apprenticeship to 
Eugene Hotchkiss, who had rented the mill. He thoroughly mastered the business in 
principle and detail and in 1871 was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of 
Hotchkiss & Manegold. Later in the same year, however, the firm went out of business. 
Mr. Manegold afterward operated the mill for his father and an uncle, August Mane- 
gold, for a period of three years. At the end of that time August Manegold passed 
away and Charles Manegold, Jr., became an equal partner with his father in the busi- 
ness. He remained an active factor in the conduct of the enterprise until 1910. In 
1876 he had become a partner of C. J. Kershaw in the ownership of the Northwestern 
Marine elevator and in 1878 he and his father purchased the reliance flour mill at 
West Water street. He took an active part in the successful management and control 
of all three of these business enterprises and was actively associated with the milling 
business until 1910. In the meantime he had become interested in the Milwaukee Malt- 
ing Company in 1886 and was identified therewith until 1898, when the company sold 




CHARLES MANEGOLI), .Ik. 



Vol. 11—12 



II I STORY OK MILWATKEK 179 

out to the American Malting Company. In isa9 Mr. Manegold became tlie owner of 
tne business- carried on under the name of tlie Mil\vaukee-Waul<esha Brewing Company, 
of which he is now the president. They have breweries at Wauliesha and at Pox Head 
Springs. The business has been developed to substantial proportions and in its cou- 
duct Mr. Manegold has displayed the same spirit of enterprise, determination and 
progressiveness which characterize him in his other industrial and commercial con- 
nections. 

On the IGth of October. 1S75, Mr. Manegold was married to Miss Anna Kretschmar, 
a daughter of Robert Kretschmar, a native of Saxony, Germany, who conducted busi- 
ness as a butcher and meat packer. Mr. and Mrs. Manegold have become parents of 
three daughters: Emily, now the widow of A. S. Lindeman. of Milwaukee; Ella, the 
w^ife of Frank Boesel, a lawyer of this city; and Irma, now the wife of Dr. Edwin 
Henes. of New York, but now residing in Milwaukee. Emily has two daughters, Alice 
and Charlotte, while Jlrs. Boesel has three children, Charles, Prank and Marianna, and 
Mrs. Henes has two children, Viriginia and Edwin. 

Mr. -Manegold has taken a deep and helpful interest in public affairs. He was one 
of the first park commissioners of the city, filling the office in 18S9 when the park 
system was inaugurated. He gave much time to the project for a period of ten years 
and as a member of the first park board he made the original purchase of what is 
now Lake park, Washington park, Kosciuszko park and other parks of the city. His 
cooperation can at all times be counted upon to further any plans or measure for the 
genera! good. Politically he maintains an independent course nor has he ever held or 
desired elective office. He is identified with many social organizations and societies 
which have to do directly with the benefit and upbuilding of Milwaukee. He has mem- 
bership in the Association of Commerce, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin 
Club, the Calumet Club, the Blue Mound Country Club and also in the Milwaukee Art 
Institute. He greatly enjoys bowling and fishing and turns to these for recreation 
when leisure permits. He has also benefited greatly by travel abroad and has visited 
Spitzbergen. Egypt, the Holy Land, South America and other points of wide interest. 
He went to Alaska in 189S, the year gold was discovered there, but he did not learn 
of the discovery until he had returned to Seattle. He has also visited the West 
Indies, saw the Panama Canal in the making and has traveled throughout Mexico. 
He has ahvays been accompanied by his wife or other members of the family and 
he has faund his greatest happiness in promoting the welfare and happiness of the 
members of his own household. As a member of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce 
he served for twenty years as one of the committee on arbitration. He has closely 
studied the questions which are vital to the welfare and progress of the city and state 
in which he makes his home, and his support of any measure is an indication of his 
firm belief in its value as related to good government. 



WILLIAM C. F. WITTE, M. D. 

Dr. Willinm C. F. Witte, who concentrates his professional activities up.on surgery, 
is well known in this connection in Milwaukee. He was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, 
August 26. 1869. and is a son of Richard E. Witte, a farmer by occupation, who was 
born in Berlin, Germany, and came to the United States in young manhood, making 
his way at once across the country to Milwaukee. He died in 1886 and was long sur- 
vived by his wife, w-ho bore the maiden name of Frances Margaret Stewart and who 
was born in tlie state of New York, being of Scotch descent. She died in 1920. In 
their family were four children, all living. One son, Richard Sinclair Witte, is a law- 
yer of Milwaukee. 

Dr. Witte obtained his early education in the country schools of Wisconsin, being 
reared on a farm and afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he followed 
for five years, thus earning the money with which he later paid his tuition in acquir- 
ing his more advanced education. He spent two years in the University of Wisconsin 
studying pharmacy and kindred subjects and then entered upon the study of medicine 
in Rush Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the M. D. 
degree in 1896. He afterward spent twenty months as interne in the Presbyterian 
Hospital of Chicago and entered upon the general practice of medicine and surgery in 
Milwaukee, devoting his attention thereto until 1911. Since then he has specialized 
in surgery and has promoted his knowledge and capability through postgraduate work 
in Vienna and Berlin in 1903 and again in 1921. He served on the examining board 
at Milwaukee during the World war and he is now a director of surgery in Marquette 
Universitv. He has taught surgery constantlv in the Jlilwaukee Medical schools since 
1898. 

On the 5th of August. 1908. Dr. Witte was united in marriage to Miss Ethel R. 
Bennett, who was born in Ontario, Canada, and they have become parents of a 
daughter, Frances Evelyn, born August .31, 1914. Dr. Witte and his wife are members 



180 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of the Episcopal church and he is a Mason of high rank, having attained the Knights 
Templar degree in the York Rite, the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite and 
has also become a Mystic Shriner. He finds great pleasure in hunting and fishing 
and duck-shooting and is fond of travel and golf. He belongs to the Milwaukee Ath- 
letic Club, also the Blue Mound Country Club, while his professional associations 
are with the Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, the "Wisconsin State, the Tri-State and 
the American Medical Associations, and he became a fellow of the American College of 
Surgeons in 1917. His efficiency has constantly developed with the passing years as 
the result of his broad experience, his close study and his thorough research, and 
today he is recognized as one of the skilled surgeons of his native state. 



HON. ALBERT CHARLES EHLMAN. 

Hon. Albert Charles Ehlman, representative of the Milwaukee bar, has made steady 
progress in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit 
and ability. Wealth and influence avail little or nought in the attainment of prom- 
inence as a practitioner of law, but thoroughness, industry and intellectual force are 
the necessary concomitants for progress in this field. Well equipped in these direc- 
tions, Albert Charles Ehlman has made steady progress. He was born in Milwaukee, 
November 10. 1876, a son of William A. and Prances G. (Graham) Ehlman, the former 
a native of New York, while the latter was born in Wisconsin. The father came to 
Milwaukee with his parents in his youth and for many years he was a teacher, and 
for a long time superintendent of music in the Milwaukee public schools. 

Albert C. Ehlman obtained his early education in the Milwaukee schools and after 
completing the high school course later attended the University of Wisconsin. In the 
meantime he had studied law and passed the bar examination in 1898. He also taught 
in the State Normal School in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for some time. Later he 
became a member of the Chicago bar, where he continued for a brief period, and in 
1903 he returned to Milwaukee, where he has since maintained a law office and has 
been accorded a liberal clientage. He began practice with Gilson G. Glasier, now state 
librarian, and William A. Klatte, now clerk of the civil court, under the firm name of 
Glasier, Klatte & Ehlman. The present firm of Kiefer & Ehlman has been in'existence 
since 1917. The firm's practice has constantly grown in volume and importance and 
its name is associated with much notable litigation tried in the coui'ts of the district. 

On the 26th of December, 1901, Mr. Ehlman was married to Miss Ruby D. Bell of 
Concord, Wisconsin, and they have two children: Neal LeRoy and Beatrice Lucille. 

Politically Mr. Ehlman is a socialist and in 1919 he was elected to the state legis- 
lature, serving for one term. He was instrumental in securing the passage of the bill 
for the no par stock, permitting companies to issue stock of no par value. This was 
an issue of great importance and the law was passed after a hard fight. Mr. Ehlman 
also introduced the resolution memorializing congress to pass a bill in the release of 
political prisoners and likewise introduced other resolutions and bills. He was chair- 
man of the first registration board of the twenty-second ward during the World war. 
He has been very active in all civic affairs and for three years was chairman of the 
Christmas Tree Committee, which has in charge a public Christmas celebration with a 
municipal Christmas tree. 



JOHN McDILL FOX. 



John McDill Fox, professor of law in Marquette University, was born in Milwaukee, 
January 3, 1891. He is a son of Dr. William Fox and a grandnephew of William Fox, 
who was one of the signers of the first constitution of the state. Dr. William Fox was 
born in Oregon, Dane county. Wisconsin, and became one of the prominent physicians 
of his time, steadily advancing to a position of leadership in connection with the 
practice of medicine and surgery in this state. He died in April, 1897, at the age of 
fifty-two years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Narcissa McDill, was born 
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Alexander S. McDill, former member of con- 
gress from Wisconsin. He was also superintendent of the institution for the insane 
at Madison both before and after his term in congress. As a physician he specialized 
in nervous diseases and was one of the first alienists in this country. His daughter, 
Mrs. Fox, passed away November 12, 1920. 

John McDill Fox was a pupil in the public schools of Milwaukee to the age of nine 
years, when he went to Notre Dame University, entering the preparatory school, and 
when fourteen years of age became a university student there. He was graduated in 
1909 with the Bachelor of Arts degree and afterward taught in St. Edward's College 
in Austin, Texas, for a year or more. Entering the Harvard Law School, he was there 




JOHN McDILL FOX 



HISTORY OF :\[ILWArKEE 183 

graduated in 1914 but p'rior to his graduation was admitted upon examination to the 
Massachusetts Ijar. He belonged to the John Marshall Law Club at Harvard and he 
was one of the organizers and the secretary of the Wisconsin Club at Harvard Uni- 
versity. 

In the fall of 1914 Mr. Fox entered the office of Whipple. Sears & Ogden in Boston 
and there remained for a year. He left that firm to engage in admiralty practice alone 
in Bost(»n and in 1916 he returned to Milwaukee, after which he was admitted to 
practice at the Wisconsin bar in the month of July. Here he took up the active work 
of the profession and has since specialized in admiralty law. In the spring of 1919 
he was made special lecturer on maritime law at the Marquette University, being the 
first instructor to give a full course of maritime law in \\'isconsin. In the fall of 1919 
he was made a full professor of law in Marquette. 

In June. 1914, Mr. Fcx was married to Miss Elsa Sonnemann, a daughter of Richard 
Sonnemann, a tobacco manufacturer of Neenah, Wisconsin, who was born in Germany, 
as was his daughter. Mrs. Fox. She came to Wisoon'^in with her parents when a young 
girl of twelve cr thirteen years. Her maternal grandfather was at one time postmaster 
general of Berlin. iSIr. and Mrs. Fox have become parents of three children: Narcissa, 
Elinor and Eileen. 

In politics Mr. Fox maintains an independent course but votes in the republican 
primaries. He has not been active in political work nor has he ever been a candidate 
for office. His religious belief is that of the Catholic church and he attends the 
cathedral, while Mrs. Fox is a member of the Lutheran church. Mr. Fox has member- 
ship in Pere Marquette Council. No. .5-'. of the Knights of Columbus of Milwaukee and 
he also belongs to the Harvard Club of Milwaukee. He is greatly interested in the 
question of public water improvements and he keeps well informed on all the vital 
civic problems of the day, giving his support at all times to those questions which he 
deems a matter of value to the community at large. 



NORTH AVENUE STATE BANK. 

The North Avenue State Bank of Jlilwaukee was organized in 1911 with a capital 
stock of fifty thousand dollars and opened for business at No. 2920 North avenue, 
in September of that year, the officers being William P. Coerper. president; George 
Klippel, vice president; and George J. Neth, cashier. In 1913 Mr. Neth resigned his 
position and Joseph M. Wolf was elected cashier and one of the directors of the 
bank. The business grew rapidly and in December, 191S, this- bank consolidated 
■with the Wisconsin State Savings Bank, located at 3506 North avenue, of which George 
L. Baldauf was president and F. A. Lochner, cashier. The business of the North 
Avenue State Bank was removed to tlie latter location, retaining the old name, how- 
ever. The combined capital of the merged institution was one liundred thousand 
dollars. This was increased to two hundred thousand dollars on March 1, 1920. At 
the time of the consolidation the bank had resources of one million three hundred 
and thirty-eight thousand dollars, while in 1921 its resources were nearly three million 
dollars. The bank is housed in an attractive brick and stone structure, one story 
in height, modern in every particular of bank equipment. With the consolidation 
all of the officers and employes of both banks were retained. The officers then were 
and are now: William F. Coerper. president; George L. Baldauf. A. J. Langholff 
and J. M. Wolf, vice presidents; Frederick A. Lochner, cashier; J. A. Chrvas and 
E. 0. Perschliacher, assistant cashiers. Fifteen years ago the locality in which the 
bank stands was in the woods amid farm land but today is one of the busiest and 
best retail sections of the city. When Thirty-fifth street is widened the bank will 
be on the corner. This section of the city has some of the best buildings and stores 
in the outlying districts of Milwaukee. The North Avenue State Bank has made 
marvellous strides and has show'n perhaps as small a percentage of loss as any bank- 
ing institution in the city. It is an enterprise of which Milwaukeeans have every 
reason to be proud and is today recognized as one of the strong financial concerns ' 
of southern Wisconsin. 



CARMELITE FATHERS OF .MILWAUKEE. 

In the year 1907 the Rev. Francis Berndl came to Wisconsin. He is a native of 
Bavaria and was educated and ordained to the priesthood in his native country. 
Crossing the Atlantic, he made his way to Wisconsin and after spending four years 
at Fond du Lac returned to Germany, where he remained for three years. On the 
expiration of that period he was called to take charge of St. Florian's parish at Thirty- 
ninth avenue and Scott street in Milwaukee. Here he has remained since his arrival 



184 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

in July, 1913, the year the St. Florian church and school were completed. His as- 
sistant's in the work are the Rev. Kilian Gutmann, Rev. Bernhard Gerlh, Rev. August 
Hammers, Rev. Cyril Baumsesler and Rev. Joseph Aichner, all of whom are natives 
of Bavaria. 

The Rev. Kilian Gutmann purchased the property which constitutes the site for 
the church and school. The latter is owned and was built by the St. Agnes Sisters 
of Fond du Lac. 

Father Kilian Gutmann was born in Bavaria on the 26th of March, 1863, and 
there he acquired his education, which was directed with the intention of ultimately 
taking orders. When he had completed his course of study he was ordained to the 
priesthood in the year 1886. He continued his labors for the church in his native 
land for a number of years and in 1905 he came to Wisconsin, being stationed at 
Holy Hill in Washington county until 1913, or for a period of eight years. He then 
was transferred to Milwaukee and took charge of St. Florian's church, which at that 
time had a little frame structure on Fortieth and Scott streets. The Carmelite Fathers 
now have a parish of about one hundred and ninety-five families and there are about 
one hundred and ninety-three pupils in the school. They are working zealously and 
untiringly toward the upbuilding of the Catholic church and their influence is far- 
reaching. 



JACOB WELLAUER. 



Jacob Wellauer, of Wauwatosa, was for many years ranked with the prosperous and 
substantial business men of Milwaukee, and his death was the occasion of deep and 
widespread regret among his many friends. He was born in the Canton of Thurgau, 
Switzerland, November 6, 1S40, his parents being Henry and Anna (Vetterle) Wellauer, 
who were also natives of that place, the former born March 15, 1797, and the latter in 
1799. They came to America July 3, 1S49, settling at Brookfleld, Wisconsin, where 
Mr. Wellauer purchased a farm of eighty acres, and devoted his attention to its cultiva- 
tion and improvement until 1862. He then retired from active business life, spending 
his remaining days in the enjoyment of the ease and comfort which his former labors 
permitted. His death occurred" March 30, 1883, while his wife passed away in June, 
1872. They were the parents of seven children: Elizabeth, the deceased wife of John 
Hoffman; Catharine, the deceased wife of William Nass; Henry, who has also passed 
away; Mary, the wife of Henry Breu, of Brookfield, Wisconsin; Salome, the deceased 
wife of Henry Kuhn; and Anna, the wife of John Ryf, residing at Oshkosh. 

Jacob Wellauer, who was the seventh child of this family and whose name introduces 
this review, passed away January 10, 1916, when he had reached the age of seventy-iive 
years. He acquired his education in the public schools of Brookfield and of Milwaukee, 
and his youthful training was that of the farm. He continued to assist his father in 
the development of the fields until he attained his majority and then went to Oshkosh, 
where he spent two years learning the dairy business. In 1863 he returned to Mil- 
waukee and here established business as a dealer in fancy groceries. He continued in 
the trade until 1872 and built up a business of substantial proportions, accumulating a 
considerable fortune in that way. In the latter part of the year 1872 he discontinued 
the retail department of his business to confine his attention exclusively to the whole- 
sale trade and became one of the prominent and prosperous wholesale merchants of the 
city. Nor did he confine his attention solely to this line. On the contrary, he extended 
his efforts into various fields and his sound judgment and enterprise were considered 
most valuable assets in the conduct of business affairs. He served for ten years as 
secretary and vice president of the Northwestern Woolen Mills, which were developed 
into one of the largest and important industries of the city under his skillful manage- 
ment and as the result of his sound judgment. He was also interested in sausage manu- 
facturing for a number of years. In 1897, however, he retired altogether from active 
business, having acquired a comfortable forttme. About 1872 he had purchased a fine 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres, now in the town of Wauwatosa, and on this prop- 
erty his widow still resides. He there spent his remaining days and lavished a large 
amount of money in beautifying the home and grounds. He devoted a goodly portion of 
his time to his grape arbor and to the care of his fruit trees, and produced the finest 
kind of fruits and grapes upon his place. His home life gave to him everything that 
made life worth living, and the prosperity which he had attained through his various 
commercial business enterprises enabled him to surround his family with all comforts. 

On the 6th -of Npvember, 1867, Mr. Wellauer was married to Miss Anna Hahn, who 
passed away. On flie 11th of May, 1892, he wedded Miss Lena Offermann, a daughter 
of Paul and Catherine (Kaldscheidt) Offermann, of Sauk City, Wisconsin, who were 
natives of Cologne, -Germany, and became residents of Sauk City in 1850. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wellauer became the parents of three children, a daughter and two sons: Anna, who is 
now the wife of Dr..^Addison Dorr and who resides in the first home built on the Wei- 




JACOB WELLAUER 



IIISTOKV OK .M1I,\VAI'KKH 187 

lauer addition, the place being a part of the ono-hundied-and-sixty-acre tract, which has 
since been Uiid out in town lots; and Jacob Henry and Henry Conrad, wlio are gradu- 
ates of Madison I'niversity and are both at home. 

Mr. and Mrs, Wellauer traveled extensively. In 1S72 he made a trip to his native 
country of Switzerland, which lie again visited in 1SS2 and 1892. His wife accompanied 
him on the latter trip and they again made the journey in 1907. They also toured old 
Mexico, the West Indies and Central America and in 1911 again visited Europe. On 
most of these trips his bosom friend and companion. Dr. Nicholas Senn, the eminent 
surgeon, accompanied him. the latter being also a native of Switzerland. Mr. Wellauer 
was a man of very high standing. He belonged to the Knights of Pythias, to the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Sons of Hermann and to the Swiss Club. He was 
an affable, genial and courteous gentleman, who enjoyed the respect and esteem of all 
who knew him. In religious matters he was a Protestant, while his wife holds mem- 
bership in the Roman Catholic church. He passed away January 10, 1916, and thus a 
life of great usefulness was ended. He justly won the proud American title of a self- 
made man, for all he achieved and enjoyed was .gained through his own efforts. Brought 
to the new world in early life he made good use of his time, talents and opportunities, 
nor was his career actuated by any selfish spirit. He ever recognized and met his 
duty and obligations to his fellowmen, and his was an honest name, rather to be chosen 
than great riches. 



F. OTTO STRECKEWALD. 



P. Otto Streckewald is the secretary of The Layton Company, meat packers of 
Milwaukee, an organization that has been built up along substantial lines and that 
now controls a very gratifying trade. Mr. Streckewald was born in Hanover. Ger- 
many. May 12. 18.54. and is a son of August Streckewald. He was educated in the 
Gymnasium of his native land, an institution of learning equivalent to the high school, 
and he came to America in 1871. when seventeen years of age. For a time he was 
with his cousin in the seed business and in 1S73 he accepted a position in the Herald 
office as assistant bookkeeper, there remaining for six years, or until 1S79. In the 
latter year he became connected with The Layton Company in the capacity of book- 
keeper and various other duties also devolved upon him in connection with the man- 
agement and conduct of the business. He thus thoroughly learned the business in 
every phase and in 1903 he became secretary of the company and has since held 
the position, although he had become a stockholder some time before. His association 
with the business now covers forty-one years and The Layton Company is one of 
the old packing concerns of the country. 

On the ,5th of September. 1S77. Mr. Streckewald was married to Miss Susan L. 
Dawson, a daughter of James Dawson, and to them have been born four children, 
three of whom are living: Mrs, Eleanor S. Burdick, residing at La Grange. Illinois; 
Fred. O.. of W'oodlawn court; and Alice. Mr. Streckewald is a member of the City 
Club, the Royal League and the Old Settlers Club of Milwaukee, having since 1871 
made his home in this city, now covering a period of half a century. 



JESSE CAPPON. 



Jesse Cappon, president of the Park Savings Bank, also president of the West 
Side Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee, is one of the alert, energetic and pro- 
gressive business men whose activities contribute not only to individual success but 
also to public prosperity and advancement. He w-as born in Milwaukee county. Janu- 
ary 11, 1865. and is a son of John and Mattie (VanFleet) Cappon. The family came 
from Holland, the father being about tour years of age when his parents crossed the 
Atlantic to the new world and settled in Wisconsin. However, the grandfather first 
located in the state of New York and thence came across the country to Milwaukee 
with ox team and wagon. They located near Fox Point on a farm and the grand- 
father continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until his death. By trade, however. 
he was a wagon maker. His son. John Cappon. followed farming as a life work and 
continued a resident of Milwaukee county until his death, which occurred in 1920. 
For several years he had survived his wife who passed away in 1911. 

Jesse Cappon was educated in the country schools and was reared on the home 
farm, where he remained until reaching the age of twenty years, when he turned his 
attention to the carpenter's trade and eventually became engaged in the contracting 
business. In 1S93 he became identified with milling interests, establishing a factory 
of small size on the same ground occupied by his present plant. His first building 
was forty by sixty feet and two stories in height. To this he made several additions 



188 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

as liis business increased and in 1905 the present plant was erected, covering about 
two acres of ground and three stories in height. There are also sheds and a ware- 
liouse of two stories, sixty by one hundred and twenty feet. Tlie main building is 
one hundred and two by one hundred and four feet. The company manufactures 
sash, doors, interior finish and general millwork and employs about one hundred people 
in normal times. The enterprise has steadily grown under the wise management and 
capable control of Mr. Cappon, who has ever closely studied trade conditions and has 
built up his business on a sound principle that success is the result of maximum 
effort accomplished through minimum expenditure of time, labor and material. More- 
over, he has never sacrificed quality for quantity and his patrons recognize that the 
best can be obtained from his factory. In December, 1915, Mr. Cappon assisted in 
organizing the Park Savings Bank and was elected its first president, since which 
time he has been at the head of the institution. He is likewise the president of the 
Badger Sash & Door Company and vice president of the Pine Lumber Company, as 
well as president of the West Side Manufacturing Company. His business interests 
are thus extensive and important and his enterprise has made for the attainment of 
large success. 

In 1890 Mr. Cappon was married to Miss Mary E. Geisinger of Milwaukee, and 
to them have been born two children, but only one is living, Lester, now a student 
in the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Cappon was a member of Group No. 19 in all 
of the war activities and ever stands for those interests which are of greatest value 
and worth to the community, commonwealth and country. He is a member of the 
various Masonic bodies, being a Knights Templar of the Commandery, while in the 
Consistory he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and with 
the Nobles of Tripoli Temple has crossed the sands of the desert to the Mystic Shrine. 
He is ever loyal to any cause which he espouses and his worth as a man and citizen 
mark him as a representative leader in Milwaukee. 



HARRY SIDNEY HADFIELD. 

Harry Sidney Hadfield, a thoroughgoing business man, possessing, too, the genial 
social qualities so necessary in the successful hotel proprietor, is now at the head 
of the Maryland Hotel of Milwaukee and has made it a popular hostelry, well pat- 
ronized. A native son of Wisconsin, Mr. Hadfield was born on his father's farm in 
the town of Brookfield, Waukesha county, October 18, 1868. His father, Samuel Had- 
field, was born in Lancashire, England, in 1841, and died on Thanksgiving day 
of 1916. He came to the United States when a youth of eighteen years and settled 
in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, where he worked for his elder brother, Joseph Had- 
field, for a time, and then took up farming on his own account. He served with the 
Union army during the Civil war and was with Sherman on the celebrated march 
from Atlanta to the sea, which proved the weakness of the southern defense, showing 
that the troops had been drawn from the interior to protect the borders. He was 
wounded in battle but continued to serve until the close of hostilities, when victory 
crowned the Union arms. He married Eunice Putney, who passed away April 12, 
1917. She was born in Waukesha county, a daughter of Aaron S. Putney, a farmer 
and merchant, who made his home in Waukesha, where the store of which he was 
formerly owner is still conducted under the name of Putney Brothers. Mrs. Had- 
field was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, one of her ancestors 
having served under the direct command of Washington in the war for independence. 

Harry S. Hadfield, who obtained his early education in the public schools of 
Waukesha and in the country schools of that locality, afterward attended Carroll 
College of Waukesha, where he continued his studies to his junior year. He then 
started out in the business world and soon became connected with hotel management, 
conducting a hotel when but nineteen years of age. He was associated with F. A. 
Randall in the ownership and management of the American House at Waukesha and 
there remained until the fall of 1890, when he opened a new hotel, called the Hotel 
Walworth at Whitewater, Wisconsin. This was built by the citizens of the town and 
was conducted by the firm of Randall & Hadfield until October 1, 1892, when they 
sold out and removed to Milwaukee, where they leased the Hotel Aberdeen, which 
they conducted jointly for eight years. Mr. Hadfield then took over Mr. Randall's 
interest and remained proprietor of the hotel until 1913, when he disposed of the 
business. In the meantime, or in July, 1910, he had opened the Maryland Hotel, 
newly built, and from 1913 he concentrated his entire attention upon this hostelry, 
which is one of the attractive modern hotels of Milwaukee, thoroughly up-to-date in 
every particular and containing one hundred and twenty-five rooms. 

On the 28th of June, 1893, Mr. Hadfield was united in marriage to Miss Katherine 
S. Spear. They are the parents of two children. Lewis S., born September 4, 1896, 
is now connected with his father in the hotel business. At the outbreak of the World 




HAKRY S. HADFIELD 



IIISTOKY OF MII.WAT'KEE 191 

war he was employed in the automobile business at Springfield, Massachusetts, and 
there enlisted in the Eighty-second Division, serving overseas fourteen months. Frances 
S.. the dausliter, was l)orn July 14, IfldU. and is today one of the most noted women 
golf players in the entire country, having won the state championship. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hadfield are members of St. James Episcopal church and are inter- 
ested in all that pertains to public welfare and progress. In politics Mr. Hadfield 
is a republican and has been active in support of much valuable hotel legislation at 
Madison, attending every session of the legislature for ten years in order to secure 
the passage of laws beneficial to hotel interests. He has, however, never been a 
candidate for political office. He belongs to Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, A. F. & A. M.. 
of Milwaukee; to Calumet Chapter. R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, Xo. 24, K. T.; 
Wisconsin Consistory, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scot- 
tish Rite; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also has membership in the 
Wisconsin, Jlilwaukee Athletic and Blue Mound Country Clubs and he has been presi- 
dent of the Wisconsin State Hotel Men's Association, He has also been president 
of the Milwaukee Hotel Men's Association, and his interest in community affairs in 
general is shown in the fact that he has been a director of the Citizens Business League 
and a director of the Association of Commerce. He acted as state chairman of the 
hotel and restaurant division of the United States food administration under Hoover 
during the World war, giving practically his entire time to the work and was chair- 
man of tlie hotel and restaurant division for Milwaukee in all of the big drives to 
secure financial support for the government and for the maintenance of the welfare ■ 
of the soldiers in camp and field. Mr. Hadfield enjoys all manly outdoor and athletic 
sports and finds great pleasure in a game of golf. Thoroughness and enterprise have 
characterized his business life, loyalty and progressiveness have been the salient features 
in his public service, and at ail times his social qualities and unfeigned cordiality 
have won him the friendship as well as the high regard of those with whom he has 
been brought in contact. 



JACOB KXOERNSCHILD. 



Jacob Knoernschild. long prominently known as a merchant and manufacturer of 
Milwaukee and as a leading figure in connection with the public life of the community, 
passed away March 17, 1918. He had passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's 
journey, his birth having occurred in Eberstadt, near Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, 
September 27, 1S41, his parents being Conrad and Susana (Kilian) Knoernschild. In 
the year 1857 the father came with his family to the new world, settling in Milwaukee. 

Jacob Knoernschild was then a youth of sixteen years. He had acquired his 
education in the schools of his native country and in early life worked at the tinner's 
trade. In 1S66. when twenty-five years of age, he embarked in the hardware busi- 
ness, opening a store at No. 499 Twelfth street, where he remained for several years, 
continuing in the business until about twenty years prior to his death. He also be- 
came well known in manufacturing circles and was the inventor of the national gas 
radiator. He also manufactured metal specialties, among them a metal holder for 
flowers. In this business he continued to the time of his demise. 

On the 6th of August. 1867. .\Ir. Knoernschild was married to Miss Mary Ruesch, 
a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Nuenlisch) Ruesch, who were natives of Bern, Switzer- 
land, and came to Milwaukee in 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Knoernschild had a family of 
thirteen children, of whom eight sons and three daughters are yet living, namely: 
Jacob L., who wedded Mrs. Mathilda R. Michaelis and has one daughter, Clara; Ella, 
the wife of Edward Kersting; Joseph H., who married Miss Grace Meyer and has 
one daughter, Ruth; Edwin C. who wedded Maude Alexander, by whom he has three 
children, Gladys. Dorothea and Pauline; Alfred A.; Paul W., who wedded Miss Hannah 
Wilkinson and has four children, Dora, Mary, Paul and Ella; Walter C. who married 
Miss Margaret Harmeyer. by whom he has two children, Walter and Mary Louise; 
Clara A., who is the wife of Mathew Graf and they have one daughter, Esther; Bertha, 
at home; Grover F., who married Florence Anderson and has two sons, Edward and 
Ralph; and Elmer, at home. 

The military record of Mr. Knoernschild consisted of connection with the Light 
Horse Squadron in an early day. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church, 
his membership being in St. Elizabeth's parish. He long figured prominently in public 
affairs as a supporter of the democratic party and was one of the first commissioners 
of the Milwaukee police and fire department. He served in that position for three 
years and acted as chairman of the board during his term. In 1880 he was elected 
a member of the city council, having the honor of being the only democrat chosen 
at that time. The republicans elected the entire ticket save in the ward which Mr. 
Knoernschild represented. This was indeed a compliment to his ability and personal 
worth, tor he made no effort to secure the election. He was an exceptionally public- 



192 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

spirited man, alive at all times to the best interests of his community, and during 
his early term as a member of the city council and during the later period in which 
he was chosen to represent his ward in that body he lent his best efforts toward a 
wise, economical and progressive city administration. The rigid honesty which al- 
ways characterized his public actions well entitled him to the confidence of his con- 
stituents. That he received the support of many of the opposing party was evidenced 
by the vote given him. Milwaukee ever classed him with her valued and represen- 
tative men and he was ever highly honored in the community in which he made 
his home for more than sixty years. He witnessed much of the growth and develop- 
ment of Milwaukee and took a most active and helpful part in advancing progress 
and improvement here, ever looking beyond the exigencies of the moment to the 
opportunities and needs of the future. 



GEORGE F. O'NEIL. 



Delivering newspapers on the streets of Milwaukee ere he had completed the first 
decade of his life's jouwiey and working as oflBce boy when a lad of but eleven years, 
George F. O'Neil, despite his early handicap of a lack of educational advantages, is 
today accounted one of the leading business men of the city, being president of the 
O'Neil Oil & Paint Company. Through the steps of an orderly progression he has reached 
his present position of prominence and success and the story indicates what can be 
accomplished through thoroughness, close application and ambition. 

Mr. O'Neil was born in Milwaukee, September 26, 1S64, and is a son of Henry L. 
and Elizabeth Jane (May) O'Neil. The father was born in the West Indies, where his 
father, Henry L. O'Neil, Sr., owned a plantation and there lived for many years. The 
son, Henry L. O'Neil, Jr., leaving the West Indies went to London, England, where 
he was educated and there he met Miss Elizabeth Jane May, whom he afterward wedded 
in Canada. They were young people when they emigrated to the Dominion, crossing 
the Atlantic in one of the old-time sailing vessels, which required several weeks to make 
the voyage. Following their marriage they established their home in Buffalo, New 
York, and in 1S46 arrived in Milwaukee, at that time a small town with no railroad 
connections. They resided on Michigan street, then one of the leading residential thor- 
oughfares. Mr. O'Neil afterward engaged in the wool business, under the firm name 
of Sellers & O'Neil, continuing his activity along that line for several years. Subse- 
quently he became associated with the Bradford Brothers Dry Goods Company and con- 
tinued" to make Milwaukee his home until his demise. His wife has also passed away. 
They were the parents of a large family, of whom George F., of this review, is the 
twelfth child. Three others of the family are living: Charles H., Annie M. and Eliza- 
beth G., the last named being the wife of Frank P. Ray and a resident of Merriam 
Park, Minnesota. 

George P. O'Neil attended the old fourth ward public school, but was only eleven 
years of age when he was forced to put aside his textbooks and provide for his own 
support. Even prior to this time he had engaged in delivering newspapers and had thus 
contributed to the family fund. When a lad of eleven he was employed as office boy 
by Greene & Button, wholesale druggists, and his capability, loyalty and trustworthi- 
ness were shown in the fact that he continued with the house for thirteen years. He 
next became connected with the Wadhams Oil & Grease Company as secretary and was 
with tfiat concern for five years. In 1893 he organized the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company 
and established his business at 103 West Water street. In 1895 he sought larger quar- 
ters by removal to his present location at No. 297 and 299 East Water street. In 1897 
he rented the adjoining store at Nos. 301 and 303 Water street, formerly occupied by 
Ball & Goodrich and later by John R. Goodrich, wholesale grocers. The company now 
has seventy-seven feet frontage on East Water street, with a depth of one hundred and 
sixty feet extending to the river and its building is four stories and basement. In addi- 
tion to this it occupies block No. 60 of the fifth ward on South Water street, having 
the entire block and the firm likewise has distributing stations at Waukesha, Hartland, 
Elkhorn, Whitewater, Hartford and West Bend, Wisconsin. The first year the business 
sales amounted to one hundred and ten thousand dollars and in 1920 reached the most 
substantial sum of three million, five hundred thousand dollars. Mr. O'Neil has been 
identified with the business for forty-five years and has built up an enterprise second 
to none of this character in the country. He has splendid powers of organization and 
readily discriminates between the essential and the non-essential in all business affairs. 
His energy is unfaltering and when one avenue of opportunity seems closed he carves 
out other paths whereby to reach the desired goal. He is truly a self-made man and 
one who has gained a liberal education through experience and observation, while 
his labors have brought him substantial wealth. Mr. O'Neil is very fond of dfomestic 
animals and has a fine farm at Thiensville, Wisconsin, where he raises high bred 
Guernsey cattle, which he has imported from the Isle of Guernsey. He is also the 




GEORGE F. O'NEIL 



Vol. U— 1 3 



HISTORY OK .MII>\VAIJKEE 195 

president of the O'Neil Petroleum t'ompany, a corporation prospecting tor crude oil 
in Oklahoma and he is the president- of the Georgi-.in Court Company, and the Alabama 
Investment Company, while of the Fiebing Chemical Company, The Milwaukee Optical 
Company and the Evinrude Motor Company he is a director. His business judgment 
is regarded as a valuable asset in all of the corporations with which he has become 
identified and he is today a dynamic force in the commercial circles of Milwaukee. 

Mr. O'Neil married Miss Leila Davidson Quin. daughter of Edward and Catherine 
Quin, early settlers of Milwaukee. She took a great interest in war activities and 
translated for the fatherless children of France all of the letters thit cmie from tliat 
country to Wisconsin as well as those that were sent to France. The French govern- 
ment recently recognized her service by the awarding of an appropriate decoration. 
Mr. O'Neil is a member of the Milwaukee, Town. City, Milwaukee Athletic, and Mil- 
waukee Country Clubs, and he is a director of the Wisconsin Humane Society, appointed 
by Governor Philipp. with special police powers to arrest anyone found abusing an 
animal. Such in brief is the history of a man who in every relation of life measures 
up to the higliest standards of American manhood and chivalry. 



CARL F. REINHARD, M. U. 



Dr. Carl F. Reinhard, a physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, who passed away 
January 12, 1914, had rendered valuable service to his fellowmen in tlie field of pro- 
fessional labor. He was born July 1. 1847, near Cassel, Germany, and was a son of 
William and Cliarlotte Reinhard. He obtained his early education in his native land, 
attending the schools of Marburg and Berlin, also of Vienna and of Prague. His edu- 
cation was of a most liberal and comprehensive character and well qualified him 
for important professional duties. Following his preparation for the practice of medi- 
cine and surgery he became connected with the Lloyd Steamship Company and spent 
one year as ship surgeon. 

In the year 1876 Dr. Reinhard came to the United States and first settled in 
Baltimore, Maryland, where he resided until 1877. He then came to Milwaukee, 
where he opened an office and entered upon the active practice of medicine, in which 
he continued until two years prior to his death, when on account of illness he re- 
tired from active professional duties. For an extended period he enjoyed a very 
large practice of a most important character and was classed with the leading physicians 
of the city. He always kept informed concerning the latest scientific researches and 
discoveries and kept apace with tlie onward march of the profession in tlie improve- 
ment of all methods of treating disease. 

On the 9th of November, 1882. Dr. Reinhard was married to Miss Elizabeth Toser, 
a daughter of Herman and Phillipine (Schneider) Toser, who were pioneer settlers 
of Wisconsin of 1854. They were natives of Germany and after coming to the new 
world Mr. Toser established tlie Toser wholesale liquor house of Milwaukee, which 
became one of the largest business establishments of this kind in the city. Loyal 
to his adopted country, he served with the Union array in the Civil war. Dr. and 
Mrs. Reinhard became the parents of two sons: Louis F., an electrical engineer who 
is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin; and Gustave A., who also follows the 
same profession. He, too, was graduated from the University of Wisconsin and now 
resides in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Dr. Reinhard gave his political allegiance to the republican party and was well 
known in club circles, his name being on the membership roll of a number of tht 
leading clubs of Milwaukee. Along strictly professional lines he was connected with 
the Wisconsin State and American Medical Associations. He served on the staff of 
the Milwaukee Hospital and enjoyed an extensive private practice and he rendered 
most valuable service to his fellowmen in the line of professional duty. 



GALBRAITH MILLER, JR. 



Galbraith Miller, Jr., vice president and treasurer of the Monarch Manufactur- 
ing Company of Milwaukee, is thus active in control of one of the most extensive 
and important productive interests of the city. His name has long been an honored 
and prominent one in manufacturing circles and the business is a source of large 
revenue to the city in that it furnishes employment to a thousand workmen. The 
life record of Galbraith Miller is an interesting one, inasmuch as he has worked his 
way steadily upward, accomplishing his purposes by reason of Ills determination, close 
application and unfailing energy. He was born in Milwaukee, September 16, 1879, 
and is a son of Galbraith and Mattie E. (Goodwin) Miller, the family having been 
represented in this city since 1838. Judge Andrew Galbraith Miller was the first 



196 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

United States judge of the Northwest Territory. He came frojn Harrisburg, Penn- 
sylvania, to assume his judicial duties in this section of the country and since that 
time his descendants have resided in Milwaulfee. He continued upon tlie bench until 
1873 and his record was one of notable capability and honor in the discharge of his 
judicial duties. His grandson, Galbraith Miller, is an attorney of Milwaukee and 
Galbraith Miller, Jr., subject of this review, is the fourth to bear the name and rep- 
resent the family in tlie business and professional interests of this city. 

Galbraith Miller, Jr., pursued a public school education, being gi'aduated from 
the high school with the class of 1898. He then started out in the business world 
as a reporter on the Milwaukee Journal, occupying the position for two years, while 
for a decade he was connected with the Evening Wisconsin. In the latter office 
he steadily worked his way upward and had become news editor ere he resigned his 
position. In 1909 he became associated with the Monarch Manufacturing Company 
as vice president and treasurer. This business was founded in 1900 by Paul Asch, 
who was born in Hamburg, Germany, and came to America in 1S63. He was con- 
nected in the manufacturing business with Cohen Brothers, one of the pioneer clothing 
manufacturing firms of the northwest. Mr. Asch departed this life in 1909, at which 
time his son-in-law. Galbraith Miller, took charge of the business in connection with 
Sidney M. Cohen. At that time the enterprise was quite small, having but eighty 
employes. Most progressive business methods have been introduced and the trade 
has grown to mammoth proportions, so that they now have four plants in Milwaukee, 
employing one thousand people. The main plant and office is located at Nos. 60 to 
88 Chicago street — a four-story brick building two hundred and ten by one hundred 
and eighty feet. They manufacture sheep-lined coats, Mackinaws and work clothing 
and sell only to wholesalers, their trade extending, however, throughout the United 
States and Canada. During the war with Germany Mr. Miller was chairman of the 
war service committee of the garment industry under the war industries board and 
was also special procurement officer of the Quartermaster Corps, spending much of 
his time in "Washington and in New York city. 

On the 12th of June, 1906, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Ruby Asch, daughter 
of Paul and Carrie Asch, pioneers of Milwaukee. Mr. Miller and his wife are promi- 
nently known socially and he is identified with many organizations. While in the 
newspaper business he was president of the Milwaukee Press Club, and from 1913 until 
1919 he was president of the International Association of Garment Manufacturers and - 
has been a most thorough and discriminating student of trade conditions and every- 
thing that relates to the business. He likewise belongs to the Milwaukee Association 
of Commerce and to the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, while along more 
strictly social lines he has connection with the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Ath- 
letic Club, the Wisconsin Club of Milwaukee and the Lambs Club of New York. He 
has always manifested sufficient interest in outside affairs to maintain an even balance 
in his life, never allowing business wholly to monopolize his time and attention, and 
yet he has accomplished notable results in his career as a manufacturer. Lowell 
has said: "An institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man," and the Monarch 
Manufacturing Company, therefore, is but the measurement of the officers who con- 
trol its development. An increase of from eighty to one thousand employes indicates 
most clearly how the business has grown and the sound policy that the management 
has ever followed. Mr. Miller has long been an active factor in this work and the 
results he has achieved should serve to inspire and encourage others. Mr. Miller is 
president of Garden Homes Company, the corporation formed to carry out the plan 
of the city housing commission. The city and county of Milwaukee are financially 
interested in the corporation. The company started work in August, 1921, on the 
first unit of seventy-five workingmen's houses and plans for one thousand houses. 



JOHN P. HUME. 



John P. Hume, directing his efforts to farm and colonization projects as the presi- 
dent of the Wisconsin Land Holding Company of Milwaukee, has through his resourceful- 
ness and capability developed a business of substantial proportions. He is numbered 
among Wisconsin's native sons, his birth having occurred at Chilton, October 21, 1861, 
his parents being John P. and Margaret (Diack) Hume, the former a native of Ireland, 
while the latter was born in Scotland. The father came to the United States in 1856 
and settled temporarily at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, but subsequently removed to Chilton, 
where he established the Chilton Times, a weekly newspaper, which he continued to 
publish until his death in ISSl. His sons, John, P. and William A., then took charge 
of the paper and the latter is the present owner thereof. 

John P. Hume was educated in the public schools of his native city and also 
gleaned much valuable knowledge from his experience in the newspaper office. He 
continued to act as editor of the Chilton Times until 1883, when he went to Washing- 




JOHX P. HUME 



IIISTOKY OK .MIIAVArivEE 199 

ton. D. (' , as secretary to Congressman Joseph Rankin and Congressman Thomas U. 
Hu(i(l. There he continued until 1887. when he was appointed private secretary to 
William F. Vilas, secretary of the interior, continuing in that responsible position 
until the change of administration in 1889. His experiences there were of a most 
interesting and valuable character, bringing him acquaintance with many of the most 
eminent men of the nation. While in the capital city he was also deputy clerli on 
Indian affairs and clerk of the committee of the interior department and also acted 
as correspondent for the Milwaukee Journal, the La Crosse Chronicle and the .Madison 
Democrat. 

Returning to his native state in 1889, Mr. Hume established his home in Marshfield. 
Wisconsin, where he began the publication ot the Marshfield News, continuing to own 
and edit the paper until 1S92. In the meantime he was elected chief clerk of the state 
senate u:ider Governor Peck and occupied that position during the session. In 1892 
he gave up the newspaper business and turned his attention to real estate, loans and 
insurance at Marshfield. Wisconsin, where he remained until 1911, when he became 
manager of the Wisconsin Advancement Association, an organization created for the pur- 
pose of directing attention to the unoccupied lands of this state. Later he resigned 
from the position to engage in the colonization of farm lands and removed to Milwau- 
kee, where he has since carried on business. It was at that time that the Merchants & 
Manufacturers Association, of which William George Bruce was secretary, took up the 
question of the development of state lands and many endorsed the project, Mr. Hume 
organized the Wisconsin Land Holding Company, composed largely of Milwaukee busi- 
ness men, and created the ' Milwaukee idea of colonization or what was previously 
know-n as the Hume rural credit system, which meant the placing of settlers on land 
for a term of years, without demanding the payment of principal or interest, in order 
that they miglit gain a start in the matter of establishing homes and promoting the 
agricultural development of the state. The system selected is the best known for 
settlers en new ground and Mr, Hume deserves great credit for introducing this plan 
and putting it into successful operation. The company is the only one known that has 
been endorsed by a civic association and that has recommended the stock to investors. 
The land controlled by the company is situated in the northern part of the state and 
Mr. Hume is winning substantial success through the development and conduct of the 
business, seeking not alone his own benefit but endeavoring at all times to assist the 
settlers who buy land. For the past two years he has served as president and manager 
of the business, which is today one of gratifying proportions. 

On the 18th of October. 1892. occurred the marriage of Mr. Hume and Miss Julia 
Cracraft of Wheeling. West Virginia, and they became the parents of two children, 
Rosemary and John Paul. Jr. Mrs. Hume was very active in all local war work, served 
as a member cf the executive committee of the National Woman's Service and was well 
known in state and national D. A. R. circles. She was also chairman of the national 
flag committee. She passed away November 15, 1920, her death being a matter of the 
deepest regret to many friends as well as to her immediate family, tor she had a wide 
acquaintance in social circles and through her war work and church work, and her 
many splendid qualities ot heart and mind had made her extremely popular and gained 
for her the friendship of all. 

Mr. Hume belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and he is also identified with 
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and with the Masons. He loyally follows the 
teachings and purposes of the craft and is prompted thereby to extend a helping hand 
on many occasions. His business is of a nature that allows of assistance to others at 
many times and Mr. Hume does not hesitate to make his services of avail in this con- 
nection. 



CYRUS D. BOOTH. 



Among those whose names are associated with the commercial development ot 
Milwaukee was Cyrus D. Booth, who for many years was identified with the hat and 
cap business in this city, conducting a wholesale and retail establishment. In the 
later years of his life he lived retired and he had attained the very venerable age 
ot eighty-six years when he passed away on the 7th of August. 1912. He was born 
in Maryland. Otsego county. New York, August 22, 1826, and was a son of Selah and 
Sophia (Fuller) Booth, the former born in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1792, while 
the latter, also representative of one of the old families of New England, was born 
in Vermont in 1799. Attracted by the opportunities of the then new and growing 
west, Selah Booth came to Wisconsin in 1849, settling in Dodge county, where he 
purchased a farm near Fox Lake. Thereon he resided until he was appointed deputy 
warden of the state prison, at which time he removed to Waupun, Wisconsin, His 
first wife died in 1849 and he later married her sister. Sophia Fuller. There were 
three children of the first marriage and seven of the second. The recognition ot his 



200 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

ability and public spirit led to the father receiving several important appointments 
and at all times he was most loyal to the duties devolving upon him. He passed 
away in Waupun, Wisconsin, in the year 1863. 

Cyrus D. Booth pursued his education at South Hill, Otsego county. New York, 
in the Hartwick Seminary and in the schools of Fergusonville, Delaware county. New 
York. In 1849 he came west to join his father, who had located in Dodge county, 
"Wisconsin, and worked with him upon the home farm until 1851. In that year he 
came to Milwaukee to take the position of city editor of the Free Democrat, of which 
his brother, Sherman M., was the proprietor. He continued with that paper until 
.1856, at which time he turned his attention to the wholesale and retail hat business 
and in this was associated with T. J. Salsman and later G. H. Heinemann also be- 
came a member of the firm. Subsequently Mr. Heinemann purchased the interest 
of Mr. Salsman and finally also bought that of Mr. Booth in 1879, in which year the 
latter retired. He had thus long been identified with the commercial interests of the city 
and the continued gi'owth and development of the business, commensurate with Mil- 
waukee's substantial growth, brought to him a very satisfactory measure of success. 

On the 25th of December, 1855, Mr. Booth was united in marriage to Miss Sarah 
Maria Bacon of Otsego county, New York, who passed away August 29, 1904. They 
were the parents of four children, of whom one died in infancy. 

In his political views Mr. Booth was always an earnest republican and at all 
times was actuated by a public spirit. He died August 7, 1912, having attained a 
venerable age. For sixty-one years he had been a resident of Milwaukee, witnessing 
its growth and development and bearing his part in the work of public progress and 
improvement. His mind formed a connecting link between the primitive past and 
the progressive present and his name deserves prominent place with those of the 
honored pioneers of the city. 



ROBERT WHITELY PATTERSON. 

Robert Whitely Patterson reached the notable age of ninety years when at last 
"the weary wheels of life at length stood still" and his spirit passed on. His was a 
triumphant career — triumphant in its victory over the material, over the wrongs and 
the temptations of life. He fought a good fight and finished the course and left be- 
hind him a memory that is a blessing and a benediction to all who knew him. 

Robert Whitejy Patterson was born in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, July 4, 1831, and 
was a son of Robert and Alniyra (Bates) Patterson. The father was a native of County 
Cavan, Ireland, and was educated in Trinity College at Dublin. The mother was born 
in Cobourg, Ontario, and her parents were of Scotch lineage. Robert W. Patterson was 
reared in a home of Christian culture and surroundings. His people were of the 
Wesleyan Methodist faith, and the teachings of his early life were never forgotten. 
His parents gave five acres for the cemetery andi ground for the church on the outskirts 
of Cobourg, one of the earliest Methodist churches built in that part of the country. 

In December, 1S55, the family home was established in Milwaukee and from that 
time until his death Robert W. Patterson was a resident of this city. He engaged 
in the business of making daguerreotype pictures in early manhood, becoming the 
first photographer of Milwaukee and maintaining his studio until 1868, when he retired 
from that line to take up the undertaking business. This he conducted under his own 
name until 1901, when he admitted Charles A, Brigden to a partnership, the associa- 
tion being thus continued until failing health necessitated the retirement of Mr. 
Patterson in 1910. The business was then carried on under the name of the 
Patterson, Brigden Company, Mr. Brigden becoming president thereof. As a business 
man he ever displayed the most thorough reliability, and in a calling which demands 
tact, kindliness and consideration he was never found wanting in those qualities. 

Mr. Patterson was first married in 1860, when Miss Nina C. Conger of Picton, 
Ontario, became his wife. She passed' away four years later, leaving a daughter, 
Amelia A. In 1872 Mr. Patterson was married to Mathilda A. McMulIen, also of Picton, 
Ontario, and for many years they maintained their home in Milwaukee, occupying a 
prominent position in those social circles where true worth and intelligence are ac- 
cepted as the passports to good society. She and her husband were actively identified 
with many civic interests and philanthropic projects here. It was Mrs. Patterson who 
founded and promoted the Protestant Home for the Aged. She made this her deepest 
interest and was a member of the board of directors to the time of her death, which 
occurred December 26, 1913. 

In his political views Mr. Patterson was long a stalwart republican and always took 
a deep interest in politics and the progress of his party, yet never aspired to office. 
He felt it a matter of personal concern to promote all plans for the city's upbuilding 
and improvement and always gave his cooperation to those measures which upheld, civic 
virtue and civic pride. For thirty-two years he resided at No. 459 Marshall street and 




ROBERT \Y. PATTERSON 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 208 

tor sixty years lie was an active member of the Summerfield ilethodist Episcopal church, 
with which he united on its organization, serving as one of its officials the greater part 
of the time until his death. He was a firm supporter of the government throughout 
the entire period of the Civil war and gave liberally of his time and means to aid the 
Union cause and cheerfully complied with every demand made upon him throughout 
the entire conflict. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity as a member of Kilbiuirn 
lodge tor more than fifty years, and he was also identified with the Old Settlers Club. 

Mr. Patterson had been a resident of Milwaukee tor sixty-six years when death 
called him on the 2Dth of July, 1921. The funeral service was conducted by Dr. 
Anderson, who said in part: "In the days of the French Revolution, a mob swept 
through the streets of Paris carrying everything before it, only to be stopped by a 
whittheaded man, who lifted his hand and asked to speak. The leader of the mob turned 
and said: 'Comrades, a pure life of ninety years wishes to speak to you.' Friends, it 
is a good life, of only ten years less than a century, that speaks to us today. I must 
be permitted to transgress a little that delicate reserve that oi-dinarily we observe in 
our public speech. You will the more willingly permit it I am sure as we are a company 
of personal friends, mutually wishing to express our love. No man, whom it has been 
my privilege to know, developed and maintained such tender personal relationships as 
did Brother Patterson. No one whom I have known had so many friends into whose 
lives he came in such an intimate personal way. Personal interest in folks was his 
fine point. Institutions were always secondary to persons with him. Only last week 
friends of thirty years ago, visiting in the state, stopped over a day to call on him. The 
gentleman said: 'I can never forget how he helped me out when I was in a tight place.' 
He was always helping somebody, out of a tight place. This incident is typical of 
scores. If those who received his substantial help were to speak it would be a very 
extended company. And the sacred principle he proceeded upon was not to let his 
right hand know what his left hand did. Not only the quality of his friendships, but 
their range was remarkable. If one could visualize that stream of people that came 
and went at the old home at 459 Marshall street, it would include all classes, rich and 
poor, mostly poor, old and young, learned and ignorant. All 'claimed kindred there 
nor had their claims denied.' The pastors of Summerfield church for halt a century, 
cannot think of the Patterson home without a feeling of tenderness stealing over their 
hearts. We went depressed. We came away cheered. We went in perplexity. We came 
away, having found the path out. For eleven years I have gone in and out of his home 
only to be a better man. I speak an appreciative word for all my brethren, when I 
say 'we shall not find his like again.' I do not know, because I have not tried it, but I 
think that gi owing old gracefully, sweetly, and courageously, is one of the hardest and 
finest of achievements. But it has been my privilege to see it done. From the day 
he welcomed me as his pastor to last Wednesday night when I held his hand and saw 
him breathe his last, he has been a benediction to me. 

"His interest in folks extended to a living interest in what folks were doing. The 
failures of his friends were his personal griefs, their successes his uncommon delight. 
Though he has not been able to attend meetings except infrequently, for several years, 
no man among us knew so many other people in the church as he. He knew their 
names, their business and their fine points. He kept young to the last. And he did it. 
as everybody must do it, by keeping in vital touch with young and living things. He 
was tenacious of the old but hospitable to the new. He could talk of 'the good old 
days' but he loved best to talk of the good new days, he always saw just a little in the 
distance. Like Simeon of old he was always 'looking for the consolation of Israel.' 
Politics, the industrial situation, Ireland, Peking, Singapore, as well as remote mission- 
ary points at home, were all familiar to him. Eternal life our Lord says is to know 
God and Jesus whom he has sent. He kept on knowing and trying to know to the 
last. I do not think he has just come to eternal life. There were so many elements 
of the undying life in him. developed slowly through the years, that they simply could 
not die. He lay down and went to sleep at last as sweetly as a babe lies down and 
falls asleep in its mother's arms. As he breathed his last, one standing at his side, 
who has been eyes and understanding to him for years, said simply: 'Well done good 
and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler 
over many things, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,' Nothing fitter could be said. 
He was not an easy talker about the things of the inner life. But it was very real to 
him. I have come upon him often, especially since his blindness, fondling 'those mighty 
hopes that make us men' and in moments of confidence those hopes got positive ex- 
pression. There was in him an unusual combination of tenderness and strength. He 
seemed to have caught the spirit of 'Thy gentleness hath made me great.' He was 
like a building I saw lately, white granite with beautiful flowers in every window. 
Beneath his gentleness lay the granite of immovable principle. None of us who knew 
him would talk long about him. without thinking of his wit and humor. A person 
is humorous when he makes fun of himself. He is tarty when he gets the joke on the 
other fellow. He was chiefly humorous. He had the largest fund of expressive collo- 
quialisms I have ever known. Of the hundreds of times I have visited him I do not 



204 HISTOEY OF MILWAUKEE . 

remember of one conversation in which some remarli of his did not provoke a smile. 
He did not embrace the larger hopes because he had proved or had tried to prove them. 
The foundations of faith lie too deep for logic. We do not hold our beliefs because 
we have proved them, we try to prove them because we hold them. 'In my Father's 
house are many mansions,' 'The Lord is my shepherd,' 'They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat,' are not logic 
but the soul's assertion 'I believe.' Scores of times as I have been leaving him, he 
would say: 'Well be good.' And that I think is his word to us all here today. When we 
come down to the last accounting that is about all that is worth while. 

" 'Through such souls alone 

God stooping shows sufficient of his light 
For us in the dark to rise by.' " 



HAROLD MEAD STRATTON. 

Harold Mead Stratton, one of the successful and prominent grain merchants of 
Milwaukee, conducting business as a member of the Donohue Stratton Company, was 
born in Troy Center, Wisconsin, November 12, 1S79, and is a son of Prescott B. and 
Martha E. Stratton. He pursued his early education in the graded schools and passed 
on to the high school at North Greenfield, Wisconsin, while later he studied for a 
time in the Milwaukee Business College, thus receiving thorough training along lines 
which qualified him for his entrance into the commercial world. He first became con- 
nected with the grain trade as an employe of Charles R. Lull and gradually mastered 
the different phases and principles of the business and worked his way upward until 
in 1907 he was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Charles R. Lull & 
Company and so continued until 1910. In that year he became one of the organizers of 
the firm known as the Donohue Stratton Company, a Wisconsin corporation, which 
was formed on the 1st of June, for the purpose of conducting a grain business and 
since 1909 he has been identified with the Briggs & Stratton Company. He is today 
a prominent figure in grain trade circles because of the importance of the business 
which he has developed, now one of the extensive enterprises of the city, progressive- 
ness having guided him at all times. 

On the 21st of October, 1903, Mr. Stratton was married to Miss Bessie Adell Frantz, 
a daughter of Captain H. B. Frantz. The three children of this marriage are: John, 
Elizabeth Mary and Frederick Frantz. The religious faith of the family is that of the 
Episcopal church. Mr. Stratton belongs to the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce and 
has been an active representative thereof, serving from 1913 until 1919 as one of the 
directors, while in the latter year he was elected to the presidency, occupying the 
position for two years from April 1, 1919, to April 1, 1921, during which time sub- 
stantial advance was made in the work undertaken by the organization. He is likewise 
well known in club circles, belonging to the Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Athletic, Mil- 
waukee Country and the Blue Mound Country Clubs and in outdoor life he finds his 
recreation and diversion from the onerous duties which devolve upon him in the up- 
building and further development of the important interests now carried on by the 
grain trade firm known as the Donohue Stratton Company. At the outset of his career 
he realized that application is what counts and that every man has it in him to work 
if he wants to. Close application and enterprise, therefore, have carried him steadily 
forward and today he is one of the prominent figures in the business circles of his 
adopted city. 



WILLIAM F. COERPER. 



A name that stands for progressiveness, for enterprise and for successful accom- 
plishment in business circles in Milwaukee is that of William F. Coerper, the president 
of the North Avenue State Bank and also of Coerper Brothers Lumber Company. 
His plans are always well defined and carefully executed and his energy and enter- 
prise never permit him to stop short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose. 
The methods that he has followed will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny 
and his record is well worthy of study, showing what can be accomplished when there 
is a will to dare and to do. Mr. Coerper was born in Hartford, Wisconsin, April 
8, 1866, a son of Christopher and Magdalena (Gross) Coerper, both of whom were natives 
of Germany, whence they came to the United States in the '50s, settling in Milwaukee. 
They afterward removed to Hartford, Wisconsin, and the father, who was a black- 
smith by trade, there carried on business for many years. He was also a member of 
the volunteer fire department of Milwaukee for a number of years in the early days. 




HAROLD M. STEATTON 



HISTORY OK :\1ILWAUKEE 207 

in which he was associated with such men as Phillip Gross and Buening, who was 
then fire chief, together with others who hecume very prominent in the husiness life 
and public interest of Milwaukee. The death of Christopher Coerper occurred in 1906. 
His wife is still living and makes her home in Hartford. They were the parents of 
seven children, six sons and a daughter and six of the number are living. 

William F. Coerper was educated in the public schools of his native city and 
after completing his course he engaged in general merchandising with the firm of 
Stark & Liver of Hartford, remaining with that house for about a decaide. At the 
expiration of that period he and his brother, George, established a general store in 
Hancock, Wisconsin, where they conducted business for three years. In 1901 they 
came to Milwaukee and here turned their attention to the lumber trade under the 
firm natiie of Coerper Brothers, at the same location which they now occupy. They 
handle all kinds of lumber and building materials and conduct a general retail busi- 
ness, enjoying a liberal patronage which has steadily grown as the years have passed. 
William F. Coerper also organized the North Avenue State Bank, of which he became 
the first president and after the consolidation of this bank with the Wisconsin State 
Bank be was elected president of the new institution, which retained the officers of 
the North Avenue State Bank. He is likewise the president of the Coerper Motor 
Company, president of the Milwaukee Lumber & Supply Company and a director of 
the Germantown Insurance Company and of the Merrill Agency of Milwaukee. These 
important business interests establish his position as one of the representative financiers 
and business men of the city. He is a man of sound judgment, readily discriminat- 
ing between the essential and the non-essential in all commercial transactions and his 
enterprise has carried him to the goal of success, enabling him to pass on life's journey 
many a man of less resolute spirit who has been afraid to venture where fate and 
opportunity has pointed the way. 

On the 3d of June, 1889, Mr. Coerper was married to Miss Ida Schott of Her- 
mann, Dodge county, Wisconsin, and they have become parents of three children: 
Ray, who married Miss Lillie Kunkel, and is now vice president and general manager 
of the Coerper Motor Company of this city; Esther, who is now Mrs. Otto Lentz of 
this city; and Irma, who married Irving Jaeger of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Mr. 
Coerper belongs to the North Avenue Advancement Association and also to the Mil- 
waukee Association of Commerce. Fraternally he is a Mason, having membership 
in Independence Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Wisconsin chapter, commandery and consistory. 
He also belongs to Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has been a very active 
worker for the upbuilding of the North avenue district and has been instrumental 
in bringing many progi-essive business houses into this section. In fact, his labors 
have been a most vital element in the improvement of the city and his name is an 
honored one here wherever he is known. 



OTTO C. KNELL. 



Opportunity combined with ambition and energy have constituted the foundation 
upon which Otto C. Knell has built success. Up to May 1, 1921, he was at the head 
of the O. C. Knell Company, extensive dealers in coffees, teas, spices and cigars in 
Milwaukee, and the business methods which he has followed have brought to him 
prosperity — the legitimate goal of all business endeavor. Milwaukee claims him as 
a native son, his liirth having occurred August 24, 1866, his father being John Knell. 
The father was born in Bermersheim. Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, February 22, 1831, 
and was the son of a well-to-do farmer. Reared in his native country, he there mar- 
ried, and his wife, Katherine Knell, was also born in Bermersheim, October 24, 1829. 
Because of political conditions in Germany they came to the new world soon after 
their marriage in 1852 and from New York, where they tarried for only a brief period, 
they made their way to St. Louis, where they resided for a year. Later they removed 
to Davenport, Iowa, and subsequently to Chicago, while ultimately they came to Mil- 
waukee, where they took up their abode in 1855. The father, a man of liberal education, 
established a private school, which he successfully conducted for some time and later 
he accepted a position as bookkeeper in a large furniture establishment. He next 
turned his attention to newspaper work and at different periods was on the staff 
of the Banner and Volksfreund, the Seebote and the Herold. In the season of 1859-60 
he was associated with two others in organizing and managing the first German stock 
company in Milwaukee, which gave weekly performances in what was then known 
as the Markt-Halle, dramatic performances which awakened wide interest and were 
largely attended. In the early '60s Mr. Knell became associated in business with 
Leopold Rindskopf & Son, distillers and wholesalers of liquor, whom he represented 
as traveling representative and later as confidential and credit man of the firm. He 
remained with this house until his death, which occurred May 6, 1873, when he was 



208 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

forty-two years of age. He was always gi-eatly, interested in public affairs after coming 
to the United States but never sought nor desired office. 

The public school system of Milwaukee afforded the son his educational oppor- 
tunities to the time of his graduation from the ninth ward school in 1880. He then 
started out to provide for his own support and was employed in minor positions for 
three years, or until May, 1883, when he became an employe of the Gender & Paeschke 
Manufacturing Company. There his fidelity and ability won him recognition and he 
secured various promotions from time to time until in January, 1900, when he severed 
his connection with the house. He had spent four years as a factory clerk and then 
was made chief clerk in the factory production department and after three years' 
incumbency in that position had become assistant to William Gender in superintend- 
ing the company's large and extensive plant. He was employed in that way for four 
years and during the succeeding six years was traveling representative of the house, 
spending two years of the period in Illinois and Indiana and the remaining four 
years in Wisconsin. 

Mr. Knell embarked in business on his own account when in March, 1899, he 
formed a partnership with Messrs. Prengel and Steltz, organizing the firm known 
as the Knell, Prengel & Steltz Company, and early in 1900 assumed active charge 
of the business as its president and secretary. The trade grew from small propor- 
tions until the business became one of the extensive enterprises of its kind in Milwaukee. 
On May 1, 1915, Mj-. Prengel retired and Mr. Knell assumed virtually the entire control 
of the business, admitting as a shareholder and director John L. Schaefer, one of 
his trusted employes, who was associated with him for many years. The firm name 
was then changed to the 0. C. Knell Company and continued to enlarge and do a 
successful business until May 1, 1921, when on account of a lingering illness and the 
ultimate death of Mr. Schaefer, Mr. Knell decided to retire from active business, dis- 
posing of his entire interest to the Mclnnes-Walker Company, who are now prosecuting 
this old and well established business. 

In fraternal work Mr. Knell is widely known in Masonic circles and in the order 
of Knights of Pythias and is at present the grand master of exchequer of the grand 
lodge of Wisconsin, K. P., and a past chancellor of Damon Lodge, No. 102, of Mil- 
waukee. His Masonic affiliations are with Kilbourn Lodge, No. 3, P. & A. M.; Kilbourn 
Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; and Kilbourn Council, No. 9, R. & S. M., being a past presiding 
officer of each of these bodies. He is also a past commander of Wisconsin Commandery, 
No. 1, Knights Templar, a member of Wisconsin Consistory, A. A. S. R., and Tripoli 
Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. At the supreme council session in the year 1916 he was 
crowned an honorary thirty-third degree Mason of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction 
of the United States of America. He is also active in the Milwaukee Association of 
Commerce and holds memberships in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Old Settlers Club 
and Chamber of Commerce. He is a past state president and a present state director 
of the Travelers' Protective Association of America and a member of the United Com- 
mercial Travelers. He possesses qualities that make for strong friendship and he 
easily wins the high regard of those with whom he is associated, because of the many 
sterling traits of his character. 



SEBASTIAN WALTER. 



Sebastian Walter, now living retired in a fine two-story brick residence at No. 
809 National avenue, which was built in 1892, is a German by birth and was reared 
in the fatherland. He was born in March, 1848, near the Rhine, and during his youth- 
ful days learned the tinsmith's trade in his native country. He was a young man of 
eighteen years when he came to the United States in 1866, making his way direct 
to Milwaukee, where he has been a well known and honored resident for fifty-five 
years. For a period of twenty years he was superintendent of the Kieckhefer Brothers 
Company, which is now the Kieckhefer Box Company, and his lite for many years 
was one of intense and well directed activity, bringing to him a substantial measure 
of success as the years passed by. 

In 1874 Mr. Walter was married to Miss Henriette Herzbeker and they have now 
traveled life's journey together for more than forty-seven years. In his political views 
Mr, Walter is a republican, interested in the success of the party, and for ten years he 
served as alderman of his ward. He was also a member of the school board for 
several years and has ever been keenly interested in the welfare and progress of 
the city along many lines. He has proven his faith in Milwaukee by his investment 
in real estate, owning considerable improved property here at the present time. He 
has made six trips back to the fatherland since first coming to the new world, the last 
trip being in 1914 and was in Germany when the World war broke out and experienced 
much difficulty in returning home on account of the military restrictions which were 
imposed. A resident of Milwaukee for more than a half century, he is widely known 




SEBASTIAN WALTER 



Vol. 11—14 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 211 

here and has made many friends as the years have passed by — friends who recognize 
the sterling worth of his character and who have ever found him faithful to any cause 
that he has espoused. 



JOHN J. NEUBAUER. 



Among the enterprising and successful business men in the North avenue district 
of Milwaukee is John J. Neubauer, druggist at 2825 North avenue. He is a native 
son of this city, born September 16, 1879, his parents being Anton and Margaret 
(Zwaska) Neubauer. who were natives of the Rhine province, Germany. They came 
to Milwaukee about 1867 and the father, who was a brewer by trade, was associated 
with the Scltlitz brewery for a number of years. He has now passed away. The mother 
is living at the age of seventy-two. 

John J. Neubauer was educated in St. Francis parochial school and after his school 
days were over took up pharmacy and now has a diploma as a registered pharmacist. 
For eight years he had charge of the laboratory for the Milwaukee Drug Company 
and in 1913 he embarked in business on his own account at No. 2903 North avenue, 
there opening a drug store which was one of the pioneer commercial establishments 
of this character in the section of the city in which he located. All around him was 
vacant property, the streets being paved with blocks and there was little to indicate 
that the section would develop rapidly. In fact, appearances were quite discouraging 
but somehow Mr. Neubauer had faith in the future growth of the district, which has 
developed far beyond his expectations. In 1914 he removed to his present location 
at No. 2825 North avenue, where he erected a two-story brick building forty by one 
hundred and twenty feet, one of the Atlantic and Pacific stores occupying a part of the 
ground floor. He has a well appointed drug store and is accorded a liberal patronage, 
owing to his progressive methods and his earnest desire to please his customers. 

On the 12th of June, 1906, Mr. Neubauer was married to Miss Helen Spies of 
Milwaukee, and they have one child, Verone. Mr. Neubauer was very active in all 
the drives during the period of the World war and received honorable mention tor 
his work in that connection, devoting much time thereto, but refusing official recogni- 
tion for his services. He belongs to the Catholic Order of Foresters and to the St. 
Bonaventure Society, of which he was once vice president for six years. His genial 
manner and cordiality of address have been factors in winning tor him the warm 
friendship of many with whom he has come into contact. 



FREDERICK W. FRIESE. 



Frederick W. Friese, journalist and newspaper critic, whose w^ord throughout 
Milwaukee was considered authority upon any musical performance, passed away 
December 9, 1913. He was born in Germany, December 23, 1838, and came to Mil- 
waukee with his parents in 1849. He acquired his education in the schools of his 
native country and in the public schools of Milwaukee and early in lite entered upon 
a newspaper career. He was first employed as a reporter on the Milwaukee Sentinel, 
but at the outbreak of the war he enlisted in a Wisconsin regiment and rendered 
active aid in the preservation of the Union, participating in a number of the hotly 
contested battles. 

On his return from (he south at the close of hostilities Mr. Friese again entered 
the newspaper field and made steady advancement in journalistic circles. He became 
commercial editor of the Sentinel and at the same time had charge of the music 
department of the paper. Through the latter connection he formed a personal ac- 
quaintance with many of the famous singers and musical artists of the last third of 
a century. A critic of the old school, he wrote his review of an opera performance 
or a recital as the entertainment progressed. About four decades ago, when the 
present site of the Pabst theatre was occupied by the Grand Opera House, Mr. Friese 
had for his own the upper left-hand box there and was seen at every opera performance 
with pad of paper on his knee, writing his impressions of some of the great artists 
as the performance proceeded. His criticisms were based not only upon a technical 
knowledge but upon a real love of music and the impressions produced by the singers. 
All those who understood music recognized how discriminating was his judgment and 
his opinions always carried great weight in musical circles. About five years prior 
to his demise Mr. Friese gave up his duties as musical critic and as commercial 
editor of the paper with which he had for many years been so closely identified and 
concentrated his entire attention upon the Daily Letter, which he had established 
several years before. This was a publication issued every afternoon and contained 
the most vital points of the transactions on Exchange and on Commission Row. This 



212 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

paper was delivered to all dealers and traders at the close of the day's business and 
proved most valuable to those interested. 

On the 26th of June, 1860, Mr. Friese was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. 
Wheatly, a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Wheatly of Wheeling, West Virginia. 
They became parents of three children: William, who is engaged in newspaper work 
in Chicago; Ada M., at home; and Emma, deceased. 

The death of Mr. Friese was the occasion of deep and widespread regret to many 
friends. He was a member of E. B. Wolcott Post, G. A. R., and one of the oldest 
members of the Milwaukee Press Club. For more than twenty years he served as 
secretary of the Milwaukee Musical Society and he was very prominent in church 
work, having membership in St. Mark's Episcopal church. Profound sorrow was ex- 
pressed in financial and commercial circles when he passed away and there were 
many friends who mourned him among the newspaper fraternity and among the 
musicians and music lovers of Milwaukee. For many years he was a member of the 
Chamber of Commerce and was known personally to almost every representative of 
the Board of Trade or those who visited it during trade operations. His acquaintance 
was extremely wide because of the capabilities that had made him a forceful factor 
in so many lines of life. His worth was indeed widely acknowledged and all who 
knew him were proud to call him friend. 



JOHN J. D. MEINCKE. 



John J. D. Meincke, long connected with the development and improvement of 
Milwaukee, was born in Luebsee in the Dukedom of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, 
July 13, 1834. He acquired a common school education, completing his studies when 
fifteen years of age, and on the 1st of March, 1849, he entered upon an apprenticeship 
at the carriage making trade in Guistrow, Germany, under Fred Delpho, a carriage 
manufacturer. His term of indenture covered three years. He then left home for the 
purpose of acquiring broader knowledge and experience and traveled through various 
European countries, obtaining work at Bremen and other points. He remained in 
Bremen until June 15, 1857, when he gave up his position to return home and arrange 
his affairs preparatory to coming to the new world. 

On the 3d of July, 1857, he boarded a sailing vessel at Bremen, accompanied by 
his bride to be, and landed at New York on the 28th of August, while on the 5th of Sep- 
tember he arrived in Milwaukee. After traveling thus far he had little money remaining 
and felt the necessity of obtaining immediate employment hut on account of the hard 
times then existing, for the country was in the throes of a financial panic, he could not 
secure work at any price for seven months. On the 10th of April, 1858, he secured a 
position with Isaac Ellsworth, a carriage manufacturer, and for two years and seven 
months remained in that employ, or until October 1, 1860. It was in that year that his 
father, Frederick Meincke, came to the new world. He was born in Strigo, Germany, 
in 1800, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Eggert, was born in 
Vitgest, Germany. The father, who was a carriage maker by trade, arrived in Mil- 
waukee en the 3d of July, 1860. Here he joined his son, John J. D. Meincke, who on 
the 1st of October, of that year, established a small carriage manufacturing plant in 
connection with Chris Krop. Their business was located in a little blacksmith shop 
at Nos. 303 to 305 Broadway, where they began the manufacture of carriages, buggies 
and wagons and did all kinds of repair work, Mr. Meincke's father entering the em- 
ploy of the new firm. On the 1st of April, 1861, Mr. Meincke purchased the interest of 
his partner and continued the business under his own name. From that time forward 
the enterprise prospered and grew steadily. In 1862 Mr. Meincke purchased the busi- 
ness of his former employer, Isaac Ellsworth, and conducted both places until his 
Broadway lease expired. In the fall of 1863 he entered into partnership with Charles 
Weber, a blacksmith, who was then in his employ. The Civil war was in progress and 
many men being at the front it was difficult to obtain good mechanics at that time. The 
business was carried on under the name of John Meincke & Company. In November, 
1865, however- the entire plant was destroyed by fire, causing an almost total loss, 
after which the firm of Meincke & Weber was dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. 
Meincke afterward constructed a temporary building and on Friday of the same week 
in which the fire occurred three forges were going in full blast on the old site. A store 
at 300 Broadway was rented for woodworking and storage purposes. On the 1st of 
July, 1866, Mr. Meincke purchased the northeast corner at No. 294 to 298 Broadway 
and Detroit streets, the old McCormack Hotel site, held by the United States government 
as a retreat for disabled soldiers until the close of the war in 1865. On taking over 
the property Mr. Meincke remodeled the old building and converted the hotel into a 
carriage factory. In 1869 the level of Broadway and Detroit streets was raised four 
feet and nine inches which put his old factory building out of service and made it 
necessary for him to erect a new plant. On the 1st of August, 1871, the old building 




JOHN J. D. MEESrCKE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 215 

was removed to the northwest corner of Detroit and Milwaukee streets and converted 
again into a -hotel, after which a new structure was erected on the old site — a three 
story and basement brick building, forty by one hundred and twenty feet. Mr. Meincke 
then employed twenty-five hands. In the fall of 1S72 his father, who had been asso- 
ciated with him in carrying on the business throughout this time, retired on account 
of old age and passed away on the 11th of September, 18S1. As the years passed John 
J. D. Meincke continued the business, building up an important industrial enterprise 
and winning well merited success. 

It was on the 30th of April, 1858, that Mr. Meincke, after securing employment in 
Milwaukee was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Preem, who had crossed the 
Atlantic on the sailing vessel with him. They became the parents of nine children, of 
whom six died young from the ages of one to six years. Three reached maturity: 
Ernest, Lilly and Paul. Ernest and Paul after graduating from school engaged in busi- 
ness with their father and remained with him until called to the home beyond. The 
son Ernest died September 11, 1894, leaving a wife and two children; and Paul died 
December 27, 1S97, leaving a wife and one son, John, Jr. Following the death of his 
sons Mr. Meincke carried on the business alone until the spring of 1899, when he 
retired, disposing of the stock on hand. He had become the owner of considerable 
valuable propei ty in Milwaukee and resided in a splendid home at No. 274 Tenth street, 
which he willed to his neice. Miss Louise M. Leverenz. 

Mr. Meincke was a member of St. John's Lutheran church and he also belonged 
to the Old Settlers' Club and to the German Immigrants Aid Society, serving as a 
member of its board of directors. He was most highly respected and a worthy citizen, 
enjoying the good will and confidence of all who knew him to the time of his death, 
which occurred December 29. 1919, when he was eighty-five years of age. He had never 
regretted his determination to come to America, for here he found the opportunities 
which he sought and in their utilization made for himself a most creditable position in 
the business circles of his adopted city. 



RUDOLPH BERNARD HOERMANN, M. D. 

Few physicians have a comprehensive and thorough training such as Dr. Rudolph 
Bernard Hoermann of Milwaukee has achieved, for he is a gi'aduate of both the 
alapathic and homeopathic schools of medicine and in his practice is now specializing 
on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, for which he received special training, 
his practice indicating his thorough capability and success in this department. Dr. 
Hoermann is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, born August 11, 1872. His father was 
Dr. Ferdinand Bernard Hoermann, a physician who in 1881 became a resident of 
Watertown, Wisconsin, where he continued in active practice to the time of his death 
in 1918. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Caroline Frentel. is still residing 
in Watertown. They were the parents of a family of five sons and five daughters, 
all of whom have reached adult age. 

Dr. Rudolph B. Hoermann, the third in order of birth, has one brother who is 
a physician and two are members of the dental profession, the latter being Dr. Alfred 
Hoermann, a dentist of Milwaukee, and Dr. Ernst Hoermann, who is practicing his 
profession in Watertown, W'isconsin. One Iirotber and three sisters reside in Honolulu, 
Hawaii, the former being the Rev. Arthur Hoermann, D. D.. a prominent Lutheran 
clergyman. All of the sons are professional men and one of the daughters is the 
wife of a physician. Dr. T. F. Shinnick of Beloit, Wisconsin. 

Dr. Rudolph B. Hoermann was chiefly reared in Watertown, Wisconsin, and there 
obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree on the completion of a course in the Northwestern 
College, a Lutlieran school at that place. He afterward spent four years as a student 
in the medical department of the University of Michigan and was graduated with the 
M. D. degree in 1897. Through the succeeding 'period of four months he was identified 
with the outdoor poor department of Bellevue Hospital of New York and later he 
studied in Berlin and Vienna, pursuing postgraduate work in the year 1898, thus 
becoming splendidly qualified for the work of his profession. He located 'at Water- 
town, Wisconsin, where he opened an office and continued in general practice from 
1899 until 1912. In the latter year he came to Milwaukee, where he has remained 
and for four years his attention has been concentrated upon diseases of the eye, ear, 
nose and throat. He has gained a high degree of proficiency in his specialty, having 
largely come to be regarded as an authority upon this branch of practice in Wisconsin. 
He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical 
Society, the Wisconsin Surgical Society and the American Medical Association. He 
is a constant student, continually reading along lines that promote his knowledge 
and advance his efficiency in coping with disease and restoring the human body to 
normal conditions. 

On the 28th of July, 1903, Dr. Hoermann was married to Miss Renata Mueller. 



216 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

They had one sou, Harold Mueller, who was killed in an automobile accident at the 
age of ten years. Following this the city put policemen on all corners near the 
schools, for the lad was- returning home from school when struck by the machine, 
causing his death. 

During the "World war Dr. Hoermann served on local board, No. 3, of Milwaukee. 
He is a member of the Lutheran church and he belongs to the Wisconsin Club, which 
is indicative of his appreciation of the social amenities of life. He has gained many 
friends during the years of his residence in Milwaukee and he enjoys the respect 
and confidence of his colleagues and contemporaries in the profession. 



A. T. VAN SCOY. 



A .T. Van Scoy filled an important function in the commercial life of the city 
long before he commanded public attention. He had been connected with the Mil- 
waukee Harvester Company in an important executive capacity and when this com- 
pany was merged into the International Harvester Company, his position was enlarged 
both in scope and authority. He was possessed of a rare power and discrimination 
in the formulation of executive and financial policies and was assigned to many 
of the more important problems and operations of his company. When in later years 
his duties became less exacting, he gave a liberal portion of his time to general civic 
and charitable movements. He was induced to accept the presidency of the Milwau- 
kee Association of Commerce and in that capacity led a most strenuous life and 
rendered a remarkable service. He manifested the most untiring zeal in numberless 
projects designed to promote the material and moral well-being of the community. 

Mr. Van Scoy was born in Wainscott, Long Island, New York, August 7, 1855, a 
son of Henry Lewis and Mary T. (Barnes) Van Scoy, both of whom were natives of 
the Empire state. No special advantages came to A. T. Van Scoy in his youthful days. 
His early education was acquired in the Clinton Academy at East Hampton, New York, 
and he was graduated from Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, in June, 1876. Im- 
mediately afterward lie went to Sandwich, Illinois, learning that there was a vacancy 
among the teachers in one of the grammar schools of that city. He passed the examina- 
tion and secured the position, teaching in connection with George Patton, a member 
of the prominent Chicago Patton family. He taught in that school for about four years 
and then became principal, occupying the position for two years. On the expiration 
of that period he was elected superintendent of schools, which position he filled until 
he resigned after ten years of school work. 

Thinking to find better opportunities along commercial lines, Mr. Van Scoy 
then entered the office of the Sandwich Manufacturing Company, with which he con- 
tinued until March, 1889, when lie came to Milwaukee and entered into active associa- 
tion with the Milwaukee Harvester Company in the capacity of collection manager, 
which position he continued to fill until August, 1898, when he was elected second 
vice president and treasurer, and from this time on he was carrying many of the 
duties of general manager. When he took this position the concern was a compar- 
atively small one, but the business quickly felt the power of his energy and personality 
and grew rapidly. It was with the financial end of the business that Mr. Van Scoy made 
a reputation as a financier. Perhaps comparatively few men in Milwaukee realized 
his great ability in this direction, as the business was done with farm operators in 
all parts of the country, rather than with local concerns. Mr. Van Scoy's duty was 
to finance the business and, in addition, he had general supervision over all depart- 
ments of the business. He continued to serve in that capacity until August, 1902, 
at which time the Milwaukee Harvester Company became a part of the International 
Harvester Company. Mr. Van Scoy then became collection manager for Wisconsin 
and upper Michigan and assistant secretary of the company. No one realized his 
great worth better than did Cyrus H. McCormick, head of that great concern, and his 
friendship and confidence Mr. Van Scoy enjoyed to an unusual degree. 

While the International Harvester Company was being organized, Mr. Van Scoy 
visited many of the branch houses in the United States and Canada, installing their 
credit and collection systems. He remained as assistant secretary and collection man- 
ager for Wisconsin and upper Michigan of the International Harv'ester Company until 
January 1, 1920, at which time he was elected one of the vice presidents of the com- 
pany, in which capacity he served until his sudden and untimely death on the 3d of 
February, 1921. 

It was in 1907 that Mr. Van Scoy became a director of the Merchants & Manu- 
facturers Bank of Milwaukee and later was elected vice president and made chairman 
of the discount committee. He remained with the bank until his duties with the 
Harvester Company forced him to resign in 1909. 

For twenty-four years Miss Elizabeth J. Campbell was private secretary to Mr. 
Van Scoy and since his demise has had full charge of his estate. Her close association 




A. T. VAN SCOY 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 219 

with him in all business affairs made her thoroughly familiar with his commerrial and 
financial interests and qualified her to take up the burden of responsibility which is 
now hers in the management of the estate left by Mr. Van Scoy. 

Not only did Mr. Van Scoy contribute largely to the success of the important 
business interests mentioned but was also a most prominent figure in connection with 
the Association of Commerce. In 1910 he became actively identified therewith and 
served as director for five years. He filled the position of vice president for one year 
and was president from 191S until 1920. At the completion of his second term the 
Association of Commerce elected him to the honorary position of president emeritus. 
During all these years in which he had been an official he had served on most of 
the important committees and gave great assistance to the legislative and transporta- 
tion committees. During his term as president he had a record of attending more 
meetings than any president the association had ever had. Mr. Van Scoy also took a 
very active and helpful part in all war work; was appointed by Governor Philipp a 
member of the State Council of Defense, which was the first Council of Defense organized 
in the United States, and in this <-onne('tion represented the manufacturers of Wis- 
consin. He also served as food administrator for Milwaukee county during the entire 
period of the war. He was most helpful in promoting all the Liberty Loan drives 
and in fact was on the executive and finance committees of practically all of the 
different drives held in Milwaukee. He took a most prominent part in the drive for 
Associated Colleges in 1919 and did very effective organization work, assisting in 
organizing such cities as Racine. Kenosha, Waukesha and others. His last work 
along those lines was done in November, 1920, when he became state chairman of the 
advisory board of the Salvation Army, which meant that he organized the state of 
Wisconsin to promote the interests of the Siilvation Array, appointing advisory boards 
in each county. This was his last public service. The Salvation Army and its 
leaders in Milwaukee have made the statement that it was he who recognized their 
work and made it possible tor them to accomplish in Milwaukee what they have done. 

Mr. Van Scoy was a regent of Marquette University about ten years prior to 
his death and served as a member of the board of directors of St. Mary's Hospital. 
He organized the Americanization Council of Milwaukee and served as executive 
director for about a year. 

Just prior to his death he attended a meeting of the National Chamber of Com- 
merce at Washington, D. C, being one of the national counsellors of that organiza- 
tion, and while there attended a meeting of the immigration committee of the chamber 
that had been appointed to investigate the subject of emigration, he having only two 
months prior to his death been appointed on that committee. He returned to his'home 
only a day before his death. 

Throughout his life Mr. Van Scoy had been most devoted to his family. He was 
first married June 27, 1877, to Alice L. Huestis, who passed away April 19, 1887. On 
August 14, 1888, Mr. Van Scoy married L. Estella Warner of Sandwich, Illinois, 
who departed this life on the 2Sth of August, 1SS8. On June 28, 1893, Mr. Van Scoy 
married Miss Lillian E. Bacon of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, who survives him. 

Mr. Van Scoy was a stanch republican but did not seek nor desire political pre- 
ferment. In fact it was his wish to devote his leisure hours to the interests of his 
home and he found his greatest happiness at his own fireside. He was reared in the 
Presbyterian faith but was not a member of any church. He was extremely broad 
and liberal in his views, willing to assist all denominations and ever ready to counsel 
and help the young. He had very- close friends in all churches and was ever extending 
a helping hand. At the same time he was a great Bible student. He belonged to no 
secret organization and no clubs. His activities outside of business centered in those 
organized interests which look to the benefit and upbuilding of the city, to the ad- 
vancement of its civic ideals and to the uplift of its citizens. When he passed away 
the Association of Commerce adopted the following Memorial: 

"WHEREAS, A. T. Van Scoy, President of the Milwaukee Association of Com- 
merce from February. 1918 to February, 1920, has been suddenly called by death: 

"RESOLVED: That we, the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Association of 
Commerce, hereby attest our keen regret at the loss of a splendid citizen and, for a 
period of many years, a painstaking worker in Association activities, concluding with 
two terms as Director and one term as Vice-President,' two terms as President, and 
during the year just passed, as President Emeritus: 

"RESOLVED: That we hereby voice our high appreciation of the services he has 
rendered the Association, and the potent force and painstaking effort he contributed 
in bringing it to its present effectiveness as one of the foremost agencies contributing 
to the prestige and progress of the City of Milwaukee. 

"RESOLVED. That we herewith extend to the bereaved members of the family 
9ur heartfelt sympathy and the assurance of that consolation which must come with 
the thought that the deceased completed a useful and honorable career; and that these 
resolutions be spread upon the minutes and that a copy of the same be conveyed to the 
members of the bereaved familv." 



220 HISTORY OF JIILWAUKEB 

When he retired from the office of president the Association of Commerce created 
a testimonial and appreciation reading: 

"PREAMBLE: Mr. A. T. Van Scoy served as Director of the Milwaukee Associa- 
tion of Commerce for a period of five years, as Vice-President one year, and as its 
President for -two years, ending with February 3, 1920. 

"During his term of service he was also an active member of several important 
committees. With his retirement from office, and his elevation to the title of President 
Emeritus, we offer the following: 

"RESOLVED, That we the Board of Directors herewith unanimously voice our 
highest appreciation for the fine conception A. T. Van Scoy brought to his office as 
President of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the zeal and fidelity he mani- 
fested in the arduous task assumed by him, and the efficiency and circumspection 
with which he performed that task: 

"That, we recognize the new standards of service which he has inaugurated, the 
interpretation he has placed upon the function of American citizenship, and the con- 
tribution he has made, through his Association activities, to the prestige and progress 
of the City of Milwaukee. 

"That, we bespeak for him a long career of useful service, attended with physical 
and material well-being, and an abundance of that happiness and contentment he so 
richly merits." 

He was only spared for a few more months of usefulness and activity. If he 
had been consulted as to his death he would have said: "Let me be active to the 
last." His life was one of continuous service in connection with his business and in 
connection with the public welfare and one is reminded of the words of a modern 
philosopher who has said: "Not the good that comes to us hut the good that comes to 
the world through us is the measure of our success." Judged by this standard the life 
of A. T. Van Scoy was a notably successful one. 



CLIFFORD LeROY McMILLEN. 

Clifford LeRoy McMillen, general agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insur- 
ance Company in Milwaukee has throughout his entire life been actuated by a pro- 
gressive spirit that has enabled him to overcome obstacles and difficulties in his path 
and work his way steadily upward to success. Along many lines he has put forth 
earnest and effective effort for progress and improvement and when his country needed 
the aid of all of her loyal sons he joined the army in defense of the principles which 
caused America to enter the World war. 

Mr. McMillen was born at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, November 19, 1889, and is a 
son of George Wilbur and Nellie (Gosselin) McMillen, who are still residents of Fort 
Atkinson, where the mother was born. The father's birth occurred at Johnson Creek, 
Wisconsin, and throughout much of his life he has engaged in farming and dealing 
in live stock. He is now conducting a retail meat market at Fort Atkinson. His father 
was Hiram C. McMillen, who was born in the state of New York, where his parents had 
settled on coming from Scotland. The mother of Clifford L. McMillen was a daughter 
of Lee Gosselin, a native of Canada, and his father was likewise born in the land of 
hills and heather, whence he crossed the Atlantic to Canada. 

Clifford L. McMillen began his education in the public schools of his native city, 
there pursuing his studies to the age of sixteen years, when in 1907 he was graduated 
from the high school. He afterward attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison 
and won his Bachelor of Arts, degree upon graduation with the class of 1911. He be- 
came a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity while a student there. When his text- 
books were put aside he turned his attention to the life insurance business, becoming 
connected with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, with which he has 
since been associated. Steadily he has worked his way upward, thoroughly acquainting 
himself with every phase of the business, and he is now general agent for the corpora- 
tion at Milwaukee and in his present responsible position has fifty agents serving under 
him. 

On the 22d of October, 1912, Mr. McMillen was united in marriage to Lorraine 
Hartman, a daughter of Frank Hartman of Chicago. She, too, is a graduate of the 
University of Wisconsin ot the class of 1910. She is much interested in art and is a 
member of the College Women's Club. It was on the 1st of July, 1919, that Mr. and 
Mrs. McMillen removed from Madison to Milwaukee, where they have since made their 
home and in the social circles of the city they have gained a prominent position. 
Mr. McMillen is a lover of golf and all outdoor sports, greatly enjoys fishing and is 
also a devotee ot music and possesses considerable skill as a violinist. 

When the country needed his aid, all other interests and activities of his life sank 
into insignificance and he joined the army, becoming an infantry captain. He was 
made adjutant of the Three Hundred and Thirty-fifth Infantry and later brigade adjutant 




CLIFFORD i>. .Mi.MILLKX 



HISTORY OF :\rTLWAUKEE 223 

of the One Hundred :in(i Sixty-eighth Infantry Brigade. He was graduated from the 
Second Officers Training Camp at Fort Sheridan in December, 1917, with the rank of 
first lieutenant, was promoted to a captaincy and sailed for France in July, 1918. 
There he was engaged on staff duty in various localities and left France in February, 
1919, receiving his discharge in the same month. 

Politically Mr. McMillen has always been a republican since age conferred upon 
him tlie right of franchise but has never been a candidate for office nor has he desired 
political preferment. He holds membership with the Congregational church but at- 
tends the Catholic church with his wife. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks 
lodge at Madison, witli the Knights of Pythias at Fort Atkinson and with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows at Madison. He belongs to the Life Underwriters Asso- 
ciation of Milwaukee and while at Madison was president of that body there and took 
a very prominent part in its work. He is very widely and favorably known in club 
circles and was formerly president of the Madison Rotary Club. He now belongs to 
the Milwaukee Rotary Club, is a member of the University Club, of which he is serving 
as secretary, and his name is likewise on the membership rolls of the Milwaukee Club, 
Wisconsin Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club, Milwaukee Country Club, Fox Point Club, 
Madison Club and the Maple Bluff Golf Club at Madison. He has a very wide acquaint- 
ance in the capital city and in Milwaukee and the sterling traits of his character have 
gained for him the warm regard of a very extensive circle of friends in both cities. 



WILLIAM KINGMAN PACKMAN. 

William Kingman Packman, of Packman, Noble & Company, general accounting 
service at Milwaukee, was born on his father's farm in the town of Bristol, Kenosha 
county, Wisconsin, February 27, 1857, and is thus a representative of one of the old 
pioneer families of this state. The Packmans are of Dutch descent. The grand- 
father, Peter Packman, was horn in Columbia county. New York, and became a highly 
successful farmer, owning and cultivating more than tour hundred acres of rich and 
productive land. His son, Martin Packman, was born at Kinderhook, Columbia 
county. New York, in 1831, and he, too, followed the occupation of farming in the 
Empire state, where in early life he served as school clerk of his town. He was 
married in New York to Miss Catherine E. Kingman, whose birth occurred at Kinder- 
hook in 1834, her father being William Kingman, who was a farmer of Columbia 
county, where he was born, the family being of English lineage. It was about the 
year 1855 that Mr. and Mrs. Martin Packman left the Empire state, where their mar- 
riage was celebrated, and came to Wisconsin, settling on a farm in Kenosha county, 
where the father died in 1865. The mother died in 1897. 

William Kingman Packman was only eight years of age at the time of his 
father's demise. He pursued a public school education in his native county to the 
age of fourteen years and afterward attended the Kenosha high school, while still 
later he became a pupil in Beloit College at Beloit, Wisconsin. He then went east to 
Chatham, New York, where he completed his course by study in the Chatham Acad- 
emy, after which he returned to the home farm and conducted it until he reached 
the age of twenty-three years. Thinking to find other pursuits more congenial than 
agriculture, however, he at that time turned his attention to general merchandising 
at Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in partnership with H. C. Torrey. This business he 
conducted until 1889, when he sold his interest in the store and removed to Milwau- 
kee. For a year he acted as cashier and bookkeeper for the McElroy Transportation 
Company and then became connected with the Northwestein Iron Company, which 
he represented for eighteen years, starting out in the employ of that corporation in 
the capacity of bookkeeper and working his way steadily upward until he became gen- 
eral manager. The company is engaged in the manufacture of pig iron and Mr. 
Packman thus gained considerable knowledge of the iron industry, so that in 1908 he 
embarked in the foundry business on his own account at Mayville, where he re- 
mained for four years. In the meantime he had been studying accountancy and 
obtained much practical experience along that line until at length he opened an office 
for expert accounting under the name of the Cream City Accounting Company. In 
1916 he admitted Joseph E. Noble to a partnership and in 1920 the business was 
reorganized and incorporated under the name of Packman, Noble & Company, with 
Mr. Packman as the president. They handle audits of every description, open, close 
and keep monthly accounts of books and do a regular systems and general accounting 
service. The business is capitalized tor twenty-five thousand dollars and they have 
at least a hundred regular clients and many others who call them in for special 
work. Aside from the accounting business Mr. Packman is also interested in the 
Winter Piano Company, dealers in pianos and musical instruments, operating two 
stores in Milwaukee. The company is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars, 
Mr. Packman being president and treasurer. 



224 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Mr. Packman was married to Miss Mabel L. Johnson oE Bristol, Wisconsin, who 
passed away three years later, in 1883, leaving a son, Martin J., who is now a farmer 
of Bristol and who is married and has four children. For his second wife William K. 
Packman chose Miss Mary G. Bohan, whom he wedded on the 1st of October, 1890. 
She is a daughter of the Hon. John R. Bohan of Port Washington, Wisconsin, who 
was state senator from his district and was a prominent and influential resident 
there, well known as the proprietor and editor of the Ozaukee County Advocate. He 
died in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Packman have four children. Frances is now the wife 
of George W. Moore, a farmer living near Janesville, Wisconsin, who was graduated 
from the agricultural department of the State University and is now scientifically 
following farming. He and his wife have one child, Gertrude. Clarence E., the 
second of the family, is now associated in business with his father. He wedded Mary 
Wilson, of Madison, a daughter of S. A. Wilson, who is connected with the L. L. Olds 
Seed Company. Dorothy E. is now the wife of Albert M. Ryser, of Milwaukee, repre- 
sentative of the Winter Piano Company. Gertrude, the youngest of the family, is a 
student in the West Division high school of this city. 

Mr. and Mrs. Packman attend the Methodist Episcopal church, contribute to its 
support and take an interest in its growth and upbuilding. Politically Mr. Packman 
is a republican who stanchly supports party principles but has never been ambitious 
to hold office. He is a Mason, belonging to Vesper Lodge, No. 62, A. F. & A. M., 
of Mayville, Wisconsin, of which he was worshipful master for three years. He 
likewise has membership in Horicon Chapter, No. 40, R. A. M.; in Fond du Lac 
Commandery, No. 5, K. T.; and in the Eastern Star, of which he has been patron. 
His wife likewise belongs to Oakwood Chapter of the Eastern Star and was active 
in behalf of woman suffrage and of prohibition, being identified with the societies 
back of these movements. Mr. Packman is likewise a member of the Association of 
Commerce and cooperates with the organized efforts of the association to promote, 
city improvement, to uphold civic standards and to extend trade relations. At all 
times he stands for progress and advancement and his labors have been an effective 
force along those lines for the public welfare as well as for the benefit of his indi- 
vidual fortunes. 



ARTHUR H. VOGEL. 



Arthur H. Vcgel is a native son of Milwaukee, born in May, 1865. In the acquire- 
ment of his edncation he attended the second ward high school, also the Engelman 
school and the Spencerian Business College. He was a young man of twenty years 
when in 1885 he became associated with his father P. Ludwig Vogel, and brothers 
William H. and Edwin Vogel, in the carpenter and general contracting firm operating 
under the name of F. L. Vogel Sons. In 1895 he became connected as an officer with 
the Sheboygan Dredge & Dock Company and was thus associated when in 1900 the 
Sheboygan Company consolidated with the C. H. Starke Dredge & Dock Company. In 
1903 he was elected an officer of the latter corporation and retained that position 
until the consolidation of the C. H. Starke Dredge & Dock Company with the Great 
Lakes Dredge & Dock Company. When this merger was effected he became manager 
for the Milwaukee district and has retained this position to the present time. His 
place is one of large responsibility in this connection and he is splendidly qualified 
for the duties that devolve upon him. 

The Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company was organized and incorporated in 1905 
for the purpose of engaging in the business of contracting for all kinds of marine 
work in dredging, the construction of breakwater, wharves, bridges, submerged pipes 
for water intakes, pile foundations for buildings, cofferdams, etc. In 1914 the C. H. 
Starke Dredge & Dock Company of Milwaukee, which had been a big factor in the 
marine business not only in Milwaukee but throughout the Great Lakes district, united 
its personnel and equipment with that of the Great Lakes Company. This organiza- 
tion brought together the largest of the independent companies then engaged in that 
line of work on the Great Lakes and it has continued to grow in magnitude up to the 
present time. The headquarters of the company is in the Monroe building at Chicago, 
Illinois. The company also maintains district offices and equipment in South Chicago, 
Milwaukee, Sault Ste. Marie, Duluth, Cleveland, Buffalo, Albany, New York and 
Philadelphia. 

Some of the work which the company and its predecessors have been doing has 
been of a most important character. The company has been connected with the con- 
struction of the submerged pipe water intakes of most all the cities on the west side 
of Lake Michigan. Miles of rubble mound, timber crib and pile pier breakwater have 
been constructed, also many miles of reinforced concrete docks and quay walls, to- 
gether with the substructures of most of the bascule bridges, as well as many other 
works of public importance. The more recent of these are the rubble mound break- 




ARTIirPv H. \'0(iEL 



Vol. 11—15 



HISTORY OF IMTLWAUKEE 227 

water from Wisconsin street to tlie north harbor pier in Milwaukee, the bulkhead 
protection for the Milwaukee sewerage commission at Jones Island, the bulkhead 
terminal development for the harbor commission on the east side of Jones Island 
and the pile and timber revetment on the river side of Jones Island tor the harbor 
commission. They were also builders of the Michigan Avenue bridge in Chicago, one 
of the notable structures of this character, displaying not only marked engineering 
skill but great beauty, so that the bridge is admired by all. It is a notable structure 
inasmuch as the two sides were constructed separately and not until lowered in piisition. 
ready for traffic, was it tested whether the two sides would meet perfectly, but such 
was the engineering skill and efficient construction back of the project that the two 
sides of the bridge swuug into position with absolute perfection. The Milwaukee yirds 
and shops are located at 491 Canal street, where they have over a thousand feet of 
dockage for the storage of equipment, supplies, etc. The Milwaukee offices are located 
at 817 to S20 of the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank building. The Milwaukee dis- 
trict management is under the personal direction of Arthur H. Vogel, who has had 
many years of experience in the handling of this line of work and whose knowledge 
of the business is a guarantee that any work undertaken by him will be promptly and 
faithfully performed. 

In 1S93 Mr. Vogel was married to Miss Ada Starke, only daughter of Conrad 
Starke, and they are the parents of three children: Arthur L., who is now engaged in 
the insurance business in Milwaukee, enlisted for active duty in the World war and 
served in France with Troop A of the Light Horse Squadron of this city, which be- 
came the One Hundred and Twentieth Field Artillery. He was transferred to the 
quartermaster's division at Bordeaux, France, and was mustered out six months after 
the signing of the armistice. He married Gladys Larson of Oconomowoc. Wisconsin, 
in 1916; Veronica A. married Robert M. Parr of Madison, Wisconsin, in 1920. Mr. 
Parr is a veteran of the World war, having served in France and is now engaged In 
the insurance business at Madison, Wisconsin; Dorothy E., the youngest of the family, 
is a pupil in the Madison high school. 

In Masonry Mr. Vogel has attained high rank, belonging to Lafayette Lodge, No. 
265, A. F. & A. M.; Calumet Chapter, R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 24, K. T.; 
Wisconsin Consistory, A. & A. S. R.; rnd Tripo'i Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. He is also 
identified with the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Milwaukee Association of 
Commerce. 



GEORGE C. BLOMMER. 



George C. Blommer. secretary of the Blommer Ice Cream Company of Milwaukee, 
one of the important commercial interests of the city, was born here on the 9th of 
July, 1887. He is a son of Conrad Blommer, who was born in Milwaukee in 1851 and 
is still one of the highly respected residents of this city, well known in connection with 
his business affairs and public interest. He yet remains the president of the Blommer 
Ice Cream Company, which was established in 1909 and has its plant at Fifteenth 
street and North avenue, the other officers being: Aloys Blommer, vice president; 
William C. Blommer, treasurer; and George C. Blommer, secretary. The business 
is a close corporation and is capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. The father was 
engaged in the retail ice cream business at 1001 Walnut street for about thirty-seven 
years and as a result of his activity in that connection the present corporation was 
formed. The buildings now used by the company were erected in 1910, covering a 
ground space of one hundred and fifty by one hundred and twenty-seven feet and the 
site of the present plant was once a farm owned by the Blommer family, who had 
settled in Milwaukee in pioneer times. The present plant comprises five buildings all 
occupied by the company and utilized solely for the manufacture of ice cream, for 
its trade is now very extensive, its product being shipped throughout the state. It 
also has two branch establishments, one located at Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the other 
at Wisconsin Rapids, these supplying the local trade in their sections of the state. 
The company ranks with the best known manufacturers of ice cream in Wisconsin 
and the quality of its product is attested by all. The firm has built up its business 
entirely on the reputation won by its output and today it is among the most prominent 
and successful ice cream manufacturers in the upper Jlississippi valley. The father, 
Conrad Blommer, is still actively identified with the business, save through the sum- 
mer season when he retires to his summer home at Fox Point. He is greatly 
respected here and enjoys the warm esteem and goodwill of all who know him. He 
married Frances Traeger, also a native of Milwaukee, and to them were born nine 
children, all born at the old family home at Tenth and Walnut streets, which property 
is still in possession of Conrad Blommer. These children are: Katharine, the wife 
of George Stehling of Milwaukee; William, who is the vice president of the Ambrosia 
Chocolate Company; John, who is superintendent of the Milwaukee plant of the 



228 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Blommer Ice Cream Company; Aloys, manager of the plant at Wisconsin Rapids; 
Wally, at home; George C, manager of the Milwaukee plant; Anna, the wife of Dr. 
Taugher of Marathon, Wisconsin; Theresa, the wife of Louis Kamerek; and Marie, 
at home. 

George C. Blommer was reared and educated in Milwaukee, attending the paro< 
chial schools of this city, and his entire business activity has been concentrated 
upon the development of the ice cream trade. As secretary of the company he has 
largely directed its affairs and his enterprise and progressiveness have been valuable 
factors in the successful conduct of the business. 

On the 4th of October, 1911, Mr. Blommer was married to Miss Lillian E. Dey of 
Milwaukee; and they have two children: William G. and Irene M. Mr. Blommer 
took an active interest in the various drives during the World war. He belongs to 
the Kiwanis Club, also to the Elks' Club and the Optimist Club and it is characteristic 
of him that he looks upon the bright side of life, recognizes the opportunities offered 
and utilizes them not only for his own benefit but in connection with the upbuilding 
and progress of the city in many ways. 



RUDOLPH WALTER ROETHKE, M. D. 

Dr. Rudolph Walter Roethke, physician and surgeon, was one of the first in the 
state cf Wisconsin to confine his practice to obstetrical cases. He now enjoys a large 
and lucrative practice among the best families of Milwaukee and is a man of recognized 
prominence in his chosen calling. Born in Mayville, Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 
25th of June, 1S84, he is a son of August Carl Roethke, who is a native of Germany 
and came to the United States immediately after the close of the Franco-Prussian 
war, in which he served as a soldier with the German army. For some time he engaged 
in the furniture business but is now living retired at Chilton, Wisconsin, at the age of 
seventy-three years. He married Dora Doerfler, who was born in Milwaukee and is 
now sixty-eight years of age. Their family numbered two sons, one of whom, Adolph 
Herman, died June 2, 1919. He was a well known lawyer of Milwaukee and filled the 
office of assistant district attorney of the city. The two daughters of the family, 
Louisa and EUa, are teachers in the public schools of Milwaukee. 

When six years of age Dr. Rudolph Walter Roethke, the only surviving son of the 
family, accompanied his parents on their removal to Chilton, Wisconsin, and was there 
graduated from the high school with the class of 1902. He was honored by election to 
the presidency of his class and when his school days were over he engaged with his 
father in the furniture business for two and a half years. He later spent a year and 
a half as a student in the University of Wisconsin, preparing for medical college, after 
which he matriculated in the University of Pennsylvania, there spending four years 
as a medical student, winning his professional degree upon his graduation with the 
class of 1910. During his medical course he was vice president of his class in the junior 
year and class treasurer in the senior year. He also took an active part in athletics 
while a student in the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the Octopede 
rowing crew for two years. He rowed in the American Henley races in 1907 and 
again in 1908 and during his college days he became a member of the Kappa Phi and 
also of the Omega Upsilon Phi and the Stille Medical Society. 

Following his graduation he was appointed interne at the Lock Haven General 
Hospital of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where he remained for a year, gaining that 
broad and valuable experience which one secures in hospital practice. He was after- 
ward connected with the New York Lying-in Hospital for ten months, acting as assist- 
ant house surgeon for four months and house surgeon for six months. 

On the expiration of that period Dr. Roethke came to Milwaukee, where he opened 
an ofRce and began practice on the 5th of June, 1912. He continued in general practice 
for five years, although to some extent in that period he specialized in obstetrics. 
Since 1917 he has given his attention exclusively to obstetrical practice and is recog- 
nized as one of the eminent specialists in this field in the state. He was formerly 
chief of the department of gynecology and obstetrics in the Marquette Medical College 
for six years and during one year of that period he was an instructor in obstetrics in 
that school. He is now serving on the staffs of Mount Sinai, St. Mary's and Emergency 
Hospitals and in addition has an extensive private practice of an important character. 
He belongs to the Milwaukee Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, 
the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and also to the 
Alumni Society of the New York Lying-in Hospital. He is the author of treatises on 
Medical topics and is well known through his contributions to the literature of the 
profession. 

On the 25th of June, 1918, Dr. Roethke was married to Miss Agnes Doris Stein- 
hagen, who was born and reared in this city and is a daughter of Gustave Steinhagen, 
who was formerly city surveyor of Milwaukee and still makes his home here. Mrs. 




DR. RUDOLl'II W. ROETHKE 



HISTORY OF .MILWATKKK 231 

Roethke is a graduate of the North Side high school airl the Milwaukee Normal School 
and prior to her marriage was a teacher in the West Milwaukee public schools. Ur. 
and Mrs. Roethke have two daughters: Doris Ruth, born April 19, 1919; and Margaret 
Ann, born December L'S. 1920. Dr. Roethke greatly enjoys hunting and tishing trips 
when leisure permits but allows nothing to interfei-e with the faithful performance of 
his professional duties and by reason cf hi^ hi.srhly developed skill and efficiency is 
todav ranked witli the eminent ( L3:c:ritiar.G of Uie st.ta. 



FRANK M. McENIRY. 



Frank M. McEniry. .general commercial superintendent of the Wisconsin Tele- 
phone Company at Milwaukee, has advanced to his present position through the 
steps of an orderly progression that have brought him up from a humble position in 
telephone service to one of large responsibility. Mv. McEniry is a native of Iowa, his 
birth having occurred in Lenox, November 27, 1880. his parents being M. F. and 
Catherine (Fitzharris) McEniry. In the acquirement of his education he attended 
the high school of his native city, from which he was in due time graduated, and 
later he became a student in St. Benedict's College of Atchison, Kansas. He made 
his initial step in the business world as a lineman in connection with telephone 
interests in Illinois in 1!)00, and through the intervening years he has closely studied 
every phase of the business, and thus by reason of his thoroughness and knowledge 
he has qualified for advancement, which has come to him from time to time. His 
second position was that of local exchange manager in different towns in Illinois and 
Wisconsin and in 1906 he was promoted to the position of district manager at Racine. 
Wisconsin, and located at Green Bay. There he continued for five years, or until 
1911, when he was appointed commercial superintendent of the Wisconsin Telephone 
Company, with offices in Milwaukee, and here he has remained through the inter- 
vening period of ten years, having been appointed general commercial superintendent 
in 1920. 

On the 30th of May, 1916, Mr. McEniry was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth 
Brown, a daughter of John R. Brown of 576 Cramer street, Milwaukee. They have 
one child. Robert Francis, three years of age. The religious faith of the parents is 
that of the Catholic church and Mr. McEniry belongs to the Knights of Columbus. 
He has held various oflSces in this order in the different cities in which he has lived, 
serving as deputy grand knight, as chancellor, as lecturer and director. In politics he 
maintains a conservative course, voting rather for measures than tor party. He be- 
longs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, to the City Club, to the Press Club, and the 
Blue Mound Country Club, all of Milwaukee, and is widely known socially as well as 
through business relations, his genial qualities gaining him popularity among many 
friends. 



FRED C. BEST. 



One of the strong financial enterprises of Milwaukee is that conducted under the 
name of the First Wisconsin Trust Company, of which Fred C. Best is the vice presi- 
dent. The story of his life is the record of earnest endeavor intelligently directed, 
leading ultimately to success and prominence in the financial field. He was born in 
Chicago, Illinois. June 19, 1874, and is a son of Charles and Helena (Taddiken) Best, 
who were natives of Milwaukee and of Germany, respectively. The father was the 
secretary of the Philip Best Brewing Company and later became vice president of the 
Wisconsin National Bank, serving in that position from 1893 until his death in 
August, 1899. He also held several positions of public trust in Milwaukee and for a 
time was a member of the board of trustees of the Emergency Hospital. His father, 
Charles Best, had come to this city in the '4 03 and was register of deeds in the '7 0s. 

Fred C. Best obtained his education in the schools of Milwaukee and of Wies- 
baden. Germany, receiving private instruction for a year and then attending the 
Real Schule from 1890 until 1892. In June of the latter year he returned to America 
and in 1894 was graduated from the Milwaukee Academy. His initial experience in 
the banking business came to him when in February, 1895, he entered the Wisconsin 
National Bank as a messenger, remaining with that institution for nine years or until 
1904, when he resigned to become assistant secretary of what was then known as 
the Wisconsin Trust & Security Company. Later the name of the corporation was 
changed to the Wisconsin Trust Company and on the 23d of August. 1919, it became 
the First Wisconsin Trust Company, owing to the merging of two banking interests 
of this character. In December, 1915. Mr. Best was elected vice president of the First 
Wisconsin Trust Company and has since held that position. Thus from messenger 



232 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

boy lie has steadily risen, climbing gradually to his present place of responsibility as 
vice president of one of the large and important financial interests of Milwaukee. 
Before America's advent into the World war Mr. Best was in the Federal service from 
June 8. 1916, until January 19, 1917, and was on duty with the Wisconsin Brigade at 
San Antonio. Texas, during the Mexican border trouble, serving as aide on the staff of 
the brigade commander. 

During the World war Mr. Best entered the Federal service on the 15th of July, 
1917, as captain of infantry and was made adjutant of the Fifth Wisconsin Infantry 
Regiment. He was stationed first at Milwaukee, then in Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, 
and afterward sent to Waco, Texas, where the regiment was broken up in the process 
of organizing the Thirty-second Division. He commanded Company D, of the One 
Hundred and Nineteenth Machine Gun Battalion, from December 21, 1917, until 
April 3, 1918, when the whole company was transferred to the One Hundred and 
Twenty-first Machine Gun Battalion. Mr. Best attended the machine gun course at 
the First Corps School at Gondrecourt, France, during the month of May, 1918, and 
the Army General Staff College at Langres, France, from June 17, 1918, until the 
15th of September, following. He was then assigned as assistant operations officer 
to the headquarters of the Thirty-second Division and was on duty with the division 
during the Argonne-Meuse offensive and the march to the Rhine, after which he was 
with the Army of Occupation on duty at the Coblenz Bridge Head. He afterward 
returned with his division, arriving in New York on the 5th of May, 1919, and was 
discharged at Camp Grant, Illinois, on the 30th of May. He immediately resumed 
his business connections in Milwaukee and is now a director of the First Wisconsin 
National Bank and also of the First Wisconsin Trust Company, of which latter firm 
he is also vice president. He is likewise the secretary, treasurer and manager of 
the Milwaukee Clearing House Association. 

On the 26th of June, 1902, Mr. Best was married to Miss Sophia B Kemper of 
Milwaukee, and they have become parents of four children: Gertrude, Margaret, 
Elizabeth and Charles F. 

Mr. Best is well known in club and social circles. He belongs to the Milwaukee 
and the Town and The University Clubs, also to the Nashotah Club and other organ- 
izations. His activity along many lines has made him widely known and the worth 
of his work, his sterling qualities and his patriotic citizenship have made him one of 
the valued and highly respected residents of Wisconsin. 



GEORGE P. STAAL. 



George F. Staal, city engineer of Milwaukee, was born in Peize, Holland, September 
10, 1868, his parents being Floris and Grietje (Ebbinge) Staal, who were also natives 
of Holland. The father was the owner of a windmill there and engaged in the manu- 
facture of linseed cakes and in merchandising. He is deceased but the mother sur- 
vives and makes her home in the Argentine Republic, South America. 

George F. Staal pursued liis education in the schools of his native country and in 
the Argentine Republic, being a graduate of the Engineering College of Buenos Aires, 
where he completed his course in 1894. Following his graduation he followed his 
profession for a time in the state of Mendazo and also in Patagonia. He afterward 
went to South Africa for the Transvaal government and worked for some time in 
Swaziland. He later took part in the war between the Boers and the British and was 
captured in the Transvaal in 1900, but succeeded in making his escape to the United 
States assisted by the consul of the Argentine Republic, who gave him a passport. 
Accordingly, Mr. Staal sailed from Capetown to London, proceeded by train from Lon- 
don to Liverpool and thence crossed the Atlantic to Philadelphia. He was an entire 
stranger in this country, having no acquaintances on the North American continent. 
He eagerly accepted any employment that would enable him to earn a living until he 
could gain a start. When the Buffalo Bill wild west show was appearing in Buffalo, 
New York, at the time the Pan-American Exposition was being held there and at the 
time that President McKinley was assassinated, Mr. Staal saw some of the names of 
his comrades from the Boer war, who were appearing with the show. He joined, the 
show with his friends and became a rough rider, having had training in daring riding 
in South America. He remained with the organization, travelng through the country, 
and as he did so was constantly on the lookout for a favorable location in which to 
practice his profession. 

In 1901 Mr. Staal arrived in Milwaukee and went to work at the second ward 
school as a laborer. In April, 1902, however, he joined the Milwaukee Electric Com- 
pany, working for a dollar and seventy-five cents per day as a laborer in the yard. 
When six months had passed he was transferred to the engineering department of 
the company under Fred Simmons and this was the initial step that led to his later 
appointment to the position of chief engineer of maintenance and way. On the 4th 




GEORCiE F. STAAL 



HISTORY OF .MILWAKKEK 235 

of June. 1912. he was appointed by Fi-ed Simmons, the commissioner of public works, 
as special assi!?tant city engineer and in April, 1914. he was made city engineer and 
is now acting in this capacity. He has been connected with the department altogether 
for nine years and has given excellent satisfaction to the city in all of his municipal 
service. He has planned many things for the benefit and welfare of Milwaukee, has 
been instrumental in fixing all of the grades of the city and in improving Grand avenue. 
He has also instituted much other improvement work along other lines, one thing being 
the separation of grades on the Madison division on the south side and the St. Paul 
division on the west side. He completed forty-five hundred feet of the twelve-foot tunnel 
and he also designed and located the submerged crib which is in sixty-six feet of water 
and sixty-five hundred feet from the shore in Lake Michigan. He has closely studied 
engineering problems and has developed marked skill and ability along these lines, 
thoroughly understanding the great scientific principles which underlie his work and 
at the same time having Intimate and accurate knowledge of every practical phase of 
the business. 

On the 2d of .June, 1903, Mr. Staal was married to Miss Cornelia Guequierre of 
Milwaukee, whose parents were born in this city, and whose ancestral line can be 
traced back to France. Mr. Staal took a helpful part in war work, doing everything 
in his power to uphold American interests during that period. There were nineteen 
hoys that went from the city engineer's oflice into the service and every one returned 
with some kind of a commission, although each joined the army as a private. All that de- 
sired to return to their old positions were taken back by Mr. Staal as soon as they re- 
ported for duty, this being in accord with the promise which he had made them as they 
left for the front. His office took part m all the drives for the sale of Liberty bonds 
and in the Red Cross. War Savings and united campaign fund drives, all this work 
being under the supervision of the city engineer. 

Mr. Staal is a member of the Wisconsin Engineers Society and also of the Milwau- 
kee Engineers Society, of which at one time lie was the president. He is likewise an 
honorary member of the Milwaukee Yacht Club and the Milwaukee Chamber of Com- 
merce and he belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Mr. Staal is a thirty-second 
degree Mason, belonging to Wisconsin Consistory, Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights 
Templar and to Tripoli Shrine. He certainly deserves great credit for what he has 
accomplished during the years of his residence on the North American continent. He 
could speak very little English when he came to this country and had to study tlie 
language in order to develop efficiency in his work. He speaks Spanish, German, 
Holland and English and his life experiences have indeed been broad and varied. 
Born in the land of the dikes, partially reared in the Argentine Republic fighting with 
the Boers for independence in the war with England, fleeing as an escaped prisoner 
from the Transvaal to the new world, working as a laborer until he could gain a start 
along the line of his profession, he is today a prominent figure in engineering circles 
and in his life story are many chapters which if written in detail would read like 
a romance. Difficulties and obstacles have at times barred his way but with persistent 
purpose he has followed the course which he has marked out for himself and has made 
a creditable name and place as a representative of engineering interests in Milwaukee. 



GEORGE L. ALEXANDER, M. D. 

Dr. George L. Alexander, who for a considerable period engaged successfully in 
the practice of medicine and surgery in Milwaukee, his pronounced ability winning 
him a liberal patronage, was born .lanuary 13, 1865, in Raymond, Racine county, 
Wisconsin, his parents being Newell W. and Caroline (Ferris) Alexander, the former 
a native of North Hartland, Vermont, while the latter was born in Toronto, Canada. 
Newell W. Alexander came to Wisconsin in the year 1852 and settled on a farm in 
Racine county. It was there that Dr. Alexander was reared and in the public schools 
of Raymond he pursued his early education, while later he continued his studies in a 
high school at Delavan, Wisconsin. He also took up the study of medicine in young 
manhood under the direction of Dr. Webster of Delavan. pursuing his reading there 
while attending high school. Later he matriculated in the Hahnemann Medical Col- 
lege of Chicago and was graduated with the class of 1887. at which time the M. D. 
degree was conferred upon him. Returning to his native state, he located for prac- 
tice at Rochester, where he remained for several years, and in 1892 he came to 
Milwaukee, where he opened an office and continued to engage in the practice of 
medicine and surgery to the time of his demise. 

In 1887 Dr. Alexander was married to Miss Estelle Stewart, who passed away in 
1894. leaving one son, who was born in 1889. In April, 1898, Dr. Alexander was 
again married, his second union being with Amalia Pfaender. a daughter of John 
and Mary (Mans) Pfaender. Her father came to Milwaukee in 1853 on crossing the 



236 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Atlantic from Wurtemberg, Germany, where his birth occurred. His wife was a 
native of Nassau. Germany. 

Dr. Alexander was a thirty-second degree Mason and member of Tripoli Temple, 
A. A. O. N. M. S., and was ever a most loyal and faithful follower of the teachings 
and purposes of the craft. He also belonged to the Knights of Pythias and to the 
United Order of Foresters, to the Royal Arcanum, to the Royal League, to the 
Equitable Fraternal Union, to the Modern Brotherhood of America and was also 
well known in club circles, having membership in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
the MiUvaukee Automobile Club and the Excelsior Bowling Club. He was a prom- 
inent and popular figure in all of these societies and clubs, for he possessed sterling 
worth of character and a genial, kindly nature. He likewise heLd membership in the 
Homeopathic Society, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, Wisconsin State Medical 
Society, Wisconsin Homeopathic Medical Society, American Institute of Homeopathy 
and American Medical Association. He was a most charitable man, contributing in 
many ways to the good of others, and was most highly respected by reason of his pro- 
fessional attainments and his genuine personal worth. Death called him on the 
13th of February, 1920, and his passing was the occasion of deep and widespread 
regret to all with whom he had become associated. 



EDWARD E. PLAUM. 



Edward E. Plaum, president, founder and principal owner of the business con- 
ducted under the name of the Plaum Clothing Company at Nos. 491 and 493 Eleventh 
avenue, in Milwaukee, is one of the pioneer merchants of the south side, having been 
continuously engaged in mercantile pursuits on Eleventh avenue since 1892. In that 
year he established business at No. 475, opening a hat and men's furnishing goods 
store on the 8th of October. In 1895 he removed to his present location at No. 491 
Eleventh avenue and in 1903 extended the scope of his business to include a clothing 
department and incorporated his interests under the name of the Plaum Clothing Com- 
pany. Diligence, enterprise and progressiveness have characterized his entire con- 
nection with the commercial interests of the city and his success is the merited out- 
come of his earnest and intelligently directed labors. 

Mr. Plaum has been a lifelong resident of this section of the state. His birth 
occurred in Washington county, Wisconsin, on a farm near the town of Farmington 
and about forty miles from Milwaukee, October 8, 1S67, his parents being Jacob and 
Mary (Pitzer) Plaum, both of whom were natives of Germany, where they were 
acquainted but their marriage was not celebrated until after they had become resi- 
dents of Washington county, Wisconsin. There they began their domestic life and 
spent their remaining days. The father had attained the advanced age of eighty-four 
years at the time of his death, which occurred December 15, 1917, while his wife 
reached the age of eighty-six years ere called to her final rest on the 17th of Septem- 
ber, 1919. When death separated them they had been married for about fifty-eight 
years, it being accorded few couples to travel life's journey together for so extended a 
period. They were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, all of 
whom are residents of Wisconsin, with the exception of one son, Louis, who now makes 
his home in Los Angeles, California. 

Edward E. Plaum obtained a common school education and afterward attended 
a Milwaukee business college, thus receiving training that has well qualified him 
for his activities in later life. He came to this city in 1SS4 to pursue his commercial 
studies and following his graduation from the business college he accepted a position 
at a wage of a dollar per week in addition to his board. In this way he familiarized 
himself with the clothing trade and on the 8th of October, 1891, while still working in 
the clothing store, his salary at the time being eleven dollars per week, he was 
united in marriage to Miss Frederica Boers, who came to Milwaukee with her parents 
from Germany, when but three years of age. This was in 1871. She is a daughter of 
Carl and Mary (Dedlow) Boers, both of whom have departed this lite. Mr. and Mrs. 
Plaum have become parents of two daughters: Laura, who is now the wife of Edwin 
Neuman; and Delia, who is bookkeeper and cashier with the Plaum Clothing Com- 
pany. The business is a close corporation, Mrs. Plaum being vice president, while the 
stock is all owned by the family save for a few shares. It was after working for a 
number of years in the employ of others that Mr. Plaum started in business indepen- 
dently and established the store which he has since conducted with growing success. 
Today the Plaum Clothing Company owns its quarters at Nos. 491 and 493 Eleventh 
avenue, having there a two-story brick and brick veneer building, sixty by one hundred 
feet. Mr. Plaum also became one of the founders and originators of the Wisconsin 
State Bank, situated at the corner of Greenfield and Eleventh avenues. The bank was 
capitalized for seventy-five thousand dollars and Mr. Plaum individually sold stock to 
the amount of forty-three thousand dollars, thus showing his activity in the organiza- 




]'n)WARl) K. I'LAUM 



HISTORY OK MILWATKEE 239 

tion. He is today one of the largest stockholders in the bank, which has prospered 
from the beginning. The date October 8 figures prominently in his career. He was 
born on that day. was married on that day and began business on the 8th of October, 
1892. He removed to large quarters on the 8th of October, 1S95, and incorporated the 
business on the 8th of October, 1903. He also took his entered ai*prentice degree in 
Masonry on the Sth of October. 190H, and lias since been a loyal and faithful follower 
of the teachings 'and purposes of the craft, exemplifying its high principles in his 
life. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the Consistory, 
the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite in the Commandery and is also a mem- 
ber of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise holds membership with the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. 



ROBERT F. BRAUN, M. D. 

Dr. Robert F. Braun. who has been successfully engaged in the practice of 
medicine and surgery in Milwaukee during the past si.\ years, now having a well 
appointed office at No. 525 Twelfth street, was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, on the 
14th of June, 1884. His parents. William and .Johanna (Schulz) Braun, are both 
natives of Germany and still reside at Wausau. 

In the acquirement of an education Robert F. Braun attended the graded and 
high schools of his native city until he had reached the age of si.xteen years and 
subsequently completed a course in stenography and bookkeeping in the Wausau 
Business College. He then secured a position as bookkeeper and general office 
man in a large factory at Wausau and was thus employed for several years. But 
ambitious to enter upon a professional career, he matriculated in the medical depart- 
ment of Marquette University, which conferred upon him the degree of M. D. at his 
graduation in 1915. He pursued the full four years' course, having entered the 
institution in 1911. Following his graduation he spent one year as interne in 
Mount Sinai Hospital, gaining that broad and valuable knowledge and experience 
which never comes as quickly in any other way as through hospital work. Since 
1916 he has been engaged in the general practice of medicine in Milwaukee, where 
his pronounced ability is attested by the many patients who have come under his 
care. He keeps in close touch with the constant progress of the profession through 
his membership in the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State 
Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and is a member of the 
teaching staff of the Marquette University School of Dentistry. At the time of the 
World war he entered the Medical Officers Training School at Fort Riley, Kansas, 
and was there stationed when the armistice was signed. 

Dr. Braun is a Lutheran in religious faith, while fraternally he is identified with 
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is popular in both professional and 
social circles of his adopted city, being widely recognized as a young man of marked 
skill in his chosen field of labor and one who is actuated by high principles in every 
relation of life. 



F. ANTON DROLSHAGEN. 



F. Anton Drolshagen, president of the Milwaukee Pattern & Manufacturing 
Company, was born in Salzkotten, Westphalia, Germany, February 19. 1859. his 
parents being Ferdinant and Francisca iSchmitz) Drolshagen. whose family num- 
bered four sons. The father was born in 1819 and the mother in 1820. They spent 
their entire lives in Germany, Mr. Drolshagen attaining the age of sixty-four years 
and his wife fifty-nine. He conducted a furniture business and carpenter "shop 
at Salzkotten. Germany, to the time of his death, when the business was taken 
over by his eldest son and is still being carried on. It was established by a fore- 
father of Ferdinant Drolshagen about three hundred years ago. 

P. Anton Drolshagen was graduated from the common graded schools, after 
which he entered what might be termed a course in a trade school, thus spending 
a period of tour years at Paderborn, Germany, where upon graduation he was 
awarded the medal of honor. Upon the completion of this course he followed the 
line of business similar to that of cabinetmaking in America. After migrating to 
the new world he entered night school at .Milwaukee in order to learn English. 
He worked at cabinetmaking for three years in the principal cities of Germany! 
Austria. Switzerland and Italy and thus had had considerable business experience 
when he came to the United States, where he arrived on the 28th of August. 1883. 
establishing his home in Milwaukee. He found employment in different cabinet 
shops for a time and later on worked in the pattern shops. Steadily he advanced 



240 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE ■ 

and at length, ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he entered into 
partnership with ex-Mayor Emil Seidel in organizing the Milwaultee Pattern & 
Manufacturing Company in May, 1900. This business is being conducted at Nos. 
1195 to 1199 Thirtieth street, and has developed into one of the important manu- 
facturing enterprises of the city, of *hich Mr. Drolshagen is the president and 
principal owner. 

On the 10th of September, 1883, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Drolshagen was 
married to Miss Theresia Riedmeyer, a daughter of Xavier and Monica Riedmeyer. 
She was born in Munich, Bavaria, March 30, 1858, and is one of a family of four 
children. Her father conducted a small brewery. Mrs. Drolshagen came 'to the 
United States in 1883, and the same year was married in Milwaukee. She has 
become the mother of six children, four sons and two daughters: Frank F., who 
married Estella Gruber; Katherine F.; Anthony O.; Theodore F., who married 
Margaret Boehmer; Albert J., who married Catherine Schumacher; and Elizabeth 
F., who is now the wife of Alois Fritz. 

The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Drols- 
hagen is a member of St. Vincent De Paul Charitable Association of St. Ann's 
Catholic church. In politics he has always held to the belief that the best candi- 
date in the field is entitled to his vote, regardless of party affiliation. Coming to 
the new world as a young man of twenty-four years, he has never had occasion to 
regret his determination to try his fortune in America, for here he found the business 
opportunities which he sought and through their utilization has advanced steadily 
step by step until he is now one of the active and representative business men of 
his adopted city. 



S. A. ECKSTEIN. 



Early realizing the fact that application is what counts and tliat every man has 
it in him to work' if he wants to, S. A. Eckstein started out in the business world with 
a strong determination to win success if it could be accomplished by honorable methods 
and unfaltering perseverance. The qualities which he has displayed have brought him 
steadily to the front in connection with the commercial interests of Milwaukee, where 
he is now known as a leading druggist and one whose labors have been crowned with a 
substantial measure of prosperity. Mr. Eckstein was born in the city of New York, 
October 3, 1858, his parents being Samuel and Anna Eckstein, who were natives of 
Austria and in early life crossed the Atlantic to the United States, establishing their 
home in the eastern metropolis. In 1859, however, they left New York and came to 
Milwaukee, where the father spent his remaining days, passing away in 1897, while 
the mother died May 29, 1911. 

S. A. Eckstein was but a year old when brought to Milwaukee and in the public 
schools here he obtained his education, being graduated from a high school. He was 
a youth of sixteen years when in 1874 he began earning his living by working as an 
errand boy in the drug store of I. N. Morton, who in 1875 disposed of his business to 
the firm of George Wright & Brother. Mr. Eckstein continued with the new proprietors 
and in 1S92 the firm was incorporated under the name of Wright Drug Company, with 
S. A. Eckstein as the secretary. He has been with the business for the past forty-six 
years. On the 1st of March, 1907, he bought out his partners in the enterprise but is 
retaining the same firm name, he being president of the company. Emerson said, "An 
institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man," and the drug store of which he 
is now the head is but the expression of the enterprise and business ability of S. A. 
Eckstein, who has been continuously associated therewith since 1874. 

On the 12th of September, 1883, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Eckstein and 
Miss Fannie Housman, a daughter of Charles and Hannah Housman of Milwaukee, both 
of whom have passed away. The only son of the marriage is Charles H., who while 
stiil associated in the drug business with his father, is at present manager of the 
Public Drug Company in Chicago. 

With many important trade and fraternal interests Mr. Eckstein is associated. 
He was at one time grand regent of the Royal Arcanum and supreme representative 
of Wisconsin, also collector of Allen Council, R. A. He exemplifies in his lite the 
beneficent spirit upon which the Masonic order is based, having membership in Mil- 
waukee Lodge, No. 261, A. F. & A. M., and Kilbourn Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M. He is 
likewise a member of Garfield Lodge, No. S3, K. P., and at all times is most loyal to 
the teachings of these different fraternities and the high principles upon which they 
are based. Mr. Eckstein is now serving his third term as president of the Old Settlers' 
Club. He is also the president of the Wisconsin Pharmacal Company, president of the 
Druggists Mutual Fire Insurance Company and is interested in many organizations 
having to do with the public welfare. He is now serving on the Milwaukee park board, 
having recently been reappointed for the second term of five years. He is a member 




S. A. ECKSTEIN 



Vui. II- 1 li 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 243 

of tlio Milwaukee Athletic Club, of the Wiscousin Club, of the Associatiou of Commerce 
anti the Rotary Club. Politically he is a non-partisan. He is a man of pleasing address 
and manners and of splendid business qualifications and has made for himself a most 
creditable position among the merchants of the city, for the integrity and enterprise 
of his methods have gained for him high standing. 



RUDOLPH CARL TESCHAN, M. D. 

Dr. Rudolph Carl Teschan, who devoted his life to kindly ministrations to his fellow- 
men as a representative of the medical profession, actuated at all times by a desire 
to render the utmost possible service to those in need of medical or surgical assist- 
ance, long ranked very high in public regard in Milwaukee, where he engaged in 
practice. He was boru in Reigoldswil. Basel Land. Switzerland, April 9, 1852, and 
was a son of Mathias and Annie Marie (Grieder) Teschan. He acquired his early 
education in the city of Basel, supplementing his preliminary studies by a uni- 
versity course there. It was in that city that he entered upon the study of medicine. 
On the 27th of July. 1875, he arrived in Buffalo, New York, where he spent one 
year and later removed to Tonawanda. New York, where he was employed as a 
teacher in the high school for five years, giving instruction in the languages and 
science. He afterward became a resident of Detroit, Michigan, where he taught 
school, and during that time he further studied medicine in the Michigan College 
of Medicine, from which he was graduated, receiving his diploma. He subsequently 
obtained a position as sanitary inspector on the bridge between Detroit and Windsor. 
Canada, this being a government position. 

In 1882 Dr. Teschan went to Winona. Minnesota, where he entered upon the 
private practice of medicine, there remaining for six years, and during that period 
he also manifested a keen and helpful interest in public progress and improvement 
along various lines. He served as a member of the school board of Winona, and 
the cause of education found in him a stalwart champion. He was also a niemlier 
of the Minnesota Medical Society. 

In October, 1888. Dr. Teschan came to Milwaukee, where he practiced medicine 
to the time of his death, which occurred on the 1st of February, 1921. For twenty- 
seven years he was examining physician for the Metropolitan Lite Insurance Com- 
pany, also for the Germania Mutual Benevolent Society, of which he was chief 
examiner. He belonged to the Wisconsin State Medical Society, to the Milwaukee 
County Medical Society and he was also very active in the Swiss societies of Mil- 
waukee. For several years he was a teacher in the Normal College of the North 
American Gymnastic Union, and for thirty years he was very active in the South 
Side Gymnastic Society . 

On the Zd of May, 1875. Dr. Teschan was married to Miss Carolina Gilbert, a 
daughter of Carol and Christina (Haerle) Gilber*. who were natives of Germany, 
the former of Baden and the latter of Wurtemberg. They became the parents 
of five children: Hulda. the wife of P. Erik Andersen, a resident of Milwaukee; 
Dr. Rudolph, of this city: Gertrude W., at home; Walter F.; and Erhard G.. who 
was a captain of Headquarters Company of the Eighty-fifth Division during the 
W^orld wpv and served for eight months overseas. 

Dr. Teschan during the war volunteered for medical service and was active in 
other ways. He always stood loyally in support of those interests which had to do 
with the upbuilding and progress of community, commonwealth and country. The 
causa of education ever found in him a stalwart champion, and for two terms, 
from July 7, 1908, until July 6. 1909. and again from the 4th of January. 1910. 
until July 7. 1911, he was a member of the school board of Milwaukee, lending the 
weight of his aid and influence to many progressive measures for the benefit of the 
schools. 



HON. WILLIAM HARVEY AUSTIN. 

Hon. William Harvey Austin, for forty-two years a member of the Milwaukee 
bar. came to this city from the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Bing- 
hamton. New York. October 22. 1859. his parents being .\llen and Sarah (Meigs) 
Austin, the former a native of Connecticut, while the latter was born in New York. 
The father engaged in the practice of law and in commercial business enterprises in 
the Empire state for a number of years and in March, 1867. came to Milwaukee. 
The following year, however, he removed to Portage, Wisconsin, but in 1871 
returned to this city, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 
1876. His wife departed this life in 1885. 



244 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

William H. Austin was educated in the public schools, which he attended 
for about two and a half years. The remainder of his education has been acquired 
in the i)ractical school of experience, in which he has learned many valuable lessons, 
being today recognized as a man of broad general information, as well as of 
capability in his professional field. He was but thirteen years of age when he began , 
work as a clerk with J. B. Shaw, the first salt dealer of Milwaukee, and subse- 
quently he was with J. B. Durand, a wholesale grocer, for a short time. He after- 
ward became assistant librarian of the Young Men's Association, the predecessor of 
the Milwaukee Public Library, and while in this position he was also an employe 
of the government signal service, working nights for about a year. During this time 
he likewise read law with Judge Hubbell and Joshua Stark. After occupying these 
various positions for two or three years he entered the office of Joshua Stark, who 
directed his reading until his admission to the bar in 1879. Since that time he has 
been an active follower of the profession. In 1880 and 1881 he served as assistant 
district attorney, and at various other times he has been called to fill positions of 
public honor and trust, many of which have been along the line of his profession. 
In 1889, however, he was a member of the school board. The following year he was 
assistant city attorney and in 1891-2 filled the office of city attorney. Then his 
fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability and his devotion to the public 
good, called him to represent them in the general assembly and he was a member 
of the house in 1893. In 1895 he was elected to the state senate and served for 
four years. Since that time he has devoted his attention to the practice of law. His 
first law partner was Judge A. C. Brazee, municipal judge, and afterward he became 
a partner of George B. Goodwin. Later he was associated with Charles H. Hamilton 
and afterward with R, N. Austin, who was subsequently superior judge. He was 
next joined by Herman Fehr, with whom he is still associated, and by the admis- 
sion of other partners the firm is now Austin, Fehr, Mueller & Gehrz. 

While Mr. Austin has long enjoyed an extensive and important practice, he has 
also done valuable service in connection with municipal affairs. He is the father 
of the park system, having drawn up the contracts for the purchase of all the city 
park lands while city , attorney. He also drew up the first civil service law and 
secured its passage while a member of the state legislature. He likewise drew up the 
resolutions for consolidations for the city and county and secured the passage of 
these in the general assembly, of which he was a member from 1893 until 1895, 
serving during that period in the upper house. He has closely studied the ques- 
tion of Milwaukees' needs and opportunities and has labored untiringly for her 
welfare. 

In June, 1882, Mr. Austin was married to Miss Janet F. McLean of Minnesota, 
and they have become the parents of four children: William M.; Robert H.; Janet 
Grace, the wife of Walter C. Carlson; and Allen S., who was graduated from the 
University of Wisconsin in 1921. The latter was a member of the Fifty-fourth 
Artillery during the World war, volunteering for service, after which he was sent to 
France, being on duty for a little more than a year. 

Mr. Austin was formerly a member of the Calumet Club for a quarter of a 
century. He is a Knights Templar Mason and has attained the thirty-second degree 
of the Scottish Rite in the Wisconsin Consistory. He is likewise a member of the 
Mystic Shrine and he has membership in the Elks Club and in the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club. 



OSCAR R. PIEPER. 



Prominently identified with the commercial interests of Milwaukee is Oscar R. 
Pieper, who has long been connected with both the retail and wholesale grocery 
business of the city. He was born October 15, 1861, in Germany, and is a son of 
William Pieper, editor of the Milwaukee Herold and Seebote, who died in 1891. 

Oscar R. Pieper was a lad of about ten years when brought to the new world 
by his parents, who settled first in Detroit, Michigan, in 1872, and in 1876 removed to 
Milwaukee. In that year he secured the position of office boy in the Daily Herold and 
later took up typesetting, thus making his initial start in the business world. In 
1878 he became a clerk for the New York Tea Company of Milwaukee, engaged in 
retailing of tea and coffee, and the ability and enterprise which he displayed in that 
connection led to his assignment to the position of manager of a branch store in 1880 
In 1885, in association with A. Roebke, he opened a retail store on Division street, 
now Juneau avenue, conducting the enterprise independently after the withdrawal of 
Mr. Roebke a year and a half later. Steadily his business grew and developed and 
after thirteen years he removed to West Water street, where he secured larger 
quarters and successfully conducted his store for ten years. His lease having then 
expired, he discontinued a profitable retail grocery business and opened a wholesale 




OSCAR R. riEPER 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 247 

house at Nos. 192 to 196 Broadway, supplying hotels, hospitals and institutions. This 
was first carried on under the name of O. R. Pieper, but in 1918 he incorporated his 
interests under the firm style of the 0. R. Pieper Company, wholesale grocers, and has 
since been associated witli his two sons, who are active in tlie enterprise, his brother, 
H. J. Pieper, A. P. Malek and Frank Treis. the two last named having served Mr. Pieper 
as trusted employes for many years. The business has been developed to very sub- 
stantial proportions. Mr. Pieper's life has practically been devoted to mercantile 
pursuits and the thoroughness and enterprise with which he conducts his affairs, his 
progressive methods, his close application and his sound judgment have been salient 
features in the attainment of the present-day success of the company. One of the 
principal factors in this success is the fact that Mr. Pieper has always carried goods 
of the highest quality — goods known for their superiority and excellence, handling 
nothing of inferior quality even if greater profits might thus be secured. 

In Milwaukee, on the 10th of June. 1S85, Mr. Pieper was married to Miss Emma 
Bach, a daughter of Professor Christian Bach, the most prominent pioneer musical 
director of his day, the family all possessing notable musical talent. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pieper have become parents of three sons: Walter E. wedded Elsie Borgwardt and 
now has three children: Walter, Jr., Richard and Gene; Carl G., who wedded Clara 
Hoffman, has one child, Peggy; and Robert 0. is attending the Milwaukee Country 
Day Scliool. 

In his political views Mr. Pieper is a republican and fraternally he has been 
connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks for a quarter of a century 
and with the Masons for twenty years. He has attained the thirty-second degree of 
tlie Scottish Rite and for eight years has been a member of Tripoli Temple, A. A. O. 
N. M. S. He likewise has membership in the Association of Commerce and the Wis- 
consin Club and belongs to a number of local societies. He is a great lover of out- 
door sports, including fishing. When he goes into the open all business thought is put 
aside and he plays hard, just as he works hard. As the architect of his own fortunes 
he has builded wisely and well, and is today one of the representative merchants of the 
city, having achieved notable success through his intelligently directed efforts. 



GEORGE FRANCIS MARKHAM. 

The history of any community or city is not the effort of a single individual but 
the story of the combined efforts of many enterprising citizens who are active in 
directing business, professional and public affairs of a varied nature, all contributing 
to the result which must figure in the progress and prosperity of any modern city. 
In this connection mention should be made of George Francis Markham, president 
of the Federal Pressed Steel Company of Milwaukee, who is numbered among the 
native sons of Wisconsin's metropolis. He was born on the 2.5th of Fel)ruary, 1878, 
his parents being George C. and Rose S. (Smith) Markham. who were natives of 
the state of New York. Removing westward they came to Milwaukee in the '60s, 
where the father was well known for a number of years as the president of the 
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of this city. 

George F. Markham was educated in public and private schools of Milwaukee 
and attended the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1902, 
with the degree of Bachelor of Letters. He next turned his attention to manufac- 
turing interests as a representative of the Pressed Steel Tank Company of West 
AUis, of which corporation he was the vice president for about three years. He 
then became identified with the Northwestern Mutual Lite Insurance Company as a 
special loan agent and was active in that position for about five years. Later he 
was promoted to the superintendency of loan agencies and served in that connection 
for about two years. While still employed in that way he organized the Federal 
.Pressed Steel Company in 1909 and was elected its first president, while in 1911 
he became the active head of the business and has since been the controlling factor 
in its management. The plant was erected in 1911 on five and a quarter acres of 
land at Keefe avenue and North Pierce streets, for the purpose of manufacturing 
heavy pressed steel specialties. It has become one of the mammoth enterprises 
and productive industries of the state, normally giving employment to five hundred 
men. It is splendidly e(|uipped with the latest improved machinery for work of this 
character and tlie l)usiness has been thoroughly systematized, while in its man- 
agement Mr. Markham displays keen discernment and marked business enterprise. 
He remains as president and treasurer of the corporation, with E. M. Simon as vice 
president and general manager, James G. Cowling as vice president, and Fred D. 
Hansen as secretary. The enterprise under Mr. Markham's direction has met with 
notable success. The business was originally capitalized tor fifty thousand dollars, 
and today it represents an investment of more than a million dollars, indicative of 
the splendid growth of the undertaking. The plant ran one hundred per cent in 



248 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the manufacture of war products while America was associated with the allies in 
the efforts to subdue German militaristic ambition. The plant also sent a number of 
its employes to the front for active duty. 

On the 6th of February, 1915, Mr. Markham was married to Miss Ruby Chandler 
of Chicago, and to them have been born three children: George F., John Grigsby 
and Virginia. The family have an attractive summer home at Oconomowoc Lake, 
and Mr. Markham belongs to the Oconomowoc Lake Club, to the Oconomowoc 
Country Club, also to the University Club of Chicago, while in Milwaukee he has 
membership with the University Club, the Town Club, the City Club, Country Club 
and the Milwaukee Club, Always appreciative of the social amenities of life, he 
finds pleasure in his friendships, which he holds inviolable, and at the same time he 
most wisely and carefully directs his important and growing business affairs, having' 
been the founder and promoter of what is today one of the most extensive and valu- 
able productive industries of the city. 



WILLIAM TODD. 



William Todd, vice president of the Badger Screw Products Company and one 
of the founders of the business, has been actively identified therewith since October, 
1919, and has contributed in large measure to the success, growth and expansion 
of the enterprise. Mr. Todd comes to Wisconsin from Indiana, his birth having 
occurred in La Fayette, that state, in 18 82, There he acquired his education as a 
public school pupil and afterward learned the machinist's trade, which business he 
has followed throughout his entire life. Year by year his knowledge, skill and 
efficiency have increased in this regard and he has advanced step by step. 

In October, 1919, in company with H. H. Minniear and J, H. Warring, he 
organized the Badger Screw Products Company, which erected a plant at No. 502 
Twenty-fifth street. Mr. Minniear is also a native of La Fayette, Indiana, born in 
1884, and he, too, has devoted his life to the machinist's trade. He was made 
president of the company, while Mr. Todd became vice president. They manu- 
facture everything in spark plug products, including bolts and nuts, and they also 
do assembling. Mr. Minniear is now owner of the plant. The company has a 
splendidly equipped plant, supplied with all the latest improved machinery and 
everything necessary for carrying on the work, and they maintain the highest 
standards of excellence in their output. Their business is now in thriving condi- 
tion and is fast becoming one of the representative industries of Milwaukee. 



GEORGE H, CHASE. 



George H. Chase, of Milwaukee, is now living retired but for many years was 
closely connected with activities and interests of the city. He was born July 27, 1838, 
in the town of Lake, Milwaukee county, and has therefore passed the eighty-third mile- 
stone on life's journey. He is a son of Enoch and Nancy M. (Brumlev) Chase, who 
were natives of Vermont and of Plattsburg, New York, respectively. The father came 
to Milwaukee about the year 1833 and was the first practicing physician of the city 
and one of the first white men to locate on the present site of Milwaukee, On account 
of the condition of his own health, however, he soon gave up the practice of medicine 
and entered a claim, turning his attention to farming. The land which he secured 
is now included within the city limits. 

George H. Chase acquired his early education in the district schools and after- 
ward attended the seventh ward high school of Milwaukee. His youth was spent 
upon the farm which his father obtained from the government in pioneer times. In 
1860, however, attracted by the discovery of gold in the west, he made his way to 
Colorado and was engaged in mining at Central City for some time. In 1861, however, 
he enlisted in Company H of the First Cavalry Regiment of Colorado troops and spent 
four and a half years in military service. He was promoted to sergeant, afterward 
became sergeant major and later won a lieutenancy. He joined the army in 1861, 
attendant upon the movement of Colonel H. H. Sibley, renegade West Pointer, who 
headed twenty-three hundred Texas rangers in the invasion of New Mexiso. This mili- 
tary organization, which afterward became the First Colorado Cavalry, deserves special 
mention as a matter of history as it was one of the bravest, most efficient and dis- 
interested commands in the service of the United States. Mr. Chase was mustered out 
on the 3d of November, 1865, with the rank of second lieutenant of Company H. He 
afterward resumed mining, which he followed for several years, meeting with marked 
success in his undertakings. 

Returning to Milwaukee Mr. Chase engaged in the manufacture of bricks for sev- 




(iKUKGE H. CHASI'; 



HISTORY OF :\IILWAUKEE 251 

eral years and in 1876 the firm of E. Chase & Sons was formed, the business being 
founded by Mr. Chase and his father. His has been an active and useful life. His 
enterprise has brought him prominently to the front, and his persistency of purpose 
has enabled him to accomplish what, he has undertalven. 

On the 28th of July, 1867, Mr. Chase was united in marriage in Money Creels, 
Colorado, to Miss Anna Rebecca Keeler, a daughter of Hiram and Salome (Burk- 
stresser) Keeler. They have become parents of five children: Enoch; Mary; Horace, 
deceased: Helen; and Ruth, who has also passed away. 

Mr. Chase is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge, chapter, 
council, commandery and consistory and also to the Mystic Shrine. He is also an 
active working member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to E. B. Wolcott 
Post, of which he has served as commander. He is likewise a member of the Loyal 
Legion and in 1890 he served on the staff of General Alger, then national commander 
of the G. A. R. He likewise belongs to the Juneau Club and other political and social 
organizations. He is a member of the Old Settlers Club, of which he has been presi- 
dent. He was a very popular man in his gener.ition. his lively temperament and 
marked characteristics as a gentleman of birth and breeding making him a valued 
friend and companion. He is now one of the venerable citizens of Milwaukee and has 
practically spent his entire life in this city and section of the state, where he has a 
very wide acquaintance, enjoying the good will, confidence and honor of all who know 
him. 



DUDLEY CRAFTS WATSON. 

Dudley Crafts Watson, artist, art lecturer and director of the Milwaukee Art Insti- 
tute, was born in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 188.5, a son of William Weldon and 
Augusta (Tolman) Watson, the former a native of Springfield, Illinois, and the latter 
of Portland, Maine. The father came to Wisconsin in 1881, settling in Lake Geneva, 
and Dudley C. Watson spent the first fifteen years of his life on his father's farm, 
acquiring his education in the schools of Lake Geneva until he reached high school. 
On the 1st of January, 1900, the family removed to Chicago and he continued his 
education in the South Division high school, being gi-aduated with the class of 1903. 
He afterward attended the Armour Institute of Technology for a year and through 
the suggestion of his various teachers, who had recognized his artistic talent, he 
entered the Art Institute of Chicago, where he remained a student for two and a half 
years. He subsequently went abroad, studying in Spain under Sorolla and in London, 
England, under Sir Alfred East. In 1908 he returned to America and became a member 
of the facnlty of the Chicago Art Institute, being made head teacher of water color 
painting, a position which he occupied for five years. While a member of the faculty 
he lectured and painted throughout Illinois and in the fall of 191:3 he was invited to 
become director of the Milwaukee Art Society of Milwaukee. He accordingly resigned 
his position in the Art Institute of Chicago and came to Milwaukee, where he has since 
remained. Under his direction the Milwaukee Art Institute has been developed from 
a small art enterprise until it is the thirteenth in size in the United States, and during 
the eight years which he has spent in this city Mr. W-nsnn has lectured to over seventy- 
eight thousand children each year and hjs given fifty free lectures to adults. While 
in Chicago, in 1909, he was assistant director of the Pageant of The Renaissance and 
it was in the following year that he delivered his first public lectures and sent a rotary 
exhibit of his paintings throughout the middle west. In 1916 he directed the Shakes- 
perian pageant for the city of Milwaukee and in 1917 and 1918 pageants in the ten 
city parks for the Milwaukee Sane Fourth Commission. He also organized the art 
students biennial European "Caravan." and since that time has been continuously 
connected with the educational activities which have been promoted to bring about a 
wider and keener appreciation of American art. He belongs to the Wisconsin Painters 
and Sculptors Society, the ChiOHgo Society of Artists, the Society of Painters of the 
Middle West and the California Water Color Club. In addition to his work as director 
of the Milwaukee Art Institute he acts as director of extension work in the Minneapolis 
Institute of Arts and as art director of the Springfield (111.) Art Association. He is 
educational director of the Rockford Art Club and director of art education for the 
Minnesota State Fair, which position lie has tilled for the last seven years. He has 
been secretary of the Chicago Water Color Club, a member of the advisory board of 
Chicago Chapter of the Drama League, is a member of the American Pageant Asso- 
ciation and stands as a dominant figure in connection with the development of American 
art not only as an exhibitor but as a lecturer. 

Mr. Watson was married in 1909 to Miss Laura Hale, daughter of Frank Hale of 
Chicago, and they are now parents of three children: Augusta, Emily and Marjorie. 
Along social lines Mr. Watson has membership in the Walrus Club and in the Athletic 
Club. His friends — and they are many — throughout the entire country find him a most 



252 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

genial and companionable gentleman and he possesses that ready adaptability which 
enables him to wisely and tactfully meet every situation and upon the lecture platform 
to readily determine the nature of his audience, addressing art students from the 
standpoint of technique and workmanship and the popular audience from the standpoint 
of appreciative understanding of the message which all art must convey to the public. 



FRANCIS J. SCHUTTLER. 



It has often been said that death loves a shining mark and thus it seemed when 
Francis J. Schuttler was called from this life. A young man, he had scarcely yet 
reached the zenith of his powers, but nevertheless he ranked with the prominent and 
able members of the Milwaukee bar. His high character, his sterling worth and the 
noble principles which animated him at all times commanded for him the confidence, 
regard and warm esteem of all who knew him. He was born in Chicago on the 15th 
of December, 1S90, and was a son of Henry and Maria B. (Kenkel) Schuttler, who 
were early residents of Chicago and members of prominent families of that city. In 
the year 1S78 they removed to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where they purchased the 
estate of General Starkweather, the family residing thereon until 1921. The father, 
Henry Schuttler, however, passed away in Europe in 1901, while making an extended 
tour abroad. In the family there were two children, a daughter living at home. 

Francis J. Schuttler was but two years of age when the family residence was 
established at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and there in the heart of the beautiful Wauke- 
sha County lake region, ofttimes called the Killarney of America, he spent his boyhood 
days. There he developed that fervent love of nature and its beauties which remained 
with him throughout his life. After the completion of his grammar school course and 
the classical high school course at Marquette Academy, he entered the College of Arts 
and Sciences of Marquette University in the autumn of 1909. So excellent an account 
of his life has been prepared by the Milwaukee County Bar Association as a memorial 
that we quote from it the following: "From the very beginning of his college course, 
he distinguished himself as a scholar, an orator and a debater, winning the highest 
respect of both the faculty and the undergraduates of that institution. His extensive 
reading of the best literature, both modern and ancient, was remarkable. The sincere 
and keen interest which he took in all political, social and economic problems and the 
remarkable insight which he displayed in such matters was surprising in one of his 
years. These characteristics, coupled with a most pleasing personality and an elo- 
quent and convincing manner of expression, made him the most powerful orator and 
debater at the university. During his sophomore year, and likewise during each suc- 
ceeding year of his college career, he won first place in the annual oratorical contests. 
It was also during his sophomore year that he was chosen to uphold the honor of his 
alma mater against representatives of every Wisconsin college and university in the 
Wisconsin Inter-collegiate Oratorical Contest for the Carnegie Peace Prize, and won 
second place therein, losing first place by the narrow margin of only one-half of a 
point. Upon graduating from his college course with the highest honors of his class, 
he entered Marquette College of Law and, after two years of legal study at that in- 
stitution, he entered the law school of the University of St. Louis, where he completed 
his law course. Returning to this state, he was here admitted to the bar in 1918. 

"For a short time after his admission to the bar, he was associated in the practice 
of the law with Edward Spencer of this city. In October, 1918, he entered the military 
service of the United States and served as a member of Battery C of the Ninth Trench 
Mortar Battalion. Upon his honorable discharge from the service, he returned to 
Milwaukee and here opened an office for the practice of the law in April, 1919. Shortly 
after he had again resumed the practice of his chosen profession and while spending 
his summer vacation at the old homestead at Oconomowoc, amid the beloved scenes of 
his boyhood days, a most lamentable accident caused his sudden death at the very 
threshold of a most promising and useful career. • 

"It is frequently remarked that the American youth of today seems lacking in 
that seriousness of purpose and that sense of moral, political and social duty possessed 
by past generations of Americans. This, however, cannot be truthfully said of Francis 
J. Schuttler. His ideals were the highest. He possessed none of the flippancy so often 
noted in the young men of his generation, but, on the contrary, his profound respect 
and admiration for the distinguished lawyers, jurists and statesmen of both his own 
time and of the past almost amounted to veneration. His uniform unswerving in- 
tegrity was a marked feature of his character, not alone in the more restricted sense 
of fidelity to his pecuniary obligations, but with reference to all his duties to society 
and his fellowmen. If anywhere in his character there might be found a fault, it was 
his unbounded generosity. No one in need of aid, whether financial or otherwise, was • 
ever turned away empty-handed. He gave what he could under the circumstances and 
did so without ostentation, quietly, almost secretively. So far from indulging in 




FRANCIS J. SCHUTTLKR 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 255 

expressions of malice or \uikiiulness to anyone, it was his uniform liabit to speali well 
of all and, if that could not be done with conscientious regard for Uie truth, to 
give them the charity of his silence. His unswerving devotion and loyalty to his 
friends and his hospitality, reminiscent of other diiys, endeared him to all who were 
fortunate enough to be numbered among his friends. 

"Gifted with a philosophical and analytical mind, an orator of marked ability, 
earnest and industrious, Francis J. Schuttler seemed fitted by nature for a long and 
successful career in the profession which he chose for his life's work. But as he 
stood at the very threshold of that career, an All-Wise Providence saw fit to take him 
from our midst. Years were not given him to achieve success nor to attain the honors 
that his abilities promised. Only his intimate friends can fully appreciate that in 
the untimely death of Francis J. Schuttler the Milwaukee Bar Association lost one of 
its most brilliant and promising young members and we ask that in tribute to and in 
memory of this loyal and true friend this memorial be spread upon the record." 

One cannot but feel that Francis J. Schuttler must have entered into a broader 
and fuller existence when the gates of eternity opened to him. While he had made his 
life count for great good in the world, while he had gained for himself a notable 
position in professional circles and while his influence had been a potent force for 
progress, it must seem that there shall be for him still broader development and growth. 

"Where we write ended. 
The angels write begun." 



FRANK W. BLODGETT. 



Frank W. Blodgett, a street paving contractor, with large business interests and 
wide experience, is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having here occurred November 
8, 1868. His ancestors in the paternal line can be traced back to the Mayflower and 
he is a direct descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Mullens. His parents were 
Francis S. and Helen (Wright) Blodgett, natives of the state of New York, where they 
were reared and married. About 1S5S they came to Milwaukee and Mr. Blodgett was 
the first city engineer here, filling the office for about two years. He then became 
identified with Lem Elsworth in building the first street car line in the city and for 
nine years he served as one of the commissioners of public works. He afterward 
engaged in sewer construction as a contractor and continued in that line of business 
to the time of his death, which occurred in 1892. 

His son, Frank W. Blodgett, acquired his education in the public schools of Mil- 
waukee and in the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he completed his course 
in 1888. He was afterward in the employ of the city, filling a position in the office of the 
city engineer, and for six years held the position of park engineer, thus continuing from 
1892 until 1898. Later he became division engineer on the Wisconsin Central Railroad, 
serving in that capacity for five years, at the end of which time he engaged in consulting 
engineering work on his ow-n account, with offices in Milwaukee, his time being thus occu- 
pied until 1912. He was next made superintendent of street construction, filling that posi- 
tion until 1918, since which time he has been conducting business as a contractor in street 
paving, his work carrying him into all parts of the state. Broad experience in finding 
correct solution for important engineering problems has well qualified him for the work 
that he has undertaken and his success is assured. In fact, his patronage is increasing 
year by year and his business is now one of substantial proportions. 

In 1896 Mr. Blodgett was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lauburg, a daughter of 
Fred Lauburg, one of the pioneer residents of Milwaukee. They have one daughter, 
Phyllis, who resides with her parents. 

In his political views Mr. Blodgett is a republican, supporting the party since age 
conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to St. John's Episcopal church 
and he is also a memlier of the Old Settlers Club. A resident of Milwaukee for more 
than a half century, he has been an interested witness of the growth and development 
of the city throughout the entire period and in many ways has contributed to the work 
of progress and public improvement. 



EDGAR L. WOOD. 



Edgar L. Wood, attorney at law of Milwaukee, with a large clientele of a distinc- 
tively representative character, was born in Davenport, Iowa, September 23, 1869, his 
parents being Harrison R. and Mary Jane (Hilton) Wood, who were natives of Massa- 
chusetts and of Maine, respectively. The father came to the west in 1866, settling in 
Davenport. Iowa, and there became well known as a business man. He had previously 



256 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

served as a soldier of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Infantry during- the Civil war 
and had thus loyally defended the interests of the Union. On leaving Davenport he 
came to Milwaukee in 18S3 and continued a resident of this city to the time of his 
death, which occurred May 23, 1920. 

Edgar L. Wood obtained his education in the public schools of Davenport, attending 
the high school of Milwaukee and afterward the University of Wisconsin, from which 
he was graduated in 1892 on completing a course in law. The same year he was 
admitted to practice and entered upon the active work of his profession in Milwaukee. 
He has been alone throughout his professional career and has built up an extensive 
practice of a most desirable character. The court records and public opinion both bear 
testimony to his ability and show his close connection with much important litigation. 

Mr. Wood is equally well known in various other connections. He served for one 
year as president of the Civil Service Commission and for some time was a member 
thereof. He is identified with many corporate and other business interests, being now 
a director of the American Exchange Bank, the Bay View Commercial & Savings Bank, 
the Chain Belt Company and other well known corporations. His judgment is sound, 
his business discrimination is keen and thus his opinions are readily sought in con- 
nection with the conduct of the important interests with which he is identified. 

On the 18th of July, 1894, Mr. Wood was married to Miss Loretta Belle Haseltine 
of Milwaukee, and they have one child, Dorothy Belle, who is with her parents at No. 
474 Bradford avenue. Mr. Wood belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also to 
Lafayette Lodge, P. & A. M. Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the 
American Bar Association and the Wisconsin Bar Association, and after all, the major 
part of his time and attention is concentrated upon his professional interests, his 
practice being almost wholly corporation law. 



DAVID McLAIN. 



Milwaukee is considered an important iron and steel foundry center, thus it is 
quite fitting that a practical course on foundry science should originate there. The 
evolution of the process of making steel and semi-steel castings is intimately con- 
nected with the history and development of this system — which is practically the life 
story of the rare foundry experience, hardly conceivable of one man, David McLain. 

David McLain was born in Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch-Irish parents, and quit the 
"old sod" at the age of five to journey with his parents to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 
During the panic of 1873, little David set out to help support the family. He seems 
to have been destined for the foundry, for at this early age he began to work, twisting 
hay ropes, in Smith's Pipe Foundry of Pittsburgh, at four and one-fourth cents per 
hour. He showed much originality even while apprentice and molder, and his ad- 
vancement was rapid, due to his keen observation and great desire to overcome the 
vast waste he saw in every foundry he worked. In 187S he started molding in the 
first successful crucible steel foundry in America. Thus as a boy he participated in 
the experiments of the various processes of steel making — first the crucible, then the 
converter and later the open hearth, all of which he had charge of before he was 
thirty years of age. 

After an extensive experience in both iron and steel foundries, Mr. McLain left 
the Pittsburgh district in 1898 and came to Milwaukee, where he was superintendent 
of the Christensen Engineering Company (now the National Brake & Electric Com- 
pany) for five years. In 1900 he began experimenting in strengthening iron castings 
by adding steel scrap. Steel had been added to iron in the ladle for fifty years or 
more preceding Mr. McLain's succeess and even slight amounts were on record as 
having been charged into the cupola. At that date no records of steel being employed 
in light castings were available. After leaving the Christensen Engineering Company 
he engaged in foundry engineering work, systematizing foundries throughout the 
middle west. Various firms learned of his ability and his services became in demand. 

Through his inordinate desire to help brother foundrymen, more than twenty years 
ago he began teaching his methods to all with whom he came in contact, and the secret 
of his success in doing this is that he applied the principles of metallurgy of both 
iron and steel directly to the individual. He resigned a good position in 1908 to compile 
a course of instruction to teach foundrymen by mail. This course of instruction is 
known as "McLain's System." 

As an apprentice David McLain had ideals. One was to be a good molder, another 
a good mixer of iron. When he became a leading molder, he studied his various fore- 
men and was amazed to learn they knew but little of the metallurgy of iron and steel, 
so his next ideal was to become a foreman who knew every detail of the casting busi- 
ness. Thus he advanced until he became foundry manager and later systematizer of 
foundries. 

Metallurgical and trade papers have refen-ed to David McLain as the only foundry 




DA^'ID McLAIN 



Vol. II— 1 7 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 259 

doctor. Instead of treating human patients, lie diagnoses and prescribes for ailments 
of iron and steel. Foundrymen from all tlie countries of the globe consult him when 
their castings are too porous or too brittle, c.vlinders too hard, coke consumption ex- 
cessive or casting costs too high. 

Being the pioneer of the correspondence school of metallurgy, he experienced the 
hardships that come to all pioneers — no need to enumerate ihem — but success, the 
result of work, has also come to David McLain, as he numbers his students and grad- 
uates by the thousands and they are scattered all over the world. 

In his first paper, read nineteen years ago, he displayed rare vision when he 
prophesied that cupola metal with a tensile strength of forty-five thousand to fifty- 
five thousand pounds was possible, which could resist three thousand pounds hydraulic 
working pressure: and fittingly christened this metal semi-steel, which has proven to be 
the ideal cupola metal. 

It was his process, or the result of McLain's System, which taught the French 
government to make sfiells that were as easily produced as steel but which permitted 
greater fragmentation. Owing to the greater fragmentation, the semi-steel shell re- 
placed forged steel shells for land warfare. 

Even our government recognized his ability, for on account of his knowledge of 
making serai-steel for high explosive shells, the ordnance department appointed him 
foundry expert to oversee the melting in foundries producing shells of semi-steel. 
He is a member of the American Foundrymen's Association and the Iron and Steel 
Institute of London, England. 

:\Ir. McLain has been married twice. On the 10th of September, ISSl, in Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania, he wedded Miss Annie OX'onnell, of that city, who passed away 
in 1909, leaving a family of three children. Harry Chalmers McLain, assistant foreman 
for the Aetna Steel Castings Company of Lorain, Ohio, is following in the business 
footsteps of his father. He served overseas for nineteen months with the Eighty-first 
Ohio Infantry and went over the top eleven times without suffering a wound. Lucy 
and Margaret make their home in Cleveland, Ohio. For his second wife Mr. McLain 
chose Miss Martha Henderson, of Milwaukee, whom he wedded in this city in 1910. In 
their delightful home at No. 4632 Blue Mound road they extend a cordial hospitality 
which is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. McLain holds membership in 
the Association of Commerce and the ililwaukee Athletic Club, while fraternally he is 
identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. 



JAMES CURRIE. 



For a period of forty-six yeai-s James Currie has figured in the business circles of 
Milwaukee as a florist and landscape gardener and is today at the head of a mammoth 
business that has been built up under the name of the Currie Brothers Company of 
which he is the president. A native of Scotland, he was born in Fenwick, in Ayrshire 
June 10. 18.^3, and is a son of James and Anna (Boyd) Currie, who were also natives 
of that place and have now passed away. The father was born July 3 1827 and died 
October 29. 1905. He represented the family found in Ayrshire from the days of Wal- 
lace and Bruce in the thirteenth century and many representatives of the "name still 
reside in Ayrshire, the Milwaukee family being the first to emigrate from the ancestral 
home. Mrs. Currie was a descendant of Lord Boyd, whose estate was confiscated 
because of his adherence to the cause of the Pretender, Prince Charles "Lord Bovd 
or Earl of Kilmarnock, was born in 1704, was taken prisoner at Culloden tried for 
treason, and executed at the Tower of London, liis being one of the last three execu- 
tions for political offences in the Tower; the other two were the Lords of Balmerino 
and Lovat, all convicted after the rebellion of 1745. The death of William Bovd Earl 
of Kilmarnock, ended the title and the estates in the family. The old castle called 
•Dean Castle,' near Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire, is still standing and many relics" of the 
earlier and more distinguished period have descended to Mrs. Currie." It was in the 
year 1886 that Mr. and Mrs. James Currie, Sr., came- to Milwaukee following the 
arrival of their sons in this city. The former devoted his life to landscape gardening 
and floral culture and it was he who laid out the famous gardens of Sir Peter Coates 
on the banks of the Boon. He was greatly interested in beautifying Milwaukee 
especially through the development of public parks. He belonged to St Andrews' 
Society and to the Milwaukee Curling Club. 

James Currie. whose name introduces this review, acquired his education in the 
public schools of Girvan and of Minnishant, in Ayrshire, and also attended the Avr 
Academy, one of the oldest and most celebrated places of learning in Scotland His 
home was within two miles of the quaint and historic birthplace of Robert Bums It 
was in November, 1872, that James Currie crossed the Atlantic to the United States 
being then a youth of nineteen years. He made his way to the home of relatives at 
Waltham. La Salle county, Illinois, where he remained for a short time and then came 



260 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

to Milwaukee in January, 1873. Here he was joined by his brotlier, William, in March, 
1875, and the firm of Currie Brothers was organized in the same year. In 1878 they 
were joined by their brother, Adam, and in 1886 the father and other members of the 
family came to the new world. Through a period of forty-six years the business has 
been continuously carried on and was incorporated on the 12th of September, 1903, 
under the name of the Currie Brothers Company, with James Currie as president, and 
as seedsmen and florists they have built up a large reputation. Their business has 
been most prosperous and has extended to all parts of the country, particularly to the 
west. On the 1st of July, 1880, James Currie was appointed superintendent of Forest 
Home Cemetery and still occupies that position. On the 1st of June, 1911, he was 
appointed a member of the board of park commissioners in Milwaukee and has been 
president of the board for the past two years. In 1911 he was made a member of the 
county park commission of Milwaukee county and was elected president of that board 
in 1921. His labors have been most effective in promoting the beauty of the city 
through its park system, as well as through following his private business. 

On the 3d of July, 1878, Mr. Currie was united in marriage in Milwaukee to Miss 
Jeannie A. Harper of this city, a daughter of William and Mary (Baxter) Harper, both 
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Currie have become parents of four children: William Boyd, 
who married Beatrice Washburn and has three children, James W., Esther and Richard; 
Florence Baxter, at home; Alice Mary, the wife of Harold W. Drew and the mother of 
three children, Prentice James, Joan and Alan; and Jean Young, at home. 

Mr. Currie has never sought to figure prominently in connection with politics but 
has always given stalwart support to the republican party at the polls. He belongs to 
the Calvary Presbyterian church, and on the 12th of November, 1894, was elected and 
became a member of Kilbourn Masonic Lodge of Milwaukee, of which he served as 
master in 1901. He was also elected a member of the St. Andrews' Society of Milwaukee, 
April 9, 1874, and through several years served in various offices of the society, being 
its president in 1891 and 1892. He likewise has membership in the City Club. His 
activities have always been on the side of progress, reform and improvement and his 
labors have at all times been far-reaching and resultant. 



HON. EMANUEL LORENZ PHILIPP. 

Upon the political and business history of Wisconsin the name of Hon. Emanuel 
Lorenz Philipp is indelibly stamped. Three times he has served as governor of the 
state, following incumbency in various minor positions, and for many years he has 
aided largely in molding public thought and opinion. His business record is equally 
notable, for, reared as a farm boy, early taking up school teaching, and later becoming 
a telegraph operator and train dispatcher, he has advanced step by step until he 
has become the president of the Union Refrigerator Transit Company, one of the leading 
enterprises of the kind in the country. Since his retirement from office he has become 
the head of the Mi Lola Cigar Company and at the same time supervises important 
farming interests, thus reverting to the occupation of his boyhood. There is perhaps 
no citizen of Wisconsin whose life indicates more clearly the possibilities for the at- 
tainment of honor and success than does that of Governor Philipp. 

Wisconsin is proud to number him among her native sons. He was born in the 
town of Honey Creek, Sauk county, March 25, 1861, his parents being Luzi and Sabina 
(Ludwig) Philipp, who were natives of Zitzers, in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland, 
situated near the northern border of Italy. They were married in their native 
country and in 1849 came to the United States, landing at New York. They did not 
tarry on the eastern coast, however, but made their way at once across the country 
to Milwaukee, then a small village, whence they drove with ox team to Sauk City and 
became residents of Sauk county. In his youth the father had had varied experiences 
in northern Italy and in the land of the Alps, at one time serving as a member of the 
Pope's guard, under Pope Gregory, at Bologna and Naples. Following his arrival in 
the new world he took up the occupation of farming and when the country became 
involved in the Civil war he enlisted in 1862 in Company K, Twenty-sixth Wisconsin 
Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front. In the battle of Chancellorsville he was 
wounded but soon rejoined his command and served until the close of hostilities. He 
was also keenly interested in the vital questions and political problems of the day, 
was a strong abolitionist prior to the Civil war and stanch supporter of Lincoln. He 
never sought nor desired political office, however, but concentrated his attention upon 
farming in Saiik county until his death in 1892. His wife passed away in 1898. 

Emanuel L. Philipp was the youngest of their family of three sons and a 
daughter. He was reared on a farm of eighty acres west of Sauk City, which his father 
purchased soon after the Civil war and which was originally covered with timber. 
Mr. Philipp performed his full share in the work of clearing and developing the land. 
His school training was received in the near-by district schools but throughout his 




HON. EMANUEL L. PHILIPP 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 263 

life he has been an earnest student in the school of experienre, in which he has learned 
many valuable lessons. From early youth he was actuated by a laudable ambition 
that has ever prompted him to make the best possible use of time, talents and oppor- 
tunities. When but eighteen years of age he became a district school teacher and his 
earnings enabled him later to pursue a course of study in the Bross School of 
Telegraphy, which constituted the initial step toward the high position which he won 
in railway circles. Within three years after completing his telegraphic course he was 
made a train dispatcher at Baraboo and afterward was transferred to .Milwaukee, 
where he occupied the position of local contracting freight agent under John S. George. 
A little later he took charge of the Gould freight interests and for two years he occupied 
the position of freight traffic manager in connection with the Schlitz brewery. Lum- 
ber interests subsequently claimed his attention, for he built and managed a sawmill 
for the Uihleins and Captain Pabst, who were the owners of a large tract of timber 
in the Mississippi delta. While in the south he also founded the town in Tallahatchie 
county, Mississippi, which today bears the name of Philipp. The year 1897 brought 
him election to the office of president of the Union Refrigerator Transit Company, a St. 
Louis corporation, and in 1903 he became sole owner thereof, purchasing the property 
and organizing the Union Refrigerator Transit Company of Wisconsin. As president 
and manager of this corporation he has built up a business which stands as a 
monument to ability, thrift, industry, honesty and close application. Various other 
interests have also claimed his attention and profited by his cooperation, benefiting by 
the stimulus of his unfaltering activity and well defined plans. He owns a large stock 
farm near Hartford, Washington county, Wisconsin, and also has farm property in 
North Dakota. His place near Hartford is one of the model dairy farms of the county. 
He ships only cream from his dairy, the skimmed milk being fed to the hogs, and he 
makes a specialty of high-grade Berkshire and Poland China hogs. In 1919, while 
still filling the office of governor, he purchased from the August Kurz estate the cigar 
factory that manufactures the celebrated Mi Lola cigars, and since his retirement from 
the position of chief executive he has concentrated much of his attention upon the 
management and further development of this business. 

The political activity of- E. L. Philipp has perhaps made him even more widely 
known than his business connections. He has always been a stanch supporter of the 
republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and has long been 
a recognized party leader in the state. For four years he served as police and fire 
commissioner of Milwaukee and was reappointed to the oflice in July, 1913, by Mayor 
Bading, his first appointment coming from Mayor Rose in 1909. Upon the occasion of 
President Taft's visit to Milwaukee in 1912 he was entertained by Mr. Philipp as the 
recognized republican leader of the city. He had been a delegate to the national con- 
vention of his party which nominated Theodore Roosevelt for president and also again 
when William Howard Taft received the nomination in 1908. In 1914 Mr. Philipp for 
the first time became a nominee before the republican convention, for the other offices 
which he had filled were appointive. In that year he was named as candidate for gov- 
ernor and received the endorsement of the public at the polls, being elected by a good 
majority. That his administration was highly satisfactory to the public was indi- 
cated in his reelection in 1910 and again in 1918, so that for three terms he remained 
governor of the commonwealth, retiring from the office on the 3d of January, 1921, 
honored and respected by all and more particularly by those who most truly under- 
stood the work of the administration. A contemporary biographer has said of him in 
this connection: "Three times elected governor of his state, serving during the critical 
World war period, when executive ability combined with foresight and a determina- 
tion that justice should be done toward all. Governor Philipp's record of accomplishment 
stands out in bold relief. Wisconsin's record under his leadership is one that will go 
down in history as standing at the top of the list of all her sister states. Attention to 
details, which makes for the bigger and greater things, combined with honesty and 
truthfulness, has spelled success for him in all his undertakings. A power today in 
the business as well as political world, what greater inspiration can be given to a young 
man than to emulate the example set by this most remarkable character?" 

On the 27th of October. 1S87, Governor Philipp was married to Miss Bertha Schweke 
of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, a daughter of Diedrich and Bertha Schweke, who were natives 
of Germany and came to the new world in early life. Mr. Schweke was one of the 
California Argonauts of 1S49 and for many years he conducted a mercantile establish- 
ment at Reedsburg. Governor and Mrs. Philipp have become parents of two daugh- 
ters and a son: Florence I., Josephine and Cyrus L. No comment need be made con- 
cerning the social standing of the family, for true worth has placed them in a position 
of prominence. Mr. Philipp is well known in fraternal and club circles, having mem- 
bership in Milwaukee Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T.; and Wiscon- 
sin Consistory, A. A. S. R. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and the Merchants and Manufacturers 
Association. His kindly nature found tangible expression in his service as president 
of the Wisconsin Humane Society. Governor Philipp is also known to the public 



264 HISTORY OF .^IILWAUKEE 

through his writings, liaving in 1904 written and published, The Truth About Wiscon- 
sin Freight Rates, and in 1908, Political Reform in Wisconsin. His interest in edu- 
cational affairs is manifest through his regency of the Marquette University. Never 
seeking honor but simply attempting the faithful performance of his duties day by 
day, honors have been multiplied unto him and there is today no more distinguished 
citizen in Milwaukee than Emanuel Lorenz Philipp, thrice elected governor of the 
commonwealth. 



ALFRED J. KIECKHEFER. 



Success is constantly calling and opportunity points out the way to the man whose 
eyes are open and whose senses are alert to the chances which the business world is 
constantly offering to the determined, the ambitious and the progressive. Possessing 
these qualities, Alfred J. Kieckhefer has steadily progressed in his business career 
until he is now assistant director general of the National Enameling Stamping Com- 
pany of Milwaukee. He was born in this city July 20, 1885, and has here passed his 
life. His parents were Ferdinand A. W. and Wilhelmine (Kuetemeyer) Kieckhefer, 
who were also born in this city. 

Their son, Alfred J., at the usual age became a public school pupil and, having 
mastered the branches of learning that constitute the public school curriculum, he 
entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison and spent two and a half years as a 
student in the mechanical engineering department. In 1908 he entered the ofhce of the 
National Enameling & Stamping Company in a minor position and since that time has 
steadily worked his way upward, making it his purpose thoroughly to master every 
task assigned him and thus develop his powers and business capacity. In 1911 he was 
advanced to the position of assistant branch manager, having charge of the manu- 
facturing departments and subsequently he was appointed assistant director general 
of the manufacturing department, serving in this position of responsibility since 1918 
to the entire satisfaction of the corporation which he represents. He now has charge 
of all the manufacturing in all the branches of the company. His father was one of 
the founders and organizers of this business, which has grown and developed into 
the largest enterprise of the kind in the United States, and throughout the period the 
name of Kieckhefer has been associated therewith and the labors of father and son 
have constituted important elements in the constant progress of the enterprise. In 
1914 Alfred J. Kieckhefer was elected a director of the company, in which he also 
holds stock. He is likewise a director of the Morris F. Fox Company, a securities com- 
pany of Milwaukee, and is a director of the St. Louis Coke & Chemical Company of 
St. Louis, Missouri. 

On the 9th of October, 1909, Mr. Kieckhefer was married to Miss Allison More of 
Sioux City, Iowa, and they have become parents of two children, Alfred John and 
James Ferdinand. Mr. Kieckhefer belongs to the Milwaukee Club, also to the Mil- 
waukee Athletic Club, Milwaukee Country Club, Wisconsin Club, Milwaukee Yacht 
Club and the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and his cooperation can at all times 
be counted upon to further any plan or measure for the general good. He was active 
in all of the war drives in the city and his public-spirited citizenship has been again 
and again manifest in practical and tangible effort for the welfare of municipality, 
commonwealth and country. 



WILLIAM JOHN KERSHAW. 

William John Kershaw, attorney at law, who has continuously engaged in practice 
in Milwaukee since 1886, in which year he was admitted to the bar, was born at Big- 
spring, Adams county, Wisconsin, January 12, 1865, his parents being William John 
and Shequanaquotok (Wapamin) Kershaw, the mother an Indian woman of the Menom- 
inee tribe, her first name signifying "Floating Cloud" and her surname meaning "Corn." 
To this marriage there were born three children: Katharine, who is secretary to 
Judge Eschwiler of Madison; Sybil A.; and William J. The father, a lawyer by 
profession, came to Wisconsin from Troy, New York, about 1848. He represented 
the Menominee tribe in some of its treaty rights at Washington, D. C, prior to the 
Civil war and in this way met his wife. He practiced in Adams county, Wisconsin, 
and there filled the office of district attorney. He enlisted for service in the Civil war 
when hostilities were inaugurated between the north and the south and went out as 
captain of Company K, Eighteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, while later he was 
promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Regiment. He served 
altogether for four years and was twice wounded, sustaining severe injuries at the 
battle of Petersburg, after which he was taken to the hospital, the war being ended 




ALFRED J. KIECKHEFKR 



HISTORY OF :MTLWAUKEE 2G7 

before he had sufficiently recovered to rejoin his cominaml. He died at Kilhonrn, Wis- 
consin, in 1S83. while his wife passed away in 1S65. 

William John Kershaw was educated in the public schools and at an early age 
took up the study of law. thus following in his father's footsteps. He was admitted 
to the bar in 1886 and entered upon active practice in Milwaukee in 1892. after having 
been employed for a time in the office of Colonel A. G. Weissert. Through the inter- 
vening period of twenty-nine years he has practiced independently and has now a 
large clientage, while his devotion thereto has become proverbial. He displays great 
thoroughness and care in preparing his cases and marked ability in presenting his 
cause before the court. He belongs to the Milwaukee Bar Association, the Wisconsin 
State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. 

■ In March, 1894, ilr. Kershaw was married to Miss Henrietta Schiller of Milwaukee. 
and they have an attractive home at 4634 Woodlawn court, its hospitality being greatly 
enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Kershaw belongs to the Military Order of the 
Loyal Legion, also to the Eagles, the Elks, the Hibernians, and the Society of American 
Indians. Mr. Kershaw has for years made a close study of Indian law, acts of congress, 
and decisions of the supreme court pertaining to Indians, and is one of a number of 
men of Indian blood who has been instrumental in securing improved administration 
of the laws. He was appeal agent of the local draft board during the war, also one 
of the Four-Minute speakers and gave most of his time to war work, doing everything 
in his power to uphold Federal interests and to give the utmost support to the soldiers 
in camp and overseas. 



HARRY R. McLOGAN. 



Harry R. McLogan, attorney and court commissioner with offices at 105 Wells 
street, Milwaukee, was born in Chicago, Illinois, January 6, 1881, his parents being 
Patrick Henry and Elizabeth (McNally) McLogan, the former a native of Detroit, 
Michigan, while the latter was born in Dublin, Ireland, coming to this country in the 
'60s. at which time she became a resident of Chicago and there formed the acquaintance 
of Mr. McLogan, who sought her hand in marriage. The father was president of Typo- 
graphical Union. No. 16, and was buried in the lot of that organization in Calvary 
cemetery in Chicago. He was also at one time president of the Chicago Trades Assembly 
and president of the American Federation of Labor i-n 1883. In fact he was one. of the 
pioneers of the organized labor movement in this country. He testified before the 
United States senate on education in 1883, and at that time he had been a member of 
the Typographical Union for twenty-six years, or from 18.57, and had been active in a 
great number of strikes. In his testimony he advocated an employers' liability act 
and also that children should be kept in school until eighteen years of age. the former 
having been enacted into law, while in many of the states compulsory education exists. 
In his presentation of his plea before the education committee he very clearly pre- 
sented the distinction between capital and labor. He always worked for the betterment- 
of labor throughout his life and did much effective work to improve conditions of the 
employe. In fact there were few who possessed a more intimate knowledge of labor 
questions and labor conditions in the entire country. Moreover, he strongly advocated 
compulsory education in order that children might become worthy citizens when age 
confers upon them the right and responsibility of franchise and of citizenship. He was 
himself a well educated man, speaking several languages, and he kept thoroughly 
informed concerning many of the vital problems and questions of the age. Both he 
and his wife w-ere members of the Knights of Labor. He passed away in 1894 and 
working men thereby lost a most stanch and able champion. 

Harry R. McLogan was educated in the parochial and public schools of Chicago 
to the age of ten years, when he began work in a tin shop connected with the stock- 
yards of that city. He was afterward employed at different jobs until 1897. when he 
entered the service of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company, first as 
yard clerk, afterward as switchman and as yardmaster. He continued iji the railroad 
emjjloy until 1910. During this time he took up the study of law, to which he devoted 
his evening hours and became a student in Marquette University at Milwaukee, from 
which he was graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1910. He was then admitted to the 
bar in the same year, practicing in all the courts, including the United States supreme 
court. He it was who tested the constitutionality of the Wisconsin eugenic law. won 
in the lower courts, but defeated in the supreme court by a divided opinion of four 
to three. It was Mr. .McLogan who defended Congressman Cary in his contest for a 
seat in the house of representatives in 1914. and this is the first time that a congress- 
man has been seated unanimously, ilr. McLogan brought action against Victor L. 
Berger in the house of representatives, acting as attorney for Joseph P. Carney in 1918. 
This action was ^instituted under the theory that he was not eligible under section 
three of the fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution on the ground 



268 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

that he had given comfort and aid to the enemy during the World war. During the 
same session of congress a resolution W3S introcUiced by Congressman Dallinger of 
Massachusetts, challenging Berger's rights to a seat in the house because he had been 
convicted of a violation of the espionage act, after which a special committee of the 
house was appointed to determine the question. Mr. McLogan succeeded in having the 
Carney-Berger contest merged with the proceedings under the Dallinger resolution and 
adopt his theory rather than the one upon which the Dallinger resolution was based. 
The committee engaged Mr. McLogan as attorney for the merged proceedings and 
Berger was not permitted to take his seat. 

On the 18th of November, 1903, Mr. McLogan was married to Miss Margaret O'Keefe 
of Chicago, and they have two children: Myrtle Marie, born September 6, 1904; and 
Patrick Henry, born April 12, 1910. 

Mr. McLogan is well known in fraternal and social circles. He is president of 
Milwaukee Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and also belongs to the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and to the Knights 
of Columbus. He is likewise a member of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and 
other organizations for public benefit. In 1920 he was appointed court commissioner 
and had previously served as justice of the peace for six years, in which connection 
he brought an action that district justices were holding office illegally and carried the 
case to the supreme court, where he won his suit, so that since then there h'ls been 
but one justice of the peace for the entire city of Milwaukee. He stands loyally and 
unfalteringly for any cause which he espouses and the integrity of his belief in a cause 
is never called into question. 



HIEL M. HOLTON. 



The life record of Hiel M. Holton covered a period of sixty-seven years and mark 
his steady advance from the time when he arrived in this state in one of the old time 
prairie schooners. A farmer, a clerk, a merchant, a traveling salesman, his life was 
ever one of activity in which he accomplished results, steadily forging foi^vard as the 
result of his opportunities and expanding powers. He was born July 27, 1850, at 
Youngstown, Ohio, a son of William and Amanda ( Coombs) Holton, who were natives 
of Maryland and Ohio respectively. When their son, Hiel, was but four years of age 
they started across the country with their family in a prairie schooner, settling at 
Rathborn Mills, Wisconsin, where they resided for a few years. They then removed 
to Missouri, where they remained until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when they 
again came to Wisconsin, settling near Reedsburg. There the parents spent their re- 
maining days. 

Hiel M. Holton largely acquired his education in or near Reedsburg, and as his 
elder brothers enlisted for service in the Civil war it devolved upon him to care for 
his parents and cultivate the home farm and as oiDportunity offered he worked for 
wages. At length he decided to abandon agricultural life and began learning the 
jeweler's trade in Reedsburg. In 1875 he went to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, where he opened 
a jewelry store, which he conducted with success for several years. Ultimately, how- 
ever, he sold the business and became a resident of Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he 
continued for seven years. In 1899 he came to Milwaukee and was a resident of this 
city to the time of his death, or for a period of twenty-two years. While here living 
he acted as traveling salesman for Jennison Brothers & Company, flour manufacturers 
at Janesville, Minnesota. He likewise became the owner of a large stock farm in 
the town of Richmond, Walworth county, Wisconsin, and he was actively connected 
with the development of the Turtle creek drainage district, which reclaimed a large 
tract of marsh land north of Delaware. He likewise owned a valuable farm near 
Waukesha and thus, as he prospered in his undertakings, he made large investments 
in property which returned to him a splendid income. He was one of the most popular 
traveling salesmen of the state, was ever congenial, cordial and kindly, and possessed 
of great tact, so that he never made the unvifarranted mistakes of greeting everyone 
as a valued friend. 

On the 19th of October, 1875, Mr. Holton was married to Miss Helen Agnes Craker, 
of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, a daughter of Zachariah Craker, who was an own cousin of 
Charles Dickens, the celebrated English writer. Her mother bore the maiden name of 
Elizabeth Delia Marcher and was born in Maryland, while Mr. Craker was a native of 
Buckinghamshire, England. He came to America with four brothers at an early day, 
settling first at Spring Prairie, Wisconsin. There he lived for some time and afterward 
removed to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where he spent his remaining days. Mr. and Mrs. 
Holton became the parents of a daughter, Florence Mildred, who was horn in Elkhorn 
and who now owns and operates a large dairy farm in the town of Richmond, Walworth 
county, where she has seventy-five head of cows and other stock. Her property is 
splendidly improved. There are two large silos upon the place, also a fine dairy barn 




HIEL M. HULTON 



HISTORY OF illLWAUKEE 271 

and all modern machinery, including a tractor. Miss Holton makes her home in Mil- 
waukee, but the work of the farm is carried on under her supervision and she is very 
successful in its management. 

Throughout his life Mr. Holton was ever actuated by high and honorable principles, 
and while living in Elkhorn he served as one of the trustees of the Congregational 
church and was very active in connection with the building of the house of worship 
there. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and was one of the charter members of 
the United Commercial Travelers, being numbered among the eighteen men who came 
from Waukesha to Milwaukee and were active in organizing the order. Death called 
him May 17, 1917, his demise being deeply regretted wherever he was known through 
social or business connections. He held friendship inviolable, was loyal to every trust 
reposed in him and was a most devoted husband and father. Mrs. Holton still makes 
her home in Milwaukee. She is widely known as the author of many beautiful poems 
and at the urgent request of friends she has prepared a volume of poems tor publication, 
these being now ready tor the press. She is also very prominent in the women's 
organizations of Milwaukee and has been a leader in support of many civic interests 
and of many projects which have intellectual, moral and cultural value. 



PROFESSOR ALEXANDER MUELLER. 

Professor Alexander Mueller, who is at the head of the State School of Art at the 
State Normal School in Milwaukee, was born in this city, February 29, 1872, and his 
life stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor 
save in his own country, for in the city of his birth he has risen to prominence and 
distinction. He is a son of C. Joseph and Clara (Von Cotzhausen) Mueller, natives 
of Germany and of Milwaukee, respectively. 

Having mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools. Professor 
Mueller went abroad for further study in the academies of Europe, becoming a student 
in the Fine Arts Academy of Weimar and in the Academy of Fine Arts at Munich. 
He remained abroad from 1894 until 1S99, and his thorough training under some of 
the most prominent artists of the old world well qualified him for the work to which 
he has since devoted his life. Returning to Milwaukee, he devoted a year to painting, 
and in the second year following his return, became identified with the Milwaukee Art 
Students League. For several years he has conducted the art school of the league and 
has made valuable contribution to the development of artistic taste in this city. In 
1911 the Wisconsin School of Art was reorganized as the State School of Art and 
through all the intervening years Professor Mueller has been the moving spirit in the 
art development of the city. He studied under Richard Lorenz of Milwaukee, a western 
painter, and also under Professor Max Thedy in Weimar. He was a student at the 
Academy at Munich under Director Carl Marr, who was born in Milwaukee and at one 
time taught here. He was the close friend and associate of Arthur H. Gallun and 
through their united efforts they built up the art school, making Milwaukee a great art 
center. It has been truthfully said that no one in Milwaukee did as much tor art as 
did A. H. Gallun financially, and Professor Mueller professionally. The labors of the 
latter still continue and he is accomplishing splendid results in directing the talent 
of pupils and placing before them higher standards toward which to work. 

In August, 1912. Professor Mueller was married to Miss Martha Kaross and they 
have become parents of two children, Roland Alexander and Carola. Professor Mueller 
belongs to the Walrus Club, also to the Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors Association and 
in the latter organization has been president. Trained under some of the most eminent 
teachers of the old world, he has never deviated from the high standards which he 
early set up and he has been the means of bringing to hundreds of individuals an 
understanding and appreciation of art that has greatly beautified and enriched their 
lives. 



OTTO A. HENSEL. 



An alert and energetic business man of Milwaukee is Otto A. Hensel, a retail shoe 
dealer, conducting a store at 3527 North avenue. He was born at Castle Garden in 
New York city, January 4, 1872, the old Castle Garden which for many years has now 
been used as an aquarium. His parents were August and Julia (Schultz) Hensel, 
natives of Germany, and the father was a veteran of the Austria and Franco-Prussian 
war. He came to America in 1872, landing at New York city, and the son, Otto A. 
Hensel, was born during the brief sojourn of his parents in the eastern metropolis! 
A little later they proceeded to Boston. Massachusetts, where the father was connected 
with the sugar refining business for a number of years. In 1880 he went to Blooming- 



272 HISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 

ton, Illinois, and in that locality took up the occupation of farming, which he followed 
for a considerable period but is now living retired in tliat city. 

Otto A. Hensel was educated in the country schools in the vicinity of Bloomington 
and in the Evergreen City Business College. For four years he was employed by the 
J. W. Rodgers Shoe Company of Bloomington and when twenty years of age he decided 
to leave and removed to Chicago, where he accepted a position with the Rodgers Shoe 
Company of Toledo and Chicago in the capacity of a salesman on being assigned to 
the Chicago territory as city salesman, and later to the state of Illinois. After three 
years he was transferred to Wisconsin and his territory covered this state and the 
upper peninsula of Michigan. While thus engaged he spent considerable time in Mil- 
waukee and was so impressed with the city and its business prospects and enterprise, 
combined with its general spirit of progress that on the 1st of April, 1900, he took up 
his abode here and has since called Milwaukee his home. On the 3d of August, 1901, 
the Dependable Shoe Store was opened on North avenue, with 0. A. Hensel as pro- 
prietor and manager and there he continued successfully in business for four years, 
but at the end of that time his original location proved entirely inadequate to the 
increased trade and he decided to remove to larger quarters. The business continued 
to grow and the Hensel store soon became one of the leading shoe establishments in 
the northern business section of Milwaukee. Mr. Hensel was one of the first merchants 
to locate in that section when the region was almost an unsettled prairie, he and George 
Baldauf, the latter a prominent druggist, being the first two merchants of this part of 
the city. 

Mr. Hensel is a recognized leader in association work and a splendid organizer and 
was elected on the 6th of January, 1921, as president of the Milwaukee Shoe Dealers 
Association. He is also a great booster for the National Retail Shoe Dealers Associa- 
tion and has done important work in this connection to stabilize and develop trade 
and promote interests of worth to the business. He was chairman of the reception 
committee of the -Milwaukee convention and won great credit for what he accomplished 
in this connection, the convention manifesting its keen appreciation for the general 
thoroughness of the committee in meeting every requirement in connection with the 
handling of the convention. Mr. Hensel was also first president of the Nortli Avenue 
Advancement Association for two terms and he has been a most active and helpful 
member of the Association of Commerce, serving on two of its most important com- 
mittees. 

Mr. Hensel is married and has four children: Eugenia, Margery, Lucille and 
Andrew. There are few men better known in Milwaukee and none who deserve more 
credit for what they have accomplished. Not only has he been the architect of his 
own fortunes, in which connections he has builded wisely and well, but has also been 
the promoter of the city's interest and upbuilding along many lines, his labors at all 
times being practical and effective forces in producing results which are beneficial to 
the community in promoting trade relations and in upholding those interests which 
are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. 



ALBERT KELLOGG STEBBINS. 

Albert Kellogg Stebbins, engaged in the practice of law in Milwaukee since 1896, or 
for a period of a quarter of a century, was born in this city June 21, 1S75, his parents 
being Lemuel D. and Georgia A. (Green) Stebbins. The father is a native of Danbury, 
Connecticut, while the mother's birth occurred in Onondaga county, New York. It 
was in the year 1874 that Lemuel D. Stebbins removed from New York city to Mil- 
waukee and for a number of years he was successfully engaged in business in this 
city as a jeweler but is now living retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of 
his former toil. 

Albert K. Stebbins, after acquiring a public school education, continued his studies 
in Barker Hall at Michigan City, Indiana, and later became a law student in the old 
Milwaukee Law School and was graduated with the LL. B. degree from the Marquette 
Law School. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1896, when he entered into 
partnership with E. E. Chapin under the style of Chapin & Stebbins, a connection that 
was maintained until 1904, when he became a partner in the firm of Bloodgood, Kemper 
& Bloodgood, one of the leading law firms of the city. Mr. Stebbins makes a specialty 
of trial work and is recognized as one of the best lawyers in this branch of professional 
activity in the city. The thoroughness and care with which he prepares his cases, the 
clearness and cogency with which he presents his cause and the soundness and logic 
of his reasoning are all elements in his success, which is manifest in the many favor- 
able verdicts which he has won for his clients. He is now a member of the American 
Bar Association. 

On the 1st of September, 1897, Mr. Stebbins was married to Anna Kemper Whitte- 
more, of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two children. The elder. Row- 




ALBERT K. STEBBINS 



Vol. II— IS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 275 

land Ward, born July 8, 189S, was graduated from St. John's Military Academy as a 
member of the class of 1916, afterward pursued a collegiate course in the Milwaukee 
Normal and then entered Harvard llniversity witli the Students Array Trainin;; Corps 
as a junior in the fall of 1918. The following year he became a student in the Maniuette 
Law School, where he is now preparing for active practice as an attorney. The younger 
son, Albert Kellogg, Jr., born December 27, 1899, was graduated from St. John's Mili- 
tary Academy in 1918 and on the 1st of July of that year enlisted in the United States 
Marine Corps, with which he served until discharged in March, 1919. He had a post- 
graduate course at St. John's Academy in mathematics, receiving appointment from 
this academy to tlie United States .Military Academy at West Point, which he entered 
as a student in July. 1920, and is now pursuing his course there. Mr. Stebbins has taken 
the greatest interest in the education of his sons, extending to them every opportunity 
possible. He is a professor in the Marquette Law School, his subjects being federal 
courts, jurisdiction and procedure. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins are members of St. Paul's Episcopal church and they 
occupy an enviable social position. He has ever been actuated by a progressive and 
public-spirited devotion to the general good and that he comes of a family of patriotic 
ancestors is indicated in the fact that he now holds membership in the Society of 
Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution. 



ALFRED B. CARGILL. 



Alfred B. Cargill, advertising manager of the Milwaukee Sentinel, was born Feb- 
ruary 17, 1877, in the city which is still his home, being a representative of one of its 
old pioneer families. While spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, 
Henry and Catherine Cargill, he attended the public schools, from which he was grad- 
uated on the completion of the work in the grades, and later he pursued a partial course 
in the old East Division high school. After starting out in the business world he con- 
tinued his high school course by attending night sessions and he also became a student 
in the old Milwaukee Law Class, which afterward became the Marquette College of 
Law.. He did not complete his law course, however, and after a few years devoted to 
the conduct of a collection agency he entered the newspaper business as a reporter on 
the old Milwaukee Free Press. There he was employed for three years and later he 
became a reporter on the Sentinel. He was next associated with the Milwaukee Journal, 
acting as political correspondent for the three years from 1906 until 1909, covering 
state politics during the period of the troublesome factional contests in the republican 
party which resulted in the split in the party, with two gubernatorial tickets in the 
field. During the spring of 1906 Mr. Cargill took active part in the municipal cam- 
paign which resulted in the election of Sherburn M. Becker as mayor over David S. 
Rose, and later he accepted the position of secretary of the health department, in which 
capacity he continued to serve until December, 1910. At that date he resigned to become 
circulation manager of the Sentinel and in the following March he was made adver- 
tising manager of that newspaper, which is his present connection. 

In 1903 .Mr. Cargill was married to Miss Rosa E. Wilson of St. Louis, and they 
have one daughter, Rosalind. Mr. Cargill belongs to the Masonic fraternity, his mem- 
bership being in Kilbourn Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M., of which he was master in 191.5, 
and in Kilbourn Chapter, Xo. 1, R. A. M. He has membership in the Milwaukee Press 
Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Kiwanis Club and in the Association of Com- 
merce. He has been particularly active in his work in the last named as a member 
of the advertising council. 



WILLLA.M L. KRANSTOVER. 

One of the important and growing business interests of Milwaukee is that con- 
ducted under the name of the Badger Dye Works, of which William L. Kranstover is 
the secretary and treasurer. He is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having here 
occurred in 1879. His parents were Ernest and Louise Kranstover, the former a native 
of Germany, whence he came to America at an early day, settling in Milwaukee, where 
he established the Badger Dye Works, conducting the business to the time of his 
death. This was incorporated in 1913, with Ernest Kranstover as the president, Julius 
E. Kranstover as vice president and William L. Kranstover as secretary and treasurer. 
At the time of the father's death in 1918, J. E. Kranstover became the president, while 
William L. remains as secretary and treasurer. This business was established on a 
small scale, the dye works being opened with one helper, but through the intervening 
period the trade has steadily grown and the plant has been constantly expanded and 
enlarged until today the company employs one hundred people. They took over the 



276 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

business of the Fischer Cleaning Company and of the Chaintron French Dyeing Com- 
pany several years ago, merging these into the Badger Dye Works. Their patronage 
covers a considerable portion of the middle states and is being constantly developed. 
In 1917 they established a complete laundry department and they occupy three floors 
and a basement in their nevsr structure and also the buildings on the adjoining fifty 
feet, while their out-of-town receiving and shipping department is situated in the next 
block and the chemical cleaning rooms are in a separate building. They have most 
splendid machinery and equipment in every particular for the conduct of both the 
dyeing and laundry business and their thoroughness, their reliability and their excellent 
work constitute the elements which are leading to the continued growth and success 
of the business. 



PHILIP GUZZETTA, M. D. 



Dr. Philip Guzzetta, physician and surgeon, who specializes in the treatment of 
rheumatism in Milwaukee, was born in Sicily, Italy, February 19, 1871. He was reared 
and educated in his native country, where his parents spent their lives, although the 
mother visited him in America in 1909. The father, Dionisio Guzzetta, who was a 
teacher by profession, had previously passed away, after which the mother came to 
the new world to visit her son but returned to the island of Sicily, where her last 
days were passed. 

Dr. Guzzetta was graduated from the University of Palermo in Sicily with the 
M. D. degree on the 23d of November, 1896. He then practiced his profession in his 
native town of Plana de Greci until 1903, or for a period of seven years. In 1904 he 
came to the United States, where four months later he was joined by his wife in New 
York city. He spent ten months in the eastern metropolis, studying the English 
language, for he was totally unacquainted with the English tongue when he came to 
the new world. In 1905 he made his way to Milwaukee, where he has since resided 
and has been very active in the practice of his profession from the time of his arrival 
until the present. He is specializing in the treatment of rheumatism and has effected 
some marvelous cures along that line. He lived and practiced for nine years in the 
third ward and afterward removed to his present location at No. 200 North avenue, 
where he owns a beautiful home and office combined, having erected the building sev- 
eral years ago. 

Dr. Guzzetta was united in marriage in Sicily to Miss Antonina La Plana and 
they have become parents of six living children, five sons and a daughter. The three 
eldest were born in Sicily and the three youngest in Milwaukee. The children are: 
Josephine, Denis Philip, Marcus, Vincent, Columbus and Philip, Jr. The eldest son, 
Denis Philip Guzzetta, is now a senior in Harvard College, and although but twenty 
years of age, he has distinguished himself for his high scholarship and lias won a 
number of college honors. He was graduated from the North Division high school of 
Milwaukee at the age of sixteen years and at that time won high honors in his class. 
He has been a student at Harvard for four years, pursuing an academic course, and 
after its completion he will enter upon the medical course of Harvard. 

Dr. Guzzetta is a Roman Catholic in religious faith. He has never sought to figure 
prominently in club or other social organizations, finding his greatest happiness at his 
own fireside, where he delights to entertain his friends and enjoy- the companionship 
of the members of his own household. 



WILLIAM BOEPPLBR. 



One of the most active and prominent musicians in the country today is 
William Boeppler, director of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and conductor of 
the Milwaukee A Capella Chorus, also of the Singverein, the chorus of the First 
National Bank and other musical organizations of Chicago. Mr. Boeppler was born 
on the 21st of February, 1863, in Pferdsfeld, near Kreuznach, Germany, a son of 
Karl and Elizabeth (Pauly) Boeppler. He was reared and educated in his native 
land and at an early age displayed such musical talent that he was placed under 
such eminent masters as Enzian of Kreuznach, Reinecke, Fiedler and Langer of 
Leipzig, and Arnold Mendelssohn of Bonn. 

In the winter of 18 94, shortly before Christmas, William Boeppler arrived in 
Milwaukee with letters of introduction to a number of well known Milwaukeeans. The 
letters spoke highly of his musical achievements and readily secured for him a warm 
welcome. He was introduced into the musical circles of Milwaukee by the late John 
H. Frank, and he immediately launched into a successful career. Previous to the ar- 
rival of Mr. Boeppler the subject of organizing a large chorus, with the fundamental 




DR. PHILIP (iUZZETTA 



HISTORY OF .MILWATKEE 279 

object to cherish certain musical ideals not being stressed by the two choral societies 
already in existence in this city, had been rather extensively discussed. The aim of 
the new orsanization was to be. to cultivate the study and presentation of unaccom- 
panied sacred music of both old and modern masters, and the rendition of the best 
gems of secular music. Serious-minded music lovers of Milwaukee had made sev- 
eral attempts to create better musical conditions in church circles but had failed 
on account of the absence of clearly defined aims and also because of the apparent 
lack of an available musical director to whom miRht be entrusted the leadership in 
furthering the objects contemplated. For seven years Jlr. Boeppler had conducted 
a large church choir in Creteld and had attained results, recognized as of the highest 
degree of merit by the best known musical authorities in Germany. It was only 
natural that soon after his arrival he should desire to organize a similar choir in 
Milwaukee, and with Mr. Frank, who was well acquainted with musical conditions 
in church circles, the organization of the new large choir was discussed and deter- 
mined upon. The execution of the plan was not long delayed, due to the energetic 
temperament of Mr. Boeppler. A preliminary meeting was called for January 18, 
1895. the meeting being held in the oflSce of Dr. Louis Frank in the Colby & Abbott 
building. Among those present at that meeting were: Dr. Frank, John H. Frank, 
H. O. Frank, Ferdinand Kieckhefer, Hugo Maercker and William H. Upmeyer. A 
committee was appointed to draft a prospectus which was to be presented at a 
larger subsequent meeting. The next meeting was held on the 8th of February, 
1895, F. C. Bowitz. A. F. Bues, Dr. L. Frank, John H. Frank, H. O. Frank, O. Grieb- 
ling, W. H. Graebner, William Imbusch, Ferdinand Kieckhefer, G. E. G. Kuechle, 
William C. Meyer, Hugo Maercker, C. M. Noerenberg, G. P. Plischke. Otto Strels- 
guth, Charles H. Strohmeyer and William H. Upmeyer being in attendance. After some 
time spent in thorough deliberation and weighing the project from every point of 
view, the unanimous opinion of all present was that the proposed new choir should 
be organized forthwith. On the 2Sth of February, 1895, the first general meeting 
was called and took place in the Rehearsal Hall of the Musical Society, one hun- 
dred and thirty-six people being present. A constitution was submitted, discussed 
and approved, and it was emphasized that the new organization was not to be 
confined in its membership to persons affiliated with any religious denomination but 
was open to any lover of the best in choral music. The Milwaukee A Capella 
Chorus was chosen as the name for the new organization, with Mr. Boeppler as its 
conductor. On June 19, 1895, the first concert was given in the old Academy of 
Music, now Shubert Theatre. It was an instantaneous success. And from that 
first concert throughout the succeeding period of twenty-six years the history of 
the Milwaukee A Capella Chorus has been a steady rise to a degree of perfection 
in choral singing which has made the chorus famous as one of the best singing 
societies in the country. The A Capella Chorus today is one of Milwaukee's leading 
musical and educational institutions, In truth a credit to this city, one of Its most 
important cultural factors. 

In addition to organizing and directing the Milwaukee A Capella Chorus, Mr. 
Boeppler, with the assistance of John H. Frank. Dr. Louis Frank, H. O. Frank and 
William H. Upmeyer, founded in 1899 the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. This 
Institution developed, mainly through his competent and efficient musical manage- 
ment, into the leading music school of Milwaukee and Wisconsin — in fact into one 
of the best known and most highly respected music schools of the country. Its 
faculty of over sixty artist teachers is second to none in any other large city. Its 
two thousand pupils, many from other states and faraway parts of the country, 
bespeak its splendid success. The officers are: Theodore Dammann, president; 
William Boeppler, vice president and musical director; and Emil H. Koepke. secre- 
tary and treasurer. 

In 1902 Mr. Boeppler also organized and conducted the Milwaukee Symphony 
Orchestra, which then — and then only — comprised in its personnel all the leading 
professional musicians of the city — men like Zeitz, Jaffe, Kelbe(2), Rowland, Fink, 
Hugo Bach, etc. The orchestra enjoyed a season of unparalleled success which 
came to its end through Mr. Boeppler's removal to Chicago, where, accepting a call 
as musical director of the Germania Club, he entered into a larger field of activity. 

In Chicago, Mr. Boeppler's work has been a repetition of his Milwaukee success, 
the metropolis of the west offering him a bigger field. Choruses there directed by 
him are: the Germania Club, the Turner Maennerchor, the Chicago Singverein 
(organized by him in 1910 and today one of Chicago's leading choral societies), 
the First National Bank Chorus and the Birchwood Musical Club. He has two 
studios where he teaches — one at 929 Edgecomb place and the other at 921 Kimball 
Hall. 

Maintaining his residence in Chicago, Mr. Boeppler spends the first two days 
of each week in Milwaukee, thus really being a man of two cities. However, he 
does nothing halfway but gives his best enthusiasm and devotion to every institution 



280 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

under his direction — truly a life's work which only a. man of Mr. Boeppler's tre- 
mendous energy and unlimited capacity for work is capable of accomplishing. 

The esteem in which Mr. Boeppler is held as a conductor of choruses and 
orchestras is indicated by the fact that in an article on Chicago's musical conductors 
in the Musicians' Directory only four are mentioned: Theodore Thomas, Frederick 
Stock. Harrison AVild and William Boeppler. Mr. Boeppler has been equally suc- 
cessful as a teacher of piano and voice, especially in voice coaching, because of 
his thoroughness and his intelligent and inspiring methods of teaching, and he has 
gained a large following of serious-minded and enthusiastic pupils in Milwaukee and 
Chicago and from all parts of the country. His success may readily be attributed 
to his exceptional musical knowledge, his inspiring musical idealism, his gift of 
imbuing others with his own enthusiasm, his ability to organize, combined with a 
broad way of looking at people and things, a fair and open mind, and finally a 
personality that radiates life, goodwill and good cheer. His intimate friends for 
many years have been calling him "Sunny Bill." Other elements of his success are 
his untiring energy in pursuing his aims and his broad understanding of his work. 
Although the greater part of Mr. Boeppler's time is devoted to his professional work, 
he holds membership in the Lincoln Club and the American Unity Club of Chi- 
cago, finding recreation in the activities of those organizations. 

On the 15th of September, 1896. in Wiesbaden, Germany, occurred the mar- 
riage of Mr. Boeppler and Miss Ida Mathilde Brueggemann. the latter a daughter 
of Max Brueggemann, a retired wholesale merchant. Mrs. Boeppler is prominent 
in the club and social circles of Chicago and is a woman of much personal mag- 
netism and charm. Mr. and Mrs. Boeppler reside at 929 Edgecomb . place in 
Chicago. 



JAMES GREELEY FLANDERS. 

The name of James Greeley Flanders is associated with many important public 
interests which have been contributing forces to the upbuilding and development of 
Milwaukee and his record has therefore become an inseparable part of the history of 
the city. He was born in New London, New Hampshire, December 13, 1S44, and is a 
son of Walter P. and Susan Everett (Greeley) Flanders, the former a native of New 
Hampshire, while the latter was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The grand- 
father in the paternal line was James Flanders, who was born in 1740 and who served in 
the Revolutionary war. He became a distinguished lawyer and prominent legislator 
of New Hampshire and thus aided largely in shaping the development of the country 
in days of peace as well as in times of war. Walter P. Flanders was also prominent 
as an attorney and political leader of the old Granite state. On removing west in 
184S be became largely interested in real estate and in various business enterprises, 
including railroad building, and was one of the chief promoters and developers of this 
section of the country. He was a director and the first treasurer of the Milwaukee & 
Mississippi Railroad, now a part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system, and his 
labors were a potent element in promoting general development and improvement. He 
was a man of strong personality and of distinguished appearance. In early manhood 
he had graduated from Dartmouth College and was a personal friend of Daniel Webster. 
They often drove together from one town to another and many times were employed 
on the same case as they prosecuted their work in the courts. At one time Mr. 
Flanders owned a whole township west of Madison and he was the founder of the town 
of Merrimac. 

James G. Flanders was but four years of age when brought to Wisconsin by his 
parents. He was graduated from the city schools at the age of fifteen years and then 
entered the Phillips Exeter Academy of New Hampshire, in which he completed his 
course with the class of 1861, passing the examinations for admission to Yale and 
Harvard Colleges. He then spent two years in teaching and subsequently matricu- 
lated in Yale, being graduated with the class of 1867. He spent the succeeding two years 
in the office of Emmons & Van Dyke of Milwaukee, with whom he read law and later 
he entered the law department of Columbia, College of New York, receiving his pro- 
fessional degree from that institution in 1869, after which he was admitted to practice 
before the supreme" court of New York. Returning to Milwaukee he began practice in 
Wisconsin and was identified with the bar continuously from that time until his demise. 
For five years he practiced as a member of the law firm of Davis & Flanders and for 
eleven years as senior partner in the firm of Flanders & Bottum. In 1888 James G. 
Jenkins, of the firm of Jenkins, Winkler & Smith, having been appointed to the office 
of United States district judge, the firm then became Winkler, Flanders, Smith, Bottum 
& Vilas, succeeding to the legal business of the firms of Jenkins, Winkler & Smith and 
of Flanders & Bottum. This was considered one of the strongest legal associations in 
the state, or in fact In the northwest. Mr. Vilas subsequently retired and Mr. Smith 




JAME.s G. FLANDERS 



HISTORY OF .MIIAVAUKEE 28:5 

passed away in 1906, after which Mr. Fawsett was admitted to the partnershii). the 
firm name becoming Winkler, Fhmders. Bottum & Fawsett. Mr. Flanders retained 
his meml)ership in the New "^ork Bar Association and had many clients in that state, 
and among his warm admirers was Horace Greeley. 

While :\Ir. Flanders ranked as one of the eminent representatives of the Wisconsin 
bar he was also prominently identitied with many other interests outside the strict 
path of his profession which had to do with the welfare, progress and growth of city 
and state. He was a member of the school board of Milwaukee from 1875 until 1.S77 
and in the latter years was elected a member of the Wisconsin general assembly. In 
1896 he was made a delegate at large to the national democratic convention at Chicago 
and bolting the convention was made a delegate to the national convention of gold 
democrats in September of the same year. He was always fearless in defense of his 
honest conviction and no one questioned the integrity of his position. In 1899 he was 
chosen president of the Wisconsin Yale Alumni Association and filled that position con- 
tinuously until 1904. He was also prominently known as a member of the Wisconsin 
State Bar Association and served as president in 1909-10 of the Milwaukee Bar Asso- . 
ciation. In the following year he was chosen to the presidency of the Milwaukee 
public library. He was identified with many clubs and social organizations, being 
president of the University Club of Milwaukee from 1900 until 1902, a member of the 
Milwaukee Country, Town and Old Settlers Clubs. He also belonged to the University 
Club at Madison, to the New York Y'ale Club of New York city, to the University Club 
of Chicago and to the Graduates Club of New Haven, Connecticut. 

On the 18th of June, 1873, Mr. Flanders was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. 
Haney, of Milwaukee, a daughter of Robert and Delia C. (Dickinson) Haney, who were 
natives of Batavia, New York, which town was the site of the Holland purchase. The 
Haney family were from Holland and the original spelling of the name was Hana. 
In 1848 Robert Haney, in company with three other men, came by boat to Milwaukee, 
bringing a stock of goods. They established a store here, and In .1850 Mr. Haney re- 
turned and brought his family to this city the same year. To Mr. and Mrs. Flanders 
were born five children: Robert, whose birth occurred May 15, 1874, and who passed 
away on the 20th of August of the same year; Kent, who was bom December 3, 1S78, 
and died February 4, 1907; Grace, who was born November 27, 1880, and departed this 
life June 8, 1881 ; Roger Y., who was graduated from Yale in the class of 1906 and from 
the Harvard Law School in 1909; and Charlotte, the wife of Joseph W. Simpson of this 
city. 

Mr. Flanders, while in the legislature, served upon the judiciary committee, where 
his legal training, sound judgment and thorough knowledge of the law was highly appre- 
ciated. At the gold democratic convention in Indianapolis he made many sound money 
speeches, which received wide and favorable comment. He was endowed with rare 
oratorical power, and his utterances always commanded attention while the logic 
of his opinions carried weight to his hearers. He was a man of pronounced legal 
ability, and his services were in demand in connection with highly important con- 
stitutional nuettions and in connection with the exposition of constitutional problems. 
His interpretation was sound and in this connection he frequently appeared before the 
United States supreme court. Some of the epoch making decisions of recent years in 
that court were based upon briefs which Mr. Flanders prepared. As the years passed 
he became a lawyer of nation-wide prominence, being known as one of the most eminent 
representatives of the profession in the country. He passed away January 1, 1920, hav- 
ing made valuable contribution to the world's work through his ability as a lawyer 
and through his cooperation with many interests which have contributed to local and 
national progress. 



FREDERICK A. STRATTON, M. D. 

Dr. Frederick A. Stratton, a surgeon with office in the Wells building, who 
in his practice is associated with Dr. L. Boorse and other prominent representatives 
of the profession, was born at Troy Center, Wisconsin, February 21, 1880. His 
father, Prescott B. Stratton, deceased, was a railroad man who acted as station 
agent at Troy Center and in other railroad positions for thirty years, departing this 
life in January, 1917, at the age of sixty-eight. He married Martha Lull, who is 
now living in West Allis. Their family numbered two sons, the brother of Dr. 
Stratton being H. M. Stratton, a prominent business man of Milwaukee, and 
recently president of the Chamber of Commerce. 

Dr. Stratton acquired his early education largely in West Allis and is numbered 
among the high school graduates there of the class of 1898. Having determined 
upon a professional career, he matriculated in the Marquette Medical College, 
which conferred upon him the degree of M. D.. at his graduation with the class 
of 1903. Subsequently he spent three years as an interne in the National Soldiers 



284 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Home of Milwaukee, acting as assistant surgeon. He then opened an office for 
private general practice in this city, but for the past seven years has devoted his 
attention exclusively to surgery, in which branch of the profession he has won 
marked success, possessing a thorough knowledge of anatomy and the component 
parts of the human body. He is associate professor of surgery in Marquette Uni- 
versity and a member of the administration board, and is serving as surgeon on 
the staffs of St. Joseph's Hospital, Johnson Emergency Hospital and the Notre 
Dame Convent Infirmary. He is likewise identified with the out-patient department 
of the Milwaukee Children's Hospital and is a member of the executive committee 
of the board of editors of Hospital Progress, a monthly periodical published in 
Milwaukee. During the period of the World war, being rejected for active field 
duty owing to defective eyesight, he served on the medical advisory board. He 
holds membership in the Milwaukee Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Med- 
ical Society, the Brainard Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, 
the Wisconsin Surgical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society and the American 
Medical Association, and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and of 
the American Medical Association. 

Dr. Stratton has been married twice. In 1908 he wedded Miss Louise Berthelet, 
who passed away in 1914, leaving two daughters, Jane and Susan, now aged thir- 
teen and ten years, respectively. In 1916 the Doctor married Fannie Berthelet, 
sister of his first wife, and they have become parents of a daughter, Mary, who is 
three years of age. The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic 
church. Dr. Stratton belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution and is also 
a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Milwaukee and City Clubs. He is 
popular in both professional and social circles of the city, enjoying an enviable repu- 
tation among his colleagues and contemporaries because of his close conformity to 
the highest standards and ethics of the profession and also by reason of his superior 
skill in the field of his specialty. 



HOWARD PARMELEE EBLLS. 

Howard Parmelee Eells. the son of the Mary Howard Eells and Dan Parmelee 
Eells, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the 16th day of June, 1855. Few families are there 
in this country who can trace their genealogy through so many links of the ascending 
chain and find cause to congratulate themselves on being the descendants of a nobler 
or better ancestry than that of this true gentleman. John Eells emigrated from Barn- 
staple, England, between the years of 1628 and 1630. Little is actually known of this 
progenitor of the family in America. From what facts we have it may be fairly deduced 
that Eells was one of that class of stalwart Puritans to whom such men as the Rev. 
John White were appealing "to raise a bulwark against the Kingdom of Anti-Christ" 
by establishing a strong retreat in the new world in case of a disaster in the old. In 
any event, his arrival in America and consequent settlement in the youthful hamlet of 
Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, was coincident with the height of the despotism 
of Charles I and his return to England in 1641 to become an officer in the Cromwellian 
army, agrees in point of time with the commencement of the active revolt of the liberal 
forces which had suffered so long the unwillingness of their popular leaders to resort 
to violence. On his return to the Mother country, John Eells took with him his wife 
and infant son, Samuel, who at the age of twenty-one returned to the land of his birth 
to plant permanently on new soil the seeds of the family. Howard Eells was removed 
from this ancestor, a major in the Colonial army, by five generations through the 
youngest son of Samuel, the Rev. Nathaniel Eells, a graduate of Harvard College in 1699. 
There followed him three generations of congregational ministers, all University grad- 
uates and all prominent in the religious and educational life of their respective com- 
munities. The Rev. James Eells, the grandfather of Howard, removed with his family 
from New England to Westmoreland, New York state, where his influence as a Presby- 
terian missionary and educator was felt in the central and eastern portions of that state, 
then the fringe of civilization, and in the development of Hamilton College at Clinton, 
fifteen miles from Westmoreland. It was here that each of his five sons received their 
education, though the youngest, Dan Parmelee, had his preliminary schooling at Oberlin 
College, Ohio, after his father, conscious of the wider fields for Christian endeavor 
offered by the march of immigration westward, had removed to Ohio with the intention 
of building up another community from which would radiate the teachings of Christ 
and the influence of educational advantages. These designs, however, failed to mature 
completely. Rev. James Eells settled in Amherst, Lorian county, Ohio, from which 
place he pursued his missionary work and supported his family on the salary of $100.00 
a year. Prom this fact it is clear that Dan Parmelee Eells gained his education by 
dint of his own hard work, which commenced when he was fourteen years of age, in 
1839, and which enabled him to receive his degree from Hamilton College in 1848, 




HOWARD PARMELEE EKLLS 



HISTORY OF .AIIIAVAUKEE 287 

although the latter two years of his course were completed only by maintaining his 
standing in college while employed as a bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio. Within a 
period of twenty years he arose to a position of great prominence in a community wliich 
he found a town of sixteen thousand inhabitants and left in 1903 a mighty city of three 
hundred fifty thousand. His name will ever be associated with the development of 
Cleveland in all its phases. 

On his mother's side Howard Parmelee Eells was scarcely less fortunate in his 
heritage. The original ancestor of the Howard family in America was one Thomas 
of Aylesford, County Kent, England, wlio settled in Ipswich of the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony in 1634. Another Thomas, fifth in line from the first settler, moved from Ipswich 
to Pomfret, Connecticut, and thence to the not far distant township of Toland. It 
was his grandson. Colonel George Austin Howard, who in the spring of 1S33 moved to 
Bristol. Ohio, and subsequently to Windsor in Ashtabula county, to Settle in Orwell in 
.t837 as a merchant and financier. In all these places he was successful in his business. 
By enterprise, prudence and the judicious use of capital, he accumulated a goodly estate, 
which was rapidly increasing at the time of his death. In his nature he was social, 
genial and popular. He was sympathetic and generous to the needy, warm and true 
in his friendships and singularly happy in his conjugal relationships. The eldest of 
his five children was Mary Maria, who in 1850 became the wife of Dan Parmelee Eells. 
The first of their two children was Howard Parmelee Eells. 

From this summary, all too short to do justice to the lives of worthy forbears, 
we see that this boy came of stock rich in those tjualities which constitute the true 
nobility — virtue, intelligence and education. His lite, the realization of all that is 
purest, noblest and best, bore upward the standards handed down to him from Major 
Samuel Eells through six generations of splendid Americans. 

When four years old the boy was attacked by a sickness which left him crippled 
by depriving him of the use of his right leg. Thereafter he never walked without the 
aid of crutches. Easy as it is to realize what a factor this was with which he liad to 
contend, no one could have known him as a boy or as a man and thought of his handi- 
cap as an infirmity, since ever it w'as dwarfed by the supreme, indomitable courage 
which, springing up with the realization of what lay before him, developed to that 
degree where in strength it brooked no obstacles. It was in October of the same year, 
1859, that his mother died and Howard, with his sister, Emma Paige, two years the 
younger, was cared for by his Aunt Lucy Howard. At the age of six he attended a 
private school kept by a Mrs. Day on Erie street, now East Ninth street, between Euclid 
and Prospect avenues in Cleveland. A little later he was sent to another private school 
taught by Miss Sarah Andrews, where most of the youths who afterward became 
Cleveland's leading citizens received their first schooling. From his contemporaries we 
learn that even as early as this a marked tendency toward the cultivation of attainments 
in oratory and music was exhibited. In 1866. as a frail lad of eleven, he was sent away 
to the Greylock School of South Williamstown to receive the education which prepared 
him to enter Hamilton College in the tall of 1872. Massachusetts was in those days a 
long journey from Ohio, and the fortitude with which he faced the separation from his 
family, the discomforts of seven Berkshire winters in unhealed dormitories, limited 
as he was in joining in the pursuits of the boys around him, was a marvel and example 
to the many schoolday friends whom by his charm and sincerity of manner, he easily 
won. In 1876, he graduated from Hamilton, where he had found studies easy for his 
quick mind and where he excelled in English and oratory, having been awarded the 
senior prize in the latter course. Already his pen had developed a facility it ever re- 
tained. These four years of college ripened those tastes for literature, music and art, 
which he cultivated throughout his life and which made him the cultured gentleman 
that he was. 

To the A. B. degree received by Mr. Eells from Hamilton, was added a second 
similar degree the following year at Harvard. On June 30, 1877, he started for Europe, 
where a year was spent in travel and in the pursuit of favorite studies. In 1878, a 
young man of twenty-three, Mr. Eells returned to Cleveland to commence business life 
as his father's secretary. 

Dan Parmelee Eells had already attained prominence in the banking and industrial 
circles of Cleveland and his interests were many and far reaching. It was not long 
before his son with keen intellect and sound judgment became an active factor in many 
of his father's enterprises and an organizer upon his own initiative. He became treas- 
urer of the Cincinnati, Newport & Covington Railroad, the American Smelting Company, 
the Rocky Mountain Oil Company and held official positions in numerous other corpora- 
tions. But soon his faculties were centered upon a concern which was to become the 
most important connection of Mr. Eells' career. The Bucyrus Foundry & Manufacturing 
Company was organized by his father and himself in 1880. at Bucyrus, Ohio, Mr. Howard 
Eells acting as treasurer. By means of his great foresight, an outstanding quality of 
his character, he became convinced of the future of the company and permitted it to 
claim an increasing share of his attention to such an extent that from an early period 
he played a large part in the management. In 1892, this concern, now the Bucyrus 



288 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Steam Shovel & Dredge Company, a little later the Bucyrus Company, was transferred 
to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1895 he became its president and continued as Us 
active head until late in 1911, when he became chairman of the board of directors of 
tlie enlarged corporation, then given the name of Bucyrus Company. During his pres- 
idency the company enjoyed an era of great prosperity and growth and under his wise 
direction successfully carried out projects such as the building of the machinery used 
in the excavation of the Panama Canal. There has been erected in the offices of this 
company at South Milwaukee, a bronze tablet, which testifies to the part which Mr. Eells 
played in the creation of this great corporation. The inscription thereon reads as follows: 

"ERECTED IN MEMORY OF 
HOWARD PARMELEE EELLS 
Born Died 

June 16, 1855. February 11, 1919. 

Associated with his father DAN PARMELEE EELLS in the organization in 1880 and 
in the management of the Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company, builders of 
the first successful steam shovel. 
Vice President and Treasurer of tliat company. 

Vice President and Treasurer of the Bucyrus Steam Shovel & Dredge Company. Pres- 
ident of the Bucyrus Company from its organization in 1896 until 1911. Chairman of 
the Board of Directors of Bucyrus Company from its organization in 1911 until his deatli. 
ERECTED IN MEMORY OF THE MAN WHOSE SELF-SACRIFICE, UNDAUNTED 
COURAGE AND WISE FORESIGHT LED TO THE PRESENT SUCCESS AND PROS- 
PERITY OF THIS COMPANY: WHOSE STEADFAST FAITH IN ITS FUTURE, 
SAFELY GUIDED IT THROUGH THE BITTER STRUGGLE FOLLOWING THE 
PANIC OF 1893; WHOSE PROPHETIC JUDGMENT AND INTEGRITY OF CHAR- 
ACTER CREATED THE POLICY WHICH ULTIMATELY GAINED FOR IT THE 
INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION IT NOW ENJOYS: AND WHOSE BROAD SYMPA- 
THY AND UNFAILING KINDNESS OF HEART WON THE RESPECT, ADMIRATION, 
AND LOVE OF HIS ASSOCIATES AND EMPLOYEES. 

THE HONORED NAME WHICH THIS COMPANY BEARS WILL SERVE AS A MONU- 
MENT TO THIS THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT OF HIS LIFE. 
IN RECOGNITION OF HIS LIFE'S LABOR AND TO PERPETUATE THE ACKNOWL- 
EDGMENT OF THE DEBT WHICH THE BUCYRUS COMPANY OWES TO HIM AS 
ITS FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, THIS TABLET HAS BEEN ERECTED, THIS 
SECOND DAY OF MARCH, 1920." 

The success which crowned this achievement, fraught as it was with many diffi- 
culties, was the most important of his business career. From the prominence which 
it gave him in the industrial life of the nation, Mr. Eells became affiliated with the 
National Metal Trades Association, for many years served on its council and became 
its president in 1915, acting in that capacity until 1917. His unsurpassed sense of 
justice and fairness lent much to the formulation and culmination of the policies of 
this association, the purpose of which was to promote cooperation between the employer 
and the employe, the freedom of the honest worker from the oppression of trade union 
methods. These purposes achieved much during a period of growing industrial unrest. 
Of the many enterprises with which the name of Howard Parmelee Eells will always be 
linked there is need to mention only those in which he was actively interested at the time 
of his death. From its reorganization, for which he was responsible, in 1898, Mr. Eells 
was president and treasurer of the Atchison & Eastern Bridge Company, which owns and 
operates a railroad and highway bridge across the Missouri river at Atchison, Kansas. 
This bridge, built in the early '70s by Dan P. Eells, J. H. Wade and other Clevelanders, 
has played an important part in the development of the Missouri River region. He was 
president and treasurer of the Dolomite Products Company which controls large stone 
quarries in Seneca county, Ohio. He was a director of the Sandusky Cement Company 
in Cleveland and as such was largely responsible for its financial reorganization in 1916. 
He was a director and member of the executive committee of the Superior Savings & 
Trust Company from its organization in 1905 and he was president of the Howard Realty 
Company. 

Success of undertakings in this great industrial country is measured by constructive 
contribution to the progress of our civilization. The business career of Howard Parmelee 
Eells was eminently successful. But whereas time at some distant day will partially 
obliterate industrial achievement hiding it in the detail of the development of science, 
the part which a man plays in the progress of a great city will ever be felt and remem- 
bered. The influence of Mr. Eells was potent in all which concerned the social and 
civic life of Cleveland. He gave with a great generosity to countless public philan- 
thropies. The span of the latter half of his life is in fact the history of the progress 
of the Cleveland Humane Society, which he served so faithfully since 1882. Taught in 
the ways of sympathetic affection for man and beast from boyhood, and carrying out 
through life the precepts so thoroughly grounded, the full strength of his strong 



HISTORY OF :\riLWAUKEE 289 

personality was brought to bear upon the urgent need of protection for the weak. He 
became treasurer of this society in 1900. in which position he also served the Cleveland 
Protestant Ori)lian Asylum from the year 1903. Another cliaritable organization aided 
by liberal contributions of his time and money was the Home for Aged Women, of 
which he was secretary and a member of the Ixiard of trustees. Few persons know 
of the extent and breadth of the liberality of Jlr. Eells. His public acts were only an 
indication of his far-reaching private generosity. 

With his whole heart Mr. Eells was actively interested in the development of art 
in Cleveland. He was a member of the accessions committee and the advisory com- 
mittee of the Cleveland Museum of Art. where his presence at the meetings, his un- 
selfish devotion to all its interests, his exquisite, richly cultivated tastes and practical 
judgment were ever an inspiration to his associates, 

The educational life of the community he entered through his trusteeships in 
the Western Reserve University, the Cleveland School of Art and the East End 
School Association. From 1914 to 191S he was president of the Cleveland branch of 
the Archeological Institute of America. No man could have been found more emin- 
entl-y fitted to counsel and advise in undertakings of this nature. His was an edu- 
cated, cultivated mind with keen appreciation of the beautiful in nature, in literature 
and in art. And dominating all these attributes there stood out that without which 
no life is fully rounded, the faith in the teachings of Christ and adherence to the 
principles of Christianity. He was for years a trustee of the Second Presbyterian 
church and he supported its work no less assiduously than his fathers before him. 

The long list of social organizations of which he was a member only partially 
testifies to the qualities which made Mr. Eells a delightful, charming companion 
and an ideal host. He was a member of the Union, Tavern, Country, Mayfleld, 
Chagrin Valley Hunt, Harvard, University, Rowfant, City and Tippecanoe Clubs, 
Shaker Heights Club of Cleveland, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio 
Horticultural Society, the New England Society of Cleveland, the Western Reserve 
Historical Society, the University and Alpha Delta Phi Clubs, and the Ohio Society of 
New York, the American Academy of Political Science, the National Geographic 
Society, the Hamilton Chapter and Williams Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi, Shore Owners 
Association and Lake Placid Yacht Club, and a member of other similar institutions. 

Howard Parmelee Eells was married in Cleveland on April 20. ISSl, to Alice 
Maude Overton, who died May 26, 1SS5. On November 11, 1889, he married Maud 
Stager, who survives him. Of the first marriage there were born: Mrs. Robert H. 
Crowell of Cleveland, and Dan Parmelee Eells, who is treasurer of Bucyrus Company, 
at South Milwaukee. Wisconsin. Of the second marriage were born: Mrs. Allen C. 
House, Howard P. Eells, Jr., Harriett Stager Eells, Samuel Eells and Maude Stager 
Eells. Mr. Eells' sons. Lieutenant Howard P. Eells. Jr., and Lieutenant Samuel Eells, 
served in the United States army in France from September, 1917, to the spring of 
1919. To the love which he bore and dispensed with such liberality to mankind 
was added a devotion to his family that by its depth and power transfused his home 
with an atmosphere of refinement, virtue and devotion. 

Mr. Eells' death occurred suddenly at Pasadena, California, on February 11, 1919. 
The funeral services were conducted at his residence in Cleveland by the Rev. Paul 
F. Sutphen. D. D., pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, who spoke the following 
memorial which may fittingly serve as a conclusion to this narration of the life 
of Howard Parmelee Eells: 

"In glancing back over my long and intimate acquaintance with Mr. Eells, I 
think his one characteristic which most impressed me was his strong personality, 
his spirit of confidence and victory. He thought and spoke in terms of strength. He 
recognized no obstacles or limitations in his forward march to lofty character and 
great success, and in this he set an example to all around him. This strength he 
displayed not only in his business achievements, but in everything that demanded 
his interest — everything that tended toward the welfare of his home city. A city 
is indeed bereaved when a great citizen, with a great vision and an open heart and 
hand passes away. Such a man was Howard P. Eells." 



HERMAN HENRY' KARROW. 

Milwaukee has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench and 
bar and among the younger representatives of the profession who are successfully 
practicing in this city is numljered Herman Henry Karrow, a native son, whose birth 
occurred May 19. 188.5, his parents being Frederick and Ida C. iKletzsch) Karrow, 
the former a native of Germany, while the latter was born in Fond du Lac. Wis- 
consin. The father was a farmer and stock raiser in early life but afterward. 
engaged in the restaurant business in Milwaukee, where, he passed away in 1906, 
being still survived by his wife. ^^-^^ 

Vol. 11— 19 , -' 



290 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Herman H. Karrow obtained a public school education, which he completed as 
a student in the East Division high school, after which he attended the University 
of "Wisconsin for the study of law, and was there graduated in 1909 with the LL. B. 
degree. He had five years' training in the university and was admitted to practice 
immediately following the completion of his law course. He then returned to his 
native city, where he has remained, and he is now associated in law work with Walter 
Drew, concentrating his efforts and attention upon corporation practice and estate 
work. These men have a large clientage and occupy enviable places at the Mil- 
waukee bar. Mr. Karrow is a member of the Wisconsin State Bar Association, 
also the Milwaukee County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. In 
addition to his professional interests Mr. Karrow is the secretary and one of the 
directors of the Frank J. Grimm, Incorporated; a director and the secretary of The 
Valley Investment Company, also secretary-treasurer and one of the directors of 
Al-Sano Laboratories, Incorporated, and director of many other companies. 

On the 5th of June, 1912, Mr. Karrow was married to Miss Estella G. Kussmaul, 
of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of two sons, Robert William and 
William Karl. 

Mr, Karrow takes his outdoor sport in fishing and greatly enjoys a trip to lake 
or river to try his skill with the finny tribe. He belongs to The Cooperative Club, 
of which he is the first president. This club has but one member representative of 
each business, occupation or profession. He is a Mason, having membership in 
Kenwood Lodge, No. 303, A. P. & A. M.; Wisconsin Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M.; and 
Wisconsin Council, No. 4, R. & S. M. He likewise belongs to the Milwaukee Lodge 
No. 46, B. P. O. E., and is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and of the 
University Club. He has done much important public service of a varied character, 
having been a member of the citizens' committee of relocation of the courthouse 
and also a member of Mayor Hoan's committee. He served on the executive board 
of the Citizens' Lenroot Committee and during the World war he was one of the 
Four-Minute speakers at the theatres and in the country districts in Milwaukee 
county, enlightening the public as to the real issues and conditions before the 
country and the allied forces. He also served on one of the Liberty Loan drives. 
He has ever stood for progress and improvement and his interest in the public wel- 
fare has been manifest in many tangible ways. 



WILLIAM E. McCAHTY. 



William E. McCarty is recognized as a most efficient officer in the position of 
chairman of the county board of supervisors and is a member of the board by virtue 
of representation of the third district, comprising the third and fourth wards of Mil- 
waukee. He has displayed the keenest insight into many of the important problems 
which have come before the board and in the discharge of his duties has been guided 
by a most progressive spirit and unfaltering fidelity to the best interests of the county 
at large. 

A native son of Milwaukee, he was born November 9, 1870, his parents being 
Thomas and Margaret (Hoey) McCarty, both of whom were natives of Ireland, but were 
brought to America in infancy by their respective parents, arriving in this country 
about 1844. The father was reared on a farm in Franklin township, Milwaukee county, 
and afterward became' a resident of the third ward of the city. He there engaged in 
the teaming business and also conducted a grocery store with a little bar in the rear 
of the store. He took active part in politics and was elected alderman of the third 
ward in the '60s, while later he was called to the position of supervisor. He was also 
a candidate for the office of county treasurer in 1870, but was defeated. He died in 
1885 and his widow afterward became the wife of John Hannan and is again a widow. 
In the family were three sons: James B., who is deceased; Willam E., and Thomas, 
both of Milwaukee. 

William E. McCarty was educated in the parochial schools and the public schools 
of the third ward and was a youth of fourteen years when his father died. He was 
then compelled to start out in the world to provide for his own support and worked 
at various periods in a grocery store, as telegraph messenger and at odd jobs. Later 
he engaged in the teaming contracting business, which he carried on until 1918, when 
he turned his attention to the insurance business, becoming connected with the Fidelity 
& Casualty Company, of which he is still a representative. With a thoroughness that 
has always characterized him in everything that he has undertaken he has gained 
comprehensive knowledge of every phase of insurance and has developed a large and 
profitable agency. 

Mr. McCarty has also figured prominently in public affairs. In 1908 he was elected 
a member of the board of supervisors and was reelected to the office in 1910, 1912, 1914, 
1916 and again in 1920. In 1914 he was elected chairman of the board and was re- 




WILLIAM E. McCAKTY 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 293 

elected to that position in 1916-18 and 1920. Thus for three terms he has served as 
chairman, showing him to he most popular and efficient in that position. The value of 
his work speaks tor itself. Since serving on V.u- hoard there has been built one hun- 
dred and eightv miles of hard road in the county, outside of the city of Milwaukee. 
He was a member of the first committee that laid out the system for building roads in 
the county and he has done everything in his power to improve and develop the public 
highways." It has been during his service on the board that the Muirdale Sanitarium 
for tubercular patients was built, this being one of the finest institutions of the kind 
in the country. The board of supervisors has also built the New House of Correction 
in the town of Granville and has likewise established an agricultural school. Its work 
has been truly of a constructive character and Mr. McCarty's aid and influence have 
ever been on the side of progress and advancement. 

In July, 1896, was celebrated the marriage of William E. McCarty and Miss 
Margaret Costigan of .Milwaukee. They have become parents of three children: Helen 
and James E., who are with their parents in a pleasant home at 652 Jefferson street 
in the third ward— the ward in which Mr. McCarty was born; and Florence, who died at 
the age nf fourteen years. Mr. McCarty represents one of the pioneer families of the 
city, his father having hauled wood into Milwaukee with a yoke of oxen when the 
Indians were still in the state and would often camp around his farm. They used to 
stand on the market square to sell their wood and as a pioneer settler the father passed 
through many hardships and trials of the trontier. William E. McCarty is a member 
of the Old Settlers Club and he can relate many interesting incidents concerning the 
early davs In this section of the state. He belongs to the Catholic church, has mem- 
bership with the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, with the Knights of Columbus, w^ith 
the Ancient Order of Hibernians and %vith the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. 
His has been a busy and useful life, fraught with much good for his fellowmen, while 
at the same time "his carefully managed business affairs have brought to him sub- 
stantial and well merited success. 



GEORGE E. KUNTZ. 



At the time of his death George E. Kuntz was the proprietor of the Kirby House 
of Milwaukee, but it was not only in this connection that he became widely known. 
Few men in the state contributed so largely to the agricultural development as did 
he through the stimulus which he gave to farmers by his example and by his service 
as a member of the Wisconsin state fair board. Mr. Kuntz was born in Lorain, 
Ohio, on the 13th of July, 1854, his parents being George and Amelia Kuntz. who 
were natives of Alsace-Lorraine, and who on coming to America in the early '50s, 
made their way to Ohio, whence they removed to Dodge county, Wisconsin, in the 
early '60s. 

George E. Kuntz. spending his youthful days under the parental roof, was 
largely reared in northern Wisconsin, whither the family removed in pioneer times. 
As the years passed he became closely associated with the agricultural development 
in that section of the state. He conducted farms in Reeseville and Marengo, and 
he managed the Ashland county fair for a period of eighteen years, so that he became 
most widely known among the farmers and exhibitors of the state. He was also 
made a member of the Wisconsin state fair hoard and contributed in large measure 
to the success of the state fair. In 1893 he was appointed registrar of the land offlce 
at Ashland, Wisconsin, under the administration of Grover Cleveland. 

It was in 1908 that Mr. Kuntz removed to Milwaukee, where he continued to 
reside until called to his final rest. He had been engaged in the real estate business 
in Ashland following his retirement from the land office, and devoted his attention 
to real estate activity until his removal to this city. Here he engaged in the hotel 
business, conducting the Kirby House at the corner of East Water and Mason streets 
to the time of his demise. One who knew him well said of him: "I always found 
Mr. Kuntz an upright business man and reliable in all his affairs. His home life, 
too, was ideal. He was a pioneer in northern Wisconsin and was always optimistic 
as to the future of that country. Though his was a German name, there was no 
more loyal American and he preached loyalty to this country throughout the entire 
World war. His loss will be greatly felt." 

On the 6th of March, 1879, Mr. Kuntz was united in marriage to Miss Bertha 
B. Drews, a daughter of Fred and Eliza Drews. They traveled life's journey most 
happily together for almost forty years, Mr. Kuntz passing away on the 4th of March, 
1919. His death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret throughout Wiscon- 
sin. His public service had made him known in every section of the state. He had 
served on the state board of agriculture for several terms and at all times he was 
preaching and teaching development and improvement in connection with agricultural 
affairs. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and in politics, as 



294 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

in other fields ot life, his work was of a progressive nature. For many years 1 e served 
as alderman of Ashland and he held office under the fire and police commission of 
that city. He ever looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities 
and opportunities ot the future and labored not only for the present day but tor the 
later period ot progress and improvement. 

Mr. Kuntz is survived by his widovif and six children: E. P., of Los Angeles; 
G. G., of Jacksonville, Florida; Mrs. J. S. Stevens, who makes her home in Ashland, 
Wisconsin; O. H., a resident of Rhinelander, Wisconsin; Mrs. W. T. Kirwin, of Spring 
Valley, Minnesota; and Harry R,. living in Milwaukee. 



JACOB F. DONGES. 



Jacob F. Donges, a prominent merchant of Milwaukee, was born in this city 
January 1, 1860, and is a son of Jacob F. and Elizabeth Donges, both of whom were 
natives of Germany, the former born in 1814 and the latter in 1828. The paternal 
grandfather was born in 1781 and, coming to America, spent his last days in Mil- 
waukee, where he passed away in 1862. It was in the year 1842 that Jacob P. Donges. 
Sr., arrived in Milwaukee, where he followed the cabinetmaker's trade until 1860, 
when he accepted the position of janitor of the city hall and continued to act in that 
capacity until his death in 1871. 

When eleven years of age Jacob F. Donges, Jr., succeeded his father as janitor of 
the city hall and thus supported his mother, brother and sisters. By reason of the 
fact that he was thus early forced to go to work, his educational advantages were 
exceedingly limited. The labor involved in his janitorship was extremely difficult for 
a mere boy, but he did it thoroughly and won the admiration and respect of all who 
had business at the city oflSces. In spare moments he sold papers and polished shoes 
and did other odd jobs, including carrying the chain under Moses Lane when the 
latter was surveying for the city water works. In addition to his other duties Mr. 
Donges also acted as fruit inspector when that office was established and during this 
period he likewise spent some time in working for different business concerns, includ- 
ing one engaged in the hat and cap business. These various tasks claimed his atten- 
tion for fourteen years — years of unremitting industry and toil during which be not 
only provided for his widowed mother and the other members of the family but 
was also enabled to save a small sum of money which at length made it possible for 
him to embark in business on his own account in 1884. In partnership with his 
brother, Charles C. Donges, he began business under the name of Donges Brothers at 
No. 315 Third street, dealing in hats and gloves, and this connection continued until 
his brother's death. For nearly a half century Jacob F. Donges has conducted the 
business with great success. He and his brother were instrumental in placing the 
enterprise upon a safe foundation and continuously developed their trade until their 
business had become one of the important commercial enterprises of the city. Since 
the brother's death in 1894, Mr. Donges has taken into his employ his brother-in-law, 
Harry Bexell, and a nephew, Arthur C. Hildebrand, and they have been contributing 
factors to the continued success of the business under the capable direction and man- 
agement of the owner. About 1884 Mr. Donges began to invest in real estate, purchas- 
ing first the property which is now known as Fox Point. He then purchased three 
miles of lake shore property known as Donges Bay and organized the Fish Creek 
Park Company, which has made of the property the two resorts known as Donges 
Bay and Fairy Chasm. It is often said tliat there is nowhere in Wisconsin a more 
picturesque section than Mr. Donges' lake shore property, which he has improved with 
the planting of thousands of trees, including black locusts on the lake bank, cedars, 
spruce, elm, birch, ash, poplar, maple and bass. In 1895 he planted eight hundred 
fruit trees, including apple, plum, pear and cherry, which have now developed into a 
thriving and productive orchard. In 1919 the Shore Cliff Park Company acquired 
an attractive lake frontage property of one hundred and twenty acres. The company 
was organized with Mr. Donges as president, Martin Rotier as secretary, Adolf Dernehl 
as treasurer and Ray Smith, Ernest von Briesen and Russell Wehe as directors. One 
of the first to build upon the property was Ray Smith and many others are now 
planning homes for this site. In March, 1922, Mr. Donges acquired thirty-five acres 
fronting on Lake Michigan, two miles south of Port Washington, which he has named 
The Lions Den. 

In April, 1893, Mr. Donges was united in marriage to Miss Alma Bexell, a 
daughter of John and Frances (Salentine) Bexell. They now have two daughters, 
Erma Louise and Elsie Sophie, both of whom are graduates of the German English 
Academy, the Milwaukee Downer Seminary and the Wisconsin College of Music. 
Erma Louise was married June 14, 1916, to Herbert W. Dernehl, secretary and 
treasurer of the firm of Adolf Dernehl & Sons Company, conducting a wholesale and 
retail delicatessen and grocery business. The daughter, Elsie Sophie, married Fred 




JACOB F. don(;ks 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 297 

Usinger, Jr.. the only son of Fred Usinger, of sausage fame. There are now two 
little grandsons. Robert Donges Dernehl and Frederick Donges Usinger, aged four and 
five .vears respectively. They are the delight not only of the home of the parents but 
of the grandparents as well. In 1912 Mr. Donges ere<ted a large and attractive home 
of brick and tile construction, overlooking the lake at Donges Bay, and there he and 
his family have enjoyed both the winter and summer months. 

In his political belief Mr. Donges has given unswerving allegiance to the republican 
party, while his religious views find expression in his membership in the Lutheran 
church. He also belongs to the Old Settlers Club. His has been a notably successful 
career. He has most wisely and carefully conducted his interests and from a humble 
position in commercial circles has worked his way steadily upward until he has long 
been a dominant factor as a merchant of Milwaukee and as one of its most progressive 
real estate dealers. 



HILMAR GEORGE MARTIN, M. D. 

Although one of the younger representatives of the medical profession in Milwau- 
kee, Dr. Hilmar George Martin has made for himself a creditable position in profes- 
sional circles and particularly in the field of his specialty, which is diseases of the 
eye. ear. nose and throat. He was born in this city January 17, 1893, and is a son of 
George E. Martin, mentioned at length on another page of this work. He acquired his 
early education in the grammar schools, pursued his high school course here and after- 
ward became a student in the University of Wisconsin at Madison, there winning the 
degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science. He studied at Madison for six years 
and was graduated in 1915. He also taught in the medical school of the University of 
Wisconsin, being associated with the department of pharmacology until 1917. Previous 
to this time he had received military training and had become a colonel of the Cadet 
Corps. 

When America entered the war with Germany, Dr. Martin was designated honor 
graduate of the University of Wisconsin, which secured for him a commission in the 
regular army, and he was sent to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he completed his 
course. He was then assigned to the chemical warfare service, the gas division at 
Camp Leach, near Washington, D. C. He afterward went to the Baltimore Eye, Ear 
and Throat Hospital, where he served as senior resident physician, and on the 15th of 
May, 1920, he returned to Milwaukee, where he opened an office in the Majestic building 
for the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat. While at Camp Leach he was among 
those who experimented with the gas to determine the relative toxicity of various 
gases, determining the amount of gas to be put in shells. The work was of a most 
difficult and dangerous character. 

In 1920 Dr. Martin was married to Miss Grace Waring, a daughter of Frank E. 
Waring of Washington, D. C. His college fraternities are the Phi Kappa Sigma, the 
Phi Beta Pi and the Sigma Xi. He won popularity among his college friends and has 
gained the confidence and good will of professional colleagues and contemporaries in 
his native city. Already he is forging steadily to the front in his chosen field of labor 
and what he has thus far accomplished indicates that his future career will be well 
worth watching. 



GEORGE C. DUTCHER. 



George C. Dutcher, of the law firm of Fawcett & Dutcher of Milwaukee, was born 
in Appleton, Wisconsin, November 16, 1884, a son of William and Helen (Gillick) 
Dutcher, both of whom were natives of Milwaukee county. The Dutcher family came 
from New York at an early day, while the Gillick family, arriving in this county in 
1837, settled in Wauwatosa. The Dutcher family home was established at Granville, 
Wisconsin, about 1840 or 1842. Both families devoted their attention to agricultural 
pursuits and assisted in the early development of the state along that line. 

George C. Dutcher was educated in the public schools of Appleton. Wisconsin, and 
then became a student in Marquette University at Milwaukee, where he completed his 
academic course. In 1908 he was graduated on the completion of a law course at 
Georgetown University in Washington, D. C. winning the LL. B. degree. He coached 
the college football team at the College of St. Thomas, a military school of St. Paul, 
Minnesota, for a year and he was admitted to the bar at St. Paul in January, 1909, 
while in July of the same year he was admitted to practice in the courts of Wisconsin. 
He started upon his professional work alone and so continued until January, 1912, 
when he became associated with W. B. Rubin. In 1915 the firm became Rubin, Fawcett 
& Dutcher and on the 1st of May, 1919, the present firm style of Fawcett & Dutcher 



298 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

was assumed and has continued. Mr. Butcher has been city attorney tor Cudahy since 
1910, or for a period of twelve years, having six times been elected to this office — a 
fact indicative of his splendid service and his entire loyalty to the interests which he 
represents. 

On the 27th of June, 1911, Mr. Dutcher was married to Miss Margaret Mabel 
Meagher of Milwaukee, and they have an enviable place in the social circles of the 
city. During his college days Mr. Butcher was a well known football player, from 
1905 until 1907 inclusive, being selected by Walter Camp and placed on the All American 
football team, with which he played for two years. At the time of the World war he 
enlisted in the Field Artillery as a private and when the armistice was signed had 
completed his training in the P. A. C. 0. T. S. at Camp Zachary Taylor in Kentucky. 
He is now a member of the American Legion, belongs also to the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks and in professional lines is connected with the Milwaukee County Bar 
Association. 



AUGUST RBISWEBER. 



Since 1912 August Reisweber has been president and general manager of the 
Wright iJental Supply Company. He has been an important factor in business circles 
and his prosperity is well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an 
unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that never flags. A native of 
Germany, his birth occurred December 9, 1S77, and he is a son of Joseph and Anna 
(Hamm) Reisweber who came to the United States in 1881 and located in Milwaukee 
in May of that year. 

August Reisweber received his education in St. Mary's parochial school at Mil- 
waukee and after putting his textbooks aside entered the employ of the Wright Dental 
Supply Company as a messenger on the 28th of May, 1894. In 1858 the company had 
been founded by I. N. Morton and was conducted under the name of the Northwestern 
Dental Depot until 1875 when George H. Wright and Arthur Wright became owners 
and changed the name to the Wright Dental Depot. The name was again changed 
in 1907 upon incorporation, to the Wright Dental Supply Company. George H. Wright 
became president of the concern; A. T. Wright, vice president; S. A. Eckstein, treas- 
urer; and Arthur Reisweber, manager. The last named had become eligible to that 
position only through his own determined effort, intelligently directed, and in 1912 he 
bought out the interest of the former owners and became president and general man- 
ager. A self-made man, he had the ability to grasp every opportunity offered him and 
he stood ready to assume new and great responsibilities when in the march of ad- 
vancement the place was ready for him. 

On the 2d of October, 1902, Mr. Reisweber was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
Benzing, a daughter of John and Kathryn Benzing, and to them three children have 
been born: Edna, Arthur and Winnifred. 

Fraternally Mr. Reisweber is a member of the Knights of Columbus, in which 
he is grand knight, and the family attend St. Sebastian church. Mr. Reisweber is 
chairman of its board of counsellors and president of the school board of the St. 
Sebastian school. He is a director of the Columbus Institute of Milwaukee and in line 
with his work is vice president of the American Retail Dental Trade Association. He is 
likewise chairman of the nineteenth ward Good Government League organization. 
Starting out in the business world at an early age, he learned his lessons in the school 
of experience, and his life illustrates that it is under the pressure of adversity and the 
stimulus of necessity that the strongest and best in men is brought out and developed. 
In the conduct of his business he has ever followed progressive and constructive 
methods, and he takes a keen and active interest in civic affairs, his cooperation at 
all times being counted upon to further any plan or measure for the general good. 



SAMUEL GEORGE HIGGINS, M. D. 

Dr. Samuel George Higgins, an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, practicing suc- 
cessfully in Milwaukee, with offices in the Wells building, was born in Wausau, Wis- 
■ consin, May 14, 1880, and is the only son of Dr. Samuel G. and Tealie M. (Beatty) 
Higgins. The father was born in Sligo, Ireland, and for many years engaged in medical 
practice at Wausau following his graduation from the medical department of the Uni- 
versity of Michigan. He died in 1886, at the age of forty-six years, and was long 
survived by his wife, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and who departed this life 
in 1905. There was one daughter in the family, who is now Mrs. Mary Hilgerman of 
Minneapolis. 

Dr. S. G. Higgins of this review was reared in Wausau and in Rhinelander, Wis- 




AUGUST EEISWEBER 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 301 

cousin, and was graduated from the higli school of the latter city in 1898. His 
mare advanced education was acquired in the Universit.v of Wisconsin which con- 
ferred upon him the Bachelor of Science degree in 1902. He then studied in the 
medical department of the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed his 
course hy graduation in June. 1905. He afterward spent a year as interne in St. 
Ann's Hospital of Chicago and then turned his attention to his specialty — Ihe treat- 
ment of diseases of the eye. ear. nose and throat. He practiced along that line in 
Chicago for a year, heing assistant to Drs. Casey Wood and Frank Allport, and since 
1907 has been located in .Milwaukee. Here he was tirst associated with Dr. H. V. 
Wurdemann for a year and later became a partner of Dr. Nelson M. Black, the two 
being thus associated until 1917. Since that time Dr. Higgins has maintained a sep- 
arate office on the eleventh floor of the Wells building and has continued in practice 
with marked success. He has taken postgraduate work in London and Vienna, w^here 
he studied in 1913. During the World war he became a member of the Medical Reserve 
Corps of the United States navy, being made a lieutenant senior grade. He belongs to 
the Milwaukee Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin 
State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society, the American Medical Association 
and the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology. He is likewise 
a member of the American Academy of Medicine and he is widely known as the author 
of many treatises on the eye. ear. nose and throat, which have appeared in the leading 
medical journals. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Oto-Ophthalmic Society and he 
has utilized every available means to promote his efficiency and broaden his knowledge 
concerning the most scientific methods of medical treatment in the field of his specialty. 
He is now on the teaching staff of Marquette University as assistant professor of the 
eye, ear, nose and throat and is serving on the staff of the Milwaukee County Hospital. 
He is likewise visiting surgeon of the northwest branch of the National Soldiers Home 
at Milwaukee. At one time he served as president of the Milwaukee Oto-Ophthalmic 
Society and he is chairman of the eye, ear, nose and throat section of the Wisconsin 
State Medical Society. He utilizes every opportunity to advance the work of the pro- 
fession through the proceedings of its various societies and he is continually advancing 
his own standards in practice. 

On the 26th of June, 1918, Dr. Higgins was married to Miss Frances Laacke of 
Detroit. He is well known in club circles, having membership in the University Club, 
the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin Cluli and the Milwiukee Country Club. 
He also belongs to the Milwaukee Rotary Club. He greatly enjoys golf and fishing 
and turns to outdoor sports of this character for his recreation. His religious faith 
is indicated by his membership in the Episcopal church, while fraternally he is iden- 
tified with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Knights Templar degree 
of the York Rite and the thirty-second degi-ee of the Scottish Rite. He is also a 
member of the Mystic Shrine. 



MAX GRUNEWALD. 



Max Grunew'ald, member of the A. Grunewald & Sons Company, was born in Mil- 
waukee, May 23, 1886, and is a son of Albert Grunewald, a native of Germany, born 
in 1858. The father came to America when a young man of twenty-six years and 
settled in Milwaukee, where his remaining days were passed. He had but one hundred 
dollars when he started in business and received assistance from John Pritzlaff. the 
well known hardware dealer, who aided him in making a start in business. Mr. 
Grunewald continued in the business for thirty-six yenrs and was one of the most 
highly respected and progressive merchants of the city. It was in 1885 that he 
established the business that is now carried on under the style of the A. Grunewald 
& Sons Company at Nos. 4727 and 4729 North avenue. This was the first blacksmithing 
shop on the avenue and the only one for a distance of two miles. He not only 
carried on blacksmithing but dealt in farm implements, buggies and hardware special- 
ties and his became one of the best known places in the north end. In 1912 the 
present store was built — a two-story brick structure — and today an extensive line 
of hardware is carried and a good business is enjoyed. Albert Grunewald continued 
in active connection with the trade for many years. He also served as a school director 
in school District No. 6. now the Washington Park school, and he was the treasurer 
of the Von Steuben Monument Committee. He took an active and helpful interest 
in all that pertained to the upbuilding and development of his section of the city 
and his worth was widely acknowledged. In 1885 he married Alvina Sylvester and 
they became the parents of four children: Max G., Arthur A., Clara and Otto C, 
The father departed this life in April, 1916, having for about a year survived his wife, 
who died in April. 1915. 

Max Grunewald, whose name introduces this review, pursued his education in 
the public schools of Milwaukee, passing through consecutive grades to the high school. 



302 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

and after completing his course there he attended business college. He Initiated his 
business career with five years' service In the employ of Wallace Smith, a wholesale 
harness dealer, and then entered the Wisconsin National Bank in the capacity of 
bookkeeper. He continued in that institution tor six years, on the expiration of 
which period he entered his father's store in order to take charge of the business, 
which has continued to grow and develop until it is one of the most important com- 
mercial interests of North avenue. Mr. Grunewald is a member of the North Avenue 
Advancement Association and he takes an active part in promoting progi-ess in the 
city along many lines. 

Max Grunewald was married and has one child, Elmer. He belongs to the Benev- 
olent Protective Order of Elks and he took an active and pro.-nlnent part in all war 
drives. At the same time he is a thoroughgoing and progressive business man and 
his energy has brought splendid results in the conduct of the business. 

Arthur A. Grunewald, also a partner In the A. Grunewald & Sons Company, was 
born September 17, 1887, and acquired a public school education. In 1910 he married 
Miss Emma Weber and they are parents of two children, Loraine and Harold. 



MICHAEL JOSEPH CLEARY. 

Michael Joseph Cleary, vice president of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance 
Company, occupies a most prominent and honored position in business and financial 
circles not only by reason of the success he has achieved but also owing to the 
straightforward business policy which he has ever followed, his life at all times measur- 
ing up to high standards. A native son of Wisconsin, he was born on his father's 
farm in Iowa county, September 23, 1876, and has always lived In this state. His 
parents were Michael and Bridget (Ducey) Cleary. The father was born in County 
Sligo. Ireland, In 1823 and came to the United States with his father, James Cleary, 
and the other members of the family when a youth of seventeen years. James Cleary 
settled first at Troy, New York, and afterward removed to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, 
in 1848, taking up his abode upon a farm In Iowa county which is still in possession 
of the family, being cultivated by Thomas Cleary, a brother of Michael J. Cleary of 
this review. Two brothers of Michael Cleary, John and Thomas, served in the Union 
army during the Civil war and both were killed in action. Michael Cleary was a highly 
respected resident of the community in which he made his home and held a number of 
the local offices. He passed away in 1897. His wife, who is now living in Blanchard- 
ville, Wisconsin, was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, a daughter of Maurice Ducey, 
whose family emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm at Shullsburg, 
Wisconsin. 

Michael Joseph Cleary obtained his early education in the common schools of his 
native county, remaining at home to the age of seventeen years, when he became a 
student in the Wisconsin Academy at Madison, now a part of the University of Wiscon- 
sin. He completed his course in the academy in 1897 and then became a university 
student, devoting two years to a classical course, after which he became a pupil in the 
law school of the State University and there won his LL. B. degree upon graduation 
with the class of June, 1902. During his student days there he became a member of the 
Delta Tau Delta. He was admitted to the bar the same year — 1902 — and began practice 
at Blanchardville, Wisconsin, in connection with Carl Chandler, with whom he was 
thus associated until January 1, 1915, under the firm style of Chandler & Cleary. He 
made steady progress at the bar, gaining a good clientage of a representative char- 
acter. 

Moreover, his ability and his devotion to the public welfare suggested him for 
legislative service and in 1907 Mr. Cleary was elected a member of the general assembly 
from Lafayette county on the republican ticket, serving for a period of four years, 
during which he gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions 
which came up for settlement and was a recognized leader in republican circles. He 
was made a member of the committee on insurance and while acting in that capacity 
the insurance investigations and resulting legislation all came before him, and thus 
he gained intimate knowledge of the insurance business. It constituted his initial step 
toward the business career which now claims his attention. On the 1st of January, 
1915, Mr. Cleary was appointed as executive counsel to Governor Phillpp and served 
until July 1, 1915. He was then appointed commissioner of insurance for the state of 
Wisconsin and occupied that office until the 1st of May, 1919. when he was elected 
to the vice presidency of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, in which 
official connection with the corporation he has since continued. His service in the 
legislature and as state commissioner of Insurance have been of marked value to him 
in taking up the duties of his present executive position. 

On the 16th of November, 1915, Mr. Cleary was married to Miss Bonnie Blanchard, 
a daughter of James Blanchard, of Blanchard, Wisconsin, the latter a son of Alvin 




MICHAEL J. CLEAKY 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 305 

Blanchaiil. who about 1845 founded the town that bears the family name. Alvin 
Blanchard was born in the state of New York and the family has long been represented 
in America, members thereof serving in the Revolutionary war, so that Mrs. Cleary 
is now a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and also has mem- 
bership with the Daughters of 1812. Mrs. Cleary is a graduate of Downer College, 
from which she received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1913. By her marriage she 
has become the mother of two children. Catherine and Mary Elizabeth. 

The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and both Mr. 
and Mrs. Cleary are identified with St. Robert's parish in Shorewood. Mr. Cleary be- 
longs to Darlington Council, No. 1080, Knights of Columbus, at Darlington, Wisconsin. 
He is well known in the club circles of the city, having membership in the Milwaukee. 
Wisconsin, Milwaukee Athletic and Milwaukee Country Clubs, also in the Association 
of Commerce, in which he is serving on the legislative and insurance committees, and 
he is likewise a member of the insurance committee of the United States Chamber of 
Commerce, He is keenly interested in all that has to do with public progress and 
improvement and at the same time he has been a most close and thorough student 
of insurance problems and is today largely recognized as an authority upon questions 
relative thereto. 



PETER F. BREY, M. D. 



Dr. Peter F. Brey, physician and surgeon, engaged in general practice in Milwau- 
kee, was born on a farm in Kewaunee county, Wisconsin, February 3, 1879. His 
father. George Brey. deceased, was a native of Austria and came to the United States 
in young manhood just after the Civil war. He passed away October 13, 1920, at the 
very advanced age of eighty-six years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary 
Marit, was born in Bohemia and came to the United States at the age of seventeen 
years.' She died August 9. 1921. after passing the seventy-sixth milestone on life's 
journey. They were married in Wisconsin and reared a large family, seven of whom 
are living. 

Dr. Brey spent his boyhood and youth on the old home farm and attended the 
district schools. He afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he followed 
for two years, and he received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of 
Wisconsin in 1906. while in 1908 Marquette University conferred upon him the 
Master of Arts degree. He pursued his medical studies in Marquette University and 
won his professional degree in 1910. Since that time he has continuously practiced 
medicine in Milwaukee, covering a period of twelve years, and tor seven years of 
this time he was a teacher in the medical and dental departments of his Alma Mater. 
His knowledge of modern methods is comprehensive and exact and his ability in the 
application of the principles of medicine to the needs of suffering humanity is marked. 
He has membership in the Milwaukee Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Medical 
Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Trl-State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association, and the sterling worth of his character, as well as his 
professional ability, is attested by his associates in these organizations. He is now 
examining surgeon for the New York Life Insurance Company and also for the Aetna 
Life Insurance Company. In addition to his practice he has other interests, owning 
a good home of the bungalow type, which he has recently completed, at No. 676 
Thirty-fourth street. 

On the 1st of August, 1918, Dr. Brey was married to Miss Leocadia Schmidt, an 
accomplished and skilled musician who has developed her talent as a pianist and 
was formerly a teacher in the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Wisconsin Col- 
lege of Music. Dr. and Mrs. Brey have a daughter, Eugenia Leocadia, who was born 
April 11, 1920, They are of the Roman Catholic faith and the Doctor belongs also 
to the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters. During the twelve 
years of his connection with Milwaukee he has become well established in practice 
and was also recognized as one of the popular and efficient instructors in Marquette 
University. 



WALTER DREW. 



Walter Drew, a well known and successful attorney of Milwaukee, is a native son 
of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Winnebago county, July 24, 1882, his parents 
being James B, C. and Gwen (Ellis) Drew, the former a native of New Hampshire, 
while the latter was born in the little rock-ribbed country of Wales. The father was 
a lawyer and in his professional footsteps Walter Drew has followed. The latter was 
educated in the public schools of this state, attending the high school of Berlin, Wis- 

Vol. 11—20 



306 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

consin, until graduated with the class of 1900. He then entered the University of 
Wisconsin and was a member of the class of 1904. He next entered the law department 
of Georgetown University at Washington, D. C, and took up the study of law, having 
previously laid broad and deep the foundation upon which to build the superstructure 
of his professional learning. He gained his LL. B. degree in 1909, and in September of 
the same year was admitted to practice at the Wisconsin bar. 

Mr. Drew entered upon active practice in Madison, where he continuously and 
successfully followed his profession until 1913, when he was appointed deputy attorney 
general of the state. He served as the deputy attorney general of Wisconsin from 1913 
to 1917, inclusive, at the end of which term he retired to reenter private law practice 
and has since been thus actively and successfully engaged at Milwaukee. Mr. Drew 
has handled much important litigation, including several cases in the supreme court 
of the United States. At the conclusion of his service as deputy attorney general of 
Wisconsin, the chief justice of the Wisconsin supreme court prepared a written com- 
mendation of Mr. Drew's services in that office, which was subscribed to by the chief 
justice and all of the associate justices of the state supreme court and by several other 
state and Federal judges, heads of state departments, boards and commissions and a 
large number of the leading lawyers of the state, in which, among other things, it is 
stated: "Mr. Drew has filled the last named office nearly five years and has, during 
that time, borne the direct burden of and the immediate responsibility for, the more 
important of the litigations in which the state has been involved. He has discharged 
the duties of that office with marked ability and success. The interests of the state 
have been fully and ably protected as the results have demonstrated." He has given 
his attention to general law practice and has won a substantial measure of success, 
proving on many occasions his capability in handling involved, intricate and complex 
law problems. 

On the 10th of June, 1903, Mr. Drew was married to Miss Emily Brabant of Madi- 
son, and to them have been born two children: Robert H., who was born May 31, 1905; 
and Gwen Ellen, born February 15, 1907. 

Mr. Drew has always taken a great interest in politics and keeps thoroughly 
informed concerning the vital questions and problems of the day. He turns to golf and 
motoring for recreation and diversion, but at no time is neglectful o£ the duties devolv- 
ing upon him in a professional way and at all times he keeps in touch with the trend 
of professional thought and progress through the proceedings of the Milwaukee County, 
Wisconsin State and American Bar Associations, to all of which he belongs. 



RT. REV. MSGR. BOLESLAUS EDWARD GORAL. 

Rt. Rev. Boleslaus Edward Goral, pastor of St. Hyacinth's Catholic church of 
Milwaukee and diocesan consultor, was born March 12, 1876, in West Prussia, German 
Poland. There he obtained his elementary education and when a youth of thirteen 
years came in 1889 to the new world, at once entering the Polish St. Cyrill and Meth- 
odius Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, where he pursued his classical and philosophical 
studies, showing special aptitude in his work. Having decided to devote his life to the 
priesthood he joined the archdiocese of Milwaukee and in the fall of 1896 became a 
student in the seminary of St. Francis de Sales of St. Francis, Wisconsin, there com- 
pleting his theological studies in 1899, winning the first prize — a gold medal — for the 
best Latin dissertation on the Habit and Man as its subject. He was ordained to 
the priesthood by Most Rev. F. X. Katzer on the ISth of June, of that year. 

Rt. Rev. Goral was then appointed professor of the institution, in which he had 
been pursuing his studies, beginning his work there in the fall of 1899. He had ample 
opportunity, moreover, to review his studies and used this opportunity to the full. 
He was the first Polish professor in St. Francis Seminary and during the nine years 
and two months of his professorship taught Latin, Greek, German, French, Polish and 
Homiletics. During the year prior to his resignation he taught philosophy and homi- 
letics exclusively. He has always possessed marked literary ability and during his 
student days composed many poems or translated them from other languages into Polish. 
Some of these, written under pseudonyms, have appeared in print, while others remain 
in manuscript form. He has also contributed many articles to the Polish press on vari- 
ous subjects and a number of his sermons have been printed in Polish journals. He is 
well known, too, through his work as a translatoi- and some of the dramas translated 
by him from the German or English into Polish have been produced on the stage of 
the St. Stanislaus Literary and Debating Society of St. Francis Seminary and also by 
other dramatic societies. Likewise the comic opera the "Bells of Corneville," better 
known as the Chimes of Normandy, in his rendition, has been produced on the stage 
in Milwaukee with decided success. 

Rt. Rev. B. E. Goral is one of the few Polish speaking collaborators of the monu- 
mental Catholic Encyclopedia, which is being published in New York. Circumstances 




I!T. Ri:V. MS(;R. BOLESLAUS E. (iORAL 



HISTORY OF :\ITT.WATTKEE 309 

and lack of time have prevented him from writing more in English. In 1905 he pub- 
lished his "Zasady Interpunkyi Polskiej" (Elements of Polish Punctuation Marks), 
which has been pronounced by competent European critics the beat treatise of the kind 
that has ever been written in the Polish language. 

Rt. Rev. Goral has ever been a most thorough, comprehensive and earnest student 
and has made a special study of Polish philology and linguistics, having the best 
library along this line in America. In fact there is hardly any work of any importance 
on these subjects that cannot be found in his collection. The great love which he has 
always manifested for philological studies, finally influenced him to issue a periodical 
in this line and therefore in 1905 he began the publication of the "Oredownik Jezykowy" 
(Language Messenger), a monthly, devoted to advancing the interest of the Polish 
language, literature and pedagogy. This publication has accomplished much in pre- 
serving the purity and integrity of the Polish language, special attention being paid 
to the Polish-American slang. The publication is being read by the most scholarly of 
the Polish-American citizens, especially by teachers and students of higher institutions. 
Rt. Rev. Goral is also well known in pedagogic circles. The Polish executive committee 
of Chicago, Illinois, assigned to him the task of preparing a new series of Polish text- 
books for use in parochial schools and only lack of time prevented him from writing 
the books. 

Rt. Rev. Goral is a member of the diocesan school board of Milwaukee. In 1906 
he was active in promoting the publication of a new Polish weekly, called the "Nowiny," 
which appeared before the close of the year in the city as a weekly publication with 
Rev. Goral as editor-in-chief. In 1908, when the Nowiny Publishing Company was 
reorganized and it was decided to publish a daily, Rt. Rev. Goral was chosen its president, 
treasurer and general manager. This company issued the "Nowiny Polskie," or Polish 
News. 

In Octobar. 1908, Rt. Rev. Goral resigned his position as one of the professors in 
St. Francis Seminary and took charge of the congregation of St. Vincent de Paul in 
Milwaukee. He continued to act in that connection for eleven months and was then 
transferred to St. Hyacinth's church, while in February, 1912, he was made diocesan 
consultor by Archbishop S. G. Messmer. In the fall of 1921 Father Goral was ap- 
pointed domestic prelate with the title Monsignor. The solemn investiture took place 
October 4, in St. John's cathedral, Milwaukee, on the occasion of the golden jubilee 
celebration of the .Most Rev. Arclibishop S. G. Messmer. He continued his philological 
and philosophical studies and is devoted to the interest and welfare of his country- 
men and to mankind at large. He is indeed a man of scholarly attainments and one 
who has done much for the Polish people of his diocese. 



OTTO A. BRAUN. 



Otto A. Braun. handling general insurance and mortgage loans in Milwaukee, his 
native city, has made for himself a creditable position in financial circles through his 
enterprise and diligence, whereby he has overcome all difflculties and obstacles in 
his path and worked his way upward to success. He was born April 15, 1876, and is a 
son of Adolph H. and Louise (Bieberich) Braun, the latter a native of Indiana, while 
the father was born in Nuremberg, Germany. He came to the new world and settled 
in Milwaukee in 1848 and for several terms he taught school in this country but later 
was admitted to the bar and entered upon the practice of law, in which he was active 
from 1870 until the time of his death in 1908, maintaining a creditable position as 
an attorney of this city. Otto A. Braun also comes of German ancestry in the maternal 
line. His grandfather was Captain Jacob Bieberich, a native of Germany, who crossed 
the Atlantic to the new world in early life and took up his abode in Indiana, where 
he lived for several years, removing thence to Milwaukee about 1845. Here he or- 
ganized what was called the Green Hunters, a military band, for the purpose of 
protection against the Indians. He served his adopted country in the Mexican war 
and afterward made a trip to California during the gold excitement, experiencing 
the hardships and privations incident to the task of reaching the Pacific coast at 
that early day. Later he resolved to return and started homeward with a company 
but never reached his destination, the report being received that the party were killed 
and scalped by the Indians. 

Otto A. Braun obtained his education in the schools of Milwaukee and started 
out in the business world in connection with a land company, with which he re- 
mained for seven years. In 1905 he opened an office in the Mack block, in which 
he began handling general insurance and mortgage loans. Through the intervening 
period he has continued in business and is today a prominent figure in financial 
circles of the city. He has written a large amount of insurance annually, has placed 
many loans and has so conducted his affairs as to win substantial success as the 
years have gone by. 



310 ■ HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

In 1907 Mr. Braun was married to Miss Gertruida Droppers, a daugliter of John 
Droppers. Fraternally he is connected with the Knight of Pythias and the Benev- 
olent Protective Ord«r of Elks and is also a member of the Optimist Club and the 
Old Settlers Club. In politics he is a republican where national questions and issues 
are involved, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him, 
as he has always preferred to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business 
affairs. In connection -with his general insurance and mortgage loan business he 
became interested in the Wisconsin Mutual Plate Glass Insurance Company, which 
was organized at Juneau, Wisconsin, in 1905 by Judge Lueck and Paul Hemmy. Mr. 
Braun is now general agent of this company for the state and this department of 
his business has likewise proved a growing and profitable one. 



ALBERT ZINN. 



Albert Zinn, president of the Milwaukee-Western Malt Company, has for many 
years been associated with the line of business in which he is now engaged and has 
made steady progress through the development of his interests in that connection. Mr. 
Zinn is a native son of Milwaukee, born June 14, 1S59, his parents being Carl and 
Christiana Zinn, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to 
America in 1845, settling in Milwaukee, where the family has since been represented, 
taking active part in the progress and upbuilding of the city, contributing not only to 
commercial advancement but to the development of Milwaukee along art and other 
lines. 

Albert Zinn, at the usual age, became a public school pupil and completed the high 
school course. Starting out in the business world in 1877, he took a position with the 
commission house of Zinns, Goetz & Company and there remained until 1879, when 
he became bookkeeper at the flour mill of The Nunnemacher Company, which after- 
ward was reorganized under the name of the Star Flour Mill, at which time Mr. Zinn 
was elected secretary and treasurer. In 1S83, however, he withdrew from that con- 
nection and became associated with his brother Adolph in the Zinn Malting Company, 
of which Albert Zinn became secretary and treasurer. In 1892 they merged their in- 
terests with those of the Asmuth Malt & Grain Company, thus organizing a new 
corporation known as the Milwaukee Malt & Grain Company, of which Albert Zinn 
became the treasurer. Thus business was sold in 1897 to the American Malting 
Company, at which time Mr. Zinn was elected assistant general manager and so con- 
tinued until 1900, when he associated himself with the Milwaukee-Waukesha Brewing 
Company of which he became vice president. After a year he resigned to become 
general manager of the Fred Miller Brewing Company of Milwaukee. In 1903 he 
organized the Milwaukee-Western Malt Company, of which he was elected president 
and has since occupied that position. Long experience in the business, definite purpose 
and indefatigable energy have brought to the concern of which he is the head, a large 
measure of success and it is today one of the leading enterprises of this character in 
Milwaukee. 

In May, 1882, Mr. Zinn was united in marriage to Miss Leonora Heitbahn, a 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Heitbahn. The children of this marriage are: 
Madeleine, the wife of Arthur Wenz; Juanita, who married George T. Johnson, and who 
died in 1918; and Gertrude, the wife of George F. Kiewert. Mrs. Zinn departed this 
life in June, 1919. 

In his political views Mr. Zinn has been a stanch advocate of republican principles 
since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Fraternally he is a thirty-second 
degree Mason, also a member of Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T., and a member of Tripoli 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is prominently known in club circles, belonging to 
the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Blue Mound Country Club 
?nd was president of the last named in 1914 and 1915. He likewise belongs to the 
Wisconsin Society of Chicago and his deep interest in affairs pertaining to the progress 
and benefit of Milwaukee is shown in his connection with the Association of Commerce, 
the Chamber of Commerce and the Milwaukee Art Institute. His cooperation is at all 
times counted upon as a factor for the city's benefit and improvement. 



DANIEL W. CHIPMAN. 



Daniel W. Chipman, now living retired in Milwaukee, was born July 10, 1836, 
in Essex, Chittenden county, Vermont, his parents being Hiram and Lavona (Searls) 
Chipman, who were also natives of Essex and who during the infancy of their son, 
Daniel W., removed to Harbor Creek, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Later they resided 
successively at Beaverdam, at Union and Waterford, all in Erie county, remaining 




ALBERT ZINN 



HISTORY OF :\IILWAUKEE 313 

in that county until 1S41. It was while at Waterford that Daniel W. Chipman 
began his education in the public schools when about five years of age. Early in 
1843 the family removed to Erie. Pennsylvania, whore they remained until July, 
1846, and then started for Milwaukee, the party consisting of father, mother, four 
sisters and two brothers. . They proceeded after the leisurely manner of travel at 
that time, arriving at their destination in the middle of August, 1846. After living 
on Spring street, now Grand avenue. Main street, now Broadway, and East Water 
street for a period of about two years the family removed to Walkers Point, now 
the south side, and through the intervening period Daniel W. Chipman has con- 
tinued to make his home on the south side when in Milwaukee. From 1846 until 
184i) he was in school and after that spent the winter months in school until 1852. 
His father was a carpenter by trade and in those early days could not accord his 
childien very liberal educational opportunities. 

Daniel W. Chipman earned his first money by assisting in loading and unload- 
ing wood from a wagon, receiving a shilling per day and his dinner. In 1850 he 
entered upon his career in connection with marine and navigation interests as an 
engineer under Captain Fred Knapp on what was called the old Hawly dredge, hav- 
ing obtained his engineering e.xperience under his elder brother, A. S. Chipman, who 
was the engineer of the dredge prior to the time when Daniel W. Chipman took the 
position. Later he and his brother went 1o Portage City, Wisconsin, where they 
fitted out the engine and boiler of a small steamer called the Star, which they took 
down the Wisconsin to the Mississippi river and down to Galena, Illinois. For 
about a week or two they traded around that locality, carrying corn, wheat and 
other produce to Galena. Concerning his activities at this time Mr. Chipman wrote 
as follows: "The business in this locality seemed to not have IJeen good enough 
to warrant staying. The owners concluded to go to Rock Island with the boat, where 
we proceeded and entered into the same freighting business in that neighborhood. 
After running for two or three weeks they found it did not pay, so laid up the boat 
at Rock Island. A short time afterward the owners concluded to take the Star 
onto the Rock river, quite an undertaking, as there were swift rapids at its mouth, 
but after unloading everything on board movable and procuring two or three 
ox teams and a number of men and taking down the smokestack to enable her to 
go under a bridge, we started and after working hard for the best part of two days 
succeeded in getting her over the rapids on the river. After getting everything on 
board and ready we steamed up the river. At this time there were very few settlers 
on the river bank and wild game such as prairie chickens, partridge and quail 
were plenty and did not seem to be afraid of the steamer and would hardly ever 
fly on our approach. We were about two days getting up to a place called Sterling. 
Here we left the boat with ten dollars in our pockets for our spring work. From 
here we took stage to Peru and from there traveled by rail to Chicago, whence we 
proceeded to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the steamer 'Queen of the Lakes.' I think 
early in June, soon after returning, I went to work helping to get railroad iron out 
of a vessel that had been wrecked just north of the old harbor piers. About two 
hours after commencing, a bar of railroad iron turned over onto my finger, taking 
the end off, which ended my working and disabled me from doing any work for 
about two weeks. After my finger became healed so that I could use it, I took 
passage on the steamer 'Delaware' for Buffalo and during the balance of that season 
was engaged as porter and waiter on the steamer 'General Taylor.' In the spring 
of 1851 I shipped on the steamer 'James Wood' as porter, bound for Buffalo, loaded 
witli grain. After making a few trips between New Baltimore, on Lake St. Clair, 
and Buffalo, I left her and shipped on a small steamer called 'Potent,' engaged in 
towing on Niagara river and Chippewa creek. My brother having charge of this 
steamer, I acted as engineer. After remaining on her about two months I returned 
to Buffalo, shipped as porter on the steamer 'F'orest City' and soon afterward became 
steward, remaining on her during the balance of the season. In the summer of 
185 2 I helped to build the schooner 'Kittle Grant' and afterward made a trip as a 
sailor to Manistee on the schooner 'Jacob Steinhart.' At that time no harbor im- 
provements had been made and there was only about four feet of water at that 
place. We went to the upper end of the lake loaded with lumber, came down to 
the mouth and were obliged to raft the deck load to get over the bar into Lake 
Michigan. Eighteen days were consumed in making this trip, which ended my 
career as a before-the-mast sailor on a vessel. Previous to this I had been before 
the mast one trip to White Hall on the small schooner 'A. J. View.' In the season 
of 1853 I was employed on a pile driver, as cook on the schooner 'Cramer' and ran 
an engine in a small elevator on West Water street. In the spring of 1854 I was 
second engineer on the steamer 'Rosseter' and later ran a wrecking pump for an 
insurance company at this place in 1855. In the latter connection I wrecked vessels 
as follows: H. M. Gates at Pentwater, Michigan; John B. Wright at Pere Marquette; 
Brig Sandusky at Manitou Island: Steamer Lady Elgin at Manitowoc; Huron at 
Ahnapee; Traveler at Chicago, Illinois. During the winter seasons from 1850 to 



314 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

185 4 I worked in shipyards on the schooners Fred Hill, Norway, Milwaukee Belle 
and Kirk White, ran an engine in the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien railroad 
shop and a steam boiler in a slaughter house." 

Mr. Chipman afterward became interested in the tug and boat business and 
owned personally or was interested with others in the ownership ot a number of 
tugs and boats, of all of which he was manager. His experiences were varied and 
ofttimes interesting as he proceeded on the different trips to many sections of the 
country and on many different boats. During the winter of 1855 he went to Hebron, 
Wisconsin, to spend the winter with his cousin, Frank Dustin, and while there they 
arranged to go to California in the following spring, Mr. Chipman returning to 
Milwaukee in February, 1856. Here he was joined by Mr. Dustin in March and 
they began preparations for the long journey to California, They arrived in New 
York on the 18th of March, 1856, and on the 20th of that month sailed on the 
steamer "George Law" for Aspinwall. Later they crossed the Isthmus and thence 
proceeded up the Pacific coast to San Francisco, steaming into the Golden Gate on 
the 18th of April. As the days passed they had the usual experiences of the men 
seeking gold on the Pacific coast. They regarded Todds Valley, a small mining 
town in Placer county, as the end of their journey and reached that place in April, 
185 6. Mr. Chipman was first employed as dish washer in the only hotel of the 
town at a wage of twenty-five dollars per month but after a brief period secured a 
position as cook for a company of miners at seventy-five dollars per month. The 
record of his sojourn in the west contains many interesting incidents and episodes. 
Mr. Chipman has prepared a story of his life, given largely in detail, and it is of 
great interest to those who have known him personally. With the supposed dis- 
covery of gold on the Frazer river he joined the large body of men who were mak- 
ing their way into that district, but this — like many another gold bubble — bursted 
and by slow and arduous stages Mr. Chipman returned from British Columbia to 
Whatcom, Washington, and eventually reached San Francisco, having in the mean- 
time been employed in various capacities and in many places. At length he deter- 
mined to return home, but while in the west he was a witness of many events which 
constitute interesting chapters on the pages of American history, one of these being 
the celebration held in San Francisco at the laying of the first Atlantic cable. He 
was at one time steward on a ship called the "Anglo Saxon," bound to the Sand- 
wich Islands to load oil and bone for New Bedford, and thus he started upon his 
return home, although by a circuitous route. While the ship was laying off the 
Sandwich Islands, the heir to the throne of Hawaii came on board and spent one 
day there, Mr. Chipman becoming quite well acquainted with him. Later he was 
king of the Islands and afterward passed away in San Francisco. At length, as 
steward on the good ship "Anglo Saxon," Mr. Chipman reached New Bedford and a 
day or two later was on his way to Buffalo via New York, where his brother had 
secured for him a position as second engineer on the Mayflower, running between 
Buffalo and Chicago. Thus on his way to the latter city he was able to visit his 
family in Milwaukee, whom he had not seen for more than three years. Mr. Chip- 
man afterward sailed on vario\\s ships and following his removal to Pennsylvania 
was drafted for service in the army during the Civil war, but when he reported at 
the place of enrollment had no trouble in convincing the authorities that two sons 
out of a family of three was a sufficient representation from that family. In the 
following fall, however, he went to Philadelphia, where he was examined for an 
acting second assistant engineer in the navy and in December received his appoint- 
ment, being ordered for duty on the ship "Protius," then laying at the foot of East 
Seventh street in New York city. Mr. Chipman's connection with marine and navi- , 
gation interests continued until 1876, when he entered into partnership with C. S. 
Raesser for the conduct of a general commission business in wood, bark and cedar. 
His attention was devoted to that enterprise until 1890, when he entered the gov- 
ernment service as United States boiler inspector, having an unlimited chief en- 
gineer's license. He resigned his government position in 19 05, after fifteen years' 
service, and has since lived a retired life, enjoying a well earned rest. 

Mr. Chipman has been married twice. In January, 1861, he married Miss Susan 
M. Consaul and they became the parents of six children, three of whom are yet living: 
Daniel Webster, George Perkins and Susan Mary, the last named the wife of George 
D. Francey of Milwaukee. The wife and mother passed away April 2, 1881, and in 
December, 1891, Mr. Chipman was marrried to Miss Helen Tutkin, a daughter of 
Ricklef and Henrietta Tutkin, who were natives ot Germany and early pioneer resi- 
dents of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Chipman is a Consistory Mason and a loyal follower of the teachings and 
purposes of the craft. He also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and has 
served as commander of E. B. Wolcott Post, to which position he was called in 1916 
He has been a lifelong republican, earnest and unfaltering in his support of the party. 
He belongs to the Old Settlers Club and has long been an interested witness ot the 
growth and progress of Milwaukee. His life experiences have been of wide range. 



HISTORY OK MILWAUKEE 315 

They have carried him into many sections of the world and brought him a splendid 
knowledge of human nature, leaving him with many pleasant memories and with 
many interesting anecdotes which enrich his conversation and make him a most com- 
panionable man. There is something fresh and invigorating as the salt water breeze 
in his conversation and something as virile in the character of the man as that 
pioneer spirit which prompted him to make his way to the far west in the early days 
of gold exploration along the Pacific coast. 



ROBERT WITTIG. 



Robert Wittig, general manager of the Milwaukee district for R. G. Dun & Com- 
pany, was born in this city June 11, 1876, a son of Joseph and Ottilie (Link) Wittig, 
the former a native of Saxony, Germany, while the latter was born in Waukesha 
county, Wisconsin. The father came to Milwaukee in 18.57 and engaged in the plumbing 
contracting business, which he has carried on for fifty-five years under the name of 
the Joseph Wittig Company. Modest and unassuming, he has never sought promi- 
nence in any public connection but has Quietly pursued the even tenor of his way, 
a substantial citizen who has made for himself a creditable position in the business 
world and has reached his eighty-second year, respected and esteemed by all who 
know him. On the mother's side the family comes from Bavaria, Germany, and was 
founded in America about 1840 by three brothers, all farmers, who crossed the Atlantic 
at that time. 

Robert Wittig was educated in St. Mary's School, pursuing his studies to the age 
of fourteen years, or until 1890, when he went into the oflSce of R. G. Dun & Company 
at Milwaukee as messenger boy. Since that time he has worked his way up through 
the various positions, winning promotion after promotion as the result of his industry 
and developing power until in 1908 he was made general manager. He has now been 
with the company for thirty years and his is a notable record, inasmuch as he has 
never been associated with any other company during the entire period of his business 
career. Under his management the business of the corporation has grown to be enor- 
mous and as the result of his activities a number of offices have been opened in his 
district, including those at Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Racine and Sheboygan, Wis- 
consin, and Menominee, Michigan. The headquarters of the parent concern vouch 
for the statement that the Milwaukee office is one of the most efficient of any which 
represents them in the territory throughout the United States. There is no detail 
of the business with which Mr. Wittig is not familiar and its important principles 
and purposes are largely the outgrowth of his well defined plans and unfaltering 
enterprise. 

On the 17th of October. 1900, Mr. Wittig was married to Miss Lillian Hilgenberg 
of Milwaukee, and they have become the parents of six children: Urban R. and Roland 
A., who are now attending Campion College; Robert E.; Laurence M. L.; John A.; 
and Dorothy Ann. 

During the war Mr. Wittig was a captain in tbe first Red Cross drive, being 
chairman of Group 26. He received a certificate of honorable mention for his patriotic 
activities in all the drives and was placed on the quota committee after being group 
chairman. He devoted much of his time to patriotic service throughout the war period. 
He is president of the Knights of Columbus Institute, is a member of the Rotary 
Club, of which he is the vice president, is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the Credit Men's 
Association. He is thus identified with organizations of a purely social nature, show- 
ing his appreciation of the social amenities of life, and at the same time he has 
membership in some of the strong organizations that have to do with the city's welfare 
and the advancement of business interests in general. His insight is keen, his judg- 
ment sound and his enterprise has been an important element in promoting the pur- 
poses of these societies. 



OTTO T. SALICK. 



Otto T. Salick, engaged in the real estate and insurance business and widely known 
as the president of the Xorth Avenue Advancement Association, was born in Water- 
town, Wisconsin, April 10. 1877. a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Hepp) Salick, both 
of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to the United States in youth. 
They cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Milwaukee, where the father first 
engaged in business as a watchmaker and jeweler. He afterward removed to Water- 
town, Wisconsin, and there conducted a jewelry business to the time of his death. 
Both he and his wife have passed away. 



316 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Otto T. Salick was educated in the public and parochial schools of Watertown 
and also attended Marquette University of Milwaukee. When his school days were 
over he started out in the business world and was employed in various capacities. 
Later he engaged in the real estate business and has built up an extensive trade in 
this connection at No. 3610 North avenue. His residence in Milwaukee dates from 
1895 and through the intervening period he has steadily forged to the front in busi- 
ness circles in this city. He has negotiated many important realty transfers and 
through his activity has contributed in considerable measure to the improvement and 
progress of the northern section. He also has a well organized insurance department 
and was one of the founders of the North Avenue Advancement Association, which 
was formed in March, 1919, and has steadily grown, having on its list of members 
the leading business and professional men of this section of the city. Mr. Salick 
has taken a most deep and helpful interest in the movement and the purposes under- 
lying the society and recently contributed to the North Avenue Star a most inter- 
esting article setting forth the history of North avenue and the development of this 
section of the city. 

In 1902 Mr. Salick was married to Miss Mary Reiter of Milwaukee, and they have 
become the parents of eight children: Olive, fifteen years of age; Florence, aged 
thirteen; Prances, eleven; Dorothy, nine; John, seven; Genevieve, four; Ralph; three; 
and Robert, two. 

Through the field of political activity Mr. Salick has also done much for Mil- 
waukee's benefit and progress. In 1903 he was appointed assessor of the twenty-second 
ward, holding the office until 1912. or for a period of nine years. During this time 
he was also a member of the board of review. Any project or plan put forward for 
the benefit and upbuilding of the city receives his endorsement and loyal and active 
support. 



JAMES CHARLES PINNEY. 

The upbuilding of a great educational institution like Marquette University has 
resulted from the combined efforts of men who are an acknowledged authority in their 
chosen field of instruction. It has always been the purpose of the university to secure 
tlie highest possible service in the educational field and among those who have con- 
tributed to the well deserved reputation of the school is James Charles Finney, dean of 
the College of Engineering. 

He is a native son of Wisconsin, having been born in Sturgeon Bay, October 17, 
1882. His father, James C. Finney, who passed away on the 17th of March, 1915, was 
born in Ohio, near Cleveland, and was a son of Silas Finney, who was also a native 
of the Buckeye state and a shoemaker by trade. James C. Finney, Sr., removed from 
Ohio to Wisconsin immediately after the Civil war, in which he had served for three 
years as a member of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was a surveyor 
by profession and filled the office of county surveyor of Door county, Wisconsin, for a 
period of twenty years. His dominant qualities made him a natural leader of men and 
at all times he kept well informed on the vital questions and issues of the day. He 
was deeply interested in politics but never sought nor desired the honors and emolu- 
ments of office save for his service as county surveyor. He was a home man, loving 
his family and his ov.'n fireside, and he always preferred to spend his time in the com- 
panionship of his wife and children. He married Abigail Hannan, who was born 
in Ontario, Canada. Her parents removed to Wisconsin just prior to the Civil war, 
settling on a farm near De Fere. The death of Mrs. Finney occurred March 25, 1909. 

James C. Finney. Jr., had attended the public schools of Sturgeon Bay for but a 
year when his parents removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and there he continued as 
a public school pupil until graduated from the Fargo high school with the class of 
1901. He next became a student in the Fargo College and won his Bachelor of Arts 
degree upon graduation with the class of 1905. For three years afterward, or until 
the fall cf 190S. he filled the position of assistant engineer with the Minneapolis & St. 
Louis Railroad and with the Great Northern, acting in that capacity with the latter 
road until January, 1908, after which he was in the city engineer's office at Fargo 
until the following October. He next entered the University of Wisconsin as a student 
in the engineering department and was graduated in 1910 with the C. E. degree. He 
afterward spent a few months in county survey work in Door county and for two 
years he was in charge of structural engineering at the Marquette University. Prom 
the 12th of May, 1912, until October, 1917, he was superintendent of bridges and public 
buildings for Milwaukee and since the latter date has been dean of the College of 
Engineering of Marquette University The South View Hospital was built under his 
supervision while he was connected with the city engineering office and also the Buffalo 
street Bascule bridge and the Oneida street Bascule bridge. After leaving the employ 
of the city as engineer he was retained to design the North avenue viaduct, now under 




JAMES C. PINNEY 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE :U9 

course of construotion. He likewise designed tlie Scott street bridge in Pond du Lac, 
wliicli is a concrete arcli bridge. His engineering worl< has been of a most important 
character, calling for expert service, and he today enjoys a most enviable rtputaticni 
in the line of his chosen profession. 

On the 2Sth of June. 1911. Mr. Pinney was married to Miss Kathryn I. Blackburn. 
a daughter of Matthew Blackburn of Rochester, Wisconsin, who was born in [<;M,i;lan(l 
and was brought to the United States by his parents in his childhood days. He became 
a farmer by occupation and devoted his life to that calling, passing away in 1.S96. 
Mr. and Mrs. Pinney have one child. Charles Bartlett, who was born September 7. 1912. 

In politics Mr. Pinney has always maintained an independent course, voting 
according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to party ties and never has 
he sought public office. He has membership in the Baptist church at Fargo. North 
Dakota. He belongs to the Elks lodge, No. 46, of Milwaukee, is a member of the City 
Club and is serving on its committee on public utilities. He belongs to the Kivvanis 
Club and is a member of its committee on civic affairs. He also is identified with 
many technical and scientific organizations, including the American Society of Civil 
Engineers, the Western Society of Engineers, the American Association of Engineers, 
the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education and is a fellow of the American 
Geographical Society, a member of the Engineers Society of Milwaukee and past presi- 
dent of the Engineers Society of Wisconsin. His wife is a lady of most artistic taste 
and talent, skilled in china painting and in water colors. Their home is a center of 
culture and refinement, its good cheer and its high ideals making it most attractive 
to tliose who recognize that the keenest enjoyment in life comes from intellectual 
stimulus. 



CHARLES GAGE TRAPHAGEN. 

Charles Gage Traphagen is president and general manager of the Time Insurance 
Company of Milwaukee, which has built up a business of extensive and substantial 
proportions. He has closely studied every phase of the business, formulates his plans 
carefully and carries them forward to successful completion. A native of Sparta, 
Wisconsin, his birth occurred there May 10, 1861, his parents being William and 
Emeline (Brady) Traphagen. William Traphagen passed away in 1884, after having 
lived a most successful and useful life and gained prominence as a building contractor 
in both New York and Wisconsin. It was about the year 1850 that he took up his 
abode in the latter state. Emeline (Brady) Traphagen, who was a native of New 
York city, passed away in 189.3, having survived her husband for almost a decade. 
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Peter Traphagen, was born in 1779 and was 
a son of Henry and Margaret (Wanamaker) Traphagen. 

In the acquirement of an education Charles Gage Traphagen attended the public 
schools of Sparta, Wisconsin, until he was ten years of age, when he removed with 
the family to New York city and there attended school until he was twelve. At that 
time the family removed to Oshkosh. Wisconsin, and he entered the high school there, 
in due time enrolling in the normal school and completing his studies in the reiiuired 
time. In 1882 the family again moved, this time going to St. Paul, and there Mr. 
Traphagen became associated with R. G. Dun & Company as assistant manager. He 
remained in that connection until 1886, when he was transferred to Duluth, Minnesota, 
as manager of the district comprising northern Wisconsin and Minnesota for the same 
firm. In April, 1918, after thirty-six years of continuous service, he resigned to 
become actively connected with the Time Insurance Company of Milwaukee, of which 
company he had been a director and vice president for a period of years, succeeding 
to his present official position upon the death of Jerome O. Paddock, president of the 
company and father-in-law of our subject. Mr. Paddock founded the business in 1896 
and conducted it for some years under the name of the Time Indemnity Company, 
which was succeeded by the present company in 1910. It is the oldest stock company 
chartered by the state of Wisconsin to do an exclusive accident and health business 
and it has yearly paid a claim on every fourth policy holder. Over one million dollars 
in claims have been paid to policyholders or their beneficiaries. Records show that 
the Time Insurance Company collected over one-fifth of the accident and health pre- 
miums collected by all companies in Wisconsin in 1920 and sixty thousand dollars 
more in premiums than its nearest competitor; also that the company collected eighty- 
five thousand dollars more than the other four Wisconsin stock companies combined 
and two hundred and thirty-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-one dollars more 
than the Wisconsin assessment companies combined, or within fifty-two thousand 
dollars of the combined other ten Wisconsin companies. 

On the 17th of June, 1896, occurred the marriage of Mr. Traphagen and Miss 
Nelsona L. Paddock, a daughter of the . late Jerome 0. Paddock, who was born in 
Essex county. New York, in 1844. His entire life was spent in the conduct of the 



320 " HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

insurance business and lie was one of the pioneers in tliat field. The Paddock family 
are of honored English descent. 

Mr. Traphagen gives his political endorsement to the republican party. His re- 
ligious faith is indicated by his membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church of Mil- 
waukee and both he and his wife are prominent and consistent members of that 
denomination. While residing in Duluth, Mr. Traphagen served as vestryman of the 
Trinity cathedral. He is fond of golf and motoring and maintains membership in 
several clubs. During the war both Mr. and Mrs. Traphagen gave generously of their 
time and money to various phases of war work, being most prominent in the Red 
Cross. Mr. Traphagen is accounted one of the energetic, prosperous and capable 
business men of Milwaukee, a stanch supporter of all worthy and beneficial move- 
ments. Mr. and Mrs. Traphagen reside at 367 Prospect avenue. They have one son, 
Arthur D. Traphagen, residing in Duluth, Minnesota, where he is engaged in the 
insurance business. 



EMIL HARLOW OTT. 



Emil Harlow Ott, president of the William Steinmeyer Company, having the largest 
grocery house of the state, was born September 29, 1S60, in Monroe, Wisconsin. His 
father, John C. Ott, whose birth occurred in Switzerland in 1824, attended the Zurich 
University in his native land and coming to the new world settled at Monroe, Wiscon- 
sin, in 1847. There he followed merchandising and later became a merchant of 
Madison, conducting a small grocery store in the capital city until 1892, when he re- 
tired from business at the age of sixty-eight years and passed away at the age of 
seventy-eight. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Deggler, was born 
in the beautiful city of Luzerne, Switzerland, and died when her son Emil H. was but 
eight years of age. 

Emil H. Ott was a pupil in the public schools to his sixteenth year, completing 
the work of the eighth grade. Leaving home in order to earn his living he came to 
Milwaukee on the 8th of August, 1877. He was first employed in Blair & Pearsons', a 
china and glassware store, but after six months entered the grocery store of Bauer & 
Steinmeyer in the position of errand boy at a salary of four dollars and a half per 
week. Subsequently he was made cash boy, afterward became clerk and in turn book- 
keeper and foreman. As he advanced he received a certain interest in the profits of the 
concern and subsequently became a member of the firm. His business career started 
when he was seventeen years of age. He has always acknowledged the greatest in- 
debtedness to his former employer and partner William Steinmeyer, who was the 
founder of the present business and a man most highly esteemed and respected by 
all who knew him. He set a noble example of business integrity and enterprise and 
possessed a contagious enthusiasm which inspired all with whom he came into con- 
tact. He began business in Milwaukee immediately after his return from the Civil 
war, in 1864, having served for three years and retiring with the rank of captain 
in the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment. No man ever had a greater in- 
fluence over the life of Mr. Ott than Mr. Steinmeyer, whose personality and principles 
were an inspiration, calling forth courage and perseverance on the part of those in 
his employ. The development of splendid qualities on the part of Mr. Ott has brought 
him to the position which he now occupies and he has ever gladly given due credit to 
the stimulating influence and example of Mr. Steinmeyer. However, he must have had 
within himself the qualities that responded to the influence of the employer. As the 
years passed his powers developed and he gained a position of prominence in Milwau- 
kee's business circles, a position that he has never forfeited. He has long been ready 
for any emergency and any opportunity that has presented and making wise use of 
his time and talents has steadily advanced to a point of leadership in the commercial 
circles of the city. 

On the 14th of March, 1886, in Milwaukee, Mr. Ott was united in marriage to Miss 
Ida Steinmeyer, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Steinmeyer, who came to Milwau- 
kee in 1848 and 1850, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Ott are parents of three sons, all of 
whom are members of the Steinmeyer Company and thus associated with their father 
in business. The eldest, Irving W., married Sophie Luedke, a daughter of August P. 
Luedke; Walter S., the second son, wedded Louisa F. Frank, a daughter of Dr. Louis 
Frank; the youngest, Harvey L., is still at home. 

Mr. Ott is president of the Manufacturers' Home, which company he organized 
and financed, as he has made other propositions that have influenced general prosperity 
in this city. His political allegiance is given to the republican party when state and 
national questions are involved but in municipal elections he votes for the best man 
or the candidate that shows the most efficiency, regardless of his political affiliations. 
Mr. Ott has never sought nor held public office save mat of member of the board o£ 
directors of the Auditorium. He belongs to the Wisconsin, Calumet and Milwaukee 




EMIL H. OTT 



Vol. 11—2 1 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 323 

Athletic Clubs, also to the City Club and in all has a life membership. His record 
constitutes an example which others may well follow, showing what can be accomplished 
when there is a will to dare to do. Starting in the position of errand boy at a salary 
of four dollars and half per week, he has worked his way steadily upward, advancing 
step by step until he is now the chief executive otficer of the business which he entered 
in the humble capacity indicated. Neither has he gained success at the sacrifice of the 
nobler qualities of manhood, his many sterling traits being attested by all who know 
him. 



ROBERT HENRY HACKNEY. 

Robert Henry Hackney, organizer and promoter of the Pressed Steel Tank Com- 
pany of West Allis and a man of broad experience and high professional attainments, 
was born in Milwaukee, August 6, 1870. His father, Clement Hackney, was a native 
of Warrington, England, his birth having occurred on the 16th of May, 1848. He was 
brought to the United States in 1851 by his parents and after his school days were 
over he became a machinist and loconiotive engineer. He was connected with the 
Chicago. Jlilwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, also with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa 
Fe Railroad and with the Union Pacific Railroad in various capacities in the mechanical 
department and was superintendent of machinery and rolling stock with the Union 
Pacific Railroad. He acted as district manager for the Pressed Steel Car Company 
of Chicago for ten years prior to his death, which occurred in January, 1901. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Stuart, was born in Chicago, Illinois, Novem- 
ber 12, 1849. 

Robert H. Hackney pursued his preparatory education in the Milwaukee Academy, 
from which he was graduated in June, 1889. He afterward received the degrees of 
Bachelor of Science and Mechanical Engineer from the University of Wisconsin in 
1893 and initiated his business career by service as a draftsman through a period of 
three years. He was afterward made shop foreman, thus acting for two years, 
at the end of which time he was promoted to the superintendency of the Joliet 
works of the Pressed Steel Car Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and con- 
tinued in that position for three years. He next engaged in business in Milwaukee 
in 1901 by purchasing the Seamless Structural Company's assets and then organized 
the Pressed Steel Tank Company, a Wisconsin corporation. He has since remained 
at the head of this business, carefully directing its growth and development, and 
today has one of the important productive industries of the city. His capabilities 
cover a wide range and the soundness of his judgment in business affairs is indicated 
in the fact that has been made a director of the Merchants & Manufacturers As- 
sociation of Milwaukee and is a director of the Metal Trades Association of this city. 

On the 20th of June, 1900, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, Mr. Hackney was married 
to Miss Mary Connor, a daughter of Robert Connor of Auburndale, Wisconsin, who 
was extensively engaged in lumbering, in banking business and in other interests 
in Wood county but is now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Hackney have been born 
three children: Mary, Clement and Ruth. Mr. Hackney and his wife are members 
of the Grand Avenue Congregational church and he is interested in many of those 
forces and agencies which make for the benefit of the community and for the public 
welfare. He is a director of the Milwaukee Country Day School and of several clubs. 
He belongs to the Milwaukee Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club, Wisconsin Club, Mil- 
waukee Country Club, Rotary Club and the Mid-Day Club of Chicago. His interests 
are broad and varied. He considers nothing foreign to himself that concerns the 
welfare of his fellowmen and his activities are an element of public progress along 
many lines. 



GUSTAV A. REUSS. 



The name of Reuss has been associated with the Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Mil- 
waukee for two-thirds of a century and he whose name introduces this review, now 
the bank's vice president, entered the institution in 18S5 as messenger boy, working 
his way upward through intermediate positions to the second place of executive power. 
He is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having occurred May 11, 1868, his parents 
being Gustav and Emma (Lackner) Reuss. The father was born in Stuttgart, in 
the kingdom of Wuerttemberg, Germany, May 31, 1834, and acquired his education 
at the Real Schule, initiating his business career when fourteen years of age by 
becoming an apprentice in a dry goods house. In 1853 he emigrated to America, 
landing in New York in the month of September and finding employment in the 
law office of Cutter & Hoffman, then well known attorneys, the junior partner being 



324 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

attorney general of the state of New York and one of the leading criminal lawyers 
there. Gustav Reuss had been employed in that law office for two years, when in 
1855 Samuel Marshall passed through the eastern metropolis on his way to Europe. 
He wanted a young man to take charge of the foreign business of Marshall & Ilsley, 
bankers of Milwaukee, their institution being then located at the southeast corner 
of Bast Water and Huron streets. The position was offered to Mr. Reuss, who ac- 
cepted, and in October, 1855, he arrived in Milwaukee, and from that time to the 
day of his death he was connected with the banking institution in one capacity or 
another. He was admitted to a partnership in 1866 and when in 1880 the firm was 
incorporated as a state bank he was chosen assistant cashier. Following the retire- 
ment of Mr. Marshall he was elected to the vice presidency and upon the death of 
the president, Charles F. Ilsley, in 1904, Mr. Reuss was chosen to fill the vacant 
position. He continued to occupy the office for three years and then resigned to spend 
his remaining days in well earned rest, after sixty years devoted to liankjng in this 
city. He remained, however, one of the directors of the bank, taking pleasure in 
visiting the office every day to chat with his old associates and keep in touch with 
the business direction of the bank, up to the time of his demise in October, 1916. 
Mr. Reuss never took an active part in politics hut represented the sixth ward in 
the common council in the early 'SOs. He cast his first vote in 1856 for John C. 
Fremont and was usually a loyal advocate of republican principles, but at times voted 
/independently, according to the dictates of his judgment. He was always fond of 
,/ travel and visited eveiT section of the continent from Mexico to Alaska and every 
^ European country, together with Egypt and Palestine. Extensive reading and a fair 
^ knowledge of the leading European languages enabled him to derive much enjoyment 
from his travels. He was ever a man of a retiring disposition and domestic habits. 
, .. In his younger days he took pleasure in gardening and many of his friends will re- 
■ member his cosy home on Sixth street with its shady trees, well kept lawn and 
lovely flower beds. 

Gustav A. Reuss, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the Peter 



<5; 



5 ^% VEngJeman School of Milwaukee and in 1885, when a youth of seventeen years, he 
entered the Marshall & Ilsley Bank as a messenger boy. Step by step he won ad- 

-v-ancement'tffi-dTrgBTfartaus— positions, owing to his close application and capability 

in mastering the task assigned himT^In^JlSll the bank opened a branch at 374 National 
avenue and Mr. Reuss became its manager and has since conducted the branch estab- 
lishment which has grown to be one of the solid financial institutions of the city. In 
connection with his banking interests Mr. Reuss is president of the Pelton Steel 
Company, director of the Niagara Falls Power Cmpany and of the Schoellkopf Holding 
Company of Buffalo, New York, president of the Oconomowoc River Power Company 
and president of the Nashotah Realty Company. His business interests are thus 
extensive and of a most important character and his sound judgment, keen discrimina- 
tion and unfaltering enterprise are regarded as valuable assets in the conduct of all 
the business concerns with which he is identified. 

On the 14th of September, 1906, Mr. Reuss was married to Miss Paula Schoellkopf, 
a daughter of Mrs. Emelie Nunnemacher of Milwaukee. They have become the parents 
of four children: Emma Emilie, Auguste Vogel, Henry S. and John William. 

Mr. Reuss belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Modern Woodmen of 
America. He is a trustee of the Milwaukee Hospital and he belongs to the City Club, 
and the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He has a wide acquaintance in the city and state 
in which his life has been passed and where he has so directed his efforts that notable 
success has crowned his labors. His progressiveness has been manifest in many 
connections and his activities have been of a character that have contributed to public 
progress and prosperity as well as to individual advancement. 



CHARLES S. UTZ. 



Steady progress from the outset of his business career to the time of his death 
placed Charles S. Utz in a prominent position among the representatives of commercial 
and industrial activity in Milwaukee, his native city. He early came to a realization 
of the fact that industry and energy are among the most potent forces in life and he 
employed these to good advantage in the attainment of success. Born in 1859, he was 
a son of Frederick and Eliza (Ries) Utz. who were natives of Switzerland. The father 
crossed the Atlantic in 1852, settling in New York city, and in 1854 the voyage was 
made by his wife and three children who joined him there. In September, 1S56, they 
removed to Milwaukee and Frederick Utz, who was a pattern maker by trade, here 
secured employment along that line of work, devoting his entire life thereto. 

Charles S. Utz acquired his education in the public schools of his native city, 
which lie attended to the age of fourteen years, when the father died, leaving a large 
faffiily. The mother had been a student under Priedrich Froebel, the noted scholar 




CHARLES S. UTZ 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 327 

of Switzerland and the promoter of the Froebel educational system. Charles S. Utz 
took up the printer's trade at an early age and for twenty-three years was in the 
employ of George Brumder of the Germania. He steadily acquainted himself with 
various phases of the business and worked his way upward step by step. When almost 
a quarter of a century had passed, through the assistance of Mr. Brumder he engaged 
in the manufacture of printers' rollers, becoming president and manager of a company 
devoted to that line of business. Mr. Utz continued at tlie head of the undertaking 
until his demise, which occurred May 18. 1921. He liad been an employer who enjoyed 
in the fullest measure the respect and confidence of employes and the goodwill and 
high regard of his colleagues in the business. Mrs. Utz is now vice president and 
treasurer of the company. 

It was on the 15th of October. 1884. that Mr. Utz was married to Miss Nettie H. 
Van Horn, a daughter of Zachariah and Mary Elizabeth (Hyde) Van Horn, who came 
to Milwaukee about 1845, They were married in this city in 1850 and Mr. Van Horn 
was an active factor in shaping the history and development of Milwaukee. Mr. and 
Mrs. T'tz became parents of four children: Gretchen Annette, who is now the wife 
of Walter C. Atherton, is a resident of Milwaukee and the mother of two children, Richard 
C. and Robert W. ; and Edith Mary. Charles S. and Fielding Alfred, who are at home. 
Charles S. Utz. Jr., is a veteran of the World war. He enlisted in April, 1917, for 
overseas service in the Thirty-second Division, the famous Red Arrow Division. He 
was a member of the Field Hospital No. 12t3 and sailed for France on the 3d of March 
with the field artillery, having been prevented from sailing with his bompany by illness. 
On arriving in France, however, he joined his own company and he participated in 
some of the most important engagements in which the American troops took part, 
including the Aisne-Marne offensive, the Oise-Aisne offensive, the Meuse-Argonne and 
other important movements of the American troops, who so successfully turned the 
tide of battle at Chateau Thierry and from that time forward kept the Germans on 
the retreat. Following the signing of the armistice Mr. Utz spent five months with 
the Army of Occupation in Germany and was discharged May 21, 1919. While in 
Germany he was stationed at Rengsdorf. His brother, Fielding A., was with the Army 
of Occupation at Oberbieber, Germany, for he, too, was a soldier of the World war. 
He enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Seventh Engineers of the Thirty-second 
Division, in April, 1917, and sailed for France on the 29th of January, 1918. He was 
in all of the battles in which his brother took part and in other engagements as well 
in which the company of engineers participated. He received his discharge on the 
28th of Jlay, 1919, after having served for five months with the Army of Occupation. 
The family have every reason to be proud of the record of these two sons. 

The father, Charles S. Utz, Sr., was a member of the Masonic fraternity and 
loyally followed the teachings and high purposes of the craft, belonging to Lafayette 
Lodge. He also had membership in the Old Settlers Club and in the Credit Men's 
Association. He belonged to the Grand Avenue Congregational church and was a 
warm admirer of Dr. Beale, its pastor. For many years he served as one of the 
trustees of the church and was greatly loved and honored not only in that congregation 
but by friends throughout the city and state. Mr. Utz was always actively and 
prominently identified with those things that made for the betterment of the city 
and for the uplift of the individual. His life was guided by the highest and most 
manly principles. He was a faithful citizen, a lover of the home, devoted to the 
welfare of wife and children and he also at all times held friendship inviolable. 



JAMES A. BACH. M. D. 



Dr. James A. Bach, who has been engaged in the practice of his profession for a 
longer period perhaps than any other physician of Milwaukee, is now specializing 
in the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat and for a third of a 
century has devoted his time and energy to professional work of a most important 
character in the Cream city. A native of Wisconsin, he was born on a farm In 
Washington county, October 1.3, 1860, and is a son of Mathias and Anna (Moots) 
Bach. The father was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg and came to America 
in 1846. settling in Washington county, having married, however, prior to crossing 
the Atlantic. Here he devoted his attention to farming throughout his remaining 
days. To him and his wife were born thirteen children, four of whom are living. 
Dr. Bach was reared on the old home farm to the age of twelve years. In early 
manhood he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for two years, 
but prior to that time was a student in the State Normal School at Oshkosh. He 
afterward spent three years as a medical student in the ITniversity of Michigan, 
from which he was graduated with the class of 1884, and having thus thoroughly 
qualified for the practice of medicine, he entered upon the work of the profession 
in Milwaukee, where he has remained since, save for the period from 1887 until 



328 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

1889, which he spent abroad in further study, specializing in the treatment of dis- 
eases of the eye. ear, nose and throat in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna. 

Following his return in 18 89, Dr. Bach reopened an office in Milwaukee and 
through the intervening period to the present has given his attention solely to his 
specialty, occupying offices in the Wells building since 1902. Constant study and 
broad experience have continually promoted his knowledge and e'fficiency and he is 
today a recognized authority upon that field of practice which claims his attention. 
He has written largely for medical journals, which is indicative of the value placed 
upon his opinions in medical circles. He belongs to the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, 
the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association and is a fellow oi the American College of Surgeons. 
He likewise has membership in the Milwaukee Oto-Ophthalmic Society and in the 
American Oto-Ophthalmological Society and with modern research and the latest 
developments of scientific investigation he is thoroughly familiar. For a quarter 
of a century Dr. Bach held the chair of ophthalmology and otology in the Wiscon- 
sin College of Physicians and Surgeons, which later became the medical department 
of Marquette University, where he continued to teach these specialties. He is now a 
member of the staff of St. Mary's Hospital and chairman of its executive committee. 
His private practice is extensive, patients coming to him from many states. 

In 1895 Dr. Bach was married to Miss Catherine E. Pick, a native of West Bend, 
Wisconsin, and they have become parents of six children, the family circle yet re- 
maining unbroken by the hand of death. These children are: C. Edwin, James J., 
Marcus J., Catherine T., John R. and Rosemary Louise, the last named being now 
five years of age. The eldest son, Clarence Edwin Bach, is a senior in the medical 
department of the University of Pennsylvania, while James J. is a graduate of Mar- 
quette University. Marcus J. is a Junior in the medical college of the University of 
Pennsylvania. Catherine is attending the University of Wisconsin and John R. is a 
student in Marquette University. 

Dr. Bach belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He is fond of golf, of fish- 
ing and hunting and greatly enjoys travel, spending his leisure hours in this way, 
whereby he has become largely familiar with the history of Europe, Canada, Alaska, 
Cuba and Mexico. 

During the war Dr. Bach offered his services several times, but owing to his age 
was never called into service. All through the war he -was active as a member of 
advisory board No. 1, at Milwaukee. 

His three sons, C. Edwin, James J. and Mark J. volunteered and served in the Navy, 
though not abroad. 



ADOLF HAFNER. 



Adolf Hafner, president and manager of the firm of Adolf Hafner & Company, 
public accountants, production engineers, auditors and taxation counsellors, with 
offices in the Caswell block in Milwaukee, was born in this city March 6, 1889, a son 
of Adolf and Louise (Tyre) Hafner. The father was a native of Switzerland! while 
the mother's birth occurred in Milwaukee. The father came to the United States in 
1879, taking up his abode in this city, where he met and married Miss Tyre. To 
them were born a son and three daughters. Mr. Hafner served as weighmaster" with 
the Layton Packing Company throughout the period of his residence here and at the 
time of his death the plant was closed down during the funeral hours, this being the 
■first time that such an honor was ever paid to an employe of the company. Mr. Hafner 
was an active member of the Schweitzer Club and also of the South Side Turnverein. 
He passed away in 1916 and is still survived by his widow. The three daughters of the 
family are Mrs. Myron York, Mrs. Herman Engelke and Erna, all living in Milwaukee. 

The only son, Adolf Hafner, whose name introduces this review, was educated in 
the public schools of his native city and in a commercial college and when his text- 
books were put aside he was employed by the F. Mayer Boot & Shoe Company in the 
capacity of bookkeeper for a period of five years. He afterward occupied the re- 
sponsible position of credit manager with the Milwaukee Leader for a year and later 
became credit manager for the Gem Hammock & Ply Net Company and its many 
subsidiary companies, holding that position for two years. He was next with the 
vocational school known as the Central Continuation School as instructor of higher 
accountancy for a period of five years and in the meantime he established his present 
business, thus providing a training place for his own juniors and seniors. In April, 
1917, the business was incorporated under the name of Adolf Hafner & Company, with 
nine of his pupils who had been his students for five years as stockholders in the busi- 
ness. Most of these men are still associated with him. The first year's business of 
the company amounted to two thousand dollars and was developed to a business of 
fifty thousand dollars in 1920, showing a wonderful growth. The officers of the com- 
pany are: Adolf Hafner, 'president; Joseph C. Brauer, secretary; Walter Windfelder, 




ADOLF HAFXKR 



HISTORY OF ^MILWAUKEE 331 

vice president; Miss Marie Vette, treasurer; and Leonard Hunger, assistant secre- 
tary. Tlie company was incorporated for twenty-five thousand dollars paid up capital 
stock, with Mr. Hafner as the majority stockholder. He has always held to the highest 
professional standards and today he is at the head of the largest local concern of its 
kind in the city. The officers and the representatives of the house are all Milwaukee 
men and today there are more than twenty who are permanently employed by the com- 
pany, while their clients number more than four hundred business men and firms. 

Mr. Hafner belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degrees of both 
the York and Scottish Rites, becoming a member of Wisconsin Commandery, K. T. ; 
Wisconsin Consistory, A. A. S. R. ; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has 
been very active in the various Masonic bodies and is a loyal and exemplary follower 
of the teachings of the craft. He is a member of the Association of Commerce, the 
newly created Ozaukee County Country Club, the South Side Turner Society and the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club and is assistant secretary of the Milwaukee Optimist Club. 
He is actuated in all that he does by a progressive spirit and manifests the utmost 
devotion to the city in all matters of vital public concern. 



FRED HOFFMANN.. 



Prominent among the energetic, tarsighted and successful business men of Mil- 
waukee is Fred Hoffmann, the president of the Hoffmann & Billings Manufacturing 
Company, manufacturers and jobbers of plumbing and heating supplies in Milwaukee. 
He not only deserves mention in the history of the city by reason of his close and 
prominent connection with its commercial interests, but also by reason of the fact 
that he is one of the native sons and a representative of one of the old pioneer families. 
His parents were John Christian and Wilhelmina (Cordes) Hoffmann, both of whom 
were natives of Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany. The father was born June 1, 1828, 
a son of Balthasar Hoffmann, who was a furrier by trade and owned a small farm 
near Frankfort. John C. Hoffmann acQuired his education in the schools of his native 
city and throughout life embraced every opportunity that would promote his knowl- 
edge, thus becoming a thoroughly well informed man. In his youthful days he served 
a four years' apprenticeship to the locksmith's trade under a celebrated mechanic of 
Frankfort and later, because of his deep interest in the political revolution of Ger- 
many of 1848, being opposed to the militarism and autocracy of Prussia, he bade 
adieu to the fatherland and after a brief stay in Paris, where so many German refugees 
found temporary shelter, he crossed the sea, arriving in New Orleans in September, 
1848. There he saw human beings bought and sold as goods and chattels and the 
horror of this so impressed him that he early allied himself with the republican 
party, remaining one of its stanch supporters. Cholera was raging in New Orleans 
at the time of his arrival and business was prostrated. After a few days spent in 
a fruitless search for work he accepted a position as nurse at a liberal compensation 
to attend cholera patients and fortunately escaped the dread disease, although later 
his own home suffered from the encroachment of that malady. 

Leaving New Orleans John C. Hoffmann went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was 
employed as a journeyman machinist and while there residing he was married, but 
his wife and their one child passed away in 1850 when the cholera epidemic broke 
out in that city. A little later Mr. Hoffmann removed to Springfield, Ohio, where 
in the employ of William Constantine, machinist, he won the reputation of being an 
expert in fine workmanship as an iron planer and as an adept in dispatching work 
quickly. In 18.54 he removed to Milwaukee in company with Mr. Schrieber, one of 
his fellow townsmen in Germany. Soon afterward they purchased a farm near Muskego 
lake, but soon tired of agricultural life and Mr. Hoffmann then engaged in business 
in Milwaukee on his own account. Subsequently he formed a partnership with Mr. 
Schrieber and purchased a small machine shop on State street, there establishing a 
brass foundry and general machine shop. The partnership continued until 186.5, when 
Mr. Hoffmann purchased the interest of his partner, but continued the business under 
the old name until 1870. His patronage grew rapidly and in 1870 0. F. Billings and 
M. Coogan were admitted to a partnership, under the firm style of Hoffmann. Billings 
& Company. In 1882 their interests were incorporated under the name of the Hoff- 
mann & Billings Manufacturing Company, capitalized for two hundred thousand dollars, 
which was later increased to two hundred and forty thousand dollars, Mr. Hoffmann 
becoming president of the company, then employing one hundred and fifty men. 
Still their trade increased rapidly and they built the south side foundry and machine 
shops, giving employment to four hundred men. In 1891 Mr. Hoffmann was stricken 
with paralysis and passed away January 6, 1892. He was succeeded in the presidency 
of the company by his elder son, Balthasar Hoffmann. In politics the father was a 
republican, but would never accept office, although frequently solicited to do so. He 
was always loyal in his support of his adopted country and met all of the demands 



332 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

and obligations of citizenship. On the IStli ot December, 1856, he married Willielmina 
Cordes, a native of Leipsic, Germany, who passed away in August, 1881, her death 
being deeply regretted by many friends. They were the parents of five children, two 
sons and three daughters, who reached adult age, namely: Balthasar, Dora, Fred, 
Emelia and Matilda, while those still living are: Emelia, Fred and Matilda. 

Fred Hoffmann was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and in the State 
School of Mines at Golden, Colorado, being there graduated from the engineering 
department in 1892. He afterward returned to Milwaukee and became a member of 
the firm of Hoffmann & Billings, working in the different branches of the manufactur- 
ing end of the business and acquainting himself with the enterprise in principle 
and detail. For about two years after his father's death Balthasar Hoffmann was 
president of the company, but in February, 1893, he withdrew, at which time he was 
succeeded by Fred Hoffmann, who has since been the head of the establishment, which 
is today one of the large and important manufacturing enterprises of the city. 

On the 20th of November, 1895, Mr. Hoffmann was married to Miss Clara Lang 
of Milwaukee, a daughter of Dr. J. Lang, a noted physician of this city. They have 
two sons and a daughter: Frederick and Edward, twins, who are active Boy Scouts; 
and Mrs. Carl Pieper of Milwaukee, 

During the World war Mr. Hoffmann took active part in promoting the various 
drives and gave his undivided attention to the manufacture of shower baths for the 
government, these being sent to France. He also made valves for the different navy 
yards and spent all of his time in supervising the work in connection with govern- 
ment needs. Mr. Hoffmann belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Wisconsin 
Club, of which he is a director and he is serving on the athletic committee of the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club. The greater part of his time and attention, however, is 
given to the control and direction of the extensive business which is now carried 
on under the firm style of Hoffmann & Billings Manufacturing Coaipany, manu- 
facturers and jobbers in plumbing and heating supplies. His active association with 
the business covers a long period and he has ever displayed thoroughness and efficiency 
in whatever he has undertaken. 



HUGO L. JACOBI, D. D. S. 



Dr. Hugo L. Jacobi, well known as one of the capable dentists of Milwaukee, with 
office at No. 2704 North avenue, was born in New Holstein, Wisconsin, September 
30, 1880. His professional training was received in the old Wisconsin College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, now the Marquette University, from which he was graduated 
in 1902 with the D. D. S. degree. He entered upon the practice of his profession on 
North avenue and through the intervening period has steadily advanced until his 
patronage is today very extensive. He has ever kept in touch with the advanced 
thought and improvement in methods made by the dental fraternity and he thoroughly 
understands all of the scientific principles back of the actual work of the office. He 
belongs to the Milwaukee County, Wisconsin State and National Association of Den- 
tists and also to the Marquette Alumni. 

In 1901 Dr. Jacobi was married to Miss Catharine S. Henrich of Milwaukee, and 
they are well known socially in the city. Dr. Jacobi has membership with various 
leading fraternal organizations. He is a Mason, belonging to Independent Lodge, 
A. F'. & A. M.; Wisconsin Chapter, R. A. M.; Wisconsin Council, R. & S. M.; Wisconsin 
Commandery, K. T.; and Wisconsin Consistory, A. A. S. R., while with the Nobles 
of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert to Tripoli Temple. He is 
likewise a member of the Tripoli Motor Club and he belongs to the Benevolent Pro- 
tective Order of Elks. His social qualities as well as his professional ability have 
established him high in public regard and he is most widely and favorably known 
in this city. 



RICHARD 0. BAYER. 



Among the important business enterprises of Milwaukee is that with which 
Richard O. Bayer is connected. He is president of the Milwaukee Toy Company, whole- 
sale jobbers in toys, the business having been founded by him in 1914, since which 
time it has grown to extensive proportions. Mr. Bayer is one of Milwaukee's native 
sons, his birth having occurred February IS, 1874, his parents being Dr. William and 
Rose Bayer, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came to Milwaukee in 
1848. Dr. Bayer was one of the pioneer teachers here and established the first busi- 
ness college of the city known as the Bayer Commercial College, which he maintained 
tor many years, making it a well known institution and one of the leading business 
colleges of his day. Dr. Bayer was also a teacher of languages and was a linguist of 




RICHARD 0. BAYER 



PIISTORY OF MILWATKEE 335 

marked ability, speaking many tongues fluently and proving most successful in in- 
structing others in this way. He died in I'JOti, having for a decade survived his wife, 
who passed away in 1895. 

Richard O, Bayer was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, being graduated 
in 18X6. He then started out in the business world as an errand boy in the employ 
of the Meinecke Toy Company, with which he remained until the firm went out of 
existence in 1913, or for a period of twenty-seven years. He had steadily worked his 
way upward from one position to another until he had become secretary of the com- 
pany, his powers being steadily developed through his experience, while the scope of 
his activity constantly broadened with each promotion that he won. In 1913 he went 
abroad, spending that and the succeeding year in Europe, visiting various countries 
and upon his return to Milwaukee he organized the Milwaukee Toy Company in 1914. 
This is a corporation, of which he is tiie president, and from the beginning the 
undertaking has met with substantial success. His plan was to gather from foreign 
and domestic markets all of the novelty toys and make a specialty of supplying 
churches, schools, societies and clubs for their various entertainments, such as picnics, 
bazaars and dances. The business has grown from a small beginning until the house 
is now recognized as one of the leading establishments of the kind in the middle 
west, the officers of the company concentrating their energies upon securing and selling 
to toy and novelty houses. Mr. Bayer consiantly studies the markets and goes abroad 
every year to buy his goods. The business is indeed one of broad scope and in its 
conduct Mr. Bayer shows initiative, enterprise and marked progressiveness. 

In club circles Mr. Bayer has a wide acquaintance, belonging to the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club and the Rotary Club, He is also identified with the various Masonic 
bodies, with the Knights of Pythias and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks 
and he has membership in the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, cooperating in 
all of the plans and projects of that organization for the city's benefit and upbuilding, 
the extension of its trade relations and the maintenance of high civic standards and 
ideals. 



EMERSON D. HOYT. 



Emerson D, Hoyt is living retired in Wauwatosa. He has passed the seventy- 
fourth milestone on life's journey and a career of intense and intelligently directed 
business activity has brought him to the point where necessity no longer forces him 
into the strenuous business world. His record is as an open book which all may 
'read, for he is a native son of Wauwatosa and has spent his life in this state. He 
was born March 7, 1847, a son of Thomas D. and Catharine (Smith) Hoyt, the father 
a native of New Hampshire, while the mother was born in Jefferson county. New 
York. Thomas D. Hoyt came to Jlilwaukee with his father, Thomas Hoyt, in the 
year 1835 and Catharine Smith arrived with her parents in 1836, so that both were 
representatives of old pioneer families of this city and were here married in the year 
1842. The paternal grandfather of Emerson D. Hoyt conducted a hotel in Chicago 
before coming to Milwaukee and was also engaged in merchandising there. After 
taking up his abode in Milwaukee county he obtained a farm and filed a claim on 
land at Thirty-fifth and North avenue in 1835. He was. indeed, one of the earliest 
of the pioneer settlers of this county and contributed in large measure to its prog- 
ress and development in that early period. In 1836 he was appointed justice of the 
peace by Governor Dodge. 

Thomas D. Hoyt, the father, was also a farmer by' occupation, devoting his 
attention to the work of tilling the soil until his death, which occurred in 1850, 
when he was but thirty-five years of age. He was commissioned by Governor Dodge 
as a lieutenant in the state militia and he also served as the first tax collector of the 
town of Wauwatosa. His widow long survived him, reaching the advanced age of 
ninety-four years ere death called her in 1911. 

Emerson D. Hoyt was the only child of this marriage. He acquired a limited 
education by attending public and private schools, but though his opportunities for 
educational training on the western frontier were limited, he has learned many 
valuable lessons in the school of experience and has added greatly to his knowledge 
through reading and observation. He. too, started in life as a farmer and con- 
tinued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits until he reached the age of 
forty years, when he sold his farm and took up his abode in Wauwatosa. In 1892 
he became interested in the building of the street car line extending from Walnut 
and Twenty-seventh streets to Wauwatosa and also the building of the electric light 
plant. He was associated with that enterprise until the business was sold to the 
Milwaukee Electric Company in 1896, at which time he practically retired from 
active business and has since enjoyed a well earned rest. 

Mr. Hoyt nas figured quite prominently in public life and his activities have 
constituted a valuable contribution to advancement and upbuilding in the state. 



336 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

He was a member of the Wisconsin general assembly tor four terms, being first 
elected in 1886, and his frequent reelections indicated most clearly the value of 
his service and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen, who thus 
again and again called him to office. He was also elected the first president of the 
village of Wauwatosa and upon its incorporation as a city in 189 7 was elected its 
first mayor and served for ten years as president of the village and mayor, or in 
other words as its chief executive officer, at all times giving to the city a business- 
like and progressive administration. In 19 7 he became one of the organizers of 
the First National Bank of Wauwatosa and was elected its- first president, continuing 
to serve as such until 1921. He is also one of the IWilwaukee county park com- 
missioners, having filled this position since the organization. In a word Mr. Hoyt 
has been instrumental in the upbuilding of the town of Wauwatosa to a marked 
degree and has made it one of the most beautiful and attractive suburbs of IVIil- 
waiikee, having now a population of about six thousand. He has always been 
accounted one of the leading spirits in the community, and while he has retired 
from business, he always stands ready to do his part in relation to any activity 
for the public good. 

On the 2 2d of September, 18 7 0, Mr. Hoyt was married to Miss Carrie P. Holston, 
a native of Columbus, Ohio, whose parents, however, came to Milwaukee during 
her infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt had two children: Samuel D., who follows farm- 
ing; and Miriam, who resides with her father. Mrs. Hoyt passed away March 22, 
1896, her death being deeply deplored by many friends as well as her immediate 
family. In Watiwatosa, not to know Emerson D. Hoyt is to argue one's self un- 
known. He has been a most prominent and influential resident there for many 
years and Milwaukee claims him as a splendid type of the progressive citizen who 
has promoted her development and welfare. Out of the struggle with small oppor- 
tunities he came finally into a field of broad and active influence and usefulness, 
and while he has passed the Psalmist's span of threescore years and ten, in spirit 
and interests he seems yet a man in his prime. 



ANTON ASMUTH. 



For many years Anton Asmuth was prominently known in connection with the 
grain trade and the malting business in Milwaukee, operating extensively along both 
lines and winning a leading position as an astute, far-sighted and sagacious business 
man. His advancement was attributable entirely to his own efforts. Without special 
advantages at the outset of his career he worked his way steadily upward, obstacles " 
and difficulties in his path seeming to serve but as an impetus for renewed effort on 
his part. He was born at Eppe, Waldeok, Germany, December 19, 1851, his parents 
being Anton and Elizabeth (Bergenthal) Asmuth. who were also natives of Germany, 
where they spent their entire lives, the father devoting his attention to agricultural 
pursuits. 

It was during his boyhood that Anton Asmuth left his native country and came to 
the new world, where he supplemented his early educational training by thorough 
study in the German-English Academy of Milwaukee and also in the East Side high 
school. His financial condition made it imperative that he accept any employment 
that would yield him an honest living and for several years he worked in various 
ways until he could gain a start. He first became connected with the grain business 
of his uncle, Franz Bergenthal, and while thus employed gained an accurate 
knowledge of barley and in later years became a heavy operator in that cereal. In 
1S71 he entered the employ of the Philip Best Brewing Company, with which he con- 
tinued for a period of five years, and in 1876 he became a member of the firm of 
Salomon, Asmuth & Company, dealers in produce, carrying on a general commission 
and grain commission business. In 1878 Mr. Salomon retired from the firm and the 
name of Asmuth, Grau & Company was then assumed. In 1879 this becime Asmuth 
& Kraus, and the firm prospered in the conduct of a general commission business and 
also in the purchase and sale of coarse grains, hay and feed, specializing in barley. 
They likewise had a large feed mill at the foot of Broadway on Erie street, where 
their office was located. They extended the scope of their activities, moreover, in 1879, 
when they began the business of malting, erecting a malt house at the corner of 
South Water and Park streets in the fifth ward, with a capacity for the manufacture 
of one hundred and seventy-five thousand bushels of malt annually. In 1881 they en- 
larged their plant by the erection of a barley elevator adjoining the malt house, with 
a storage capacity of two hundred and fifty thousand bushels. The business was 
profitably carried on for some time and then the name was changed to the Asmuth 
Malt Grain Company, Mr. Asmuth remaining in active association therewith until 189S. 
when he disposed of his interest and retired. In 1901 the Milwaukee Malting Com- 




ANTON ASMUTH 



Vol. 11—2 2 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 339 

pany was organizeil, having its plant at the corner of Reynolds and South Bay streets, 
and Mr. Asniuth was closely associated therewith to the time of his demise. 

In 18S9 Mr. Asmuth was married to Miss Gertrude Stolz, a daughter of Henry and 
Margaret Stolz. and they became the parents of a son, Anton William Asmuth, who 
wedded Jane Ellsworth Schumacher, a daughter of Ferdinand Schumacher. There are 
three children of this marriage: Anton William, James Ellsworth and Robert Stolz. 

Such in brief is the lite history of Anton Asmuth, who was a man of marked 
business capability, a splendid organizer, possessed of much executive force and ad- 
ministrative power. In early life he recognized the value and the power of industry 
and determination, and he always cultivated these qualities in the conduct of his 
business affairs. As the years passed on his operations grew in volume and importance, 
and for many years he was a prominent factor in connection with the grain trade and 
with the malting business in the Cream City. His life illustrated clearly the possi- 
bilities open to the young man of foreign birth who sought to take advantage of the 
business conditions here found and utilized their opportunities in the attainment of 
success. The reward of earnest and intelligently directed labor came to Anton Asmuth 
and his business associates and his many friends greatly mourned his death, which 
occurred January 3, 1912. 



LOUIS E. H. WILL. 



In the trade development of Milwaukee which has transformed North avenue 
Into a splendid business section, many enterprising men have figured and to this 
class belongs Louis E. H. Will, who is now conducting a well appointed drug store 
at 24 25 North avenue, his establishment being one of the most attractive on the 
thoroughfare. Milwaukee claims him as a native son. He was born January 13, 
1886, his parents being Charles and Johanna (Papenfuss) Will, both of whom were 
natives of Pommern, Germany. Crossing the Atlantic, they first settled in Ontario, 
Canada, in 1878 and in 1880 they came to Milwaukee. The father was employed 
by the Milwaukee Street Railway Company as a blacksmith when the corporation 
was running its dummy line. He continued to act for the company after it made 
mules the motive power and subsequently when electric power was installed. 

Louis E. H. Will pursued his early education in the public and parochial schools 
of Milwaukee and afterward attended Concordia College, a theological school of 
this city, but was obliged to give up his studies there on account of ill health. He 
subsequently turned to the study of pharmacy under Professor Mieding, now a 
practicing physician, and later Mr. Will worked as assistant chemist under Dr. 
Ortho Fiedler. He took his final examination at Madison, Wisconsin, on the 17th 
of April, 1908, and later went to Kenosha, this state, where he was manager for 
the OUe Pharmacy for a period of five years. On the 28th of August, 1913, he 
established himself in business at his present address — 2425 North avenue in Mil- 
waukee — and has here since conducted a most attractive store, building up an ex- 
cellent trade as the years have passed. He carries a large and carefully selected line 
of drugs and druggists' sundries, makes every effort to please his customers and 
now has a very extensive patronage. He belongs to the Milwaukee Pharmaceutical 
Association and to the National Association of Retail Druggists. 

On the 21st of September, 1909, Mr. Will was married to Miss Erna Barthmann 
of Milwaukee, and they have one son, Hubert Louis. Mr. Will has membership with 
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the North Avenue 
Advancement Association, which indicates his keen interest in the welfare and 
progress of the section of the city in which he is located. He likewise has member- 
ship with the American Concord Men. He stands at all times for those things which 
are of greatest value and benefit in community advancement and in business life 
he has ever been actuated by a strong and steadfast purpose, never deviating from 
the path which he has marked out and overcoming all obstacles and difficulties by 
determined will and resolute effort. 



JOSEPH B. KALVELAGE. 



Joseph B. Kalvelage, secretary and treasurer of the Hoffmann & Billings Manu- 
facturing Company, manufacturers and jobbers of plumbers' supplies, was born in 
New York city, August 20, 1850, his parents being John B. and Anna M. (Trenkamp) 
Kalvelage. both of whom were natives of Oldenburg, Germany, whence they came to 
America in 1845, settling in New York city. The year 1851 witnessed their arrival 
in Milwaukee, where the father engaged in the soap manufacturing business under 
the firm name of F. Trenkamp & Company, the plant being located where the elec- 



340 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

trie power house rrow stands, while later a removal was made to 209 Michigan street. 
The concern built up quite a big business, dealing with the jobbers for a number of 
years, and Mr. Kalvelage continued in the business to the time of his death in 1870. 
His wife long survived him and had reached the notable old age of ninety-one years 
when she passed away in 1902. 

Joseph B. Kalvelage was educated in the German-English Academy, now the 
Milwaukee University School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1864. 
He started on his business career with the Price Brothers, a brokerage firm, which 
was afterward merged into the firm of Goodrich, Rumsey & Company. Mr. Kalve- 
lage remained with the latter concern for about three years and then became the 
successor of his father's partner in the soap manufacturing business, with which 
he was associated for a decade. On the expiration of that period he accepted the 
position of bookkeeper with the Michigan Salt Agency of Milwaukee and so con- 
tinued for three years. His identification with the Hoffmann & Billings Manufacturing 
Company dates from 1878. He had been with the concern for but a brief period 
when he was made treasurer of the company and about a year later was also elected 
secretary, since which time he has filled the dual position, covering a period of about 
forty-two years. His enterprise, his cooperation and his farsighted business methods 
have been important features in the continued growth and progress of this under- 
taking. He has long enjoyed a most enviable reputation as a progressive and 
thoroughly reliable business man, one whose business methods have at all times 
been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. 

On the 27th of May, 1877, Mr. Kalvelage was married to Miss Dorothea Hoff- 
mann, a daughter of John C. Hoffmann, the founder of the Hoffmann & Billings Manu- 
facturing Company. To them have been born four children: John B.; Clements; 
Dorothea, who is the widow of Dr. Richard Schorse; and Emily, the wife of C. G. 
Ortmayer of Milwaukee. The second son, Clements, was with the One Hundred and 
Twenty-seventh Engineers under Major Greene during the World war. He went 
overseas to France, serving for two years with the rank of sergeant, and was under 
bomb fire. For a time he was with the Army of Occupation in Germany. The 
family resides at No. 305 Prospect avenue. Mr. Kalvelage is a member of the Old 
Settlers Club. At the present, however, he is not identified with club organizations, 
confining his attention to his business affairs, his civic obligations and the pleasures 
of home life. 



ERNEST TRETTIN. 



The history of Milwaukee must accord considerable space to the life record of 
Ernest Trettin, who for many years was a substantial business man and was always 
identified with those projects and interests looking to the benefit and welfare of the 
Cream City. He was born in Pomerania, Germany, in 1870 and departed this life in 
Milwaukee, June 4, 1921, having scarcely more than passed the half century mark on 
life's journey. His father, Ludwig Trettin, had come to the United States in 1883, 
settling in Milwaukee, where he opened a bakery, which he conducted for several 
years, retiring in 1896. 

Ernest Trettin was a youth of thirteen years when he accompanied his parents 
to the new world and became a resident of Milwaukee. Here he continued his educa- 
tion as a public school student for a year, having previously spent the greater part 
of his boyhood in school in Germany. When twenty-six years of age he took over 
his father's bakery and continued in the business until his death, his establishment 
being located on Third and Harmon streets. He had one of the largest bakeries in the 
city, and it was ever noted for the sanitary conditions that prevailed as well as tor the 
excellence of the product which he handled. 

On the 20th of April, 1900, Mr. Trettin was married to Miss Emma Schumacher, a 
daughter of Henry and Anna (Kimme) Schumacher and a granddaughter of Fred 
Schumacher, who was a native of Germany and settled in Milwaukee about 1838, 
finding here nothing but a little village. At that time he wished to buy the property 
where the city hall now stands but it was a swampy district and he decided against 
making the purchase. Instead he went to Cedarburg, where he took up a homestead 
claim. He was a carpenter by trade but cleared his land and spent his remaining days 
in farming. The old home place was owned by the Schumacher family up to two 
years ago. The Kimme family arrived in America a few years after the Schumacher 
family and settlement was made at Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Schumacher farm 
was developed into one of the best farming properties of Ozankee county and com- 
prised two hundred acres of land, which by reason of the care and cultivation that was 
bestowed upon the tract produced splendid crops. Mr. Schumacher built a stone house, 
which was the first residence of the kind in the county. He also owned the first buggy 
used in that vicinity and kept only blooded stock. He paid as high as six hundred 




ERNEST TRETTIN 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 343 

dollars for a colt, and his cattle were full blooded Holstein. He continued the work 
of developing and improving his property as the years passed on until it was one of 
the show places of the county, and Ihereon he spent his last days, passing away in 
1S79. To Mr. and Mrs. Trettin were born six children, of whom two died in infancy, 
the others being: Minnie, William, Florence and Ernest. 

In 1S91 Mr. Trettin returned to Germany, being then twenty-one years of age. 
He was drafted into the German army and held as a subject of Germany, but through 
the influence of Alderman Fass of Milwaukee he obtained his release and returned to 
this city. In 1911 he again visited his native land. He was a member of the Germania 
Club and also of the Old Settlers Club. His political endorsement was given to the 
democratic party, and his religious faith was that of the German Lutheran church. 
He had a wide acquaintance in this city by reason of his activity in business and his 
long residence here. Those who knew him speak of him in terms of warm regard, 
for he displayed the sterling qualities of the progressive, alert and energetic business 
man who while promoting his individual fortunes also recognized his duties and 
obligations in regard to the community at large and greatly assisted in any project 
for the public good. 



CYRUS H. KOKEN. 



Cyrus H. Koken. president of the Kraus & Koken Company, dealers and con- 
tractors in paints and paper, in which connection he has developed a substantial 
business, was born December 6, 1849, in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, his parents being 
Levi and Matilda (Fenicle) Koken, who were also natives of Pennsylvania. The son 
obtained his education in the schools of his native city and after putting aside his 
textbooks learned the trade of painting, paper hanging and decorating, serving a 
three years' apprenticeship in that connection in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was 
a young man of about twenty-eight years when he made his way westward, settling 
first at Freeport. Illinois, where he continued to reside until 188.5. 

In that year Mr. Koken came to Mihvaukee. An elder brother had preceded him 
to Freeport in 1875 and also removed to Milwaukee prior to the arrival here of 
Cyrus H. Koken. The latter at once began work at his trade and was thus employed 
for about three years or until he formed a partnership in 1888 to carry on business 
on his own account under the firm name of Xase, Kraus & Koken. This connection 
continued until 1905. when Mr. Nase retired and the business is now carried on 
under the name of Kraus & Koken Company. For a period of more than a third of 
a century, the company has been active in the business in Milwaukee and has long 
enjoyed a liberal patronage. Their success is the direct result of capability, marked 
skill and efficiency. They have done work in some of the finest homes in the city 
and their patronage has steadily increased as the years have gone by, bringing them 
gratifying success. 

In 1876 Mr. Koken was married to Miss Martha Frey, a daughter of Jacob Frey, 
a resident of Bangor, Northampton county, Pennsylvania. They have become parents 
of eight children: Forrest; Bertha, the wife of Adelbert Sheldon; Robert; Roy; 
Florence, the wife of James Burke; Harry; George; and Myrtle, the wife of Oscar 
Spies. 

Mr. Koken belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, while in politics he is a 
republican, voting for the party where national issues and questions are involved 
yet never hesitating to cast an independent ballot if his judgment dictates this to be 
the wiser course. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and throughout 
his entire life has been guided by high and honorable principles, his course com- 
mending him to the confidence and respect of all who know him. 



THE DOWNING BOX COMPANY. 

The Downing Box Company is composed of men who have spent a great many 
years solving the problems of the shipping public. Thorough study and undaunted 
enterprise lie back of the steady development of the business of this concern, a 
business that has rapidly grown. The company was organized in July, 1918, with a 
capitalization of three hundred thousand dollars. Work was immediately begun in 
connection with the erection of a factory building which is four hundred by one 
hundred feet and which was compljpted within a comparatively short time. The 
factory and general offices are located at 1702 Third street and in planning the first 
unit ample provision was made for the natural development of the business in the 
purchase of a five acre plot of ground. The second unit, which will be a duplicate 



344 HISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 

of the first, has since been started and -will be brought to completion as rapidly as 
conditions will permit. 

After operating at their present location for a period of a year the officers of the 
Downing Box Company readily saw the necessity of further provision for expansion 
purposes and purchased twenty-two acres of ground situated on the upper Milwaukee 
river, where they will ultimately erect a large paper mill. 

The Downing Box Company is headed by A. C. Downing as president. He it was 
who pioneered the fibre and corrugated box industry from its infancy and in the 
years when the use of fibre and corrugated boxes were considered mostly a dream, 
Mr. Downing forged ahead with such experiments and exhaustive tests that it was not 
long before the shipping public realized that a new era had been reached in the 
packing-room- department. Back of Mr. Downing's experience, of course, stands the 
facilities of the Downing Box Company, which are second to none. The energies of 
this company are devoted entirely to the problems of the American shipper, which 
on the surface may seem of small import but are of a complex nature in many ways. 
By exhaustive practical tests the use of fibre and corrugated shipping boxes has been 
reduced to a science so that the problem of each shipper can be handled with such 
nicety as to avoid any confusion or disruption in his packing-room and at the same 
time insure proper service which enables him to move his goods to destination with 
little or no damage. 

The field work in a proposition of this kind is of so much importance that the 
salesmen who represent the Downing Box Company in the various territories can 
very well consider themselves as packing engineers, as the problems presented re- 
duce themselves to that category. 

Among the objects for which the Downing Box Company is continuously striving 
is service and quality and as all shipments are carefully inspected before leaving the 
factory, quality can readily be assured, but the service feature is one which requires 
constant attention. The company does not merely content itself with analyzing a 
situation and shipping boxes according to the original analysis but has certain fol- 
low-up features with the trade which insure service in exactly the same measure that 
quality is insured. The Downing boxes can be found in the remotest corners of the 
United States, for the activities of the company cover all states from the Atlantic lo 
the Pacific and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. 

At the present time the employes of the company number one hundred and 
seventy-five, with practically an even division between male and female help and 
while no definite plan is made in connection with welfare work Mr. Downing is never- 
theless constantly striving to create the working force of the Downing Box Com- 
pany into one large family. He manifests a personal interest in his employes and 
they recognize the fact that faithfulness and capability on their part always means 
promotion as opportunity offers. 

E. G. Bradley, who is the vice president of the Downing Box Company, has been 
associated with the manufacture of paper boxes since the early years of its develop- 
ment and has continually brought forth ideas which have materially added to the 
• progress of the industry. 

The secretary and treasurer of the company is E. F. Johnson, who has been 
identified with the paper industry since 1911 and has risen from the ranks to the 
responsible position which he now fills. From the beginning the company has 
maintained the highest standards and has ever striven to reach the most advanced 
ideals in its line of manufacture and shipment. The results achieved indicate 
thorough study and a marked comprehension of the needs of the market along the 
firm's line. The business has developed into one of the important productive in- 
dustries of Milwaukee and in control of the enterprise are men who are well quali- 
fied for leadership in the business world. 



SIDNEY ORREN NEFF. 

Sidney Orren Neff, vessel owner and navigator, who for a quarter of a century was 
prominent in connection with marine interests of Milwaukee, was born in Oshkosh, 
Wisconsin, October 2, 1863, and was a representative of one of the old families of 
New York, his parents being Samuel and Marcelia (Ellenwood) Neff. The father's 
birth occurred March 31. 1S42, in New Lisbon, New York, while the mother was born 
April 19, 1S44, at Peru, New York. Removing westward in 1855, the family home was 
established in Oshkosh. Wisconsin, where Samuel Neff continued to reside until 1887, 
when he took his family to Appleton. a year l9,ter, however, removing to Milwaukee. 
Samuel Neff was a captain of one of the vessels on the Great Lakes and sailed on 
fresh water for many years. After removing to Milwaukee he organized the firm of 
Samuel Neff & Sons, vessel owners, and continued in the business until his demise, 
which occurred February 21, 1904. For several years he had survived his wife, who 




SIDNEY 0. NEFF 



HISTORY OF i[TT>WAUKEE 347 

died December IB, 1899. Mr. Xeff had attained tlie thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite 
Masonry and also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was survived 
by two sons: Sidney O. and Charles S. 

Captain Sidney O. Neff pursued his early education in the Oshkosh public schools 
and afterward attended business college in the same city. His interests were directed 
along maritime lines from his early youth and when still quite young he became a 
sailor on one of his father's vessels and had advanced to a captaincy before attaining 
his majority. Following the reorganization of the business after his father's death 
in 1904 Sidney O. Neff became manager of the company, but in 1905 he and his brother 
divided their interests, each taking half of the equipment. He then headed his own 
business enterprise until his life's labors were ended on the 17th of December, 1907. 
He was recognized as a man of marked business capability, resourceful, energetic and 
determined, and his long experience with marine interests brought him to a notable 
point of success. He was also one of the directors of the Merchants' & Manufacturers' 
Bank of Milwaukee and for a number of years prior to his demise successfully engaged 
in the real estate business. He held membership in and was one of the directors of 
the Lumber Carriers Association. 

On the 30th of D.ecember, 1891, Mr. Neff was married to Miss Lucy Jane Olcott, 
a daughter of John Byron and Mary Ann (Armstrong) Olcott, of Oshkosh, the former 
a son of Lucius and Laura (Sherman) Olcott, who were pioneer settlers of Wisconsin. 
Lucius Olcott conducted the old American Hotel of Milwaukee for a year at a very 
early day and later established a blacksmith shop at Burlington, Wisconsin, and in 
1848 he went to Oshkosh. There he again entered the hotel business, in which he 
continued for a number of years in company with his son John Byron. Finally, how- 
ever, the hotel was sold and he engaged in agricultural pursuits. John Byron Olcott 
was born in Essex county. New York, but the greater part of his life was passed in 
Wisconsin and he became well known through his connection with hotel and farming 
interests. He passed away December 20, 1904, while his wife, who was horn in Genesee 
county. New York, survived until July 4, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Neff became the parents 
of three sons; two of whom served in the World war. The eldest son, Samuel 0. Neff, 
offered his services at America's entrance into the war but was rejected for physical 
reasons. In 1918. however, he was drafted and sent to Camp Grant but was again 
rejected. John Byron Neff served tor three months at the Great Lakes Training Sta- 
tion. Lucius Sidney Neif enlisted in April, 1917, in what became the One Hundred 
and Twenty-first Heavy Field Artillery under Colonel Westfall and sailed for France 
in March, 1918, on the Leviathan. He served for over two years with the Thirty-second 
Division, taking part in all of the principal engagements in which that division 
participated. He received an honorable discharge in 1919. 

In his political views Captain Sidney O. Neff was a republican, interested in the 
success of his party and earnestly supporting its principles, yet never seeking office 
as a reward for party fealty. He held membership in the Congregational church, which 
found in him an earnest worker and he, too, was well known in Masonic circles, be- 
coming a Consistory Mason and a member of the Eastern Star. His life at all times 
commanded for him the respect and confidence of his fellowmen. A native son of 
Wisconsin, he always lived in the southern section of the state and for twenty years 
made his home in Milwaukee, where the sterling worth of his character brought to 
him confidence and high esteem, while his ability led to the attainment of substantial 
success. 



EDWARD F. NIEDECKEN. 



Determined purpose and unfaltering energy have brought Edward F. Niedecken 
to the creditable position which he occupies in business circles in Milwaukee as 
the vice president of the Hoffmann & Billings Manufacturing Company. He was 
born in Walworth county, Wisconsin, June 15, 1871, and is a son of Joseph and 
Katharina (Hosch) Niedecken, who were natives of Missouri and of Germany, 
respectively, the father following the occupation of farming as a life work. 

In the public schools of Milwaukee, Edward P. Niedecken pursued his early edu- 
cation and later entered the University of Wisconsin, in which he pursued a special 
course in engineering. He initiated his business career as an employe of Filer & 
Stowell Company before becoming a university student and after his return he re- 
entered this firm's employ as a mechanical draftsman. His association with the 
Hoffmann & Billings Company dates from 1894, at which time he was placed in 
charge of the Corliss engine department and continued in that connection until the 
department was closed down in 1896, the firm desiring to concentrate its efforts and 
attention along the line of other departments. Mr. Niedecken then took charge of 
the buying and became vice president of the company, with which he has now been, 
associated for twenty-eight years. His entire time has been devoted to this busi- 



348 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

ness and his efforts have constituted an important element in the continued growth 
and success of the undertaking. During the World war Mr. Niedecken was active in 
support of all of the various drives for the benefit of the country and her military 
forces. He was group chairman of the plumbing and heating material activities and 
spent much of his time in promoting the different drives. 

On the 31st of October, 189 5, Mr. Niedecken was married to Miss Matilda 
Hoffmann, daughter of J. C. Hoffmann, founder of the business of the Hoffmann & 
Billings Company. Mr. Niedecken is well known in Masonic circles, having taken 
the various degrees of the York and Scottish Rite bodies, while with the Nobles of 
Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He has 
become a Knights Templar Mason in Ivanhoe Commandery and has reached the 
thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Wisconsin Consistory. He also belongs 
to the Engineers Society and thus has social as well as business relations with 
those who are active in the same iield of industrial enterprise. He also has mem- 
bership in the Milwaukee Athletic Club and in the Wisconsin Club. His life has 
been passed in this state, his educational opportunties were those accorded by her 
institutions of learning and at all times he has been a most loyal and progressive 
supporter of her interests and her development. 



LOUIS A. FUERSTENAU, M. D. 

Continually broadening his knowledge through wide study and promoting his ex- 
perience through a constantly growing practice, Dr. Louis A. Fuerstenau is now 
accounted one of the able surgeons of Milwaukee. Here he has been engaged in 
practice since 1911 and his skill and efficiency are attested by many who have come 
under his treatment and ministration. He was born In Green Bay, Wisconsin, August 
29, 1881, a son of the Rev. August F. Fuerstenau, a Methodist minister who is now 
serving a church in Chicago with which he has been identified for many years. He 
was born in Germany and is of French descent. He came to the United States with 
his parents when a child and has since resided in the middle west. 

Dr. Fuerstenau was reared in Chicago and was graduated from the Joseph Medill 
high school of that city with the class of 1900. He was afterward a student in a 
Methodist college at Berea, Ohio, for two years and later he spent four years in the 
Northwestern University Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduatea 
with the M. D. degree in 1909. Immediately afterward he came to this city and for a 
year was interne in the Milwaukee Hospital, while for six months he was connected 
with the Johnson Emergency Hospital. Since 1911 he has engaged in active practice, 
now devoting his attention entirely to surgery, and in this field he has developed his 
skill to a notable point. For ten years he taught anatomy as a member of the faculty 
of the Marquette Medical College and for five years of that period was also instructor 
in surgery. He served for one year as president of the board of trustees at the Johnson 
Emergency Hospital and is now on the staff' of that hospital. He was also connecte;! 
with the staff' of St. Pvlary's Hospital for a decade. He belongs to the Milwaukee 
County Medical Society and the Wisconsin State Medical Society and he has ever 
utilized the means at hand to promote his knowledge and advance his skill in his 
specialized professional field. 

On the 15th of April, 1914, Dr. Fuerstenau was married to Miss Vera Mueller of Mil- 
waukee, who was born and reared in this city and is a granddaughter of the late 
Phillip Gross, well known hardware merchant. Dr. and Mrs. Fuerstenau have two 
children: Donald, born June 23, 1916; and Jean Aileen, born November 7, 1919. Dr. 
and Mrs. Fuerstenau hold membership in the Methodist church and he is a thirty- 
second degree Mason, a Mystic Shriner and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He 
is fond of bowling, baseball, motoring, hunting and fishing and in his intelligently 
directed recreational interests finds a necessary balance for his intense professional 
activity. He greatly enjoys reading and aside from his medical works has an extensive 
and well selected private library. 



CORNELIUS L. BENOY. 



Cornelius L. Benoy, editor and proprietor of the Wauwatosa News, was born in 
Boscobel, Wisconsin, October 22, 1889, and is a son of John R. and Ida (Massman) 
Benoy, both of whom were natives of this state. On both the paternal and maternal 
lines the ancestry comes from England, although the Benoy family was originally 
from France. Arriving in this country, the founder of the family in the new world 
settled in Boscobel about 1848. The grandfather, John Benoy, was a blacksmith 
and wagon maker and carried on those occupations at Boscobel for many years, or 




I)K. I.CiriS A. FUEKSTENAU 



HISTORY OF :\nL\VArKEE 351 

until the time of his death. His son, John R. Benoy, removed to Wauwatosa on 
the 2d of July, 189.5, four days previous to the tire. He worked with L. R. Gridley, 
the founder of the Wauwatosa News, and later purchased Mr. Gridley's interest in 
the business and liecanie sole proprietor, continuing to publish the paper until 1921, 
when he retired and was succeeded by his son, Cornelius L. 

In the public schools Cornelius L. Benoy pursued his education, passing through 
consecutive grades to his gi'aduation from the high school. When his textbooks were 
put aside he entered the printing oiBce of the Wauwatosa News and there remained 
for about six years, after which he removed to Carterville, Illinois, and became one 
of the founders of the Carterville Herald, continuing with that paper for three years. 
He then again came to Milwaukee and was employed by the Cutler-Hammer Manu- 
facturing Company for three years, but in April, 1921, upon his father's retirement he 
purchased the Wauwatosa News, of which he is now sole owner and proprietor. This 
is an eight-page weekly with a large circulation, covering the entire city. He has 
been quite successful in carrying on the project and the subscription of the paper is 
increasing most satisfactorily. He has made it a live interesting journal, devoted 
to the welfare of the community and the News is today a welcome visitor in many 
a household in Milwaukee county. Mr. Benoy also does job work of every descrip- 
tion and his business of this character has reached gi'atifying proportions. 

On the 1st of January, 1916, Mr. Benoy was married to Miss Grace Phillips of 
Wauwatosa, a daughter of John E. Phillips, a carpenter contractor of this city. Mr. 
Benoy has membership in Wauwatosa Lodge, No. 267, A. P. & A. M., also in the United 
Typothetae of America and with the Men's Club of Wauwatosa. He is favorably 
known among a constantly broadening circle of friends and is regarded as one of the 
stalwart champions of the community in which he makes his home. 



HENRY P. BOHMANN. 



Henry P. Bohmann, superintendent of waterworks and water purification of Mil- 
waukee, is a man of broad scientific attainments and wide practical experience, being 
thus splendidly qualified for the important and responsible position which he holds. 
He has given most satisfactory service through twenty-eight years connection with 
the water supply department of the city. Moreover, his life history stands in con- 
tradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in. his own 
country, for Mr. Bohmann has won distinctive preferment and recognized credit for 
his achievements in the city where his life has Ijeen passed. He is a native son of 
Milwaukee, born September 26, 1866, his parents being Henry and Anna Mary (Nipper) 
Bohmann, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came to this country about 
1849, settling in the fifth ward of Milwaukee, where their remaining days were passed, 
the father engaging in business as a mason contractor. 

Henry P. Bohmann was educated in private and public schools of Milwaukee and 
Initiated his business career by accepting a position as bookkeeper with William Calla- 
way, a coal dealer, and the founder of the present Edward Callaway Coal Company. 
Mr. Bohmann continued with that business for about five years and afterward acted 
for three years as head bookkeeper with the Allied Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 
He next engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business for about three years, 
or until the widespread financial panic of 1892. In that year he retired from the 
business and was offered the position of general bookkeeper on the board of public 
works. This he accepted and continued to serve in that capacity until April, 1902, 
when he was appointed in charge of the waterworks accounts. Since then he has 
been interested in the waterworks department and he made up his mind that he was 
going to learn the business thoroughly. Accordingly, he purchased all the books and 
literature on waterworks operation that he could secure, and studied them thoroughly, 
the number including a library of twenty volumes of the proceedings of the American 
Water Works Association, giving the practical experience of men engaged in this field 
of work. In March, 1912, when the position of superintendent of waterworks was 
created, owing to the practical knowledge which Mr. Bohmann had gained and the 
recognition of his ability by the commissioner of public works, he was appointed to 
his present position and thus his connection with the department has extended over 
a period of twenty-eight years. He is today acknowledged an authority upon questions 
relative to the operation and control of waterworks and has given entire satisfaction 
to the public in this position. When he took up the duties of the office in 1912 the 
revenue was forty-five dollars and eighty cents for every million gallons pumped. He 
has gradually increased the revenue, which in 1919 was fifty dollars and eleven cents 
per million gallons, the highest return since the present meter rate was put in force. 
He has standardized all the brass goods in use in the different pumping stations and 
departments and he did a notable work in locating the cause of the obnoxious taste 
in the water, finding it to be from the waste of industrial plants, coming from coal-tar 



352 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

derivatives from coke and phenol plants that produced the taste when diluted even 
to one part in five hundred million. Prior to Mr. Bohmann's investigation and dis- 
covery it was thought that the taste in Milwaukee's water came from chlorine alone 
put in the water for its purification and such was the belief of the water department 
of other cities. After thorough investigation and experiments, however, Mr. Boh- 
mann was of the opinion that there were other sources of the unpleasantness of taste 
in the Milwaukee water supply than that which would come from chlorine. This 
taste was most manifest when "the winds were in certain direction and Mr. Bohmann 
came to the conclusion that the waters were being polluted by waste from industrial 
plants containing objectionable elements of coal-tar derivation. As some of these plants 
were in government control appeal was made to the then secretary of war, N. D. 
Baker, as well as to the state board of health and the United States public health 
service. Thorough investigation and control showed that Mr. Bohmann was right 
in his surmise and the conditions awakened the interest and attention of scientific 
men throughout the country. For his service in this direction Mr. Bohmann received 
many letters of commendation from leading business interests of Milwaukee. It was 
he who also introduced the system of sealing and inspection of automatic sprinkler 
systems. 

On the 12th of July, 1892, Mr. Bohmann was married to Miss Caroline Stamm of 
Milwaukee, and they have one daughter, Mrs. Arthur T. Karow, and a son, Edgar 
H., who was in the Student's Army Training School during the war. Mr. Bohmann 
is a member of the Elks Club and a valued representative of the American Water 
Works Association. 



ALBERT P. KUNZELMANN. 

One of the most attractive retail establishments of Milwaukee is the furniture 
house of Kunzelmann & Esser at Nos. 454 to 464 Mitchell street. This business has 
had a steady and substantial growth, the store existing as one of the enterprising com- 
mercial establishments of Milwaukee since 1900. Mr. Kunzelmann, the founder of the 
business, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, January 25, 1S75, and is a son of Philip 
and Emma (Zoeller) Kunzelmann, who were born in Wurttemberg, on the Rhine, 
Germany. They came to the new world in their youth and were married in Kentucky. 
The father, who was an expert maltster, is deceased. 

Albert P. Kunzelmann was educated in St. Anthony's parochial school in Mil- 
waukee, having come to this city in 1882, when a lad of but seven years. When his 
textbooks were put aside he learned the tinner's trade with Ferdinand Stamm, with 
whom he remained for five years. He was next employed by the Hansen Fur Company, 
selling fur coats and robes, and remained with them for three years, at the end of 
which time they discontinued their store on Wisconsin street. Mr. Kunzelmann then 
engaged in the furniture business with R. R. Fleck of Bay View, with whom he was 
thus associated for seven years, and on the expiration -of that period he established a 
furniture business on his own account in 1900, opening a store on Mitchell street. Here 
he has since carried a full line of home furnishings, handling both the high priced 
and moderate products of the leading furniture manufacturers of the country. His 
is a well kept and attractive establishment. He started with one little room, twenty by 
sixty-four feet, but his trade steadily grew and two years afterward he secured another 
room, twenty-two by sixty-four feet. This proved to be insufficient and a year later he 
added an adjoining room, eighteen by forty feet, thus occupying the entire so-called 
Zaleski block. In 1906 he purchased an additional fifty feet frontage on Mitchell 
street, on which lot was erected a three-story building, and still the business grew 
and developed, so that in 1909 Mr. Kunzelmann acquired a lot one hundred by forty- 
five feet and erected thereon an eight-story fireproof building, which is used entirely 
as salesrooms. The business of Kunzelmann & Esser is one of the best known furniture 
establishments in this section of the country. They now carry a large and most 
attractive stock and in 1910 purchased additional property to the north, on which was 
erected a garage, a receiving room, shipping room and warehouse, this being a three- 
story fireproof building seventy-five by one hundred and sixty feet. The firm has 
recently purchased sixty feet east of the present store on Mitchell street and will 
erect one of the most modern retail home furnishing stores in the northwest. The 
concern now has more square feet of floor space than any other furnishing house in the 
northwest. While Mr. Kunzelmann started the business independently under his own 
name, his trade increased so rapidly that he admitted his half brother. Joseph T. Esser, 
to a partnership under the firm style of Kunzelmann & Esser and thus the business 
has since been carried on. The trade is now one of mammoth proportions and the 
business has for many years been a most gratifying commercial enterprise of Mil- 
waukee. Mr. Kunzelmann is also a director of the Mitchell Street State Bank, is presi- 
dent of the John M. Schneider Land Company, president of the Mitchell Street Land 




ALHKRT 1'. KUXZKLMAXX 



Vol. n— 2 3 



TTTsTOTty OF :\rTLWAT'KEE 3o5 

Company, a director of the Peoples Land (.'onipany and a stockholder in unnierous 
Other enterprises. 

In 1900 Mr. Kunzelmann was married to Miss Elizabeth Betty Banibrick of 
Ilion, New York, and they have four children: Leroy, Lester, Norma and Fabian. The 
religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Kunzelmann is a 
fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also identified with other 
societies and he is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Coming to this city 
at the age of seven years, he has practically spent his life here and the course which 
he has followed ha.s gained tor him not only substantial wealth but also the confidence 
and warm regard of his fellowmen. 



ALBERT HEATH. 



Albert Heath, who has one of the largest exclusive grocery and delicatessen stores 
in Milwaukee. h:is developed his business along substantial lines, employing industry, 
close application, thoroughness and reliability as the salient features in attaining 
his present-day prosperity. Mr. Heath was born at Poquonock Bridge. Connecticut, 
August 16, 1846, his parents being John R. and Emily (Eldredge) Heath, the former 
a native of the state of New York, while the latter was born in New York city. They 
came to Wisconsin in 1856, settling at Brandon, Fond du Lac county, where the father 
engaged in buying wheat for about four years. In the spring of 1862 he removed to 
Milwaukee, where he resided until 1S66 and then became a resident of New Jersey, 
where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1S71. 

Two years before his father's death, or in 1869, Albert Heath, then twenty-three 
years of age, returned to Milwaukee. He had attended the public schools of Brandon 
and of Milwaukee and upon his return to this city he secured a clerkship in a grocery 
store at No. 196 West Water street, there continuing for ten years — a fact which 
indicates his absolute faithfulness and capability. He was also for two years con- 
nected with the store of C. J. Russell on Wisconsin street and in June, 1884, he opened 
a store at No. 2106 Wells street. In 1889 he removed to his present location at 
2027-29 Wells and Twenty-first, beginning with a small store but increasing his stock 
in order to meet the growing demands of his trade until he had one of the largest 
exclusive grocery and delicatessen stores in the city, and for the past eight years 
he has conducted a bakery in connection therewith. For thirteen years, too, he has 
owned and conducted a store at No. 597 Downer avenue, where he carries a large 
stock of groceries and delicatessen products. In March, 1910, he incorporated his 
business under the name of The Albert Heath Company and has since conducted 
both establishments under that fiim style. He is the president of the company, his 
associate officers being John H. Seip, vice president ; Arthur S. Heath, secretary and 
treasurer; and F. 0. Lovell. who is the manager of the east side store. 

In 1876 Mr. Heath was married to Miss Martha S. Swain, a daughter of Colonel 
James A. Swain, an early pioneer of Milwaukee. To them were born three children: 
Arthur S.; Marie, the wife of Frank O. Lovell; and Alice, deceased. Mrs. Heath 
died August 13, 1916. 

Mr. Heath is a member of the Old Settlers Club and also of the City Club and 
likewise has membership in the Association of Commerce. He has been a lifelong 
republican but never an aspirant for office, preferring always to concentrate his efforts 
and attention upon his business. His success is attributable in part to the fact that 
he has always continued in the line in which he e:nbnrked upon his return to Mil- 
waukee in early manhood. He has thus become thoroughly acquainted with every 
phase of the trade and his Increasing capability and power have brought him to a 
point of leadership among the grocery merchants of the city. 



ALFRED G. SCHULTZ. 



When one reviews the life record of a thoroughly successful man it is usually 
found that his early opportunities were not superior to those enjoyed by the majority 
nor have his chances been greater than come to the multitude, his prosperity being 
won by reason of the fact that he has ever made wise use of his time, his talents and 
•his opportunities. He has improved chances that others have passed heedlessly by 
and has shown an unusual degree of industry, determination and enterprise in con- 
ducting his affairs. "This statement finds its verification in the lite record of Alfred 
G. Schultz, who is the vice president of the National Bank of Commerce of Milwaukee 
and who through the steps of an orderly progression has reached the enviable posi- 
tion which he now fills. Born in this city on the 30th of July, 1865. he is a son of 



356 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Daniel and Charlotte (Koenig) Schultz, the former a native of Alsace-Lorraine, while 
the latter was born in Black Rock, New York. 

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof Alfred G. Schultz enjoyed 
the educational opportunities afforded by the city schools and made his initial step 
in the business world when a youth of eighteen, by entering the Merchant's Exchange 
Bank in a clerical position in 1883. For ten years he remained with the bank, thor- 
oughly mastering many features of the business as he was promoted from time to 
time in recognition of his developing power and ability. When a decade had passed 
he left that institution and was promoted to the assistant cashiership of the West 
Side Branch at Third and Chestnut streets, this becoming later the West Side Bank. ■ 
A recognition of his sound business judgment and his influence in the community 
led to the choice of Mr. Schultz for the office of cashier upon the organization of the 
Germania National Bank early in the year 1903. The institution opened its doors 
on the 1st cf July of that year and the success of the bank has been attributable in 
large measure to the capability, progressiveness and thoroughly reliable methods of 
Mr. Schultz. He had acquainted himself with every phase ot the b inking business 
and has ever maintained an even balance between conservatism and progressiveness 
in the conduct of the affairs of the Institution of which he has been an official from 
the beginning. 

In September, 1884, Mr. Schultz was married to Miss Busjaeger, a daughter of 
Albert and Predericka (Salzmann) Busjaeger of Milwaukee. Two children have 
been born of this marriage: Armin D., who married Miss Erna Graf, a daughter of 
Charles A. and Matilda (Heinemann) Graf of this city, and is with the National 
Straw Works of Milwaukee; and Alfred F., who died in July, 1917. The family 
is well known in Milwaukee, the parents occupying an enviable social position. Mr. 
Schultz is a member of the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Asso- 
ciation of Commerce, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Milwaukee 
Musical Society. His membership relations indicate clearly the nature of his inter- 
ests and activities outside of business and place him with the valued and repre- 
sentative residents of the Cream city. 



WALLACE BEATSON WHITCOMB. 

Wallace Beatson Whitcomb, violin maker of Milwaukee, whose productions are 
regarded as a valuable contribution to the realms of musical art, was born in Water- 
ford, Wisconsin, on the 24th of November, 1856. He comes of a family that has 
been distinctively American in its lineal and collateral lines for many generations. 
His grandfather, Aaron Whitcomb, was born in Vermont, as was his wife. He followed 
the occupation of farming and on leaving New England removed to the state of New 
York, settling in Jefferson county. There occurred the birth of his son Albert W. 
Whitcomb. who in young manhood left the Empire stgte and for a time resided in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed as paymaster and bookkeeper for the Cincin- 
nati, Dayton & Ohio Railroad Company. He then came to Wisconsin and for some 
time worked on the road being built westward from Milwaukee. The grade was 
established but the line was never constructed. Mr. Whitcomb became principal of 
the schools at Waterford, Wisconsin, and afterward occupied a similar position at 
Sheboygan Falls and was the first superintendent of schools in Sheboygan county. 
He was likewise a practicing physician, a licensed member of the bar and a civil 
engineer. Moreover, he became assistant actuary of the Northwestern Mutual Life 
Insurance Company, which position he occupied for a year, and was then elected 
actuary, but his health failed, preventing his continuance in the position. He was a 
mathematician of notable ability and one of the six honorary members of the Paris 
Philosophical Society outside of France, an honor he obtained through his discoveries 
in the Tables of Logarithm. He wrote largely for mathematical magazines and was 
a deeply learned man. He was in close touch with mathematical professors of the 
leading colleges of this and other countries. His contributions to science were indeed 
valuable and he is numbered among those who have done much to push forward the 
wheels of progress. He married Rachel Scott Howard, a daughter of John Howard, a 
railroad contractor and of English descent. The first Howard to come to this country 
was the youngest son of the Duke of Norfolk, named Todd Howard. He was the father 
of John Howard, who settled in Lawrence county. New York, and purchased a large 
tract of land there. The foregoing record explains the extensive connection of Wallace 
Beatson Whitcomb with old families of New England and of New York. His father 
died in the year 1889 and was survived for a long period bv his Wife, who passed awav 
in 1914. 

Wallace B. Whitcomb obtained his early education in the public schools of She- 
boygan Falls, which he attended to the age of fourteen years, and then turned his 
attention to the watchmaking and jewelry business, which he followed for eight or ten 




WALLACE B. WHITCOMB 



HISTORY OF MILWArivEE 359 

years in Milwaukee. From early youth he displayed a fondness for music and when 
but fourteen years of age he was leader of the band in this city. It was a logical 
step therefore that in 18S7 he turned his attention to the business of manutacturing 
and selling violins. He has made over four hundred violins in his time, each one an 
instrument of first class, and he also does repair work on wood instruments. For 
eighteen years he has been at his present location at 126 Sycamore street, Milwaukee, 
and his business has become one of substantial proportions. 

Mr. Whitcomb has been married twice. He first wedded Elinor Nancy Rawling, 
who died a year later, leaving a little son, Wallace Scott, who now has charge of the 
electrical department of the Philip Gross Hardware Company. For his second wife 
Mr. Whitcomb chose Rosa Z. A. Loignon, of Milwaukee, and they have one daughter, 
Nuna. now the wife of Arthur Borcherdt, an electrical contractor of the city, and the 
mother of a little son two years of age. 

Throughout his entire life Mr. Whitcomb has given his political allegiance to the 
republican party but has never sought nor desired public office. He is a member of 
the Masonic fraternity. Ijelonging to Damascus Lodge, No. 290, A. F. & A. M., of Mil- 
waukee, of whicTi he is a past master, and by the lodge he was presented with a fine 
gold watch in recognition of his valuable service thereto. He also belongs to Calumet 
Chapter, No. 73. R. A. M. ; and to Milwaukee Council, R. & S. M., of which he is now 
thrice past illustrious master. He also has membership in the Calumet Club and has 
belonged to all the principal musical societies of this city. Throughout his entire 
life he has read broadly, thinks deeply, and he is a natural designer and artist, his 
skill in this connection, combined with his musical talent, making him highly 
proficient in his cliosen life work. 



CHARLES THOMPSON. 



Charles Thompson has almost completed a third of a century of service with 
the Chicago & Northwestern, which he now represents as general agent at Mil- 
waukee. Step by step he has won advancement to the position of large respon- 
sibility which he now fills and at all times he has enjoyed the entire confidence and 
trust of those whom he represents. Milwaukee claims him as a native son and is 
proud of his record. He was born in 1866, his father being Charles Thompson, 
whose birth occurred in Norway and who became a resident of Milwaukee in 1844, 
when the city was but a small town. At one time the father was engaged in the 
ship industry but lived retired for a quarter of a century prior to his demise and 
was honored as one of the old and respected citizens here. He married Maren 
Grundy, also a native of Norway. 

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof Charles Thompson of this 
review acquired his education in the public schools and at nineteen made his initial 
step in the business world by securing a position in the freight offices of the North- 
western yards in the third ward. He acted in that capacity for six months and was 
then promoted to the position of freight solicitor. Promotion after promotion fol- 
lowed, giving him comprehensive knowledge of various phases of railroad activity, 
management and control and nineteen years after he first obtained employment 
with the company he returned to the office where he had started, this time as freight 
agent in charge of the department where he had begun as a clerk. On the 1st of 
August, 1906, he was advanced to the position of general agent for Milwaukee in 
charge of the freight and passenger business with the Northwestern road. At that 
time — fifteen years ago — the yearly earnings of the Milwaukee office were about 
two million dollars and something of the increase in the business is indicated in 
the fact that the annual earnings are today twenty-five million dollars. When Mr. 
Thompson entered the employ of the road the entire system had thirty-five hundred 
mileage and today this has been increased to nine thousand, six hundred and sixty- 
five, while the number of employes has advanced from sixty thousand to four hun- 
dred thousand. Moreover, when Mr. Thompson entered the service the North- 
western company operated but three trains daily each way between Milwaukee and 
Chicago, while today there are thirty and the best time between the two cities three 
decades or more ago was three hours. Today it is but an hour and fifty minutes. 
The same rate of improvement has been manifest in the freight service of the line 
and today a fast freight can reach the Pacific coast in better time than it required 
for the fastest passenger train thirty years ago. Since 1906 Mr. Thompson has been 
in absolute control of freight and passenger traffic in the second largest city on the 
nine thousand, six hundred and sixty-five miles of the lines of the Chicago & North- 
western. 

On the 18th of February, 1896, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss 
Margaret H. Upham of Milwaukee, a daughter of Emerson Olds Upham. a news- 
paper man, and they have a son, John Walker. Mr. Thompson was a most active 



360 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

worker in all war campaigns and represented the railroad administration on one 
of the most important committees. He also acted on numerous other committees 
and on the various drives to raise the funds necessary noc only to finance the war 
but to promote the physical comforts and social well-being of the soldiers in camp 
and overseas. Mr. Thompson is himself a man of social, genial nature, which has 
made for popularity in the various clubs and organizations to which he belongs. 
He has been the president of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, also president of the 
Milwaukee Transportation Association and has served as a director of the Citizens' 
Business League. He likewise belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and is well 
known in Masonic circles, being a past master of Kilbourn Lodge, A. P. & A. M., 
and a member of Wisconsin Consistory of the Scottish Rite and has also been active 
in Tripoli Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and has ever been a faithful follower of the 
teachings and purposes of the craft. He belongs to the Old Settlers Club and his 
residence in Milwaukee covers a period of fifty-four years. His progress has been 
continuous and step by step he has advanced not only in business life but also in 
the regal d and high esteem of his fellow townsmen. 



JOHN E. PITZGIBBON. 



John E. Pitzgibbon, vice president and general manager of the Phoenix Knitting 
Works and thus connected with one of the leading manufacturing interests of Mil- 
waukee, is also well known in many other connections, being prominent in the club 
circles of the city and also recognized as a political leader in republican ranks. He 
was born in Neenah, Wisconsin, February 7, 1885, a son of James H. and Agnes (Ryan) 
Pitzgibbon, the latter a native of Ireland, while the father was born in America. 

John E. Pitzgibbon pursued his early education in the public schools and attended 
the West Division high school of Milwaukee, from which in due course of time he was 
graduated. After putting aside his textbooks he entered the Milwaukee Sentinel as 
office boy and in that connection worked his way upward to the position of advertis- 
ing manager, remaining in the office altogether for about eight years. In 1908 he 
became associated with the Phoenix Hosiery Company as advertising manager and 
when he had filled that position for about seven or eight years he was elected to the 
vice presidency and also made general manager, having entire charge of the factory. 
This is one of the important manufacturing interests of the city. The Phoenix hosiery 
is known from one end of the country to the other and the name has become a recognized 
synonym for standard goods. The company has never sacrificed quality to quantity, 
but by reason of the worth of its product has built up a business of mammoth pro- 
portions. 

In 1915 Mr. Pitzgibbon was married to Miss Elsbeth Malcolm of Milwaukee, and 
they have one daughter, Jane Elizabeth, who was born in 1918. Mr. Pitzgibbon has 
always given his political allegiance to the republican party and was presidential 
elector in 1920. He did his full share in war work and was sales director for War 
Savings Stamps for Wisconsin. He is identified with many interests of public con- 
cern and many of the leading social organizations of the city. He belongs to and is 
now vice president of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and vice president of 
the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, the Press Club, the Rotary Club, the Blue Mound Country Club and the Wood- 
mont Country Club and his social qualities have gained him wide popularity in these 
different organizations. There have been no esoteric phases in his career. His course 
has been clearly defined and laudable ambition has actuated him at every point, so that 
step by step he has progressed and is today a fell known figure in business circles and 
in public connections in his adopted city. 



THEODORE J. FERGUSON. 

Theodore J. Ferguson, one of the alert, energetic and farsighted business men. 
of Wauwatosa, now vice president of the Hawks Nursery, was born in Springfield, 
Pennsylvania, June IS, 1850, and is a son of Phineas C. and Malissa (Mershon) 
Ferguson, both of whom were natives of Springfield, Pennsylvania, where they 
resided until called to their final rest, the father there following the occupation of 
farming. 

Theodore J. Ferguson was reared in the usual manner of the farm bred boy. 
He attended the country schools and in vacation periods assisted in the work of the 
fields. In fact, he early became familiar with the task of plowing, planting and 
harvesting, but after reaching adult age he began traveling and for fifteen years 
was engaged in the sale of nursery stock, going from coast to coast in connection 




.iiiHX i;. i-i izi.iiiuox 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 363 

with this business. In 1889 he became associated with Charles H. Hawks in organ- 
izing a company and two years later the business was incorporated under the name 
of the Hawks Nursery Company, the main office being established at Rochester, 
New York. In March. 1893, a branch office was opened in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 
and Mr. Ferguson took charge of this end of the business, becoming a resident of 
the village in 1895. The company has a forty-acre nursery here of shade trees 
and shrubs and ornamental stock and its business has grown to be one of the best 
of the kind in America. The name of Theodore J. Ferguson is widely known in 
connection with the nursery business and his enterprise and efforts have been a 
dominant element in the success of the company with which he is identified. 

In November, 1S92, Mr. Ferguson was married to Miss Emma Newman of 
Elkhart, Indiana, and they have become parents of three children: Edna; Frank 
N.. who is cashier of the First National Bank of Wauwatosa; and Dorothy, the 
widow of Russell Holbrook. The daughter, Edna, was with the Y. M. C. A. in 
the welfare work in France for more than a year during the World war, visiting 
the soldiers camps and doing everything possible to promote their comfort and 
entertainment. After the war she visited various European cities and countries and 
her life has been enriched with the many experiences that came to her through 
her unselfish devotion to the interests of the soldiers and her later European 
travels. Mr. Ferguson is a member of the Old Settlers' Club and is most promi- 
nently known in Wauwatosa, where he has a circle of friends almost coextensive with 
the circle of his acquaintance. 



HARRY A. PLUMB. 



Harry A. Plumb, secretary and treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce of the 
city of Jlilwaukee, was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, October 19, 1867, and is 
a son of Dr. Henry and Sarah Eugenia (Tolles) Plumb, who were natives of Con- 
necticut. They removed to Pleasanton, Kansas, in 1868 and there the father still 
resides at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He is a physician by profession but 
has been retired for a number of years. He served as a surgeon in the Civil war, 
with the rank of major. 

Harry A. Plumb obtained a public school education in Kansas and also attended 
the Chicago high school. After putting aside his textbooks he was employed by the 
Armour Packing Company in Chicago for a period of four years. In 1893 he came 
to Milwaukee and entered the employ of the Chamber of Commerce as assistant 
secretary, acting in that capacity until 1909, when he was promoted to the position 
of secretary, which office he has since filled. He has given his entire time and atten- 
tion to his duties in this connection and has made himself widely known among the 
grain men of the country. His labors have been a most potent force in the upbuild- 
ing of the organization which he represents and in the extension of its work along 
the lines of improving trade conditions, promoting outside business connections and 
upholding all those interests and activities which are a matter of civic virtue and 
of civic pride. 

On the 31st of December, 1889, Mr. Plumb was married to Miss Isabel Langson 
of Milwaukee and they have become parents of two children: Eugenia and Leslie. 
The latter served in the Three Hundred and Fortieth Wisconsin Infantry during the 
World war as a member of the medical department and went overseas, being away 
from his native country for about a year. Mr. Plumb is a member of the Elks Club 
and is widely known, his social qualities making for popularity among a wide circle 
of acquaintances. 



JAMES E, KREIL. 



There is perhaps no life history in this volume which indicates more clearly 
the possibility of achievement in this broad land of ours than does the record of 
James E. Kreil. Starting out in the business world in a most humble capacity, he 
made steady advancement through his own efforts until he became the vice presi- 
dent of the Reinhart Mitten Company of Milwaukee, a position which he occupied 
to the time of his death. 

He was born in Vienna, Austria, on the 17th of March, 1871, and was a son of 
Anton and Frances Kreil. The father died in his native land, but the mother 
-afterward determined to come to the United States, believing that she might here 
afford her children better opportunities for advancement. Accordingly the family 
left Austria, crossed the Atlantic and made their way westward in this country to 
Michigan. After residing in that state for a time they came to Wisconsin and 



364 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

established tlieir home in IVIilwaukee, where James E. Kreil entered the employ 
of the Reinhart Mitten Company as a cutter. Step by step he advanced, winning one 
promotion after another until he was elected as one of the officials of the company 
and for a considerable period was vice president of the corporation. His thorough- 
ness enabled him to quickly master every phase of the business and his comprehen- 
sive understanding of the work qualified him in his later years to direct the efforts 
of employes in the factory. 

In 189 6 Mr. Kreil was united in marriage to Miss Mary Guschel, who passed 
away in 1900, leaving a son, William, who is now a trave ing salesman for the 
Netz Glove & Mitten Company of Milwaukee; and a daughter, Louise, now Mrs. 
Oscar Parker. On the 6th of October, 1908, Mr. Kreil was again married, his second 
union being with Mary Schwartzby, a daughter of Charles and Ellen (Kitts) 
Schwartzby, residents of Green Bay, Wisconsin. There were four children of this 
marriage: James, Frances, Carl and Arthur. 

Mr. Kreil belonged to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and his religious faith 
was that of the Catholic church. In politics he maintained an independent course, 
voting according to the dictates of his judgment rather than according to party ties. 
On the 5th of May, 1916, he was called to his final rest and Milwaukee thus lost a 
citizen who had made for himself a most creditable and substantial position in busi- 
ness circles. He concentrated his attention upon manufacturing interests and one 
element of his progress was the fact that he always continued in the same line in 
which he embarked in early manhood, never dissipating his energies over a wide 
field. His labors, therefore, brought a substantial reward and he was able to leave 
his family in comfortable financial circumstances. 



MRS. LOUISA K. THIERS. 



Some years ago the newspapers of Wisconsin and especially of Kenosha and of 
Milwaukee chronicled the tact that Mrs. Louisa K. Thiers was approaching the cen- 
tury mark. Each year since that time the papers have teemed with interesting 
accounts of the celebration of her hundredth, hundred and first, hundred and second 
anniversaries and so on down to the present time, when at the age of one hundred and 
seven years she still graces the home of her daughter, Mrs. Charles Quarles of Mil- 
waukee, and not infrequently makes visits to the homes of her sons. What a wonder- 
ful history is hers! Born in 1S14, during the administration of President Monroe, 
she has witnessed the introduction of the steam car, the telegraph, the telephone, the 
commercialized use of electricity and the hundred and one other things which have 
made the past century marvelous for its achievements. Moreover, she has the dis- 
tinction today of being the oldest member of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion and is a real daughter, for her father. Dr. Beth Capron, aided in achieving 
American independence. He was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, September 23, 1762, 
and came of French ancestry. He was a great-grandson of Banfield Capron, the first 
representative of the name in America. Banfield Capron, with three boys about his 
own age — fourteen years — who were schoolmates, agreed to leave their friends in 
England and come to the new world. They concealed themselves in the hold of a 
vessel which was about to sail, with food enough for a few days, and thus they left 
Chester, in Cheshire county, a seaport on the north of England, in the year 1674. When 
the vessel was four days out they were discovered but after some parley were allowed 
to continue on the voyage. Banfield Capron lived in Massachusetts until 1752, when 
he passed away at the age of ninety-two years, leaving a family of twelve children, six 
sons and six daughters, which number included Jonathan Capron, who in turn was the 
father of Elisha Capron and he of Dr. Seth Capron. 

When America sought to win independence from Great Britain. Seth Capron, too 
young to be drafted, was also too short in stature to pass inspection at muster. In 
1781, at the time of his country's greatest peril, he managed, by elevating himself upon 
his toes, to pass the mustering officer and so enlisted at the age of nineteen, serving 
first as a private and afterward as a corporal in Colonel Shephard's regiment. He 
first heard artillery fire at the siege of Newport, when attached to General Lafayette's 
corps of light infantry, and it was there that a cannon ball, aimed at the general, 
grazed the top of his head. This led to an acquaintance between Dr. Capron and Gen- 
eral Lafayette that was renewed fifty years later when the great French general re- 
visited this country. Dr. Capron being one of those who received him at Newburgh, 
New York. 

Dr. Capron participated in the battle of White Plains, New York, and was then ■ 
transferred to headquarters at West Point under Washington, where he served during 
the remainder of the war, commanding the barge that conveyed the "Father of his 
country" to Elizabethtown Point, where he was the last man to receive the General's 
benediction as the great commander-in-chief bade adieu to his army. 




TAKiCX OCTOBKR 2XD, li)21 

OX THIC OXE HUXORICU AXI) SKVEXTH AXXIVKKSAKV 

OF MV BIRTH 

MRS. LOUISA K. THIERS 



HISTORY OF :MTLWArKEE 367 

When the war was ended Dr. Capron returned to Attleboro, where his father, 
Elisha Capron, owned a good farm, but about that time he sold it, taking his pay in 
continental money, which was soon declared worthless. The young man then began 
studying medicine under Dr. Bazeleel Mann, an eminent physician and man of letters 
who had also served his country during the Revolutionary war, his fellow townsmen 
having placed him upon the committees of safety, correspondence and judiciary — 
services which at that time were demanded of the best citizens. Moreover, Dr. Mann 
was the great-grandson of William Mann of Cambridge, JIassachusetts, who was grand- 
son of Sir Charles Mann of Kent county. England, knighted in 1625 for loyalty to 
King Charles I. When Dr. Capron studied medicine there were but two medical 
colleges in the countr>- — one at Cambridge, Massachusetts, the other at New Haven, 
Connecticut. Like most physicians of that period, he pursued his preparation through 
private study and began practice in 1789 at Cumberland, Rhode Island. He married 
Eunice Mann, daughter of his preceptor, and in 1806 removed to Oneida county, New 
York, traveling across the country in his own carriage with his wife and four young 
sons — a journey of five hundred miles. He located at Whitesboro, now a part of 
Utica, New York, and there by diligent attention to his profession secured a handsome 
competence. He also took great interest in manufacturing, built the first cotton mill 
and afterward the first woolen mill in the United States, it is said, being associated in 
his enterprises with Dewitt Clinton, Elisha Jenkins and Francis Bloodgood of Albany, 
New York. In 1823 Dr. Capron removed to Walden, Orange county. New York, travel- 
ing by canal boat from Utica to Albany, the Erie canal having just been completed, 
thence to Newburgh, on the Hudson, by steamboat ninety-five miles. He remained in 
Walden until his death, which occurred September 4, 1835, thus closing an eventful 
life of seventy-three years. In a publication of that day it was said: "He was a man 
of great integrity and moral worth, uncommon ardor, industry and enterprise. Few 
have led more active lives and few have accomplished more. His mild, persuasive 
manners, the honesty and goodness of his purposes and the uniform correctness of his 
example gave him a wonderful influence over the villagers. Obedience followed his 
will as if he had been invested with absolute power. The village will long mourn for 
him as for a father." Of his wife it was written: "The mother ordered well her 
household, being a woman of strong intellect, and she commanded through a long 
life the respect and love of all who knew her." It was while the family was residing 
at Whitesboro that the daughter, Louisa K. Capron, was born in 1814. She was reared 
in a home of culture and refinement, trained to the activities which girls of the 
period participated in, and thus she was well qualified to manage a household of her 
own when in 1S47 she became the wife of David B. Thiers, a merchant of Orange 
county. New York. They afterward removed to Laurel. Maryland, traveling on the 
canal boat Pumpkin Seed from Utica to Albany and from the latter city to Newburgh, 
New York, on one of the first steamers on the Hudson river. In the year 1850 Mr. 
and Mrs. Thiers came to the west, arriving at Kenosha on the 7th of June. They lived 
in the Thomas Bond house until July, 1S51, when they removed, to the town of Alden, 
McHenry county, Illinois, where besides Mr. and Mrs. Thiers the members of the 
household were her mother, her brother, John Capron, and five children of her brother 
Horace. They lived upon a farm in that county until March 1, 1854, and Mrs. Thiers' 
mother there passed away in 1S53. To Mr. and j\lrs. Thiers, while upon the farm, there 
were born two children. Herbert and Emma, and after a second marriage of her brother 
Horace and his return to the farm Mr. and Mrs. Thiers again came to Kenosha, renting 
the house of Dr. Hatch, which they purchased a year later. There two other children, 
Edward and Louis, were born to them. The three sons became prominent business 
men of this section of the country, while the daughter is now Mrs. Charles Quarles of 
Milwaukee, with whom Mrs. Thiers has made her home for many years. Her husband 
died in 1S75 and for thirteen years thereafter she continued to live in Kenosha but in 
1888 went to live with her daughter, Mrs. Quarles, with whom she has now resided for 
more than a third of a century. It seems hardly possible to those who see her that 
she has passed the one hundred and seventh milestone on life's journey. She is 
described as a lady upon whom age has laid a light hand. Her blue eyes are still 
bright, her hair snow white but soft and abundant and, best of all, her mentality is 
still keen. Unlike many aged people, she does not live in the past but in the present, 
keeping in touch with what is going on in the world around her. yet her calm and 
placidity are not disturbed by the turmoil of the present times. She enjoys greatly 
the birthday parties and receptions which are annually held in her honor and Mil- 
waukee's citizens count it a keen pleasure to have a few minutes' conversation with 
this most interesting woman, whose memory covers an entire century of America's 
existence. When the World war came on, Mrs. Thiers saw much similarity to con- 
ditions which preceded and followed the Civil war in this country. From the first 
her sympathies were with the allies — both by reason of her French descent and her 
recognition of America's debt to Lafayette and his French soldiers, who aided in 
winning the Revolution. When the Liberty loans were launched she became the oldest 
subscriber thereto, on which occasion she received from Secretary McAdoo a personal 



368 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

letter of thanks which reads as follows: "My Dear Mrs, Thiers: It is a great privilege, 
and I esteem it an honor as well, to thank you in behalf of the government for your 
subscription to the Liberty Loan of which I have just been advised. Let me take the 
opportunity also of congratulating you upon the completion of your one hundred and 
second year of useful life: and upon the fact that your father was a soldier In the 
Revolutionary war, serving under Washington and Lafayette, and that he contributed 
to the establishment of .the liberty which we enjoy today. It is a thrilling and in- 
spiring thing to receive a subscription from an immediate daughter of a soldier of the 
American revolution, and it is significant of the fact that almost within the span of 
one human life was our liberty acquired and that within the same relatively brief 
period of time that liberty is threatened by an autocratic military power which seeks 
to build upon its destruction military despotism tlircughaut the world. You have 
lived to see a new war for liberty, this time a war for universal liberty throughout 
the world. I hope you will live to see this new and greater victory for liberty and 
humanity which will come just as inevitably as the rising of tomorrow's sun." 

Another letter which came to Mrs. Thiers at the time of the war from a soldier 
in the French trenches is of equal intei'est and is as follows: "Happening to read an 
account of your subscribing to the Liberty Loan, I am writing to compliment you about 
the fine example you gave to younger generations. As a French soldier, on the front 
since the beginning of the war. I am very pleased to compliment you about the fine 
example you gave to younger generations. It is indeed a great comfort to us, who have 
suffered beyond what human thoughts can imagine, to see that a great nation, like 
America is helping us to crush the most cruel enemy that ever existed. It is a great 
comfort, too, to see that you, a lady, a very old lady in fact, but one who knows what 
war means, shows without hesitation the way to final victory. I am a man of thirty- 
five, pilot in the French flying corps. I left in Scotland the dearest wife and two 
darling wee babies. I know what and who I am fighting for and do it gladly. Perhaps 
you have someone at the war, perhaps not. If the latter is the case will you adopt 
me as your 'godson?' I daresay that I should be proud to have for my godmother 
such a courageous old lady as you! I cannot help to think, too, that your very name 
was that of our most famous presidents, namely the one who forty-six years ago was 
called the liberator of the country. A reply from you, dear madam, will be very much 
appreciated. With all my best wishes of health, so that you may see our victory, I 
am very truly and respectfully yours, Marcel Joly." Mrs. Thiers personally answered 
the letter, declaring that she would be glad to adopt him as her godson and ex- 
pressing her hearty sympathy for the French cause. 

She also has a personal letter from President Harding, written in February, 1922, 
thanking her for the vote of the oldest known voter in the country. 

Throughout the war period Mrs. Thiers was an active worker for the Red Cross. 
She continually engaged in knitting for the service men and for the children of 
France, and she also made many knitting bags but specifically stated that they were 
"to be used for Red Cross knitting only." Mrs. Thiers even since passing the century 
mark has read and written her own letters. The Milwaukee Chapter of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution has honored her by placing her name in the Continental 
Hall of Fame in Washington. Her spirit of contentment is beautiful to see. "I have 
health, happiness and love," she says, "and what more can anyone want?" She does 
not believe that times were better in the past than at present but regards it as a won- 
derful age of progress through which the country has passed during her lifetime, 
and says that while we are told there are seven great wonders of the world, she believes 
that there are seventy-seven. "Her children rise up and call her blessed and her good 
works do follow her." 



W. R. McKOWEN. 



W. R. McKowen, owner of the Mt. Pleasant dairy and vice president cf the West 
Allis State Bank, was born in Milwaukee county, April 7, 1870, a son of William and 
Helen (Tennant) McKowen, both of whom were n^tives of Waukesha county, Wis- 
consin, where the father followed the occupation of farming. The McKowen family 
came from Scotland, while the mother's family was of English origin and was 
founde'i in America in 1630. The McKowens arrived in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, 
in 1836. 

W. R. McKowen was educated in the schools of West Allis and losing his father 
when but fifteen years of age he then began providing for his own support, turning 
his attention to the dairy business, in which he has since engaged. He has conducted 
the business started by his father under the name of the Mount Pleasant Dairy, since it 
was established. He has thoroughly familiarized himself with every phase of dairying 
and has most carefully, wisely and successfully conducted his interests, so that his 
labors have brought to him substantial returns and he is now one of the successful 





^Hl^9 


" 








m^ 


^^^1 








^H 











W. R. McKOWEN 



Vol. 11— 2 4 



ITTSTOT7Y OF :\rTT;AVAT-KEE 371 

dairymen of this part of tlie state — a region wliicla has so extensively followed dairying 
as to win for Milwaukee the name of the Cream city. Mr. McKowen is also president 
of the lIcKowen estate, for the interests left by his father had been incorporated under 
that name. He was also made the vice president of the West Allis State Bank in 
1919 and has served as a director of the bank from its organization in 1911. 

It was in 1907 that Jlr. McKowen was united in marriage to Miss Adelia Tanner 
of West Allis, and to them has been born a daughter, Jane Tanner. Politically Mr. 
McKowen is a republican and thoroughly alive to the political conditions and interests 
of the day, but has never sought nor desired otfice. He has always been interested in 
public welfare, however, and has given active support to many measures for the general 
good. He was likewise one of the organizers of the Neighborhood Association, a 
charitable society. He has figured quite prominently in public affairs of his com- 
munity, serving on the village board of trustees of West Allis from the time of its 
organization in 1901 until 1905. He also filled the office of Judge of the police court 
for six years. Fraternally he is connected with West Allis Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
which he is a past master and he is likewise a past master of Wauwatosa Lodge, at 
all times faithfully following the teachings and purposes of the craft. He took an 
active and helpful interest in all the war drives in West Allis and at no time has he 
been remiss in the duties of citizenship but on the contrary has stood loyally for every 
cause which he has deemed of vital importance to community, commonwealth and 
country. 



WILLIAM CALVIN NICHOLSON. 

William Calvin Nicholson is the vice president and general manager of the Plankin- 
ton Packing Company of Milwaukee. The business had been placed upon a broad and 
substantial basis long before he took charge but he has displayed splendid business 
qualifications in enlarging and still further developing the industry, utilizing well de- 
fined plans and unfaltering purpose in carrying forward to successful completion what 
he has undertaken. Mr. Nicholson was born in Lexington. Jlissouri, July 4. ISS.S, a 
son of Edward F. and Clara (Fall) Nicholson. The father was a native of Lexington, 
North Carolina, while the mother was born at Somersworth. New Hampshire. In 
the year 1830 the father emigrated westward with his parents, the family home being 
estalilished in Lexington, Missouri, and he iiecame one of the pioneer implement dealers 
of that place. In 1861 he entered the Civil war and raised a company under Colonel 
Rathburn, of which company he became captain. He saw active duty in and around 
Vicksburg and was several times wounded while at the front. He was at the sur- 
render at Shreveport, Louisiana, after which he returned to Lexington, Missouri, 
and there he engaged in the manufacture of farm implements, carrying on the business 
until his death, which occurred in 1905. His widow survived him for several years, 
passing away in 1918. 

William C. Nicholson was educated in the public schools of his native town and 
also pursued an extensive course of study in the University of Missouri. He left 
college, however, in the year of his graduation — 1901 — just a short time l)efore com- 
pleting the course and entered the employ of Swift & Company, packers at Kansas 
City, Missouri. He first worked as a laborer but was advanced from one position 
to another until he became department foreman. In 1905 he was transferred to Fort 
Worth. Texas, as general foreman and in 1908 was sent to East St. Louis as division 
superintendent. In 1913 he was transferred to St. Louis as sales manager and in 
1916 was sent to St. Joseph, Missouri, as department manager, continuing to act in 
that capacity until 1917, when he was appointed by the war council at Washington, 
D. C, a member of the Billings commission to Russia. The object of this commission 
was to make a survey of the Russian situation immediately after the overthrow of 
the Czar. Mr. Nicholson spent about six months in that country, engaged in in- 
vestigation work. In 1918 he returned to St. Joseph, Missouri, where again he entered 
the employ of Swift & Company and in 1919 he was transferred to the Omaha Packing 
Company of Chicago as general manager. In 1920 he was assigned to duty with the 
Plankinton Packing Company of Milwaukee as vice president and general manager 
and in this dual position he is now serving, making a most creditable record as an 
executive officer. The Milwaukee business had its inception soon after the arrival 
of John Plankinton in this city. He had come from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, arriving 
September S, 1844. with the intention of joining George Metcalf, a former acquaintance 
in the butchering business. Mr. Metcalf, however, entered into other business relations 
about a week before Mr. Plankinton's arrival and the latter accordingly started out 
independently. Renting a small tract of land at sixty dollars per annum he erected 
thereon a little frame building, in which he opened a meat market on the 22d of 
September, just fourteen days after his arrival, his capital stock amounting to four 
hundred and fifty dollars. Such was his business ability, however, that his first year's 



372 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

sales amounted to nearly twelve thousand dollars. His business steadily increased 
and in 1849 lie began the slaughtering and packing business. After a year he formed 
a partnership with Frederick Layton, under the firm style of Layton & Plankinton 
and the business was thus carried on, the company confining its attention principally 
to the slaughter of cattle. In 1860 this partnership was dissolved, after which Mr. 
Plankinton carried on the business alone until 1863, by which time there were only 
three enterprises of the kind in the United States that had a larger volume of trade. 
After a time he formed a partnership with Philip D. Armour and their power as 
factors In the business world was soon manifest, leading to the constant growth and 
steady development of the business. After Mr. Plankinton was joined by Mr. Armour 
under the firm style of Plankinton & Armour, they extended their business to Kansas 
City and Chicago with an e.xporting house in New York city conducted under the 
name of Armour, Plankinton & Company. Their export business rapidly developed 
and they had an extensive trade with foreign countries. When Mr. Plankinton retired 
in 1888 the plant was leased to Patrick and John Cudahy and when the latter estab- 
lished the Cudahy Brothers plant at Cudahy, Wisconsin, in 1893, the business was 
taken over by William Plankinton and conducted by him until his death in 1905. It 
was then leased and operated by the National Packing Company until its dissolution 
in 1912. At that date it was acquired by Swift & Company of Chicago and has since 
been operated by them. They placed Mr. Xicholson in charge and his capability, 
resourcefulness and enterprise have been salient features in the attainment of the 
success of the Milwaukee plant. Moreover, as the result of his hard work and close 
application he has risen to a most enviable position among the packers of the country. 
On the 18th of December, 1907, Mr. Nicholson was married to Miss Hazel Robinson 
of Topeka, Kansas, and they have become parents of two children: William C, born 
May 5, 1911; and Jane M., born December 14, 1912. Mr. Nicholson belongs to the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Rotary Club and the City Club, and also to Milwaukee 
Lodge, No. 46, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is widely and favorably known 
in this city, his sterling qualities, his genial disposition and his unfeigned cordiality 
making for personal popularity wherever he is known. 



EDMUND GRAM. 



No establishment in Milwaukee can rival in beauty and artistic arrangement the 
music house of Edmund Gram, Incorporated, of which Edmund Gram is the head and 
which represents Steinway & Sons and other high-grade piano concerns. He is like- 
wise the president of the Edmund Gram piano factory, where the Edmund Gram piano 
is manufactured in uprights, grands and player pianos. His name is not only 
synonymous with the piano trade of the city but in a large measure with the piano 
trade of the state, while his patrons are found in every section of the country. Ability, 
thoroughness and high standards are the words that shadow forth the course which 
he has ever followed in his business career, bringing him to a point of leadership in 
connection with the music trade of the middle west. Back of his success is his love 
of the art and his proficiency as a musician, for even in his boyhood days he was well 
known in musical circles' of the city and acted as director of various musical organiza- 
tions and as pipe organist in churches of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Gram was born in Buffalo, New York, August 23, 1S63. His father, the Rev. 
Charles Gram, was a native of Magdeburg, Germany, born May 22, 1834, and when but 
three years of age was brought to the United States by his parents, who settled in 
Buffalo, where the son was reared and eventually was married there on the 26th of 
August, 1860, to Miss Louisa Lohous, of Buffalo, a descendant of the distinguished 
Henry Adam, who spent his entire life in Germany and won renown in that country. 
Mrs. Gram was born in Buffalo, September 25, 1842, and by her marriage became the 
mother of four children — the son Edmund and three daughters. Tillie became the 
wife of August Rintleman of Milwaukee, who passed away leaving two daughters, 
Leonora and Clara. Later his widow became the wife of George Goetting of Altamont, 
Illinois, but both are now deceased. Another daughter, Alvina, is living in Milwaukee, 
while Clara is deceased. The father long devoted his life to the work of the ministry 
and was called to a pastorate in Milwaukee when his son, Edmund, was but ten years 
of age. He served the church here for nearly forty years, resigning two years prior 
to his death at the age of eighty. 

Edmund Gram was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, in Markham's 
Academy, now the Milwaukee Academy, and in the Spencerian Business College. He 
displayed considerable business genius and initiative in his early youth and began 
earning money by the operation of a small printing press, which he developed to quite 
a job printing establishment, until his academic and music studies took up all of his 
time. Nature endowed him with a love of music which he cultivated in early life, 
playing the pipe organ when yet but a youth and acting as director of various musical 




EDMUND GRAM 



PIISTORY OF .AIILWAUKEE 375 

organizations when in early manhood. He is still deeply interested in such organiza- 
tions and has done much to stimulate musical taste and the love of the art in this 
city. He thus early became closely connected with music interests in Milwaukee and 
it was a logical step to his identification with the piano trade. He became a retail 
dealer of pianos and made it his purpose while so engaged to give to the public the 
best possible instruments which their money could buy. He continues a leading factor 
in the retail trade, today having as beautiful a musical establishment as can be found 
in the country, and was chosen Steinway & Sons representative for Wisconsin. The 
store at Nos. 207 and 209 Grand avenue was erected by Mr. Gram on a twenty-five-year 
ground lease and on the expiration of this period in 1912 he purchased the present 
location and remodeled the building into what is conceded to be one of the finest 
music establishments in the United States. ' Rendering the greatest possible service 
to his patrons in the selection of instruments, his name became knowu as a retail 
dealer not only throughout Wisconsin but in many other states as well. Today his 
piano house is a marvel of beauty, showing artistic arrangement and the most dis- 
criminating study as to color, design and harmony in the adornment of his rooms. 
He took another forward step in his business career by entering the manufacturing 
field. It has been said that there are very few men who have been successful as re- 
tailers of pianos who have made a success as manufacturers, but Mr. Gram is an ex- 
ception to the rule. He entered the business actuated by the same high ideals that 
characterized him as a merchant. He surrounded himself with the most expert work- 
men in piano building, putting at the head of each department a most competent and 
efficient foreman, each one of whom became a stockholder in the newly organized 
factory. They thus had a personal interest in bringing the business up to the highest 
standards, for again it is Mr. Gram's purpose to be surpassed by none in the quality 
of the instruments which he sells to the public. He reorganized the manufacturing 
end of his business under the name of the Edmund Gram Piano Company and now has 
an extensive and well equipped factory at the corner of Fourth and Clybourn streets 
in this city. He built up the business with infinite pains and care and has never 
sacrificed quality in the slightest degree. He insists that every part of the piano 
shall be as perfect as can be made and that the tone shall be the expression of the 
highest degree of the art that has thus far been attained, iloreover, the salesrooms 
of the company display the utmost magnificence in arrangement, furnishings and art 
decorations and the business has grown year by year until it is one of the extensive 
commercial interests of Milwaukee, w'here for forty years Mr. Gram has figured in con- 
nection with the piano trade. His name has been a synonym for progressiveness of 
measures, for the best values in return for investments and now equally a synonym 
for the greatest efficiency in manufacture. He has ever held to the highest ideals and 
the results achieved are certainly most gratifying. His work has been told in a num- 
ber of the leading musical journals of the country and the story of what he has 
accomplished is of inspirational value. In 1921 Mr. Gram incorporated the retail 
business for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and every person in his employ 
was presented with some stock, the amount being in proportion to the position and 
length of their service. Something of the growth of his retail business is indicated 
in the fact that when he took possession of his five-story building on Grand avenue he 
occupied only the basement and the first floor, leasing the second floor to the Luehning 
Conservatory of Music, while the Commercial Club occupied the third, fourth and fifth 
floors. In the new present quarters he is occupying the entire building with recital 
hall. He has the state agency for such standard pianos as the Steinway, the A. B. 
Chase, the Everett, the Estey and the world famous "Welte Artistic Player." 

On the 30th of January, 1S90, Mr. Gram was married to Miss Leonora Beyer, a 
daughter of Charles and Johanna (Barthauer) Beyer, of Detroit. Mrs. Gram is a 
graduate of Meehan's School of Music of Detroit and possesses marked talent as a 
vocalist and instrumental performer, appearing frequently in public. Mr. and Mrs. 
Gram have become parents of five children: Viola, now the wife of Philip Dorr, of 
the Wetmore-Reamer Company of Milwaukee; Agnes, the wife of L. R. Smith, president 
of the A. 0. Smith Company of Milwaukee: Gertrude, the wife of F. W. Magin, of the 
Industrial Controller Company of Milwaukee; and Dorothy and Lois, both of whom 
are high school pupils. 

In aiding in shaping the policies of the National Association of Piano Merchants 
of America. Mr. Gram has for years been a most active and progressive factor. In 
1916 he organized the Better Business Bureau of the Music Trade, whereby each 
dealer contributes a certain sum on each sale to be used to improve the general con- 
dition of the trade, so that it was only logical that he should be chosen its president 
in 191S. His opinions carry great w-eight with the trade by reason of his long ex- 
perience and notable success and few names are more widely known in musical 
circles than that of Edmund Gram. He is a man of fine personal appearance, of un- 
feigned cordiality, courteous and obliging, and his marked qualities have made for 
popularity throughout the entire period of his residence in Milwaukee. He is identified 
with all the leading musical societies of Milwaukee and is well known in club 



376 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

circles and other membership connections. He was one of the organizers ot the 
Calumet Club and is a member of the Millioki Club, the Merchants' and Manufacturers' 
Association, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Greater Milwaukee Association, the 
Chamber of Commerce, the Milwaukee Yacht Club and the Rotary Club, of which he 
is one of the oldest members. He is thus closely associated with many projects which 
touch the general interests of society and make for the development and upbuilding 
of the city. 



OTIS G. TINDALL. 



Otis G. Tindall, who was the president of the firm of Tindall, Kolbe & McDowell, 
wholesale dealers in tea and coffee in Milwaukee, was born in Chatsworth, Illinois, 
in 1877, a son of Charles and Margaret (Gorman) Tindall. He was brought to Mil- 
waukee when a youth of thirteen years, or about 1890, and his early education, begun 
in the public schools of Chatsworth, was continued in the public schools of Milwaukee, 
while later he attended McDonald's Business College. He then engaged in bookkeeping 
for the firm of Smith, Thorndyke & Brown, wholesale grocers, and was later promoted 
to the position of credit man. He remained with that company until they went out of 
business, after which he established a wholesale tea and coffee house on his own 
account as a member of the firm of Tindall, Kolbe & McDowell. Mr. T^indall became 
the president of the new organization and continued thus from its inception to the time 
of his death. Mr. McDowell is now president oi the company, while Mrs. Tindall is 
filling the position of vice president. Mr. Tindall was a thoroughgoing, earnest, 
reliable and progressive business man. Close application and energy carried him 
forward to the goal of success, for from early life he realized the value of unremitting 
industry and perseverance as factors in the attainment of any object. Mr. Tindall 
was also the secretary of the Tea and Coffee Roasters Association, a position which 
indicated his high standing in trade circles. 

In 1906 Mr. Tindall was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Bullock, a daughter of 
J. C. and Hannah (Williams) Bullock, both of whom were natives of 'Wales and on 
coming to the United States settled in Milwaukee in 1867, the father being now engaged 
in the real estate business here. Mr. and Mrs. Tindall became the parents of two 
daughters: Mildred Elizabeth and Jane Margaret. 

The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 21st ot July, 1920, 
Mr. Tindall was called to the home beyond. He was a consistent and faithful mem- 
ber of the Grand Avenue Methodist Episcopal church and by reason of his well spent 
life left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name. He was also a 
helpful follower of the Masonic fraternity, being a Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite 
Mason and a member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and in his political 
connection was a republican. His interest in community affairs was never that of 
an office seeker, but he stood stanchly in support of the public welfare and aided 
various projects which were elements in public progress and improvement. His interest 
centered in his business, his family and his church. The one found him alert and 
energetic, ready for any emergency, while in the home he was a devoted and loving 
husband and father, and in the church was a consistent and faithful follower. His 
long connection with mercantile interests in Milwaukee made him widely known and 
as the years passed he gained the warm friendship of many with whom he was 
brought in contact. 



JACOB KORNELY. 



Actuated by the progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in the 
rapid and substantial upbuilding of the middle west, Jacob Kornely has steadily ad- 
vanced in his business career until he is today a forceful factor in the commercial 
and financial circles of the city. He is at the head of a large hardware establish- 
ment and he is also the president of the Excelsior Mutual Building and Loan Asso- 
ciation. Wisconsin numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred 
on a farm near Francis Creek, in Manitowoc county, September 12, 1858, his parents 
being George and Theresa (Presser) Kornely, who were natives of (Germany and came 
to the United States in 1854, at which time they took up their abode in Manitowoc 
county, spending their remaining days upon the farm which they there purchased 
and developed. 

Jacob Kornely spent the period ot his minority under the parental roof and dur- 
ing that time acquired his education in the district and parochial schools. He started 
out in the business world as a clerk in a hardware store in Milwaukee and was thus 
employed for a number o£ years, during which period, however, he cherished the hope 




OTIS G. TINDALL 



IIISTOKY OF .MILWAT-KEE 379 

of ultimately engaging in Ijusiness on his own account and bent his energies toward 
that end. At length his industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital to 
enable him to take the first step in that direction and in 1891 he opened a hardware 
store on Third street near the corner of North avenue. His place was a small store, 
but it enabled him to make the initial step and tes't his powers as a manager of a 
business. He soon proved that he was adequate to any demands made upon him and 
his trade steadily grew, so that his quarters were soon too small for his e.Kpanding 
business. Today he occupies a building thirty-five by one hundred and fifty feet and 
three stories in height, having one of the largest and best hardware establishments 
of Milwaukee. He carries everything that can be found in the line of shelf and heavy 
hardware and his business is now one of most gratifying proportions. He has won 
success by fair and honorable treatment of his patrons, by persistency of purpose and 
by close application — qualities which anyone might cultivate and which never fail to 
produce desired results. The business has been incorporated and is today carried 
on under the name of the J. Kornely Hardware Company, of which .Mr. Kornely is 
the president. He is likewise the president of the Stove Dealers Supply Company, 
which was organized about eighteen years ago, and also a director of the Wisconsin 
Hardware Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Nor does this constitute the entire scope 
of his business activities, for he has become actively connected with the Excelsior 
Mutual Building and Loan Association, of which he is likewise the president. This 
association has entered upon the twelfth year of its existence under most favorable 
circumstances. It is capitalized for five million dollars and has fifty thousand shares 
of one hundred dollars each. It has in mortgage loans eight hnudred and sixty-six 
thousand, nine hundred dollars. Its business has been most wisely managed and has 
constituted a source of great helpfulness to many shareholders and borrowers. 

In 1886 Mr. Kornely was married to Miss Theresa Metz, a daughter of William 
and Anna Metz of Milwaukee. They are now parents of five children: George W., 
who has a hardware store at No. 147C Green Bay avenue; Theresa, the wife of John 
Bendowske; Anna; Laura, the wife of Peter Theis, who is vice president of the J. 
Kornely Hardware Company; and Raymond C, who acts as secretary and treasurer 
of tlie concern. 

The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Kornely 
is treasurer of the Branch No. 89 of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, of which he 
became a charter member at :\lilwaukee. He is also a member and the president of 
the St. Bonaventure Benevolent Society. In politics he maintains an independent 
course. In 1895 he purchased property and built his present store and today the 
structure stands as a monument to his enterprise and business ability. 



CORNELIUS JOSEPH CORCORAN, M. D. 

Dr. Cornelius Joseph Corcoran, a physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, who largely 
concentrates his attention and activity upon industrial surgery, was born March 3, 
1891, in the city which is still his home. He is the only son of Thomas M. Corcoran! 
a well known business man of Milwaukee, who for many years has been engaged in 
the wholesale and retail feed business, his present location being at No. 18 Jefferson 
street. He is also a native of this city and a son of Cornelius Joseph Corcoran, for 
whom Dr. Corcoran was named. The grandfather came from Limerick. Ireland, prior 
to the Civil war and cast in his lot with the early settlers of Milwaukee. He died 
in 1891, when his grandson and namesake was but six months old, he being eighty- 
four years of age at the time of his demise. Hon. Cornelius L. Corcoran, who is now 
president of the Milwaukee common council, is an uncle of Dr. Corcoran. 

Having acquired his early education in St. John's parochial school. Dr. Corcoran 
was from 1908 until 1913 a pupil in the Marquette Medical College, which conferred 
upon him the M. D. degree at his graduation with the class of 1913. He was an 
interne in St. Mary's Hospital at Milwaukee for a year and since 1914 has been en- 
gaged in active private practice, save for the period of his service in the World war. 
He volunteered on the 1st of November, 1917, and was on duty at Camp Greenleaf. 
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for three months. He was then sent to the Roosevelt Hospital 
in New York city for special instruction in surgery and there also spent three months 
under Dr. Dowd, a distinguished New York surgeon, after which he was transferred 
to Camp Lee at Richmond, Virginia, where for three months he served on the surgical 
staff. He then joined Base Hospital, No. 45, at Richmond, Virginia, under the leader- 
ship of Dr. Stuart McGuire, and in July, 1917, was sent to Prance with this hospital 
unit, with which he served overseas until February, 1919, receiving his discharge 
at Camp Dix. New Jersey, in that month. With his return to Milwaukee he resumed 
the private practice of his profession and he is now on the visiting staff of St. Mary's 
Hospital, while his professional worth has gained for him the position of industrial 
surgeon to many Milwaukee concerns. 



380 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

On the 15th of October, 1919. Dr. Corcoran was married to Miss Dorothea Kalt, 
who was born and reared In Milwaulcee and is a graduate o£ the Holy Angels Academy 
of this city. They are Roman Catholics in religious faith and Dr. Corcoran belongs 
to the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin. He is also a member of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club. He finds his chief recreation in fishing, hunting and handball and he is also 
fond of all outdoor sports. 



MORTON DECKER. 



The name of Morton Decker is inseparably associated with the dairy industry of 
the country. His last years were spent in Milwaukee, where in 1908 he established 
the Standard Cream Separator Company, but for long years before he had been 
associated with dairying and had come into prominence in this connection by reason 
of his important contributions to the business, with which he was associated to the 
time of his death. 

Mr. Decker was born on a farm near Sparta, in Sussex county. New Jersey, on 
the 16th of July, 1859, his parents being John and Eliza (Strat) Decker. He acquired 
his education in the schools of Sparta, his youthful days being spent under the 
parental roof on the old home place. During his entire life he was identified with 
dairy interests, becoming a butter and cheese maker by trade. It is said that he was 
the first man in the United States to send milk to market in bottles, making shipments 
in this manner from the farm to New York city. In 1876 his father built a large 
creamery on the estate, hoping to win the cooperation of his sons in the conduct of 
this business and thus keep them upon the farm. Morton Decker remained with his 
father and became an active factor in the management and control of the business. 
He also studied the dairy industry from every possible standpoint and recognized its 
needs and its opportunities. In connection with the former he invented the Decker 
automatic cream separator, a great improvement upon the old hand separator, and 
it is the machine of his Invention which the Standard Separator Company has been 
manufacturing in Milwaukee since the establishment of the business in 1908. Mr. 
Decker believed that this city would offer an excellent field, owing to the development 
of the great dairy industry in Wisconsin. Accordingly he removed to Milwaukee and 
in 1908 organized the company which has since been in existence. He remained as 
the executive head, filling the position of president and general manager, until Febru- 
ary prior to his demise, when he resigned but still continued as one of the directors 
of the company. 

It was in 1884 that Mr. Decker was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Lantz, 
a daughter of William and Mary (Savacool) Lantz. To this marriage were born a son 
and a daughter: Edith M., who is now the wife of Francis Norwood Bard, a resident 
of Highland Park, Illinois; and Leon M., who is living in Lincoln, Nebraska. The 
latter was married in 1917 to Miss Elizabeth Hays, a daughter of Samuel Hays of 
Boise, Idaho, and they have one son, Morton Decker, named for his grandfather. 
Leon M. Decker resides with his family at No. 1460 Washington street in Lincoln. 

The death of Morton Decker occurred on the 10th of August, 1915, and in his 
passing, Milwaukee lost a representative and valued citizen. There was no one able 
to speak with greater authority concerning the dairy industry of the country and none 
in the city more closely associated with its development and the advancement of the 
standards of dairy service. At all times he was a most progressive business man and 
on coming to Milwaukee he established and promoted one of the important manu- 
facturing interests of the city. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and a loyal 
follower of the teachings and purposes of the craft. 



GILBERT J. DAVELAAR. 



Gilbert J. Davelaar, president of the Wauwatosa State Bank and attorney at law 
in Wauwatosa, was born in the city of Milwaukee, June 21, 1879, his parents being 
William and Minnie (Kerpeustine) Davelaar, the former a native of Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, while the latter was born in Milwaukee. The Davelaar family comes 
of Holland ancestry and was founded in America about 1847 by Gerrit Davelaar, 
who settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The grandfather was a blacksmith by 
trade and after living in Pennsylvania for six years removed to Milwaukee in 1853. 
There he carried on business for a number of years. All of his sons save William, 
who was too young for active duty, served in the Union army during the Civil war. 
The grandfather in the maternal line was Gilbert Kerpenstine, who was also a 
blacksmith. He, in 1844, came direct from Holland to Kingston, New York, and in 
184 5 removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and afterwards removed to Pullman, Illi- 




MORTOX DECKER 



HISTORY OF :\IIL\VAUKEE 383 

nois, where he engaged in blacksmithing for a number o£ years. Later, however, 
he returned to Milwaukee, where his remaining days were passed. He, too, had a 
son, who was actively engaged in service during the Civil war. 

William Davelaar, father of Gilbert J. Davelaar, was one of the early architects 
of Milwaukee and erected a large number of the first office buildings and churches 
of the city. Many monuments to his skill and handiwork are still standing, although 
he has been retired from the active practice of his profession for about ten years. 
He now makes his home in Wauwatosa and has an extensive circle of warm friends 
in this part of the state. To him and his wife were born three children: Dr. Garret 
W. Davelaar, who practices medicine in Wauwatosa and Milwaukee; Gilbert J., of 
this review; and Ella, the wife of Clarence Smeaton of Wauwatosa. 

Gilbert J. Davelaar was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and in the 
high school of Wauwatosa, from which he was graduated. In 19 02 he completed a 
course of law in the University of Wisconsin and was admitted to practice with the 
LL. B. degree before the supreme court of the state in June, 1902. He then located 
for practice in Milwaukee, where he has remained continuously, and as the years 
have passed he has built up an extensive practice. For twelve years he filled the 
office of attorney for the town of Wauwatosa and for an equal period was village 
attorney of West Milwaukee, while for two years he has served as city attorney of 
Wauwatosa. Outside the path of his profession his efforts have been directed in 
the field of banking and in July, 1920, he was elected president of the Wauwatosa 
State Bank and is still filling this position. 

On the 10th of July, 1906, Mr. Davelaar was married to Miss Elizabeth Eriksen 
of Wauwatosa, and they have become the parents of four children: Ernella who 
was born April 16, 1907: Ruth, who was born September 7, 1910; Gilbert, born 
January 7, 1916; and Sylvia, born February 1, 1918. 

During the World war Mr. Davelaar acted as chairman of the Wauwatosa branch 
of the legal advisory board of Milwaukee county. He with others had charge of the 
school districts on all the war drives promoted by the government and in every pos- 
sible way assisted the country in maintaining the support of the army in the field. 
He has served on the Wauwatosa School Board. No. 6, for a number of years and 
is keenly interested in all that pertains in any way to the welfare and progress of 
the community. 



LORENZ MASCHAUER. 



Lorenz Maschauer, who for many years was prominently connected with the 
hardware trade of Milwaukee and during the last twenty-four years of his life was 
president of the Frankfurth Hardware Company, was born in Wildstein. near Eger, 
Bohemia, on the 31st of JIarch, 1S44, and was but ten years of age when in 1854 
he was brought by his parents to the new world. The family settled in Watertown, 
Wisconsin, and there the father died soon afterward. Lorenz Maschauer was the 
youngest in a family of six children, who accompanied their mother to Milwaukee soon 
after the father's demise. 

In the schools of this city, therefore, Lorenz Maschauer pursued his education, 
becoming a student in the German-English Academy. After starting out in the business 
world he became identified with a brass and machinery foundry, but the work disagreed 
with him and in 1861 he entered the employ of the Frankfurth Hardware Company 
at Third and Chestnut streets. When twenty-one years of age, owing to impaired 
health, he gave up his position and spent two years in touring Europe. Rest and 
travel did much for him and with health greatly improved he returned to Milwaukee, 
where in 1885 he once more liecame identified with the Frankfurth Hardware Company 
as a partner and so continued until the death of Mr. Frankfurth in 1892, when Mr. 
Maschauer became the president of the company and remained as its executive head 
until his demise. With the exception of the period of two years spent abroad he was 
continuously identified with this house for fifty-five years and its success was attribut- 
alde in large measure to his enterprise, his diligence, determination and careful man- 
agement. He was a prominent figure in the commercial circles of the city by reason 
of his long association with the hardware trade and the success which he achieved in 
building up a business of extensive proportions. 

On the 16th of October, 1878, Mr. Maschauer was united in marriage to Miss Elise 
Hess, a daughter of Henry G. and Malvina (Timm) Hess, who were of German birth. 
They were married in their native land and crossed the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, 
being on the water for thirteen weeks. They cast in their lot with the early settlers 
of Milwaukee and here the father followed the wood turner's trade, which he had learned 
in his native land. To Mr. and Jlrs. Maschauer were born three children, one of whom 
died in infancy, the others being Irma and Paula, the latter the wife of C. Oscar Riedel, 
3 resident of Jlilwaukee, and the mother of one son, Oscar C. 



384 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

It was on the 23d o£ March, 1916, when almost seventy-two years of age, that Lorenz 
Maschauer was called to his final rest. His life was one of great activity and useful- 
ness and his memory is cherished by all those who were associated with him. He was 
a lifelong republican and he took the deepest interest in everything that he believed 
was of benefit to his adopted city. He served on the board of the German-English 
Academy, was a member of the Wisconsin Musical Society and held membership as 
well in the Wisconsin Club and the Old Settlers Club. His interests were thoroughly 
interwoven with" those of the city and no plan or measure for public good failed to 
receive his endorsement and generous support. Identified with the mercantile interests 
of the city for fifty-five years, there was perhaps no merchant of Milwaukee more widely 
or more favorably known. His progressiveness was a feature in the city's upbuilding 
and his business affairs were at all times of a character that contribute to pulDlic prog- 
ress and prosperity as well as to individual success. 



PHIL A. GRAU. 

Phil A. Grau, attorney at law, and since the IBth of March, 1920, executive director 
of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, was born October 25, ISSl, in the city 
which is still his home, his parents being August M. and Christina (Klaus) Grau. 
His father is the president of the Red Star Compressed Yeast Company of Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, which is the successor of the National Distilling Company. His mother 
was a daughter of Philip Klaus, one of the pioneers of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who held 
the office of city treasurer there for many years. 

Phil A. Grau obtained his early education in the private school conducted by 
Sarah E. Balis in Milwaukee and afterward matriculated in Marquette University, 
which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree at his graduation, with the 
class of 1900. His law course was pursued in Georgetown University at Washington, 
D. C, which conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts in 1901, that of Bachelor 
of Law in 1903, and Master of Law in 1904. He also studied economics under Dr. 
Charles P. Neill of the Catholic University at Washington. Having prepared for the 
bar, he entered upon the practice of law in the national capital and afterward practiced 
in Milwaukee. Fifteen years ago, however, he became interested in organization work 
and specialized later as counsel to trade organizations. He became general counsel for 
the Malsters' Bureau of Statistics and managing director of the American Furniture 
Manufacturers' Association. His splendid powers of organization and executive con- 
trol, combined with his initiative, have led, therefore, to his selection for the most 
important duty of this character and on the 15th of March, 1920, he accepted the 
position of executive director of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, in which 
connection he is doing most effective work in furthering the interests and projects of 
this organization. For several years he was the editor of the Way Bill, the official 
bulletin of the Chicago Traffic Club. He has also been lecturer on civics and law at the 
School of Sociology in Loyola University of Chicago, of which the Rev. F. J. Sieden- 
berg, S. J., is dean. He is likewise the author of a volume entitled Sales Pep, and 
still others published under the titles of Which — The Employer Versus the Employe, 
or the Employer and the Employe; Labor's Opportunity; and Fallacy of the Closed 
Shop. His writings show wide research and investigation into economic conditions 
and into all those vital problems which figure most strongly in connection with labor 
and with business affairs of the present time. 

On the 16th of July, 190S, Mr. Grau was married to Miss Abbie Marie Wendell, now 
deceased. Following her death he was married on the 13th of April, 1913, to Gertrude 
Anna Ziegler, a daughter of the late Theodore Ziegler of the George Ziegler Company 
of Milwaukee. His children are: Rosalie Christine Grau, Philip Ziegler Grau, and 
Joseph August Grau. 

In his political views Mr. Grau Is an independent republican but while he usually 
supports the principles of the party he does not consider himself bound to party ties. 
He has done much important public service, having been a member of the Board of 
County Visitors of Cook County, Chicago, and Secretary of the Wilmette Guard at 
Wilmette, Illinois, a citizens' organization, in which capacity he served during the war 
period. He belongs to Georgetown Chapter of the Delta Chi fraternity and in religious 
faith he is a Roman Catholic, being a member of St. Robert's parish at Shorewood, a 
suburb of Milwaukee, and an honorary member of Holy Name Society of St. Thomas 
Aquinas parish of Milwaukee. He likewise belongs to the Catholic University of 
America alumni, to the Georgetown University alumni, to the Marquette University 
alumni, and is an honorary member of the Economics Club of the Robert A. Johnston 
School of Economics of Marquette University, as well as an honorary member of the 
Commerce Club of Marquette University. His name is on the list of active members in 
the Milwaukee Athletic Club. That he is a man of scholarly attainments is gathered 
forth between the lines of this review. He ever studies broadly, thinks deeply, and 




Coinnslit 1320— Mofl'rtt 



I'HIL A. GRAU 



Tol. n— 25 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 387 

keeps abreast with men of learning tlirougliout America on all those subjects which 
are of vital interest in relation to economic conditions and his opinions have had 
far-reaching influence in this connection. 



CARL HERZFELD. 



Carl Herzfeld, vice president and general manager of the Herzfeld-Phillipson 
Company, owners of the Boston Store in Milwaukee, was born January 22, 1866, in 
Bielefeld. Westphalia, Germany, his parents being Philip and Emma Herzfeld. In 
the acquirement of his education he attended the schools of his native city, pursuing 
a course in the Gymnasium there. He was a youth of seventeen years when he 
left his native country to become a resident of the United States, arriving on the 1st 
of September, 1883. 

Making his way westward to Decatur, Michigan, Mr. Herzfeld worked in a small 
dry goods store there owned by Charles Schuster, until January 28, 1889, when he 
came to Milwaukee. The ne.xt day he entered the employ of Ed Schuster & Com- 
pany, with whom he continued for fourteen years, or until the 1st of January, 1903. 
Determined to start his own business Mr. Herzfeld looked about him for other fields 
of labor. He had flattering offers from men of large means who gave him the 
chance of establishing a business in the east but Mr. Herzfeld had great faith in 
Jlilwaukee and decided to remain. Accordingly, the Herzfeld-Phillipson Company 
was organized in 1902. The company started by renting space for a few depart- 
ments in the Boston Store and gradually took over others until in the second year 
of its existence it had eighteen departments and finally on the 1st of October, 1906. 
took over the entire store, which it reorganized with Nat Stone as president, Carl 
Herzfeld as vice president and general manager, A. L. Stone as treasurer and R. 
Phillipson as secretary. The firm also took over the Milwaukee Boston Store Cor- 
poration as a holding company for the real estate, wjth Nat Stone as president. Jake 
Stone as treasurer and Carl Herzfeld as secretary. The Boston Store was established 
in 1900, at which time it occupied a ground space of but one hundred and fifty by 
one hundred and sixty-two feet. Something of the growth of the business can be 
realized when it is stated that the buildings now cover more than twelve acres of 
floor space. Additional room has gradually been acquired and new buildings have 
replaced the old ones. When Mr. Herzfeld took charge as general manager, in 
which position he remains, he adopted a policy for the store that was expressed in 
the words "fair, square and liberal." This policy has since been followed in con- 
nection with every detail of the business and is the foundation of the present great 
success attained by the company. The growth of the business has its root in truth 
and fact. More and more the company has enjoyed the confidence of the public and 
by reason thereof its trade has constantly expanded. Some years ago Mr. Herzfeld 
wrote a booklet called. Code of Truth in Advertising, and this little volume was 
founded upon his practical experience. It has been printed in its third edition and 
has by request been sent to all parts of the world. In this little booklet Mr. Herz- 
feld maintains the imperative necessity of a strict adherence to a policy of truthful 
advertising, for he has ever followed the course of "telling the truth and nothing 
but the truth." In a foreword of the book he said to his buyers: "In presenting 
to you this code of truth, we desire to call your attention to the fact that it is 
greatly due to the use and careful application of these terms that our business has 
made such remarkable progress. We have endeavored to build our business on a 
solid foundation and are now more than ever determined not to deviate from our 
well defined course. In using comparative price advertising as one of our prin- 
ciples, we have succeeded in gaining the fullest confidence of the public. To give 
greater strength to this principle we have transposed these terras into tangible 
form, so that you may at no time be at a loss as to the proper application." In that 
Mr. Herzfeld speaks of many terms which are commonly used by merchants in 
advertising and tells how and when these terms can be legitimately used, so that 
there shall be no misrepresentation of any goods. Without reprinting the entire 
booklet its substance can be probably summed up in one short sentence. "Tell the 
public the facts only." Mr. Herzfeld makes every department manager live up to 
this motto of the house. There is no camouflage attached to any of the articles on 
sale in the Boston Store, nor is there any misrepresentation allowed in the adver- 
tising columns and the employe who ventures upon any other path than that of 
strict truth does not remain long with the establishment. The store is today one 
of the leading commercial enterprises of the city and in the conduct of its interests 
the broader spirit of the new century flnds expression. 

Mr. Herzfeld, like many others, immigrated to this country with only a limited 
knowledge of the English language but unlike most of those who have crossed the 
Atlantic it was acknowledged that in six months' time he had mastered the native 



388 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

tongue of the American people and today it would be hard to And one who more 
fluently expresses his meaning in English. His career has been remarkable and his 
success is well merited. ' 

On the 14th of July,' 1895, Mr. Herzfeld was married to Miss Helena Phillipson, 
who was born in Altona, Germany, and they have two sons: Hans Martin, one of 
the merchandise managers of the Boston Store, who married Charlotte Patek; and 
Richard Philip, also connected with the store as a department manager, and who in 
February, 1922, married Ethel Ann Davis. 

Mr. Herzfeld is a Master Mason and he belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
the Wisconsin Club, the City Club, the Chenequa Country Club, Milwaukee Yacht 
Club and several others. He is a director of the Association of Commerce and for 
six years was a director of the National Retail Dry Goods Association. He was also 
the organizer of the junior chapter of the Association of Commerce. He has been 
instrumental in having passed many ordinances for the betterment of the city and 
was one of the men who worked for the placing of traffic police on the streets. 
Both of his sons enlisted during the war, one in the army, the other in the navy, 
and Mr. Herzfeld himself was appointed state merchant representative for the food 
administration and devoted a large part of his time to his duties in that connection. 
One of the most prominent residents of Milwaukee, speaking of Mr. Herzfeld said, 
"He stands head and shoulders above most and is entitled to a prominent place in 
history." Not seeking honor but simply endeavoring to do his duty and manage 
his interests according to high ethical standards of commerce, prominence has 
come to him and prosperity has followed all liis undertakings. 



IGNATIUS CZERWINSKI. 



Ignatius Czerwinski, prominent in connection with the real estate business of 
Milwaukee and in Polish-American circles, was born in Lubasz, in the province of 
Posen, Poland, February 1, 1858, his parents being Frank and Felicia W. Czerwinski. 
His father emigrated to the United States in 1852 and making his way to California, 
attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, he spent five years in that 
section of the country and then returned to Poland. He continued to reside in his 
native country for another period of ten years and then came to America with his 
family. 

Ignatius Czerwinski began his education in the schools of Poland and afterward 
attended St. Gall's School in Milwaukee. He started out in the business world as a 
clerk in the general store conducted by the firm of Kroeger Brothers, with whom he 
remained for a period of fourteen years, but ambitious to engage in business on his 
own account he carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economy enabled 
him to establish a store of this character for himself. He continued in the business 
for a considerable period meeting with success and later he turned his attention to the 
real estate business. He has since negotiated many important property transfers and 
has built up a large clientage in this connection. What he undertakes he accomplishes 
for he is a man of firm purpose and earnest determination and overcomes all obstacles 
and difficulties by persistent effort. 

In 1S86 Mr. Czerwinski was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Zabczynska and to 
them have been born four children: Irene, Edward, Adrian and Marie. The military 
record of Mr. Czerwinski covers twelve years' service in the state militia as a member 
of the Wisconsin National Guard. His political allegiance is given to the democratic 
party and he has filled some positions of public honor and trust. For two years he 
was clerk of the circuit court and for eight years he filled the office of police and fire 
commissioner. He also served as a member of local draft board for Division No. 8 for 
the city of Milwaukee during the World war. He is very prominent in Polish circles, 
having marked influence over men of his own nationality and is well fitted for the 
position of leadership which he fills, as his life is guided by high standards of business 
and of citizenship. If such men were always the controlling factor among the foreign 
born there would be no question as to the conversion to real Americanization as the 
years pass by. 



EDWARD H. GRABER. 



Milwaukee county has become one of the great leather centers of the country and 
various business enterprises have contributed to the result. Among these is the Forsyth 
Leather Company of Wauwatosa, of which Edward H. Graber is the treasurer and 
manager. In all that he undertakes he displays keen business ability, executive force 
and undaunted enterprise. He was born in Buffalo, New York, November 26, 1872, and 




laXATIUS CZERWINSKI 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 391 

is a son of John and Augusta (Reidel) Graber, both of whom were natives of Germany 
and were brought to America by their respective parents in their infancy, their families 
settling in Buffalo, New York. John Graber became a tanner by trade, following the 
business throughout his life. He passed away in Freeport, Illinois, at the age of eighty- 
two years. His wife died at the age of eighty-three. 

Edward H. Graber was largely educated in the schools of Lindsay, Ontario, and 
while there residing he also learned the tanner's trade under the direction of his 
brother, John. In 1S92 he went to Chicago and was associated with the George Osborne 
Standard Tanning Company for about two years. In 1895 he came to Milwaukee and 
obtained a position with Albert Trostel & Company, tanners, with whom he spent 
eighteen months, and then entered the employ of the Herman Zorlaut Company. After 
some time spent with that concern he became identified with the Wilder-Manning Tanning 
Company, which was afterwards changed to the Wilder Tanning Company at Waukegan, 
Illinois. At that time the business was a very small concern, capitalized for fifty 
thousand dollars, and assuming control Mr, Graber introduced most progressive methods 
that greatly developed the business. Sometliing of the growth is indicated in the fact 
that the capital stock was increased to three hundred thousand dollars, and Mr. Graber 
has held most of the official positions from that of superintendent to manager. He 
was with the concern for eighteen years, or until the business was sold in July, 
1917, when he became associated with the Forsyth Leather Company of Milwaukee, of 
which he was made manager, and in 1919 he was elected treasurer. This company 
manufactures the patent and also upper leather, and in normal times employs one 
hundred and sixty people. Its product is sold all over the country and is exported to 
foreign lands as well. Mr. Graber is also a director of the First National Bank of 
Wauwatosa, 

In his home relations Mr. Graber has always been pleasantly situated. He first 
married Katharine Bevers and to them was born a daughter, Edna. The wife and 
mother passed away in 1908, and in 1915 Mr. Graber was married to Martha Knaack 
of Princeton, Wisconsin, and they now occupy an attractive home in Wauwatosa. 

Mr. Graber belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he is also a 
thirty-second degi-ee Mason. He likewise has membership in Waukegan Commandery, 
No. 12, K. T., and in Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Chicago, while his Scottish 
Rite degrees were taken in Milwaukee Consistory. He is a loyal follower of the teach- 
ings and purposes of Masonry and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the 
craft. In his business career he has manifested many sterling qualities, whereby he 
has worked his way steadily upward from a humble position to one of prominence and 
affluence in leather circles. 



FREDERICK VOGEL, SR, 



No history of Milwaukee would be complete without extended reference to Frederick 
Vogel. Sr„ who was the promoter of one of the most extensive productive industries of 
the city, a business that is now furnishing employment to about three thousand people 
under the name of the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company. The business has been in 
existence for seventy-four years, having been established in March, 1847, and through 
an extended period, Frederick Vogel was a directing force in shaping the development, 
promoting the growth and extending the activity of this mammoth concern. Emerson 
said, "an institution is nothing more than the lengthened shadow of a man," and in 
this vast enterprise is seen the tangible result of the energy, determination, farsighted- 
ness and keen business ability of Frederick Vogel. 

A native of Germany, he was born in Kirchheini, in the province of Wurtemberg, 
May 6, 1823, and was the youngest son of Jacob and Elizabeth Vogel, also natives of 
that country. He acquired his education in the schools of Germany and when his student 
days were over began learning the tanner's trade, which he followed for a number of 
years, acquiring large familiarity with every branch of the business. 

At length, feeling that better business opportunities might be secured in America, 
Mr. Vogel came to the new world, leaving home when twenty-three years of age and 
reaching New York in July, 1846. After a few weeks spent in the eastern metropolis, 
he continued his westward journey to Buffalo, New York, and there secured employment 
in a small tannery owned by his cousin, his duties being the buying of hides and skins 
and the sale of leather. Business trips often took him to Chicago and Milwaukee and 
the opportunities offered in the latter city led him to the determination to make it his 
place of residence. He carried out this resolution in 1847 and in the following year 
became associated with Guido Pfister in the tannery business. They built a small tan- 
nery on the Menominee river, and this constituted the initial step in the development 
of the gi-eat enterprise now carried on under the name of the Pfister & Vogel Leather 
Company. The leather produced in the first tannery was sold by Guido Pfister through- 
the Buffalo Leather Company, a little shop of which he was sole proprietor. Two years 



392 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

later each of the men bought an interest in the concern of the other, and in 1853 the 
leatlier store became a partnership affair. Four years later the two men merged their 
interests completely and took charge of the leather industry of Milwaukee, then repre- 
sented by the Vogel tannery. Steadily their patronage grew, and in 1872 the business 
was incorporated with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars. Today the 
company owns one of the most immense plants in Milwaukee and has branches in all 
the leather centers of the world, doing business amounting to millions annually. They 
have two offices in England, one in London and the other in Northampton, and also 
have offices in Paris, Frankfort and Rome, and agenci