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

NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



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The' New York 
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HISTORY 

OF 

MILWAUKEE 

CITY AND COUNTY 


VOLUME III 


ILLUSTRATED 


CHICAGO— MILWAUKEE 

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1922 






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EDWARD P. BACON 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



EDWARD PAYSON BACON. 

From the period of pioneer development to the era of later progress and prosperity 
Edward Pavson Bacon was connected with the history of Milwaukee and the state of 
Wisconsin. He was a contributing factor to the material growth and substantial im- 
provement of the citv in many ways and looked beyond the exigencies of the moment 
to the opportunities and possibilities of the future in his cooperation with public affairs. 
Mr. Bacon was born in Reading, Schuyler county, New York, May 16, 1834, being the 
eldest son of Joseph F. and Matilda (Cowles) Bacon. In both the paternal and maternal 
lines he came of New England lineage, his ancestors having lived in Massachusetts 
and Connecticut for many generations. His grandfather in the Bacon line was a fife 
major in the Revolutionary war. On the distaff side he is a descendant of John Cowles, 
who migrated to Massachusetts from England about 1635. 

Edward P. Bacon was a lad of four years at the time the family home was estab- 
lished in Geneva, New York, where he pursued a public school education, and in vacation 
periods worked along different lines in order to contribute to his support. He dis- 
played special aptitude in his studies and was ambitious to acquire a college education 
but the financial resources of the family made it impossible. When a lad of thirteen 
he secured a position as errand boy in a store, and his faithfulness, industry ajul loyalty 
soon won him promotion. After two years he carried out the cherished wish of pur- 
suing a more advanced education by entering an academy at Brockport, New York. 
In May, 1851. he became a clerk in the freight office of the New York & Erie Railroad at 
Hornellsville, New York, and was in the employ of that company for four years, during 
which time he was located successively at Corning, Elmira and New York city. 

In the service of the railroad he won various promotions until he became chief 
clerk in the general freight office, having charge of the accounts with agents over the 
entire road. In 1855 when the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad, now 
known as the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, was completed into Chicago, he accepted 
o position that placed him in charge of the freight office of the road in that city. He 
believed that greater advancement could be secured in railroad service in the west than 
in the east, and time justified this belief. The following year he was appointed freight 
agent of the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad at Milwaukee, which was the first line 
built west of Lake Michigan and north of Chicago. When the line was extended to 
Prairie du Chien, in 1857, Mr. Bacon was placed in charge of the entire freight de- 
partment and remained with the road for nearly ten years, serving as auditor, as 
general freight agent and general ticket agent. To him was assigned the task of organ- 
izing the various departments and systematizing the work in connection therewith, 
after which he turned the completed work over to others in order to take up still further 
tasks of organization. To Mr. Bacon was due the credit of inventing the present coupon 
ticket case in general use all over the country. 

In 1865 Mr. Bacon entered into partnership relations with Lyman Everingham, 
freight agent at Milwaukee for the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad, to carry on a 
grain commission business under the firm name of Bacon & Everingham. The new 
enterprise prospered but on account of the strenuous labors which Mr. Bacon assumed 
his health became impaired and he devoted the year 1874 to travel, withdrawing from 
the partnership. He afterward became interested in a wholesale grocery concern under 
the name of Bacon, Goodrich & Company, but three years later formed a partnership 
with Oren E. Britt and M. P. Aiken and again engaged in the grain trade under the 
name of E. P. Bacon & Company. The firm was dissolved in 1877 and Mr. Bacon con- 
tinued the business alone until 1890, when he admitted George H. D. Johnson and 
George W. Powers, two of his former employes, to a partnership, and their business 
became one of the largest of its kind in the upper Mississippi valley. 

In 1865 Mr. Bacon became a member of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, in 
the work of which he took a most active and helpful part, doing everything in his 
power to advance the commercial interests and the civic development of the city. In 
1883 he was one of the leaders in a contest that was waged by the Milwaukee Chamber 



6 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of Commerce to secure better rates from the railroads having terminals both in 
Milwaukee and Chicago, the result being the establishment of more favorable freight 
rates, which were of great importance to the business interests of the city. For ten 
years he served on the directorate of the Chamber of Commerce, six years as a direc- 
tor, two years as vice president and two years as president. He was instrumental in 
having the Chamber of Commerce scales installed throughout the city. He represented 
the Chamber at various commercial conventions and was chosen to represent Milwaukee 
as a member of the National Board of Trade, being elected vice president of that 
organization for five consecutive years from 1S84 to 1S89. He was one of the committee 
from the National Board of Trade to urge the passage of the interstate commerce act 
at the time that the bill was pending before congress. On various occasions he was 
sent as a delegate to appear before different congressional committees to oppose the 
adoption of free silver and to advocate various measures affecting the commercial in- 
terests of the country. 

In 1892 at the time of the great Milwaukee fire Mr. Bacon was the first to call a 
meeting of the citizens for the relief of the sufferers and his efforts brought comfort 
into many households. In addition to all of his other public service he was keenly in- 
terested in the question of the regulation of railroad rates, both state and national, 
and nothing better illustrates his tenacity of purpose than the campaigns he waged for 
the abolition of rebates and the passage of the inter-state commerce law of 1906, which 
enlarged the powers of the inter-state commerce commission. The labors of Mr. Bacon 
and others resulted in the passage of the Elkins bill in 1903, which made the giving 
or receiving of rebates a criminal offense. 

As chairman of the executive committee of the inter-state law convention, which 
was an organization made up of nearly three hundred Boards of Trade, Chambers of 
Commerce and leading commercial bodies of the country, Mr. Bacon gave practically 
four or five years of his life. Never conscious of defeat, facing disheartening opposition 
from the railroads with their money and legal talent arrayed against him, he kept to 
his task — a disinterested public service. Mr. Bacon's standing in the commercial 
world, masterful grasp of transportation subjects, and his absolute fairness commanded 
respect and consideration from members of congress as well as shippers and carriers 
throughout the country. 

Twice under President McKinley's administration the bill to enlarge the powers of 
the inter-state commerce commission failed of passing. Mr. Bacon liked to recount 
how President Roosevelt struck his fist on the table at the end of a conference with 
him, and said: "Mr. Bacon, I am with you!" In his message to congress, President 
Roosevelt strongly recommended the enactment of the desired legislation, and on June 
29, 1906, after a struggle of nearly seven years, the bill, known as the Hepburn bill, 
was passed — one of the most far-reaching acts of legislation of recent years, giving to 
the inter-state commerce commission power to determine a reasonable rate to be sub- 
stituted for one found to be unreasonable after full hearing, to go into immediate effect, 
and to continue until reversed by the courts. To Mr. Bacon more than to any man, was 
due the passage of the bill. 

On the 18th of May, 1858, Mr. Bacon was married to Miss Emma Rogers Hobbs, of 
Paterson, New Jersey. They had four children, of whom the eldest and the youngest, 
both daughters, passed away. The others were: Lillian, the wife of Rollin B. Mallory 
of Milwaukee; and Frank Rogers, who became a prominent business man of this city. 
Mrs. Bacon died in 1892, and in 1895 Mr. Bacon married Mrs. Ella (Dey) Baird of 
Pelham Manor, New York, daughter of John H. Dey, for many years associate editor 
of the New York Evangelist. 

Mr. Bacon long manifested a most helpful interest in religious work. Soon after 
becoming a resident of Milwaukee in 1856 he united with the Plymouth Congregational 
church, of which he was a devoted member for sixteen years. He then transferred his 
membership to Immanuel Presbyterian church, with which he was actively identified 
for the rest of his life. He took active and helpful part in organizing the Young Men's 
Christian Association in 1S57, and helped to place the society upon a substantial financial 
basis, serving as vice president and acting as president of the organization. 

He served for many years as a trustee of Beloit College and established a fund for 
assisting young men to secure a college education, or training for the ministry, never 
forgetting his own desire along that line in his youth. He was constantly reaching out 
a helping hand to aid fellow travelers on life's journey, especially those who were 
anxious to aid themselves. He obtained a substantial measure of success, but this was 
never the end and aim of his existence. He never lightly regarded his duties to the 
individual nor to society at large, and his love of country was manifest in his earnest 
efforts to promote general progress and advancement. Mr. Bacon rounded out his char- 
acter of an honorable man and public-spirited citizen with the choicer qualities of mind 
and spirit. He possessed a keen appreciation of the beautiful in nature and in art. 
Courteous in all his dealings, he was nevertheless reserved; the finer, more sensitive 
side of his nature was known only to friends and those closely related to him. They 
alone fully realized the unselfishness, generosity and nobility of his nature. He stood 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 7 

as a splendid type of American manhood and chivalry, one of the great builders of the 
empire of the middle west, and his service was at all times a blessing and a benefit 
to mankind. 



JOHN S. GORDON, M. D. 



Dr. John S. Gordon, oculist and aurist, whose practice also includes the treatment 
of diseases of the nose and throat as well as of the eye and ear, has gained an enviable 
reputation in Milwaukee, where his ability has found recognition in the ready endorse- 
ment of the public. Born in Berlin, Wisconsin, April 18, 1888, he is a son of John 
Gordon, a merchant, who was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, born in 1861, while his 
death occurred in Milwaukee in 1918. In early manhood he married Mrs. Agnes J. 
(Hark, a widow residing in Milwaukee. She was born in Chicago in 1858. 

Dr. Gordon was largely reared in Waupaca, Wisconsin, pursuing his early educa- 
tion there until graduated from the high school with the class of 1907. In the fall of 
that year he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he pursued an academic course 
for one year, while later he won his professional degree upon graduation from the 
medical department of the University of Illinois in 1912. For one year he served as 
interne in the Milwaukee Hospital and since 1913 he has concentrated his efforts and 
attention upon diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, specializing as a partner of 
Dr. Henry B. Hitz and Dr. Gilbert E. Seaman. The firm enjoys a very extensive 
practice of a notable character and their professional services have been highly satis- 
factory to their patients. 

On the 12th of November, 1913, Dr. Gordon was united in marriage to Miss Ida N. 
Perry, who was born in Evanston, Illinois, and is a graduate of Lawrence College. 
Prior to her marriage she engaged in teaching. She has become the mother of one 
son, John S., Jr., now in his sixth year. 

Dr. Gordon is a republican in his political views and always keeps well informed on 
the vital questions and issues of the day. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, loyal to 
the teachings and purposes of the craft. He belongs also to the Wisconsin Club and 
to the Milwaukee University Club, while in the field of his profession he is well known 
through his membership in the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the Milwaukee 
County Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Milwaukee Oto-Ophthal- 
mic Society and the Tri-State Medical Society. He is thoroughly informed concerning 
the latest researches and discoveries of the profession and his practice is at all times 
thoroughly scientific in character and of the utmost worth in the results attained. 



JOSEPH JOHN KOZOUREK. 



Through a period of more than eighteen years Joseph John Kozourek has been 
connected with the C. W. Fischer Furniture Company, of which he is now the treasurer, 
his identification with the business as a member of the company dating from 1914. 
Intelligently directed industry has been the basis of his steady rise in the business 
world until step by step he has reached a place of prominence in commercial circles. 
Milwaukee numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred on the 17th 
of October, 1878. His father, Matthias Kozourek, was a native of Posen, Austria, and 
of Bohemian ancestry. Coming to America in 1872, he resided for a time in New York 
and then came to Milwaukee, where he engaged in business as a boxmaker. He was 
a young married man of about twenty-one years when he came to the United States, 
his wife being Eva (Wagner) Kozourek, who was also born in Austria, in which 
country they were married. Mr. Kozourek departed this life in April, 1910. His widow 
makes her home in Milwaukee. 

Joseph J. Kozourek was educated in the parochial schools, attending St. Wences- 
laus North school on Scott street, and afterward the public schools of the eighth ward, 
while later he was a student in the Spencerian Business College. He started out to 
provide for his own support by working in the south side branch of the Schlitz Brewing 
Company for a year or more, as checking clerk. He then entered the St. Paul shops at 
West Milwaukee, occupying a position in the storekeeper's office and in the time de- 
partment for four years, winning advancement to the position of weighmaster. In 
July, 1903, he entered the employ of the C. W. Fischer Furniture Company as a book- 
keeper and from time to time has gained promotion, purchasing an interest in the 
business in 1914 and steadily advancing until he became treasurer and director in 
1917. As the financial man of the company he has been active in directing its affairs 
and promoting its success and is now classed with the prominent and representative 
merchants of the city. 

On the 16th of June, 1903, Mr. Kozourek was married to Miss Antoinette Koubeck, 



8 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

a (laughter of Anton Koubeck, a cabinetmaker of Milwaukee, who has been connected 
with the St. Paul shops for twenty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Kozourek are the parents of 
four children: Alice, who is attending the South Side high school; Dorothy, in St. 
Matthew's parochial school; Gertrude, attending the same school; and Loretta. 

In politics Mr. Kozourek is a republican but has never been an active party worker. 
He and his family are of the Catholic faith, identified with St. Matthew's parish. 
Fraternally he is an Elk, belonging to the Milwaukee lodge, and he is also a member 
of the Catholic Order of Foresters, of which he has served as secretary. He is fond 
of bowling and has won second place in the city contest. He was a member of the 
Fischer team in the Commercial League which won the championship in 1920. He also 
greatly enjoys fishing and every phase of outdoor life, especially touring in a motor car. 
The daughter Alice bids fair to become a vocalist of superior ability and is now 
studying under Madame Kavel. She is likewise proficient as a pianist. The family 
home is at No. 463 American avenue, a property which Mr. Kozourek purchased in 
1910 and which they have since occupied. 



DAVID ADLER. 



The name of Adler has long been associated with commercial activity in Mil- 
waukee and has ever been a synonym of enterprise, integrity and progressiveness. For 
more than fifty years David Adler was active in the control of one of the leading mer- 
cantile houses of the city and his life illustrated clearly what could be accomplished 
through individual effort and indefatigable energy intelligently directed. He richly 
merited the proud American title of a self-made man, rising from an obscure beginning 
to the head of one of the largest clothing manufacturing establishments in the north- 
west. A native of Austria, he was born in Neustadt, province of Bohemia, October 9. 
1821, his parents being Isaac and Bertha Adler. They were small traders in Neustadt, 
where the father lived for fifty-eight years. 

David Adler acquired his education in the schools of his native city and afterward 
served a three years' apprenticeship to the baker's trade. Later he spent a year in 
travel in Europe for the purpose of observing the different methods of conducting the 
bakery business and then returned to Neustadt, where he resided again for two years 
ere coming to the new world. Attracted by the opportunities offered in America and 
hoping to greatly improve his fortunes by sojourning in this land, he made the long 
voyage to New York, where he arrived on the 15th of August, 1846. He at once began 
work in connection with the bakery business and two years later established a busi- 
ness of his own in New York, meeting with success and carrying on the undertaking 
for three years. In 1851, with a belief in the coming greatness of the west, he disposed 
of his interests in the eastern metropolis and removed to Milwaukee, bringing with him 
a cash capital of twelve hundred dollars. Here he established a small retail clothing 
store on East Water street and this constituted the nucleus of the present mammoth 
business which is synonymous with commercial activity in Milwaukee and which is 
now carried on under the style of the David Adler & Sons Company. In 1857 he 
broadened the scope of his activities to include the wholesale clothing trade and ad- 
mitted his nephew, Jacob Adler, to a partnership under the firm name of D. & J. Adler. 
Jacob Adler. who retired at the end of two years, was succeeded by Solomon Adler, 
brother of David Adler. In 1870 Solomon Adler was succeeded by the eldest son and the 
son-in-law of David Adler. H. M. Mendel, the firm name becoming Adler, Mendel & 
Company. Eight years later Mr. Mendel retired and the firm style of David Adler & 
Sons was assumed, the business later being incorporated as the David Adler & Sons 
Company. The three sons, Isaac, Emanuel and Samuel, have long been identified with 
the firm. The father continued as president of the company to the time of his demise 
and his progressive methods left their impress upon the steady growth and development 
of the house. He closely studied the desires of his patrons, kept a stock that displayed 
the latest goods to be found in the clothing markets of the country, while the trust- 
worthiness of his business methods featured strongly as a factor in his continually de- 
veloping success. In recent years the company has employed as many as nine hundred 
hands in the manufacture of clothing. Their annual sales have for some time aggre- 
gated one million five hundred thousand dollars, their trade extending throughout the 
entire northwest to the Pacific coast. In 1889 the seven-story brick store building was 
erected by the company at the southwest corner of East Water and Huron streets, 
replacing an old building in which they had been housed for many years. As the years 
passed Mr. Adler became interested in other business projects and was one of the 
organizers of the Wisconsin National Bank, of which he was a director from its in- 
ception. He was also one of the founders and vice president of the National Straw 
Works. 

Mr. Adler was married in 1848 to Miss Fannie Newbouer of New York city, and they 
became the parents of seven sons and three daughters. In religious belief he held to 




DAVID ADLKR 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 11 

the faith of his fathers and was noted for his intense loyalty and devotion to the teach- 
ings of the Jewish religion. For a number of years he was president of the Congrega- 
tion of Temple Emanu-El. He was for twenty-five years identified with the Jewish 
Orphan Asylum at Cleveland, Ohio, and filled the office of vice president of that associa- 
tion for fifteen years. Later he was unanimously elected its president. He was con- 
stantly extending a helping hand to those who needed assistance and was widely 
known for his charity. For thirty years he filled the position of grand treasurer of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Wisconsin, an office he resigned only a year or 
two prior to his death because of advancing years. Twice he represented the grand 
encampment and once the grand lodge in the sovereign grand lodge of America. He 
was a generous contributor toward the building of the Odd Fellows' home at Green 
Bay and for many years he was one of the directors of the Wisconsin Odd Fellows' 
Mutual Life Insurance Company. He likewise belonged to the Old Settlers Club of 
Milwaukee, of which he became vice president. He passed away January 23, 1905, at 
the venerable age of eighty-four years, and for fifty-three years he had been a resident 
of Milwaukee, closely associated throughout the entire period with its commercial 
interests and at all times active in support of those matters of citizenship which feature 
in public upbuilding and prosperity. 



ARTHUR M. WERBA. 



Arthur M. Werba, attorney at law of Milwaukee and now one of the officers in 
Arthur Kroepfel Post No. 1 of the American Legion, was born in this city September 
8, 1893, his parents being Henry and Ludmilla Werba, both of whom are natives of 
Bohemia. They came to Milwaukee about 1885, and the father is now well known in 
real estate circles and also in connection with a foreign exchange, banking and steam- 
ship agency business. He is one of the most prominent of the Bohemian residents of 
this city. 

Arthur M. Werba was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, attending the 
East Division high school until graduated with the class of 1911. He afterward became 
a student in the Milwaukee Normal School and is a graduate of the University of Wis- 
consin, in which he completed his course in February, 1917, the Bachelor of Laws de- 
gree being at that time conferred upon him. He was admitted to the bar the same year 
and has since followed his profession. 

In September, 1917. Mr. Werba enlisted in the Eighty-fifth Division for service 
in the World war and completed his service at the Second Army Headquarters. He 
went overseas with the Eighty-fifth Division and was transferred to the Second Army 
Military Police, remaining in France for one year. He was just back of the front lines 
on regular prescribed military police work and was a non-commissioned officer, serving 
as corporal. He was mustered out at Camp Grant, near Rockford, Illinois, in August, 
1919, and returning to Milwaukee, resumed the practice of law. He is a member of 
Sergeant Arthur Kroepfel Post No. 1, which was the first post organized in Wisconsin, 
and Mr. Werba has been its secretary from the beginning. The post now has about eight 
hundred members, being the second largest post in the state. Aside from his connection 
with the American Legion, Mr. Werba is identified with the Loyal Order of Moose and 
the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He is particularly active, however, in the work 
of the Legion and is in hearty sympathy with the high purposes of the order in main- 
taining the most advanced standards of American citizenship with the same thorough- 
ness and patriotic spirit that prompted service on foreign soil in the great World war. 



FRED C. BORGWARDT. 



Fred C. Borgwardt is engaged in the undertaking business in Milwaukee, associated 
with his brother, George F. Borgwardt. Both are natives of this city, the former born 
July 5, 1886, and the latter on the 3d of March, 1883. They are sons of Fred J. Borg- 
wardt, who was born in Germany, November 11, 1858, his parents being Fred and 
Sophia (Holtzmann) Borgwardt. In the year 1867 Fred and Sophia Borgwardt came 
to the United States with their family, settling in Milwaukee, where they continued 
to reside until called to their final rest. The former died November 11, 1906, at the age 
of seventy-seven years. The son, Fred J. Borgwardt, was but nine years of age when 
the family home was established in this city. Here he acquired his education in the 
Lutheran parochial schools and in early life he learned the cabinetmaking trade, fol- 
lowing this in connection with the furniture business until he established himself in 
the undertaking and furniture business in 1884. In 1897 he disposed of his furniture 
business. From that time until his demise he continued as one of the leading under- 
takers of the city and in 1902 he admitted his son, George F., to a partnership, under 



12 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the firm style of F. Borgwardt & Son. At his death he was succeeded by his two sons, 
who still successfully continue in the business. Fred J. Borgwardt was a stalwart 
supporter of the republican party but did not seek nor desire office as a reward for 
party fealty. Both he and his wife were earnest and consistent members of the Lutheran 
church and gave generously to its support and to all good work done in the name of 
charity or religion. Mr. Borkwardt belonged to the Wisconsin State Funeral Directors' 
Association. On the 2d of May, 18S0, he was united in marriage to Miss Frederica 
Niemann, daughter of Christian and Sophia (Lembke) Niemann of Milwaukee, both 
of whom were natives of Germany. They became parents of six children: Clara, the 
wife of Reinholdt Raedisch: George F. ; Fred C; Elsie; Ervin; and Rose, who died at 
the age of four years. The father of these children passed away on the 26th of October, 
1909. 

The two sons who are new in partnership were reared and educated in Milwaukee 
and learned the business under the direction of their father, who was one of the pioneer 
business men on National avenue. At his death they took over the business which 
he had established and have continued it to the present time. They are both enter- 
prising and progressive business men, studying at all times the most scientific methods 
of their business, and their success has come as the result of close application, 
thoroughness and enterprise. 

Both the brothers are married. George F. married Miss Ella Pick and they have 
two children, Irma and George, Jr. Fred C. Borgwardt was united in marriage to 
Miss May Dinnauer of Milwaukee, and they have one son, Frederick. George F. Borg- 
wardt is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias, 
while Fred C. Borgwardt belongs to the Knights of Pythias, also to the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the G. U. G. G. Germanias. 
He has a wide acquaintance in the city in which his life has been passed. Both brothers 
are well known here and enjoy the respect and confidence of all, not only those whom 
they have met in a business way but those with whom they have social relations. 
They represent a family that has been connected with Milwaukee for more than a half 
century and they have each, for more than a third of a century, been witnesses of 
the growth and progress that has markedthe history of this city. 



JOHN J. SEELMAN, M. D. 



Dr. John J. Seelman. physician and surgeon of Milwaukee and now president of 
the Milwaukee County Medical Society, was born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, 
November 12, 1877, and is a son of George Seelman, manufacturer, who is president 
cf the George Seelman & Sons Company of Milwaukee and is mentioned elsewhere in 
this work. 

Dr. Seelman was six years of age when brought to this city, where he has since 
made his home. Determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work he prepared 
for his chosen calling in the Milwaukee Medical College, from which he was graduated 
in 1901. He has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Milwaukee 
for a period of more than two decades and has maintained his office in the Iron block 
for the past five years, having a well equipped suite of rooms for offices and laboratories. 
He makes a specialty of laboratory diagnosis, having one of the largest and best 
equipped laboratories not only in the west but in the entire United States, and he has 
attained to a position of distinction in this field of scientific service. He belongs to 
the Wisconsin State Medical Society, to the Tri-State Medical Association and to the 
American Medical Association. 

On the 20th of June, 1905. Dr. Seelman was united in marriage to Miss Mar- 
guerite Reynolds, who was born in Milwaukee and represents one of the old families 
of the city. Her paternal grandfater was one of the first to establish a home at 
Greenfield. Dr. and Mrs. Seelman have two daughters: Margaret and Eleanor, aged 
respectively fifteen and twelve years. Fraternally the doctor is connected with the 
Knights of Pythias and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a past 
chancellor in the former organization. 



EMANUEL D. ADLER. 



Occupying a prominent place on the stage of mercantile activity in Milwaukee is 
Emanuel D. Adler, the treasurer of the wholesale clothing firm of David Adler & Sons. 
He was born in this city in 1S54, two years after his parents, David and Fannie 
(Newbouerl Adler, arrived in Milwaukee. Both were natives of Austria and after re- 
siding for a few years in New York they came to Milwaukee. Extended mention of 
David Adler is made on another page of this work. 




EMANUEL D. ADLER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 15 

The son, Emanuel D. Adler, is indebted to the public school system for his early 
educational opportunities. He afterward attended the German-English Academy, also 
the Milwaukee Academy and the Spencerian Business College. When seventeen years 
of age he became an active assistant of his father in the clothing trade and through the 
intervening period has been identified with the firm. When the business was re- 
organized he and his two brothers were admitted to a partnership under the firm style 
of David Adler & Sons and following the death of the father, Emanuel D. Adler became 
treasurer of the company and has since acted in that capacity, while Isaac D. Adler is 
president and general manager; S. D. and B. P. Adler, vice presidents; and Henry M. 
Obendorfer, secretary and credit man. The continued growth of the business led to a 
removal to their present location at Buffalo street and Broadway, where more than 
double their previous floor space was secured. They do not manufacture goods at 
this location but use the entire space for store rooms and offices, while their seven 
manufactories are scattered in various parts of the city. Their trade extends through- 
out the United States and the house is represented by traveling salesmen in New 
England, in the Mississippi valley, in the south and in the northwest. Their business 
has constantly expanded in its scope and today the goods of the Adler bouse are found 
in almost every section of the country. Those in the service of E. D. Adler regard him 
more in the light of a friend than as an employer. He never refuses a salesman an 
interview and it is a well known fact that no worthy applicant seeks his aid in vain, 
for he possesses the spirit of true democracy and is ever willing to extend a helping 
hand. 

On the 3d of May, 1888, Emanuel D. Adler was joined in wedlock to Miss Clara H. 
Scliloss of Detroit, Michigan, and they have become parents of four children: Frederic 
Emanuel, Helen Theresa, Frances Elsie and Carol Janet. 

Mr. Adler gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has held the 
office of public debt commissioner for five years. He is generally found among the 
leading spirits in any plan or project instituted to promote the welfare of Milwaukee, 
withholding his active aid and cooperation from no movement for the city's advance- 
ment. He is prominently identified with all charitable organizations and is now serving 
as vice president of Mount Sinai Hospital. His name is on the membership rolls of the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin Club, and the Oconomowoc Country Club and 
he is popular in the social circles in which he moves. His business affairs, however, 
have made him most widely known and aside from his connection with the wholesale 
clothing trade he is one of the trustees of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance 
Company and vice president of the National Straw Works. 



FRANK HOLDEN MEADOWS. 

Milwaukee has enjoyed a notable period of growth and development in con- 
nection with its manufacturing interests during the last quarter of a century or more, 
previous to which time its manufacturing was largely confined to its brewing and 
tanning interests. Many important industries, however, have sprung up which have 
made the city one of marvelous growth in the past twenty-five years. Contributing 
to this growth is the Meadows Heating Company, of which Frank Holden Meadows is 
the secretary and manager. He was born in East Troy, Wisconsin, September 6, 1877, 
and comes of English ancestry, his grandfather having been William Meadows, who 
was born in England. The father, George Meadows, now living retired in East Troy, 
Wisconsin, was born in the Empire state and came to Wisconsin with his parents 
about 1855. There he conducted a hardware store for some time. He married Eliza- 
beth Holden, a daughter of John Holden, a native of England, in which country Mrs. 
Meadows was also born. Her father was a great traveler and crossed the ocean 
twelve times. Mrs. Meadows passed away in the year 1910. 

Frank H. Meadows obtained his early education in the public schools of East Troy, 
passing through consecutive grades to the high school, while eventually he became a 
student in Beloit College at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he was graduated in 1900, with 
the degree of Bachelor of Science. He afterward spent a year in the Johns Hopkins 
University at Baltimore, Maryland, where he pursued a medical course, at the end of 
which time he returned to Milwaukee and entered the employ of the Lindemann & 
Hoverson Company as office assistant in the heating department. There he remained 
for ten years, during which time he won various promotions until he became assistant 
manager of the department. In 1911 he bought out that department of the business at 
No. 497 East Water street and incorporated it under the name of the Meadows Heating 
Company. In 1916 he removed to his present location, where a substantial business 
has since been carried on. They are heating contractors and engineers and their 
patronage comes from all parts of the state. 

On the 24th of May, 1911, Mr. Meadows was married to Miss Bertha Parker of 
Indianapolis, Indiana, a daughter of Justus B. Parker, advertising manager for the 



16 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

American Thresherman. Mrs. Meadows passed away May 17, 1914, leaving a little 
daughter, Betty Jane, who is now a student in the East Troy school. 

In politics Mr. Meadows may be termed an independent republican, for while he 
usually supports the men and measures of the republican party he does not consider 
himself bound to any particular leadership, exercising freedom of thought and opinion 
in the use of his franchise. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist and fraternally 
he is connected with the Elks and the Eagles. He also belongs to the Sigma Chi, a 
fraternity of Beloit College, and he has membership in the Association of Commerce. 
Along business lines he is identified with the Heating and Piping Contractors Associa 
tion in its local, state and national branches and he is now a member of the board of 
directors of the national organization. He is fond of motoring and touring, enjoys out- 
door sports and is a public spirited citizen, who during the war took an active and 
helpful part in all drives. The major part of his life has been spent in the middle 
west and in his business career he has always exemplified that spirit of progress and 
determination which have characterized the upbuilding and development of this section 
of the country. 



GUSTAV E. STRANDT. 



Gustav E. Strandt, president and general manager of the Milwaukee Dairy & 
Supply Company, is thus identified with an industry which has been one of the chief 
factors in bringing Milwaukee into commercial prominence and milking it known 
through the world as the Cream city. Mr. Strandt claims Wisconsin as his native 
state, for his birth occurred in the town of Cedarburg, December 9, 1875, his parents 
being Ernst and Wilhelmina (Detman) Strandt, both of whom were natives of Germany, 
They came to the new world in childhood and the Strandt family settled on a farm 
near Cedarburg, in which locality Ernst Strandt for many years carried on agricultural 
pursuits. 

Gustav E. Strandt pursued his education in parochial schools but his opportunities 
in that direction were very limited. He was reared on the home farm and the urge of 
necessity prompted him early to take his place as a factor in the work of the fields, 
assisting in the early spring planting and in the cultivation of the fields until crops 
were gathered in the late autumn, having little time to attend school. When he was 
twelve years of age he began working in the Cedarburg Woolen Mill for thirty-two 
cents per day, his day's work covering ten hours. He was there employed for about 
two years, after which he obtained a position in the Cedarburg Planing Mill, receiving 
a little better salary there. He worked there for two years and at the age of sixteen 
he left the parental roof with a cash capital of sixty-five cents. Already he had had 
considerable experience in the business world and had developed self-reliance and 
industry far beyond that attributed to most lads of his years. Making his way to 
Milwaukee he paid fifty cents of his precious capital for his railroad fare and had in 
his possession but fifteen cents when he reached his destination. His financial condi 
tion rendered it imperative that he obtain immediate employment and he started out 
to seek work. He soon secured a job with the Rockwell Planing Mill at five dollars per 
week and at a later period he entered the employ of the Cream City Planing Mill. In 
the meantime he was experimenting with patents and when but eighteen years of age 
had displayed much skill and ingenuity in that connection. It was at that time that he 
organized the Cedarburg Milk Company and for fifteen years was engaged in the 
business. During this entire period he continued his experimenting on dairy 
machinery and has produced many styles of dairy machines, which he did not put upon 
the market, however, for lack of funds. He patented what is known as the Milwaukee 
sanitary bottle filler and capper, which has become known all over the world and was 
the first rotary milk bottle filler and capper invented. Many firms have attempted to 
imitate this but such a course is an infringement on Mr. Strandt's rights. Mr. Strandt 
had no path of roses before him. He encountered obstacles and difficulties which 
would have discouraged many a man of less resolute spirit but perseverance, courage 
and determination enabled him to continue on his way. He labored night and day to 
get his patent completed, selling his home for funds and borrowing money from his 
friends but in the end he has won the victory and is now enjoying the success of his 
inventions. Today the company of which he is the head has a large factory with 
modern buildings and is doing an excellent business, while its goods are sent to all 
parts of America, also to England, Japan, China, Canada, Australia, South America, 
Panama and other lands. Mr. Strandt has given his entire time to his business, having 
little leisure for social activities. 

On the 10th of December, 1898, Mr. Strandt was united in marriage to Miss Dora 
Nero, a native of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and they are rearing four adopted children, 
which is indicative of the kindly spirit and benevolent purpose which has actuated 
their lives. These children are: Norval, eleven years of age; Harold, who is nine; 





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GUSTAV E. STEANDT 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 19 

Hertha Strandt, aged six; and Dorothy Strandt, aged four. Mr. Strandt is a member 
of the Bethany Lutheran church and is serving on the church board. His entire career 
has been actuated by devotion to high ideals and to a notable sense of duty and what 
he has accomplished is the direct result of capability, guided by intelligence and by 
the highest principles of integrity and honor. 



AUGUST FREY. 



August Frey, president of the Fairbanks-Frey Engraving Company of Milwaukee, 
has held to the highest standards in workmanship and in the matter of service 
rendered to the public. His ability in this field is pronounced and the business, of 
which he is one of the proprietors, is now one of gratifying proportions. 

Mr. Frey is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He was born July 22, 1884, of the 
marriage of Theodore Frey and Marie Kraft, both of whom were natives of Germany. 
Theodore Frey came to the United States in young manhood and was employed as a 
salesman in the east, residing in New York for a time before removing to St. Louis. 
There he made his home until 1889, when he took up his abode permanently in Mil- 
waukee, residing here to the time of his death in 1910. 

August Frey pursued his education in the Milwaukee public schools and was 
graduated from the German-English Academy. He then went to work as a salesman 
for an engraving company, with which he remained for three or four years and later 
he opened an art studio in the Pereles building, in which he continued for about a 
year. In 1900 he became associated with C. T. Fairbanks and opened an art studio in 
the Sentinel building. After about a year they put in an engraving plant and in- 
corporated their interests under the name of the Fairbanks-Frey Engraving Com- 
pany. Mr. Fairbanks retired from the business in 1911 and since that date Mr. Frey 
has been the president. The company conducts an art and engraving business, doing 
work of various kinds and displaying at all times high artistic skill. Their patronage 
largely comes from Milwaukee and near-by towns and their business is one of very 
gratifying proportions. 

On the 7th of December, 1905, Mr. Frey was married to Miss Ella Welky, a 
daughter of Anton Welky of Milwaukee, who was a native of Bohemia. Mr. Frey 
maintains an independent course in politics, voting for men and measures rather than 
party and never seeking nor desiring office. He belongs to the Milwaukee lodge of 
Elks, also to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and to the Association of Commerce, being 
in hearty sympathy with all of the plans and purposes of that organization for the 
upbuilding of the city and the advancement of high municipal standards. He hunts 
and fishes, being fond of all manly outdoor sports but the demands of his business 
leave him comparatively little leisure time. He is ever seeking legitimate methods 
whereby to develop his business and enhance the worth of his work and today the 
Fairbanks-Frey Engraving Company is recognized as a leading cfincern in connection 
with the engraving business in this state. 



JACKSON G. GILMORE. 



For only a brief period has Jackson Gardner Gilmore been identified with the 
business interests of Milwaukee but already he has become established as a progressive 
pnd enterprising man and substantial citizen through his connection with the Nokol 
Company of Wisconsin, of which he is the founder and president. He was born in 
Columbus, Ohio, September 15, 1890, and represents one of the old families of that 
state. His paternal grandfather, Judge William J. Gilmore, was a justice of the 
supreme court of Ohio. He was born at Gilmore Mills, in Rockbridge county, Virginia, 
and it was in the '50s that he accompanied his parents on their removal to the Buckeye 
state, where for many years he made his home, winning prominence as an able lawyer 
and jurist. His son, Clement R. Gilmore, was born in Eaton, Ohio, and was educated 
in Wooster University, completing his course by graduation with the class of 1882. He 
then studied law with his father and afterward entered upon active practice in 
Columbus, while subsequently he removed to Dayton, Ohio, where he served for several 
terms as prosecuting attorney. He was also treasurer of the Ohio Bar Association 
from 1900 until his death, which occurred in April, 1919. His long continuance in this 
office indicates most clearly the esteem and honor accorded him by his colleagues and 
contemporaries in the profession. He married Ellen Porter Gardner, who was born 
in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a daughter of George W. Gardner, of the grain firm of 
Clark, Gardner & Rockefeller. Mr. Gardner has also figured very prominently in public 
life, serving as mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. He is widely known as a yachtsman and was 
the original promoter of yacht racing on the Great Lakes. He controlled business 



20 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

interests of great extent and importance, becoming a director of many banks and 
steamship companies subsequent to his partnership with John D. Rockefeller. 

Jackson Gardner Gilmore obtained his early education in the schools of Eaton, 
Ohio, and later studied in the Steele high school in Dayton, from which he was 
graduated in 1908. He next matriculated in the Ohio State University, where he won 
his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. During his college days he became a member 
of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and was also a member of the junior and senior 
honorary societies — the Bucket and Dipper and the Sphinx. He was president of the 
Varsity O Association. When his textbooks were put aside he went into the shops 
of the United Engineering & Foundry Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where 
he spent nearly a year as a working student. He afterward became a working student 
with the Oxweld Acetyline Company, the Linde Air Products Company and the Union 
Carbide Company. His next position was that of assistant to the vice president of the 
Stewart-Warner Speedometer Company of Chicago. In 1915 he established business on 
his own account at Columbus, Ohio, representing the Stewart-Warner Company, the 
Willard Storage Battery Company and the Westinghouse Electric Company as district 
representative. He sold that business in 1917 and became district salesmanager of 
the Carbo-Hydrogen Company of Chicago, with which he remained until 1920, when he 
removed to Milwaukee and organized and incorporated the Nokol Company of Wis- 
consin. He has since been the president and his territory covers Wisconsin and upper 
Michigan. He handles the Nokol, a device for automatic oil heating, the only one of 
the kind that is on the fire underwriters' list of approved appliances. It is manu- 
factured by the Steam Corporation of Chicago. Already Mr. Gilmore has gained many 
patrons and his thoroughly satisfied customers are an advertisement for the business 
which is steadily growing. 

On the 27th of June, 1913, Mr. Gilmore was married to Miss Harriett Crimmins of 
New York, a daughter of John D. Crimmins, a teacher and later a successful miner 
of Alaska, who was born in Maine, in 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore have become 
parents of two sons: Clement R., born January 30, 1915; and William Hastings, born 
February 16, 1920. Mr. Gilmore has usually been an advocate of democratic principles 
but has never sought nor desired office for himself. He has membership in the Congre- 
gational church and he belongs to the University Club and the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club. He has always enjoyed aquatic sport and he still, follows baseball and occasion- 
ally plays a game, enjoying all manly outdoor sports. He is a lover of music and art 
and thus the interests of his life are varied, keeping him in touch with the trend of 
the world progress along many lines. He has never held to any false ideas concerning 
the methods of success but by legitimate efforts carefully directed has won a credit- 
able place which he now occupies in the business circles of his adopted city. His 
training has been thorough and comprehensive in some of the largest establishments 
in his line in the country and unfaltering industry has constituted the ladder on which 
he has climbed. 



EARL CHARLES JANKE. 



Earl Charles Janke, with a tendency to discount his own accomplishments, is 
nevertheless recognized as a resourceful and capable business man, one who 
through his own efforts has worked his way steadily upward until he stands today as 
the president and treasurer of the Janke Shoe Company, one of the important manu- 
facturing interests of the city. His entire life has here been passed, and his record 
is as an open book which all may read. Diligence and determination have been 
numbered among his sterling characteristics from early boyhood, and his persistency 
of purpose and intelligently guided efforts have been the potent forces in the attain- 
ment of his present day prosperity 

Mr. Janke was born on the 9th of May, 1875, a son of August and Emilie (Gruen- 
wald) Janke, both of whom were natives of Germany, in which country they were 
reared and married. They came to the United States in 1874, and the mother passed 
away in this city in 1912. 

Earl C. Janke obtained his early education in the public schools and when still 
quite young began earning his living as a shoe cutter for the firm of F. T. Neubert & Com- 
pany, with whom he remained for four years. On the dissolution of that firm he joined 
Mr. Neubert in a new business enterprise and continued with him for two years as a shoe 
cutter. He next became identified with the V. Schoenecker Boot & Shoe" Company, for 
whom he worked for seven years, after which he spent a year in the employ of Bradley 
& Metcalf. ' This was followed by two years' connection with the Rich Shoe Company, 
and later he was identified with the Mayer Boot & Shoe Company for a similar period. 
Removing to Chicago, he there entered the employ of R. P. Smith, with whom he con- 
tinued for a few months, and then established business on his own account in that city, 
making burial shoes. At the end of six months he moved his plant to Milwaukee and 




EARL C. JANKE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 23 

in 1911 extended the scope of his business to include the manufacture of a general line 
of shoes. In 1915 he incorporated his business under the name of the Lange & Janke 
Shoe Manufacturing Company. In 1918 Mr. Lange withdrew and the name was then 
changed to the Janke Shoe Company. They engaged in the manufacture of nailed and 
Goodyear welt shoes for men and boys. The output has increased from about five pair 
of burial shoes per day until it is now many hundred pairs of men's and boys' shoes. 
Their market covers the United States. They specialize in high grade work shoes 
and the hunting boot, which are used by the miners, hunters, lumbermen and railroad 
employes. They are also putting out a high grade line of men's dress shoes, and the 
business is growing rapidly. Their course demonstrates the fact that quality pays, and 
they have ever put forth earnest effort to please their customers, thus building up a 
business of very substantial and gratifying proportions. 

On the 23d of September, 1896, Mr. Janke was united in marriage to Miss Pauline 
Wrege, of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of a daughter, Mabel, who is 
now the wife of Fred W. Moritz, vice president of the Janke Shoe Company. Mr. 
Moritz was born in Detroit, Michigan, on the 9th of May, 1897, and is a son of Charles 
Moritz, now a resident of Milwaukee, where he is engaged in the stove business. 
He was born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and was a son of Jacob Moritz, who came 
to the United States with Joseph Schlitz. Jacob Moritz founded the first brewery in 
Port Washington and one of the first in the state of Wisconsin. The family has there- 
fore been connected with the history of the commonwealth since pioneer times. Fred 
W. Moritz has been actively engaged in the shoe manufacturing business with his 
father-in-law for about three years and is a progressive and energetic young business 
man. He married Mabel Janke August 24, 1921, and they reside at No. 823 Forty- 
fourth street. Mr. Moritz is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks. 

Mr. Janke is also identified with the Knights of Pythias, having membership in 
Columbia Lodge. He likewise belongs to Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46, B. P. O. E., and 
to Aurora Lodge, I. O. 0. F., of which he is past noble grand. He has membership 
in the Association of Commerce, and the nature of his interests and the rules which 
govern his action are further indicated in his connection with the Methodist church. 
In politics he is an independent republican, voting according to the dictates of his 
judgment rather than of party ties. He is a devotee of our national game of baseball 
and is fond of motoring and fishing. His wife possesses an artistic and literary nature, 
and the daughter, Mrs. Moritz, is a pianist of considerable skill. The family is well 
known in Milwaukee, the members occupying an enviable position in social circles. 



HARRY BANKS MORTIMER. 

A representative business man of Milwaukee is Harry Banks Mortimer, vice presi- 
dent of the American Electric Motors, Incorporated. He was born in Milwaukee, on 
the 24th of January. 1895, a son of Arthur and Rosalind (Kohlman) Mortimer, both 
natives of this city. The grandfather, Charles Mortimer, was born in Yorkshire, 
England, and came to the United States with his wife and family in 1850. The Morti- 
mer family were prominent in England for many hundreds of years. Charles Morti- 
mer was a veteran of the Civil war, having served throughout that conflict in the Union 
army. Mrs. Mortimer was a daughter of Anton Kohlman, a native of Berlin, Germany, 
who came to the United States about the year 1840. He was for many years captain 
of a ship plying between New York and Bremen. 

Harry Banks Mortimer received his early education in the Milwaukee public 
schools and after graduating from the East Side high school with the class of 1914 he 
enrolled in Marquette University and remained a student there for two years. He 
left the university to enter the army, enlisting on the 31st of May, 1917, before the 
draft. He was assigned to Base Hospital, No. 22, at Milwaukee, and sent to France 
after a short period of training at Camp Merritt, New Jersey. He sailed for France 
on the 2d of June, 1918, on the Baltic and landing at Liverpool, proceeded to La Havre 
and thence to Bordeaux. He was then assigned to camp headquarters and had charge 
of the telephone station for about eleven months, or until April, 1919, when he re- 
turned to the United States on board the transport, Henderson. From Camp Merritt 
he was sent to Camp Grant, where he received his honorable discharge. Mr. Mortimer 
has always been interested in electricity and in 1916 and the early part of 1917 was 
an employe of the Allen-Bradley Company, receiving training in every department 
until he was promoted to the position of assistant sales manager. The experience 
received in that connection and from his previous work well fitted him for the duties 
given him in the army. Upon his discharge he returned to the Allen-Bradley Com- 
pany, in the same capacity and remained with them until September, 1919, when he 
became associated with the Milwaukee Tank Works in a like position. In July, 1920, 
upon the organization of the American Electric Motors, Incorporated, he resigned that 



24 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

position to become vice president of the new concern. The business is incorporated 
and the company manufactures alternating current, squirrel cage, induction type 
motors, ranging from one to twenty horsepower inclusive, in five different types, viz: 
Sleeve bearing, enclosed; sleeve bearing, open: ball bearing, enclosed and open and the 
vertical type enclosed and open. The big feature of the motor is the removable stator, 
a single piece, non-freezeable bronze bearing without set screws and improved end 
ring details. Carl L. Daun is president of the company and Walter M. Sprinkman, 
secretary and treasurer. 

On the 16th of December, 1919, Mr. Mortimer was united in marriage to Miss 
Adelaide Kasten, a daughter of Oscar Kasten, assistant cashier of the First National 
Bank of Milwaukee. Her grandfather was Charles Kasten, a brother of Fred Kasten. 
One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer, James Kasten Mortimer, whose 
natal day was the 26th of November, 1920. 

Mr. Mortimer gives his political support to the republican party but has never 
taken an active interest in its affairs, preferring to cast his support with that party 
having the soundest principles, in his humble estimation. His religious faith is that 
of the Immanuel Presbyterian church and fraternally he is a Mason, having member- 
ship in Lafayette Lodge, No. 265. He is likewise a member of Omicron Kappa Pi, a 
national college fraternity. He is president of the Junior Division, Milwaukee Asso- 
ciation of Commerce, which he and a few of his associates organized in 1920. and from 
a membership of six it has increased to over twelve hundred. He is a director in the 
Milwaukee Association of Commerce and third vice president of the United States 
Junior Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Mortimer turns to the great out-of-doors for his 
recreation and his hobby is trout fishing. He is a typical business man of the present 
day, alert and enterprising, determined and prosperous, and in the midst of his im- 
portant and growing business interests he finds time for the social pleasures of life. 



HERBERT JOSEPH RUETH. 



Herbert Joseph Rueth, who passed away on the 12th of February, 1919, is remem- 
bered most kindly by his many friends, who esteemed him highly by reason of his 
cordial disposition, his uniform courtesy and his sterling worth. He" was numbered 
among Wisconsin's native sons, his birth having occurred in Menasha, March 4, 1872, 
his parents being Nicholas and Barbara (Laux) Rueth. The father was a native of 
Wisconsin and the mother of Germany. In 1875 they became residents of Milwaukee, 
where Mr. Rueth was engaged in business for many years. 

Herbert J. Rueth was but three years of age at the time the family home was 
established in this city and here he acquired his education in the public and parochial 
schools and also in Myer's College, thus becoming well qualified for the practical and 
responsible duties of life. He afterward engaged in business for himself for a period 
of twelve years and later went upon the road as a traveling salesman for the George 
Ziegler Candy Company. He continued with them for a period of twelve years, or up 
to the time of his death, and during those years built up a substantial trade for the 
house and made for himself a most creditable position as one of the successful travel- 
ing salesmen of this section of the country. 

In 1895 Mr. Rueth was married to Miss Mathilda Merkley, a daughter of 
Hieronymus and Margaret (Schwartz) Merkley. who were natives of Germanv and 
became early residents of Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where the father followed 
farming throughout his remaining days. 

Mr. Rueth was a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and of the 
Red Men, while his religious faith was that of the Catholic church. In politics he was 
a lifelong republican, giving unfaltering and consistent support to the principles of the 
party and doing everything in his power to promote its growth and insure its success 
His social qualities and kindly spirit made him a favorite with his patrons and all 
with whom he came in contact and he left behind him a very extensive circle of 
friends. 



FRANK FOLLETTE STIMSON. 

Frank Follette Stimson, secretary of the Luedke-Schaefer Shoe Company of Mil- 
waukee, belongs to that class of men whose business progress has resulted from faith- 
fulness, diligence and a willingness to work. He has never been afraid that he would 
give an employer more service than he was paid for. He recognized the fact that 
industry and loyalty would win advancement and it has been through the cultivation 
of these qualities thqt he has gained the substantial place which he now occupies 
in business circles. He was born in Bellevue, Michigan, July 16 1872 a son of Samuel 




HERBERT J. RUETH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 27 

Crocker Stimson and a grandson of Nathaniel Crocker Stimson. The latter, a farmer 
of the state of New York, was descended from a well known family from the north 
of Ireland. Henry L. Stimson, secretary of war in President Roosevelt's cabinet, 
was a second cousin of Samuel Crocker Stimson. The latter was born at East Bloom- 
field, in the Empire state, and in early life devoted his attention to the occupation of 
farming, while later he became a hotel proprietor, conducting the Albion House at 
Albion, Michigan, for a period of twelve years. He served in the Union army during 
the Civil war and was very prominent and influential in local affairs. While in New 
York he had successfully engaged in business as a dealer in horses and he had few 
superiors in matching teams. His death occurred in Jackson, Michigan, in the year 
1901. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha C. French, was born in East 
Bloomfield, New York, and died in March, 1914. She was of French lineage, her people 
belonging to the Huguenots and it is related that an ancestor of Mrs. Stimson saved 
her Bible during the Huguenot persecution in France by baking it in a loaf of bread. 

Frank Follette Stimson obtained a public school education in Jackson, Michigan, 
completing a high school course there and he made his initial step in the business 
world as an office clerk in the employ of C. H. Fargo & Company of Chicago. He 
remained with that firm for seven years, winning advancement to the position of 
bookkeeper and during three years of the time he was stationed at the Fargo factory 
in Jackson, while during the last four years of the seven-year period he was at Dixon, 
Illinois. Subsequently he became a resident of Milwaukee and entered the employ 
of the F. Mayer Boot & Shoe Company at the factory office on Thirtieth and Elm 
streets. For three years he was with that house in charge of the factory office and 
next went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he was office manager for the Barton 
Brothers Shoe Company for three years. He afterward spent a few months in Dixon, 
Illinois, in the employ of the Watson Plummer Company and then returned to Mil- 
waukee, where he obtained a position with the Bradley Metcalf Company, and for ten 
years was in charge of their factory office. In June, 1911, he became connected with 
the Luedke-Schaefer Shoe Company in charge of the office and when on the 11th of 
August, 1917, A. H. Buttles retired from the concern, which was then known as the 
Luedke-Schaefer-Buttles Company, Mr. Stimson was elected secretary, having become 
a stockholder on the 1st of January, 1912, and also one of the directors of the corpora- 
tion. This company is engaged in the manufacture of the Milwaukee King brand of 
men's and boys' shoes — unlined shoes, nailed and welted. The brand is well known to 
the trade all over the United States and sells from coast to coast. The firm also 
makes a line of men's and boys' semi-dress shoes and they sell largely to the retail 
dealers. The business has enjoyed a steady development under the wise direction of 
its officers and Mr. Stimson has in later years been an active factor in the capable 
management of the concern. 

On the 27th of August, 1909, Mr. Stimson was married to Rose Huggins of Mil- 
waukee, and they have one daughter, Helen, now a pupil in the Hartford Avenue 
school. Mr. Stimson has always given his political allegiance to the republican party 
but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He is of the 
Episcopalian faith and with his family attends St. Paul's church. He is fond of fishing 
and outdoor sports, to which he turns when leisure permits. He recognizes the fact 
that the well balanced man is the one who knows how to play as well as to work. 
He has always given adequate attention to business affairs and it has been by reason 
of his thoroughness, close application and ability that he has become secretary of one 
of the important manufacturing interests of his adopted city. 



OLE ANDREW OLSON. 



Ole Andrew Olson, selling papers on the streets of Milwaukee when a lad of 
nine years and dependent entirely upon his own resources from an early age, is now 
the secretary of the Milwaukee Paper Box Company and as such is occupying a promi- 
nent position in the business circles of the city. He was born at Risor, Norway, 
September 29, 1877. His father, Sven Olson, also a native of Risor, came to the United 
States in 1880. He was a ship carpenter and on crossing the Atlantic located at Mil- 
waukee. He had also been a sailor and had toured the world before taking up the 
trade of ship carpentry. His people had lived in the same town in Norway through 
many generations and had always been seafaring men or ship workmen and some 
of the family had made notable success in business. Sven Olson continued his resi- 
dence in Milwaukee to the time of his death, which occurred in the year 1920. In 
early manhood he wedded Anne Sorensen, who was born in Risor, Norway, and was 
also a representative of one of the old families of that town. She was married to 
Sven Olson in the Land of the Midnight Sun and with her husband she came to 
Milwaukee, where her death occurred in 1891. 

Ole A. Olson was but nine years of age when the family home was established 



28 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

in the new world. At the age of nine years he was brought to Milwaukee and con- 
tinued his education in the schools of Milwaukee, afterward becoming a student in 
the South Division high school. Starting out in the business world he worked for 
three years with the H. Niedecken Company in the paper stockroom and subsequently 
was employed by the Standard Paper Company as floor and city salesman, continuing 
with that house for a period of sixteen years. On the 1st of January, 1913, he joined 
the Milwaukee Paper Box Company as purchasing agent and credit man and in 1916 
was elected to the office of secretary, in which capacity he has since served. His 
business career has been marked by that steady progression which indicates a mastery 
of every task, faithful performance of every duty and a laudable ambition to obtain 
promotion. 

On the 30th of June, 1906, Mr. Olson was united in marriage to Miss Angela 
Beyerstedt, the wedding being celebrated in Sheboygan, this state. Mrs. Olson is a 
daughter of Henry P. Beyerstedt, a merchant of Sheboygan, who was born in Hamburg, 
Germany, and came to Wisconsin with his family, settling at Sheboygan. Mr. and 
Mrs. Olson have become parents of two children: Robert and Janet, both students 
in the Milwaukee schools. Mr. Olson and his family are members of the Lutheran 
church and fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Wisconsin Lodge, No. 13, A. F. 
& A. M. He likewise has membership in Prospect Lodge, No. 135, K. P., and in Mil- 
waukee Lodge, No. 46, B. P. 0. E. He belongs to the Credit Men's Association, to the 
Purchasing Agents' Association, of which he is national director and to the Mil- 
waukee Association of Commerce. He follows and enjoys all outdoor sports and is 
particularly fond of motoring, fishing and swimming. He participated in every drive 
during the World war and has ever stood for that which is most valuable in citizen- 
ship. Moreover, his life indicates what could be accomplished through persistent and 
earnest efforts and he has justly won the proud American title of a self-made man. 



STEPHEN J. McMAHON. 



Stephen J. McMahon, who in the University of Wisconsin and in the University of 
Chicago received his law training, is now successfully practicing as a member of the 
Milwaukee bar and is the senior member of the law firm of McMahon, McMahon & 
Hayes. He was born in Meeme, Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, January 13, 1881, and 
his parents, Patrick J. and Margaret (Gray) McMahon, were also natives of the same 
county. The grandparents came from Ireland, settling in Manitowoc county in pioneer 
times, and there the grandfather of Mr. McMahon in the paternal line followed the 
occupation of farming. His father removed to the city of Manitowoc, where he was 
engaged in mercantile pursuits for a number of years, and he also served as clerk of the 
circuit court of Manitowoc county for a period of six years. At the present time he is 
retired, making his home in Milwaukee. 

Stephen J. McMahon was educated in the public schools until graduated from the 
high school of Manitowoc in 1898. He afterward attended the Milwaukee Normal 
School, in which he completed his course in 1900, and then entered the University of 
Wisconsin as a student in the College of Letters and Science, in which he completed 
his aourse in 1903. He was subsequently graduated from the College of Law of the 
State University in 1906 and he also pursued a part of his legal training in the College 
of Law of the University of Chicago. Admitted to the bar in 1906, he has since engaged 
in practice and most gratifying success has attended his efforts. He served as city 
attorney of Antigo, Wisconsin, from 1908 until 1911 and was assistant United States 
attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin in 1911-12. He acted as government 
appeal agent for the local draft board of the first division of the city of Milwaukee in 
1917 and 1918. His professional position is one of prominence, his colleagues and his 
contemporaries, as well as the general public, acknowledging his ability and recognizing 
the substantial progress which he has made. He belongs to the Milwaukee County 
Bar Association and was a member of its executive committee from 1918 until 1920. 
He likewise belongs to the Wisconsin Bar Association and is a member of its publica- 
tion committee, while his membership relations also extend to the American Bar 
Association. He was a member of the faculty of the Marquette College of Law from 
1914 until 1917 and was lecturer on law of evidence and other subjects, proving as 
capable in the educational department of the profession as in the trial of cases before 
the court. 

Mr. McMahon also has business interests of importance. He is a director and 
general counsel of the Northwestern Casualty & Surety Company and is a director and 
officer of other corporations and business enterprises. His judgment is sound and his 
opinions are eagerly sought in relation to management of business projects and the 
employment of different methods in the matter of successful attainment in the corpora- 
tions with which he is identified. He has likewise taken an active interest in all 




STEPHEN J. McMAHON 




OMAR T. McMATION 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 33 

public affairs and during 1920 was chief executive officer of the Citizens Lenroot 
Committee. 

On the 1st of February, 1916, Mr. McMahon was married to Miss Alice Mary- 
Donahue of Antigo, Wisconsin, and they have two sons: Stephen John, who was born 
December 24, 1916; and Eugene Francis, who was born May 28, 1921. Their home is 
at No. 396 Sixty-first street in Wauwatosa. Mr. McMahon greatly enjoys a game of 
golf, motoring and all outdoor exercises and sports. He belongs to the Sigma Alpha 
Epsilon, a college fraternity, and that he is of the Catholic faith is indicated in his 
membership with the Knights of Columbus. He also belongs to the Benevolent Pro- 
tective Order of Elks, is a member of the Stickney Field Club of Wauwatosa, also of 
the Men's Club of that place and a member of the City Club and the Blue Mound 
Country Club of Milwaukee. His various activities and interests have brought him a 
wide acquaintance and the sterling worth of his character has gained for him high 
regard. 



OMAR T. McMAHON. 



Omar T. McMahon, attorney at law and veteran of the World war, was born in 
Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, October 18, 188S, his parents being Patrick J. and 
Margaret (Gray) McMahon. He pursued his education in the public schools until 
graduated from the Manitowoc high school with the class of 1906, after which he 
attended the Milwaukee Normal School until 1908. He later became a student in the 
University of Wisconsin and was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1913. 
He afterward attended the Marquette College of Law, in 1915-16, and was admitted to 
practice law in February, 1917. He is now practicing law in Milwaukee as a member 
of the law firm of McMahon, McMahon & Hayes, with a large and important clientele. 
Before entering upon the active work of his profession, however, he devoted some time 
to educational work, serving as principal of the state graded schools at Downsville, 
Wisconsin, and also of District No. 6 of the town of Wauwatosa from 1908 until 1911, 
while for two years he taught in the city evening schools of Milwaukee. Since qualify- 
ing for the bar, however, he has concentrated his efforts and energy upon his general 
practice and his devotion to the interests of his clients is proverbial. He was one of 
the incorporators of the Northwestern Casualty & Surety Company of Milwaukee. 

Mr. McMahon has served in public office, filling the position of deputy clerk of the 
circuit court of Milwaukee county in 1916. He is a member of the American Bar 
Association, the Wisconsin State Bar Association and the Milwaukee County Bar Asso- 
ciation and he is well known in the ranks of the City Club, to which he belongs, and as 
a representative of two Greek letter fraternities — the Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the 
Phi Delta Phi, the latter a law fraternity. During 1921 he served as secretary and 
treasurer of the Milwaukee Alumni Association of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and was elected 
vice president for the year 1922. He was the founder of the present reorganized Lions' 
Club of Milwaukee and is one of its vice presidents. This organization, which was 
reorganized in the summer of 1921, is a business and professional men's club. Mr. 
McMahon is also the secretary of the St. John's Cathedral Men's Club and is a member 
of the Michiwaukee Golf Club, whose headquarters are at the Grant Park County golf 
course. 

Mr. McMahon was one of the "O. D." boys in the World war, serving as a sergeant 
of the U. S. A. Base Hospital, No. 22. He saw ten months' service overseas, being 
stationed at Beau Desert, near Bordeaux, France, remaining in the hospital work 
throughout the entire time. He was altogether in the service for twenty-three months, 
enlisting on the 23d day of May, 1917, and remaining with the American Expeditionary 
Forces until April 24, 1919. He belongs to Eddie Lyon Post, No. 5, of the American 
Legion and is a member of the state executive committee of the Legion from the fifth 
district of Wisconsin. On returning to America, Mr. McMahon resumed the practice of 
law in Milwaukee, and is now well known as a leading young lawyer of the city. 



ROBERT CURTIS BROWN, M. D. 

Dr. Robert Curtis Brown, a Milwaukee physician specializing in internal medicine, 
was born October 26, 1866, in the city which is still his home. His father was also 
a physician who practiced in Milwaukee for thirty years prior to his death. He ranked 
very high in professional circles, enjoying the respect and esteem of his colleagues 
and contemporaries, and his labors were of acknowledged benefit to the general public. 

Dr. Brown was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee, passing through con- 
secutive grades to the high school, while later he studied in the University of Wiscon- 
sin and won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1889. He next entered the College of 

Vol. Ill— 3 



34 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Physicians and Surgeons in New York city and gained the M. D. degree in 1892. Re- 
turning to Milwaukee, he at once entered upon general practice and continued active 
therein until 1909, when he went abroad for postgraduate work in Vienna, returning 
to his native country in 1910. He was formerly on the staff of the Milwaukee County 
Hospital and is now a member of the staff of the Columbia, Emergency and Children's 
Hospitals. He belongs to the Milwaukee Medical Society, the Milwaukee County 
Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society 
and the American Medical Association. 

Fifteen years ago Dr. Brown was married to Miss Katharine Dana Butler, a native 
of Milwaukee. He is a well known figure in club circles, belonging to the University 
Club, the Milwaukee Country Club, the Town Club and the City Club, and he finds his 
recreation in golf. During the World war he served as chief of the medical staff at 
Base Hospital, No. 22, in France, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is a Master 
Mason, exemplifying in his life the beneficent purpose and high principles of the craft. 
The interests and activities of his life have been broad and varied and yet the major 
part of his attention is given to his professional duties. He has ever been most con- 
scientious in the performance of his work as a physician and constant study and 
broad experience have placed him in the front rank among the able medical prac- 
titioners of the Cream City. 



RICHARD HERMAN ZINKE. 

Few men are more prominent in the enterprising city of Milwaukee than Richard 
Herman Zinke, president of the R. H. Zinke Music Company, located at 425 Milwaukee 
street. 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, un- 
abating energy and industry that never flags. A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Zinke was 
born in Fond du Lac, on the 30th of January, 1877, a son of Herman and Emma 
(Schussler) Zinke. His grandfather, Louis Zinke, was a native of Germany and 
came to this country with his family. He established a grocery business in Fond du 
Lac which grew to extensive proportions and he was likewise chief of the fire depart- 
ment of that place for many years. Herman Zinke was eight years of age when he 
came to this country with his parents and he and a brother, Louis, succeeded their 
father in the conduct of the grocery, flour and feed business at Fond du Lac, operating 
it with a substantial amount of success for many years, under the name of Zinke 
Brothers. Herman Zinke passed away in 1911. His wife, the mother of Richard 
Herman Zinke, is living in Milwaukee and makes her home with this son. She was a 
daughter of Joseph Schussler, a brewer, who was born in Saxony, Germany, and came 
to the United States when a young unmarried man. Mrs. Zinke and her husband were 
the first couple married in St. Mary's church of Milwaukee, the ceremony being per- 
formed in the basement of the church, as the entire structure was not yet completed. 

In the acquirement of an education Richard Herman Zinke attended the public 
schools of Fond du Lac until he was sixteen years of age when he put his textbooks 
aside and made his initial step into the business world. For two years he was asso- 
ciated with the local National Bank as messenger but at the termination of that time 
went into his father's business, which had a short time before been incorporated. The 
grocery business, however, was not to his liking, so in 1S96 he removed to Milwaukee, 
where he obtained employment in the Gender & Paeschke Company. For twelve years 
he remained with that company, his ability and conscientious performance of every 
duty assigned him bringing him constant promotion and steadily he rose from truck 
boy to sales manager. After severing his connection with that concern he was for 
several years in business in Denver and California, but returning to Milwaukee in 
1914 he identified himself with the Badger Talking Machine Company as manager of 
its retail store on Grand avenue. A year later he built up the store at 425 Grand ave- 
nue, the company closing the other house, and he remained as manager until Febru- 
ary, 1919. At that time he was made president of the Record Needle and Manufacturing 
Company, an association he maintained until on the 1st of April, 1920, he opened his 
present business at 425 Milwaukee street. His untiring energy, quick perception, 
and genius for devising the right thing at the right time have resulted in the growth 
of his business to extensive proportions, and he not only has the agency for the 
Victor talking machines but specializes in sheet music, band, orchestral, vocal and 
instrumental. Mr. Zinke is likewise entering into the field of band instruments. 

On the 16th of June, 1920, occurred the marriage of Mr. Zinke and Miss Eva Healy. 
a daughter of Elmer Healy, a prominent hotel proprietor of Milwaukee. She was born 
in Appleton, Wisconsin, and is still residing in Milwaukee. Mrs. Zinke is well known 
in the club and social circles of the community and takes an active part in any move 
nient for the development and improvement of the general welfare. 

Since age conferred upon Mr. Zinke the right of franchise he has been a stanch 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 35 

supporter of the republican party but has never sought nor desired political prefer- 
ment as reward for party fealty. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, 
while his wife is a Christian Scientist. Fraternally Mr. Zinke is a Mason, having mem- 
bership in Aurora Lodge, No. 30, F. & A. M., of Milwaukee; Tripoli Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine; and he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. As 
an Elk, he has membership in Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46, and he is leader of the Elks 
band and at the Elks Convention in Chicago won the first prize over eleven other 
bands from large cities in the United States. He is affiliated with the Knights of 
Pythias, belonging to Damon Lodge, of Milwaukee and he is likewise a member of the 
Tripoli Patrol and formerly played in the Tripoli band. Socially Mr. Zinke is well 
Known, being active in the affairs of the Kiwanis Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club and 
City Club and as a man interested in the general welfare of the community is identified 
with the Association of Commerce. Since a mere lad he has been a great lover of 
music and appeared in public concert as a gifted pianist when a child of but ten years. 
He was given the best of instruction and for three and one-half years traveled on a 
vaudeville circuit, gaining great success. In his connection with the Elks Band of 
Milwaukee, Mr. Zinke has become widely known and the success attained by the band 
is largely due to his untiring efforts. He took charge of the band when it was com- 
posed of a dozen members and today with sixty odd members he has one of the best 
bands ever organized in Wisconsin. Every member of the band is an Elk and they 
have cooperated with their leader in every way to help him perfect his wonderful 
organization. His wife is also of an artistic nature, being a painter of landscapes 
and chinaware. She was also highly educated along the lines of her talent. After 
music, which forms his favorite recreation, Mr. Zinke turns to hunting and fishing. 
During the World war be was quick to give aid to his government in all drives and 
he represented the board of Musical Industries. He is secretary of the Milwaukee 
Association of Musical Industries and president of the Wisconsin Association of Musical 
Industries, connections which indicate his prominence in the musical world. 



FRANK JOSEPH MANN. 



Frank Joseph Mann is a representative of one of Milwaukee's most important 
business interests, as president and treasurer of the Mann-Gruber Company, wholesale 
woolens. He is a native of Milwaukee, born on the 5th of March, 1861, a son of 
Herman and Clara (Weiss) Mann, both deceased. Herman Mann was born in Prague, 
Austria, in 1817, and attended the Technical School there, receiving his training as 
civil engineer. In 1843 he came to the United States, going back to his native land 
in a year or two to marry Clara Weiss, with whom he returned to this country. He 
was also accompanied by his five brothers and a sister as well as his parents and 
parents of his bride. They all came directly to Milwaukee and although Herman 
spent some time in farming near Richfield, he started in the grocery business at an 
early date. The success of that venture seemed assured from the start and it grew 
steadily into a wholesale grocery business which was conducted under the name of 
Mann Brothers and became one of the leading grocery firms in the city and state. 
Finally they purchased the Two River Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of 
pails, tubs and chairs, and they became the most extensive dealers in pails and tubs 
throughout the United States. Herman Mann and his brothers also acquired an interest 
in the Peshtigo Pail and Tub Factory, having a branch in Chicago and they likewise 
owned a lumber-yard there, both of them being totally destroyed in the Chicago fire. 
The success that Mr. Mann enjoyed was the result of his own effort, intelligently 
directed and in his passing on the 31st of January, 1872, Milwaukee lost a most 
prominent and representative citizen. Throughout his life he was a stanch supporter 
of the republican party and was a close friend of Carl Schurz, who was born in 
Liblar, near Cologne, Prussia, and coming to the United States in 1852, became a 
prominent member of the republican party. Mrs. Mann was born in Plaskowitz, near 
Prague, and her death occurred on the 17th of June, 1900. 

Frank Joseph Mann received his education in the Milwaukee public schools until 
he reached the age of twelve years, when he enrolled as student in the old German- 
English Academy. After completing his studies there he entered Markhums Academy 
and graduated therefrom in 1878. He subsequently made his first step into the busi- 
ness world as clerk for the T. A. Chapman Company, a position he maintained for 
two years, when he resigned to become clerk in the wholesale clothing business with 
Singer & Benedict. After three years in that connection and two years as traveling 
salesman in Iowa and Missouri he associated with J. E. Singer & Company as traveling 
salesman and manager until 1894. In that year he and Fred C. Gruber founded the 
present business, which they operated under the name of Mann & Gruber. Three 
years later they incorporated under the same name, having a capital stock of fifty 
thousand dollars, and Mr. Mann maintained his positions as president and treasurer. 



36 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

The keen business insight and executive ability possessed by Mr. Mann have been 
dominant factors in the corporation's success and their annual income amounts to 
five hundred thousand dollars, an increase of four hundred and forty-five thousand 
dollars over the first year's work. The capital stock is now one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars and where at the beginning the firm only employed three men, 
they now have fourteen employes, in addition to six traveling men who cover ten 
states. Two employes who associated with the company upon its organization are 
still with the corporation. Mann & Gruber deal in men's woolens, imported and 
domestic, for the merchant tailor trade. 

On the 19th of June, 1890, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mann and Miss Emmie 
Hansen, a daughter of Theodore Hansen, a malt manufacturer of Milwaukee. He 
was born in Denmark and came to this country, locating in Milwaukee as a boy. 
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mann: Anita L. and Herman F. The 
son has the distinction of being among the first to volunteer his services in the World 
war, having enlisted on the day America entered the war, and he was sent to one 
of the earliest camps at Plattsburgh. He received a commission as first lieutenant, 
in the Three Hundred and Tenth Infantry, Seventy-eighth Division, and sailed for 
France on the 22d of May, 1918. He was in active service until the signing of the 
armistice ended hostilities and he was twice wounded while in action, receiving a 
citation for bravery. After eighteen months in France he returned to this country 
and entered his father's business. Herman F. Mann graduated from Harvard with 
the class of 1916. Miss Anita Mann also subordinated all personal interests to come 
to the aid of her country during the World war and was occupational therapy nurse 
at Camp Oglethorpe, Georgia, from which camp she was later transferred to Fort 
Sheridan. She was so engaged throughout the entire struggle and for a year after its 
close. Miss Mann received her education in the Milwaukee Downer College and at 
an eastern finishing school. Her therapeutic education was received in the former 
institution. Mrs. Mann takes an active and prominent part in the development and 
improvement of the general welfare and for many years has been a director of the 
Milwaukee Childrens' Free Hospital. She has also been made an honorary director. 

Although Mr. Mann gives his support to the republican party he has neither 
sought nor desired political preferment, preferring to devote his entire time to his 
business affairs. Fraternally he is an Elk and in the club circles of Milwaukee he 
is well known as a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Wisconsin Club, Mil- 
waukee Art Institute, Rotary Club, Chenequa Country Club and the Pine Lake Yacht 
Club. He is likewise associated with the Manhattan Club of New York city. In all 
outdoor sports Mr. Mann takes an active interest but he is especially fond of hunting, 
fishing and golfing, in each of which he demonstrates great ability. The town resi- 
dence of the Mann family is located at 323 South Summit avenue and they have a 
summer home at Pine Lake, built on about eight acres of land, fronting the lake. 
The example of his father he has followed, making the name of Mann indeed an 
honored one in Milwaukee and throughout the state. By reason of his close application 
and thoroughness Mr. Mann has reached the creditable place that he occupies in 
mercantile circles and the business has become one of broad scope and importance, 
the while the high reputation of the corporation constitutes its best business asset. 



FRED DOEPKE. 



Fred Doepke is a prominent representative of industrial interests in Milwaukee 
as president of the Wrought Washer Manufacturing Company, which he founded 
almost a third of a century ago and which is the largest factory of its kind in the 
world. He was born in Rockford, Illinois, on the 2Sth of March, 1862, his parents being 
Gottlieb and Amelia (Miller) Doepke, both of whom were natives of Germany. The 
paternal grandfather, who also bore the name of Gottlieb Doepke, brought his family 
from Germany to the new world, settling on a farm within a few miles of Watertown, 
Wisconsin, and devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his 
entire life. Rudolph Miller, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Doepke of this review, 
was also born in Germany and after coming to the United States participated in the 
Civil war as a soldier of the Union army. Gottlieb Doepke, Jr., the father of Fred 
Doepke, was brought to this country by his- parents in childhood and after attaining 
man's estate was employed by the firm of ship chandlers now known as the Joys 
Brothers Company of Milwaukee. His demise occurred in 1884, while his wife was 
called to her final rest in 1SS7. 

Fred Doepke obtained his early education in parochial schools of Milwaukee and 
after putting aside his textbooks did apprentice work as a machinist for four years 
in the shop of the Filer & Stowell Company, after which he made his way to New York 
and to Philadelphia, attending the Franklin Institute in the latter city. In New York 
he was employed in Fletcher's North River Iron Works and also pursued a course 




FRED DOEPKE 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 39 

in mechanical drawing and higher mathematics as a student in the Cooper Union 
School. Subsequently he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he entered the service 
of the Upson Nut Company, having charge of their machinery for a year. It was in 
18S9 that he came to Milwaukee and founded his present business. He purchased 
an interest in the Milwaukee Nut & Washer Manufacturing Company but later bought 
out his associate and changed the name of the concern to the Wrought Washer Manu- 
facturing Company, of which he has since been at the head. In this connection he is 
engaged in the making of steel plate washers used in the machinery business, also by 
manufacturers and railroad, bridge and dock builders. The factory is the largest of its 
kind in the world and the output is shipped all over the United States as well as to 
South America and the Orient. In the development of his industry Mr. Doepke has 
displayed splendid executive ability and keen discernment, so that excellent results 
have attended his efforts and the business is now one of extensive and profitable propor- 
tions. He is also one of the directors of the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank. 

On the 12th of July, 1892, Mr. Doepke was united in marriage to Miss Annie 
Disch, a daughter of Myron Disch of Milwaukee, who was a native of Switzerland. 
They have one son, Fred C, who was born July 19, 1904, and is now attending the 
Riverside high school. The family residence is at No. 473 Newberry boulevard. 

Mr. Doepke gives his political allegiance to the republican party but aside from 
exercising his right of franchise has not taken an active part in politics. Both he and 
his wife were reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, while fraternally he is 
identified with the Masons, belonging to Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, A. P. & A. M.; 
Calumet Chapter, No. 73. R. A. M. ; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T. ; Wisconsin Con- 
sistory. A. A. S. R.; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a popular 
member of the Old Settlers Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Tripoli Golf Club 
and the Milwaukee Gun Club, the latter connections indicating something of the 
nature of his recreation. He is especially fond of duck hunting. Mr. Doepke also 
belongs to the City Club and the Association of Commerce and has long been numbered 
among the prosperous business men and valued citizens of Milwaukee. 



MICHAEL YUNDT. 



A man's practical value to a community is determined by his contribution to its 
material growth and development and the maintenance of its political, legal and civic 
standards. So judged, Michael Yundt is accounted one of the representative resi- 
dents of Milwaukee, as he became an active factor in the manufacturing interests of 
the city when but twenty years of age and through the intervening period has been 
active in the development of a business which has contributed in no small measure 
to commercial growth here. Mr. Yundt was born in Strassburg, Alsace, France, then 
a part of Germany, on the 30th of May, 1884. His father, Andrew Yundt, also a 
native of Strassburg, settled in Chicago on the 30th of May, 1888, immediately after 
crossing the Atlantic to the new world. He was a carpenter contractor and thus 
provided for the members of his household. He is a representative of one of the 
oldest families of Strassburg, the ancestral line being traced directly back through 
several centuries. Andrew Yundt married Caroline Lobstein, who was also born in 
Strassburg, where they were neighbors in childhood and attended the same school. 
They became parents of six children, one of whom has passed away, while the mother 
has also departed this life. 

Michael Yundt was educated in the public schools of Chicago, completing his studies 
in the Austin high school. He started out in the business world as an office boy 
with the firm of Bishop & Babcock, handling bottlers supplies and machinery and 
thus he received his introduction into the line of business which now claims his 
attention. He later went upon the road for the firm, selling for the house with head- 
quarters in Milwaukee and eventually the company opened a branch office in this 
city, making Mr. Yundt the first manager. This was in 1904 and he was at the time 
a young man of but twenty years, which fact indicates how splendidly he had de- 
veloped his business powers and the thorough confidence reposed in him by the firm 
which he represented. He continued with Bishop & Babcock until 1905 and then 
took a position as traveling representative for the Twentieth Century Machinery Com- 
pany, of Milwaukee. He left that house to accept the position of general manager 
for the Charles L. Kiewert Company of Milwaukee in 1912 and served in that re- 
sponsible position until September, 1916, when the firm went out of existence. He 
next organized and incorporated the Michael Yundt Company with a capital stock 
of twenty thousand dollars and something of the continued and substantial growth 
of the business is indicated in the fact that the capital stock has since been in- 
creased to one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Yundt has remained the president and 
general manager from the beginning. The company manufactures bottle washing and 
sterilizing machines sold to those who engage in bottling beer, milk, waters and 



40 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

soft drinks. Its market covers the United States, Canada, Mexico and many parts 
of Europe and Asia. It now does its own manufacturing, having built a plant at 
Waukesha, previous to which .time its machinery was built by a local manufacturer. 
On the 30th of May, 1905, Mr. Yundt was married to Miss Emily Vandewater, a 
daughter of Andrew Jackson Vandewater, one of the old-time residents of Jefferson, 
Wisconsin, in which city he was born. Mr. and Mrs. Yundt have one child, Emily 
Jane. In politics Mr. Yundt has always been a republican, supporting the candidates 
and the principles of the party, yet never an aspirant for office. Fraternally he is 
connected with the Elks of Milwaukee, belongs to Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, A. P. & 
A. M., and to Kilbourn Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M. He also has membership in the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Association of Commerce and the Rotary Club and is 
interested in all those practical and organized efforts which are seeking to improve 
business conditions and establish better business relations with the outside world. 
He is a lover of music, greatly enjoys fishing and swimming and it is no unusual 
thing to see him with his rod on some stream or lake where the finny tribe abound. 
He served on the draft board during the World war and has always been a loyal supporter 
of those interests and activities which have made for the upbuilding of the city and 
the advancement of civic virtue and civic pride. 



EMMET E. THOMAS. 



Emmet E. Thomas, secretary and treasurer cf the E. E. Thomas Optical Company, 
has for many years been a representative of one of Milwaukee's most important busi- 
ness interests. A native of Michigan, he was born in Hartford, November 15, 1872, and 
is a son of Nathan and Rebecca A. (Votawl Thomas, both of whom are deeessed. The 
father was born in Winona, Ohio, and in early life removed to Michigan, locating in 
Hartford, where he won prominence in mercantile circles and also as postmaster of that 
place. For eight years he filled the office of sheriff of Van Buren county, and his death 
in 1915 came as a severe blow to his many friends in the community. Mrs. Thomas was 
born in Gilford, Ohio, and was a daughter of Moses Votaw, a representative agricul- 
turist of that section of the country. 

Emmet E. Thomas is indebted to the public schools of Hartford, Michigan, for 
his early education and after graduating from the Paw Paw high school enrolled as a 
student in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana. There he took 
a commercial course, upon completion of which he went to work for his father as 
deputy sheriff and was also for a part of the time engaged on his father's farm. Sub- 
sequently, however, he decided to become an optician and, going to Laporte, Indiana, 
entered an optical school, where in addition to learning all about eyes and glasses, he 
became an expert engraver. After six months in that school he went to Evansville, 
Indiana, where for one year he put his learning into practical use, and after two years 
in Ottawa, Illinois, and Waukesha. Wisconsin, removed to Milwaukee about 1900. He 
was associated with a wholesale optical company for thirteen years and during that 
time his ability and conscientious performance of every duty assigned him won him 
constant promotion. He was first employed as shop foreman and as traveling salesman 
for six years, covering the country from coast to coast. During the last five years of his 
association with that company he filled the position of manager. In 1915 he determined 
to go into the business on his own account and, buying out the Federal Optical Com- 
pany, changed its name to the E. E. Thomas Optical Company, having been active in its 
operation ever since. At first offices were maintained in the Caswell block but in 1919 
were removed to suite 514, Security building, 209 Grand avenue. On the 15th of 
September, 1921, The Thomas Optical Company of Madison, Wisconsin, opened a whole- 
sale business in the new First Central building. As the result of the keen business 
ability and careful management of Mr. Thomas, the business has grown to extensive 
proportions, covering Wisconsin and surrounding states and requiring the services of 
many traveling men. A strictly wholesale business is carried on by the company and 
they specialize in filling prescriptions for glasses for oculists and opticians. 

In 1898, Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Grace Churchill, a daughter 
of Lewis Churchill, who was for many years postmaster of Gobleville, Michigan, and 
is now in the automobile business. Mr. Churchill was born in Canada. One son, 
Edward Churchill Thomas, has been born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, and 
his natal day was the 15th of May, 1907. Mrs. Thomas is prominently known in club 
and social circles of Milwaukee and took an active part in the prohibition movement. 
She devotes a great part of her time to church work and is president of the Woman's 
Guild of the First Baptist church. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Thomas has given his allegiance to the republican 
party, although he has never sought nor desired political preferment as a reward for 
party' fealty. He is secretary of the board of trustees of the First Baptist church and 
fraternally is identified with the Knights of Pythias. He likewise holds membership 




EMMET E. THOMAS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 43 

in the Kiwanis and City Clubs and the Association of Commerce, and along the iine 
of his business interests is a member of the American Association of Wholesale 
Opticians, has been on its board of directors, and is now territorial president. His 
time and energies are concentrated upon his business affairs, and he has thoroughly 
identified his interests with those of his community. 



C. COLUMBUS OWENS. 



In a history of Milwaukee it is imperative that mention be made of C. Columbus 
Owens, who for many years was a prominent factor in business circles, supervising 
and directing important business interests and investments. He was also keenly in- 
terested in the civic development and moral progress of the community and along 
many lines wrought for good in connection with public affairs. Mr. Owens was born 
in the Cream city, June 22, 1851, a son of Richard G. and Mary Ann (Jones) Owens. 
The father was an outstanding figure in connection with Milwaukee's growth and 
progress. He was dependent upon his own resources from the age of twelve years, 
at which time he was left an orphan. His birth occurred in Anglesea, Wales, January 
8, 1811, and after starting out to provide for his own support he worked on a farm 
in his native country until June. 1832, when, having attained his majority, he started 
for the new world, thinking to improve his financial condition on this side the Atlantic. 
He was truly the architect of his own fortunes and he builded wisely and well. He 
arrived on the shores of the new world on the 8th of August, 1832, and for a year 
thereafter was employed on a farm on Long Island. He then removed to Cleveland, 
Ohio, where he learned the business of manufacturing French buhr millstones. Fifteen 
months later he removed to Buffalo, New York, and there began contracting in the 
manufacture of millstone, which he sold to the dealers. He afterward established 
a store and made some real estate investments but the latter proved unprofitable and 
left him without financial resources. It was at that time that he first visited Mil- 
waukee, arriving in this city on the 1st of October, 1837, when en route to Galena, 
Chicago, St. Louis and other points in the west. Returning to this city he decided 
to locate, foreseeing something of what the future had in store for this great and 
growing district. He spent his first winter in clearing land which he purchased in 
the town of Greenfield and in the spring of 1838 he returned to Buffalo but after 
three months he again came to Milwaukee. Later, however, he removed to St. Louis, 
where he engaged in the manufacture of millstones until June 1, 1840. At that date 
he once more took up his abode in Milwaukee, where he continued to reside through- 
out his remaining days. As the years passed he utilized his opportunities for invest- 
ment in real estate and became the owner of much valuable property, buying, selling 
and renting, so that he left a large estate to his family. 

On the 7th of June, 1841, Mr. Owens was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann 
Jones, who was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, in 1821, a daughter of Evan Jones, 
who on leaving the little rock-ribbed country of Wales made his way to Chicago, 
where he arrived on the 1st of July, 1831, having crossed the Atlantic in one of the 
old-time sailing vessels, after which he proceeded by steamer to Albany, by canal 
to Buffalo and thence by lake steamer to Chicago. He was at that time the possessor 
of eleven hundred dollars in gold, of which sum he invested seven hundred dollars 
in a farm near Des Plaines. He died of cholera in 1852 in his seventy-second year. 

The wedding journey of Mr. and Mrs. Richard G. Owens consisted of a trip to 
Milwaukee. They became passengers on the steamer Illinois, but the vessel was of 
such draught that it could not make the harbor and the newly married couple was 
transferred to the Trowbridge, a smaller vessel, which brought them up the river 
to a point now known as Wisconsin street. They registered at the Milwaukee House, 
one of the early hotels located on the site of the present Miller block. Mr. Owens 
afterward built the block on Wisconsin street next to Chapman's large department 
store and he was very prominently identified with the development, growth and 
improvement of Milwaukee. 

His son, C. Columbus Owens, attended the public schools and continued his edu- 
cation in the Milwaukee Academy and in the Spencerian Business College of this 
city. Early in his business career he became connected with vinegar manufacturing 
as a member of the firm of Bechtner, Gersting & Company and later he conducted a 
similar enterprise at East Saginaw, Michigan. He afterward removed to Milbank, 
Dakota, where he and his brother opened a general mercantile establishment, under 
the firm style of Owens Brothers. Their business prospered as the years passed but 
following the death of his father Mr. Owens returned to Milwaukee and he and his 
brother. Richard G., took up the management of the large estate left by the father. 
Throughout his remaining days C. C. Owens devoted his attention to the manage- 
ment of the estate and the sale of realty and in all of his business affairs displayed 



44 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise, greatly increasing the value of the estate 
which he and the others of the family had inherited from the father. 

On the 3d of February, 1881, was celebrated the marriage of C. Columbus Owens 
and Miss Josephine M. Purdy, a daughter of Nathaniel and Susan J. (Reamer) Purdy 
of Milwaukee. Her father lived to a very ripe old age, passing the eightieth milestone 
on life's journey and for many years he was the superintendent of the Milwaukee 
Spoke & Bending Company. He was also the patentee of a process used in wood bend- 
ing by the firm and enjoyed the reputation of being the best judge of lumber in the 
state. He was also the inventor of many different kinds of woodworking machinery 
used all over the country. Mr. Purdy was a native of Colborne, Canada, born June 
3, 1829. He lived for a time in Watertown, New York, and came to Milwaukee at an 
early day. He had acquired his education in Canada and learned the carriage-making 
business there. He continued to devote his attention to that occupation for many 
years and was long associated with George Ogden. He was considered one of the 
best carriage-makers in the middle west and enjoyed an equally enviable reputation 
in lumber trade circles. In his later years he was identified with Gustav Seefeld 
in the wood bending business. He invented most of the machinery used in connection 
with the enterprise and was at all times a most capable and resourceful business man. 
He died July 3, 1914, and is still survived by his wife. During the period of the 
Civil war he was at Louisville, Kentucky, in the employ of the government, building 
and repairing railway coaches on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. 

Mr. and Mrs. Owens have become the parents of two sons: John Purdy and 
George James. The former is a graduate of the Wisconsin University and served for 
eight months at Camp Taylor in the World war. He is now an accountant with the 
West Envelope Company. George James is a graduate of an automobile school of 
E;st Milwaukee. 

When quite young Mr. and Mrs. Owens became members of the Spring Street 
Congregational church and were very prominent in its work and upbuilding. Through 
their efforts the Congregational church at Milbank was built and Mr. Owens became 
the first Sunday school superintendent, while his wife became the secretary of the 
Sunday school and also church organist. Mrs. Owens is still very active in the church 
and takes a most helpful part in all lines of church work. Mr. Owens was a member 
of the Old Settlers' Club for many years, his life being passed in this city, save for 
the brief period in which he was engaged in business in East Saginaw, Michigan, 
and in Milbank, Dakota. He watched with the keenest interest Milwaukee's develop- 
ment and bore his full share in the work of general progress and improvement. His 
cooperation could at all times be counted upon to further any measure for the general 
good and his life measured up to high standards of manhood and citizenship. Mrs. 
Owens and her sons are widely and favorably known in Milwaukee and her good 
works have indeed been a contributing factor to the moral progress of the community. 



AUGUST J. PETRIE. 



August J. Petrie is the president of the Milwaukee Stamping Company, having a 
large plant at West Allis. Thoroughness and enterprise characterize all that he 
attempts, and his life has chronicled the successful achievement of his plans and 
purposes. Energy and industry have enabled him to overcome all difficulties and 
obstacles, and as the years have advanced he has gained a most creditable position in 
manufacturing circles, contributing to the welfare and upbuilding of the city as well 
as to the advancement of his individual fortunes. 

He was born March 30, 1873, on his father's farm in Fond du Lac county, Wis- 
consin, his parents being John and Katherine (Rau) Petrie, both of whom were natives 
of Germany. The father came to the United States when a young man of twenty-six 
years and bought a farm in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, on which he spent his 
remaining days. Following the outbreak of the Civil war he joined the Fourth Wis- 
consin Volunteer Regiment and served until the close of hostilities. He passed away 
in 1901 and is still survived by his wife, who was brought to the United States when 
but three years of age by her parents, who also took up their abode on a farm in 
Fond du Lac county. Mrs. Petrie now makes her home in Milwaukee. 

Her son. August J. Petrie. was educated in the common schools of his native 
county and in young manhood came to Milwaukee, where he entered upon an apprentice- 
ship to the machinist's trade with the Kempsmith Machine Tool Company. He learned 
tool and die making as well as general machine work and remained with the Kemp- 
smith Company for a period of four years. He afterward spent about eight years in 
various plants in different places, working during the period of the Spanish-American 
war at the Watervliet arsenal. In 1899 he returned to Wisconsin and pursued a special 
course in engineering in the State University at Madison. While with the Kempsmith 
Company he had taken up mechanical drawing. He afterward spent a year in Mil- 




AUGUST J. PETRIE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 47 

waukee as a machinist and in 1901 founded the Milwaukee Stamping Company, in 
which enterprise he was associated with two ot his brothers, Charles and George 
Petrie. They incorporated the business, August J. Petrie becoming the president, since 
which time he has remained at the head of the undertaking. The company manu- 
factures builders' hardware, traveling bag and trunk hardware and parts for auto- 
mobile motors, together with stamped specialties. Their plant covers several acres, 
and the growth of the business has been continuous until now theirs is one of the large 
and important industries of the city, giving employment to hundreds of people. Their 
market covers the entire United States, and they also have a large export trade. They 
are operating under the name of the Milwaukee Stamping Company and have a 
splendidly equipped plant, which is in part three stories in height and in another 
section two stories in height. Associated with Mr. Petrie in the enterprise are William 
C. Clausen, who is now vice president of the company, and E. B. Bartlett, who is 
secretary and treasurer. 

On the 21st of January, 1902, Mr. Petrie was married to Miss Johanna Lee, who 
was born in Milwaukee and is of Norwegian lineage. Mr. Petrie has never been active 
in politics but has always voted with the republican party. He is of the Lutheran 
faith, belonging to the church of the Ascension and is serving as a member of its board 
of trustees and as a member of the building committee for the erection of a new 
church edifice on Layton boulevard, which will be one of the largest churches in the 
city. In his Masonic connections Mr. Petrie is well known, belonging to West Allis 
Lodge, No. 291, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been treasurer; West Allis Chapter, 
R. A. M. : Wisconsin Commandery, K. T.; Wisconsin Council, R. & S. M.; Wisconsin 
Consistory, A. & A. S. R.; Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine; the Eastern Star; and 
the White Shrine. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin 
Club, the Association of Commerce and the Optimist Club. He loves every phase of 
outdoor life, fishes and hunts, and has a fine summer home on Lake Beulah, having 
there a beautiful garden in which he takes great pride. He raises fine flowers and 
splendid vegetables at his summer home and finds the greatest delight in production 
of this character. His town residence, at 555 Sixty-seventh avenue, is one of the fine 
homes of Milwaukee, and it stands as a concrete evidence of the business ability, of 
the thoroughness and close application of Mr. Petrie, whose sterling qualities have 
brought to him a substantial measure of success. A farm bred boy without special 
advantages, he steadily worked his way upward, and his business and social positions 
are both notable, indicating his marked capability and the true worth of his character. 



WILLIAM M. WOLFE. 



For many years William M. Wolfe has been identified with the leading merchants 
of Milwaukee as president of the Wolfe-Sakols Company, formerly the Paris Skirt & 
Coat Manufacturing Company. Like many other prominent and successful men of 
Milwaukee he is a son by adoption, for his birth occurred on his father's farm in 
Germany, near the Belgian line, on Christmas day of the year 1875. His father, 
Leonard Wolfe, passed away in 1890. He was born in Lodz, Poland, and operated 
a large farm near there. He was an extensive cattle owner, having several hundred 
milch cows and was considered the largest farmer and cattleman in the district 
wherein he made his home. His wife was, before her marriage, Esther Rosenberg, a 
daughter of George Rosenberg, a prominent and successful merchant. Her family 
resided near Warsaw in Poland. 

William M. Wolfe received his education in the local schools and under private 
tutors, his mother having brought him to the United States when he was five years 
of age. After putting his textbooks aside he made his initial step into the business 
world as clerk in a retail general store and remained in that connection until reaching 
man's estate. He then became a traveling salesman for a ready-made clothing con- 
cern, his territory including Texas and other southern states and he was active in 
that capacity for various concerns until 1908, when he determined to enter the business 
on his own account and located in Milwaukee and organized his present business. 
Until 1921 the business was operated under the name of the Paris Skirt & Coat 
Manufacturing Company, of which he was president, but the name has now been 
changed to the Wolfe-Sakols Company, with an increase in capital from twenty-five 
thousand dollars to fifty thousand dollars. Louis Sakols is secretary and I. G. Strauss, 
treasurer. When the company was first organized it occupied but two hundred square 
feet of floor space and employed but four men but later the business became so extensive 
as to necessitate larger quarters and the concern now occupies five thousand square 
feet and gives employment to seventy-five persons, besides four traveling salesmen. 
It turns out garments of a popular price and stylish make and profiting by its belief 
that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement, the company has built up a high- 
class and steadily increasing trade. 



48 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

On the 28th of December, 1907, Mr. Wolfe was united in marriage to Miss Clara 
Strauss, a daughter of William Strauss. Her father was born in Germany and coming 
to this country at an early age located in Milwaukee, where he has won prominence 
and substantial success as a genera! merchant. Two sons have been born to the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe: Leonard S. and Harold, both attending the public 
schools. Mrs. Wolfe is musical, being a pianist and vocalist of ability and she has 
otten sung at the Temple and private gatherings. She is prominent in the club ana 
social circles of Milwaukee and devotes a great part of her time to the promotion of 
charitable and church work. 

Since age conferred upon Mr. Wolfe the right of franchise he has been a stanch 
supporter of the republican party but has never taken an active part in any of its 
affairs. The family are consistent members of the congregation of the Temple Emanu- 
El and fraternally Mr. Wolfe is identified with Gillet Lodge, B'nai B'rith; Kilbourn 
Lodge, No. 3. P. & A. M., Masons; Kilbourn Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M.; and Milwaukee 
Lodge, No. 46, B. P. 0. E. Mr. Wolfe has in every way identified his interests with 
those of his community and can be counted upon to do his part in furthering the 
public welfare. Thoroughness is one of his marked characteristics and as president 
of the company there is no phase of his business with which he is not familiar. He 
has a very wide and favorable acquaintance and occupies a position of prominence 
by reason of his business ability and standing, his social qualities and his public spirit. 



STEPHEN S. CRAMER. 



Stephen S. Cramer, president of the Wadhams Oil Company of Milwaukee, is 
numbered among the substantial citizens who as architects of their own fortunes have 
builded wisely and well, for through the careful management of his business he has 
reached a prominent and creditable position in financial circles. He comes to the 
Badger state from New York, his birth having occurred in Randolph, Cattaraugus 
county, on the 4th of June, 1860, his parents being John and Catherine Cramer. In 
the attainment of his education he attended the public schools and afterward became 
a student in the Chamberlain Institute of Randolph. New York. His youthful experi- 
ences were those of the farm bred boy and he early learned many valuable lessons 
from nature. 

It was in 1884 that Mr. Cramer left the Empire state to become identified with 
the development of the west. He first made his way to North Dakota, but after two 
years returned eastward as far as Milwaukee and here entered the employ of the 
Wadhams Oil Company, of which he is now the president. His initial position with 
the company was a minor one but his industry and perseverance won the recognition 
of those in authority and he was advanced from time to time through the various 
departments until he is today at the head of the company. Industry and perseverance 
are qualities which are invincible and Mr. Cramer displayed these from his earliest 
connection with the business. Acquainting himself with every detail of the trade 
he worked his way upward and his ability was soon manifest in results achieved by 
the company. He made his labors a potent force and more and more largely respon- 
sibility and duties were added to him until he became the directing head of the enter- 
prise and as its president has since given his attention to administrative direction 
and executive control. 

On the 2d of May, 1888, Mr. Cramer was united in marriage to Miss Frankie 
Campbell of Hartford. Wisconsin. The interest which he has displayed in the public 
welfare, his devotion to high ideals of municipal service and his support of plans for 
civic advancement and improvement mark him as one of the representative and valued 
residents of Milwaukee. 



FRANK L. FAWCETT. 



Frank L. Fawcett, an attorney of Milwaukee, was born in Platteville. Wisconsin, 
June 13. 1881, a son of John and Abbie (Hough) Fawcett, the former a native of 
Stephenhouse, Westmoreland county, England, while the mother was born in Pennsyl- 
vania and was of Scotch descent. The father came to the United States with liis 
mother in 1835. They remained for a brief period in New York and then came to 
Wisconsin, settling near Platteville. There John Fawcett engaged in the farm 
machinery business and was also prominent in public affairs in the community. He 
was a prominent representative of the republican party, serving as a delegate to 
various state conventions, his opinions carrying weight in party ranks. He died 
September 29, 1902. 

Frank L. Fawcett was educated in the schools of Platteville and after completing 




PEANK L. KAWCETT 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 51 

bis high school course attended the State Normal School at Platteville and later entered 
the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1908 with the LL. B. 
degree, having completed a course in law. The same year he was admitted to the bar 
and came direct from Madison to Milwaukee, where he entered upon the active practice 
of his profession, becoming associated with W. B. Rubin in a partnership that was 
continued until May 1, 1919, since which time the firm has been Fawcett & Dutcher. 
Mr. Fawcett was principal of the high school at Cassville, Wisconsin, for a year and at 
Benton, Wisconsin, for two years in early manhood and then went to Madison in 1905 
to become a law clerk in the office of Frank L. Gilbert, attorney general, with whom 
he remained for a year. He was chief clerk of the state civil service commission until 
he came to Milwaukee, resigning that position upon his removal to this city. He had 
also served as deputy sheriff under his father in Grant county. After taking up his 
abode in Milwaukee he entered upon his law practice, as previously indicated, and 
through the intervening yeirs has made steady progress. Along professional lines his 
connection is with the Milwaukee Bar Association and the Wisconsin State Bar 
Association. 

On the 1st day of May, 1915, Mr. Fawcett was married to Miss Mary Howard of 
Mauston. Wisconsin, and they have one daughter, Mary Jane. 

Mr. Fawcett has always been a close student and possesses an excellent library of 
standard literature, while for a long time he was spoken of as "the lawyer with 
Shakespeare and the Bible" because of his intimate knowledge of sacred writings as 
well as of the plays of the Bard of Avon. He is well known as a public speaker and 
partially paid his way through school by making addresses. During the Liberty Loan 
campaigns he was very active in his support of the cause and addressed many public 
gatherings on the questions before the country at that period. He belongs to the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to the Knights of 
Pythias, to the Masonic fraternity, the Fraternal order of Eagles and to the City 
Club. While in normal school he was captain of the football team and took an active 
interest in athletics as well as in oratory. 



RICHARD J. MUENZNER, M. D. 

While many representatives of the medical profession continue in the general 
field of medical and surgical practice, there are many who prefer to confine their 
efforts to a single line, thus attaining a point of efficiency that could not be secured 
if their labors were extended over a broader field. They thus become particularly 
skilled in certain branches of practice and it is in this way that Dr. Richard J. Muenzner 
has become well kn.own through the past ten years through his treatment of diseases 
of the eye. ear, nose and throat in Milwaukee. He was born in Chicago, June 26, 
1875, and is the only child of Oscar and Emma (Pick) Muenzner. The father was 
a lithographer who died when the Doctor was but five years of age. He was a native 
of Germany, while his wife was born in Washington county, Wisconsin. After the 
death of her first husband she married George Boden of West Bend, Wisconsin, who 
has also passed away. He was a very excellent man and proved to be a most kindly 
stepfather to Dr. Muenzner, who reveres his memory as he does that of his own father. 

Dr. Muenzner was reared in West Bend from the age of six years and was there 
graduated from the high school in 1893. He afterward taught school for a year and 
later pursued a pre-medical course in the University of Wisconsin covering two years. 
He subsequently studied in the medical department of Marquette University for four 
years and received his professional degree in 1900. He then began practice at Wabeno, 
Wisconsin, where he remained for a year, after which he devoted nine years to general 
practice at Allenton, Wisconsin, making steady progress in his chosen calling. In 
1910 he went to Europe for postgraduate work and studied in Vienna. Berlin and 
London, particularly directing his attention to diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. 

Before leaving for Europe. Dr. Muenzner was married in Milwaukee on the 10th 
of December. 1910, to Miss Alice Beck, a native of this city and a daughter of Charles 
Beck, a well known box manufacturer of Milwaukee, who is now living retired. Dr. 
Muenzner took his bride with him to Europe and for two years they remained abroad. 
Their eldest child, Richard Charles, was born in Vienna. Upon returning to the United 
States in March, 1913, Dr. Muenzner and his wife located in Milwaukee, where the 
former has since devoted his entire attention to practice along the line of his specialty. 
He has developed his skill and ability in this direction to a high point and his practice 
has long been an extensive one. Formerly he served for six years on the teaching staff 
of Marquette University and he is now serving on the staff of the Emergency Hospital. 

To Dr. and Mrs. Muenzner have been born seven children, five sons and two 
daughters: Richard Charles, Carl Frederick, George J., Alice, Elaine, William and 
Robert. The parents are members of the Roman Catholic church and Dr. Muenzner 
belongs to the Knights of Columbus and is a past lecturer and past deputy grand 



52 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

knight of the order. He also has membership in the Wisconsin Club and he finds 
his recreation in hunting and fishing. His connections along professional lines are 
with the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, 
the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. 



HENRY UIHLEIN. 



Henry Uihlein, a splendid organizer, an admirable executive, a man whose broad 
vision and thorough understanding of everything which he undertook led to success, 
became in the course of years one of the most prosperous citizens of Wisconsin. He 
belonged to that class of men who recognized and utilized the opportunities of the new 
world in the upbuilding of fortune and who gave their loyalty and allegiance to the 
land of their adoption, their interests becoming inseparably interwoven with the com- 
munities in which they lived and labored. For forty-two years Henry Uihlein was the 
president of the Schlitz Brewing Company, and while he laid the foundation of his 
fortune in this way, his sound business judgment prompted his extensive investments 
in real estate and his keen sagacity foresaw the rise in property values, so that his 
purchases were most wisely made and his prosperity thus greatly enhanced. Such was 
Henry Uihlein, the business man, but there was another side to his nature, his friends 
— and they were legion — finding in him a most congenial companion, courteous, kindly 
and at all times full of good cheer. He was born at Wertheim-on-the-Main, Germany, 
May 13, 1844, and was the second oldest of six sons, their father being the proprietor 
of the Gasthof zur Krone, a popular inn of Wertheim. The family tie between the six 
brothers was strengthened by their business association, for throughout many years 
all were interested in the Schlitz brewery of Milwaukee and in' other business enter- 
prises. During the eighteen years which he spent in his native country Henry Uihlein 
acquired a good practical education and mastered the art of brewing and malting in 
Bavaria. He then determined to come to the new world, attracted by the limitless 
opportunities here offered, and crossing the Atlantic made his way to St. Louis, Mis- 
souri, where for a time he was employed at his trade and then went to Leavenworth. 
Kansas, where he was given charge of the practical end of the business for the Kunz 
Brewing Company, with which he was thus associated for five years. 

It was during that period that Henry Uihlein was united in marriage to Miss 
Helene K. Reutzer, who passed away fifteen months prior to his death. They had a 
family of seven children: Laura, who is the wife of Dr. Charles E. Albright; Emma, the 
wife of Morse Rohnert of Detroit; Meta, the wife of W. S. J. Kopmeier; Adele, who 
died at the age of seventeen; and August E., George and Herman A., who are successors 
to their father in business. 

It was in the year 1871 that Mr. Uihlein left Leavenworth, Kansas, at the invita- 
tion of his uncle, Joseph Schlitz, who wished him to come to Milwaukee to take charge 
of the practical end of the business cf the Schlitz Brewing Company in this city. Four 
years later his uncle started for Mayence, Germany, to visit his brother and while en 
route was lost at sea, the vessel in which he sailed being shipwrecked. This was 
forty-seven years ago and by his death the six brothers came into possession of the 
brewery. They bent every energy toward the development and expansion of the busi- 
ness and all agree that it was Henry Uihlein's ability that constituted the greatest im- 
petus in its growth. He realized that upon him as brewmaster largely depended the 
success of the. undertaking and therefore he bent every energy toward producing a beer 
that would be entirely acceptable to the purchasing public. That he succeeded was 
shown in the constant enlargement of the plant, which stands on the site where Mr. 
Uihlein took up his abode on first coming to Milwaukee. Addition after addition 
was made until the plant covered many acres and the business had developed from a 
small beginning to the largest of its kind in the country. In this connection the Mil- 
waukee Journal wrote: "Fortune smiled on the Uihlein brothers in a lavish manner, 
pouring treasures upon them until they were credited with possessing the Midas touch. 
Like a magic gourd the small brewery began to grow, spreading out and demanding 
more space year after year until whole city blocks surrendered to this gigantic temple 
of Gambrinus; the product sold in increasing volume in Milwaukee, everywhere 
throughout the United States and then the wide-funneled steamers of the seven seas 
were requisitioned to carry to all the peoples of the whole world 'the beer that made 
Milwaukee famous!'" It is said that hundreds of thousands of dollars were expended 
in advertising in the use of this line, which was placed in conspicuous positions in 
every city, hamlet and town of the country and along the railroads, so that truly 
he who ran might read it. The great organization that was built up was the direct 
outcome of the executive power, the undaunted enterprise and the unfaltering diligence 
of the six brothers who became members of the company and they never hesitated nor 
faltered until thev had reached the position of leadership in the point of beer manu- 
facturing in the United States. 




HENEY TJIHLEIN 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 55 

The attainment of wealth was no attraction for them, however, to take up the sports 
the dissipation or the frivolity that attend upon the rapid acquirement of prosperity 
in the lives of many. On the contrary they husbanded their interests and resources and 
looked about them for a field of safe investment. This they found in real estate and 
they became owners of a large share of the most valuable property in the city. They 
were the builders of the Schlitz Hotel, occupying one of the choicest corners in the 
down-town district of the city, and a block further west they erected the Alhambra 
theatre, which was at the time the largest motion picture house in the world. They 
were also the builders of the Majestic building, just east of the Schlitz Hotel, and the 
promoters of the famous Palm Garden, while among their earlier investments was the 
Globe Hotel, overlooking Lake Michigan. They own all the real estate on the south 
side of Grand avenue, between Fifth and Seventh streets, including the Palace theatre. 
Throughout the different business sections of Milwaukee they increased their property 
holdings, nor did they confine their efforts entirely to this city but made large invest- 
ments in Chicago, New York and elsewhere in the country. One of the local papers said: 
"If desirable property was in the market the Uihleins wanted it, and, as they had the 
price, they generally got it. But they were shrewd buyers and were never 'known to 
bid the market up on themselves." 

The death of Mrs. Uihlein occurred in January, 1921. They had lived to celebrate 
their golden wedding, which was made a most interesting occasion, at their summer 
home, Willow Edge, on the upper Milwaukee river, in the midst of the beautiful 
gardens, flowers and trees which Mr. Uihlein loved so much. He found his greatest 
happiness, outside of the companionship of his wife and children, in improving the 
grounds of his city and country residences, delighting in every growing thing and 
especially in those phases of nature which showed great beauty. He was entirely free 
from ostentation and display, and though he might have owned a palatial home in the 
most fashionable district of the city, he continued to occupy the old homestead at 431 
Galena street, which was built more than thirty-five years before his demise. It was 
most luxuriously furnished and was always regarded as one of the most hospitable 
homes of the city. 

Mr. Uihlein always gave his political allegiance to the republican party but never 
sought nor desired office yet always exercised his right of franchise in support of the 
principles in which he believed. He was a regular attendant at the Wednesday evening 
performances of the German stock company at the Pabst theatre and was present at 
one of these only about two weeks prior to his death. He enjoyed travel and made 
twelve trips across the ocean. He had reached the age of seventy-eight years when 
he passed away on the 22d of April, 1922. He had long been a most valuable con- 
tributing factor to the material growth of Milwaukee. He had extended the trade 
relations of the city to every part of the world and through his real estate opera- 
tions he had added much to the city's improvement, beauty and substantial character. 
He was an extremely modest man, never taking any special credit to himself, but those 
who were witnesses of his career recognized what he accomplished and paid to him 
their tribute of admiration for what he did. While the attainment of his wealth was 
notable and he became one of the most prosperous men in all Wisconsin, he never 
lost the common touch and his judgment of his fellowmen was based upon personal 
worth. Geniality beamed from his eye, kindliness characterized all of his relations 
with his fellowmen and there were many who regarded as one of their most cherished 
possessions the friendship of Henry Uihlein. 



BERT ADAM STENZ. 



Milwaukee numbers among its progressive and representative business men, Bert 
Adam Stenz, president of the Stenz Electric Company, with headquarters at 455 East 
Water street. He is Milwaukee's son by adoption, his birth having occurred on his 
father's farm near Fond du Lac, this state, on the 26th of March, 1890. His grand- 
father, John Stenz, was born in Germany and came to this country as a boy with 
his parents. They located in Winnebago county and took up the land which is now 
being cultivated by August Stenz, who is one of the best known and most highly 
respected agriculturists of the community. The father of Bert Adam Stenz is August 
Stenz, who is now residing at Fond du Lac and is still active in his agricultural 
pursuits. He was born in Winnebago county in 1864 and has been a resident of 
Wisconsin since that time. He has taken a prominent part in public affairs and in 
addition to serving as road commissioner and a member of the school board, he was 
county clerk and has held various other offices of local interest. He is now financially 
independent, receiving a substantial income from his farms in Fond du Lac and 
Winnebago counties. Mrs. Stenz was, before her marriage. Miss Helen Braun. She 
is still living. She w-as a daughter of Peter Braun of Eden. Wisconsin, in which 



56 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

place she was born. Her father was a native of Germany, from which country lie 
came to the United States as a boy and located in the town of Eden, Fond du Lac county. 

Bert Adam Stenz received his education in the public schools of Fond du Lac 
county until he was thirteen years of age, when he put his textbooks aside and entered 
the employ of the Eastern Wisconsin Railroad & Light Company. Although employed 
throughout the day he devoted his evenings to the study of electricity, taking a 
correspondence course, and after two years of association with the company resigned 
and removed to Milwaukee. His ability and energy had won him constant promotion 
and when he severed connections with the company he had charge of the meter 
reading and testing department. He arrived in Milwaukee in 1906 and immediately 
entered business with the Herman Andrae Electrical Company as electrician. He 
remained in that capacity for but a short time when he was put in charge of con- 
struction of different jobs and after three years with the company resigned to go 
on the road for the Heil & Patterson Engineering Company of Pittsburgh, Penn- 
sylvania, having charge of its electrical construction on coal rigging equipment. He 
was with this company for twenty-three months, when he returned to Milwaukee and 
for three "years had charge of construction for the Milne Electric Company. In Febru- 
ary, 1913, he and his brother, Paul H., organized the Stenz Electric Company and on 
the 1st of January, 1920, the company was incorporated with a capital stock of forty 
thousand dollars. Mr. Stenz became president of the organization and a brother, 
Peter R.. is treasurer. The corporation specializes in motors and power equipment, 
likewise motor repairing. They are distributors for the Western Electric, for whom 
they handle labor saving devices. They furnished the electric installations for the 
Ford Motor Plant in Milwaukee and the power plant for the John Obenberger Forge 
Company and their work is carried on extensively throughout the county. The cor- 
poration has just finished the installation of a power and lighting plant for the Belgium 
Shoe Company. When Mr. Stenz first launched into his business venture quarters 
were established at 68-70 Mason street, with a very limited capital. The business 
grew rapidly, however, due to his indefatigable energy and sound judgment and the 
business of the year 1920 totalled over a quarter of a million dollars, a more than 
substantial increase over the first year's volume, which amounted to thirteen thousand, 
eight hundred dollars. Six hundred square feet of space was all that was required 
upon organization but now the corporation occupies three floors at 455 East Water 
street, with sixty-eight hundred square feet of space. 

On the 16th of June, 1915, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stenz and Miss Katherine 
Kristan, a daughter of Bernard Kristan of Chicago, Illinois, a retired farmer of Lake 
county, that state. He was born in Germany and came to this country at an early 
day. He was prominent in the public affairs of the community in which he resided 
and was mayor of North Chicago, county clerk and held various other offices. He 
is still living. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Stenz two children have been born: 
Elizabeth Helen and Paul Peter. Mrs. Stenz is a woman of refinement and culture 
and highly educated. She attended a convent school at Waukegan and early began 
the study of the piano. She is likewise a painter in oil and water and has done 
some creditable portrait work. In the club and social circles of Milwaukee she is well 
known and belongs to many women's organizations for church work and charity. 

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Stenz has been a stanch 
supporter of the republican party, in the activities of which he has, however, never 
taken an active part. The family are communicants of St. Sebastian's parish and 
fraternally Mr. Stenz is identified with the Knights of Columbus, Pere Marquette 
Lodge of Milwaukee and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Along social lines 
he is a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Ozaukee Country Club and also the 
Electrical League and Jovians. For recreation he turns to hunting, fishing and golfing 
and he is likewise a great lover of music. Thoroughness is one of the marked char- 
acteristics of Mr. Stenz and he has mastered every detail of his own business. He 
has a very wide and favorable acquaintance and occupies a position of prominence by 
reason of his business ability and standing, his social qualities and his public spirit. 



ED W. NEUMEISTER. 



Ed W. Neumeister, secretary and treasurer of the Milwaukee Dairy Supply & 
Manufacturing Company, occupies an enviable position in the commercial and in- 
dustrial circles of the city, having worked his way steadily upward to success. He 
was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, October 15, 1S75, and is a son of Julius and Louise 
(Weller) Neumeister. The father was a native of Germany, and the mother of Wiscon- 
sin. The former came to America with his parents when a lad of but nine years. He 
was a merchant, devoting his life to the conduct of a store from early manhood to the 
present time, and both he and his wife still make their home in Sheboygan. 

Ed W. Neumeister was educated in the public schools of his native city and when 




ED W. NEUMEISTER 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 59 

his textbooks were put aside he, too, became connected with the retail dry goods trade 
and devoted nine years to a mercantile career. On the expiration of that period he 
went to Chicago, where he conducted a grocery and meat market on his own account, 
his store being situated on Armitage avenue, where he continued in the business for 
several years. He then came to Milwaukee and was associated with Hugo Bauch as 
buyer for the carpet and drapery department for nine years. Each change that he has 
made is indicative of progress and enterprise. In 1911 he became associated with the 
Milwaukee Dairy & Supply Company, which was incorporated in that year, Mr. 
Neumeister becoming the secretary and treasurer, which position he has since filled. 
This company specializes in the manufacture of automatic milk bottle fillers and 
cappers and also handles dairy supplies, the president of the company having been the 
inventor of the machines which it turns out. The firm occupies a one-story brick build- 
ing, one hundred and fifty-seven by one hundred and twenty feet and the building 
stands upon a tract of six vacant lots. Its fillers have become known all over the world 
and the output of the manufactory is sent into almost every section of the civilized 
globe, going as far as Hongkong, China. This company now has the bulk of the busi- 
ness of this character in the United States and the liberal patronage which it receives 
is well merited by reason of the thoroughly reliable business methods of the house, its 
undaunted enterprise and its continued activity to improve its output. Mr. Neumeister 
is the secretary, treasurer and one of the directors of the Stout Crate Company, Inc., 
an Illinois company doing business in Milwaukee. He is likewise the secretary of the 
Kester Manufacturing Company and his enterprise and sound business judgment make 
his cooperation a valuable asset in the conduct of the various interests with which he 
is associated. 

In January, 1902, Mr. Neumeister was married to Miss Caroline Freidrich of 
Chicago, and they have two children: Loraine and Wilma. Mr. Neumeister is a 
member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and also of the Optimist Club. He 
likewise belongs to the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, which is indicative of his 
interest in all that pertains to public progress and improvement as relating to the city. 
His substantial worth has made him widely known and his life should serve as a 
source of encouragement and inspiration to others, showing what can be accomplished 
through individual effort. 



HENRY LAUENSTEIN. 



Henry Lauenstein, a shoe manufacturer, whose business is a contributing factor 
to the commercial growth and progress of Milwaukee, was born in this city, October 
15, 1884. His father, Gust Lauenstein, was born in Berlin, Germany. March 6. 1847, 
and came to the United States about 1874. He settled in "Wisconsin, finally becoming 
a resident of Milwaukee and here he died in the year 1919. He was married in Ger- 
many in early manhood but his first wife died in that country. He afterward married 
again and brought his second wife and his children with him to the new world. In 
Milwaukee he established the business which is now in control of his son, Henry, 
founding the enterprise when fifty years of age. He never incorporated but con- 
ducted his interest under his own name. He always stood with the working man 
and was one of the early socialists of the city but not an active party worker. The 
mother of Henry Lauenstein bore the maiden name of Anna Mueller and came 
with her husband from Germany to the new world. She, too, has passed away. 

Henry Lauenstein acquired his early education in the public schools of his native 
city and started out in the business world as an employe at the Rauschenberger 
cordage plant in Milwaukee. After a few months he entered his father's establish- 
ment and learned every phase of shoe manufacturing, continuing with his father 
to the time of the latter's death. For two years prior to his father's demise Henry 
Lauenstein conducted the business entirely and succeeded to the ownership thereof. 
He is engaged in the manufacture of leather and felt slippers and also a small line 
of ladies shoes, finding a market for his products in the central states. The output 
of the factory has reached five hundred pairs per day. The business, now one of 
the important manufacturing interests of Milwaukee, is the visible evidence of the 
enterprise, progressiveness and ambitious spirit of the father, Gustav Lauenstein, 
who worked from four o'clock in the morning until dark, displaying at all times an 
unfaltering industry and perseverance. He began by making shoes in his own home 
and selling them from house to house. His persistency of purpose never faltered. 
He worked on steadily year by year until he had established a business of substantial 
proportions and when his son had reached a sufficient age he admitted him to an 
interest in the business and trained him to become his successor. 

On the 22d of June, 1920, Mr. Lauenstein was married to Miss Regina Kowalik, 
a daughter of J. Kowalik, a native of German Poland. In politics Mr. Lauenstein 
holds himself free from entangling party alliances but always maintains a progres- 



60 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

sive attitude on public questions. He takes an active interest in civic affairs and 
cooperates heartily in all plans tor the benefit and improvement of the community. 
His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and his membership connections 
extend to the Association of Commerce, the Credit Men's Association and the Travelers' 
Protective Association. He is a lover of outdoor life and engages in many outdoor 
sports. He likewise finds great pleasure in motoring and in travel and indulges in 
these when opportunity permits. He has always endeavored to uphold the good name 
made by his father and to sustain the high position in business circles with which 
the name of Lauenstein has long been associated. 



LEO G. SMITH. 



From humble apprentice Leo G. Smith has worked his way steadily upward until 
as president of the Modern Steel Casting Company of Milwaukee he is classed with the 
captains of industry of the city. Thoroughness, enterprise and enthusiasm concerning 
his work have been dominant factors in his career. He possesses initiative as well as 
executive ability and the broad experience which he had acquired before entering 
upon his duties as chief officer of the Modern Steel Casting Company well qualified 
him for the responsibility which he assumed. He is today numbered with those men 
who are strong contributing factors to the commercial and industrial development 
of the city. 

Mr. Smith comes to Milwaukee from Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred on 
the 22d of February, 1878, in Oil City. His father, Nicholas Smith, a native of Belgium, 
was brought to the United States when but nine years of age by his parents, who settled 
in the Empire state and afterward removed to Pennsylvania. Nicholas Smith was a 
carpenter and builder, which trade he followed until his death. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Mary Haney, was born in Buffalo, New York. His death occurred 
in 1909, while his widow survived only until 1910. 

Leo G. Smith was educated in the public schools of Oil City to the age of twelve 
years, at which time the family removed to Buffalo, New York, where he attended the 
Christian Brothers school. He started out in the business world as an office employe 
of the International Steam Pump Company and served in various capacities for seven 
years, working his way steadily upward until he became assistant cashier and assistant 
purchasing agent. He afterward went to Columbus, Ohio, where he entered the employ 
of the Buckeye Steel Casting Company and there learned the trade of molding, serving 
a four years' apprenticeship. He next became assistant foreman of the American Steel 
Foundries at Sharon, Pennsylvania, occupying that position for two years, or until the 
fall of 1909, when he was made superintendent of the Bucyrus Steel Casting Company 
of Bucyrus, Ohio. Each change in his business connections brought him broader oppor- 
tunities and wider experience and thus the steps in his orderly progression led him 
eventually to Milwaukee, but before coming to this city he was associated with the 
Canada Iron Corporation at Londonderry, Nova Scotia, as manager, occupying that 
position until 1912. In February of the latter year he came to Milwaukee and was 
manager of the Prime Steel Company until May. 1915. when he resigned his position. 
During the war period he conducted a brokerage business in steel castings and in 
February. 1919, he became connected with the Modern Steel Casting Company as gen- 
eral manager. In January, 1921, he was elected to the presidency and is now con- 
centrating upon constructive efforts, administrative direction and executive control. 
This company manufactures steel castings, which it markets throughout the entire 
United States, the business being one of substantial proportions. Mr. Smith is like- 
wise the president of the Milwaukee Advertising & Novelty Company and vice president 
of the Biggam Trailer Company of this city. 

On the 19th of February, 1901, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Mrs. Isabella 
Williams, a daughter of Thomas Slater of Buffalo, New York, who is a native of 
Liverpool, England. Mrs. Smith has three children by her first husband, Frank 
Williams, who died in 1899. These are: Carlisle F. Williams, who is now in Seattle, 
Washington; James T. Williams, who is engaged in the automobile business in Mil- 
waukee; and Norma F., now the wife of Clarence Brunner, who is with the Milwaukee 
Advertising & Novelty Company and who is a native of Milwaukee, his father being 
August Brunner. 

Mr. Smith has never taken an active part in politics and may be classed as an 
independent republican. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church, his member- 
ship being in St. James parish of Mukwonago. He is a fourth degree member of the 
Knights of Columbus and he belongs to the Milwaukee lodge of Elks. He also has 
membership in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Association of Commerce, the Safe 
Drivers' Club and the American Foundrymen's Association. He is an enthusiastic 
farmer, agricultural interests being his hobby. He owns sixty-five acres of land in 
Mukwonago township on Phantom Lake in Waukesha county, where he makes his 




LEO G. SMITH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 63 

home throughout the entire year, finding great pleasure in supervising the further 
development and improvement of his land. He is also very fond of music and all of 
those things which are of cultural value in life. At the same time he has been a deep 
and thorough student of everything relating to steel and its manufacture and the 
thoroughness which he has manifested in every relation of life has been one of the 
strong and potent forces of his success. Moreover, he attacks everything with a con- 
tagious enthusiasm that affects his coworkers and he never stops short of his objective. 



HENRY CHARLES SCHRANCK. 

Since 1907 Henry Charles Schranck has been associated with the H. C. Schranck 
Company, Incorporated, as president and his keen business insight and executive ability 
have won for him a place among the foremost business men of Milwaukee. He was 
born September 3, 1853, in Block 56, and has been identified with that community 
throughout his life. He is a descendant of an old and honored Bavarian family and 
nis grandfather was born and died in that country. His father, Valentine Schranck, 
passed away in 1864. He was a native of Bavaria but left his native land in 1S48 and 
came to the United States, locating in Milwaukee. He soon became one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of the community and in addition to being a member of the council 
for a number of years, held other public offices in Milwaukee. Mrs. Schranck was born 
in Hessia, Germany, and came to this country in childhood. She settled in Milwaukee 
and there met her future husband to whom she was married in 1852. Mrs. Schranck 
passed away in 1904. 

Henry Charles Schranck is indebted to the St. Mary's parochial school in Mil- 
waukee for his education until he was twelve years of age, when he entered the old 
German-English Academy from which institution he was graduated in 1868. Upon 
putting his textbooks aside he went into the drug business as clerk for William Rit- 
meier and for four years continued in that connection. He then went to New York 
and entered Columbia University, where he specialized in chemistry and graduated in 
1876. Subsequently he returned to Milwaukee and with Francis Ladwig established a 
drug business, conducting it under the name of Ladwig & Schranck. This partnership 
continued until 1907, when Mr. Schranck bought out his partner and incorporated as 
the H. C. Schranck Company, of which he has been president ever since. Three of his 
sons are also in the organization. The company manufactures all kinds of flavors for 
soda water bottlers and ice cream and candy manufacturers and its trade is an ex- 
tensive one, extending from the Ohio river to the Pacific Coast and from the Great Lakes 
to the Gulf. It maintains agencies in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle, San 
Francisco, Winnipeg and Montreal. Upon the incorporation of the company the 
capital stock amounted to twenty-five thousand dollars and it has since increased to 
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and is readily conceded to be one of the largest 
concerns of its kind in the United States. 

Mr. Schranck has been twice married. His first marriage occurred on the 22d of 
May, 1877, to Bertha Fernekes. a daughter of Charles Fernekes, a well known con- 
fectioner of Valparaiso, Indiana. Mr. Fernekes was born in the same Bavarian com- 
munity as Valentine Schranck, the father of Henry Charles Schranck, and as a young 
man came to this country and located in Indiana. Mrs. Schranck passed away in 1913. 
On the 22d of September, 1915, Mr. Schranck was married to Elise Wohlgemuth of Des 
Moines, Iowa, a daughter of Richard Wohlgemuth of that place. To the first union 
three sons were born: Valentine E., Henry C, Jr., and Walter. The eldest son is 
treasurer of the H. C. Schranck Company and has charge of the laboratory. He is un- 
married; Henry C. has charge of the bakery and confectionery end of the business. 
He married Lillian Esser of Milwaukee, a daughter of Herman Esser and they have 
a daughter, Elizabeth. Henry C. Schranck, Jr., subordinated all personal interests 
during the World war and served as first lieutenant in the medical department. He is 
one of the directors of the company, also, as is his younger brother Walter who is 
salesmanager. All three sons attended the University of Wisconsin, from which in- 
stitution they graduated and each specialized in chemistry. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Schranck has been a stanch supporter of the 
democratic party, in the interests of which he has always taken an active and prom- 
inent part. He proved his popularity as alderman, serving the first ward in that 
capacity for a period covering ten years and while a member of the council he was 
chairman of the finance committee. For several years he was also active as treasurer 
of the democratic county committee. The family are communicants of the Catholic 
church, being members of St. Mary's parish. Along purely social lines Mr. Schranck 
is a member of the Wisconsin and Milwaukee Athletic Clubs and along the line of his 
business was a member of the State Board of Pharmacy of Wisconsin, which organiza- 
tion he served as president for thirteen years. In the musical circles of Milwaukee 
Mr. Schranck has always been an outstanding figure and he was one of the executive 



64 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

officers in the National Saengerfest of 1S86 and also of all saengerfests since that time. 
For five years he was president of the Musical Society of Milwaukee and for twenty 
years treasurer of that organization. He also finds recreation in good literature, 
being an inveterate reader and his home at 781 Marshall street contains one of the finest 
private libraries in the city. An energetic business man, Mr. Schranck's success in life 
has been on a parity with his well directed endeavors and under his able management 
as chief executive the H. C. Schranck Company, Incorporated, has become one of broad 
scope and importance, while the high reputation of the company constitutes its best 
business asset. 



JOHN POPPENDIECK. JR. 



John Poppendieck, Jr., business manager and managing editor of the Milwaukee 
Sentinel, was born in Newark, New Jersey, September 23, 1872, and is a son of John 
and Anna (Stade) Poppendieck. The father was a native of Germany and the mother 
of England. They came to America about 1870, settling in New Jersey. The father was 
a cabinetmaker by trade and followed that pursuit through much of his life. In 1876 
he came west with his family, settling in Milwaukee, where they have since lived. 
Here John Poppendieck, Sr., died in 1911. His widow makes her home in this city. 

In the acquirement of his education John Poppendieck, Jr., who was but four 
years of age when brought to Milwaukee, pursued his education in the graded schools 
of the city and in the high school. He started out in the business world as a carrier 
on the Sentinel and has been connected with the paper in various capacities continu- 
ously, except for two years, since 18S8. Steadily he has worked his way upward, be- 
coming reporter, city editor, managing editor and for the past twelve years has been 
business manager and managing editor. Throughout his business career he has been 
identified with the Sentinel and as a newspaper man is known throughout the country. 

Mr. Poppendieck is a member of the Press Club, also of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club and the Rotary Club. Practically his entire life has been passed in this city. 



PERCY BR AM AX. 



Percy Braman, deputy commissioner of public works in Milwaukee, was born in 
Oswego, New York, September IS, 1861, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah (VanPatton) 
Braman, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The father was well known 
as a captain on the lakes and came to Milwaukee in 1865. Here he engaged in business 
of loading and unloading lake vessels and was also harbor master in the early '90s. 
Both he and his wife have passed away. 

Percy Braman was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and started out in 
the business world as a press feeder in the office of the Milwaukee News. After being 
employed there for a short time, he went to the woods of northern Michigan and put in 
two years as jack of all trades. He later began railroading as a fireman and brakeman 
on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, later serving as conductor on the 
Milwaukee & Northern Railroad. In fact many duties and activities claimed the atten- 
tion of Mr. Braman in his younger years and each change that he made seemed to offer 
him better advantages. It was his desire to gain a start and his diligence and industry 
secured for him positions of greater and greater responsibility as the years passed. 
At length his industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to 
engage in business on his own account. In 1886 he left railroading to become superin- 
tendent of fuel yards, and in 1900 went in business for himself, and he is still connected 
with the business, which, however, at the present time is being conducted by his son, 
Percy VanPatton, under the firm name of the Braman Coal Company. They have 
four offices and yards at Eighth avenue and Montana street. By earnest effort, careful 
management and indefatigable energy Percy Braman was instrumental in developing 
his business to one of substantial proportions, making it a profitable concern and prov- 
ing that while success cannot be had for the asking, fortune reveals her rewards for 
earnest labor, intelligently directed. 

Mr. Braman has also been quite active in public affairs. In 1912 he was elected 
alderman of the seventeenth ward on the non-partisan ticket. He continued to act in 
that capacity until December, 1913, during which time he was a member of the finance 
committee and chairman of the streets and alleys committee. On the above date he 
resigned to accept the office of deputy commissioner of public works, in which position 
he has given excellent satisfaction for a period of eight years, and he is now the 
incumbent. In 1916 Mr. Braman was nominated for mayor on the non-partisan ticket 
and defeated by the closest margin in one of the most spectacular campaigns in city 
history. During the World war period he was a member of Group 25 of the city and 




PEECY BRAMAN 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 67 

received a part of all of the funds of all the drives, doing his work for the government 
that he might aid in support of American interests and particularly in safeguarding 
the soldiers. He was active in much of the work that attended the starting of the 
troops from this section and also in welcoming them home upon their return. What- 
ever he could do for the benefit of his country he did cheerfully and willingly and the 
same public spirit is manifest in his relations to all matters of municipal concern. 

In 1SS3 Mr. Braman was married to Miss Albena H. Luke, who died in 1S94, leaving 
three children: Mrs. Cora Kemp; Percy V.; and Vinnie May, now the wife of Major 
Jacob Rudolph, who is a major of the Aviation Corps of the United States army, 
stationed at Riverside, California. In 1895 Mr. Braman was again married, his second 
union being with Ella E. Dressel of Milwaukee. Mr. Braman is well known in club 
and fraternal circles. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the City Club and is 
an honorary member of the Milwaukee Yacht Club and the South Shore Yacht Club. 
He likewise belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the thirty- 
second degree of the Scottish Rite and has lilled nearly all of the offices in the different 
Masonic bodies, being also a past potentate of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He 
is a Knight oi Pythias and is a loyal, follower of the teachings and purposes of the 
fraternal organizations with which he is connected. He has a wide acquaintance in 
Milwaukee and the sterling worth of his character has translated acquaintanceship 
into friendship in almost every case. 



HENRY EVERETT JUDD. 

Henry Everett Judd, whose advancement in the business world is the direct out- 
come of persistent effort intelligently directed, is now the president of the Matthews 
Brothers Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee. He is a native son of New England, 
his birth having occurred in Waterbury, Connecticut, November 4, 1881. His father, 
Edson A. Judd, who died in the year 1917, was born in Watertown, Connecticut, and 
there followed merchandising. He was a son of Amos Judd, also a native of Water- 
town and the ancestry of the family dates back in New England to the year 1634. 
The mother of Henry Everett Judd bore the maiden name of Katherine Everett and 
she, too, was born in Watertown, Connecticut. Her death occurred in 1919. She was 
a daughter of E. B. Everett of Watertown and her people were among the first settlers 
of that place, so that Henry E. Judd is a representative of two of the oldest and best 
known families of the Charter Oak state. 

Reared in Waterbury, Connecticut, Henry E. Judd attended the public schools 
until graduated from the high school with the class of 1898. Not content with the 
educational advantages he had thus far enjoyed he later became a student in the 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York, where he completed a course in 
civil engineering, being graduated with the C. E. degree in 1902. He at once put his 
theoretical knowledge to the practical test, going to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where 
as an engineer he entered the employ of the W. G. Wilkins Company, doing work in 
West Virginia for a year. He next went to Sykesville, Pennsylvania, as engineer in 
charge of a coal and coke plant, the operation of which he directed for two years. He 
was next made assistant superintendent of the plant and still later went to New York, 
where he became associated with C. P. Perin, as consulting engineer. He represented 
Mr. Perin in Virginia in the development of large coal properties there, spending three 
years in that state. He afterward went to India for Mr. Perin as a mining engineer and 
had charge of development work in connection with iron and coal mines for the Tata 
Iron & Steel Company at Bombay, India, for two years. Following his return to the 
United States he did various jobs for Mr. Perin for a period of two years and then re- 
turned to India, where he again had charge of his old job for another two-year period. 
Once more he came to America and did work in various parts of the United States for 
Mr. Perin for two years. In 1917 he made a third voyage to India and became general 
manager of the Tata Company and carefully directed the business of that corporation 
for two years. In January, 1919, he came to Milwaukee and entered into active and 
financial relations with the Matthews Brothers Manufacturing Company as president. 
This company manufactures fine interior woodwork and its output goes to all parts 
of the United States, while some exports of the product have been made. The company 
has recently purchased a modern plant on the Port Washington road, which will con- 
stitute one of the best equipped cabinet shops in the country used for high-grade work. 
Mr. Judd is a man of marked energy, who quickly recognizes the possibilities of a 
situation and throughout his life he has made wise use of his time, talents and oppor- 
tunity. Step by step, therefore, he has advanced and his success should serve to inspire 
and encourage others, showing what can be accomplished through individual efforts. 

On the 7th of August, 1917, Mr. Judd was married to Miss Jeannette Abbott of 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a daughter of William L. Abbott, who was with the Carnegie 
Steel Company as an official. Mr. Abbott was born in Ohio and came of New England 



68 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

ancestry, one of his direct ancestors being numbered among the founders of Yale 
University. To Mr. and Mrs. Judd has been born one child, Pierrepont Abbott Judd, 
whose birth occurred April 8, 1920. Mr. Judd possesses literary taste and ability and 
is the author of a number of most interesting articles on engineering topics, which 
have been published in the press of today. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal 
church. He belongs to the Chi Phi and the Sigma Xi fraternities. He also has mem- 
bership in the Milwaukee Club, in the University Club of New York, in the American 
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, in the Association of Commerce and in the Fox 
Point Club. These connections indicate the nature and breadth of his interests and 
activities outside of business. It is a pleasure to meet a man of such resourcefulness 
and capability as Mr. Judd possesses. He has always been ready for any emergency 
and for any opportunity and has labored effectively and earnestly not only in the up- 
building of his own fortunes but in the advancement of interests and projects which 
have had to do with the public welfare and with general progress and improvement. 



REV. MARK PAKIZ. 



Rev. Mark Pakiz, a representative of the Catholic priesthood in Milwaukee, being 
now in charge of the church of St. Mary's Help of Christians, was born in 1S59, in 
Sodrazica, Jugoslavia, and after thorough preparatory training was ordained to the 
priesthood at Ljubljana in Jugoslavia, in 1885. He came to America in 1892, going 
first to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was assistant priest at St. Francis church for a 
period of seven months. In 1893 he went to Calumet, Michigan, becoming connected 
with the Marquette diocese and continued his labors therewith for eleven years. 

Subsequently Rev. Father Pakiz was confined to the hospital through illness for a 
period of sixteen months. He afterward went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained 
for three years and in 1908 he came to West Allis, where he took charge as pastor of 
St. Mary's Help of Christians Catholic church. He also has charge of the church of St. 
John's Evangelist at Fourth avenue and Mineral street, the congregation having pur- 
chased the church edifice there from the Jews. There are about six hundred families 
in the parish. The church was organized under the leadership of Rev. John Smolej 
and the Catholics of the community began to solicit funds and located the site for 
their new place of worship on Fifty-second and Sherman avenues. On the 6th of March, 
1908, the corner stone was laid and on the 27th of May, 1908, the church was dedicated 
by the Most Rev. Archbishop Messmer of Milwaukee. A parsonage also was built and 
under the leadership of the Rev. Mark Pakiz the work of the parish has been very 
successful. 



GEORGE STROH. 



George Stroh, of the Stroh Die Moulded Casting Company, with offices on the 
seventh floor of the Stroh building on Michigan street in Milwaukee, comes to the 
middle west from the Empire state, his birth having occurred at Jordan, New York, 
June 17, 1864. His father, George Strob, who was born in Markubel, Kurhessen, Ger- 
many, came to the United States when a lad of fifteen years and settled in Syracuse, 
New York. He was then an orphan and whatever success he achieved in life was 
attributable entirely to his own efforts and his strength of character. He married 
Sophia Kaiser, who was born in Elsberg, Nassau, Germany, and came to the United 
States when about seventeen years of age. They were married in Syracuse in 1863 and 
both have now passed away, Mrs. Stroh departing this life in 1900, while the death of 
Mr. Stroh occurred in 1905. 

At the usual age George Stroh became a pupil in the public schools of his native 
city and there mastered the work of the grades and of the high school. He afterward 
became a machinist's apprentice and learned his trade in Jordan, serving a term of 
three years. For ten years thereafter he was with the Straight Line Engine Company 
of Syracuse and won steady advancement while with that corporation until he had 
attained the responsible position of superintendent. He afterward resigned to accept 
the superintendency with the H. H. Franklin Company of Syracuse, with whom he 
continued for four years. He then turned his attention to the die casting business in 
Syracuse on his own account, there remaining for a year, after which he removed to 
Milwaukee in 1904 and here established the plant which he had brought with him 
from the east. He carried on the business independently for some time, having his 
plant in the Johnson Service building for six years. He then erected the Stroh build- 
ing, in which he is now located. The company manufactures white metal castings 
used by automobile manufacturers and telephone manufacturers and also produces 
talking machine novelties. They have a market that extends all over the United 




GEORGE STEOH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 71 

States and they also enjoy an export trade of considerable proportions. The business 
has been steadily developed under the care and direction of Mr. Stroll, whose labors 
have been an effective force in winning patronage for the house, while the excellence 
of their output has insured a continuance of the trade. 

Mr. Stroh has been married twice. On the 31st of May, 1888, he wedded Estella 
Harrington of Elbridge, New York, who died in 191S, leaving three children: Jessie, 
now the wife of Alfred Meier of Milwaukee; Pauline, the wife of Nathan Wood of 
Milwaukee and the mother of two children, Jane and John Wood; and Donald, who is 
now a student in the State Normal School. Mr. Stroh was married again October 20, 
1919, his second union being with Mrs. Nellie Merritt of Battle Creek, Michigan, a 
daughter of Henry Van Vranken of Union City, Michigan. 

Mr. Stroh has never taken an active part in politics but always votes with the 
republican party. He attends the Tabernacle Baptist church and he belongs to the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Yacht Club, the City Club and the Association 
of Commerce. He is a lover of music and he finds recreation in fishing, skating, 
swimming and motoring. He maintains a summer home at Oconomowoc Lake, where 
he has a beautiful residence and spacious grounds. His progressive spirit is further 
evidenced in the substantial business block which he erected in 1910 — a structure 
one hundred by one hundred and twenty feet and eight stories in height. It is of 
reinforced concrete and has as fine a class of tenants as can be found in any building 
in the city. The structure is thoroughly modern in every respect, is the best lighted 
building of its character in the city and is equipped with the latest conveniences. Mr. 
Stroh's workmen carry on their duties under ideal conditions in this building and the 
progressive policy followed by the founder leaves no doubt as to results attained. 



SIMEON HERDEGEN. 



Simeon Herdegen is prominent in the insurance circles of Milwaukee as manager 
of the Phoenix Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Step by step he has ad- 
vanced along the line of broadening opportunities and greater usefulness and Mil- 
waukee is proud to number him among her citizens. Mr. Herdegen was born in Rising 
Sun, Indiana, on the 5th of November, 1862, his parents being Adam and Barbara 
( Kress 1 Herdegen. His father passed away in 1876 after a long life of usefulness and 
successful attainments. He was born in Bavaria and when about twenty-one years 
of age he came to this country and followed his trade as baker. During the Civil war 
he was active in supplying the troops witli food, those stationed along the Ohio river 
in particular, and at the close of hostilities engaged in the conduct of a flour mill 
and general store in Aurora, Indiana, for years. He also carried on a general insurance 
business as a side line. Mrs. Herdegen was likewise born in Germany, being brought 
to the United States at an early day. Her parents located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 
and there she was reared and educated. 

Simeon Herdegen is indebted to the public schools of Aurora, Indiana, for his 
education and he was so engaged until the death of his father necessitated his advent 
into the commercial world. He assumed his father's insurance business and uncil 
1882 maintained that agency, at that time becoming associated with the Phoenix Insur- 
ance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, with headquarters in Cincinnati. Six months 
later saw his transfer to the loss department of the company and in 18S8 he was sent to 
Topeka, Kansas, as special agent. For one and one-half years he was active in that 
capacity and was then sent to Kansas City, where he remained for a like number of 
years, in addition to being special agent having entire charge of the local agency. His 
enterprise and ability led to constant promotion and in the spring of 1891 he was 
sent to Milwaukee as special agent for the state of Wisconsin. Subsequently, in 1917, 
he became manager, a position he still maintains, and he is likewise identified in that 
connection with the Equitable Fire & Marine Insurance Company of Rhode Island and 
the Connecticut Fire Insurance Company of Hartford. The success attained by Mr. 
Herdegen is the result of close application, thoroughness and intelligence and he is 
deserving of his creditable position in business circles. 

On the 22d of October, 1884, Mr. Herdegen was united in marriage to Miss Nettie 
C. Siemantel, a daughter of George Siemantel. Her father was born in Strassburg, 
Germany, and on coming to the United States with his parents established residence 
in Aurora, Indiana. There he engaged in the mercantile business and has won a 
gratifying amount of success. One daughter, Irma Louise, was born to the union of 
Mr. and Mrs. Herdegen and her death occurred when a junior in the University of 
Colorado at Boulder. She was a brilliant student and popular among the younger set 
and her death caused a feeling of deep bereavement to sweep the community in which 
she resided. 

Mr. Herdegen has always maintained an independent course in politics, voting 
for the man without regard for party principles. Both he and his wife are consistent 



72 HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 

members of the Calvary Presbyterian church and he is prominent in club circles as 
a number of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Blue Mound Country Club. In the 
line of outdoor sports Mr. Herdegen is partial to golf and motoring and these, together 
with music, form his favorite recreations. Mrs. Herdegen is likewise a lover of music 
and is a woman of culture and refinement, with most artistic tastes. Starting out on 
his own account in early life Mr. Herdegen soon realized that industry wins and in- 
dustry, therefore, became the beacon light of his life. All that he has accomplished is 
the result of energy and determination intelligently directed, and he is now one of the 
prominent insurance men in Milwaukee and throughout the state. 



HERMAN HENRY BLOEDEL. 

Inheriting the keen discernment and broad vision of his father, Herman Henry 
Bloedel has made use of every opportunity offered him and is today numbered among 
the representative business men of Milwaukee, being vice president of Bloedel's Jewelry, 
Inc. He is a native son of Milwaukee, where his birth occurred on the 1st of February, 
1872, his parents being Adam and Hannah (Strothenke) Bloedel. Adam Bloedel was 
born on the 18th of December, 1S42, in Oppenheim, Germany, a son of Henry and Annie 
M. (Laubenstein) Bloedel, both natives of that country. The family came direct to 
Milwaukee on landing in this country in 1854, and Henry Bloedel, who was a wagon 
maker and blacksmith by trade, won prominence along those lines, in which he was 
active until his death in 1880. His wife passed away in 1S94. Seven children were 
born to them, of whom two survive. Adam Bloedel began his education in the public 
schools of his native country and upon coming to Milwaukee completed his education 
here. At an early age he learned the jeweler's trade in association with Henry 
Upmeyer and Coxwell & Gin. In 1S68 he went into business on his account on a 
modest scale. His success in the venture seemed assured from the start, and he steadily 
enlarged his line until he became a manufacturer of fine jewelry. His first place of 
business was on the present site of the Iron block and it was conducted under the name 
of Bloedel & Mueller. When its growth necessitated removal to larger quarters, the 
firm located in the Caswell block, where for the next thirty years operation was suc- 
cessfully carried on. For fourteen years Mr. Mueller remained as junior member of 
the firm but in 1882 partnership was dissolved and business was continued under the 
name of A. Bloedel. In 1906, as the result of the tearing down of the Caswell block, 
the business was removed to the Plankinton House block but a year later the Plankin- 
ton was also torn down. For nine months Mr. Bloedel occupied quarters at 228 Grand 
avenue and then obtained possession of his present store at 215 Grand avenue. In 191S 
he incorporated the business under the name of Bloedel's Jewelry. On the 13th of 
January, 1866, Adam Bloedel was united in marriage to Miss Annie Strothenke, a 
daughter of Herman Strothenke of the town of Lake, having located in Milwaukee in 
1854. Her father came to this country at an early age from his native land of Germany. 
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bloedel, four of whom survive: Annie, Ida, 
Herman Henry and Amelia. Mr. Bloedel was always a stanch supporter of the repub- 
lican party, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Grace Lutheran 
church. Thrown upon his own resources in early youth, he overcame the many 
obstacles in his path and became a business man of ability, his dominant characteristics 
being pluck, energy and perseverance. From nothing he built a comfortable fortune, 
and both he and his wife had the sincere respect and love of the community in which 
they had made their home for many years. Mr. Bloedel died on the 2d of June, 1921, 
and in his passing Milwaukee lost a representative pioneer citizen. 

Herman Henry Bloedel, whose name initiates this review, is indebted to the public 
schools of Milwaukee for his education, and after completing a course in the Spencerian 
Business College he made his initial step into the business world. For three years he 
was in Chicago learning the jeweler's trade in connection with F. Lorenz and going to 
school a part of the time. In January, 1S93, he returned to his home in Milwaukee and 
entered his father's business, in the conduct of which he has since been active. He is 
vice president of the corporation, and his executive ability has proven a dominant 
factor in its continued success. 

On the 8th of April, 1896, Mr. Bloedel was united in marriage to Miss Adele Franck, 
a daughter of Mrs. Kate Franck of Milwaukee. The father of Mrs. Franck was 
Christian Hambech, one of the old settlers of the third ward who emigrated to this 
country at an early day. Mrs. Franck is a native of Milwaukee, and by her marriage 
has become the mother of five children: Walter Adam, Alice Lenore, Dorothy Franck, 
Henry Richard and Alice Katherine. The eldest son, Walter Adam, is now associated 
with his father's business. He received his education in the West Side high school and 
at the Spencerian Business College. After completing his studies he enrolled as 
student in the Bradley Corological Institute at Peoria, Illinois. Upon the outbreak of 
the World war he was quick to subordinate his personal interests and enlisted in the 




ADAM BLOEDEL 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 75 

aerial branch of the naval service, being for over nine months active in engagements 
in France. The second member of the Bloerlel family, Alice Lenore, like her brother, 
is a graduate of the West Side high school and is now a student in the University of 
Chicago. Previous to her entrance there she was enrolled in the Milwaukee Normal 
College. Dorothy Franck is now attending Downer College, and the two youngest 
members of the family, Henry Richard and Alice Katherine, are students in the 
Milwaukee public schools. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Bloedel has been a stanch supporter of the 
republican party but has never taken an active interest in politics. Fraternally he is 
a Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge. No. 265, of Milwaukee; Calumet Chapter, No. 73, 
R. A. M.; Wisconsin Council, No. 4; Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 24, K. T. ; and Tripoli 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Bloedel is likewise a Scottish Rite Mason, having 
attained the thirty-second degree. The religious faith of the family is that of the 
Lutheran church, in which religion he was reared. Mrs. Bloedel and children are all 
musically inclined and are well known in the city along that line. For recreation Mr. 
Bloedel turns to outdoor sports but his particular hobby is his business. Although 
becoming interested in a business already established he has succeeded, where many a 
man of even considerable resolute purpose, courage and industry would have failed, and 
he belongs to that class of American citizens who promote general prosperity while 
advancing individual interests. 



WALTER FREDERICK DUNLAP. 

An energetic business man whose success in life has been on a parity with his 
well directed endeavors is Walter Frederick Dunlap, vice president and general man- 
ager of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Incorporated. A native of Wisconsin, his birth 
occurred at Princeton on the 27th of October, 1S79, a son of Augustus E. and Jessie 
(Cooke) Dunlap, both natives of Wisconsin. The father was born on his father's farm 
in Auroraville and in later life became a lawyer of note. For many years he engaeed 
in practice in Ripon and likewise held the offices of county clerk of Green Lake 
county and city judge for a number of terms. He was a veteran of the Civil war, hav- 
ing volunteered his services at the age of nineteen years. He served throughout the 
conflict with the Wisconsin troops. Mrs. Dunlap, who was born in Princeton, is now 
residing in Thomasville, Georgia. Her father, Frederick W. Cooke, was engaged in 
stock buying in Green Lake county, this state, and for four terms served as sheriff of 
the county. 

Walter Frederick Dunlap is indebted to the schools of Dareford and Ripon for his 
early education and after graduating from the high school in the latter place he entered 
Wayland University at Beaver Dam. While attending high school he worked for a 
real estate man, earning fifteen dollars a month, part of which he saved toward 
his university education. Upon putting his textbooks aside he became associated 
with an insurance company as office boy and after two years in that capacity received 
promotion to positions requiring more ability until at the time of his resignation he 
was state manager of the company. Subsequently he was associated with the Mutual 
Life Insurance Company of New York for some time and then became state agent 
for the Fidelity Mutual for a period of two years. It was about that time that he 
determined to enter the business world on his own account and as a result was ad- 
mitted to membership in the firm of Klau & Van Pietersom. Soon after his association 
with the firm the business was incorporated as the Klau-Van Pietersom Company, which 
name was changed five years later to its present style of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, 
Incorporated. This business was founded in June, 1906, by Anthony Van Pietersom 
and Gustave W. Klau, further mention of whom is made on another page of this work. 
Mr. Klau is president of the corporation, Mr. Van Pietersom, secretary-treasurer and 
Mr. Dunlap vice president and general manager. In advertising circles the business 
has achieved a national reputation and no small measure of its success is attributable 
to Mr. Dunlap. As general manager of the corporation he has demonstrated his keen 
business ability and genius for devising the right thing at the right time and is 
recognized as a most potent factor in the continued success of the business. The 
corporation handles the advertising for some of the largest concerns in Milwaukee 
and outside of this city has the patronage of nationally known concerns. 

On the 2d of May, 1900, occurred the marriage of Mr. Dunlap and Miss Edith 
Meyer, a daughter of August Meyer of Ripon. Her father is still residing there where 
for a number of years he has been successfully engaged in the manufacture of cigars. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have a daughter, Mildred Jessie, a student in Riverside high 
school. 

Since age conferred upon Mr. Dunlap the right of franchise he has followed an 
independent ionise in politics, giving his support to the man he thinks best fitted 
for the office, without regard for party principles. Reared in the faith of the Baptist 



76 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

church, he is now a consistent member of that body and fraternally he is identified 
with the Knights of Pythias, belonging to Garfield Lodge, No. 83, of Milwaukee and he 
is likewise a Mason, having membership in Kenwood Lodge. Socially Mr. Dunlap is 
a member of the Wisconsin Club, Athletic Club and Blue Mound Country Club and as 
a man ever interested in the improvement of the general welfare he is active in the 
affairs of the Rotary Club and the Association of Commerce. For recreation he turns 
to outdoor sports and is particularly fond of golf. His activity in business has not only 
contributed to his individual success but has also been an active factor in the develop- 
ment of the state and his more immediate community. He has ever discharged his 
duties with marked ability and fairness, for he is a most loyal, public-spirited citizen. 



LOUIS F. SCHECKER. 



Louis F. Schecker, who was well known in the business circles of Milwaukee for 
many years but departed this life on the 14th of May, 1921, was born in Leipzig, Ger- 
many, April 13, 1S55, a son of Heinrich and Louisa Schecker. His education was 
acquired in his native country and there he received business training prior to the 
time when he bade adieu to friends and native land and came to the new world in 
1876, being then a young man of twenty-one years. He made his way direct to Mil- 
waukee, where he became associated with the firm of Ramien Brothers, wholesale 
dealers in notions! Thus he made his initial step in the commercial circles of the 
city but utilized every opportunity for advancement subsequent to that time. Later, 
in company with Mr. Inbusch, he founded the Grafton Worsted Mills of Grafton, Wis- 
consin, and as the years passed his business affairs were wisely and carefully managed 
and controlled and brought to him a substantial measure of success. His steady ad- 
vancement was largely the result of his thoroughness, close application and inde- 
fatigable industry. He ever made his business his first interest and his life record 
illustrates what can be accomplished through individual merit and ability. 

In 1S76 Mr. Schecker was united in marriage to Miss Emma Inbusch, a daughter 
of John Gerhardt Inbusch. She passed away in July, 1892, and Mr. Schecker was 
married in June, 1894, to Miss Anna Breyman, a daughter of Otto and Sarah (Hodgson) 
Breyman, the latter a native of Yorkshire, England, while the father was born in 
Hildesheim, Germany. In early life he crossed the Atlantic, settling at Holland, Mich- 
igan. Mr. and Mrs. Schecker became parents of one son, Ralph, who is now the vice 
president of the Milwaukee Worsted Mills. He acquired his education in private 
schools, in the German-English Academy, from which he was graduated, and in 
Harvard University, which he attended for three years. He then entered the Milwaukee 
*Worsted Mills, of which his father was the head, and he has now become one of the 
officials, bending his energies to administrative direction and executive control. 

In the year 1912 Mr. Schecker went abroad with his family, touring Europe. He 
visited his old home and found much pleasure as well in going to other sections of 
the country. He was one of the founders of the Deutscher Club, now the Wisconsin 
Club, and he was also a member of the Cyclone Bowling Club. He enjoyed meeting 
with friends in these organizations, but he allowed nothing to interfere with his duties 
and responsibilities in a business way. In politics he usually voted with the republican 
party hut was somewhat liberal in his views and was never bound by party ties. Death 
called him on the 14th of May, 1921, and in his passing Milwaukee mourned a sub- 
stantial citizen — one who had contributed to its material development and the ad- 
vancement of its business activity, for his efforts were ever of a character that made 
for public progress as well as for individual success. 



GUSTAVE JOHNSON. 



Active and energetic, Gustave Johnson closely watches every opportunity for the 
attainment of legitimate success and has made constant progress since starting out. 
into the business world on his own account. He is now vice president, secretary and 
general manager of the Wisconsin Welding & Cutting Company, with headquarters at 
413 Sixth street. He was born in Milwaukee on the 6th of January, 1893, a son of 
Olaf and Jennie (Matthiesen) Johnson. Olaf Johnson was born in Norway and for 
years followed the sea, as captain. He brought his family to the United States in 
1868 and located in Milwaukee. His demise occurred at sea. Mrs. Johnson, also a 
native of Norway, makes her home in Milwaukee. 

In the acquirement of an education Gustave Johnson attended the Milwaukee 
public schools and after putting aside his textbooks worked in a chemistry laboratory for 
two years as an apprentice. He then went with the American Oxhydric Company and 
became thoroughly familiar with every phase of welding. He remained with that con- 




LOUIS F. SCHECKEB 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 79 

cern for five years, receiving constant promotion until he reached the position of 
superintendent. He was active in that capacity at the time of his resignation. For 
some time he was associated with C. H. Hausen and in 1914 embarked in business 
on his own account under the name of the Western Welding Company. He conducted 
that business successfully for one year, at the end of which time he consolidated with 
the Wisconsin Welding & Cutting Company, becoming vice president, secretary and 
general manager. The Wisconsin Welding & Cutting Company was founded in 1913 
and it has grown to be one of the largest enterprises of its kind in the northwest. The 
concern does general repair welding and manufactures welded articles such as pipe 
stands and trucks, and deals principally with garage supply houses, its business ex- 
tending throughout the United States. The splendid success of this business is attribut- 
able in large measure to the executive force, keen sagacity and discrimination of Mr. 
Johnson. E. M. Parmelee is president of the company and H. J. Mueller, treasurer. 

On the 28th of June, 1916, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss 
Olga C. Olson, the daughter of Stephen Olson of Milwaukee. He is a die and tool 
maker and one of the respected and representative citizens of the community. Al- 
though Mr. Johnson is interested in every movement for furthering the general welfare, 
he has never taken a particularly active interest in politics. His religious faith is in- 
dicated by his attendance at the Baptist church and fraternally he is affiliated with the 
Knights of Pythias, belonging to Lodge, No. 177, of Milwaukee and to Milwaukee Lodge, 
No. 46, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Johnson is also a member of the 
Association of Commerce. For recreation he turns to the great outdoors and is a 
great baseball fan, having played in a semi-professional capacity. He is also fond of 
motoring and frequently slips away from his business to make long tours. During the 
World war he was engaged in government work and did all in his power to aid the 
government in all of its undertakings. Mr. Johnson is one of the estimable citizens 
of Milwaukee who can always be depended upon to meet his obligations in both public 
and private life, as has been manifested during the period of his business activity. 



HUGH WILSON GUTHRIE. 



A prominent and representative citizen of Milwaukee is Hugh Wilson Guthrie, 
junior partner in the firm of Leenhouts & Guthrie, architects. He was born in Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, a son of Hugh Guthrie, a manufacturer of agricultural implements in 
Scotland. His grandfather, also named Hugh, had founded the business in Scot- 
land, it being of modest proportions but had won a widespread reputation for the 
excellence of its products. The mother of Hugh Wilson Guthrie was Mary Ann Wilson, 
whose demise occurred on the 23d of July, 1920, at the age of eighty-four years. She 
was likewise a native of Scotland, born in Ayrshire, a daughter of David Wilson, whose 
father, James Wilson, was a close neighbor and chum of "Bobby" Burns. 

Mr. Guthrie received a good education and in early life decided to become an 
architect. After the necessary amount of training and experience along that line he 
became a partner of Cornelius Leenhouts and together they established the firm of 
Leenhouts & Guthrie, architects. Further mention of the firm may be found in the 
sketch of Mr. Leenhouts appearing elsewhere in this work. Mr. Guthrie has proved 
himself to be a business man of ability, with keen insight and initiative, and his asso- 
ciation with the firm has been a dominant factor in its success. 

On the 14th of June, 1900, occurred the marriage of Mr. Guthrie and Miss Hilda 
Nilson, a native of Sweden who came to the United States and located in Chicago 
when a young woman. Three sons have been born to their union: James Nilson, was 
born in 1902 ancl is now in the office with his father; Hugh, a student at the Riverside 
high school; and Robert Borland, attending the Milwaukee public schools. Mrs. 
Guthrie is prominent in the club and social- circles of the city, where she is conceded 
a woman of magnetic personality and charm. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Guthrie has always maintained an independent 
course in politics but has never been particularly active. His religious faith is evi- 
denced by his membership in Immanuel Presbyterian church of Milwaukee. Fraternal- 
ly he is identified with the -Masons, belonging to Kenwood Lodge, No. 303, A. F. & 
A. M., of which he is a charter member; Wisconsin Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M.; Wisconsin 
Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templars; Wisconsin Council, No. 4, R. & S. M.; 
Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine; and he has attained the thirty-second degree of 
the Scottish Rite. He is likewise affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks. As a man interested in the moral and civic development and improvement of the 
community Mr. Guthrie is an active member of the City Club and the Association of 
Commerce and in line with his business he has membership in Wisconsin chapter, 
A. I. A. and is an associate member of the American Institute of Architects. Socially 
he is identified with the St. Andrew's Society and the Milwaukee Curling Club. Mr. 
Guthrie is a great lover of literature and outdoor sports and his home of three acres 



80 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

on the shore of Lake Michigan, ten miles north of Milwaukee, contains everything of 
that nature that could be desired. Swimming is the favorite diversion of the family. 
In the conduct of his business interests Mr. Guthrie has ever followed progressive and 
constructive methods, he takes a keen and active interest in civic affairs and his co- 
operation can at all times be counted upon to further any plan or measure for the 
general good. 



WILLIAM F. BORGES. 



William F. Borges, secretary and treasurer of the W. R. Sherin Company, is a 
native son of Milwaukee, his birth having here occurred September 27, 1871. His 
parents, Henry and Mary (Otting) Borges, were both born in Hanover, Germany. The 
mother came to Milwaukee about 1S45 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand 
Otting. Her father was a farmer who owned and cultivated land in the town of 
Granville. Henry Borges also came to Milwaukee with his father, Christopher Borges, 
his mother having died in Germany. Early in life he engaged in the sale of farm lands 
and became an authority upon acreage and also on the quality and value of the soil. 
He was one of the first to fill the position of commissioner of weights and measures 
and through his official duties and his business activities he became widely and 
favorably known, the sterling traits of his character winning him the high regard of 
many with whom he came in contact. 

William F. Borges acquired his early education in the parochial and public schools 
of this city and also attended Spencerian Business College. He started out to earn his 
living by working as an office boy with the firm of Dey & Friend, attorneys, and later 
he became associated with the firm of G. W. Ogden & Company, carriage manufacturers, 
taking up this line of work in 188S. He remained with the house for twenty years 
before they closed out, after which he became manager with the Grant Marble Company 
and acted in that capacity for two years. He then became identified with the W. R. 
Sherin Company in association with his brother, Arthur F. Borges, the concern being 
engaged in the building of automobile bodies and also conducting an automobile paint- 
ing and repairing business. The officers of the company are as follows: Arthur F. 
Borges, president; William F. Nevermann, vice president; and William F. Borges, 
secretary and treasurer. These three are most wisely, carefully and profitably directing 
the operation of their plant, which is today one of the largest of the kind in Wisconsin. 
With the development of the automobile trade their industry has constantly grown and 
they have proven themselves competent to meet every demand made upon them. 
William F. Borges is also the president and treasurer of the Borges-Baker Company, 
manufacturers of hardware specialties and patentees of the B. B. shears. 

In 1902 William F. Borges was married to Miss Emma Schroeder, a daughter of 
John Schroeder of the John Schroeder Lumber Company of Milwaukee. They became 
the parents of four sons, of whom two died in infancy, while those still living are 
John and Walter. The former is a student in the Culver Military Academy, while 
Walter is attending the Riverside high school. 

Mr. Borges maintains a beautiful summer home in a fifty-acre tract of virgin tim- 
ber on the Eagle chain of lakes in Wisconsin in addition to his residence in Milwaukee. 
He belongs to the Vehicle Manufacturing Association of Wisconsin and he has member- 
ship in the Association of Commerce. He is also a director of the Washington Park 
Zoological Society and a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Rotary Club, 
of the National Travel Club of New York and the Travel Club of America in New 
York. These associations indicate much of the nature of his interests and the source 
of his recreation. He likewise belongs to St. John's German Lutheran church and is 
a man whose sterling traits of character and high principles have ever commanded for 
him the confidence and honor of his fellows. During the World war Mr. Borges worked 
on every drive for funds and bonds, receiving the one hundred per cent certificate from 
the government in recognition of his services. He is widely known in the city in which 
his entire life has been passed and his business activities and social qualities have 
placed him in a position of prominence. 



JAMES JOSEPH McCLYMONT. 

The prosperity of any community, town or city depends upon its commercial 
activity, its industrial interests and its trade relations, and therefore among the 
builders of a town are those who stand at the head of the business enterprises. Since 
1919, when he organized the business. James Joseph McCIymont has been an important 
figure in the industrial circles of Milwaukee as president and treasurer of the McCIy- 
mont Marble Company, his plant being one of the largest of its kind in the United States. 




WILLIAM F. BORGES 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 83 

He is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred near Troy, on his 
father's farm, on the 25th of January, 1867, a son of James and Bridget (Enright) 
McClymont. The paternal grandfather, Samuel McClymont, was a prominent land- 
scape gardener in Scotland and in that country his son, James, was born and reared 
to manhood. In 1S49, however, at the age of twenty-seven years, James came to the 
United States and on arriving here first settled near Boston, Massachusetts. He subse- 
quently came to Wisconsin and located at Troy, where he resided until 1859, when he 
bought a farm on which he resided the remainder of his life. He was a veteran of the 
Civil war, having served in the Forty-Seventh Wisconsin Volunteers. Mrs. McClymont 
passed away in 1875. She was born near Limerick, Ireland, a daughter of Timothy 
Enright, who came to this country with his family about 1850, locating in' Walworth 
county, where he engaged in farming. 

James Joseph McClymont received his education in the Troy district schools and 
also in the night schools of Chicago and Kansas City. Subsequently he went into the 
marble and tile business, learning the trade of mechanic and when he was but nineteen 
years of age he was foreman over eighteeen men. His rise in the business world was 
rapid, due to his innate ability and his conscientious performance of every duty 
assigned him. He became estimator and finally general superintendent of the Fitze- 
Lohr Company of St. Louis, a large marble concern. He remained with that company 
until 1899, when he organized the N. 0. Nelsen Marble Works at Edwardsville, Illinois, 
and becoming its president and general manager was active in those capacities until 
1911. In that year he came to Milwaukee as president of the Grant Marble Company 
and he was head of that concern for eight years. In 1919 he organized his present com- 
pany, and became its president and treasurer. The concern deals in all kinds of 
interior marble, imported and domestic, and carries on a large wholesale and con- 
tracting business. Mr. McClymont has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a 
careful man of business and in his dealings is known for his prompt and honorable 
methods, which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellowmen. 

On the 28th of June, 1892, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McClymont to Miss 
Jessie C. Randall, a daughter of Frank Randall. Her father was a native of George- 
town, Kentucky, where he was a well known and successful undertaker. He was in 
active service during the Civil war, having served under General Price in the Con- 
federate army. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. McClymont, three children have been 
born: Alice, now the wife of Robert W. Falge, an electrical engineer of Cleveland, 
Ohio.; Jessie C, now a student in the University of Wisconsin; and James J., Jr., a stu- 
dent in the Riverside high school. 

Mr. McClymont has always maintained an independent course in politics and 
has never sought nor desired public office. His religious faith is evidenced by his 
attendance at the Grand Avenue Congregational church and fraternally he is a Mason, 
having membership in Lafayette Lodge, No. 265. For some time, when a resident of 
St. Louis, he was chairman of the congressional committee of his district. In the 
line of his business he belongs to the National Marble Dealers Association and was 
president of that body in 1918 and is now a director. Mr. McClymont has a watch 
which was presented to him by the association. He also holds membership in the 
Chicago Marble Dealers Association and as a man interested in any movement for the 
development and improvement of the community he is identified with the Association 
of Commerce. He finds his greatest recreation in motoring and is particularly fond 
of baseball. • He thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the society 
of his family and friends. 



PAUL GRAW. 



Since 1911 Paul Graw has been sole owner of the C. M. Gould Pharmacal Com- 
pany, which under his careful management has become one of the representative 
business interests of Milwaukee. Mr. Graw was born near La Crosse, Wisconsin, 
March 10, 1884, on his father's farm, a son of Peter and Amelia (Parsch) Graw, 
both of whom are deceased. The grandfather was John Graw, who came to this 
country sometime after 1860 and located near La Crosse, where his son, Peter, grew 
to manhood. Peter was born in Germany but came to this country at an early date 
and became identified with farming, building up a reputation along that line in the 
community. He possessed untiring energy and devoted himself unselfishly to the 
growth and development of the general welfare, holding numerous public offices. His 
death in 1918 came as a severe blow to his many friends. His wife's demise occurred 
in 1904. She was a daughter of John Parsch, a farmer near La Crosse, in which 
vicinity her birth occurred. 

Paul Graw received his education in the common schools of Monroe county and 
after graduating from Cashton high school with the class of 1900, he enrolled in 
the University of Wisconsin, from which institution he was graduated in 1906 with 



84 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the degree of Ph. G. Subsequently he worked one year for the United States govern- 
ment in the pharmaceutical department of the National Soldiers Home at Milwaukee 
and later became associated with the C. M. Gould Pharmacal Company as laboratory 
manager and chemist. From 1908 until 1911 he continued that association but in 
the latter year, determining to enter business on his own account, he bought out 
the company, which he has since operated alone. In the past ten years the business 
shows an increase of five hundred per cent and stands as a representative business 
interest of Milwaukee. Chemical and pharmaceutical products are manufactured by 
the company and are sold for the most part to medical and veterinary establishments, 
two traveling salesmen covering Wisconsin and the north central states. Pluck, in- 
telligence and perseverance have been dominant factors in the conduct of his business 
and as an energetic and progressive business man Mr. Graw's success in life has been 
on a parity with his well directed endeavors. 

On the 15th of June, 1910, Mr. Graw was united in marriage to Miss Lenore 
McCarthy, a daughter of John McCarthy of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. Her father 
was a native of this state and here resided until his death about 1907. To the union 
of Mr. and Mrs. Graw six children have been born: Robert, James, Kathleen, Helen 
Louise, Lawrence and William. The three eldest are attending the Milwaukee schools. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Graw has maintained an independent course in 
politics but has never been particularly active along political lines. The family are 
all communicants of St. Roberts Catholic church and fraternally Mr. Graw is an 
Elk, having membership in Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46. In the' line of his work he is 
active in the American Pharmaceutical Association and his hobby being chemistry 
he spends all of his spare time in research along that line. Mr. and Mrs. Graw reside 
at 504 Stratford court. 



JOHN H. MOSS. 
(By William George Bruce.) 

Through the propinquity of modern urban life the influences of our associates 
become a forceful factor in coursing our careers. To a very large degree our welfare 
is dependent upon the virtuous or vicious character of these influences; upon the noble 
or ignoble character of our associates. Influence is the medium through which per- 
sonalities affect one another. It is the force which character possesses and exerts. We 
fill our lives with the desire to get and to give influence. The propagation of desirable 
influences is the culmination of a pleasing personality. Pathetic, indeed, is the career 
of him who is unable to bestow these creative influences for good and is so devoid of 
friendships as not to receive them. 

Possessing those traits of character which make a personal appeal and allied in 
the common purpose of promoting civic welfare (he as president and I as secretary of 
the Merchants & Manufacturers Association of Milwaukee) the influences which first 
brought me into business relationship with the subject of this biography resulted in 
such close and continuous contact with Mr. Moss as to form a friendship as valuable 
as it has been pleasing. It was he who brought into prominent place the ethics of in- 
dustrialism as a proper phase of associated commercial activity. Men ally themselves 
in organizations that they may share in one another's aims, desires, visions and labors 
and they are in harmonious accord when they work in unity for a common interest. 
An organization owes its strength and stability not so much to its formal creation as 
to the confidence and cooperation of men who share in the beliefs and ideals of its 
aims, in a conviction of its usefulness, its essentialness and its destiny. These were 
the issues emphasized in Mr. Moss' labors as leader of Milwaukee's commercial 
organization and they gave to it a strength and cohesiveness which built for laudable 
purposes. 

The birth of my friendship for the character portrayed in this sketch was through 
the instrumentality of our mutual endeavors for civic, social and industrial better- 
ment as actuated by the rctivities of the Merchants & Manufacturers Association, the 
aims and purposes cf which appealed to both of us. As pleasant as was the birth of 
this friendship, so pleasant has been its uninterrupted continuance during the past 
twenty years and it has grown in depth ?nd strength as it has grown in years. It 
thus becomes a pleasing privilege to here record something of the career and activities 
of John H. Moss and to acknowledge the power for advancement he has been in this 
community. 

It is not an easy task to describe with any degree of exactness the exceptional 
character combinations of Mr. Moss and the unique place he fills in the life of the 
community. The writer, who has known him intimately for many years, would say 
that he is at once a captain of industry and a scholarly gentleman. But that does 
not complete the description. While he possesses a grasp of the intricacies of factory 
production he manifests also a remarkable power and skill in literary production. 




JOHN H. MOSS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 87 

We have here a business man with a magnificent hobby or, if you will, a professional 
man with a penchant for business. While his vocation is readily told in the one word, 
manufacturer, it would be difficult to describe in one word with equal aptness his 
inclinations unless we employ the word, education. 

As an orator he excels. In fact, among his contemporaries he has no rival. In 
beauty of imagination, in a mastery of English diction, and in fluency and eloquence 
of expression he is a peer. He not only manages to hold his audiences spell-bound 
in a discussion of serious problems but also entertains them with his rare wit and 
delightful humor. The writer, who has listened to him on numberless occasions, has 
never seen him fail in winning his audiences by humorous stories and shafts of wit 
and then sway them by the power of his logic and the mastery of his oratory. He is 
constantly in great demand by civic, social and commercial organizations throughout 
the northwest as a speaker on topics dealing with the ethics and philosophy of life. 

Mr. Moss is of English descent. His paternal grandfather, Robert Moss, born in 
England in 1802, was a Methodist minister at Reading, Berkshire, England. His paternal 
grandmother, Hannah Griffin, was also of English extraction. The couple had two 
children, Charles H. Moss and a daughter who died in infancy, and two adopted children, 
Elizabeth Meakes and Thomas Salt. They came to the United States in 1855. Robert 
Moss died at Waukesha in the year 1886, at the age of eighty-four. The paternal grand- 
mother, Hannah Griffin Moss, died in 1869 at Little Pinery, near Plainfield, Wisconsin. 

The father of John H. Moss was born in Reading, Berkshire, England, December 
13, 1828, received his early education in his native city and his business training in 
London. He preceded his parents in coming to the United States, arriving in New 
York during September, 1848. Soon after he located at Athens, Pennsylvania, and 
later established himself at Buffalo. Prom there he removed to St. Charles, Illinois, 
remaining there three years, and on January 21, 1857, he went to Chicago and soon 
after to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where he became interested in the lumber business. 

Charles H. Moss arrived in Milwaukee on January 3, 1860, becoming connected 
with a saw and planing mill, assuming soon after the foremanship of a basket factory 
operated by Judd & Hiles, at the corner of Reed and South Water streets. The estab- 
lishment was removed in 1866 to the corner of West Water and Clybourn streets and 
was known as the Cream City Sash, Door, Blind, Box and Patent Basket Manufacturers, 
but was destroyed by fire five years later. Mr. Judd then engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness and Mr. Hiles went into the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds. Here was 
the inception of the company of which John H. Moss is now in charge — the Rockwell 
Manufacturing Company. The plant was located at the corner of Park street and Sixth 
avenue and after admitting Charles H. Moss and Henry H. Rockwell as partners in 
1872, was conducted under the name of John Hiles & Company. When Mr. Hiles lost 
his life on the Steamer Ironsides a reorganization of the business was effected whereby 
Caspar M. Sanger, Charles H. Moss and Henry H. Rockwell became partners under the 
name of Sanger, Rockwell & Company, in the year 1874. 

In 1893 Mr. Sanger retired and the present corporation, the Rockwell Manufactur- 
ing Company was formed with Henry H. Rockwell as president, Charles H. Moss as 
vice president, Fred W. Rockwell as treasurer, George Donald as secretary and Charles 
A. Radcliffe as superintendent. Mr. Donald and Mr. Radcliffe withdrew in 1897 and 
Henry H. Rockwell died March 7, 1901. Charles H. Moss then became the president 
and continued in that position until his death in 1903. From the time of his arrival 
in Milwaukee he remained here, with the exception of four years spent in Waukesha 
and thirteen years in California. 

In 1856 Charles H. Moss was married to Miss Elizabeth Barton. They had two chil- 
dren: Charles H. Moss, Jr., born at Stevens Point, Wisconsin, January 21, 1858, and 
a daughter who died soon after birth in 1860, at which time the mother also died. 
On October 16, 1869, at Milwaukee. .Mr. Moss married Cordelia Angenette Churchill- 
Allard. widow of William Allard. This marriage was blessed with four children: John 
H. Moss, born March 7, 1871; Marshall C. Moss, born April 15, 1872; Antoinette Moss, 
born February 2, 1878, and a daughter horn December 20. 1876, who died a few months 
later and was buried at Waukesha. Bion Adelbert Allard, the son of Mr. Moss' second 
wife, was adopted by Mr. Moss on March 8, 1880. 

Charles H. Moss died April 16th. 1903, at Los Gatos, California, at the age of 
seventy-four. In the early '80s he had gone to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for his health. 
One night, watching a large hotel fire he contracted a severe cold which developed into 
rheumatism, from which he never recovered. He visited the Hot Springs in New 
Mexico and Carlsbad, Germany, in search of health. His remains are buried at the 
Forest Home cemetery in Milwaukee. 

Mr. Moss' mother was descended from old New England stock. Tracing Mr. Moss' 
maternal ancestry back to 1814 his maternal grandfather, Daniel Churchill, son of 
Zenos and Almira Castle Churchill, was born on October 22 of that year in Caledonia 
county. New York. He married Antoinette Joslyn in 1837, and died near Sycamore, 
De Kalb county, Illinois, in 1845. 

Antoinette Joslyn, born March 16, 1821, married Daniel Churchill in 1837. This 
marriage resulted in the birth of two children; Orphanie Louisa Churchill, who died 



88 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

when two and one-half years old, three weeks after her father passed away; and 
Cordelia Angenette Churchill. After the death of her husband, Daniel, in 1845, the 
widow married Joseph Chesebro on April 8, 1S47. Their children, in the order of 
their ages, were Orptianie, Lorinda and Lorenzo. Antoinette Joslyn ChurchillChesebro 
died in Cortland, De Kalb county. Illinois, in 1905. Joseph Chesebro died in Wellman, 
Iowa, and was buried near Cortland, Illinois, on February 28, 1907, beside his wife. 

Cordelia Angenette Churchill was born August 19, 1S40, in De Kalb county, Illinois. 
She was descended from old New England stock. Her maternal grandfather was 
Phineas Joslyn. whose birth was about 1794, probably in the state of New York. Her 
maternal grandmother was Lorinda Woodruff-Joslyn who was probably born in Vermont 
about the year 1797. Her paternal grandfather was Zenos Churchill, who was born 
March 12, 17S4, probably in New York state and died about 1874 when over ninety years 
of age. Her paternal grandmother was Almira Castle, who was about four years 
younger than her husband and who was also probably born in the state of New York. 

The marriage of Zenos Churchill and Almira Castle resulted in the birth of eight 
children who, in the order of their birth, were: David, Daniel (father of Cordelia 
Angenette Churchill ), Ann, Castle, Sally, Almira, Zenos and Enos. 

Cordelia Angenette Churchill married William Allard on Monday December 18, 
1855, in Pampas township, De Kalb county, Illinois. One child was born of this 
marriage on March 12, 1861, named Bion Adelbert Allard, in De Kalb county, Illinois. 
William Allard was wounded by a rebel sharpshooter while engaged in the construc- 
tion of breastworks near Dallas, Texas, and died on April 22, 1864, at that place. As 
hereinbefore noted Cordelia Allard was united in marriage to Charles H. Moss in 
1869. at Milwaukee. Since the death of her husband in 1903 Cordelia A. Moss has re- 
sided at San Jose, California. 

John Hiles Moss, the principal subject of this sketch, received his early training 
in the public schools of Milwaukee and at Carroll College, Waukesha. After graduating 
from the East Side high school in 1889 he entered the University of Wisconsin, 
taking the civic historic course, and later the law course, and was given the degree 
of B. B. L. in June, 1893. He also took a postgraduate course under Prof. Richard T. 
Ely in banking and economics. 

While in the university he took an active interest in the Athenae Debating Society 
and for two successive years delivered its annual toast. Interesting himself in news- 
paper work he became one of the editors of the University Badger, the annual publica- 
tion of the Junior class. He also reported for the Madison State Journal, the Mil- 
waukee, Chicago and New York papers and was local dramatic critic for the New York 
Dramatic Mirror. Much of his writings appeared in Judge, Puck, Truth and Vogue 
during the early '90s. 

Having been associated with a cadet military company and the Light Horse Squadron 
Trumpet Corps while in Milwaukee. Mr. Moss became adjutant of the University 
Battalion, Colonel H. J. McGrath sending his name to the United States war department 
at Washington, D. C, which, in case of enlistment, would entitle him to the rank of 
lieutenant. 

Upon leaving the university Mr. Moss spent six months in traveling through the 
western states and in June, 1894, commenced the practice of law in Milwaukee. This 
was continued until March, 1901, when, upon the death of his father's business asso- 
ciate, Henry H.' Rockwell, he connected himself with the Rockwell Manufacturing 
Company. He became treasurer of the corporation in 1901, was elected vice president 
in 1904 and superintendent in 1911. which three offices he has since continuously held. 

On September 8, 1S97, at Milwaukee, he married Grace Horton King. They had 
one child. Walter King Moss, born October 22, 1898. Walter's education was obtained 
at the public schools of Milwaukee, Carroll College at Waukesha, and the University 
of Wisconsin. He is now publicity manager for The City Bank of Milwaukee. Grace 
Horton King Moss died at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Interested in civic affairs, he served on the public affairs and legislative com- 
mittees of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association of Milwaukee; later was 
elected a member of its board of directors, served two years as its vice president, and 
in 1908 was elected president of the Association. 

Mr. Moss was actively interested in the organization of the Milwaukee Aero Club 
in the winter of 1907-8; served on its first board of directors, and was its first presi- 
dent. Several successful flights were made with Major Henry B. Hersey as pilot. 

Mr. Moss is a member of the Milwaukee Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club, Milwaukee 
Press Club, Milwaukee Bar Association, Kiwanis Club, Psi Upsilon Greek Letter 
College Fraternity, Phi Delta Phi, a law school fraternity, and is a thirty-second degree 
Mason. He is a director and vice president of The City Bank and is a regent of 
Marquette University. During 1920 he was district trustee of the Kiwanis Club for 
the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District and in January, 1921, was elected governor 
of that organization for the same district. 

Mr. Moss received the Symbolic degrees of Free Masonry in Excelsior Lodge No. 
175, as follows: Entered apprentice, March 8, 1899, Fellowcraft March 29, and master 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 89 

Mason, April 26. He at once petitioned for the degrees in Wisconsin Chapter No. 7 
and on June 5, 1899, was made a Mark Master. He received the past and most ex- 
cellent on June 12 and was exalted to the Royal Arch on June 19 of that year. In 
Templar Masonry Mr. Moss received the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross on August 
15, 1S99, and the order of the Temple and of Malta on August 22, in Wisconsin 
Commandery No. 1. In the fall of the same year he received all of the grades in the 
Scottish Rite bodies from the fourth to the thirty-second, inclusive, and was made a 
Noble of Tripoli Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. Mr. Moss is also a member of Kilbourn 
Council No. 9. Mr. Moss served the Commandery in most of its offices and was eminent 
commander in 1906. During the same year he was high priest in Wisconsin Council 
Princes of Jerusalem, and deputy grand master and M. E. and P. K. Junior warden in 
Wisconsin Chapter of Rose Croix. For several years he has presided over the thirty- 
first degree of Wisconsin Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Mr. Moss occupied 
all of the appointive and elective offices in Tripoli Temple and presided over that 
body as Illustrious Potentate in 1906. 

During the late World war Mr. Moss was engaged in the activities of the several 
drives, made many patriotic speeches throughout the state and was prominent as one 
of the Four-Minute men, the talks delivered in the last named work having been 
published in book form, a copy of which was requested for the State Historical Library. 
Mrs. Moss devoted her time during the war period to Red Cross work and as a member 
of the Motor Corps. 

Thus we find in the history of Mr. Moss the education and training which de- 
veloped a combination of talents fitting him for a variety of activities. Successful at 
first as a practicing attorney and later as the executive of a large manufacturing in- 
dustry he also found opportunity to devote considerable time to civic affairs and 
altruistic efforts. In each line of activity he has evidenced a comprehensive view of 
fundamental essentials which has made him a leader in all he has undertaken. In the 
constructive upbuilding of civic and social thought the community owes Mr. Moss 
a debt not easily discharged. 



WILLIAM E. FOX, M. D. 



Dr. William E. Fox, a physician and surgeon, with offices in the Goldsmith build- 
ing at No. 141 Wisconsin street, was born in Milwaukee, March 29, 1880, and was 
the third in order of birth in a family of five sons and two daughters, whose parents 
were Dr. William and Xarcissa (McDill) Fox, both of whom have departed this life. 
The father was also a physician, well known throughout Milwaukee by reason of 
his valuable professional activity. He was born in Oregon, Dane county, Wisconsin, 
and had reached the age of fifty-three years when he passed away on the 12th of 
April, 1897. His widow, who was born in Pennsylvania, survived him for an extended 
period, her death occurring November 12, 1920. The family is of Irish lineage on 
the paternal side and of Scotch descent through the maternal line. The mother's 
father was Dr. Alexander Stewart McDill, who was born in Pennsylvania and who 
throughout his life was a physician, practicing medicine for a time in Dane county, 
Wisconsin, while at another period he was superintendent of the Southern Insane 
Hospital at Mendota. Wisconsin. He likewise took an active and prominent part in 
political affairs and for two terms was a member of congress from the Madison (Wis.) 
district. His only son, Dr. John Rich McDill, also became a well known physician 
and is now associated with the surgeon general's office in Washington, D. C. 

Dr. William E. Fox has spent his life in Milwaukee and, being descended in 
both lines from representatives of the medical profession, it is not strange that he 
turned to this calling as a means of livelihood. In the acquirement of his preliminary 
education he was graduated from the East Side high school and later became a student 
in Marquette Academy, while subsequently he spent three years in Notre Dame Uni- 
versity at South Bend, Indiana. There he was graduated with the Bachelor of Science 
degree in 1899 and while attending that school he played on the famous Notre Dame 
football team and also was a member of the baseball and the track teams. In prepara- 
tion for his professional career he spent three years as a student in Rush Medical 
College in Chicago and then returned to Milwaukee, where he studied for another 
year in the Marquette Medical College and was graduated with the M. D. degree in 
1904. He put his theoretical knowledge to the practical test by serving as interne 
in St. Mary's Hospital for a year, thus gaining the broad and valuable experience 
which hospital work brings. Since 1905 he has engaged in general practice in Mil- 
waukee and has made a creditable name and place for himself as a physician and 
surgeon. He gave to his country the benefit of his professional service during the 
World war, being connected with the army for eighteen months as a first lieutenant 
in the United States Medical Corps at Camp Riley, Kansas. 

In 1907 Dr. Fox was married and has four children, a son and three daughters, 



90 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

all in school. In religious belief he is a Roman Catholic and fraternally he is con- 
nected with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. 
He is also a charter member of the Marquette Alumni Association and is a member of 
the American Legion. In professional lines his membership connection is with the Mil- 
waukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Tri-State 
Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is fond of outdoor sports, 
especially baseball, football, motoring, fishing and golf. He acts as club physician 
to the Milwaukee baseball team. 



HERMAN J. RADEMACHER. 

Herman J. Rademacher, president and general manager of the Cream City Casket 
Company, his business establishment being located at Thirty-second and Cherry streets 
in Milwaukee, was born in Achen-on-the-Rhine, Germany, January 13, 1878, a son of 
Joseph and Elizabeth (Derichs) Rademacher. The family came to Wood county, 
Wisconsin, now known as Wisconsin Rapids, in 1881. The family moved to Milwaukee 
in 1891 and has since been represented in this city. The father was engaged in the 
leather business, conducting both a wholesale and retail store and remaining an active 
factor in the commercial life of the city to the time of his death, which occurred in 
191S. The mother is still living. 

Herman J. Rademacher was three years of age when brought by his parents to 
America, obtaining his early education in the public schools of Wood county. His 
first employment was in a casket factory as a trimmer, which vocation he followed 
for many years. In this line of work his experience is large and varied, as he was 
employed by many of the largest manufacturers throughout the country. In 1903 he 
established the Cream City Casket Company in a small way and has developed it until 
it is today a large business, now occupying a three-story brick building, one hundred 
and thirty by one hundred and twenty feet. He employs an average of about fifty-five 
people and has won substantial success in the conduct of his enterprise, which was in- 
corporated in 1907, with Mr. Rademacher as president, William Rademacher, vice 
president and Edwin Baier, secretary-treasurer. The company specializes in the manu- 
facture of wood covered caskets and jobs a complete line of undertakers' supplies. Five 
traveling salesmen cover a large territory. 

Mr. Rademacher was married June 28, 1907, to Rose Biechler of Random Lake, 
Wisconsin, and they reside at No. 473 Fortieth street. Mr. Rademacher is a member 
of the Elks Club and also of the Kiwanis Club and is most widely and favorably known 
in Milwaukee, where he has established himself as a progressive and representative 
business man and as a substantial citizen, interested in all that pertains to the welfare 
and progress of the community and commonwealth. 



CORXELIUS LEENHOUTS. 



Cornelius Leenhouts, member of the firm of Leenhouts & Guthrie, prominent and 
well known architects of Milwaukee, is descended from an old French family who 
made their home in that country in the sixteenth century. They were Huguenots, 
members of the Reformed or Calvanistic communion of France, who were noted in 
general for their austere virtues and the singular purity of their lives. During the 
reign of Francis I and his immediate successors they suffered constant persecution. 
After the massacre of St. Bartholomew, on the 24th of August, 1572, three brothers 
of the Leenhouts family escaped and took refuge in Holland. It was in that country 
that Cornelius Leenhouts, the father of our subject, was born in 1815, and for many 
years followed farming in connection with his father. In 1847 he came with his 
parents to the new world and located in Milwaukee. He was a broad and liberal 
minded man. He passed away in 1893. His wife was, before her marriage, Elizabeth 
Beckens, and her death occurred in 1891. She was born in Ostberg, Zeeland, Holland, 
and came to the United States at the same time as her future husband but not on 
the same sailing vessel. They met and were married in Milwaukee county. 

Cornelius Leenhouts is indebted to the schools of Milwaukee for his education. 
He made his initial step into the business world as a student in the office of W. H. 
Parker, a graduate of Cornell University. For three years Mr. Leenhouts remained 
in that office, becoming thoroughly familiar with every phase of the business and 
then associated with James Douglas for a like period of time. For two years he was 
actively identified with E. T. Mix & Company, architects of the Mitchell building. 
Chamber of Commerce, St. Paul depot and other well known structures and his con- 
stant application and ability soon won for him recognition in architectural circles. 
In 1892 he was employed in construction work at the World's Fair in Chicago, having 



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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 93 

charge of the working drawings of the Agriculture and Transportation buildings. In 
1897 he determined to enter business on his own account in Milwaukee and three 
years later formed a partnership with Hugh Wilson Guthrie, of whom further men- 
tion is made elsewhere in this work. The business is conducted under the name of 
Leenhouts & Guthrie and has become a leading architectural firm in Milwaukee and 
throughout the state. Their first offices were located at 102 Wisconsin street but 
their business grew to such extensive proportions as to necessitate removal to larger 
quarters and in 1913 they established themselves in offices at 424 Jefferson street, 
where they are still located. They have gained widespread reputation for their re- 
liability and their work expresses a keen appreciation of architectural beauty and 
in construction the utmost attention is given also to comfort and convenience. The 
Y. M. C. A. building on Fourth street, the Grand Avenue Methodist Episcopal church 
and many other churches in the city and state, the Kenwood Masonic Temple and 
other Temples in the state, the House of Correction and about thirty large apartment 
houses, among which is the Blackstone, stand as examples of their work. 

On the 6th of June, 1898, occurred the marriage of Mr. Leenhouts and Miss Jennie 
Ouwenweel, a daughter of William Ouwenweel, a native of Holland. He won promi- 
nence as a tailor in Milwaukee and was a representative citizen of the community. 
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leenhouts: Sarah Elizabeth, Marian 
Naomi, and Willis Cornelius. Mrs. Leenhouts takes a prominent and active part in 
the club and social affairs of the city and both she and her daughters are members 
of the Eastern Star. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Leenhouts has given his support to the democratic 
party and holds to the teachings of Henry George, an American writer on political 
economy and sociology, of whom he is a great admirer. His religious faith is indi- 
cated by his membership in the First Reformed church of Milwaukee and fraternally 
he is identified with the Masons, holding membership in Kenwood Lodge, No. 303, 
A. F. & A. M., of Milwaukee, Kenwood Chapter, R. A. M., Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 
24, Knights Templars; and he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish 
Rite. He is likewise a member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine and of the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. As a man always interested in the develop- 
ment and improvement of the general welfare, Mr. Leenhouts is a member of the 
Association of Commerce and the City Club, of which latter organization he is a 
charter member, and in the line of his profession he is a member of the Wisconsin 
Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and an associate member of the 
national organization. He is also a director of the Y. M. C. A. and has always been 
interested in outdoor sports. He has cultivated his artistic ability to a high degree 
and has done some painting. The entire family are extremely fond of music. A 
hearty welcome is always extended their friends at their home at 836 Marietta avenue 
and they are classed among the representative citizens of Milwaukee. 



MICHAEL SEEBOTH. 



Michael Seeboth, secretary and treasurer of the Seeboth Brothers Company, Inc., 
was born in Breitenbach, Germany, on the 12th of November, 1851, a son of Adam 
and Katherine (Faulbier) Seeboth, both natives of the village where their son was 
born. For centuries the Seeboth family resided in that community where they were 
representative and highly esteemed citizens. The father, Adam Seeboth, passed away 
in 1895. For many years he was engaged in the mercantile business in Breitenbach 
and in 1868 he arrived in the United States with his brother, John, coming direct to 
Milwaukee. His father was Michael Seeboth. Mrs. Seeboth was the daughter of 
Franz Faulbier, a merchant of Breitenbach, and her marriage was celebrated in the 
old country. She came to Milwaukee in 1872 and her demise occurred on the 4th 
of December, 1872, just three months after locating here. 

Michael Seeboth received his early education in the parochial schools of his native 
country and after putting his textbooks aside learned cigar-making. He was active 
at that trade for two and one-half years and after three years in the German army 
came to Milwaukee, arriving here in 1873. Here he resumed his cigar-making, in 
which trade he continued successfully, until 1878, when he, in association with his 
brothers, founded the present business, conducting it under the name of Michael 
Seeboth & Brothers. In 1893 they incorporated the enterprise under the present name 
of the Seeboth Brothers Company, Inc., Albert S. becoming president of the concern 
and Michael, secretary and treasurer. The third brother, Adam, passed away in 
1895. The company deals in scrap iron and scrap metals and buys and sells through- 
out the United States. Mr. Seeboth is thoroughly American in spirit and interests 
and is a typical citizen of the present day, alert to every opportunity and recognizing 
the fact that in this day of close competition, strenuous effort must be put forth to 
achieve the success which is worth while. 



94 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

On the 25th of November, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Seeboth to Miss 
Josephine Hauswirth, a daughter of George Hauswirth, a baker of Milwaukee. Her 
father was born in Baden, Germany, and came to this city when about thirty-five 
years of age, in 1852. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Seeboth: Sister 
Leona, of Notre Dame convent, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where she teaches in 
St. Mary's College; Albert M., manager of the Albert G. Seeboth Company, making 
wiping, waste and cotton batting; Cecilia, the widow of Alfonso Cassel, an under- 
taker, who passed away in 1916; Henry, manager of the Milwaukee Bronze Castings 
Company; Katherine and Magdalene; Adam, now attending the agricultural school at 
Wauwatosa; and Corinne, a student in the West Side high school. 

For over forty years Mr. Seeboth was a stanch democrat but he is now an inde- 
pendent republican. Although he is alive to the duties and responsibilities of a good 
citizen he does not seek public preferment but furthers the interests of his community 
by a strict attention to his business affairs. The family are consistent communicants 
of St. Mary's Catholic church and fraternally Mr. Seeboth is identified with the Family 
Protective Association, Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, St. Pius Society, and the St. 
Vincent de Paul Society. Being a representative business man, Mr. Seeboth is a 
member of the Association of Commerce and his aid may always be counted upon in 
furthering any movement for the development and improvement of the general wel- 
fare. The hope that led Mr. Seeboth to leave his native land and seek a home in 
America has been more than realized. He found the opportunities he sought and 
making the best of these, he has steadily worked his way upward. His career is 
identified with the history of Milwaukee and he is an honored and respected citizen. 
Mr. and Mrs. Seeboth reside at 293 Eleventh street. 



SARKIS H. KASH, M. D. 



Dr. Sarkis H. Kash, physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, was born in Armenia, 
September 6, 1892, and was reared in his native land, where his parents spent their 
lives. The father was a merchant of that country and is now deceased. The mother 
is still living. Dr. Kash, one of a family of four sons and one daughter, is the only 
one in the United States. He was reared to the age of twenty years in his native 
country and in 1912 came alone to the new world. Ambitious to enter upon a pro- 
fessional career, he matriculated in the medical department of the University of 
Michigan at Ann Arbor and was a student there from 1913 until 1917, when he was 
graduated with the M. D. degree. Immediately afterward he came to Milwaukee and 
spent a year as interne in the Milwaukee Hospital, while subsequently he was for 
a year house physician and surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee. Since 
1919 he has been engaged in general practice and he enjoys the distinction of being 
the only Armenian physician in the state of Wisconsin. He has made excellent use 
of his time, talents and opportunities in preparation for the profession and in the 
performance of his professional duties, and his practice is steadily growing. He will 
do postgraduate work in London in 1922. 

Dr. Kash is a member of the Armenian church and he belongs to the Masonic 
fraternity, also to the City Club and to the Wisconsin Players, a dramatic organiza- 
tion. He is likewise a member of the Business Men's Club and of the Young Men's 
Christian Association and he finds his recreation largely in music and reading. A 
laudable ambition brought him to the new world in young manhood that he might 
enjoy the opportunities here afforded and, steadily working his way upward by reason 
of merit and ability, he has gained a creditable position among the younger physicians 
of his adopted city. 



OTTO BORCHERT. 



Otto Borchert. sportsman and successful business man, was born in Milwaukee 
on the 12th of August, 1874, and is a son of Frederick Borchert, Jr., who was a 
pioneer brewer of Milwaukee. The latter was born November 2, 1845, in Mecklenburg, 
Germany, son of Frederick Borchert, Sr., and was associated with his father in the 
brewing business, under the style of F. Borchert & Son. For a considerable period he 
was identified with the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce. He came to this city with 
his parents from Germany in 1S48 and continued his residence here to the time of his 
death, which occurred February 19, 1906. He was a brother of Ernst Borchert, late 
vice president of the Pabst Brewing Company, and a brother of the late Charles 
Borchert, who was a prominent member of the Board of Trade. Frederick Borchert, 
Jr., married Miss Barbara Neubauer. who was born in Milwaukee, a daughter of Franz 
Neubauer, and she is still living here. 











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HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 97 

Otto Borchert, whose name introduces this review, acquired his education in the 
public schools and in Engelman's Academy. He started out in the business world as 
an employe of the firm of B. Young & Son, saddlery dealers, with which he remained 
for two years, and for a similar period he was connected with the firm of Goll & Frank. 
He also spent three years with the Wisconsin Milling Company under General Otto 
H. Falk, was later identified with the Wisconsin Telephone Company and for twenty 
years was a traveling salesman for the Julius Andrae Sons Company. On the 1st of 
January, 1920, he was made president of the Milwaukee Ball Club, having always taken 
a great interest in the national game and other manly outdoor sports. He has con- 
tinued as president and displays excellent ability in the management of the club. He 
and his associates bought the Milwaukee Ball Club from Hugh Brennan and Clarence 
Rowland on the 1st of January, 1920, and Mr. Borchert has been at the head of the 
organization since, giving the club two highly successful seasons. He greatly enjoys 
boxing and was instrumental in giving Jimmy Wilde, England's mighty atom, his first 
opportunity to show his skill in the United States. Mr. Borchert is also the president 
of the Cream City Athletic Club and is vice president of the Peoples Power Company of 
Westgate, Iowa. 

On the 24th of December, 1899, Mr. Borchert was married to Miss Idabel Ruby 
Wilmot, a daughter of Henry Mitchell Wilmot of Milwaukee, who is a teacher of 
stenography and commercial methods and is still living in this city. Mrs. Borchert 
was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and was brought to Milwaukee when but three years 
of age. By her marriage she has become the mother of a daughter, Florence Mila 
Borchert, who is now attending the public schools of this city. 

Mr. Borchert has always maintained an independent political course, voting for 
men and measures rather than party. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, of 
which he is a life member, and also to the Association of Commerce, while fraternally 
he is identified with the Masons and the Elks. He is a believer in clean sport and 
holds to high standards in the management and control of all sporting events. 



CLARENCE ALBERT GUNDERSEN. 

Clarence Albert Gundersen is the youngest bank cashier in the city of Milwaukee. 
Left an orphan at the age of eight years, he spent ten years of his life in an orphan 
asylum and was thrown upon the world at the age of fifteen years, with no assets 
but stanch courage and the determination to win for himself an honorable position. 
Milwaukee is proud to call him a native son. for he was born in this city on the 
20th of June, 1896, a son of Gunder and Emma (Waall) Gundersen. His father was 
a native of Christiania, Norway, and his mother of Hamburg, Germany. Her demise 
occurred in 1904. Mr. Gundersen has three brothers, Russell and Herbert of Mil- 
waukee and Hans of Portage; also two sisters, Mrs. Paul Ohst and Mrs. Eric Ohst, 
both residents of this city. 

Clarence Albert Gundersen received his education in the Milwaukee public schools 
and also received some private training. Upon the completion of his education lie 
entered the employ of the Second Ward Savings Bank as messenger, serving in that 
connection for a period covering two years. He remained in the employ of that bank 
for seven years, winning constant promotion until he became receiving teller, in 
which position he was active at the time of his resignation. In April, 1918, he 
enlisted in the United States Merchant Marines, with which he served until the 
signing of the armistice closed hostilities, when he returned to Wisconsin and located 
in Portage, where he became assistant cashier of the First National Bank. Two 
years later, on the 1st of June, 1920, he returned to Milwaukee and became associated 
with the Milwaukee Commercial Bank as general utility man, in which capacity he was 
active but ten days when he was made cashier. This bank is a state institution and 
was founded on the 7th of June, 1919. It has a capital stock of one hundred thousand 
dollars and in the two years of its existence has accumulated' a surplus of ten thou- 
sand dollars and undivided profits amounting to ten thousand dollars. Alfred Kay 
is president of The institution. The position of prominence that .Mr. Gundersen oc- 
cupies in the financial circles of his native city has been won by earnest, self-denying 
effort and he is rightly entitled to the proud American title of self-made man, for 
all that he is today is tin- result of intelligently directed effort and the will-power to 
surmount all obstacles, no matter how great. 

On the 24th of April, 1920, occurred the marriage of Mr. Gundersen to Miss Ingred 
Marie Gundersen, a daughter of Annun Gundersen, a native of Norway and now a 
resident of Milwaukee. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. 
Gundersen has given his political support to the republican party but he is not active 
in political affairs. Both he and his wife belong to the Lutheran church of the 
Ascension in Milwaukee and fraternally he is identified with the Masons, having 
membership in Fort Winnebago Lodge. No. 33, of Portage. Mr. Gundersen is too 

Vol. Ill— 7 



98 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

busy to take much interest in social life, outside of that afforded by his family, and 
he therefore belongs to no clubs in this city. Although now but twenty-five years 
of age he has gained substantial success and in addition to a town residence at 46tJ 
Thirty-first street, has a summer home at Pewaukee Lake. 



WILLIAM O. VILTER. 



Among those who have been prominently connected with Milwaukee's commercial 
history in the making is William O. Vilter, who is the secretary and treasurer of the 
Vilter Manufacturing Company and who in all that he has undertaken has manifested 
a spirit of marked progress and enterprise. While success has been the ultimate goal 
of his business endeavor, he has yet found time for activity in various other fields 
and his social prominence is the result of unfeigned cordiality and deep interest in his 
fellowmen. He was a youth of nine years when he first knew Milwaukee — upon his 
arrival from Germany, his native land. His birth occurred in the grand duchy of 
Oldenburg. February 12. 1S62, his parents being Christian and Elise (Meiners) OH 
manns, whose family numbered four sons and a daughter: Anton, deceased; William 
O. ; Theodore 0., mentioned elsewhere in this work; Gustave; and Helen. The last 
two died in Germany in early childhood and the father passed away there, leaving the 
little family to the care of the widowed mother, who afterward became the wife of 
Ernst Vilter, long a prominent and honored resident of Milwaukee. It was in 1871 
that the family crossed the Atlantic to the new world and Ernst Vilter became one of 
the partners in an enterprise devoted to the manufacture of machinery. He continued 
to make his home in this city until his death in 1888, his widow surviving him for 
almost a quarter of a century, or until the 9th of February, 1912. In 1900 and again in 
1908, in company with her son. William O., she had made an extended trip through 
Europe. By her second marriage she had one child, Emil Vilter, who is now president 
and superintendent of the Vilter Manufacturing Company. 

With the arrival of the family in Milwaukee. William 0. Vilter resumed his edu- 
cation, which had been begun in the schools of his native country, and here he attended 
the German-English Academy and also ward schools of the city, completing a thorough 
course of study by graduation with the class of 1879. 

Opportunity has ever been to William O. Vilter a call to action— a call to which 
he has made ready response. Alert and energetic, he has improved the opportunities 
which have come to him and step by step has aJvanced in his business career until 
he is today one of the dynamic forces in the commercial circles of the city. He knows 
what he wants and he gets it. He made his start as an employe of the hardware firm 
of William Frankfurth & Company and after a year entered the employ of Edward 
Barber, a res] estate dealer, with whom he continued for two years. His association 
with the present business covers a period of forty years, his initial position being 
that cf bookkeeper and correspondent with the firm of Weisel & Vilter, of which his 
father was the junior partner, and with the incorporation of the business in 1886, 
under the style of the Weisel & Vilter Manufacturing Company, he became the secre- 
tary. Following his father's death in 18S8 he was elected treasurer of the corporation 
and has continued as secretary and treasurer to the present time. In March, 1893, 
the name was changed to the Vilter Manufacturing Company and this is today one of 
the oldest existing enterprises of Milwaukee, having been established in 1867. Their 
business is the building of ice-making and refrigerating machinery, improved Corliss 
engines and machinery for varied lines and special purposes. Their plant is one of 
the largest of the kind in the country and its product is sold throughout the world. 
The corporation enjoys a reputation for progressiveness, thorough reliability and 
enterprise — a reputation which has been won in no small measure through the efforts 
and the high standards of William O. Vilter of this review. He is an excellent executive 
and his administrative ability has been a definite factor in the constant growth and 
development of the business. He not only studies the problems of his individual enter- 
prise but also the questions that affect the trade of the country and is a member of 
the American Association of Ice and Refrigeration, an organization of concerns and 
people interested in such industries. At the present time he is serving as chairman of 
its finance committee. 

On the 12th of October, 1910, Mr. Vilter was married to Miss Elfriede Best, who w^as 
born and reared in Milwaukee, a daughter of Emil Best, one of the pioneer residents 
of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Vilter have a son, William B., born March 16, 1912. 

While Mr. Vilter has always maintained an independent cour-e in politics, he has 
nevertheless been an active supporter of many worthy civic enterprises leading to the 
development and upbuilding of the city and to the promotion of its business interests. 
In the Association of Commerce, of which he is a valued member, he has served with 
capability on the committee on manufacturers and for several years has acted as 
its chairman. He is a member of the entertainment committee. He has also been a 




WILLIAM 0. VILTER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 101 

director of the Citizens' Business League for many years and this organization is now 
merged with the Association of Commerce as one of its departments. He has likewise 
served as president of the Milwaukee Manufacturers & Dealers Club, but his attention 
has been by no means confined to those things which have to do only with the material 
development of Milwaukee. For a third of a century he has been identified with the 
Milwaukee Musical Society, belongs to the Milwaukee Gymnastic Association and is 
a charter member and one of the incorporators of the Pine Lake Yacht Club. He is 
also a popular member of the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Wisconsin Club, the Mil- 
waukee Athletic Club, the City Club and the Town Club. His friends — and they are 
legion — bear testimony to a genial disposition, a pleasing personality and many sterling 
traits of character and account him one of the popular residents of the city. His 
position as a representative business man has long been established and he is one who 
never fails to reach his objective. 



SAMUEL BERNHARD JACOBSON. 

One of the best known men of the city, respected and honored for his conservative 
methods and sound business judgment, is Samuel Bernhard Jacobson, resident manager 
of the National Bond & Investment Company. He was born in Russia on the 1st of 
May, 1892, a son of Julius and Lottie (Max) Jacobson. In 1896 they came to America 
and made their home in Chicago, where the father won success as a shoemaker. His 
death occurred in that city in 1900. Mrs. Jacobson passed away in 1903. Her father, 
Jacob Max, was also born in Russia and came to this country, locating in Durham, 
North Carolina, where he lived until his demise. He was a successful farmer and 
merchant. 

In the acquirement of an education Samuel Bernhard Jacobson attended the Jewish 
Training School in Chicago and upon the death of his mother, being left an orphan, 
he removed to Durham, North Carolina. He liter enrolled in the schools of Norfolk, 
Virginia, and after putting his textbooks aside became office boy for the New York, 
Pennsylvania & Norfolk Railroad. For three years he was connected witli that road 
and when he severed his connections he had been serving as chief rate clerk for 
siime time. In 1910 he went to Chicago and studied law in the office of his brother. 
Lewis F. Jacob. Subsequently he became traffic manager of the Lord & Bushnell 
Lumber Company, with headquarters in Chicago, and at the end of one and one-half 
years he turned to the insurance business as sub-agent for his brother, A. I., who 
was a representative of the New York Life Insurance Company. He was active along 
that line for a year and in 1915 obtained a position as salesman for the Great Northern 
Manufacturing Company, selling aluminum products. His territory was the state of 
Missouri and during the year in which he was so employed he built up a large trade 
for the house. Finally he became an employe of the National Bond & Investment 
Company and in 1917 he was placed in charge of their automobile securities depart- 
ment in Chicago'. Later he removed to Detroit, Michigan, where he established 
offices for the company. On the 1st of May,. 1918, he put all personal interests aside 
and enlisted in the United States navy, serving until February, 1919. As petty officer 
and yeoman he had charge of the officer's mess hall of the Twelfth Regiment at the 
Great Lakes Naval Station. After receiving his honorable discharge he returned to 
Detroit and resumed his duties with the National Bond and Investment Company's 
branch office, which he had established there. In February of the following year he 
was transferred to Milwaukee and given his present position as resident manager. 
The National Bond and Investment Company was founded in 1906 and handles com- 
mercial paper. It has eight branch offices in the principal cities of the United States, 
with the home office in Chicago. Mr. Jacobson has become one of the representative and 
valued employes of the firm and his business record indicates what may be accomplished 
when, with a will to dare and to do, the individual sets himself resolutely to the tasks 
of life and lets no opportunity pass by unheeded. The Wisconsin office has developed 
a business of three million dollars a year. M. M. Rothschild, a grandson of Nelson 
Morris of Chicago i president of the National Bond & Investment Company and he 
is one of the most democratic and hard working millionaires in the country. John L. 
Little, the secretary, is one of the able financiers of the United States and he has made 
an international study of the financial field in which this company is engaged. His 
knowledge and ability have won him widespread recognition as the dean of all discount 
houses. 

On tin- 18th of September, 1921, occurred the marriage of Mr. Jacobson to Miss Alpha 
Betty Wirtb. daughter Of Henry Wirth. Mr. Wirth was born in Germany and is now 
living retired in Milwaukee. Since attaining his majority Mr. Jacobson has given his 
political allegiance to the republican party, although he has never been prominent in its 
activities. He is a member of the Temple B'Ne Jeshurun of Milwaukee and 
fraternally he is identified with the Masons, having membership in Bee Hive Lodge, No. 



102 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

909, of Chicago, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In the latter order he be- 
longs to Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46. As a veteran of the World war he holds member- 
ship in the American Legion, Charles A. Larned Post, No. 1, of Detroit, Michigan, and 
he is a men;ber of the Milwaukee Y. M. C. A. He is a great lover of athletics and he is 
particular. y fend cf baseball, football and track events. Mr. Jacobson is one of Mil- 
waukee's estimable citizens, who can always be depended upon to meet his obligations 
in both public and privi te life, as has been manifested during the period of his resi- 
dence. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson reside at 360 North Park Front. 



GEORGE MARTIN. JR. 



George Martin, Jr., whose name is indelibly engraved upon the pages of Mil- 
waukee s commercial history, was born October 29, 1S44, in the Village of Horn, near 
Simmern, (Hunsriick) in the Rhine province of Germany, and was the eldest son of 
George and Marie Katherine (Martin) Martin. He came to this country with his 
parents, the family making their way direct to Milwaukee in 1852, and here George 
Martin, Jr., continued to reside uninterruptedly to the time of his death. He acquired 
his education in the parochial school connected with Grace Lutheran church, better 
known to old settlers as Muehlhaeuser's church. He also attended the public schools 
and was graduated from Larabee's Commercial College. At the age cf fourteen years 
he was sent to Burlington, Wisconsin, to learn the carpenter's trade, but owing to the 
death of the uncle with whom he lived, he remained in Burlington for but six months 
and then returned to Milwaukee. He next entered the employ of Daniel Chapman, to 
learn the tanner's trade and continued in that connection for three years, when he left 
his position to become an employe cf William R. Taylor, well known as a sheepskin 
tanner on the Rock River canal, now Commerce street. 

In 1865 Mr. Martin erected a tannery of his own and conducted the tanning busi- 
ness under the firm name of George Martin & Son, taking his father, George Martin, 
Sr., into partnership. This relation was continued until 1885, when the father retired, 
and the business was then conducted under the name of George Martin, Jr., until 1891, 
when, together with his four sons, he organized the George Martin Leather Company, 
of which corporation he was the president from the day of its inception until the day 
of his death, managing the business with skill and rare good judgment and with sub- 
stantial success, leaving his heirs a well established business with a splendid reputa- 
tion for honesty and fair dealing. For years the George Martin Leather Company had 
a widespread reputation for making high-grade calf leather, but later the company 
devoted its attention to tanning and finishing side leathers according to the high 
reputation associated with the Martin product. While George Martin, Jr., began 
tanning in a small way when he started business on his own account, he soon mad* 
friends and invited confidence which enabled him to borrow needed capital, which, how- 
ever, he was soon able to repay, owing to the constant increase of his business. The 
leather which he manufactured was of excellent quality, his courage was enduring and 
he was aided by degrees by his four stalwart sons. 

On the 19th of October, 1865, Mr. Martin was married to Miss Laura Geissel, a 
daughter of Edward and Louise (Gieselmann) Geissel. Thirteen children were born 
to this happy couple, of whom three daughters and two sons died in infancy. There 
are living foui sons — George E., William A., Albert P. and Charles A.: and four 
daughters: Henrietta Laura, who is the wife of Charles E. Beck of Oak Park, Illinois; 
Ella Louise, the wife of William J. Knecker of Oak Park; Ida Marie; and Laura 
Elizabeth, the wife of Jerome H. Zimmermann of Milwaukee. 

Mr. Martin and his family were members of Grace Lutheran church, where for 
forty-eight years he was active as a deacon, and for twenty-five years he served as 
president of the congregation. He was one of the most earnest and conscientious 
workers in the church. "Wherever a service was to be performed he was the first one 
to offer aid," said his pastor, Rev. Carl Gausewitz, ;vho paid fitting tribute to his 
memory. For many years he was a member of the Arminia male choir of this church 
He represented Grace Lutheran church on the board of trustees of the Union cemetery 
from January, 1899, and served as its president from January, 1914. He was there 
honored for his sturdiness of character, his wise and just counsel and his diligent 
efforts to promote the welfare of the organization. The Old Settlers Club of Mil- 
waukee county numbered him among its members and during the days of the old 
volunteer fire department he was a member of Oregon Fire Company, No. 3, whose 
fire engine house was located on Third, near Vliet. Later on this was Fire Com- 
pany, No. 2. A lifelong supporter of the republican party, he was active as a mem- 
ber of the ward committee of the first ward, in which he lived the greater part of his 
life, removing to the eighteenth ward in 1900. Isaac W. Van Schaick, R. C. Spencer, 
William P. McLaren, Judge George H. Noyes, August F. Gallun. Chris Dexheimer, 




GEORGE MARTIN, JR. 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 105 

Julius Goldschmidt and other old-timers were his associates on the first ward com- 
mittee. 

Mr. Martin is survived by his widow, four sons and four daughters, four daughters- 
in-law, three sons-in-law, nineteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, these 
being ten granddaughters, nine grandsons, four grandsons-in-law and one grand- 
daughter-in-law. There are also four great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter. 
He also is survived by two brothers. Paul and Henry Martin of St. Paul, Minnesota, 
and three sisters: Margaret, who is the wife of William Berlandi; Nettie, the wife of 
Philip Kloman of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Katherine, who gave her hand in marriage 
to Joseph Thorp of Milwaukee. He left to his family the most precious heritage a man 
can confer — a priceless name and the impress of his splendid character, enriching them 
with the example and memory of a useful career and with the value of an honorable 
name. His death is a great loss to his family, his many friends and to the community 
in which he passed his long and useful life. His friends knew him as a genial, whole- 
souled companion who was the sunshine of any assembly in which he moved. His 
personal qualities, his genial and happy disposition, commanded for him the friend- 
ship as well as the respect of all who came into contact with him. He was 
a just and generous employer and never had a serious misunderstanding or disagree- 
ment with anyone who was so fortunate as to be in his employ. He did much for 
charity and for benevolent institutions in a very quiet way and the poor and needy 
always found in him a friend. Such was his business and social career. There was 
nothing spectacular in it or in his nature, for his entire career was that of a quiet, 
respectable, honorable, dignified and useful character. His life record covered a period 
of seventy-six years — years full of activities and usefulness, difficult to excel. His 
family and friends will find the greatest consolation in the consciousness that death came 
to him after he had rounded out the Psalmist's allotted span of threescore years and 
ten, each day marking off work successfully accomplished and good deeds performed. 
A modern philosopher has said: "Not the good that comes to us, but the good that 
comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success," and judged by 
this standard George Martin, Jr., was a most successful man. 



FRANK ARTHUR GUSHING SMITH. 

Frank Arthur Gushing Smith, a landscape architect of high professional capability 
and well earned reputation, is now located in Milwaukee, where he has won a liberal 
and extensive patronage and much of the attractive beauty of the city is attributable to 
his planning and skill in the line of his chosen profession. He comes of English 
ancestry, his grandfather having been Isaac B. Smith, a native of England, who was 
the founder of the family in the new world, having at an early day established his 
home in Wisconsin. His son, Albert William Smith, was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, 
and is now living in Wauwatosa, having charge over eastern Wisconsin for the Pillsbury 
Flour Mills Company. He wedded Mary E. Cushing, who was born on her father's farm 
in Brookfield county, Wisconsin, being a daughter of John H. Cushing, whose birth 
also occurred in Brookfield county. 

Frank A. C. Smith, whose name introduces this review, obtained his education in 
the Wauwatosa public schools until graduated from the high school, with the class 
of 1904. He then continued his studies in the Milwaukee Normal School, from which 
he was graduated in 1906 and through the two succeeding years he was employed in 
the Wisconsin National Bank, first as a messenger and afterward as a bookkeeper. In 
1908 he entered Cornell University and was graduated in 1912 with the Bachelor of 
Science degree. He there received a scholarship for Harvard University and in 1914 
he completed Ms studies at the classic old institution in Cambridge, with the degree 
of Master of Landscape Architecture. In the meantime, however, or in 1913, he was 
called to the University of Illinois as instructor in landscape architecture and was 
associated with that institution of learning until January, 1916, when he accepted a 
call from Massachusetts to take charge of extension work in civic improvement for 
the commonwealth, with headquarters at the Massachusetts Agricultural College at 
Amherst. There he continued until, feeling that he owed his greatest duty to his 
country, he enlisted in the air service in October, 1917, at Springfield, Massachusetts, 
and was called to active duty in December, being sent to Kelly Field at San Antonio, 
Texas. He was afterward in the Air Service Training School at Columbus, Ohio, 
where in March, 191S, he received a commission as second lieutenant. He was then 
sent to Carlstrom Field at Arcadia, Florida, and was afterward transferred to Camp 
Gorden near Atlanta, Georgia, a school for personnel officers. After a month he was 
returned to Carlstrom Field as personnel adjutant of the field and was recommended 
for a captaincy in the air service by the adjutant general's department, but the 
armistice was signed before the commission was issued. He remained at Carlstrom 
until September, litis, and was then transferred to the Air Service School for radio 



106 HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 

operators at Austin. Texas, and at that point acted as personnel adjutant for the school. 
He was likewise paymaster and commanding officer of the various squadrons on the 
field and was honorably discharged at Austin, Texas, January 20, 1919. While at 
Carlstrom Field he was trained in flying and did a great deal of actual flying there. 

When the country no longer needed his military aid Mr. Smith returned to Wis- 
consin and on the 1st of April, 1919, opened offices in Milwaukee and Chicago for the 
practice of landscape architecture and town and city planning. The Chicago office is 
located at 166 West Jackson boulevard, and the Milwaukee office is in the Colby-Abbot 
building. Mr. Smith is now in charge of a town planning project for the Kimberly- 
Clark Company, paper manufacturers of Kimberly, Wisconsin, including a new hun- 
dred-acre addition to the village, a large park, a complete sanitary sewage disposal 
system, water supply system and other improvements for the village of Kimberly. He 
has also been placed in charge of the architectural work at Kimberly, including housing 
accommodations for three hundred additional families, also the erection of a large com- 
munity building, public school building, park buildings and other public buildings. 
He is also designing an extension of eighty acres to the village of Niagara, Wisconsin, 
including public utilities and regrading and resurfacing of streets in the older sections 
of the village. 

Mr. Smith's professional activities have altogether been of a most important as 
well as extensive character. He was retained by the city of Manitowoc as city planner 
in charge of the development of Lincoln Park, a public park of one hundred acres, 
also the fifth ward athletic field, and the seventh ward children's playground. At 
Saginaw, Michigan, he has been retained by a group of people constituting a private 
corporation to develop a tract of one hundred and twenty-five acres into acre tracts or 
larger to be used for high grade residential development. His well earned reputation 
also brought to him a contract from Traverse City, Michigan, where as representative 
of a corporation he is laying out a complete summer resort, including residential and 
park development, together with a golf course of eighteen holes and public gardens 
with about two miles of water front park. His professional services have been retained 
at Kapuskasing, Ontario, as consultant upon a new townsite for a paper mill town 
for the Spruce Falls Company, Ltd. This will cover about six hundred acres, supplied 
with all the public utilities, parks and playgrounds. In 1914 Mr. Smith received a 
medal and honorable mention as the only American competitor in an international 
town planning competition for the city of Dublin, Ireland, prizes for which were 
offered by Lord and Lady Aberdeen. His fame has thus gone abroad and his name 
stands as a synonym for the most advanced standards in city planning throughout 
the United States. ' 

In October, 1921, Mr. Cushing Smith was invited by the Art Institute of Chicago to 
deliver a series of lectures and demonstrations in various large cities of the United 
States, in connection with the Better Homes Institute conducted by the extension de- 
partment of the Art Institute. 

In each of the cities visited, Mr. Cushing Smith showed by means of colored slides 
taken from cities both in the United States and abroad, practical suggestions which 
applied to the city planning problems of the city in question and outlined for the 
citizens what details make up a comprehensive city plan. These recommendations 
followed extensive trips about the city with interested citizens, members of city 
planning commissions, and other influential men and women, and were the result in 
every case of a careful study of the existing plan in comparison with the plans and 
accomplishments of many other cities. 

The following cities were visited: Chicago, Cleveland. Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, 
Youngstown, Dayton, Louisville, Milwaukee, Detroit, South Bend, Indianapolis, Cin- 
cinnati, Columbus, St. Louis, Des Moines and Denver, Colorado. 

In the Better Homes Institute, Mr. Cushing Smith also delivered an address on 
"What to do with a Fifty-Foot Lot," showing by means of a model and the gradual 
development of the lot, the house and garage location, the flower gardens, bird gardens, 
vegetable gardens, lawns, shrubs and trees, the chicken yard and hotbeds. By means 
of colored slides he left a lasting impression of the close relation between the land- 
scape architect and the architect in the design of the house and the layout, orientation 
and views from the lot. and gave much inspiration toward home ownership and im- 
provement of its setting and surroundings. He was also instrumental in securing 
excellent architectural exhibitions from the local architects in the cities visited. 

On the 12th of September, 1917, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Helen Louise Han- 
son, a daughter of Jacob Hanson, a wholesale cheese dealer of Neenah, Wisconsin. 
Her father was born in Denmark and was brought by his parents to the United States 
when a child. He is now living retired from active business and makes his home in 
Redlands, California, but is still financially connected with the banks at Neenah. Mrs. 
Smith is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, in which she completed her course 
with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1915. She specialized in dietetics and home 
economics. She possesses much talent as a designer and has done excellent water 
color work. She is also a pianist and a vocalist of much ability, but does not take 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 107 

any public engagements. Mr. Smith is also a lover of music and for years played in 
orchestras and bands, performing on the flute, piccolo and piano. He studied with 
Edward Johnston on the pipe organ and has been church organist in Sage Chapel at 
t'ornell University in Mr. Johnston's absence. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son, 
Frank Cashing, born in Milwaukee, July 7, 1920. The parents are members of the 
Underwood Memorial Baptist church of Wauwatosa, in which subur',' they make their 
home. Mr. Smith is a republican in politics and is well informed on tne questions and 
issues of the day, but never active as a candidate for office. He belongs to the American 
Legion. He is a member of the University Landscape Architects Society, belongs to 
the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Civic Association, the 
Rotary Club and the City Club of Milwaukee and the City Club of Chicago. He is fond 
of all manly outdoor sports and athletics and particularly enjoys hunting and fishing 
trips but never allows these things to interfere with the faithful performance of his 
professional duties. Actuated by a most laudable ambition he has steadily worked 
his way upward in his chosen calling and his work as a city planner has added much 
to the development in beauty and improvement of various cities of the middle west. 



PHILIP ANGUS FOX. M. D. 



Dr. Philip Angus Fox, well known as a representative of the medical profession and 
also as a native son of Milwaukee, was born April 2, 1S79. not far from his present 
office, which is in the Goldsmith building on Wisconsin street. He is the second son of 
Dr. William Fox, formerly a prominent physician of this city, where he practiced for 
many years, or until the time of his death in 1897. He was born in Madison, Wiscon- 
sin, June 30, 1844, and in preparation for his professional career attended Rush Medi- 
c?l College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1869. He then practiced in 
Madison, this state, until 1878, after which he came to Milwaukee. The family has 
largely followed medical practice, for the grandfather of Dr. Philip A. Fox was Dr. 
George Fox, also a successful physician. He was born in County Meath, Ireland, and 
became a resident of Madison, Wisconsin, in 1S40. At least three generations of the 
family, therefore, have given their attention to this calling, which many regard as the 
most vital and important professional service that an individual can render to his 
fellowmen. The mother of Dr. Philip A. Fox bore the maiden name of Narcissa McDill 
and was born at New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1850. She was the daughter 
of Dr. Alexander Stuart McDill, also a physician, who practiced medicine at Stevens 
Point, Wisconsin, for many years and who for one term represented his district in con- 
gress. Later he became superintendent of the Wisconsin Insane Asylum at Mendota, a 
position which he was filling at the time of his demise in 1869. His only son is Dr. 
John R. McDill. formerly a prominent surgeon of Milwaukee and now a surgeon in the 
United States army, filling the position of assistant surgeon general of the United 
States. It will thus be seen that both the grandfathers of Dr. P. A. Fox were physicians, 
as was his father while his younger brother, Dr. William E. Fox, is likewise devoting 
his attention to medical and surgical practice, and the only brother of their father, Dr. 
Philip Fox, is a physician of Madison, Wisconsin, who has reached the age of eighty- 
two years. He was graduated from the Bellevue Medical College of New York city in 
1860 and during the Civil war served with the rank of captain in the Medical Corps of 
the United States army. Mrs. Narcissa (McDill) Fox, the mother of Dr. Philip A. Fox 
of this review, passed away in Milwaukee on the 12th of November, 1920. 

Philip Angus Fox, nephew and namesake of Dr. Philip Fox above mentioned, fol- 
lowed not only in his professional but also in his military footsteps and rendered serv- 
ice as a captain in the Medical Corps during the World war. In the acquirement of 
his education he had attended the University of Wisconsin for three years and thus in 
broad literary training laid the foundation upon which has been built the superstruc- 
ture of professional knowledge. His medical studies were pursued in Rush Medical 
College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1902. Immediately afterward he 
went to Manila in the Philippine Islands and there practiced his profession for three 
years, after which he spent a year in study in Berlin and Vienna. With his return 
to his -native country he located in Milwaukee in 1906 and through the intervening years 
has successfully practiced in this city. 

In 1908 Dr. Fox was married in Milwaukee to Miss Kate Burlock. who was born 
in Chicago, October 28, 1883, a daughter of William E. and Fannie (Allen) Burlock. the 
latter born in Milwaukee in 1854 and now a resident of this city, making her home with 
Dr. and Mrs. Fox. She was a daughter of William Allen, who came to Milwaukee 
from the state of New York in 1832, making the trip on foot, and the Allen family is 
today one of the oldest represented in Milwaukee. Dr. Fox and his wife have three 
children: William Burlock, ten years of age; Frederick Allen, aged seven; and Jane 
Curtis, a little maiden of four summers. 

Dr. Fox is very fond of reading and possesses an excellent private library. He be- 



108 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

longs to the Roman Catholic church and socially is connected with the Milwaukee Ath- 
letic Club. Along strictly professional lines his membership is with the Milwaukee 
Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical 
Society and the Tri-State Medical Society and he is likewise a fellow of the American 
Medical Association. He has constantly developed his powers in the line of his pro- 
fession and that the public has confidence in his skill and ability is indicated in the 
extensive practice accorded him. 



WILLIAM A. WING. 



William A. Wing president of the Brunlieb & Wing Company, Incorporated, auto- 
mobile experts of Milwaukee, was born in Rochester, New York, September 7, 1888, 
and is a son of Walter A. and Anna Wing. The mother died in 1891 and the father came 
to this city in 1901. 

William A. Wing pursued his early education in the district schools of the Empire 
state, and later continued his studies in Milwaukee, being a youth of thirteen years 
at the time of the removal of the family to this city. When his textbooks were put 
aside he learned the trade of a machinist and toolmaker and has since been active 
along these lines, working his way steadily upward as his knowledge and experience 
have increased. In May, 1919, he began the erection of the present building for the 
firm of Brunlieb & Wing and in August of the same year organized the Bruenlieb & 
Wing Company, Incorporated. They are automobile experts and do all kinds of paint- 
ing and enameling and also overhauling of machines. They likewise handle gasoline 
and oils, all kinds of accessories, and have a storage department in connection there- 
with. In this enterprise Mr. Wing is associated with W. J. Beinert, who is secretary 
of the company, and F. W. Brunlieb, who is the treasurer. The plant has a floor space 
of twenty-six thousand square feet and is capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars. 
The steady growth of their trade is due to their thoroughly reliable dealings, their 
superior workmanship and the unfaltering energy and enterprise of the men who are 
at the head. This is recognized as one of the growing business concerns of Milwaukee 
and throughout the entire year they give employment to twenty-five people. 

In July, 1910, Mr. Wing was married to Miss Elsa Andres. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with the Masons, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, 
and he is a member of Tripoli Shrine and also of the Modern Woodmen of America. 
His interests and activities, however, center upon his business, and as the result of his 
close application he stands today as a prominent representative of those connected 
with the automobile industry in Milwaukee. 



ALEXANDER CHARLES GRANT. 

A native of Scotland, Alexander Charles Grant, superintendent of agencies of the 
Prudential Insurance Company of America, with offices at 425 E. Water street, Mil- 
waukee, was born at the Braes of Gight, Fyvie Aberdeenshire, on the 28th of March, 
1865. His father, Peter Grant, was also born there and passed away in 1874. He had 
been reared for the ministry but in early life developed tendencies along another line 
and became a prominent contractor and builder. This branch of the family belongs to 
the celebrated Grant Clan. The mother of Alexander Charles Grant was Margaret M. 
Stephen, who passed away in 1918. She was a native of the same place as her husband 
and son and was a daughter of Alexander Stephen. 

The schools of his native town afforded Alexander Charles Grant an education 
until he reached the age of ten years, when he put his textbooks aside and went to 
work on a farm. He remained in that employment until he was eighteen, when for 
four years he served as an apprentice in the mercantile and drug business. The fol- 
lowing iiiree years lie was a journeyman and then, hearing of the wonderful opportu- 
nities offered in the United States, he determined to come to this country and as a 
result of his decision arrived here in 1889. He first located in Springfield, Illinois, 
where lie was connected with the Boston Store until August, 1891, when he became 
associated with the Prudential Lite Insurance Company and was stationed at Middle- 
town, New York. In November of the following year he was transferred to Milwaukee 
as assistant superintendent of Milwaukee district, No. 1. He has filled all of the 
official positions in Milwaukee and since 1904 has acted as superintendent. He has 
opened up seventeen offices in the state of Wisconsin and from 1904 to 1907 was in 
Brooklyn, New York, in charge of Districts Nos. 10 and 3, that state, as general agent. 
What he lias accomplished represents the fit utilization of his time, his talents and his 
opportunities and his Milwaukee district is the second largest in the country. 

On the 28th of March, 1905, occurred the marriage of Mr. Grant and Miss Charlotte 




WILLIAM A. WING 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 111 

Fa!k, a (laughter of Frederick Falk, a farmer of Bayfield, Wisconsin. The Falk family 
were originally from Norway. Three children were horn to Mr. and Mrs. Grant: 
Frederick Alexander, Millerd Stephen, and Dorothy Charlotte. Mrs. Grant is prominent 
and active in the club and social circles of the city. 

The political allegiance of Mr. Grant is given to the republican party, although he 
has never been actively interested and he neither seeks nor desires public office. His 
religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Calvary Presbyterian church and 
he is president of the board of trustees. He is a Mason, belonging to Oshkosh Lodge, 
No. 27, R. A. M.; Kilbourn Chapter, No. 1 of Milwaukee; and Wisconsin Commandery, 
No. 1, Knights Templars. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite 
and is a member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a Knight of 
Pythias, having membership in Oshkosh Lodge, No. 9. He is a prominent member of 
the Association of Commerce, St. Andrew's Society and the Tripoli Patrol, and is active 
in his identification with the Milwaukee Athletic, City, Tripoli Motor, Milwaukee 
'"Bowling on the Green," Milwaukee Curling, and Tripoli Golf Clubs, also the Stickney 
Club of Wauwatosa, the Stickney Curling Club and the Ozaukee Golf (Tub. Mrs. Grant 
is a member of the Beta Club. Mr. Grant possesses those qualities which make for 
personal popularity and he is deeply interested in everything that tends to promote civic 
progress and development, his influence at all times being on the side of advancement 
and improvement. During the World war he was active in all war drives and gave 
generously of his time and money. Mr. and Mrs. Grant reside at Fifty-seventh and 
Grand avenue, Wauwatosa. 



HUGO KOEFFLER. 



Prominent among the business men of Milwaukee is Hugo Koeffler, dealer in real 
estate and loans, with offices in the Trust Company building. A native of Milwaukee, 
his birth occurred on the 18th of June, 1862, a son of Charles A. and Sophie 
(Herrmann) Koeffler, both deceased. The father was born in Dietz, Germany, in 1S27 
and at the age of twenty-two years came to the United States and located in Mil- 
waukee. He was first employed by the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company and also 
worked for the first brewer in Milwaukee, a man by the name of Melms, who was 
the originator of the Pabst Brewery. Later Mr. Koeffler started in the distillery busi- 
ness on his own account under the name of Charles A. Koeffler. About 1870 he retired 
from the liquor business and thereafter devoted his time to managing his own estate. 
He passed away on the 27th of March, 1897. His wife preceded him in death, her 
demise having occurred on the 12th of February, 1S80. She was likewise a native of 
Dietz. Germany, where her marriage occurred. Four children survive them, the eldest 
being Louise, who is the widow of Theodore Luebben, formerly of the Meinecke Com- 
pany of Milwaukee, with which fii.m he was associated many years. In 1881 Mr. and 
Mrs. Leuhhen went to Germany, where his death occurred and she is now residing in 
Hanover, Germany; Hermine was the second in order of birth. She is the wife of 
Francis M. Baumgarten of Milwaukee, a retired chemist; Charles A. Koeffler, Jr., was 
for many years numbered among the prominent attorneys of Milwaukee but he is now 
living retired; Hugo, whose name initiates this review, was the fourth in order of 
birth. 

Hugo Koeffler received his preliminary education in the German and English 
Academy, then known as Englemann's, which school he attended until he reached the 
age of fifteen years, when he entered the Spencerian Business College, where he took 
a commercial course. Upon putting his textbooks aside he entered the business world, 
his initial step being made as correspondent of Ramien Brothers & Company, importers 
of yarns and notions, which association he maintained from 1879 to 1883. He then 
served that firm in the position of bookkeeper for some time and resigned to go to 
Europe, where he remained for about a year and then returned to Milwaukee. For 
the next two years he was bookkeeper for the Wisconsin Glass Company and in 1887, 
upon deciding to enter business on his own account, he opened up offices and became 
a real estate and loan dealer. He handles down-town property and estates for the most 
part and his untiring energy and quick perception have been dominant factors in his 
success. 

On the 7th of August, 1920, Mr. Koeffler was united in marriage to Louise Wich- 
mann. a native of Hamburg, Germany, who came to this country when just a child. 
Mrs. Koeffler is well known in the club and social circles of Milwaukee, in which city 
she has made her home for many years. 

Since age conferred upon Mr. Koeffler the rierht of franchise he h-js been a stanch 
supporter of the republican party, although he has never taken an active part in its 
interests, nor has he desired political preferment as a reward for party fealty. Socially 
he belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and as a man always interested in the de- 
velopment and improvement of the general welfare, he is associated with the Associa- 



112 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

tion of Commerce. Along the line of his business he is a member of the Milwaukee 
Real Estate Board, in the founding of which he had a prominent part and of which 
he has been vice president and a director. Mr. Koeffler is a great lover of athletics 
and during his school and college days was considered a fine baseball player, a form of 
sport in which he is now particularly interested. He has a summer home on Nago- 
wicka Lake in Waukesha county, built on a fifteen-acre tract which he takes great 
pleasure in improving, being a landscape gardener of no mean ability. The town home 
of the Koefflers is at Delafield. The dominant characteristics of Mr. Koeltier are pluck, 
energy, and perseverance and he has won the confidence and respect of all with whom 
he has come into contact, winning for himself a host of friends. He is loyal and enter- 
prising, possessing the progressive spirit of the times and accomplishing all that he 
undertakes. 



MACKEY WELLS. 



Mackey Wells, president of the Kerner Incinerator Company of Milwaukee, was 
born in this city January 10, 1S86, his parents being Helmus and Louise (Button) 
Wells, the former a native of New York city and the latter of Milwaukee. The father 
is a descendant of an old Scotch family, while the mother is of English lineage. 
Helmus Wells came to Milwaukee in 1875 and for a time was employed by the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company. Subsequently he aided in organizing the 
Northwestern Malleable Iron Company, one of the largest concerns of the kind in the 
United States. Of this he was secretary and treasurer to the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1890. His widow survived for several years, passing away in 1898. Mr. 
Wells was one of the early members of the Milwaukee Club and for some years served 
on its board of directors. The Button family came to Milwaukee in 1848 and Henry 
H. Button, maternal grandfather of Mackey Wells, was a member of the firm of Greene 
& Button, wholesale druggists. He was a very popular man in both social and business 
circles and at one time was president of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce, while 
for many years he was president of the Milwaukee Merchants & Manufacturers Asso- 
ciation. He was likewise one of the early directors of the Milwaukee Gas Company 
and was president of that corporation at the time of his death, which occurred Febru- 
ary 14, 1890. His name was also on the directorate of the Northwestern Mutual Life 
Insurance Company and thus in many important fields of business he figured promi- 
nently, his labors constituting a contributing element to the commercial and financial 
growth and development of the city. He was called to leadership in almost every 
organization with which he became identified. For twenty years he served as one of 
the trustees of the Unitarian Society of the city and he was for one term president of 
the American Drug Club. He belonged also to the Milwaukee Club and there were few 
residents of Milwaukee who were more widely known or more highly esteemed. 

Mackey Wells was educated in the Milwaukee Academy and also attended Williams 
College for one year, while later he matriculated in Harvard University, where he 
won the degree of Bachelor of Arts, while in 1911 the LL. B. degree was conferred upon 
him. In the same year he was admitted to practice at the Wisconsin bar and for four 
years was in the law office of Quarles, Spence & Quarles. In 1915. however, he with- 
drew from law practice to become actively associated with the Kerner Incinerator 
Company and after four months was made general manager, while in 1915 he was 
also elected to the presidency and has since been at the head of the concern. He has 
most carefully directed the business, which is that of the manufacture of incinerators 
that are sold all over the country. With characteristic thoroughness he has studied 
every phase and detail of the business and bending his efforts to administrative 
direction and executive control he has largely developed the enterprise of which he is 
the head. He is also a prominent figure in connection with other important business 
interests which have profited by the stimulus of his energy and sound judgment. He 
is now the secretary and treasurer of the Oliver & Barth Jack Company, a director of 
the Joliet Railway Supply Company of Chicago and a director and treasurer of the 
Milwaukee Day School. 

On the 28th of June, 190S, Mr. Wells was married to Miss Alida Marian Carter of 
New York city, and their three children are: Mackey, Carter and Natalie. During the 
World war Air. Wells was on active duty in Washington, D. C, for a period of eight 
months, being captain in the Quartermaster Corps. He is justly regarded as one of 
the prominent young men of his native city and his labors have been effective elements 
for progress, not only along material and commercial lines, but also in connection with 
cultural and social progress. He is a member and a director of the University Club 
of Milwaukee, president of the Harvard Club, a member of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, the Town Club, the Rotary Club, the Milwaukee Country Club and Stickney Field 
Club of Wauwatosa and the Milwaukee Art Institute. These associations are indicative 
of the nature of his interests outside of the field of business. Well trained in the law, 









^ft ^^^B^^^_ 



MACKEY WELLS 



Vol. Ill— 8 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 115 

his knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence is of great value to him in the con- 
duct of his other interests and his activities have largely been of a character con- 
tributory to the welfare and improvement of the city. 



LOUIS G. BOHMRICH. 



Louis G. Bchmrich, senior member of the firm Bohmrich & Gabel, is a man of fine 
intellectual and professional attainments. He has been influential in connection with 
political affairs in Wisconsin and his sterling character and genial personality have 
gained him unqualified popularity. Mr. Bohmrich was born in the province of the 
Rhine, Germany, on the 26th of October, 1S55, a son of Joseph and Amalia (LeClair) 
Bohmrich, both natives of that country in which they passed their lives. The father 
won success as a manufacturer of furniture and passed away in 1895. His wife died 
in 1897. 

Louis G. Bohmrich was afforded excellent educational advantages in his native 
country and after completing his preliminary training he entered college, giving special 
attention to the study of physics and political economy. During the years 1875 to 1878, 
inclusive, he was a student in a college at Koenigsberg, Prussia, and there made par- 
ticular research and investigation concerning the anatomy of grain, its chemistry and 
the practical handling of its products. In 1879, at the age of twenty-four years, Mr. 
Bohmrich came to America and located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where in 1885 he became a 
naturalized citizen of the United States. His personality, splendid educational attain- 
ments and ability won for him immediate employment and from 18S0 until 1885 he held 
the position of superintendent of the Cincinnati Warehouse & Malting Company. In 
the latter year he established residence in New York city where he was representative 
for the eastern states of the M. H. Pettit Malting Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and 
was active in that connection until 1892, when he was made superintendent of the 
company's business at its headquarters in Kenosha. In 1S95 he severed his position 
with the malting company and engaged in active business as a general expert in grain 
and its products until June, 1897, continuing his residence in Kenosha. For some time 
ne read law under effective private preceptorship and entering the Chicago College of 
Law was graduated from that institution in 1897, receiving his LL. B. degree. In 
that same year he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar and has since been engaged in 
the active and successful practice of his profession. Until April, 1901, Mr. Bohmrich 
maintained offices in both Kenosha and Milwaukee but in the spring of that year re- 
moved to Milwaukee where he has since resided. For over twenty years he has been 
one of the essentially representative members of the Wisconsin bar, where he has 
been concerned with much important litigation in the various courts and where he is 
legal representative for various corporations and prominent individual interests. Mr. 
Bohmrich is now senior partner of the firm of Bohmrich & Gabel, with offices at 425 
East Water street. As a successful and prominent attorney he was soon an important 
figure in public life and while a resident of Kenosha served as city attorney in 1897-8 
and by reelection continued the incumbent of that office during 1899 1900. In 1897 he 
was appointed by Governor Fairchild, a member of the committee of one hundred, 
which had in charge the arrangements for the Wisconsin semi-centennial and he was 
a most dominant factor in the success of that project. After taking up residence in 
Milwaukee he was from 1903 to 1906 a member of the directorate of the Merchants' & 
Manufacturers' Association and he is recognized throughout the state as an essentially 
broad-minded man who is ever ready to lend his influence and cooperation in the 
furtherance of measures, enterprises and policies which he believes necessary for the 
best interests of his home city, county and state. 

On the 12th of September, 1882, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bohmrich and Miss 
Elizabeth Knauber, the ceremony being performed in Cincinnati. Mrs. Bohmrich was 
a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Knauber, who were for many years well known and 
representative citizens of Cincinnati. Mr. Knauber was a native of Germany and came 
to this country in 1848. He became one of the prominent and successful representatives 
of the pork packing industry in Cincinnati, where he built up an extensive business in 
which he continued to be actively identified until 1890. In that year he retired and his 
death in 1911 came as a severe blow to the community in which he had so long re- 
sided. Mrs. Knauber passed away in 1913 at the age of eighty-nine years. Three 
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bohmrich: Mrs. Stella Kenzy, who has three chil- 
dren, Louis, Elsa, and John; Mrs. Brunhilda Kellogg, who has two children, Elizabeth 
and Jean; and Louise, the latter daughter residing with her parents. 

Since receiving the right of franchise in his land of adoption Mr. Bohmrich has 
been a stanch adherent of the democratic party and he has been an active and effective 
exponent of its principles and policies, in addition to being an influential factor in its 
councils in Wisconsin. The popularity he gained in the state was indicated by his nomi- 
nation in 1900 as governor of his adopted state but he was defeated by the Hon. Robert 



116 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

M. La Follette. Mr. Bohmrich made a most excellent showing at the polls but his 
defeat was compassed by normal political exigencies. In 1892, as a member of the 
democratic convention, Mr. Bohmrich had made the speech nominating Hon. George W. 
Peck for governor, and it will be recalled that in the ensuing election Mr. Peck came off 
victorious. In the primary election of 1906, when Francis E. McGovern was defeated 
for renomination as district attorney of Milwaukee county, Mr. Bohmrich made, at the 
Pabst theatre, the opening speech for McGovern in the latter's independent campaign 
for the office of district attorney, to which he was reelected. In e 19H Mr. Bohmrich 
was appointed by Governor McGovern a member of the Wisconsin Perry's Victory cen- 
tennial commission and he has given the most effective service in that position. In 
November, 1912, he was elected one of the presidential electors at large on the party 
ticket in Wisconsin, and thus had the distinctive satisfaction of witnessing the great 
democratic victory, having the privilege of casting his vote for President Wilson in 
the electoral college. 

Fraternally Mr. Bohmrich is a Mason, belonging to Independence Lodge, No. 80, 
of Milwaukee, and he is likewise a Knight of Pythias. He is prominent and well 
known in the club circles of Milwaukee as a member of the Deutscher Club and the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club. The family attends St. Mark's Episcopal church. Mr. 
Bohmrich has reached the high position which he now occupies as the result of his own 
effort, intelligently directed, and Milwaukee honors and esteems him as one who has 
contributed no small portion to the best activities of the city and state. 



INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL INSTITUTE OF MILWAUKEE. 

This scientific Institute, which in the twenty-six years of its existence has built 
up a nation-wide reputation, was founded in 1895 at the time when the brewing in- 
dustry was the leading industry in Milwaukee. Its founder, Ernst Hantke, established 
it under the name "Hantke's Brewers' School & Laboratories" and it catered to the 
fermentation industry. It was an especial pride of the Institute to have assisted in 
the wonderful development of the brewing industry, as it was one of the leading 
factors which changed the production of beer from rule of thumb work to a highly 
scientific manufacture, so that in years before prohibition became a national law, the 
American beers had gained world-wide reputation and world-wide trade. In the year 
1901 the firm was incorporated under its present name, "Industrial Chemical Institute 
of Milwaukee," with the officers Ernst Hantke, Frank Kremer and Alfred Fischer, all 
of whom were connected with the institution since its beginning. The working sphere 
of the laboratories was broadened to include all industries, especially those of Mil- 
waukee and west of the Great Lakes. The food industry offered the first large oppor- 
tunity and the Industrial Chemical Institute of Milwaukee was one of the pioneers 
in the development of breakfast food manufacture. 

Dr. Ernst Hantke. who enjoyed a high reputation as fermentologist in the United 
States as well as in Europe, died suddenly in the year 1903, deeply mourned by his 
coworkers. The Institute had developed to the largest laboratories for general chemical, 
bacteriological, microscopical and research work west of the Great Lakes by har- 
monious cooperation of a staff of highly recognized chemists and bacteriologists. 

In the year 1915 Frank Kremer died after having served the Institute most faith- 
fully as chief chemist and for twelve years as president and through his thorough and 
broad knowledge and his amiable way having endeared himself to his many friends 
and his copartners. Frank Kremer's place as president of the Institute was taken by 
Richard Schneider, who was connected with the firm since 1910, and to this date the 
officers are: Richard Schneider, president; Francis M. Dupont, vice president; and 
Alfred Fischer, secretary and treasurer. 

This organization is the result of over twenty-five years of successful experience. 
With faith and diligence the Institute has provided for their clients a chemical and 
research service that may Justly claim superiority in this part of the country. This 
institution solves problems in manufacture, engages in industrial research and makes 
chemical and bacteriological analyses. It renders their service under contract by the 
year or for each individual case. It acts as chemical advisors to the industries in a 
similar way as a counselor-at-law in legal matters. It also examines and reports upon 
the merits of new industrial projects. To explain the work in detail would be very 
difficult and beyond the scope of this article. 

Analyses of widely different nature are made by the thousand and have developed 
a top notch efficiency. To the layman the words "chemical analysis" may be but a 
meaningless term and even the more enlightened and progressive manufacturers seem 
to think that chemical control of industrial plants sounds very theoretical but it is in 
effect intensely practical even to the point of necessity. It applies where those who 
are unfamiliar with the subject would least expect i*. 




FRANCIS M. DTJPONT 




. I. 1 1 A ] 1) SCIINKIDER 




ALFRED FISCHER 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 123 

This institution not only determines the ingredient in any particular case but finds 
out the cause, difficulties in manufacture and suggests an improvement or remedy. 

Practically every material used finds its way to this Institute. The baker has his 
flour tested to find out if it is suitable for his use; the feed merchant wants to have 
a proper combination of ingredients so he can guarantee his feed as to milk producing 
or other qualities; the soap manufacturer desires to know the quality of soap; the 
butterine manufacturer desires a particular blend of oils and fats to produce a butter- 
like article; the box manufacturer wants a glue which answers his requirement and 
then comes the manufacturer of pickles, sausages, beverages, vinegar, hosiery, toilet 
preparations, rubber goods, textiles, leather goods, ice cream, ice boxes, etc. This is 
only a hint as to the bewildering variety of questions which confront this Institute. 

The efforts of this institution are continually bent towards improving methods of 
manufacture preventing rot, fermentation, mold, decay and producing new articles. 
An Institute of this kind can, therefore, justly be called a blessing to the industries 
and humanity. 



GUSTAV W. KLAU. 



Gustav W. Klau, who is at the head of an extensive advertising business as presi- 
dent of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Incorporated, was born in Milwaukee, February 19, 
1873, a son of Richard and Marie (Von Orff) Klau, the former a native of Germany, 
while the latter was born in Milwaukee. The great-grandfather, Matthias Stein, came 
to this city and joined Solomon Juneau of Kilbourn in the period of early development 
here. The maternal grandfather, Henry Von Orff, was a native of Munich, Germany, 
and he, too, arrived in Milwaukee at a very early day. His father and brother had 
occupied high positions in the Bavarian king's court and he had been educated in 
various colleges and military schools, so as to be able to follow in their footsteps in 
later years. But young Von Orff's love for a democratic form of government changed 
the entire course of his future development. When Henry Von Orff reached the new 
world he settled in Milwaukee and when the Civil war broke out he organized a com- 
pany and fought for the Union throughout the period of hostilities, advancing to the 
rank of colonel. Several times he became ill with yellow fever during the war and was 
physically disabled for active field duty a portion of the time. He was a man of liberal 
education who could speak six different languages and he often did translation work for 
newspapers and magazines, for he had command of the English, German, Latin, French, 
Spanish and Italian tongues. He continued to devote his life to work as a translator 
and other educational vocations until his death in 1894. 

Richard Klau, on coming to the new world, was a young man of twenty-one years. 
In early manhood he studied chemistry, qualifying for work of that character, and he 
also devoted five years to the theatrical profession, playing in a German stock 
company, during which time his company gave performances in nearly all of the 
large towns of the country, presenting many of the Shakespearean plays. At a later 
date Mr. Klau turned his attention to the distilling and brewing business, in which he 
continued for about forty years, but during the last several years of his life he was part 
owner of the A. F. Kling Sign Company, makers of high-grade porcelain signs, filling 
the position of secretary and treasurer until his death, which occurred February 27, 
1922. For thirty years he was associated with the late F. W. Hartman Company, dis- 
tillers, and the National Distilling Company. He also served in the capacity of auditor 
with the Pabst Brewing Company for a period of ten years. 

Gustav W. Klau was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and when he 
had completed his training he engaged in electrical engineering for about ten years 
with the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, having charge of the testing 
and meter department. This pursuit, however, did not appeal strongly to Mr. Klau, as 
his taste lay more along artistic lines. It was about this time that Charles F. Pfister 
?cquired ownership of the Milwaukee Sentinel, desiring to make it a thoroughly up-to- 
date metropolitan paper. Mr. Klau accepted a position on the staff as a contributing 
cartoonist and devoted two and a half or three years to that work, during which time 
he was instrumental in doing the paper's comic and political cartoon work with 
marked success. Still ambitious to enter upon a broader and more profitable field, Mr. 
Klau, in June, 1905, in connection with Anthony Van Pietersom, now secretary and 
treasurer of the corporation, organized the Klau-Van Pietersom Company for the con- 
duct of an advertising business. Three years later Walter F. Dunlap was admitted to 
a partnership and the business has since been carried on under the name of Klau-Van 
Pietersom-Dunlap. Incorporated, Mr. Dunlap having become the vice president of the 
company, while Mr. Klau has always remained the president. Their first venture was 
in giving out and preparing copy, art work, plates and printing in connection with the 
advertising service. They established business in a small way, but their patronage has 
steadily grown until they control one of the best known advertising concerns of the 



124 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

country, doing business all over the United States and Canada. They occupy the whole 
of the. eighth floor of the Manhattan building and half of the seventh floor, having ap- 
proximately thirty-five employes. They do everything from the standpoint of mer- 
chandise advertising and have a very high-class business, enjoying in notable measure 
the confidence, trust and goodwill of their patrons. They employ only experienced 
men in all the different parts of the business and the splendid nature of their service is 
well known throughout this country and the Dominion. Mr. Klau not only is president 
but also art director of this well known concern. He is a practical man of business, 
understanding fully every detail of the work and at the same time carefully directing 
its more important features. 

On the 16th of October, 1895, Mr. Klau was married to Miss Antoinette Van Pieter- 
som, a sister of his partner. They have become parents of two children, Harold and 
Ethel. Mr. Klau was registered for war service but was not called upon for active duty. 
The firm, however, took a helpful interest in promoting all war measures that had to do 
with holding the home line and furnishing financial support for the soldiers at the 
front. Fraternally Mr. Klau is a Mason, and he belongs to the Milwaukee Press Club, 
also to the Milwaukee Art Institute, the Milwaukee' Association of Commerce and the 
Wisconsin Club. Outside of art, music and drama he greatly enjoys outdoor exercises 
of various kinds and finds great pleasure in camping trips. Literature and chess are 
also large sources of recreation to him. 



MATTHIAS STEIN. 



Matthias Stein, who in many ways left the impress of his individuality and ability 
for good upon the history of Milwaukee, was born in Germany, December 17, 1808. 
Like so many of his countrymen before and after him, he sought the new world as 
the theatre of his ambition. He arrived in Baltimore in August, 1831. He found em- 
ployment in Norfolk, Virginia, as a mechanic, having learned his trade in the old 
country. One year later he went to Washington, D. C, finding work as an instrument 
maker. It was here that young Stein learned his lesson in the difference between 
social affairs in the United States and the empire of Germany. His experience in the 
capital of the new country was evidently impressed upon his mind, because in his old 
age it was recalled with a positiveness which did not characterize his recollection of 
his early life in Milwaukee. 

It was Mr. Stein's custom for the three years he spent in Washington to take an 
early morning walk before going to work. During these strolls he met daily an old 
gentleman, who also enjoyed the morning air when the weather permitted. They be- 
came companions for an hour or so every day, during which the old gentleman ques- 
tioned young Stein as to life and conditions in his fatherland. One day after his 
morning companion had left him at the entrance to the White House grounds, Stein 
asked a servant who had just come out who the old gentleman was. The answer 
was: "Andrew Jackson, the president of the United States." The next morning they 
met as usual and Mr. Stein was naturally embarrassed when he realized with whom he 
had been walking. The kindness and grace of the president soon reassured him and 
he asked how it was that the ruler of such a great nation would condescend to walk 
with a young mechanic. 

"Young man, you don't understand this country. I am placed in this position by 
the confidence and trust of the people of the United States. My duty is to carry out the 
law and our constitution and to do right to everybody. When my time is expired I 
will go to my farm in Tennessee. At the present time I am no more nor no less than 
any other man." 

President Jackson invited young Stein to call on him and at one of the public re- 
ceptions he did so. When he reached the president he was drawn to one side by that 
official, who introduced him to General Scott, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. 
Calhoun and ex-President John Quincy Adams. As Stein was leaving, a white-haired 
gentleman spoke to him and asked him if he knew the president, remarking that it 
was noticeable that the president was especially cordial to him (Stein) and that this 
exception must be the result of a long acquaintance. The white-haired gentleman was 
the chief justice of the United States, Roger B. Taney. 

Thus it was that young Stein learned that in this country all men are created 
equal. It was in Washington, too, that Stein heard of Chicago as a coming great city 
and in 1S34 he left for the west, going to St. Louis. From there he traveled overland 
to Chicago. There were no roads and only one team to transport him and four others 
to their destination. It took six days to make the journey. The prairie was wet and 
made a very uncomfortable bed at night. Crackers and ham were the food. A com- 
pass which Stein had made guided them. He reached Chicago the first week in March, 
1835. Stein's high expectations of the place were doomed to disappointment. He 
found nothing but a collection of shanties — the abiding place of thieves and swindlers, 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 125 

with no laws to reach and punish them. Disgusted, he left for Detroit, Michigan. Here 
he became a gunsmith and from that city he came to Milwaukee in 1837, arriving on 
June 5th. He did not intend to stay, wanting to go farther south. He came on the 
steamer "Old Michigan" and his locating in Milwaukee was due to the fact that her 
engine broke down and it took three days to repair it. During that time he met 
Solomon Juneau and a friend, Louis Drayser. Juneau induced him to stay, and of all 
the western towns he had seen, Milwaukee's appearance impressed him most favorably. 
The result was that he remained and became identified with the growing town. He 
located on the east side, in what is now called tie seventh ward, and built the first 
frame building on the east side. It was located on the hill overlooking old Market 
Square and was about where the St. Charles Hotel now stands. The market place had 
been filled with dirt taken from the hill. When Mr. Stein met Juneau, he asked the 
population of the place. The answer was: "Four hundred souls, mostly Indians." 
Stein kept bachelor's hall for some time, moving into his house on February 24, 1838. 
At his first breakfast he discovered he had no coffee mill and went to a hardware store 
kept by one Green, on East Water street. Such an article was not kept in stock and 
Stein was compelled to tie the coffee in the arm of his shirt and beat it. Louis Drayser 
had a house on Martin street, near Bast Water, on a lot given him by Juneau. Drayser 
built a house in Detroit, but when he moved to Milwaukee he tore it to pieces and 
transported it to this city on the deck of an old English frigate which had been sunk 
in Lake Erie during Perry's time but which was afterward raised. A man named 
Pixley kept a general store on East Water street, which was then the principal busi- 
ness street. What houses there were (Mr. Stein called them "shanties"), consisted 
of one room, one window and one door. Mr. Stein's home was surrounded by the 
wigwams of the Pottawatomies and his house was a favorite lounging place for their 
Indian chief, Onangese. Mr. Stein said: "He was an Indian, but a gentleman." Stein 
learned to talk the language of the red men and taught the chief squaw to eat with a 
knife and fork. 

For several years Mr. Stein was treasurer, before that being a trustee of the town. 
Later he became the first sealer of weights and measures. In speaking of his term of 
office as treasurer, Mr. Stein related an incident which appeared in the Sentinel, being 
written by Rufus King, a warm friend. When Stein's term of office expired, investiga- 
tion showed that the town owed him two cents. The investigating committee worked 
for two days but could make no other result. 

During the early '50s Mr. Stein kept the Deutsche House. This was Governor 
Barstow's stopping place whenever he came to Milwaukee. A few weeks before the 
death of Alexander Mitchell, former president of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railroad, he met Mr. Stein on the street. The latter related proudly what the banker 
said to him on that occasion: "Stein, how are you fixed?" asked Mitchell. "With 
reasonable management and economy, I have enough to take care of me for the rest 
of my life," was the reply. "Well, if you are ever in want, you know where to come, 
and if I'm not at the bank, just speak to Dave Ferguson or John Johnston." 

Mr. Stein will be remembered by his efforts in other directions. It was at his 
suggestion that the German-English Academy was founded and he was the first to see 
the feasibility of the German Theatre. Thereby he contributed much toward shaping 
conditions as they exist in this city at the present time. 



WALTER HALL TOMPKINS. 

Since 1912 Walter Hall Tompkins has been manager of the Western Electric Com- 
pany in Milwaukee and is recognized as a representative citizen and business man of 
the city. He was born in Batavia, New York, a son of William M. and Sarah (Hall) 
Tompkins and is descended on the paternal side from Lord Marton and on the maternal 
side the ancestors were wealthy landowners. William M. Tompkins passed away in 
1S89. He was born in England and came to the United States as a young unmarried 
man, locating in Batavia, where he soon became a leading citizen. For many years 
previous to his death he was manager of the Batavia Gas Light Company. His widow 
survived him two years, passing away in 1891. She was born near Youngstown, New 
York, a daughter of William Hall, a well known farmer of that vicinity. 

In the acquirement of an education Walter H<>11 Tompkins attended the public 
schools of Batavia and after graduating from the high school attended Cornell Uni- 
versity. He had specialized in engineering at the university and upon putting his 
textbooks aside accepted a position with the Fort Wayne Electric Works, in the meter 
testing department, doing experimental work. After one year in thit connection he 
went to Niles, Michigan, where he had charge of the Water & Light Plant until 1901, 
when he became traveling salesman for the Western Electric Company at St. Louis and 
covered Texas and Oklahoma. Thi-ee yeirs later he was sent to Chicago in charge of 
the telephone sales and in July, 1912, was assigned to Milwaukee as manager of the 



126 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

branch there. He has since served in that capacity and has won the confidence and 
respect of all with whom he has come into contact because of his fair and honorable 
methods of doing business. 

At Crown Point. Indiana, occurred the marriage of Mr. Tompkins and Miss 
Florence B. Krimbill, a daughter of William Krimbill, a merchant of that place. He 
was a veteran of the Civil war, having been a major in the Union army and he at all 
limes took a prominent and active part in the political affairs of his community, having 
been county treasurer and held other important offices. His death occurred in 1917. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Tompkins has been a stanch supporter of the 
republican party, although he has neither sought nor desired public office as a reward 
for party fealty. His religious faith is that of the Christian Science church and 
fraternally he is identified with the Masons, being an exemplary member of the craft. 
He belongs to Kenwood Lodge, No. 303, R. A. M., of Milwaukee; Ivanhoe Commandery, 
No. 24, K. T. ; Wisconsin Consistory, having attained the thirty-second degree of the 
Scottish Rite; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His social connections are 
with the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Michiwaukee Golf Club and Tripoli Country Club 
and as a man interested in all things pertaining to the general welfare of the com- 
munity, he has membership in the Association of Commerce. In line with his work he 
belongs to the Electrical Association of Milwaukee and devotes a great part of his 
time to the promotion cf its interests. During the World war he gave unselfishly of 
his time and money und was a leading figure in all of the various drives. His person- 
ality has won for him many friends and his ability, sincerity, and determination have 
been dominant factors in his success. 



PRANK C. KLODE. 



The romance in American life is perhaps nowhere found in more attractive form 
than it is in the field of opportunity. The most humble beginnings may be followed 
by the most successful and useful careers, bearing all the charm and thrill of surpris- 
ing changes, of environment, of human setting. 

A bashful immigrant boy who enters upon the scene, helpless in knowledge of 
his new home, ignorant of the language of a new world, and hemmed in by surround- 
ings which he does not understand, may yet rise to a stage of importance and service. 
A clean heart, a clear mind and two willing hands to work, are the simple assets that 
form the basis for advancement and success. 

Prank C. Klode's life career bears all the factors above outlined and reads like 
so many stories based upon them. He came in the fall of 187S to Milwaukee, with 
his parents, at an age of less than fourteen years. Born February 13, 1866, and reared 
in a village near the city of Stettin in the Province of Pomerania, Germany, he 
possessed but a meagre common school education. But a strong body and a grain of 
good sense enabled him to substitute the advantages of a better education. 

The actual beginning in the land of his adoption is characteristic of the man and 
the career that followed. He not only sought opportunity but actually created it. 
Arriving in Milwaukee late at night in the year named, he sought the air early next 
morning to ascertain just where he was and what the new world he had come into 
looked like. 

He found that he had landed on the outskirts of the city on the west side, on 
Spring street (now Grand avenue) near the Menominee river. The scene presented 
nothing unusual. There were streets and roadways and straggling houses, com- 
monplace and uninteresting. But after all there was something, insignificant and 
worthless to everyone else, that attracted the boy's eye. He walked directly towards 
it and examined it. What was it? Swamp willows that grew beside the river, which 
at this point narrowed into a muddy creek. He inquired of the more immediate 
residents as to who owned them. He was told that they belonged to no one and that 
he could cut all the willows he wanted. They were worthless, hence common prop- 
erty. 

But young Frank cut an armful, took them home and he, together with his 
father, wove them into large butcher baskets and sold them downtown. The venture 
netted them fifty-five dollars, which was deemed a fortune to the family. He con- 
tinued to cut willows and weave them into baskets until the willows were exhausted 
and the meat market trade was apparently supplied. 

Frank, after working six weeks carrying laths for a builder, was then apprenticed 
in a cigar factory. The confinement and quiet of this occupation, however, was 
contrary to his inclination and animal vigor and in a spirit of restlessness, one day 
he packed his kit and sought an outdoor occupation. This spirit prompted him to 
take a train for the purpose of landing somewhere in the west. 

He had bought a railroad ticket to Mankato, Minnesota, without knowing just 
what he would do when he got there. On the train he met a fellow traveler who 




FRAXK ('. KLODE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 129 

initiated him in the great American game of poker, with the result that when Frank 
landed in Mankato his meagre savings were lost and he found himself penniless. He 
applied to the station agent for a job sufficient to pay for a meal. The kindly station 
agent looked Frank over with some scrutiny, concluded that he was honest, and then 
took him to a nearby restaurant and ordered a meal for him. Next day he directed 
him to a farmer who hired him. Frank remained on the farm for two years. The 
first year he received one hundred and forty dollars and his keep, the second year 
two hundred and twenty-five dollars.' Immediately after he secured his first dollar here 
he went to the station agent to pay for his meal. The latter refused to accept any 
remuneration and asked Frank to stick to his job and hold on to his money. 

This incident has always lived in Frank Klode's mind. He has never allowed his 
family or his employes to send a hungry man away from his door. "I can appreciate 
what it means to be hungry and penniless, and I care not how worthless the man 
who comes to my store or my home for a handout; he will get a meal or enough 
money to buy a meal." 

At the end of two years of farm life Frank came back to Milwaukee. Here he 
soon found a job as teamster for a hardware store, which position he held for three 
months, when he entered the employ of C. W. Fischer & Son, then a modest furniture 
house. 

It was here that his life's career manifested an upward tendency, brought his 
qualities as a man under a severe test and rounded itself into a widened sphere of use- 
fulness. He began as a teamster at eight dollars and fifty cents a week, served as such 
for two and one-half years and then secured a place in the upholstery shop, where 
he helped to make oldfashioned carpet lounges. Here he earned nine dollars a week 
and remained for two years, when he became shipping clerk at twelve dollars a week. 
Soon after he was placed in the store as salesman. 

He now became an indispensable factor in the business. His ability to prompt 
trade and to hold it, his counsel and advice as to policies and departures, his remark- 
able energy and industry won him recognition. He was given an opportunity to secure 
a small interest in the business. Men who had confidence in him encouraged him 
financially. The firm had been weakened through the death of its founder and the 
disinclination of the heirs to maintain standards of progress. This was twenty years 
ago. 

Klode's vision and constructive ability now came into play. He was disinclined 
to see the commercial ship sink. He assumed the captaincy and steered a straight 
course along the sea lanes of growth and development. His leadership became un- 
questioned. Financial support followed. He began to rear the small enterprise into 
larger fields of service. The public bought furniture. He was ready to sell it. Fur- 
niture involved the elements of utility and ornamentation. He was ready to supply 
it. The public manifested taste in design, in form, in color. He stood ready to 
satisfy taste and personal preference. 

The secret of the success which followed must be found in the same elements 
which came into play when he first saw the tufts of willow at the edge of the creek. 
He saw an opportunity and possessed the ability to realize on it. What applied at an 
early date in his career to a small chance, applied now in the larger prospects that 
were before him. With years of observation and training he had not only formulated 
notions as to the door of opportunity but also as to entering the same with both feet. 
He also had constructed principles and policies which should guide him. He was 
clear as to an attitude which should guide him in his dealings with customers, with 
his associates and with the producers. An unquestioned integrity, he believed, must 
run like a red line through every transaction. A bargain, be that with buyer or seller 
or employe, must be characterized with honor and fairness. The customer must be 
prompted to come again, the manufacturer must be anxious to replenish his 
stock, the employe must realize that his employer is considerate and just. 

"Our customers support our business," Frank Klode tells his salesmen. "They 
make us what we are. Without them, we could not exist. They are entitled to the 
best service we can give them — honest service, prompt service, courteous service." 

He does not expect the salesman to perform the impossible. If he has the inherent 
qualities to become a salesman these qualities will be encouraged in a kindly and 
cooperative spirit. Thus, Klode has been the one dominating force that has reared 
a small business enterprise into one of the largest and most complete of its kind in 
the country. The one time small store is now an institution housed in a monster 
structure which is fireproof and contains acres of space. It is no longer a mere 
store or shop, but an institution which exemplifies the best achievements in the art 
of furniture production and in the thousand and one articles that make for the comfort 
and beauty of a home. Here are apartments completely furnished from kitchen to 
parlor, embodying all the utilities and refinements of a modern abode. Here are 
floor upon floor of inexhaustible varieties of tables, chairs, beds, chiffoniers, secre- 
taires, curtains and carpets, and draperies and what not. Here are original designers 
who serve the department of interior decoration, the workers in willow basketry who 
Vol. Ill— 9 



130 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

produce the most utilitarian and attractive furniture and household equipment. Here 
is even a children's department which supplies everything that can make for child 
comfort. Here is a department given up entirely to the decorative art — a thousand 
items of ornamentation that add so richly to the dignity and grace of an interior. 

It is not within the province of this article to become descriptive of the institution, 
which was reared through the efforts of a man, but rather to touch upon the same as 
an achievement of that man. 

The enterprise which goes under the name of the C. W. Fischer Furniture Com- 
pany means Frank Christian Klode. While he built his foundation upon the old 
firm, the present million dollar enterprise, with all its splendid proportions and a 
trade which extends far beyond the confines of the city, is the creation of Mr. Klode. 
He has not only demonstrated that humble beginning may lead to an important com- 
mercial and industrial enterprise but he has also proven that a man with a limited 
fund of schooling may become a leader in the things that surround those of high 
culture and refinement. 

While on his way to this country when a. boy, Frank C- Klode met a young lady 
named Emilie Tom. She was coming over with her parents, who have since passed 
away. In September, 1885, Mr. Klode and Miss Tom were married. Their children 
are: Emil, who married Margaret Dawson, a daughter of Robert Dawson, and they 
have two sons, Frank C. and James; and Helen, who married August Moeller, an 
attorney, and they have two daughters, Emily Jane and Elizabeth. Mr. Klode belongs 
to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Calumet club, the Elks and the Eagles. 

Frank C. Klode makes no pretense to education and yet he possesses that vision 
and grasp which constitute true education — namely to be fitted for an important 
task in life. His speech may lack the touch and finish of the so-called educated 
classes, yet his thoughts find intelligent and convincing expression. He may discuss 
inadequately the principles which govern art, yet he has an instinctive knowledge and 
appreciation for the things that are chaste and beautiful. His enthusiasm for his 
calling and for the things in which he deals, his hearty and humane manner, and his 
constant concern for those whom he serves, have been the motive power of his success. 

The compensation which he seeks and treasures lies in the contribution he can 
make to the well-being of his fellowman, rather than in the immediate financial return 
that comes to him. The spirit of service has been the keystone of his enterprise. 
It has been the real impulse of a career which is remarkable in its constantly upward 
tendency, and in demonstrating the element of opportunity in American life. 



EMIL VILTER. 



Emil Vilter, entering upon an apprenticeship with the Vilter Manufacturing Com- 
pany, has worked his way upward through successive positions to the presidency of 
this concern, which is one of the important productive interests of the city. He was 
born in Milwaukee, March 13, 1871, and is a son of Ernst and Elise (Meiners) Vilter, 
both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to America in 1866, while 
the mother crossed the Atlantic in 1869 and they were married in Milwaukee. The 
father was interested in the distillery of Meniers & Vilter and later with B. Leiders- 
dorf and Company. He became one of the founders of the Vilter Manufacturing Com- 
pany, which in the early days was conducted as a partnership enterprise under the 
firm style of Weisel & Vilter. As the business grew and developed and changes in 
the ownership occurred, the name of the Vilter Manufacturing Company was adopted 
in 1892. This was five years after the death of the father in 1887. 

Emil Vilter was educated in Milwaukee, where he attended the German and English 
Academy. He afterward became a student in the State University of Wisconsin at 
Madison and having thus qualified by liberal educational training for life's practical 
and responsible duties he started out in the business world as an apprentice with 
the Vilter Manufacturing Company, working as a machinist and advancing through 
the various branches of the business. He worked at his trade for eight years and 
afterward passed on through the engineering and sales departments, thoroughly ac- 
quainting himself with every phase of the business and at length becoming an active 
factor in the organization and direction of the company. After the death of Theodore 
O. Vilter, his brother, he was elected to the presidency of the company in 1920 and has 
since remained in this position of administrative direction and executive control. 

On the 2nd of October, 1895, Mr. Vilter was married to Miss Clara M. Plathner of 
Milwaukee, and they have one son, Ernest Frederick, who is now a student in the 
Milwaukee University high school. Mr. Vilter took a helpful part in promoting war 
activities. He was for many years a director of the Engineers Society of Milwaukee, of 
which he also was president, and he belongs to the American Society of Refrigerating 
Engineers, the Association of Stationary Engineers and the Engineers Club of New- 
York. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Wisconsin 







PSR^ 



EMIL VILTEB 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 133 

Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M., and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the 
craft. He is also well known in club circles, belonging to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
the Wisconsin Club, the Safe Drivers' Club of Milwaukee, the Pine Lake Yacht Club, 
the Milwaukee Automobile Club and the Rotary Club. He is also a member of the 
Milwaukee Art Institute and is interested in all those forces which make for cultural 
progress and civic advancement. His life has been passed in this city and there are 
many who attest his worth as a business man, his progressiveness and his loyalty as a 
citizen. 



WILLIAM J. EBERLE. 



William J. Eberle, who since 1919 has been president of the Ozone Company of 
America, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the 3d of August, 1872, a son of 
Charles and Caroline (Sutter) Eberle, both deceased. His grandfather, Jacob Eberle, 
won prominence as a manufacturing jeweler of Germany and in that country Charles 
Eberle was born. In 1870 he came to the United States and located in Pittsburgh, 
where he followed the occupations of school teacher and accountant until his demise 
in 1896. Mrs. Eberle passed away in 1902. She was born in Germany and came to 
this country with her parents in early childhood, making her home also in Pittsburgh. 
There she met her future husband while teaching school. 

In the acquirement of an education, William J. Eberle attended the public schools 
of his native city and later entered Duff's College, from which institution he was 
graduated in 1888. Upon putting his textbooks aside he entered the business world, 
obtaining employment as errand boy for a wholesale hardware firm. He remained 
with that company for several years, during which time his tireless energy and keen 
perception won him constant promotion until he became stock manager. After severing 
his relations with that concern he took charge of the hardware storerooms for the 
Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company and also held the position of general 
shop accountant. He served in those capacities for eleven years, at the termination of 
which time he became traveling salesman for the Messer Candy Company of Pittsburgh. 
In 1910 he removed to Milwaukee and for one year represented the Western Printing 
& Lithographing Company of Racine and the following three years was secretary of the 
Milwaukee health department. The next four years Mr. Eberle spent as secretary and 
treasurer of the American Metal Products Company, of which he is now vice president, 
and in 1918, with several others, took over the Neel-Armstrong Company of Akron, 
Ohio, and organized the Ozone Company of America. That organization was formed by 
the consolidation of the Neel-Armstrong Company with the Ozone Company of Wis- 
consin. He was made vice president upon organization but in 1919 was elected chief 
executive. 

On the 14th of October, 1920, occurred the marriage of Mr. Eberle and Miss Ottilia 
A. Jahn, a daughter of William Jahn. Her father is a successful and progressive 
agriculturist near Thiensville, Wisconsin, in which town his birth occurred, and he 
is also a surveyor and engineer. 

Mr. Eberle was reared in the faith of the Protestant church and fraternally he is 
a Mason, having membership in Stuckrath Lodge, No. 430, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; 
Kenwood Chapter, No. 90, R. A. M., of Milwaukee; and Wisconsin Commandery, No. 1, 
Knights Templars. He belongs to no clubs nor social organizations, finding his recrea- 
tion in reading and extensive study along the line of various sciences, economics and 
philosophy. Mr. Eberle maintains a home in the village of Mequon, Ozaukee county, 
located on two acres with three hundred and ten feet on the Milwaukee river. The 
business affairs of Mr. Eberle, no matter how varied, have been capably conducted. 
He has since entering business been an important factor in commercial circles and he 
is public-spirited, giving cooperation to every movement which tends to promote the 
general welfare of the community. 



FRANK JOSEPH MEYER. 



Milwaukee numbers among her native sons Frank Joseph Meyer, prominent in 
the business circles of the city as vice president of the firm of Hackett, Hoff & Thier- 
mann, Incorporated, handling general insurance, real estate and loans. His birth 
occurred November 12, 1867, his parents being Ludwig D. and Marie (Hollander) 
Meyer, the latter deceased. Ludwig D. Meyer is residing at 337 Sixth street, financially 
independent as the result of his success as a cooper. He was born in Baden, Germany, 
and came to this country, locating in Milwaukee when a young unmarried man. His 
wife was likewise born in Baden, coming to this country in childhood. Her demise, 



134 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

which occurred about 1909, was a severe blow to her family and many friends in the 
community. 

In the acquirement of an education Frank Joseph Meyer attended the Milwaukee 
public schools and in due time enrolled in the Spencerian Business College, where he 
took a commercial course. Upon the completion of his studies there he became asso- 
ciated with Louis Auer & Son in the foreign exchange and insurance business as office 
boy and as the result of natural business ability and the conscientious manner in 
which he performed every duty assigned him he was constantly promoted, being taken 
into the firm as a partner in the early '90s. Mr. Auer died in 1910 and six years later 
the firm name was changed to the Fehrer & Meyer Company. Joseph Fehrer passed 
away in 1920 and in September, 1921, Mr. Meyer combined the business of the old firm 
with that of Hackett, Hoff & Thiermann. Incorporated, handling general insurance, real 
estate and loans and also conducting a foreign exchange and steamship business. 

On the ISth of May, 1S93, Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Miss Mathilda 
Hartman, a daughter of the late F. W. Hartman, a prosperous and well known mer- 
chant of Milwaukee. Mrs. Meyer is well known in club and social circles and has 
many friends who find her a woman of culture and charming personality. 

Mr. Meyer is a prominent Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, A. F. & 
A. M.; Calumet Chapter, No. 73, R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 24, K. T., being 
for five years commandant of the Ivanhoe drill corps; Kilbourn Council, No. 9, R. & 
S. M. ; and Wisconsin Consistory, A. & A. S. R. He is likewise a member of Tripoli 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine and was for seven years captain of the Tripoli Patrol. 
He endeavors to the best of his ability to live up to the teachings of the craft and is 
always ready to take an active interest in any of its affairs. The standing he has 
acquired in insurance circles is evidenced by his membership in the Milwaukee Board 
of Fire Underwriters, which he served as president for three years, and he has also 
been chief executive of the Wisconsin Association of Local Fire Insurance Agents. 
He has thoroughly identified his interests with those of the community and to that 
end is a prominent member of the Association of Commerce, belonging to the in- 
dustrial committee of that organization. Socially Mr. Meyer is identified with the 
Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Old Settlers Club, Washington Park 
Zoological Society and the Farmers Club. Both Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are very fond of 
music and his favorite form of recreation is fishing, this pleasure having frequently 
been denied him during the last few years, due to the heavy pressure of his business. 
During the World war he took an active part in all kinds of work and was a leading 
figure in all of the drives. Mr. Meyer displays those qualities which show him to be 
thoroughly conversant, with modern-day business conditions and enterprise. He is 
actuated by a spirit of progressiveness that accomplishes results and success is attend- 
ing his well defined efforts. 



DAN JOHN HEWITT. 



Dan John Hewitt, president and treasurer of the Dan J. Hewitt Desk Supply. 
Incorporated, was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on the 22d of September, 1S93, a son of 
Fred John and Annie Bell (Brooks) Hewitt. Both parents are still living and reside 
in Milwaukee. The father is vice president of the corporation. He was born at 
De Pere. Wisconsin, a son of the Rev. John L. Hewitt. Mrs. Hewitt was born in 
Ogdensburg. New York, a daughter of John Brooks. 

In the acquirement of an education Dan John Hewitt attended the public schools 
of Milwaukee and the West Division high school and upon putting his textbooks aside 
accepted the position of timekeeper for the Kip & Side Tannery of the Pfister Vogel 
Leather Company. He remained in that connection for about a year, when he entered 
the insurance business and was one of the dominant factors in the organization of the 
Business Men's Mutual Indemnity Company, which business is still active. For two 
years he was associated with the Old Line Life Insurance Company, having charge of 
the health and accident department of the Racine district and the following two years 
he spent as city agent for the Time Insurance Company. By this time he had decided 
that he did not care to make the insurance business his life work so he entered the 
employ of the Winnebago Furniture Manufacturing Company at Fond du Lac, to learn 
the business. He started in as trucker and by the conscientious performance of every 
duty assigned him, intelligently directed effort and laudable ambition, he won constant 
promotion until he became superintendent of the plant. He was with that company 
three years but at the end of that time he went into business for himself. On the 15th 
of March, 1919, he established a business under his own name and in 1920 it was in- 
corporated, with Mr. Hewitt as president and treasurer. The capital stock is thirty-five 
thousand dollars. Mr. Hewitt's father is the vice president and the board of directors 
are: Dan J. Hewitt. Fred J. Hewitt, Victor Glanz, who is also secretary, Fred P. 
Werner and Henry W. Wessel. The corporation deals in all kinds of office supplies and 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 135 

equipment and in addition carries a full line of stationery, etc. It retails throughout 
the state, both by salesman and mail orders, and its business has become of extensive 
and important character. 

On the 28th of May, 1914, Mr. Hewitt was united in marriage to Miss Esther 
Dorsch. She is a daughter of Lorenz Dorsch, a member of John Dorsch & Sons, dealers 
in farm implements, who has been for many years a resident of Milwaukee. His father, 
John Dorsch, was of German birth but came to this country at an early day and was 
one of Milwaukee's pioneer business men. The mother of Mrs. Hewitt was Bertha 
Brunckhorst of Kewanee, Wisconsin. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Hewitt: Dan J., Jr., Lorenz Dorsch, and Grace Esther. 

Mr. Hewitt has always followed an independent course in politics and although 
well informed on all the questions and issues of the day, he has never taken an active 
interest in political affairs. He is a Methodist and attends Kingsley Methodist 
Episcopal church. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks. As a leading business man and one interested in any movement for the better- 
ment of the general welfare, Mr. Hewitt has membership in the Association of Com- 
merce and in line with his work he belongs to the Association of Office Managers, the 
Salesmanship Club of Milwaukee, and the National Association of Stationers. For 
recreation he turns to the great outdoors and is particularly fond of tennis. He enjoys 
motoring and is interested in all athletics. The family are all musically inclined and 
are regular attendants at popular concerts. Mr. Hewitt's activity in business has not 
only contributed to his individual success but has also been an active factor in the 
development of the community. As a business man he has been conspicuous among his 
associates not only for his success but for his probity, fairness and honorable methods. 
In everything he has been eminently practical and this has been manifest not only in 
his business undertakings but also in social and private life. 



JOKUM JOHN MUNSON. 



Jokum John Munson, president of the Munson-Kenney Company of Milwaukee, was 
born in the city of his present residence on the 7th of March, 1881. His father, John 
B. Munson, passed away in 1920, after a long and useful life. He was born in Bergen, 
Norway, and when about sixteen years of age came to the United States and located in 
Milwaukee. He was a ship chandler and sailmaker, being most skilled in that work, 
and he was descended from a long line of seafaring ancestors. His wife, the mother 
of Jokum John Munson, was before her marriage, Anna Christensen, a native of Mil- 
waukee and a daughter of Jokum Christensen, who won prominence in the wood and 
coal business. Like the paternal grandfather, Mr. Christensen was a native of Norway 
and of a famous family, tracing back their ancestry many generations, to the time when 
the family resided in Chernagle, Germany. Mrs. Munson passed away in 1914. 

The schools of Milwaukee afforded Jokum John Munson educational advantages 
and after putting his textbooks aside he worked for his father until reaching the age 
cf nineteen years. At that time he became associated with the Prudential Life In- 
surance Company for a period of two or three years and then resigned his position to 
enter business on his own account. He established a tent and awning business in 
association with Thomas S. Kenney, conducting it under the name of the J. J. Munson 
Company, but the name was later changed to the Munson-Kenney Company, by which it 
is now widely known. The greater part of the original knowledge of the business was 
supplied by Mr. Munson's father, but gradually both partners became familiar with 
the business and now there is no phase of it on which they are not well informed. In 
1910 the company was incorporated under the same name, with a capital stock of 
fifteen thousand dollars, Mr. Munson becoming president and Mr. Kenney, secretary and 
treasurer. The products of the firm are sold all over the United States and their spe- 
cialty is awnings. During the war they made covers for ammunition wagons. 

On the 2d of October. 1916, Mr. Munson was united in marriage to Miss Rose 
Kathemann, a daughter of Bernhard Kathemann of Milwaukee. Mr. Kathemann was 
born in Germany and came to this country at an early date, becoming associated with 
the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. Two children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Munson : Mavis Rose and Jane Ann. 

Mr. Munson maintains an independent course in politics, supporting the man he 
thinks best fitted for the office, without regard to party principles. Mr. Munson is an 
exemplary member of the Masonic order, belonging to Excelsior Lodge, No. 175, F. & 
A. M., of which he is senior warden; Excelsior Chapter, No. 40, R. A. M. ; Galilee Com- 
mandery, No. 38, Knights Templars, of which he is senior warden; Kilbourn Council* 
No. 9. R. & S. M.; Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine; and he has attained the thirty- 
second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is likewise a Knight of Pythias, belonging to 
Wisconsin Lodge. No. 1, Knights of Khorassan and El Wakodis Temple, No. 165. For 
recreation Mr. Munson turns to hunting and fishing and he spends a great deal of, his 



136 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

lime wilh the Tripoli Patrol. Mrs. Munson is an Eastern Star, being a member of 
Electa Chapter, No. 75. In the club circles of Milwaukee Mr. Munson takes a prominent 
and active part and as a man interested in the development and improvement of his 
community he is numbered among the members of the Rotary, Milwaukee Athletic and 
Builders Clubs and the Association of Commerce. The activities of Mr. Munson's life 
have been those which make for honorable manhood, progressive citizenship and for 
success in business, and his sterling worth is attested by all who know him. 



CHARLES RAYMOND MESSINGER. 

Charles Raymond Messinger, vice president and general manager of the Chain Belt 
Company and thus actively associated with one of the important industrial interests 
of Milwaukee, comes to the middle west from New England, his birth having occurred 
in New Haven, Connecticut, October 27, 1883. His parents, Charles F. and Helen 
(Beecher) Messinger, were also natives of Connecticut, the father being a business 
man of New Haven. 

Charles R. Messinger was educated in the public schools of his native city and 
in Yale University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1906, receiving the 
Bachelor of Philosophy degree. Following his graduation he went to Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, and was associated with the Harbison-Walker Refractories Company in 
the sales department and in the plant. There he remained until 1909, when he came to 
Milwaukee and entered into active connection with the Sivyer Steel Casting Company 
as its secretary at the time of its organization, while later he became vice president 
and general manager, which position he still occupies, thus retaining active connection 
with a leading business enterprise of the city. On the 1st of January, 1917, he became 
vice president and general manager of the Chain Belt Company and has his office with 
that concern at the viaduct and Park street. This is one of the mammoth industrial 
interests of the city, employing about thirteen hundred people in the manufacture of 
concrete mixing machinery, conveying and handling machinery, chain belts and allied 
products, which are not only sold extensively throughout the new world but are found 
today in many foreign countries. Mr. Messinger has been active in the upbuilding and 
development of the business until it is one of the mammoth and profitable manufactur- 
ing interests of the state. He is also president of the Interstate Forge Company, vice 
president of the Federal Malleable Company and a director of the Electric Steel Com- 
pany of Chicago. His plans are carefully formulated, his activity intelligently directed 
and the results achieved are most satisfactory. 

On the 25th of April, 1911, Mr. Messinger was married to Miss Mildred Hart of 
Cleveland. Ohio, and they have four children, three sons and a daughter: John Beecher, 
William Clifford, Grant Hart and Jane Hart. 

Mr. Messinger was busy in all the war activities and was chairman of the metal 
trades division of the War Finance Committee. He belongs to the American Society 
of Mechanical Engineers and to the American Foundrymen's Association, serving as 
vice president of the latter. In March, 1919, he went to Europe for his company and 
a group of affiliated manufacturers to study post-war conditions. He is a director of 
the Milwaukee Metal Trade & Founders Association. He is a member and director of 
the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and is a Rotarian. He likewise belongs to 
the Milwaukee Club, the Milwaukee Country Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the 
University Club, the City Club, the Yale Club of New York and the American Club 
of London, England. His interests are of a varied nature, his activities bringing him 
into connection with many of those forces which make for the material, intellectual, 
social and moral progress of the community. Mr. Messinger is the president of the 
Association of Commerce Housing Corporation. He has ever used his talents wisely 
and well. His energies have taken him into the great field of industrial and civic 
activity and he has become a, prominent figure in connection therewith. 



NATHAN W. KLEIN. 



Since January. 1S98, Nathan W. Klein has engaged in the practice of law in Mil- 
waukee and has built up an extensive and important clientage. Like many other 
prominent and representative citizens of Milwaukee he is a son by adoption, for his 
birth occurred on the 2d of December, 1861. at Cleveland, Ohio. His father, Ignatz 
Klein, passed away in 1917. He was a native of Austria and came to the United States 
with his wife and two children in 1860. In 1862 he located in Milwaukee and there 
engaged in the dry goods business, in which he won a substantial amount of success. 
His wife was Sarah Bloch and her demise occurred in 1890. She was also born in 
Austria and married there. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Klein, five of 




CHARLES K. MESSIXGER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 139 

whom are living: Israel S., a retired merchant of Los Angeles, California; Henry E., 
a merchant of St. Paul, Minnesota; Joseph E., a mechanic of Chicago; Nathan W„ 
whose name initiates this review; and Rose, who resides in New York city. She is the 
widow of Emil Mittler, who was for years a prominent merchant in Peoria. 

In the acquirement of an education Nathan W. Klein attended the public schools 
of Milwaukee and in due time entered the University of Wisconsin in the class of 18S3. 
He then entered the services of the Bradstreet Company at Milwaukee as clerk and two 
years later was transferred to the Chicago branch of the company as manager of its 
city department. In October, 1885, he took charge of the management of the office at 
Peoria, Illinois, controlling a large part of the central portion of that state and on 
the 2d of July, 1888, was promoted to the management of its Milwaukee office which 
covered nearly the entire state of Wisconsin and northern Michigan. During this time 
Mr. Klein had been studying law in an evening class of the Milwaukee Law School, now 
a part of Marquette University and received his LL. B. degree in December, 1917. He 
was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in January, 1898. On the 1st of September, 1908, 
he opened law offices for the practice of his profession. He has always practiced alone 
and specializes in commercial and bankruptcy law, handling extensive and important 
litigation. 

On the 18th of January, 1885, Mr. Klein was united in marriage to Miss Rose 
Klein, a daughter of David Klein who was born in Austria and came to this country 
at an early day. He removed to Milwaukee in 1S7S, where he won prominence in mer- 
cantile circles and his demise occurred in 1907. One child has been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Klein. Edward L. Klein. His natal day was the 27th of December, 1887, and he 
was reared in Milwaukee, receiving his education in the Milwaukee public schools and 
the high school. He is now a business man in New York city. In 1911 he was married 
to Miss Etta Lazarus of Louisville, Kentucky, a daughter of Simon Lazarus, a merchant 
of that place. 

Mr. Klein has never been active along political lines and since attaining his 
majority he has followed an independent course. He is an attendant of Temple B'Ne 
Jeshurun and fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Independence Lodge, No. 80, A. 
F. & A. M., of which he is past master, and he is also a Royal Arch Mason of Wiscon- 
sin Chapter. In club circles he is known as a member of the Kiwanis Club and belongs 
to the Association of Commerce and along the line of his profession he holds member- 
ship in the Milwaukee County Bar Association and the Wisconsin Bar Association. 
During the World war he subordinated his personal interests and gave generously of 
his time and money in support of the government. He served on the legal advisory 
board until the close of hostilities. Earnest effort, close application and the exercise of 
his native talents have won Mr. Klein prestige as a commercial and bankruptcy lawyer 
and he is devotedly attached to his profession. In the presentation of his cases he 
uses a rare simplicity of style and the admirable terseness and clearness in the state- 
ment of the principles upon which the opinions rest show a thorough mastery of the 
questions involved. 



WILLIAM ACKERMANN, M. D. 

Dr. William Ackermann, physician and surgeon, specializing in gastro-intestinal 
diseases, has thoroughly qualified in the field of his specialty and his comprehensive 
knowledge and skill in practice have gained for him a most liberal support. He was 
born in Milwaukee, April 26, 1875, and is a son of Phillip Ackermann, who was at one 
time foreman at the plant of the Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee. He was born 
in Germany and at the age of fourteen years came to the United States with his parents, 
spending his remaining days in this city. He married Barbara Schreier, who is still 
living. She was born in Germany and was brought to the new world by her parents 
when but two years of age. Although she has passed the eightieth milestone on life's 
journey, she is still enjoying excellent health. 

Dr. Ackermann is the youngest of a family of five children, three of whom are 
living. He was graduated from the East Side high school of Milwaukee when sixteen 
years of age. He afterward attended the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, completing his course there by graduation in 1896, at which time the M. D. 
degree was conferred upon him. He first entered upon the practice of his chosen pro- 
fession at South Germantown, Wisconsin, where he remained for three years, and in 
1900 he went abroad for study in Vienna. In 1901 he returned and became associated 
with Drs. Charles and Alfred Kreutzer in the practice of medicine but in 1903 again 
went abroad, making his way to Berlin, where he pursued a thorough course of study. 
Again he came to his native city in 1905 and has steadily engaged in practice here 
throughout the intervening period, having his offices in the Goldsmith building. He 
served in the World war as a captain in the Medical Corps, U. S. A., for six months, 
being on duty at Camp Custer. He is a member of the faculty of the Marquette Medical 



140 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

School and is on the staff of the Deaconess Hospital, the Milwaukee Maternity Hospital 
and the General Hospital. His membership relations connect him with the Milwaukee 
Medical Society, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical 
Society, the Wisconsin Surgical Society and the American Medical Association. 

Fraternally Dr. Ackermann is connected with the Phi Rho Sigma, a medical society, 
and he likewise belongs to the Masons, being a most loyal follower of the teachings and 
purposes of the craft. His life has been devoted to professional interests and he has 
maintained the highest ethical standards in his practice. 



VALENTINE FINA. 



Valentine Fina, president and general manager of the Clum Manufacturing Com- 
pany, was born on the 4th of February, 18S2, in Austria, near the Italian boundary, 
and in 1903 came to the United States, seeking a wider field in which to give full scope 
to his ambition and industry — his dominant qualities. He arrived in Milwaukee with 
a capital of but nine dollars and with no knowledge of the English language. He was, 
however, skilled along mechanical lines and, applying himself diligently and intelli- 
gently, succeeded in overcoming all obstacles in his path, advancing step by step to 
the position he now occupies as one of the leading and influential business men of Mil- 
waukee. His father, Phillip Fina. who passed away in 1890, became caretaker of a 
large Italian estate at an early age and remained in that connection until he reached 
the age of thirty-nine years. He married an Austrian girl, Marie Richtig, whose father 
conducted a large restaurant, and in later life Phillip Fina was associated with his 
father-in-law in that business, achieving such success as enabled him to live in retire- 
ment some years prior to his demise. Those last years were spent in a village near 
Villach, where he was considered a most influential and representative citizen. Mrs. 
Fina is still living and makes her home in the old village. 

Valentine Fina attended the public schools of his native village until he was 
fourteen yeirs of age. He was ambitious to become an attorney or school teacher but 
was trained along mechanical lines instead and completed his machinist apprenticeship 
at the age of seventeen years. Realizing the need and advantages of a technical educa- 
tion, he went to Gratz and there entered a technical school, where he remained as 
student for three years. He worked half the day and in this manner paid his tuition 
while attending school the remainder of the day and evening, including Sundays. His 
natural ability and close application enabled him to master the course in a short time 
and upon putting aside his textbooks he engaged in boiler making, bridge work, tool 
work and machine building, and subsequently was man?ger of a paper mill for nine 
months, his work consisting in devising plans for labor saving. 

In September, 1903, upon being drafted for the army Mr. Fina came to the United 
States and made his way directly to Milwaukee, where a brother and two sisters were 
already located. Being a skilled mechanic he had no difficulty in finding work and 
was employed as machinist for Filer & Stowells until May 25, 1911, at the time of 
his resignation being gang boss. In the meantime he had obtained a knowledge of 
the English language. During his association with that concern he was sent to 
Mississippi in the year 1904, at a time when there was an epidemic of yellow fever, 
to complete a job already underway and although he knew but little English he met 
with success in the accomplishment of the task. 

On May 25, 1911, Mr. Fina determined to enter business en his own account and 
founded the business known as the Fina-Pichler Company in association with Joseph 
Pichler. The purpose of the company was to manufacture labor saving tools and 
equipments. The partnership continued until the 12th of November, 1918. when Mr. 
Fina took over the business which was incorporated under the name of the Fina- 
Pichler Company with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars. He disposed of that 
business in June 1919, having on the 12th of February - . 1918, purchased an interest 
in the Clum Manufacturing Company and immediately set about to make practical 
use of the tools which he had manufactured. The Clum Manufacturing Company had 
come into existence in 1912 and was reorganized when Mr. Fina became connected with 
it, the offices of president and general manager being tendered him. At first it occupied 
twenty-three thousand square feet of rented floor space but today has seventy-six thou- 
sand square feet of floor space in the finest manufacturing home in Milwaukee. The 
building is situated on the corner of National and First avenues and has four floors 
and a basement. The capital stock is now two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, 
and the company manufactures electrical controlling devices for automobiles, trucks and 
tractors. They sell their products to manufacturers only, covering practically all of 
the United States and Canada. The number of employes required to handle the work 
in an efficient and capable manner has increased from eighty-five to four hundred, and 
the annual business amounts to over a million, a substantial increase over the three 
hundred thousand dollars annually realized during the early history of the company. 




VALENTINE FIX A 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 143 

The present equipment and space will permit a business of two million, five hundred 
thousand dollars. 

On the 19th of May, 1906, Mr. Fina was united in marriage to Miss Marie Pfeiffer, 
a daughter of George Pfeiffer, a toolmaker of Milwaukee. Her father was born near 
Vienna, Austria, and came to Milwaukee in 1892. Two children have been born to the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Fina: Helmuth, whose birth occurred on the 19th of May, 1907; 
and Marie, who was born on the 2nd of May, 1910, and died November 11, 1918. Mrs. 
Fina is well known in connection with the club and social life of the city and has many 
friends. She is a woman of culture and refinement and has a most charming person- 
ality. 

Since coming to this country Mr. Fina has maintained an independent course in 
politics and, although he takes a prominent part in general development and improve- 
ment, has never desired political preferment. He is a member of the safety and sani- 
tation committee of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and his social connections 
are with the City Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club and Waukesha Golf Club. In 1909 
Mr. Fina built a fine home in Bay View but sold it in 1918 and erected his present 
home in Wauwatosa. The house stands on the corner of Second avenue and Kenwood, 
commanding the attention of all passersby because of the beautiful simplicity of its 
architecture. 

Mr. Fina is thoroughly devoted to his home and takes great pleasure in the society 
of his family and friends. He is a sincere lover of music and was a talented violinist 
at the age of six years. The son Helmuth shows signs of musical talent and will 
receive instruction from the best masters in the country. Mr. Fina is likewise fond 
of reading and has a large library composed of the best literary works, together with 
volumes of instruction along technical lines. During the World war he turned over 
his entire business to the manufacture of tools used in the making of ammunition and 
before the entrance of this country into the war assisted the allies in that way. He 
supplied tools for the Toledo Bridge & Crane Company, Diamond Manufacturing Com- 
pany of Detroit, American Can Company of New York, Sturges & Burns of Chicago 
and the Edwards Valve Company of Chicago, the latter company having large war con- 
tracts for ammunition. Though born across the water Mr. Fina is thoroughly Ameri- 
can in thought and feeling, and the hope that led him to leave his native land and 
seek a home in America has been more than realized. He found the opportunities he 
sought, which, by the way, are always open to the ambitious, energetic man, and 
making the best of these, he has steadily worked his way upward. He possesses the 
resolution, perseverance and reliability seldom found to such a degree, and his name 
is now enrolled among the best citizens of his adopted city and state. 



WILLIAM MICHAEL DOOLEY. 

Since 1917 William Michael Dooley has been president of the W. M. Dooley Com- 
pany, Incorporated, and in that capacity has won prominence in the real estate circles 
of Milwaukee. A native of the city, his birth occurred on the 11th of October, 1892, 
and he is a son of James J. and Nellie (Shenners) Dooley, both deceased. Mr. Dooley 
is a descendant of Irish ancestors in both the paternal and maternal lines, Michael 
Dooley and John Shenners, his grandfathers, having both been born in that country. 
The paternal grandfather came to the United States with his parents when a mere boy 
and passed away at the age of sixty-seven years. He engaged in farming in Walworth 
county and offered his services to the Union army upon the outbreak of the Civil war. 
On the farm in Walworth county the birth of James J. Dooley occurred and he re- 
ceived his education in the schools of that vicinity. For many years he engaged in the 
express business, in which he achieved a substantial success. His demise occurred in 
1920. Mrs. Dooley was a daughter of John Shenners, a veteran of the Civil war who 
served throughout that conflict. Mrs. Dooley passed away in 1916. 

William Michael Dooley is indebted to the public schools of Milwaukee for his 
early education and after graduating from the South Side high school he entered the 
Marquette Academy, preparatory to enrolling in Marquette University. He had made 
up his mind to enter the real estate business and subsequently, upon putting his text- 
books aside, entered the office of the W. H. Shenners Company, real estate dealers. 
He was active in that association for nine years, when he determined to go into the 
business on his own account and in 1917 established offices at 478 National avenue, 
operating under the name of the W. M. Dooley Company, Incorporated. He is president 
of the company and Phillip P. Hayes, a brother-in-law, is vice president. They do an 
extensive brokerage business, buying and selling on their own account and in addition 
do much building, the latter interests being operated as the National Building Company. 

Although Mr. Dooley leans toward the democratic party he is very independent in 
his views and votes for the man he thinks best fitted for the office. He has never sought 
nor desired political office, prefering to devote his entire time to the promotion of his 



144 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

business affairs. He is a communicant of St. Matthew's church and is a devout 
Catholic. Fraternally Mr. Dooley is identified with the Elks and the Knights of 
Columbus and he belongs to the Real Estate Board and the Association of Commerce. 
During the World war he participated in the various drives and sought in every way 
to cooperate with his government. For recreation Mr. Dooley turns to motoring and 
makes many trips through Wisconsin and neighboring states. He is likewise fond of 
all outdoor sports and athletics and was a member of the baseball team at Marquette 
University. He has closely applied himself to the mastery of all duties connected 
with his business and is one of the vital and progressive young business men of his 
native city. His unqualified personal popularity has won for him many friends and 
they watch with interest his continued advancement. 



THOMAS LEIGHTON BLYTH. 

Thomas Leighton Blyth, branch manager of the American Mutual Liability In- 
surance Company of Boston, with headquarters in Milwaukee was born in the city of 
his present residence on the 2d of October, 1S95. His father, Charles James Phillips 
Blyth, was born in London, England, in 1S66 and came to Milwaukee about 1892, before 
his marriage. He is now living retired in Milwaukee, enjoying the fruits of a life spent 
in diligence and industry. Mrs. Blyth is also living. She was before her marriage, 
Miss Margaret Leighton, a native of Banchory, Scotland. She came to Milwaukee with 
a sister and there met her future husband. 

Thomas Leighton Blyth received his early education in the public schools of Mil- 
waukee until he was seventeen years of age, when he put his textbooks aside and going 
to Chicago became associated with his present company as claim investigator and gen- 
eral assistant. He remained with the company in Chicago, and as a result of his busi- 
ness ability and the conscientious performance of every duty assigned him, in 1919 he 
was made manager of the production department and in June of that year was trans- 
ferred to his present position in Milwaukee. He started out in life on his own account 
when a lad in his teens and his advancement has been the direct outcome of his efforts 
and perseverance. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and now 
occupies an enviable position among the prominent business men of the city. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Blyth has been a supporter of the democratic 
party, although he has never taken a conspicuous part in its affairs, preferring to de- 
vote his time and attention to his business interests. He is musically inclined, having 
a splendid tenor voice and he has made many public appearances in both church and 
theatre work. He is an Episcopalian, attending All Saints cathedral and for eight years 
he has sung in its choir, three years of the time being soloist. He has likewise sung at 
performances in the Davidson, Pabst and other theatres in the city. He has, in every 
way, thoroughly identified himself with the interests of Milwaukee and is one of the 
leading members of the Association of Commerce, belonging to both the senior and 
junior divisions of the organization. He is identified with the Milwaukee Athletic and 
Blue Mound Country Clubs and for recreation he turns to outdoor sports, enjoying 
fishing, boxing and golf. He is also fond of good literature. Although kept out of 
active service in the World war because of a serious surgical operation, he subordi- 
nated all personal interests in the desire to do all in his power and he had just become 
a member of the Motor Transport Corps when the armistice was signed, bringing active 
hostilities to a close. Mr. Blyth is essentially a business man, alert and energetic, and 
his well defined plans have been carried steadily forward to successful completion along 
lines that will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. 



JACOB HERMAN. 



Jacob Herman, president of the Wisconsin Retail Market Men's Association and 
also president of the Market Men's Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Wisconsin, was 
born in Jackson, this state. April 23, 1875. The story of his life is the story of earnest 
endeavor, intelligently directed, and the results which follow such a course are sure 
and certain. His parents, Christopher and Anna Elizabeth (Faber) Herman, were 
both natives of Germany but came to America in early life and were married in this 
country. The trip of the Herman family to the new world was made in a sailing 
vessel in the '30s and after reaching Wisconsin they took up land near Jackson, there 
clearing away the timber and developing a farm amid the surroundings of pioneer 
life. The first home of the family was a little log cabin, in which they lived until 
they could gain a start and erect a more commodious and modern home. Mr. and 
Mrs. Christopher Herman reared a family of thirteen children, eleven of whom are 
living. In the early days they had to walk to Milwaukee for their supplies and later 




JACOB HERMAN 



Vol. Ill— 10 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 147 

they made the trip with oxen. All of the hardships and privations of pioneer life were 
familiar to them but as the years passed, the labors of Mr. Herman and others of the 
family did away with these hard conditions and the benefits of prosperity were in 
time theirs. The father was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in defense of his 
adopted country in the Sixth Wisconsin Regiment, which was a part of the famous 
Iron Brigade. He had several narrow escapes, on one occasion a bullet piercing his 
cap, while at another time his sleeve was perforated by rebel lead. However, he re- 
mained uninjured and faithfully followed the nation's starry banner on the battle 
fields of the south until victory crowned the Union arms. After the war he returned 
to the old homestead and thereon spent his remaining days, his death occurring at 
the age of eighty-two and a half years. 

Jacob Herman was educated in the country schools and remained on the farm until 
fifteen years of age. when he began working at the butcher's trade. In 1S94 he came 
to Milwaukee and continued to follow his trade in the employ of others until 1903, when 
he opened a place of his own at his present location — No. 2322 State street. Here 
he has built up a very large trade, having a modern butcher shop, well appointed, 
sanitary and attractive in the line of meats carried. Mr. Herman has been very 
successful in all that he has undertaken and his high standing in business is shown 
in the fact that in 1918 he was elected president of the Wisconsin Retail Market Men's 
Association and is now serving for the fourth term in that position. He was also 
elected in 1918 president of the Market Men's Mutual Fire Insurance Company of 
Wisconsin and is serving for the fourth term in that office. He studies closely all 
important and vital business problems and his opinions on trade conditions and 
possibilities are sound, being based upon keen vision and broad understanding of not 
only the needs but the opportunities of the hour. 

In 1899 Mr. Herman was married to Miss Martha Stroebel of Liberty Grove, 
Wisconsin. His military record consists of service as a member of Company E, 
Fourth Wisconsin National Guard. During the World war he took a very active part 
in the various lines of war work, in the sale of Liberty bonds and War Savings Stamps 
and in the support of the Red Cross. By reason of the substantial worth of his work 
he received honorable mention, having had charge of the war committees in his 
territory. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also of the Knights of Pythias 
and the United Commercial Travelers. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second 
degree of the Scottish Rite and has also crossed the sands of the desert to Tripoli 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine. 



FREDERICK WILLIAM KOENEKE. 

Milwaukee numbers among her prominent citizens, Frederick William Koeneke, 
local manager of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, with headquarters at 486-96 
Market street. He has been a resident of the United States since he was six years of 
age, at which time he came to this country from Hanover, Germany, where his birth 
occurred on the 19th of February, 1856. The parents of Mr. Koeneke were Christopher 
and Dora (Huebing) Koeneke, both of whom have passed away. The father was born 
in Hanover, Germany, and there grew to manhood, engaging as a millwright there 
until 1862, when he came to the United States with his wife and son, Frederick Wil- 
liam. He located at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and purchased a farm, which he operated 
with substantial success. He was a man interested in all matters pertaining to the 
public welfare and could always be counted upon to do his share in the promotion of 
any movement for furthering the development and improvement of the community in 
which he made his home. He was a devout Lutheran and was always an official in 
that church. His death in 1868 came as a severe blow to his many friends and the com- 
munity lost a representative citizen. His widow was likewise born in Hanover, Ger- 
many, a daughter of Fred Huebing who came to this country in later life and engaged 
in farming in Reedsburg, removing to that locality soon after the Koenekes settled 
there. Mrs. Koeneke survived her husband for a number of years, her demise occurring 
in 1921. 

Frederick William Koeneke is indebted to the public schools of Reedsburg for his 
education and after graduating from the high school there with the class of 1873, he 
removed to Milwaukee, where he accepted a position as clerk with the J. P. Kissinger 
Company until 1881. He won constant promotion in that connection and in 1881 was 
active as shipping clerk. In that year, however, he resigned his position and entered 
the employ of the James E. Patton Company as clerk, later became shipping clerk and 
subsequently salesman. In April, 1907, he was made manager and has held that 
position ever since. In April, 1913, the company was consolidated with the Pittsburgh 
Plate Glass Company. Mr. Koeneke has charge of the Wisconsin and upper Michigan 
territory. 

On the 21st of January, 1877, Mr. Koeneke was united in marriage to Miss Annie 



148 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Gohres, a daughter of Gerhardt Gohres, a manufacturer of implements at Watertown, 
Wisconsin, where Mrs. Koeneke was born. Mr. Gohres was a native of Coblenz, Ger- 
many, and located in Wisconsin in 1870, his death occurring three years later. To the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Koeneke three children have been born: William, Frank 
Edward, and Adella. William Koeneke, who was a member of the Milwaukee police 
force for seventeen years, is now associated with the Chain Belt Company of Milwaukee 
and for some time before becoming associated with this company was connected with 
the Allis-Chalmers Company. He married Miss Emma Kuntz of Milwaukee and they 
have become parents of three children: LeRoy, Margaret and Lorraine, the latter 
being the wife of Frank Smith of Milwaukee and an employe of the Allis-Chalmers 
Company; Frank Edward Koeneke is in the sales department of his father's office. 
He married Selma Kemp of Milwaukee and they have one child, Ralph C, who is in 
the engineering department of the Richardson-Phenix Company; Adella, the youngest 
member of the family and the only daughter, is the wife of William G. Linderman of 
Milwaukee, who is superintendent of the Ozone Company of America. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Koeneke has been a stanch supporter of the 
republican party but has neither sought nor desired public office as a reward for party 
fealty. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and fraternally he is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias, belonging to Prospect Lodge. He is likewise a 
member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and 
the Calumet Club. Mr. Koeneke has a highly developed artistic sense and is interested 
in everything of an artistic nature. He finds recreation in playing billiards, in which 
game he is proficient and he is also fond of hunting and of various outdoor sports. 
Mr. Koeneke has excellent ability as an organizer, forms his plans readily and is de- 
termined in their execution. This enables him to conquer obstacles which deter many 
a man and it has been one of the salient features in his success. 



WALTER J. BEINERT. 



Walter J. Beinert, the secretary of the Brunlieb & Wing Company, automobile 
experts of Milwaukee, was born November 1, 1882, in the town of Main. Wisconsin, his 
parents being John and Elizabeth Beinert who were natives of Germany. Crossing 
the Atlantic, the father settled first at Scranton, Pennsylvania, in early life and about 
1S70 came to Wisconsin. He was a clergyman, devoting his efforts to the work of the 
church, and his influence was of no restricted order. 

Walter J. Beinert largely acquired his education at Ripon and at Sun Prairie, 
Wisconsin, his parents living at various places in this state because of the itinerant 
custom of the ministry. When his textbooks were put aside Walter J. Beinert took up 
the business of bookkeeping and later he became the cashier for the Wallace & Smith 
Company of Milwaukee, with which he remained for twenty years. On the 9th of 
August, 1919, he entered into a partnership relation that led to the organization of the 
Brunlieb & Wing Company, of which he is the secretary, with Mr. Wing as the president 
and Mr. Brunlieb as the treasurer. Their business is that of automobile experts. 
They handle oils, gas and all kinds of accessories, do painting and enameling and 
every kind of repairing, and they also maintain a storage department. The busiaess 
is being rapidly developed along substantia! lines and has already reached a creditable 
figure. 

In 1907 Mr. Beinert was married to Miss Anna Henning, a daughter of Henry 
Helming of Milwaukee and they have many friends in this city, where they have long 
made their home. 



JAMES STANLEY THOMAS, M. D. 

Dr. James Stanley Thomas, a prominent and popular young physician of Mil- 
waukee, specializing in surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, was born in Ironton, Ohio. 
April 7, 1883, and is a son of James Thomas, who died at the age of twenty-nine years, 
when the Doctor was but a year old. The father was superintendent in a steel mill 
at Ironton, Ohio, occupying this responsible position at the time of his death. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Christine Strobel, passed away in 1921. 

Dr. Thomas was reared at Ironton, Ohio, pursuing his education in the public 
schools of that city and in Crook Academy there. He afterward spent two years as a 
student in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, after which he completed his 
preparation for a professional career in the Northwestern University Medical College 
of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1907. He later spent 
six months as interne in the Chicago Lying-in Hospital and subsequently became 
interne in the Milwaukee County Hospital, with which he was thus connected for a 




WALTER J. BEINERT 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 151 

year, and was later on the surgical staff of the Shaw Hospital at Hibbing, Minnesota, 
for three years. Dr. Thomas then entered upon the practice of medicine independently 
in .Milwaukee, confining his attention to surgery, gynecology and obstetrics. He is now 
a member of the faculty of the Marquette Medical College and was formerly on the 
faculty of the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons before it became a part 
of the Marquette Medical College, his connection with this institution covering a period 
of ten years, during which he has lectured on gynecology. He is now serving on the 
staff of the Milwaukee County Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital and the Milwaukee 
Maternity Hospital and he is also consulting surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital in Water- 
town, Wisconsin. He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin 
State Medical Society, the Wisconsin Surgical Society and the American Medical Asso- 
ciation. 

On the 6th of October, 1909, Dr. Thomas was married at Hibbing, Minnesota, to 
Miss Edna Richards and they have become parents of two sons, James Richard and 
Alfred William, aged eight and five years, respectively. Dr. Thomas, is fond of boxing 
and outdoor sports, particularly tennis and football. He is a Master Mason, having 
joined the order at the age of twenty-one years, and has always been a loyal follower 
of the teachings and purposes of the craft. His social qualities make for popularity 
wherever he is known and although not yet forty years of age he is regarded as one 
of the foremost, physicians and surgeons of Milwaukee, having made steady advance- 
ment throughout his professional career until his position is one of leadership. 



ANTHONY VAN PIETERSOM. 

.Milwaukee numbers among her native sons Anthony Van Pietersom, who since 
1906 has been secretary and treasurer of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Inc., an adver- 
tising concern. His birth occurred on the 28th of May, 1874, a son of Anthony and 
Anna (Marr) Van Pietersom, the former passing away on January 26, 1916. The 
lather was a native of Holland, born in Amsterdam, and came to the United States 
with his parents when four years of age. He engaged in cigar manufacturing and won 
more than a substantial success along that line. The Van Pietersoms occupied prom- 
inent places in Holland's history for many years and were a family of considerable 
wealth. The grandfather, also named Anthony, came with his family to the United 
States in 1853 and after residing in New York for some time located in Sheboygan, 
Wisconsin, removing from there to Milwaukee. He was a veteran of the Civil war 
having served throughout that conflict in the Union army. Mrs. Van Pietersom was 
born in Germany and she is now living in Milwaukee. She came to this country from 
her native land with her parents when but a child. 

In the acquirement of an education Anthony Van Pietersom attended the public 
schools of Milwaukee and after graduating from the East Division high school enrolled 
in the Spencerian Business College and later in the Milwaukee Business College where 
he completed a course along general commercial lines. From the age of eighteen to 
twenty years he was professor in business training and accounting in the latter in- 
stitution and subsequently resigned to accept a position as accountant with a whole- 
sale house, where he was associated for ten years. Mr. Van Pietersom was quick to 
take advantage of his opportunities and for some years before leaving that concern 
was active as general manager. For the following one and one-half years he was asso- 
ciated with the Johnson Service Company in the contract department and was offered 
the New York office but refused. On the 1st of June, 1906. he founded his present 
business with Gustav W. Klau, under the firm name of Klau & Van Pietersom. Two 
years later Wallis F. Dunlap was admitted to the firm and the business was in- 
corporated as the Klau-Van Pietersom Company, which name was changed five years 
later to its present style of Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Inc. Mr. Klau is chief 
executive of the corporation, Mr. Van Pietersom is secretary and treasurer and Mr. 
Dunlap is vice president. The business has achieved a national reputation in adver- 
tising circles and they place the advertising of some of the largest concerns in Mil- 
waukee, among them being: The Allis-Chalmers Company, the Cutler-Hammer Manu- 
facturing Company; the Everwear Hosiery Company; the Evinrude Motor Company; 
the Harli'v Davidson Motor Company; the Milwaukee Motor Products Company; the 
Nunn, Bush & Weldon Shoe Company and the Robert A. Johnston Company. Outside 
of Milwaukee the company also has the patronage of nationally known concerns. 

On the 29th of October, 1910, occurred the marriage cf Mr. Van Pietersom to Miss 
Margaret Besnah of Oshkosh. Mrs. Van Pietersom is well known in the musical and 
literary circles of Milwaukee and is also prominent in the club and social circles of 
the city. 

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Van Pietersom has been 
a stanch supporter of the republican party and although he has neither sought nor 
desired public office he has been active in local affairs. His religious faith is that 



152 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of the Calvary Presbyterian church and fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Inde- 
pendence Lodge, No. 80, A. F. & A. M.. in which he has held various chairs; Wiscon- 
sin Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templars, No. 24; Wis- 
consin Council, No. 4; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is captain of one 
cf the patrols and has taken the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. Socially he 
is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Wisconsin Club and as a man 
always interested in any movement for the improvement of the general welfare, holds 
membership in the Association of Commerce. Mr. Van Pietersom is musically inclined 
and he is a pianist of no little ability. He is likewise interested in literature and has 
done considerable writing for school work in the past. His advertising copy is of the 
very highest grade. For recreation Mr. Van Pietersom turns to motoring and he is 
also fond of all outdoor sports. Mr. Van Pietersom has always adhered to high and 
honorable principles in his business dealings and in all of the relations of life he has 
commanded the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come into contact. He 
deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and the success he has achieved 
snd the position he has attained are the reward of his earnest and well directed 
labors. Mr. and Mrs. Van Pietersom reside at 703 Marietta avenue. 



HON. LOUIS A. FONS. 



Hon. Louis A. Fons, engaged in the real estate, insurance and loan business in 
Milwaukee, as president of the firm of Fons & Company, belongs to that class of men 
who owe their success to the recognition and utilization of opportunities which others 
have heedlessly passed by. Determined and energetic, he has always persisted in the 
pursuit of his purpose, allowing no obstacles or difficulties to bar his path if they 
could be overcome by earnest and energetic effort, and to these qualities may be at- 
tributed his gratifying success. He was born in Milwaukee, August 25, 1878, and is 
a son of Frank and Mary (Piszczek) Fons. natives of Poland. They came to Milwaukee 
in 1871 and in 1875 the father found employment as a blacksmith with the Wisconsin 
Malleable Iron Company, and to this day remains an active worker in this foundry. 

Louis A. Fons pursued his early education in the parochial schools of his native 
city, attending to the age of thirteen years, when he started out in the business world 
as an office boy in connection with a real estate and insurance firm. He has continued 
in the same line of business, with which he has thoroughly acquainted himself in 
every particular. In 1899, when twenty-one years of age, he embarked in business 
with his employer, Wawrzyniakowski, by purchasing a half interest in the business. 
In 1918 he acquired M. J. Wawrzyniakowski's interest, in 1919 he acquired M. J. 
Drozewski's interest and in 1920 he purchased the shares of Frank J. Gapinski, and has 
since conducted the business with his four brothers, under the firm style of Fons & 
Company. Louis A. Fons became manager in 1901 and was elected president at the 
time the business was incorporated in 1910. His brother, Frank S. Fons, associated 
with the undertaking since 1901, is now vice president of the company. Edward H. 
Fons has been secretary since his return from France in 1919. He enlisted as a 
volunteer in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment, served, on the 
Texas border in 1916, went to France in 1917 and was there on active duty until 
the close of the war. Following his return he became associated with his four 
brothers in the business. The company enjoys an extensive patronage, its clients 
today numbering about six thousand. In this connection Louis A. Fons handles 
important realty transfers and the insurance and loan departments of his business 
are also profitable sources of revenue. He is the secretary of the National Sav- 
ings & Loan Association, having assets of three million five hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars, representing largely the savings of wage earners. The Association 
furnishes money for building purposes and thus has assisted many a man with small 
means in gaining a home of his own where he could not have done so had it been 
necessary for him to furnish sufficient capital so that a mortgage loan could be 
negotiated for the difference. According to the methods of the company with which 
Mr. Fons is identified, the wage earner is able to pay a small amount weekly, bi- 
weekly or monthly and thus in the course of years gains clear title to his property. 
In 1916 Mr. Fons organized the Berthelet Pipe & Supply Company, of which he has 
since been the secretary. He is likewise a director of the Juneau Investment Company 
and was its secretary for the first five years of its existence. He also organized the 
Central State Bank, located at Second and Mitchell streets. He has displayed keen 
sagacity in regard to business opportunities and affairs and whatever he has under- 
taken has been carried forward to successful completion. 

Mr. Fons has also left the impress of his individuality upon the legislative history 
of the state. From 1918 until 1920 he represented the eighth district of Wisconsin in 
the state senate and while a member thereof gave most thoughtful and earnest con- 
sideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement. He also was 




HON. LOUIS A. FONS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 155 

instrumental in securing the passage of a number of bills relative to building and loan 
associations and a bill for the regulation of the liability insurance rate by the state. 
He was a very active and prominent member of the senate. He also conducts one of 
the largest business agencies in steamship tickets in Milwaukee, while his building 
operations have been very extensive, especially in the years preceding the World war, 
resulting in the erection in 1916 of about eighty houses, while in other years his 
building operations have included from twenty to forty homes. 

On the 23d of September, 1902, Mr. Fons was married to Miss Cecelia Sonnenberg 
of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of four children: Leonard C, a 
student at Campion College; Aloys E., a student in Marquette Academy; Esther 
Louise; and Louis Robert. 

Mr. Fons was connected with all of the drives during the progress of the World 
war, and has always stood for advancement and benefit in all public affairs. He is 
a member of several fraternities, belongs to the Polish National Alliance, to the 
Polish Association of America, to the Catholic Order of Foresters, to the Knights 
of Columbus, to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Equitable Fraternal 
Union. He was a prominent figure in semi-professional baseball and organized the 
successful Koseiuszko Baseball Club of Lalre Shore League, of which he remained the 
manager for seven years. In politics he has always been a stanch republican, was 
a member of the republican state central committee and was elected a delegate to 
the national republican convention in 1916. He has long been actively interested in 
political problems, keeping well informed on all the vital questions of the day, and 
his position is that of a most progressive citizen. 

Moreover. Mr. Fons deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in a busi- 
ness way. He had only three hundred dollars in cash when he started out in business 
for himself. This he had saved from his earnings at baseball and the wages obtained 
through evening work. He was employed for a time by the A. 0. Smith Corporation 
and by the Milwaukee Fire Insurance Company during the daytime, and worked in 
the evenings for M. J. Wawrzyniakowski in the real estate office. He continued his 
studies through a correspondence school in preparation for a business career and 
has never had a dollar of assistance from anyone — not even his parents — since he 
started out on his own account when a youth in his teens. Steadily he has worked 
his way upward through his own efforts, and industry has constituted the key which 
has unlocked for him the portals of success. 



THEO. ERNST. 



Theo. Ernst, president of the Theo. Ernst Co., insurance, real estate and invest- 
ments of Milwaukee, started out in the business world as a stenographer and has 
gradually advanced until today he is at the head of a substantial business and is recog- 
nized as one of the leading insurance and real estate dealers of the city. His birth 
occurred on a farm near Freistadt. Wisconsin, September 22, 1883, his parents being 
Herman and Wilhelmina Ernst, who were natives of Germany, whence they came to 
the United States in 1850, settling on the farm where the birth of their son Theodore 
occurred. There they remained for about twenty years, after which they took up 
their abode in Milwaukee, the father living retired until his death, which occurred 
December 23, 1911. His widow is yet a resident of the Cream city. 

Theo. Ernst was educated in the public schools and a business college, taking up 
a course of shorthand in the latter institution. He became a stenographer in the 
Rubin & Zabe! law office, in which he was employed for about four years and then 
gained experience which qualified him for his present business by obtaining a position 
in the insurance office of Henry Gollusch, with whom he also continued for four years. 
While in that office he gained his first practical knowledge of the insurance and real 
estate business and at length, actuated by a laudable ambition to make his labors 
more directly benefit himself, he resigned his position to establish an insurance and 
real estate office of his own. This was in 1908 and through the intervening period he 
has continued an active factor in real estate, insurance and investment circles, now 
having a large clientele. He also became one of the organizers and directors of the 
Keystone Building & Loan Association and was active in the organization of the Mil- 
waukte Commercial Bank in June. 1919. at which time he was elected to the directorate. 
His business interests are thus broad in scope and important in character and his 
activity, determination and farsightedness have been salient features in the attainment 
of a gratifying success. 

On the 14th of May, 1908, Mr. Ernst was married to Miss Lillian Mueller of Mil- 
waukee, and they have one daughter, June Dorothy, now five years of age. Mr. Ernst 
is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and member of Tripoli Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine. He has served in various offices in his lodge, being a past master of 
Henry L. Palmer Lodge, No. 301, A. F. & A. M., of which he became a charter mem- 
ber. He is likewise a past high priest of Henry L. Palmer Chapter, No. 87, R. A. M., 



156 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

and a trustee of Henry L. Palmer Commantlery, K. T. He has thus attained high rank 
in both the York and Scottish Rites and has always been a worthy follower of the 
teachings and purposes of the craft. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks, also to the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Khorassan. He finds his 
recreation in manly outdoor sports but allows nothing to interfere with the faithful 
performance of his business duties. He has made rapid progress in his chosen field 
and is regarded as one of the prominent young insurance and real estate dealers of the 
city. 



ALBERT BLATZ, JR. 



Albert Blatz, Jr., general manager for the Standard Separator Company of Mil- 
waukee, was born in this city July 24, 1S86, his parents being Albert C. and Emma 
(Kletzsch) Blatz. He was educated in what is now the Milwaukee University School 
and in the East Side high school, while later he matriculated in the University of 
Wisconsin and was graduated therefrom in' 1908 with the degrees of B. S. E. E. Fol- 
lowing the completion of his college course he was employed by the Val Blatz Brew- 
ing Company and also by the United States Brewing Company of Chicago as supervising 
engineer, continuing to act in this capacity until January 1, 1920. He then associated 
himself with the American Metal Parts Manufacturing Company, of which he is now 
the president. On the 1st of March, 1920, Mr. Blatz became general manager of the 
Standard Separator Company, engaged in the manufacture of cream separators, which 
are power driven either by gas or electricity. The company also handles farm lighting 
plants, garden tractors and conducts a nonferrous metal foundry and does general 
machine shop work. The plant was erected in 1914 and occupies a building one hun- 
dred and fifty by two hundred and forty feet. Their goods are sold all over the world 
and their foreign trade is equal to their American sales. 

On the 23d of June. 1909, Mr. Blatz was married to Miss Ellen Loraine Hinners 
of Milwaukee. At the time of the World war he was vice chairman of group No. 3 
of the war finance committee, which group oversubscribed each issue on the first day 
of the drive. Mr. Blatz was also a member of the advisory board for the United States 
fuel administration. He belongs to the Milwaukee Engineers Society and also has 
membership in the City Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the University Club. 
His entire life has been passed in Milwaukee and among his stanchest friends are those 
who have known him from his boyhood to the present time. 



JOSEPH E. NOBLE. 



Joseph E. Noble, vice president of Packman, Noble & Company, Incorporated, public 
accountants of Milwaukee and Chicago, is numbered among Milwaukee's representa- 
tive business men. He was born on the 5th of February, 1889, at St. James, Minnesota, 
a son of George J. and Anna (Swenson) Noble, the latter of whom is deceased. The 
father is a native of Nova Scotia, and is still living, making his home at Great Falls, 
Montana, where he has won prominence and success as a merchant and rancher. His 
wife passed away in 1907. She was born in Keokuk, Iowa, a daughter of John Swenson, 
prominent in the agricultural circles of that vicinity. 

Joseph E. Noble pursued a public school education in Swift county, Minnesota, 
and then entered a college at Grand Forks, North Dakota, from which he was graduated 
in 1909. Already he had determined to specialize in accountancy and, therefore, 
graduated from Concordia College at Moorhead, Minnesota, class of 1910. He con- 
tinued studies at St. Paul, Minnesota, and Marquette University and subsequently 
mastered every phase of the science. The following four years he spent in teaching 
at Eveleth high school in his native state and at the Central Wisconsin College in 
Waupaca county, Wisconsin. In 1916, thinking to find other pursuits more congenial 
than teaching, he located in Milwaukee and there, in association with William King- 
man Packman, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work, he founded 
the Cream City Accounting Company, which business was conducted under that name 
until the 1st of January, 1920, when it was changed to Packman, Noble & Company, 
being reorganized and incorporated with Mr. Packman as president and Mr. Noble as 
vice president. The business, which is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, 
has at least a hundred regular clients and many other calls for special work. The firm 
handles audits of every description, opens, closes and keeps monthly accounts and does 
a regular system of general accounting work. In order to give efficient and quick 
service the company has in its employ over twenty expert accountants. In addition to 
the accounting business both Mr. Noble and Mr. Packman have purchased the business 
of the Winter Piano Company, dealers in pianos and musical instruments, in which 




ALBERT BLATZ. .11,'. 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 159 

venture they have been so successful that they have recently acquired ownership of 
another store on Grand avenue. They have incorporated their interests under the name 
of the Winter Piano Company, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and of 
this concern Mr. Noble is chief executive. 

On the 17th of September, 1913, Mr. Noble was united in marriage to Miss 
Florence Anderson, a daughter of Charles H. Anderson, a prominent and well known 
citizen of Waupaca county, Wisconsin. He is a native of that county, where he has 
won more than substantial success as a dealer in farm products and not only has he 
gained prominence in agricultural circles but has held many public offices. Three 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Noble: Leland Woodrow, Nolan Vincent and 
Walter Kenneth. 

The political allegiance of Mr. Noble is given to the republican party, he being 
a firm believer in the principles of that party as factors in good government. He has, 
however, neither sought nor desired political preferment as a reward for party fealty. 
His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, as is that of his wife, and he 
holds membership in the South Division Civic Association and the Milwaukee Asso- 
ciation of Commerce. In musical circles Mr. Noble is likewise well known, having at 
various times been director of orchestras and brass bands. While at Central Wis- 
consin College he directed the choruses and also sang with different campus musical 
organizations. Mr. Noble has made good use of his opportunities. He has been per- 
sistent in the pursuit of a worth-while purpose and has gained a most satisfactory 
reward. Mr. Noble maintains a home at 613 Fifty-eighth street, where he surrounds 
his family with such influences as are found in a cultured and refined home. 



WILLIAM WATSON PERRY. 

William Watson Perry, Masonic grand secretary of the state of Wisconsin and for 
many years a most active worker in the organization, was born July 28, 1S53, in Mil- 
waukee, the family home standing on the lot adjoining his present residence. His 
parents were James and Ellen (Smith) Perry, the former a native of Manchester, 
England, born November 30, 1804, while the latter was born in Burnley, England, April 
22. 1813. James Perry arrived in Wisconsin in the year 1848 and for a considerable 
period was identified with the lumber business of Benjamin Bagnall & Company. He 
was a stanch supporter of the Union cause and of Abraham Lincoln and he was carried 
on a sickbed to the polls on the 9th of November, 1864, that he might cast his vote 
for the martyred president, then for the second time a candidate for office. Mr. Perry 
passed away on the following day. His widow survived him for two decades and died 
in Jericho, Wisconsin, January 19, 1885. 

In his youthful days William W. Perry attended the district schools of Wisconsin 
and afterward matriculated in the Ohio State College, now the Ohio State University, 
from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He afterward studied 
law and was admitted to the bar but has never engaged in practice. He received the 
LL. D. degree from Carroll College. After his graduation from the Ohio State College 
he was regularly ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian church and he has 
devoted much of his time during the succeeding years to the ministry. One of the most 
marked activities of Mr. Perry has been in connection with the Masonic organization. 
He was initiated into the order in Lake Lodge No. 189, F. & A. M.. of Milwaukee, receiv- 
ing the Master Mason degree on the 24th of July, 1876. He later became a member of 
Waukesha Chapter No. 37, R. A. M., and of Waukesha Council, R. & S. M. He attained 
the Knights Templar degree in St. John's Commandery No. 21 at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, 
and demitting from the various Masonic bodies with which he first became affiliated, 
he transferred his membership to Madison Lodge No. 5, Madison Chapter No. 4 and 
Robert Macoy Commandery No. 3 at Madison, Wisconsin. He took the Scottish Rite 
degrees in 1889, becoming a member of Wisconsin Consistory of Milwaukee, and in 
1904 the honorary thirty-third degree was conferred upon him in Boston in recognition 
of valuable service rendered to the fraternity. He likewise belongs to Tripoli Temple, 
A. A. 0. N. M. S. Almost from the beginning of his connection with Masonry he has 
held office in the order. He served as senior deacon of the grand lodge of Wisconsin 
and was afterward senior warden. He was made deputy grand master in 1894 and at 
the next meeting of the grand lodge was chosen most worshipful grand master. He 
was also made most illustrious grand master of the Grand Council of Royal and Select 
Masters and in September, 1900, was appointed grand secretary of the Masonic grand 
bodies in Wisconsin, in which position he has since continued. His contribution to 
the growth and progress of the order in Wisconsin has been real and valuable, his 
labors doing much to inculcate the high principles upon which the fraternity is founded 
— the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. 

Mr. Perry was united in marriage on the 19th of August, 1879, to Miss Emma G. 
LaBarre, a daughter of Darius W. and Ann (Stark) LaBarre of Mukwonago, Wis- 



160 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

consin. To them have been born five children: Jessie Ellen, who is now the wife of 
Thomas Scott of Wauwatosa; Ralph Emerson, a lawyer for the Northwestern Mutual 
Life Insurance Company, who married Miss Genevieve Madden and has a son William 
Watson Perry (II) ; Faye M., now the wife of Harry Ricker of Milwaukee and the 
mother of two children, Robert and Ruth Mary; Helen M., who is the wife of William 
H. Strickler of Rockford, Illinois, and has two children, William Perry and Patricia 
Strickler; and Ruth J., who is now connected with t he Masonic Service Bureau. The 
family residence is ?t No. 642 Marshall street and in addition Mr. Perry has four acres 
of land on Eagle lake, coming to him as an inheritance from his tatter. In the work 
of the ministry and the Masonic fraternity he has given his life to the L3.sk of instilling 
those principles which make for upright manhood, for high ideals in citizenship and 
devotion to the most advanced standards. "Not the good that comes to us, but the 
good that comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success." 



FRANK GEORGE RAMSTHAL. 

Through a thorough preliminary training, acquainting him with every phase and 
detail of the printing business, Frank George Ramsthal has steadily advanced until 
he is now president of the Broadway Press, a large enterprise engaged in catalogue 
and commercial printing. He took up the printing business after completing his edu- 
cation in the common schools, his boyhood ?nd youth having been passed upon a farm. 
He was born on his father's farm at Pickering, Missouri, April 18, 1877, his parents 
being August and Paulina (Haentze) Ramsthal. The father, now living, retired, in 
Milwaukee, was born in Saxony, Germany, and came to the United States in 1852 with 
his parents, who settled on a farm at Mequon, Wisconsin, where they lived for two 
years. On the expiration of that period they removed to Fillmore, Wisconsin, thence' 
to Pickering, Missouri, and in 1880 to Clark county, Wisconsin. In 1885, leaving the 
farm, August Ramsthal came to Milwaukee, where he was for many years engaged in 
merchandising on Upper Third street but is now living retired from active business. 
He is a son of William Ramsthal, who was of German birth and came to the United 
States with his family in 1852, passing away in Fillmore, Wisconsin, in 1867. Thus 
the fourth generation of the family is now represented on American soil. The mother, 
who in her maidenhood was Paulina Haentze, is a native of Saxony and was brought 
to Wisconsin by her parents in the same year in which her future husband accom- 
panied his parents to the United States. 

Having pursued a course of study in the common schools of Clark county, Wis- 
consin, and of Milwaukee, without further educational training, Frank G. Ramsthal 
made his initial step in the business world, taking up the printing trade as an employe 
of the Meyer-Rotier Printing Company, with which he was associated for twenty- 
seven years. He entered their establishment as an apprentice and won advancement 
from time to time until he became superintendent and general efficiency expert, serv- 
ing in the dual position when in 1919 he severed his connection with the house and 
organized the company of which he is now the head, purchasing a controlling interest 
in the Broadway Press, which had operated under different names for a quarter of 
a century. Mr. Ramsthal became the president and has so continued to this time, 
directing the conduct and further development of the business, which is that of catalogue 
and commercial printing, with an extensive patronage in Milwaukee. They have ex- 
cellent equipment for carrying on the work and maintain the highest standards in 
their output. Mr. Ramsthal is also well known in Milwaukee real estate circles and is 
president of the Ramsthal Investment Company, a family corporation which owns and 
controls some staple Milwaukee real estate and Wisconsin lands. 

On the 29th of October, 1903, Mr. Ramsthal was married to Miss Adie M. Jahn, a 
daughter of Henry Jahn of Milwaukee, who was born in this city of German parentage. 
He has been a well known barber here for many years, conducting the shop in the 
Railway Exchange building. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsthal have three children: Noel H., 
who is studying architecture; Mildred A., attending the public schools; and Ellen. 

Mr. Ramsthal has never been active in politics save for the support which he has 
given to his friends seeking office. He is of the Episcopalian faith and attends St. 
Paul's church. Fraternally he is connected with Milwaukee Lodge, No. 261, F. & A. M. ; 
Calumet Chapter, No. 73, R. A. M.; and Garfield Lodge No. 83, K. P. He also belongs 
to the Milwaukee Typothetae and to the Graphic Arts Craftsmen. He has written what 
is regarded a standard article on stone work, in which line of business he is a recog- 
nized authority. Hunting is his hobby, but he also enjoys boating and fishing, and 
he has hunted all over the state. Outdoor life has always made strong appeal to him 
and whenever the demands of business permit he may be found at his summer home. 
He loves music and plays the piano for his own pleasure, while deriving great enjoy- 
ment from the performances of professionals. He deserves great credit for what he 
has accomplished and may truly be called a self-made man, for he started out in life 



HISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 161 

with no special advantages and by sheer merit and force of character has worked his 

way steadily upward to the creditable place which he now fills in the business circles 
of the city. 



HERBERT FRED GRUNDMANN. 

A typical business man of the present day, alert and enterprising, determined and 
therefore prosperous, is Herbert Fred Grundmann, president of the Bartels-Grund- 
mann Dental Manufacturing Company, located at Room 43, 121 Wisconsin street. 
He is a native son of Milwaukee, his birth having occurred on the 7th of October, 1887. 
He is a son of Phillip and Margaret (Kuemmerlein) Grundmann, of German descent. 
Phillip Grundmann was born in Milwaukee and was for forty years a coal and wood 
dealer on the south side of the city, achieving prominence and more than substantial 
success in that connection. His son, Walter, is now conducting the business. In 1909 
Mr. Grundmann passed away and in his passing Milwaukee lost a representative citizen. 
The mother is still living in Milwaukee. Her birth occurred here and her father was 
Andrew Kuemmerlein, a native of Germany. Her parents lived to the advanced age 
of ninety years. 

Herbert Fred Grundmann is indebted to the public schools of his birthplace for his 
early education and upon its completion he entered the business world as an apprentice 
in the dental manufacturing company of Bunde & Upmeyer. For seventeen years he 
remained in their employ, becoming thoroughly familiar with every phase of the 
work and in 1919 he determined to enter the business on his own account, with the 
result that in association with William F. Bartels he incorporated the present company, 
known as the Bartels-Grundmann Dental Manufacturing Company. The company makes 
all sorts of proscetic work for dentists in Milwaukee and throughout the United States, 
and Mr. Grundmann is considered an expert on bridge work. The business of the com- 
pany is steadily increasing and each year sees a great output and a more substantial 
profit. A large measure of the success which the business is enjoying is attributable 
to the president, who has been a persistent, resolute and energetic worker. 

On the 7th of May. 1910, occurred the marriage of Mr. Grundmann and Miss Emma 
Kuemmerlein. a daughter of George Kuemmerlein of Milwaukee. For forty years her 
father was identified with the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company but 
retired in 1921. He is a native of Milwaukee but his parents were German born. 
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grundmann: Robert and Paul, both of 
whom have passed away: and Lillian and Kenneth. 

In politics Mr. Grundmann follows an independent course, voting for the man 
he thinks best fitted for the office, without regard for party principles. His religious 
faith is that of the Lutheran church and fraternally he is an Elk, having membership 
in Milwaukee Lodge. No. 46. For recreation Mr. Grundmann turns to the great out- 
doors and he is particularly fond of hunting, motoring, etc. Mrs. Grundmann is well 
known in the musical circles of the city, being a pianist of ability. She graduated 
from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and has made many public appearances. 



JOHN THOMAS MEREDITH. 

For more than four decades John Thomas Meredith was a resident of Milwaukee 
and throughout practically this entire period occupied a position of leadership in 
connection with the great industrial interests of the city. He was born in Wolver- 
hampton, England, on the 5th of July. 1840, and was reared in his native land, coming 
to the United States in 1867 with his wife and four children. He was an engineer 
in calorics and at different periods resided at Youngstown, Ohio, at Chicago and at 
Bay View, Wisconsin, becoming identified with the Milwaukee Iron Company as engineer 
in calorics. He remained with that company until it was merged with the Chicago 
Rolling Mill Company, now the United States Steel Corporation, and represented the 
interests of that business until his death, which occurred February 21, 1911. 

Mr. Meredith was also the president of the Meredith Brothers Company, which 
was organized in 1891 and incorporated in 1901. The company was established for 
the purpose of conducting a general contracting business and with the incorporation 
John T. Meredith became president, with Richard Meredith as secretary and George 
S. Meredith as treasurer. In 1903 George S. Meredith became both secretary and 
treasurer, and at the time of the death of John T. Meredith, the president, Richard, 
George S. and H. Samuel Meredith were all identified with the business. They are 
contractors, builders and engineers in caloric and fire brick layers, making a specialty 
of heavy construction for manufacturing plants and erecting blast furnaces, heating 
furnaces, malleable melting furnaces, open hearth steel furnaces and annealing furnaces. 

rol. Ill — 11 



162 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

John T. Mererlith enjoyed the distinction of being the first builder of malleable iron 
furnaces in Milwaukee and the northwest and he also erected the great steel plant 
in South Chicago. His labors "were a most valuable contributing element to the in- 
dustrial development and progress of this section of the country and in fact the 
worth of his work can scarcly be overestimated. 

Mr. Meredith was married ere leaving England to Miss Sarah Ann Swain, a 
native of Wolverhampton, England, and a daughter of Samuel Swain, a mining en- 
gineer who in his later years located at Bay View, Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Meredith were born seven sons and three daughters. Richard Meredith, who was, 
born in 1866, in England, died in 1916. He became president of the Meredith Brothers 
Company on the death of his father and at his demise he left a widow, who in her 
maidenhood was Lucy Bartel, and two children, George and Richard, the former now 
connected with the business as successor to his father, while Richard is in the United 
States navy. George S. Meredith, the second son of the family, was born at 103 Lincoln 
avenue in Bay View, December 28, 1870. He acquired his early education there, attending 
the public schools, and later he entered Marquette College, from which he was gradu- 
ated in 1887. He then took up the study of caloric engineering under his father and 
later became identified with the Illinois Steel Company, with which he continued until 
the present company was organized in 1891. He has been actively interested in the 
business continuously since and is now the secretary and treasurer. On the 24th of 
February, 1890, he married Charlotte D. James, a daughter of John Green James, 
who was of Irish lineage and settled in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1837. His family 
were connected with the shingle industry. H. Samuel Meredith, the third son of the 
family, was born April 10, 1874, in Bay View, and having attended the public schools 
of that place, he continued his education in Beloit College at Beloit, Wisconsin, where 
he won his Bachelor of Arts degree. He then took up caloric engineering under his 
father's direction and also worked with the Illinois Steel Company, thus gaining 
broad and valuable experience that splendidly qualified him for the onerous duties 
that now devolve upon him as the vice president of the Meredith Brothers Company. 
He married Isabelle Drake, daughter of Charles P. Drake, a banker of Clinton Junc- 
tion, Wisconsin. 

The Meredith Brothers Company, in which the three brothers are closely associated 
in their business interests, has built more than half of the manufacturing and power 
plants of Milwaukee, including those of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, 
the Nordberg Manufacturing Company, the Filer & Stowell Company, the Worthington 
Pump & Machinery Corporation and the Commerce Street power house of the Milwaukee 
Electric Railway & Light Company. They also built the plant of the Vilter Manu- 
facturing Company and others of Milwaukee and the Newport Chemical Company at 
Carrollville, Wisconsin. The business, constantly developing, has now reached mammoth 
proportions and figures most conspicuously in connection with the industrial develop- 
ment of the upper Mississippi valley. 

In connection with public affairs the family has always occupied a progressive 
position, for their support is given to all plans and projects for the general good. 
George S. Meredith served for four years as alderman from the seventeenth ward and 
was on the public land commission for two years. He exercised his official preroga- 
tives in support of many projects of benefit to Milwaukee and his cooperation can 
at all times be counted upon for interests of public benefit. Fraternally he is a 
Mason of high rank, belonging to Lake Lodge No. 189. F. & A. M.; Lake Chapter, 
R. A. M.; Galilee Commandery, K. T.; Wisconsin Consistory, A. A. S. R. ; and Tripoli 
Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. His name is also on the membership rolls of the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club and the Wisconsin Club and his social qualities make for popularity in 
the circles in which he moves. 



VICTOR L. BROWN. 



Lawyer, lumberman, manufacturer and traveler — in these few words are summed 
up the life history of A'ictor L. Brown, a prominent citizen of Milwaukee, whose 
success has brought to him that larger leisure that permits of the cultivation of 
those interests which are of intellectual and cultural worth and value. His life story, 
most simply and concisely told, is as follows: 

"Victor L. Brown was born August 29, 1872, and lived in Racine until he was 
nineteen years old. He was educated in the University of Wisconsin and Harvard 
University and admitted to the bar in 1896. Soon thereafter he entered the law office 
of Charles Barber at Oshkosh, who was then one of the leading lawyers in that part 
of the state. The following year found him in Milwaukee engaged on his own account 
in the practice of the law, which he pursued until 1908. While so occupied he be- 
came interested in the lumber business in Alabama and Florida and a considerable 
portion of his time from 1S9S to 1908 was devoted to that industry. The years from 




VICTOR L. BROWN 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 165 

190S to 1911 were spent in study and travel covering various parts of the world. In 
1911 he became interested in the Sterling Motor Truck Company of Milwaukee and 
was later made its president, which position he held until 1920, when he retired to devote 
his time to private and professional interests which continued to lay greater claims 
upon his time. Mr. Brown is a member of the Milwaukee Club and the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club and a number of civic, fraternal and charitable organizations. During 
the war he served in the capacity of legal adviser of the Selective Service System. 
He was married in 1908 to Harriet Katherine Zens and is the father of two daughters, 
Victoria Frances Brown and Nancy Harriet Brown." 

One may read between the lines of this brief summary and gain a clear insight 
into the qualities which have made Victor L. Brown what he is. He entered upon a 
profession in which advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability 
and made for himself a most creditable position as a member of the bar. He proved 
equally forceful and resourceful in his operations as a lumberman and in the manage- 
ment and control of one of the important motor car industries of the country. He 
has never allowed business affairs, however, so to monopolize his time as to exclude 
opportunity for acquaintance with those interests which are of intellectual and cultural 
worth. He has fully met every duty and every obligation of life, and study and 
experience have constantly broadened his vision and enlarged his field of appreciation 
and of purpose. 



THE CORDES FAMILY. 



The Cordes family has for many years figured prominently in connection with 
business activities in Milwaukee. Robert Cordes, who departed this life in 1918, was 
born in Montello, Wisconsin, and was brought to Milwaukee when but two years of 
age. He became foreman of the heating department with Rundle & Spence and in 
1889, associated with Nicholas Treis, bought out the department. They thus entered 
actively into the heating contracting business, with which Mr. Cordes was identified 
until his death at the age of sixty-two years. He started out in the business world 
empty-handed and won marked success as the years passed by as the result of his 
thoroughness and commendable purpose. Both he and August Kurtz were cash boys 
at Chapman's in early youth and from that humble beginning Robert Cordes steadily 
worked his way upward. He learned his trade with the Hoffmann-Billings Company, 
his mother having been a sister of the mother of Fred Hoffmann. From the outset 
of his career Robert Cordes recognized the eternal principle that industry wins and 
he made that quality the beacon light of his life. In early manhood he married 
Matilda Werner, who was born in Milwaukee, where she still makes her home. Her 
father, Frederick M. Werner, was a native of Germany and, coming to the new world 
in early life, served as a soldier of the Union army during the Civil war with the 
rank of sergeant. 

Frederick Robert Cordes, son of Robert and Matilda (Werner) Cordes and the 
secretary and treasurer of the Cordes Supply Company, has made notable contribution 
to the success of the business and his determination and enterprise have been salient 
factors in the continued growth and development of the trade. Born in Milwaukee 
on the 1st of January, 1885, the public school system of this city accorded him his 
educational privileges. He mastered the work of successive grades until he became 
a student in the West Side high school. When his textbooks were put aside he entered 
his father's business and throughout the intervening years has been continuously 
connected therewith. He and his brother, Roy Franklin Cordes, received thorough 
training in every phase of the business and thus ultimately were qualified to assume 
management and control after the death of their father. F. R. Cordes, beginning 
work at the plant, carefully saved his earnings and when the opportunity came for 
the father to purchase the interest of his partner, the son was able to supply him 
with a goodly amount of the purchase money, which he had saved from his earnings. 
Thus the business came into the possession of the family and throughout all the 
intervening years F. R. Cordes has been active first in the work of the factory and 
later in the management of the business in a position of administrative direction and 
executive control. His thorough understanding of the methods of manufacture and 
of the sales end of the business has been a most valuable element in the continued 
growth and prosperity of this concern. He has been a moving spirit in every advanced 
step that has been made and his initiative has suggested many of these steps, whereby 
the business has been brought to its present position as one of the foremost enter- 
prises of the kind in this part of the state. In 1896 Nicholas Treis retired from the 
firm and the style of Cordes & Son was then assumed. They were first engaged in 
the contracting and later in the jobbing line and the business was incorporated under 
the style of the Cordes Heating Supply Company in 1906, while in 1921 the name 
was changed to the Cordes Supply Company. At that date they extended the scope 



166 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of their activities to include plumbing supplies in addition to their other lines. They 
cover the entire state of Wisconsin in their trade and handle a complete line of 
both heating and plumbing supplies. Frederick R. Cordes belongs to the Elks lodge 
of Milwaukee and he greatly enjoys hunting and fishing, taking trips into the open 
when his business permits. He has a wide acquaintance in Milwaukee, where the 
sterling traits of his character are recognized by his many friends and high esteem 
is everywhere accorded him. 

Roy Franklin Cordes, who is the president of the Cordes Supply Company, was 
born in Milwaukee, May 20, 1889. He obtained his education in the public schools 
of Milwaukee, becoming a student in the North Side high school. He started out 
in the business world as an employe of the firm of Cordes & Treis, of which his 
father was senior partner, and thus learned the business of heating contracting, work- 
ing at the trade for two and a half years. Later the firm entered the jobbing field 
and for a year and a half Roy F. Cordes acted as a teamster for the house. He 
acquainted himself thoroughly with every phase of the business, so that he more 
and more largely assumed responsibility in connection therewith and at his father's 
death was elected to the presidency. 

On the 5th of April, 1913, Roy F. Cordes was married to Miss Irma Koepp, a 
daughter of William E. Koepp of Milwaukee, who is the president of the Koepp-Mueller 
Company and was born in Thiensville, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Cordes now have 
one child, David Robert, who was born April 30, 1919. 

Mr. Cordes votes with the republican party but has never been active in politics 
aside from exercising his right of franchise. However, he keeps well informed on 
the vital questions and issues of the day and his support of the party arises from a 
firm belief in its principles. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Wisconsin Lodge, 
No. 13, F. & A. M. He is also identified with the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks and he 
likewise belongs to the Association of Commerce, heartily cooperating in the purposes 
and plans of that organization to promote the city's upbuilding, to extend its trade 
relations and to maintain high standards of municipal progress and improvement. 
He belongs to the Builders & Traders Exchange, also to the National Pipe & Supply 
Association and he follows athletic sports, especially boxing, for his recreation. He 
has a wide acquaintance in this city, in which his entire life has been passed, and 
his friends are legion. This in brief is the history of the Cordes family, which has 
long been known in this city, and the name has ever been a synonym of progres- 
siveness in business and loyalty in relation to public affairs. The two brothers have 
now for many years figured prominently in connection with commercial activity in 
this city. Prompted by a laudable ambition, they have displayed thoroughness, energy 
and adaptability in all that they have undertaken and their record is most creditable. 



FRANK J. HARDER. 



Frank J. Harder, a real estate broker of Milwaukee who has gained a large clientele 
through the capable conduct of his business affairs and who has in this way contributed 
in large measure to the development and improvement of the city, was born in Winona, 
Minnesota, December 6, 1879, and is a son of John and Wilhelmina (Block) Harder, 
both of whom were natives of Germany. Coming to America in the '70s they settled 
in Minnesota, the father being engaged in the hotel business in Winona. 

Frank J. Harder came to Milwaukee with his parents when a lad of seven years 
and was educated in the public schools here and in a business college. His knowledge, 
however, has been largely acquired in the school of experience and from each activity 
with which he has been connected he has learned the lesson to be gained therein. He 
worked in the office of the register of deeds of Milwaukee county for four years, enter- 
ing upon the duties of that position when a youth of but seventeen. He afterward 
engaged in the trunk and bag business and later became connected with the insurance 
and real estate business, devoting his attention to the latter line in the evenings. By 
this method he built up a real estate business of substantial proportions, becoming 
well known through the handling of important property interests. He continued his 
arduous labors in connection with the trunk and bag business through the daytime and 
the real estate business at night until 1910, when illness caused by overwork forced 
him to give up the former. He has since devoted his entire attention to the real estate 
business and the building of homes. He has negotiated many important realty transfers 
and has erected several hundred private homes throughout the city, thus contributing 
in large measure to the development and improvement of Milwaukee. His business 
is now one of notable proportions and is the visible expression of his life of well 
directed industry, thrift, sound judgment and keen sagacity. He is a member of the 
board of directors of the Garden Homes Company, a corporation in which the city and 
county have taken stock in order to build homes for the poor people. Mr. Harder 




FRANK J. HARDER 



HISTOKY OF MILWAUKEE 169 

has been active in many ways in the improvement and progress of Milwaukee and is a 
member of the Milwauke Motion Picture commission. 

In 1907 Mr. Harder was married to Miss Bertha Bentzien of Milwaukee, and they 
occupy one of the most artistic homes on the south side of the city, erected by Mr. 
Harder. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the thirty- 
second degree of the Scottish Rite and he is also a member of Tripoli Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine. His acquaintance in Milwaukee is a very wide one. He has lived herts 
from the age of seven years and has been closely associated with interests which bear 
upon the city's welfare and improvement. Actuated by a laudable ambition he has 
most carefully directed his efforts along resultant lines and today ranks with the 
leading real estate brokers of the city. 



CHARLES BENNETT PERRY. 

Charles Bennett Perry, of the law firm of Perry & Perry of Milwaukee, was born 
in Oxford, New Haven county, Connecticut. His father, Charles Perry, born in the 
same place, died in 1898, and his mother, Mary A. Ailing, daughter of Eli Ailing, 
died in 1911. The old homestead was also the birthplace of the grandfather, Bennett 
Perry, although the house was not the same, and Joel Perry, the great-grandfather, and 
James Perry, the great-great-grandfather, lived and died in that town. 

Charles B. Perry acquired his early education in the public schools of Oxford, 
Connecticut, continued his studies in the East high school at Cleveland, Ohio, and 
later graduated from the State Normal School at New Britain, Connecticut. Having 
determined upon the law as a profession, he completed a course in the law school of 
the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1886. He was also a 
student for one year in the law school of Yale University and for a like period at 
New Orleans, Louisiana, in which last named state he passed the bar examinations 
and was admitted to practice by the supreme court of that state. In early manhood 
he sold law books for about six years, traveling all over the United States while thus 
employed. 

It was in 1892 that Mr. Perry took up his abode in Milwaukee county, where he 
engaged in practice with Lyman G. Wheeler, under the firm name of Wheeler & Perry, 
an association that was continued until 1906. The firm of Perry, Morton & Kroesing 
was then formed and continued until 1919, since which time Mr. Perry has been 
associated with his son, Charles S., and his nephew, Raymond J., in a partnership 
under the firm name of Perry & Perry. The firm is in general practice, enjoying a 
lucrative clientage, and is regarded as one of the foremost at the Milwaukee bar. 

Mr. Perry was married in 1887 to Miss Frances E. McNair, a daughter of Miles 
M. McNair of Green county, Wisconsin, who was connected with the McCormick 
Harvester Company for many years. He was born in Livingston county. New York, 
and was a member of one of the old and prominent families of Livingston county 
in the Empire state. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have four children. Charles Stanley, the 
eldest, is a graduate of the Wauwatosa high school and of the University of Wisconsin 
and was for one year a student in the law department of the latter institution. Com- 
pleting his studies at the law school of Marquette University, he passed the state 
bar examination and was admitted to practice in 1917. In the same year he entered 
the officers training camp at Fort Sherdian, Illinois, where he was commissioned first 
lieutenant and assigned to the Eighty-first Field Artillery, his commission bearing 
date November 27, 1917, from which service on the 14th of February, 1919, he received 
his honorable discharge. He was first sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, afterward to 
Camp Fremont, California, and later to the government training school at Fort Sill. 
Oklahoma, after which he went overseas and served in France throughout the re- 
mainder of the war. He married Theodosia Slothower, a daughter of George E. 
Slothower of Denver, Colorado. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin 
of the class of 1915. He is a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa college fraternity and 
is also the secretary of the Milwaukee County Council of the American Legion. To 
him and his wife has been born one daughter, Marian Theo. Eugene Miles Perry, 
the second son, was educated in the Wauwatosa high school and in the University 
of Wisconsin and is now engaged in the real estate business at Wauwatosa. He joined 
the army and was sent for training as a private to Camp Custer, Michigan, early 
in 1917. Later he was made a sergeant and went to France as a member of the Three 
Hundred and Fortieth Infantry. He was sent to an officers' training school at Langres, 
France, and was commissioned second lieutenant. In 1920 he married Salome W. 
Wilson, a graduate of Northwestern University of Illinois and a daughter of Charles 
E. Wilson of Wauwatosa. They have one son, Eugene Miles Perry, Jr. Frances 
Marian, the third child and the only daughter, was educated in the Wauwatosa high 
school and in Southern Seminary at Buena Vista, Virginia. Walter Gordon Perry 



170 HTSTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

was graduated from the Wauwatosa high school in 1921 and entered the University 
of Wisconsin in the fall of that year. 

In folitics Mr. Perry his always taken an active interest, loyally supporting the 
principles in which he helieves. He has served as a member of the Wisconsin assembly, 
was mayor of Wauwatosa from 1906 until 1916, or for a period of ten years, during 
which time he gave to the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He 
has also been city attorney of Wauwatosa and in 1921 was appointed by Governor 
Blaine upon the recommendation of the State Board of Health as a member of the 
Metropolitan Sewerage Commission of Milwaukee county. He has also been attorney 
for West Allis and other municipalities. His official duties have been performed with 
care and fidelity and the community and the commonwealth have benefited by his 
efforts. He belongs to Wauwatosa Lodge, No. 267, F. & A. M., of which he is a past 
master; is a member of Kilbourn Chapter. No. 1, R. A. M., of Milwaukee, of which 
he is a past high priest; is a member of Wisconsin Commandery, K. T.. of Milwaukee; 
Wisconsin Consistory of the Scottish Rite; and also of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine. He and his sons are members of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, while Mrs. Perry is a member of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution. He was made a member of the Wisconsin Perry's Victory Committee in 
1911 through appointment of Governor Francis E. McGovern and was a member of 
the National Perry's Victory Centennial Commission. He has always been interested 
in American history and in the attainment of American ideals. He comes from an 
old and honored colonial family of Connecticut and has deep attachment for the state 
in which he was born. The old family homestead in which his birth occurred is 
still in possession of the family and has been owned by the Perrys from a date prior 
to 1780. Mr. Perry has even stronger attachment for the city of his adoption and 
there is no plan or measure for the public good that does not receive his endorse- 
ment and support. He belongs to the City Club of Milwaukee and he is keenly alive 
to every chance for advancing the welfare and progress of Milwaukee and the county. 
In professional connections he has membership with the Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 
American Bar Associations. His professional position is high and he is honored and 
respected equally as well for his sterling worth as a citizen. 



JOHN R. FREULER. 



History presents scarcely any fact that rivals the growth of the motion picture 
industry which, within an incredibly short space of time, has come to be ranked with 
one of the five great business enterprises of America. It is in this field that John R. 
Freuler is operating as president of the Vitalux Cinema Company and his progress 
therein has been in accord with the rapid development and growth of the entire indus- 
try. The family of which he is a representative is of Swiss origin, the ancestral line 
being traced back in the land of the Alps to thirteen hundred. The grandfather, 
Fredolin Freuler, was a textile printer, as was his father before him. He came to the 
new world with his son, John Rudolph Freuler, and remained a resident of Milwaukee 
to the time of his demise. John R. Freuler, Sr., who died in 1890, was born in Switzer- 
land and came to the United States in 1865 with his wife and three children and his 
father and mother. He was a shoemaker by trade and first settled in Allegheny, 
Pennsylvania, whence in 1866 he removed to Wisconsin, establishing his home at New 
Glarus, where he remained for six months and then opened a shoe shop in Monroe, 
doing very high class work. He learned his trade in Paris and always kept his books 
in French. He spoke several languages and was a broad reader and deep thinker. 
After conducting business for a time at Monroe he selected Milwaukee as the city with 
the best prospects and offering the best advantages among which to rear his family, 
which in course of time numbered three sons and five daughters. He married Rosina 
Miller, who was born in Switzerland, a daughter of Casmus Miller, who was city clerk 
and recorder of Giarus, Switzerland. She survived her husband for more than two 
decades, passing away in Milwaukee in 1911. 

John Rudolph Freuler, whose name introduces this review, pursued his education 
in the Milwaukee public schools and in the Spencerian Business College. He after- 
ward secured employment with a brokerage concern, the Milwaukee Mortgage & Loan 
Company, in 1890, and remained with that house for seven years. During this time 
he also engaged in an outside business. In 1893 he organized the Oriental Storage 
Warehouse on East Water street and conducted it personally from 1897 until 1900, 
when he sold it. In the latter year he turned his attention to the land business, having 
purchased some large tracts near Tomahawk Lake, which he sold for colonizing. This 
occupied his time and attention until 1905, in which year he opened the Theatre Comique 
at 966 Kinnickinnic avenue. The following year he sold this theatre and established 
the Western Film Exchange, which he later sold to the Mutual Film Corporation, of 
which he became president. In 1910 he organized the North American Film Company, 




JOHN B. FBEULEB 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 17:; 

Incorporated, of Chicago, where the company maintains its laboratories. Its studios 
are in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California. It also has its own laboratories and 
salesrooms in London, England. Its pictures are sent throughout the world. The 
company has starred Warren J. Kerrigan, Wallace Reid, Richard Bennett, Mary Miles 
M inter, Gail Kane, Helen Holmes, Marguerite Fisher, William Russell, May Allison. 
Lottie Pickford and many others. It sent out the largest serial ever produced, it being 
in thirty chapters and sixty-one reels of film called, A Diamond from the Sky. In 
1912 Mr. Freuler was active in organizing the Mutual Film Corporation, with head- 
quarters in New York. This is a national distributing organization and covers the 
United States and Canada. It has sixty-eight branches and supplies more than seven 
thousand theatres. Of this company Mr. Freuler was president from 1915 until 1918. 
In 1916 he contracted with Charlie Chaplin in a world startling contract, paying the 
movie actor a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash and a salary of ten thousand 
dollars per week to appear in pictures for one year, the contract being profitably carried 
out to both parties. This contract was made personally by Mr. Freuler and was taken 
over by the Lone Star Corporation, which he organized and of which he was president. 
He has been president or an official of twenty other organizations connected with the 
moving picture industry. He controls the Butterfly Theatre and is interested in the 
White House, Atlas, Climax and other theatres in Milwaukee and is also a large 
investor in the Royal and the Newman Theatres in Kansas City, the two largest of 
that city. In November, 1920, he organized the Vitalux Cinema Company, which is a 
Wisconsin corporation, engaged in the manufacture of an entirely new type of moving 
picture cameras, projectors and film records for the home, school or factory. This is 
a new invention where safety as to film and low cost of operation have reached the 
last word in manufacture of this character. Mr. Freuler is president of this company. 
The unvarnished recital of his activities and his business connections must indicate to 
all who read between the lines that he is a man of splendid administrative power and 
executive ability and that he possesses a spirit of initiative in large measure. He had 
the sagacity and prescience to recognize something of what the future had in store for 
the moving picture industry and thus he became allied with one of the most important 
business enterprises of America today. His operations have covered a world-wide field 
as he has been and is an active factor in corporations that send their output to every 
section of the globe. He has been instrumental in developing most thoroughly organ- 
ized companies, their interests conducted upon a stable business basis and today he 
is an outstanding figure in connection with the motion picture industry in the United 
States. 

On the 2d of March, 1897, Mr. Freuler was married to Miss Augusta J. Golz, a 
daughter of Edward Golz of Milwaukee, who was a blacksmith of St. Francis and was 
employed by the Illinois Steel Company for twenty-six years. He was born in Germany 
and came to the United States with his wife and their daughter, Mrs. Freuler, in 1882; 
establishing his home in South Milwaukee. Mr. and Mrs. Freuler have become parents 
of two daughters: Gertrude, who is the wife of Edward O. Orth, a son of Philip Orth 
of Milwaukee, and they have one child, Marian; Loraine, the second daughter, is the 
wife of Stuart R. Walker of this city, who is connected with her father in business as 
a salesman. They, too, have a daughter, Jessie Louise Walker. 

John R. Freuler gives his political allegiance to the republican party where national 
issues and questions are involved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. 
He attends the Christian Science church, while his family attends the First German 
Reform church. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, 
F. & A. M., and also has membership in the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks. He likewise 
belongs to the Society of Motion Picture Engineers and is well known in club circles, 
belonging to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin Club, the Ozaukee Country 
Club and to the Union League Club of Chicago. He finds keen pleasure in fishing. 
hunting, golf and motoring and has done extensive touring in various parts of the 
country. He is also a lover of music and all branches of art and this last characteristic 
combined with a splendid business ability has contributed in large measure to his 
success as a representative of the motion picture industry. 



WILLIAM E. WEHR. 



William E. Wehr is the president of the Wehr Steel Company, representing a 
business which has displayed marvelous growth in the eleven years of its existence. 
The company has developed a plant covering twenty acres and something of the 
volume of its patronage is indicated in the fact that in normal times its employes 
number three hundred. This mammoth enterprise is the visible evidence of the 
executive force, the initiative and the sound business views of its founders, William E. 
and Edward R. Wehr, whom Milwaukee is proud to number among her native sons. 
William E. Wehr was born on Christmas day of 1883, his parents being Henry and 



174 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Barbara (Hubman) Wehr, the father a native of Saxony, Germany, while the mother 
was born in Milwaukee. In the year 1852 Henry Wehr came to the United States, 
making his way to the Cream city, so that seventy years have been added to the 
cycle of the centuries during the period of his residence here. For a number of years 
he was located at No. 1 Grand avenue in the restaurant business but for more than 
two decades he has lived retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest. He is now 
in his eightieth year. His wife is living, at the age of seventy years. Her parents 
were both born in Germany and were pioneer residents of Milwaukee. This worthy 
couple enjoy the warm regard of many friends. They have lived a quiet and unas- 
suming life, never seeking to figure prominently in connection with public affairs 
but sterling worth has gained for them the respect of all who know them. They 
have become parents of five sons and three daughters, who delight in bestowing upon 
their aged parents all filial love and devotion. 

William E. Wehr pursued his early education in Dousman's Private School of 
Milwaukee and afterward attended the German-English Academy and the Old Mark- 
ham's Academy, from which he was graduated with the class of 1903. He initiated 
his business career by becoming an employe of the Falk Company, with which he re- 
mained for about nine years, working his way steadily upward until he was placed in 
charge of one of the departments. He resigned that position of responsibility in 
1910 in order to engage in business on his own account and associated with his brother, 
Edward R. Wehr, organized the Wehr Steel Company, establishing business at the 
location which they yet occupy at Forty-fifth street and the Northwestern tracks. 
They began the business on a very small scale with about three acres of land but the 
steady growth of their patronage made it necessary for them to increase their plant 
and facilities from time to time until they now have a very extensive plant covering 
twenty acres, while the volume of their trade justifies the employment of three hundred 
people in normal times. They manufacture electric steel castings and their output is 
shipped all over the country. During the World war they did nothing but government 
work and their product is confined to electric steel castings. The present officers 
of the company are: William E. Wehr, president; Edward R. Wehr, vice president; 
Henry Wehr, second vice president; and C. F. Wehr, secretary and treasurer. All four 
are brothers. William E. Wehr is likewise the secretary and treasurer of the Dings 
Magnetic Separator Company. 

On the 7th of October, 1911, Mr. Wehr was married to Miss Loretta Smyth of 
Chicago, a daughter of John M. Smyth, long a prominent merchant of Chicago, con- 
ducting an extensive house furnishing goods establishment. They reside at No. 2910 
Grand avenue. Mr. Wehr is much interested in all outdoor sports, including hunting 
and on his hunting trip in the fall of 1920 in upper Ontario he killed a sixteen hun- 
dred pound moose on the 20th of October, this being one of the largest moose that has 
ever been killed in Ontario. He had its head mounted at the Field Museum in Chicago 
and then presented it to the Washington Park Museum of Milwaukee. Mr. Wehr also 
enjoys bowling, golf, baseball and yachting. He belongs to the Mu Delta Epsilon fra- 
ternity, is a member of the Knights of Columbus, has membership in the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club, the Chicago Athletic Association, the Chicago Yacht Club, the Wis- 
consin Club, the Blue Mound Club of Milwaukee and the Rotary Club. 



HON. CHARLES FRANKE. 



Hon. Charles Franke, a leading druggist of South Milwaukee, who six times was 
honored with the mayoralty of the city, was born near Kassel, Germany, August 22, 
1864, a son of Charles Franke, who came to the United States with his family on the 
6th of July 1881, and settled near Baraboo, Wisconsin, where his remaining days were 
spent on a farm. 

Charles Franke came to this country with his father when a youth of seventeen 
years and in his early life worked on the farm and at the shoe trade. He took up 
his abode in Milwaukee in 1SS7, at which time he entered the employ of Atkins, West 
& Company, with whom he remained for five years, or until 1892. He then removed 
to South Milwaukee and assisted in organizing the village. Here he engaged in the 
shoe business, which he carried on successfully for fourteen years, at the end of which 
time he disposed of his store and turned his attention to the hotel business, which 
also claimed his energies for a period of fourteen years. He made the Hotel Blatz, 
of which he was the proprietor, one of the leading and popular hostelries of the city. 
On the 1st of May 1920, he established a drug store in South Milwaukee and is success- 
fully conducting the business at the present time, having a well appointed store and 
enjoying a liberal patronage. 

Mr. Franke has figured prominently in the public life of South Milwaukee. One 




HON. CHARLES FRANKE 



HISTORY OF MILWAIKKK 177 

of his biographers said, "His advent into municipal politics was as spectacular as it 
was sudden. He came prominently into the limelight during the Mansfield trial in 
1901, by reason of his powerful opposition to the fifty-year franchise, which had been 
stealthily given to the electric railroad." By reason of the public spirit which he had 
manifested Mr. Franke was called to serve as alderman in 1901 and in 1902 was elected 
mayor of the city, continuing to serve as chief executive until 1908, having been elected 
for three successive terms. In 1910 he was again chosen for the office, his term ex- 
piring in 1916. Though many oppose his views and his policies they never doubt the 
integrity of his position nor that his efforts are honestly put forth for the benefit of 
the public. He has worked untiringly for the upbuilding and development of South 
Milwaukee and is today the oldest business man of the city in years of continuous 
connection with its commercial development. He was particularly interested in the 
Sheridan drive and there has been no plan put forth for public progress and improve- 
ment here which has not received his endorsement and active support. He served 
for thirteen years as volunteer fireman of South Milwaukee and during three years of 
that period was chief of the department. 

Mr. Franke has three sons: Fred, Grant and Paul. The first named was overseas 
during the World war, serving with the One Hundred and Twentieth Artillery of the 
Thirty-second Division. There is also a daughter, Mrs. Kenneth Means, whose husband 
is manager of the American Tar Product Company of Carrollville. 

Fraternally Mr. Franke is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks 
and is a life member of the Knights of Pythias, which he joined thirty-four years ago. 
He is also a man of high standing in the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He participated in 
all of the war drives and headed many committees in his community, doing effective 
work in putting South Milwaukee over the top. The value of his service places him 
with the foremost residents of this city, his labors at all times proving a tangible 
element in the public good. 



ARNO HUBERT PETERSEN. 

Arno Hubert Petersen is an active and prominent factor in industrial circles of 
Milwaukee as the president and treasurer of the A. H. Petersen Manufacturing Com- 
pany, conducting a well equipped plant at Nos. 1614 to 1624 Fratney street. His 
birth occurred in Chilton, Wisconsin, on the 3d of March, 1887, his parents being 
Peter and Frances (Kraus) Petersen, the former a native of Germany, while the latter 
was born in Wisconsin. Henry Petersen, the paternal grandfather, was aiso a native 
of Germany and conducted a large tannery in that country but after emigrating to 
the new world turned his attention to the grain and live stock business in this state. 
Hubert Kraus, the maternal grandfather, was likewise born in Germany. Peter Petersen, 
father of A. H. Petersen of this review, was eleven years of age when he came with 
his parents to the United States, the family home being established at Holstein, 
Wisconsin. Throughout his entire business career he has been a broker and dealer 
in live stock and he still maintains his reputation as the most extensive shipper of 
live stock in the state of Wisconsin. He has also become an active factor in public 
affairs, serving as sheriff of Calumet county and in various other local offices, in all 
of which he has discharged his duties with marked capability and faithfulness. He 
and his wife yet make their home at Chilton, this state. 

Arno H. Petersen obtained his education in the public and high schools of his 
native town and after putting aside his textbooks spent three years' as a salesman 
in a clothing store there. When nineteen years of age he purchased a half interest 
in the establishment, becoming junior partner in the firm of Arps & Petersen, hut 
two years later sold out to his associate. He next played professional baseball as 
a pitcher for one year and then embarked in the clothing and men's furnishing goods 
business at Mayville, Wisconsin, where he was thus engaged for three years. On the 
expiration of that period he disposed of his interests at Mayville and came to Mil- 
waukee in 1912, here organizing the New Process Specialty Company for the manu- 
facture of electrical specialties. Two years later, however, he again sold out and 
organized the P. & B. Manufacturing Company, which corporate name was subsequently 
changed to the A. H. Petersen Manufacturing Company, of which he has since re- 
mained the president and treasurer. They build special machinery and make portable 
electric drills and other automotive specialties, their market including nearly every 
country on the face of the globe. They are pioneers in the building of light portable 
electric drills and have developed an extensive and profitable business in this con- 
nection. The successful conduct of the enterprise is largely attributable to the capable 
management and sound judgment of Mr. Petersen, who is a most able executive and 
has become widely recognized as a leading representative of industrial interests in 
Milwaukee. 

On the 20th of August, 1912, Mr. Petersen was united in marriage to Miss Louise 



178 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Buerger, a daughter of Peter Buerger, who emigrated to the United States from Ger- 
many, his native land, settling in Wisconsin about 1871. He is now successfully engaged 
in business as a maltster of Mayville, Wisconsin, and owns a brewery. Mrs. Petersen, 
who was educated in the convent at Corliss, possesses marked musical ability, being 
a talented performer on both the piano and violin. By her marriage she has become 
the mother of two children, Carleton and Katherine, both in school. The family 
residence is at No. 796 Prospect place. 

Mr. Petersen is a popular member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also be- 
longs to the Wisconsin Club and to the Association of Commerce. He is very fond 
of athletics and is a devotee of all outdoor sports, finding great pleasure in golf and 
motoring and being a skilled hunter and fisherman. He has won many friends during 
the period of his residence in Milwaukee and enjoys an enviable reputation as a young 
business man of exceptional ability and citizen of substantial worth. 



WILLIAM H. PARK. 



William H. Park, the only native Milwaukeean to rise to the ownership of a 
Milwaukee daily newspaper, has long figured prominently in Milwaukee civic affairs. 
Since his retirement from the active field of journalism he has given considerable 
time and attention to civic enterprises. 

Mr. Park was born in Milwaukee in 1857, his parents being William H. and Mary 
(McKittrick) Park. His mother was a cousin of Robert and William McKittrick, 
who settled in Milwaukee in 1837, when the city was a struggling frontier hamlet 
of a few hundred souls. William H. Park, Sr., was a contractor, following that business 
throughout his entire life. After coming to this country from Belfast, Ireland, he 
lived for a time in Albany, New York, coming to Milwaukee in 1850. He was identified 
with early building operations in this city and contributed in a considerable measure 
to the early local development. 

William H. Park, the son, was educated in the Milwaukee public schools. He after- 
ward entered a local printing office, learning the printing trade in all its phases. From 
this start he worked upward until he became one of the most prominent metropolitan 
daily newspaper owners in the middle west. He was the first and only native Mil- 
waukeean to work up from the "case" to be owner and publisher of a successful weekly 
and daily newspaper. It was in 1874 that he started as a printer's devil in the old 
Sentinel job room. He is a charter member of Cream City Typographical Union, which 
was reorganized in 18S1, and proved his consistency and loyalty to the union by always 
employing union printers. He never had a strike or a walkout among his printers dur- 
ing the long years he was a publisher. In 1886 he founded the first English labor 
weekly, the Weekly Labor Review. In 1887 he began the publication of the Daily 
Review, and in 1888 changed the name to The Milwaukee Daily News. After leaving 
the Milwaukee Daily News he purchased the old Evening Wisconsin and assisted in 
affecting the consolidation of papers now known as the Wisconsin News. 

After selling out his interests to the Hearst organization, Mr. Park directed his 
interests and activities to civic and public affairs. He is a member of the Milwaukee 
Press Club, of the Old Settlers Club and of the Milwaukee Athletic Club. He resides on 
the same lot on which he was born — at 711 Racine street. 

' His has been an interesting life, connected closely with the history of the city. 
Many changes have been wrought in the years since he was born on the upper east 
side. During his career as an active journalist came the big development and growth 
of Milwaukee as one of the industrial metropolises of the country, and his newspapers 
were always advocates of the policies which made Milwaukee a foremost city in the 
nation. The Milwaukee Daily News had for years a marked effect upon community 
life and thought and was most active in developing and shaping public thought and 
action, and in supporting those policies and projects which promised the most for 
public progress and improvement. William H. Park is widely known in this section 
of the state, and is one of Milwaukee's most valued residents. 



RUDOLPH NUNNEMACHER. 

Rudolph Nunnemacher, for many years a prominent citizen of Milwaukee, was 
the second son of Jacob and Catharina ( Barjenbruch) Nunnemacher, extended men- 
tion of whom is made on another page of this work. He was born September 7, 
1848, and in the acquirement of an education attended the German-English 
Academy of Milwaukee, while subsequently he continued his studies in Nuremberg, 
Germany. After returning to the United States he engaged in business with his 
father for a time but when twenty-two years of age severed that connection and 




RUDOLPH NUNNEMACHER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 181 

organized the Home Savings Bank in association with Hon. Ferdinand Kuehn, an 
old and prominent citizen of Milwaukee and at one time state treasurer of Wiscon- 
sin. This hank, of which Mr. Kuehn became the president and Mr. Nunnemacher 
the cashier, was established in 1870 and was located in a building which occupied 
the site of the present Kirby House. It was consolidated a little later with the 
bank which had previously been conducted by M. Von Baumbach and the consoli- 
dated institutions became known as the German Exchange Bank. Of this Guido 
Pflster served as president and Mr. Nunnemacher as cashier up to the time of its 
consolidation with the Bank of Commerce. Under this consolidation the Merchants' 
Exchange Bank came into existence and Mr. Nunnemacher was made vice president 
of that well known banking house. After the death of President O'Neill, Mr. Nunne- 
macher succeeded to the presidency of the bank and retained that position up to 
the time of its consolidation with the First National Bank in 1894. Although he 
desired to be relieved, as far as possible, of the cares and responsibilities of the 
banking business, he became vice president of the reorganized First National Bank, 
his financial sagacity and ability as a banker adding materially to the prestige of 
this noted banking house. Soon afterward he went abroad because of impaired 
health, hoping through rest, recreation and travel to regain his wonted vigor. He 
was accompanied by members of his family, receiving the most kindly care and at- 
tention, and was treated also by some of the most celebrated physicians of the old 
world, but all efforts to stay the progress of disease failed and his death occurred at 
Meran, Austria, on Christmas day of 1894. His remains were brought back to Mil- 
waukee and on the 14th of January, 1895, were interred in the city of his birth, to 
the upbuilding of which he gave all the years of his active life. As a capitalist, 
business man and banker he was widely known not only in Milwaukee but in other 
cities. In addition to his banking interests he was a large holder of real estate in 
Milwaukee and left a large fortune. He was a director of the Merchants Mutual 
Life Insurance Company, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the Mil- 
waukee Club and of the Bankers Club and in all these organizations was a con- 
spicuous figure. Always a lover of art, he had made a fine collection of paintings 
and had also gotten together a rare collection of old coins, which he began making 
in early life. 

Mr. Nunnemacher was twice married. On the 30th of May, 1871, he wedded 
Pauline Vogel, daughter of Frederick Vogel, and they became parents of five chil- 
dren: Rudolph J., Friedrich, Walter, Pauline and Augusta. The wife and mother 
passed away and in 1888 Mr. Nunnemacher was united in marriage to Mrs. Emilie 
Schoellkopf, a sister of his first wife and the widow of Henry Schoellkopf of Buffalo. 
They had one daughter, Gertrude N. Of the above mentioned children only one 
survives. Pauline, who married William D. Sawyer on the 26th of November, 1902. 
He was a son of Major Sawyer, who with his father was numbered among the old- 
time residents of Milwaukee. 

Rudolph J. Nunnemacher, the eldest son of Rudolph and Pauline (Vogel) Nun- 
nemacher, was born February 26, 1872, and was married June 22, 1897, to Emma 
Pabst. He died January 29, 1900, after submitting to an operation for appendicitis. 
It was he who left his beautiful and costly collection of armour and oriental speci- 
mens to the Public Museum. 



LOUIS N. PIERRON. 



Louis N. Pierron, a representative, enterprising and progressive young business 
man of Milwaukee, has been identified with the Quality Biscuit Company since its 
organization in 1912 and for the past seven years has served as secretary and treasurer 
of that concern, which conducts a modern and well equipped factory at No. 696 South 
Pierce street. 

His birth occurred on his father's farm at Belgium, Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, 
on the 22d of August, 1S85. his parents being Nicholas and Margaret (Becker) Pierron, 
the former a native of Dacada, Wisconsin, while the latter was born on the Becker 
farm near Belgium, this state. Louis Pierron, the paternal grandfather, was a native 
of France but was brought to the United States by his parents when a lad of ten years, 
the family home being established in Wisconsin. The maternal grandfather, J. P. 
Becker, who was born in Luxemburg, took up his abode on a farm near Belgium, Wis- 
consin. Nicholas Pierron, the father of Mr. Pierron of this review, has devoted his 
entire life to general agricultural pursuits and is now a resident of Random Lake, this 
state. He has served as president of the town board and has been an active factor in 
the public and business life of his community. 

Louis N. Pierron obtained his early education in the common schools of Belgium 
and later pursued a course of study in the Spencerian Business College in Milwaukee, 
while subsequently he matriculated in the Northern Illinois Normal School at Dixon. 



182 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Illinois, where he also attended the Dixon Business College. Thus well qualified by 
liberal educational training for life's practical and responsible duties, he entered the 
business world as an employe of the Lake Shore Stone Company of Belgium, acting as 
timekeeper for a period of five and a half years. It was in 1912 that he came to Mil- 
waukee and became identified with the newl> organized Quality Biscuit Company, of 
which he was chosen secretary and treasurer two years later and has since so served. 
The company employs as many as two hundred people in the manufacture of cookies 
and crackers and its market extends over the entire state of Wisconsin. Mr. Pierron 
has been an active factor in its successful conduct from the beginning, for he is a man 
of keen discernment, untiring industry and unquestioned integrity. He has earned for 
himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business and in his dealings is 
known for his prompt and honorable methods, which have won him the deserved and 
unbounded confidence of his fellowmen. 

On the 2Sth of December, 1916, Mr. Pierron was united in marriage to Miss Mayme 
Guyette, a daughter of John Guyette, of French descent, who is now engaged in busi- 
ness as a contractor of Hibbing, Minnesota. In politics Mr. Pierron maintains an in- 
dependent course, supporting men and measures rather than party. He is fond of 
motor tours, which afford him needed recreation, is an active member of the Safe 
Drivers Club and is also identified with the Association of Commerce. 



ORRIN W. BOW. 



Orrin W. Bow, attorney at law of Milwaukee, was born in Green Lake county, 
Wisconsin, April 5, 1865, a son of Orrin W. and Lydia (Morse) Bow, who were natives 
of Massachusetts and of the state of New York, respectively. It was in the year 1844 
that the father came to Wisconsin, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of the 
state. Two years later he took up his abode on a farm in Green Lake county and was 
prominently identified with agricultural pursuits in that locality, while at the same 
time he became a leading factor in public affairs. He served as a member of the state 
legislature at intervals for thirty years, being first elected in 1S59 and he left the 
impress of his individuality in large measure upon the history of the state, supporting 
many legislative projects which have been of great benefit to the commonwealth. He 
was also chairman of the town of Kingston, Wisconsin, for more than forty years and 
a life of intense activity and great usefulness ended when he passed away in 1898. 

His son and namesake, Orrin W. Bow of this review, was educated in the country 
schools and in Ripon College at Ripon, Wisconsin, where, he was graduated in 18S6, 
with the degree of Bachelor of Science. In the fall of the same year he came to Mil- 
waukee and entered upon the study of law with Joshua Stark and George E. Sutherland. 
He afterward became a student in the law department of the University of Michigan 
and was graduated at Ann Arbor in 1890. He was admitted to the bar at Milwaukee 
upon examination in the same year and has practiced law in this city since 1894, build- 
ing up a very extensive and lucrative practice. He has never been a candidate for 
office except when he first came to Milwaukee but has largely confined his attention to 
his professional duties and interests. He was vice president of the Wisconsin Savings 
Bank, now the North Avenue State Bank for five years. 

On the 26th of September, 1893, Mr. Bow was married to Miss Helen M. Garner and 
they have one daughter, Marion E. Mr. Bow belongs to the Old Settlers Club and he 
is also a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association. He enjoys the high regard of 
his professional colleagues and contemporaries, by reason of his close conformity to 
the highest ethical standards of the profession. In all of his business relations his 
course has been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and his 
name appears high on the roll of esteemed citizens in the Cream city. 



ALBERT W. GOOD. 



Albert W. Good, president of the Katzenstein-Good Company, underwear manu- 
facturers of Milwaukee, was born in Chicago, October 10, 1880. His father, George 
Edward Good, a native of Buffalo, New York, removed to Chicago in early life and be- 
came a machine constructor — builder of stationary engines. He was also at one time 
connected with the Chicago fire department and he served during the Civil war with 
the Union army. His father was George Good, who was born in the state of New York, 
so that the family has been represented for many generations on this side of the 
Atlantic. George Edward Good departed this life in 1905. For eight years he was 
survived by his wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Jordan and was born in 
Chicago, a daughter of Comfort Jordan. 

Albert W. Good was educated in the public schools of Chicago and in the Armour 




OEBIN W. BOW 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE L85 

Institute of Technology and in early life he spent three years in the employ of Adams 
& Westlake as an electrician. On the expiration of that period he came to Milwaukee 
and became identified with Frank Katzenstein in the manufacture of children's muslin 
underwear, starting in the business in 1904. He has been associated with this under- 
taking throughout the intervening period and in 1915 he became financially interested 
in the concern, which was incorporated in that year. He was made vice president of 
the company and upon the death of Mr. Katzenstein in August, 1918, he was elected 
to the presidency. The company manufactures children's muslin underwear and 
dresses and finds a market for its product all over the United States. This is today 
one of the important productive enterprises of the city and the business has reached 
large proportions. Mr. Good is also the secretary of the Luxite Silk Products Com- 
pany, engaged in the manufacture of women's silk underwear and hosiery, making 
the highest grade of goods of this kind produced in the United States. They have a 
splendid equipped plant, supplied with the latest improved machinery, and their out- 
put is unsurpassed. 

On the 16th of May, 1915, Mr. Good was married to Miss Dorothy Dupke, a daughter 
of Charles Dupke, who was proprietor of a general store at Concord, Wisconsin. He 
was born in Germany and died about 1917. Mr. Good always votes with the republican 
party but. has never sought nor desired office. He attends the Grand Avenue Methodist 
Episcopal church and he belongs to Excelsior Lodge No. 175, A. F. & A. M. He is also 
connected with the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the City Club and the Association of 
Commerce. He greatly enjoys hunting, fishing, golf and all manly outdoor sports and 
is fond of music and various forms of art. His has been a most active life, fruitful of 
results, and his labors have not only been an element in the advancement of his 
individual fortunes but also in the development of the city's commercial and manu- 
facturing progress. 



JOHN WILLIAM SCHWEISTHAL. 

John William Schweisthal is well known in business circles of Milwaukee as the 
secretary and treasurer of the Milwaukee Shoe Company at Nos. 816 to 824 Eleventh 
-treet. which he assisted in organizing in 1915 and which he has served in the dual 
official capacity for the past two years. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio", on the 26th 
of December, 187S, his parents being Joseph and Angela (Thul) Schweisthal, who were 
born, reared and married in Germany. The paternal grandfather also bore the name 
of Joseph Schweisthal. The father of our subject was twenty-four years of age when 
he emigrated to the United States with his wife and both are still living in Cleveland, 
Ohio. Joseph Schweisthal being a retired shoe dealer of that city. 

John W. Schweisthal obtained his early education in parochial schools of his native 
city and subsequently pursued a course of study in the Edmiston Business College of 
Cleveland. After putting aside his textbooks he became an apprentice with the S. L. 
Pierce Manufacturing Company, shoe manufacturers of Cleveland, with which concern 
he continued for eight years, rising to the position of foreman. In 1901 he came to 
Milwaukee and here filled the position of assistant foreman with the F. Mayer Boot 
& Shoe Company for one year, while later he entered the service of the Kalt-Zimmers 
Shoe Manufacturing Company, acting as foreman until 1909. He next became identified 
with the United Shoe Machinery 'Corporation, which he represented as a salesman and 
machinery expert until the 1st of March, 1915, when in association with John Gesser 
and Frank Ripple he organized the Milwaukee Shoe Company, of which he became 
secretary in 191S. The following year he was made secretary and treasurer of the 
company, which is his present official position, while Mr. Ripple acts as president. Mr. 
Gesser retired in 1916. The Milwaukee Shoe Company is engaged in the manufacture 
of men's and boys' unlined work shoes, and while the business has extended to every 
part of the United States, the output is largely distributed throughout the east and the 
northwest. In 1919 the concern exported shoes to Russia. At the beginning the output • 
of the factory was two hundred and forty pairs of shoes daily and by 1918 this had 
been increased to sixteen hundred pairs daily, while in the present year (1921} the 
capacity is eighteen hundred pairs of shoes per day. The original location of the 
plant was on Fourth and Vliet streets, but later the company purchased the Akron 
factory on Eleventh street, to which they made an addition and which they improved 
in other ways, having now a strictly modern as well as sanitary factory in every 
particular. The steady and continued growth of the enterprise is attributable in large 
measure to the excellent executive ability and sound judgment of Mr. Schweisthal, 
whose long experience in the shoe business has made him thoroughly familiar with 
every phase thereof and who is accounted one of the leading representatives of in- 
dustrial interests in his adopted city. 

On the 4th of June, 1901, Mr. Schweisthal was united in marriage to Miss Marie 
M. Justtn. a (laughter of Nicholas Justen, who emigrated to the United States from 



186 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Germany, his native land, and participated in the Civil war as a soldier of the Union 
army. He became one of the pioneer settlers of Milwaukee, where he still makes his 
home and is employed as a cigar maker by the Louis Kindling Company. 

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Schweisthal has supported 
the men and measures of the republican party but otherwise has not taken any part 
in politics, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business affairs. 
In religious faith he is a Catholic and a leading worker in St. Sebastian's parish, hav- 
ing served as chairman of its finance committee and for many years as a member of its 
school board. He takes an active interest in charitable and church work and has ever 
been ready to assist a fellow traveler on life's journey. Fraternally he is identified 
with the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Knights of Columbus and in the latter 
organization has attained the fourth degree and has served as a member of the library 
board of that organization and is now on the house committee. He also belongs to 
the Association of Commerce and to the National Shoe Manufacturers' Association. 
His recreation is found in outdoor sports, of which he is very fond, finding particular 
pleasure in hunting and fishing in northern Wisconsin. Motoring also affords him 
relaxation and delight and he has made several extended tours in his car. He enjoys 
an enviable position in social as well as business circles of Milwaukee, where he has 
made his home for the past two decades and where his course has ever been such as to 
commend him to the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. 



WILLIAM H. OSBORNE. 



William H. Osborne is the president of the Wisconsin Malleable Iron Company 
of Milwaukee and his business connections also extend to other sections of the state. 
Enterprise and determination have enabled him to overcome various difficulties and 
obstacles which always bar the path to success, and his steady advancement has 
brought him to a creditable point in connection with the industrial life of the city. 

A native of Michigan, he was born in Tecumseh, October 16, 1853, his parents 
being William H. and Mary Osborne. He acquired his education in the schools of 
his native city and in 1870 came to Milwaukee, where he entered business circles 
as an employe of the Milwaukee Iron Company, with which he remained for six 
years, or until 1876, when the company failed. It was then that he organized the 
Wisconsin Malleable Iron Company, which was started on a small scale but has 
gradually grown and developed until it is today one of the largest industries of the 
kind in the state, with Mr. Osborne as the president. They manufacture a general 
line of castings and their business is now reaching out to many sections of the 
country. Mr. Osborne has likewise established a plant at Racine, conducted under 
the name of the Lakeside Malleable Castings Company, also devoted to the same 
line of manufacture. He has displayed splendid powers of organization, combined 
with executive ability, and his wise and careful direction of his business affairs have 
led to a constant increase in the trade. 

In 187 7 Mr. Osborne was married to Miss Ada Goodrich, a daughter of John R. 
Goodrich, of Milwaukee, one of the early pioneers of the city. They became the 
parents of four children: John G. and William V., who are in charge of the Racine 
plant; Marian, the wife of Robert R. Freeman, an attorney of Milwaukee; and 
Alice, the wife of Edwin K. Smith, of Racine. The wife and mother passed away 
in 1893, and in 1898 Mr. Osborne was married to Mrs. Isadore Baily Pratt. 

In politics he has been a lifelong republican. He belongs to the Milwaukee 
Club and the Country Club, and his interest centers in those channels through 
which flows the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number. He has 
demonstrated his force and worth in industrial circles and at the same time has 
given evidence of his devotion to all matters pertaining to the public welfare. 



VINCENZ J. SCHOENECKER. 

Vincenz J. Schoenecker, Jr., president of the V. Schoenecker Boot & Shoe Company 
of Milwaukee, is not only classed with the alert and energetic business men of the city 
but also with those who have been active in controlling public affairs and directing 
the course of public progress. A native son of the city, he was born in June. 1867, 
his parents being Vincenz J. and Margaretha (Schloegel) Schoenecker, who are men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of Albert J. Schoenecker. 

In the acquirement of his education Vincenz J. Schoenecker attended the public 
schools and also St. Joseph's parochial school of Milwaukee and received his more 
specifically commercial training in the Spencerian Business College. When his text- 
books were put aside he became identified with the shoe business under the direction 




WILLIAM H. OSBORNE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 189 

of his father and applied himself with earnestness and thoroughness to the mastery 
of the business. He has constantly acquainted himself with every detail of the busi- 
ness and his increasing ability has brought him steady promotion. In the course of 
time he was made treasurer of the company and was its purchasing representative, also 
having direct charge of the salesmen. Following his father's death he succeeded to 
the presidency of the company and is now its chief executive officer. He has been 
identified as a director with banking interests of Milwaukee and the soundness of his 
judgment is manifest in the success which has attended the various interests with 
which he is connected. 

On the 11th of September, 1899, Mr. Schoenecker was married to Miss Emma Suess, 
a daughter of Daniel and Crecentia (Moser) Suess, both natives of Germany. They 
have become parents of four children, Margaret, Harold, Karl and Rudolph. 

Politically Mr. Schoenecker has always been a democrat, working earnestly for the 
success of the party and its candidates. On the 23d of June, 1899, he was appointed 
a member of the board of public works, was reappointed to the office on the 15th of 
April, 1902, and again on the 18th of April, 1905, thus serving for three successive 
terms of three years each, and he was elected city treasurer for two terms. At the 
time of his first appointment he was the youngest member of any who had served 
upon the board and for nine years he acted as secretary thereof. He is widely known 
through his fraternal connections, having membership in the Travelers Protective 
Association, in which he served as national president for the years 1914-15 and as a 
director of the national body for nine years. He was also at one time grand chancellor 
of the grand lodge of the Knights of Pythias, was a trustee of the Order of Eagles and 
is a life member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He filled the office of presi- 
dent of the Millioki Club and also of the Jefferson Club and he today enjoys the distinc- 
tion of being the oldest member of the Milwaukee Press Club. His capability in 
business, his prominence in political circles and his activity in connection with 
fraternal and club organizations of the city have brought to him a very wide acquaint- 
ance and made him a notable figure in the life of his native city, where the name of 
Schoenecker has long been a synonym for progressiveness, enterprise and reliability in 
manufacturing and commercial circles. The good name established by his father has 
been upheld and maintained by the son and the worth of his work is widely ac- 
knowledged. 



HENRY TOWELL. 



Henry Towell, editor and publisher of The Milwaukee Times and president of the 
company owning the paper, was born in Lincolnshire, England, April 15, 1856. his 
parents being Henry and Ann (Bryan) Towell, who were also natives of England, 
where they were reared and married and spent their entire lives. The brothers and 
sisters of Mrs. Towell. however, emigrated to the United States. One brother, John 
Bryan, passed through Milwaukee in 1847 and settled in Dane county, Wisconsin, his 
original farm there being now occupied by one of his grandsons. Henry Towell, Sr., 
was born in Rutland, England, and the family is of Norman lineage. He was a 
maltster in early life and later devoted his attention to newspaper publication in con- 
nection with his son Henry. Both he and his wife passed away in the year 1888. Their 
son, George Towell, came to Milwaukee with his brother Henry and is yet in the employ 
of The Times. 

The early youth of Henry Towell was devoted to the acquirement of an education 
in a parochial school, the only kind then conducted in the English town in which he 
lived. There he won prizes in free hand drawing and geometry and gained third place 
in a competitive school examination on Bible knowledge. He afterward worked at the 
printer's trade for two years and at sixteen years of age decided to enter upon an 
apprenticeship to a printer at Louth, England. The articles of indenture read as 
follows: "Henry Towell, son of Henry Towell of Louth, in the county of Lincoln, doth 
put himself apprentice to Frederick William Brogden of Louth aforesaid, printer, to 
learn his Art, and with him after the Manner of an Apprentice to serve from the 
fifteenth day of April, instant, unto the Full End of Term of four Years from thence 
next following, to be fully complete and ended ; During which Term the said Appren- 
tice his Master faithfully shall serve, his secrets keep, his lawful command every- 
where gladly do; he shall do no damage to his said Master, nor see to be done of 
others, hut to his Power shall tell or forthwith give warning to his said Master of the 
same; he shall net waste the Goods of his said Master, nor lend them unlawfully to 
any; he shall not contract Matrimony within the said Term; he shall not play at Cards 
or Dice Tables or any other unlawful Games whereby his said Master may have any 
loss with his own goods or others during the said Term without License of his said 
Master; he shall neither buy nor sell; he shall not haunt Taverns or Playhouses, nor 
absent himself from his said Master's service day or night unlawfully." He faithfully 



190 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

promised all this and, moreover, his father promised to see him provided during the 
four years of his apprenticeship with "meat, drink, clothes, lodging and other necessar- 
ies," and in return for his services he was to be instructed in the printer's art and to be 
paid seventy-five cents per week to begin with, which salary was to be raised until 
during the last year he was to receive a dollar and a half per week. 

After completing his apprenticeship Mr. Towell worked at the case and also as a 
reporter on various papers for about a year and a half, after which he decided to 
engage in business on his own account and began the publication of The Melton-Mow- 
bray Times at Melton-Mowbray, a town in Leicestershire. The paper was printed by 
The Leicester Daily Post for a while, but subsequently he opened a print shop of his 
own, with presses and a full equipment of type, and it was not long before the paper 
had obtained a good circulation — so much so as to make it a desirable organ for a 
political party, which purchased it. 

It was then that Mr. Towell determined to come to the new world and crossed the 
Atlantic, making his way to Milwaukee in 1887. Here he was employed first as a 
printer on The Sentinel. A few months later he purchased The Wisconsin Legal News 
plant and he and his brother issued a few copies of The Milwaukee One Cent Daily 
News from an office on Mason street. One day they crossed to what is now the south 
side of the city, where in 1888 they began the publication of The Milwaukee Times. 
Their success has been continuous until today The Times has a circulation of over 
twenty thousand, with a splendidly equipped office, supplied with the latest improved 
machinery and presses. The results achieved have been brought through close appli- 
cation, unfaltering energy and determination. The paper has been the champion of 
every plan or measure for the benefit of the city and has as stanchly opposed any 
project which its editors have believed to be of detriment to the public. Mr. Towell 
has never been active in politics and has published The Times as an independent paper. 

A year prior to his emigration to the new world Mr. Towell was married, in 1886, 
to Miss Ann Elizabeth Evans of Melton-Mowbray, who departed this life in January, 
1905, leaving two sons and a daughter. Ernest, who is now a farmer of Vilas county, 
married Amelia Jensen of Milwaukee and they have three children: Dorothy Esther, 
Grace Elizabeth and Alice Lydia. Sarah Lily, educated in the public schools of Mil- 
waukee and graduated from the South Side high school with the class of 1911, is now 
secretary and treasurer of the company that owns and publishes The Milwaukee Times. 
She married Albert Lambert Slocum of Milwaukee. Harold, advertising manager 
for The Times, was educated in the public schools, completing a high school course, 
and is now vice president of the company. 

On the 13th of September, 1907, Mr. Towell was again married, his second union 
being with Esther Le Grand, a daughter of Adrian Le Grand of Milwaukee, who was 
born and married in Holland and thence came to the United States. He is still living 
at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. 

Mr. Towell is a member of the South Baptist church of Milwaukee, in which he 
is filling the office of deacon, and he also takes an active part in the work of the 
Sunday school. He is a member of the Sons of St. George and he is identified with 
various trade societies, having connection with the Milwaukee Typothetae, the National 
Editorial Association, the Wisconsin Press Association and also with the South Side 
Civic Association. He enjoys travel and outdoor life, but the major part of his time 
and energies has ever been given to his business, whereby his advancement has been 
as the city's growth. Each year has chronicled the steady expansion of his business 
and his advancement to a leading position among the journalists of the state. He is a 
man who prizes friendship and his life exemplifies the truth of the Emersonian 
philosophy that "the way to win a friend is to be one." 



ANTHONY SZCZERBINSKI. 



Anthony Szczerbinski, president of the Lincoln State Bank and secretary of the 
Lincoln Avenue Loan & Building Association and also well known through the conduct 
of a real estate, loan and insurance agency, was born in Milwaukee, January 28, 1878, 
a son of Anton and Josephine (Cemanski) Szczerbinski, both of whom were natives of 
Poland. They came to America in 1872, settling in Milwaukee and both are now de- 
ceased. The father was for thirty years a member of the Milwaukee police department 
and was widely known in this connection. 

Anthony Szczerbinski was educated in the Milwaukee parochial schools, the public 
schools and the high school and also pursued a two years' course in the Milwaukee 
Law School in order that he might thus be better qualified for business affairs. He 
became private secretary to Mayor David S. Rose, serving in that position for nine 
years and in 1910 he was elected a member of the Milwaukee common council, filling 
the position for eight consecutive years, or for four terms, during which time he 
exercised his official prerogatives in support of many measures of great value to the city. 




ANTHONY SZCZERBINSKI 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 193 

He represented the fourteenth ward during the first two years of his connection with 
the council and the eighth ward during the remaining six years. In 1916 he received 
the democratic nomination for congress from the fourth congressional district but was 
defeated by twelve hundred votes, his opponent winning by the smallest majority given 
in the district in thirty years. The large vote given to Mr. Szczerbinski was a most 
complimentary one, indicating his capability and the confidence reposed in him by his 
fellow townsmen. In 1920 he was appointed by the federal government as supervisor 
of census for Milwaukee county. He has always stood for those interests which are of 
local value and which promote civic welfare and during the war period he was equally 
active and loyal in support of the national government, being engaged in making many 
speeches in support of war measures. He holds the record of having made fifteen 
speeches on one Sunday afternoon. 

For the past fifteen years Mr. Szczerbinski has been engaged in the real estate 
business, in which he has won substantial success. He was elected president of the 
Lincoln State Bank upon its organization in 1920 and he has been the secretary of the 
Lincoln Loan & Building Association since its organization in 1910. His business 
affairs are wisely and carefully managed and conducted and success has placed him 
among the men of affluence in the city. 

On the 12th of June, 1901, Mr. Szczerbinski was married to Miss Frances Kniola 
of Chicago. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Polish National Alliance 
and is very prominent and influential among the people of Polish birth and descent 
in Milwaukee. He has been very actively identified with many public enterprises 
in his district and while serving in the city council was the author of the eight hour 
bill on city contracts and the uniform bread weight ordinance. Many tangible evi- 
dences of his loyalty to the public welfare and his devotion to the general good may 
be cited. 



JOSEPH MALNEKOFF. 



Joseph Malnekoff, president of Malnekoff & Company, Incorporated, wholesale 
dealers in diamonds, was born February 17, 18S5, in Kiev, Russia, his parents being 
Nathan and Cassie (Cahken) Malnekoff, who were also natives of Russia, where the 
ancestry of the family can be traced back through several generations. The father 
was a teacher in the public schools there and died in 1910, while his wife passed away 
in 1913. 

The early education of Joseph Malnekoff was acquired under his father's direction 
and in the public schools of Kiev, including the high school. There he engaged, in 
the business of manufacturing jewelry, learning the trade in one of the big jewelry 
factories of Kiev. He completed his educational course by becoming a diamond setter 
and after working for two years at the trade he was married. Then in 1905 he engaged 
in business on his own account, opening a jewelry store and manufacturing plant in 
Kiev, where he 'carried on business until 1913, winning substantial success during that 
period. However, at that time he was practically forced to leave Russia because of the 
pogroms in Kiev and with his wife, four children and two girl cousins he came to 
America, settling in Milwaukee. Here he was in the employ of the Alsted-Kasten 
Company for a short time, after which he was associated with other jewelry houses 
for about a year and on the expiration of that period bought out Lubescer & Company, 
founding his present business. In 1917 he removed to his present location adjoining 
the Boston Store and in 1921 incorporated his business under the present style. He 
handles diamonds, selling to the wholesale trade, and his business is gradually reach- 
ing very gratifying proportions. His long experience has made him an expert in the 
value of the stones, his ability being recognized by all who know of the business. 

On the 2d of December, 1905, Mr. Malnekoff was united in marriage to Miss Ida 
Scapoval. a native of Kiev and a daughter of Jacob Scapoval. They have become 
parents of five children: Isador Merwin, who is a student in the North Side high 
school; Frances, who is attending the public schools; Elizabeth and Louis also in 
school; and Nathan, who was born in Milwaukee and has also reached school age. 

The family is identified with the Jewish congregation of Ansche Spard. Fraternally 
Mr. Malnekoff belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also to B'nai B'rith, 
to the Progress Order of the West Oestreicher Society of Milwaukee and to the 
United Israelite Society. He also has membership in the Baronear and Boslober 
Societies. He is a lover of music and he is a man of philanthropic spirit. His hobby 
is working with his wife as helper in general relief work. He was one of the founders 
of a company which loans money in small sums to people who are struggling to get a 
foothold in business and he is now president of the company, which has been of great 
service to hundreds of aspiring young Jewish merchants who were originally peddlers 
and out of luck. The office of the company, known as the Kiever Mutual Loan Corpora- 
tion, is at 827 Walnut street. Mr. Malnekoff was also the founder of the Boslober 
vol. m— 13 



194 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Corporation, which makes loans at six per cent interest. He has never had occasion to 
regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he found the business 
opportunities which he sought and has gained an enviable position as a diamond 
merchant and as a representative and progressive business man of his adopted city. 



ROBERT NUNNEMACHER. 



Robert Nunnemacher, who departed this life on the 8th of March, 1912, was 
the fourth son of Jacob and Catharina Nunnemacher, who are mentioned at length 
on another page of this work. He was born April 7, 1854, and in the acquirement 
of an education attended the German-English Academy of Milwaukee, his native 
city, while subsequently he continued his studies in Notre Dame University of In- 
diana and later in Stuttgart, Germany. For a long time he conducted a successful 
grain and shipping business and was a manufacturer of machinery used in connec- 
tion with that and similar lines. He possessed personal qualities which endeared 
him to all who came in contact with him. He was kind-hearted and sympathetic, 
loyal to his friends and enjoyed the friendship of a large number of men in all walks 
of life. Thoroughly democratic in manner and without any love for pomp or display 
of wealth, his qualities gained for him the high regard of all. He was conservative 
and keen in business and was one of the best competitors in sports of his day. His 
public spirit was manifest in various ways and many of the most attractive exhibits 
of the Public Museum are the gifts of the Nunnemacher family. In the travels of 
Rudolph J. and Robert Nunnemacher they made it a point to secure some trophy 
to add to their collection in the museum. At the time of his death Robert Nunne- 
macher was president of the board of trustees of the Public Museum and in his will 
bequeathed the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to the city for the purchase of 
additional exhibits thereto. 

On the 7th of February, 1884, Mr. Nunnemacher was united in marriage to 
Louise Avers and they became parents of two daughters and a son, Marie, Henry 
Jacob and Anita, of whom Henry J. and Anita are yet living. The son was born 
September 2, 1887, and was married February 5, 1910, to Gertrude Anita Fink. 
Four sons were born to this union, namely: Robert Marr, Rudolph Fink, Hermann 
Avers and Jacob. The eldest son died July 17, 1919. Henry Jacob Nunnemacher 
is the president of the Galland-Henning Manufacturing Company, manufacturers 
of hydraulic and automatic machinery, and is also a director of the First Wiscon- 
sin National Bank and the Milwaukee Mechanics Insurance Company. He is like- 
wise a member of the Wisconsin, Milwaukee Athletic, Milwaukee Country and Mil- 
waukee Yacht Clubs. 



GEORGE ENZINGER. 



George Enzinger, secretary and treasurer of the advertising firm of Olson & 
Enzinger, Incorporated, has been a representative of the business life of Milwaukee 
for only a little more than three years, but within this period he has demonstrated a 
fact that other localities well knew — the fact that he is an alert, energeic business man 
to whom obstacles and difficulties seem but as an impetus for renewed effort on his 
part. Mr. Enzinger was born in St. Louis, Missouri, April 16, 1892, and comes of 
German ancestry. His grandfather, Philip Enzinger, was born in Germany but came 
to America in the early half of the nineteenth century and served with the Union army 
in the Civil war. He became a resident of Missouri in 1849 and ever stood loyally 
for the interests of his adopted land. His son, George Enzinger, father of George 
Enzinger of this review, is still living in St. Louis. He is a distinguished musician 
and organist, well known as a teacher in the Strassberger Conservatory. His entire 
life has been passed in St. Louis and there he wedded Adelaide R. Meyer, who was 
born in that city and passed away in 1917. 

George Enzinger was educated in the public schools of St. Louis, being graduated 
from the Central high school with the class of 1908. He afterward entered the 
University of Missouri and subsequently he became associated with the Travelers 
Insurance Company as a salesman, being thus employed for three months. He was 
afterward with the St. Louis Times in the ad department for six months and still 
later was associated with the Taylor & Evans Advertising Agency for a year and a 
half. On the expiration of that period he became connected with the W. G. Bryan 
Organization of Chicago, which served eight large newspapers, doing an advertising 
promotion business. A year was passed in that way and in 1914 Mr. Enzinger organized 
the advertising promotion department of the Shaffer group of newspapers, continuing 
as manager of the department for a year and a half. Later he was with the Street 




ROBERT XUXXEMACHER 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 197 

Railways Advertising Company in Chicago, in charge of the copy and service depart- 
ment, for three years and in 1919 he removed to Milwaukee to take charge of the copy 
department for the Otto J. Koch Advertising Agency. He held that position for a year 
and then joined Arthur R. Olson in founding the present company, of which Mr. Olson 
is the president and Mr. Enzinger secretary and treasurer. His long experience in con- 
nection with the advertising business well qualified him to take up a work of this 
nature and the enterprise has prospered and grown from the beginning. 

On the 27th of June, 1916, Mr. Enzinger was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude 
Cole, a daughter of Frank F. Cole, a stock broker of Toronto, Canada, in which city 
she was born. The Cole family came from Ireland in the '60s and settled in the 
Dominion. Mr. and Mrs. Enzinger have become parents of a daughter, Jean. 

The parents have membership in All Saints (Episcopal) cathedral of Milwaukee. 
In politics Mr. Enzinger maintains an independent course, nor has he ever been active 
as an office seeker or in campaign work. He belongs to the Barnacles, a yachting 
organization, also to the Milwaukee Yacht Club, the University Club and the Associa- 
tion of Commerce. He has ever found great enjoyment and pleasure in music and, 
possessing an excellent singing voice, has often been heard at public performances. He 
is usually on the program at the Art Institute and has also sung with the Wisconsin 
Players. He possesses skill as a pianist as well and Mrs. Enzinger shares with him in 
his love of music. She received her musical training in Chicago schools and has also 
appeared in public. Mr. Enzinger sang in church choirs throughout his entire life until 
he removed to Milwaukee. He is fond of horseback riding and is an enthusiastic 
yachtsmen. The interests and activities of his life are thus well balanced. He has 
never allowed business affairs to so monopolize his attention as to exclude participa- 
tion in those interests which make for recreation and are of cultural value. His music 
has won him many friends in art circles, while his thoroughness, resourcefulness and 
capability have gained for him creditable standing in business circles. 



CLARENCE JAMES RICE. 



Clarence James Rice, a representative of one of the oldest of the pioneer families 
of Milwaukee and well known in business circles as the president of the Sterling 
Engineering Company, was born July 4, 1885, at Kill Creek, Osborne county, Kansas. 
His uncle, James P. Rice, was one of the first to locate on the present site of Mil- 
waukee and was closely associated with the history of pioneer times here. His brother, 
Orrin B. Rice, who was the father of Clarence James Rice, was born in Pennsylvania 
in 1831 and his life record covered the Psalmist's allotted span of threescore years 
and ten, for he passed away in 1901. He was a merchant who after living for a time 
in Iowa removed to Kansas in 1876 and there made his home until 1892, when he took 
up his abode in Milwaukee, where his remaining days were passed. He married Matilda 
Beswick, who is living in Milwaukee, a native of England, whence she was brought to 
the new world at the age of two years. 

Clarence J. Rice began his education in the public schools of Kansas but was only 
about six years of age when the family came to Milwaukee, where he attended the 
public schools until he had completed a course in the West Division high school by 
graduation as a member of the class of 1904. He next entered, the University of Wis- 
consin and still later attended the Colorado School of Mines, from which he received 
the degree of Mining Engineer. He afterward spent two years in mining camps 
;,mong the lead and zinc fields of Missouri and in 1910 he entered the employ of the 
Allis-f'halmers Company at Milwaukee as sales engineer. His connection with the 
house continued for two and a half years, at the end of which time he resigned his 
position in order to take care of the interests of the family property. He then engaged 
in the real estate business until the fall of 1917, when he became financially interested 
in the Sterling Engineering Company, of which he was elected secretary. In 1919 he 
was chosen president of the company and has since remained its chief executive officer, 
concentrating his attention upon constructive effort and administrative direction. 
This company manufactures vacuum and vapor heating specialties and their market 
extends over the entire United States. They deal in heating and power equipment of 
all kinds and their business is now one of most substantial character. 

On the 25th of December, 190S, Mr. Rice was married to Miss Ada Marie Schempf, 
a daughter of William Schempf of Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. She was born in Jeffer- 
son county, while Mr. Schempf was also a native of Wisconsin, representing one of the 
old families of this state. Mr. and Mrs. Rice have become parents of two children, 
June Althea and Richard William, both attending the schools of Milwaukee. 

In politics Mr. Rice may be called an independent democrat. He has never sought 
nor desired office nor does he consider himself bound by party ties, as he regards the 
activities of private life as in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. His 
religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, while his wife is a member of the 



198 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Lutheran church. Fraternally Mr. Rice is connected with the Alpha Tau Omega of the 
University of Wisconsin and is president of that alumni association in Milwaukee. He 
belongs to Kilbourn Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M., and to Park Lodge of the Knights of 
Pythias, and he has membership in the National Association of Stationary Engineers 
and the Association of Commerce. He is a follower of field athletics and was prominent 
on the track when a high school student and at the University of Wisconsin. He is 
actuated by a progressive spirit in all that he undertakes and is alert and energetic, 
ready for any emergency that may arise in business and equally ready for any oppor- 
tunity that gives him chance for further progress and success in the business world. 



THE DESMOND FAMILY. 



The residence of the Desmond family in Wisconsin covers a period of eighty years, 
beginning during the territorial era of the state. The first generation was characterized 
by the labors and accomplishments of the pioneer settler. The head of the next gen- 
eration, the late Thomas Desmond, was for nearly half a century well known in busi- 
ness and educational circles in Milwaukee, while the sons of Thomas Desmond have, 
as worthy representatives of an honored father and grandfather, borne distinctive 
parts in life in the law, education, in authorship, in various lines of business enterprise 
and in civic and social work. The Desmond family is of Norman-Irish ancestry. A 
large province in southern Ireland was once known as "Desmond" and the "Earls of 
Desmond" played an important part in Anglo-Irish history 

The late Thomas Desmond was born in 1S33, near Little Falls, New York, where 
his father had settled about one hundred years ago. In August, 1842, when the history 
of Wisconsin as a territory had yet six years to run, Humphrey Desmond, father of 
Thomas Desmond and grandfather of Humphrey J. Desmond, came west and settled 
upon several hundred acres of land about twenty miles north of Milwaukee, near the 
present city of Cedarburg. With him were three sons and three daughters. 

Thomas Desmond, the youngest son, was then, in 1842, nine years old. He attended 
district schools and at the age of seventeen began to vary the duties of farm life by 
teaching during the winter in near-by schools. Years of self-education and a natural 
leaning towards educational work led later to his identification with the Milwaukee 
public schools in administrative capacities. From 1866 to 1880 he was secretary of the 
school board. All his nine children completed high school courses in Milwaukee, finish- 
ing in normal schools or the State University. During the last twenty years of his life 
Mr. Desmond was state manager for one of the large eastern life insurance companies. 
At the time of his death in May, 1901, many tributes to his life and character were paid 
by prominent men of the city and state. This passage from a letter published in one of 
the Milwaukee dailies fairly summarizes the esteem in which he was held. "I have 
known Thomas Desmond since my boyhood, and a more consistent, conscientious, honor- 
able man I have yet to meet. He was courteous, kind and affable. The dominant 
trait in his character was justice." 

Thomas Desmond was survived by his widow, whose maiden name was Bowe and 
who had been a resident of Milwaukee since 1854. She was in all respects the ideal of 
a true wife and good mother. She died in 1917, aged eighty-three. Their eldest 
daughter, Dora A. Desmond, who was for many years identified with educational and 
charitable work in Milwaukee, died in 1909. Mary Desmond, the second daughter, 
was also a teacher in the Milwaukee schools for a number of years but is now engaged 
in literary work and is active in several woman's organizations of the city. She, with 
her sisters. Julia and Theresa Desmond, resides at the family home at No. 810 Van 
Buren street in Milwaukee. 

Humphrey J. Desmond, the eldest son of Thomas Desmond and who is regarded by 
his associates as possessing one of the finest minds in the Wisconsin bar, entered the 
legal profession after his graduation from the University of Wisconsin. He was a mem- 
ber of the Milwaukee school board from 1883 to 1890 and of the Wisconsin legislature 
during 1891-92. As a member of the school board he is credited with initiating the 
industrial training movement in the schools of Milwaukee and as a member of the 
legislature he was the author of several laws that are now on the statute books. Some 
thirty years ago he became owner of the Catholic Citizen, a widely circulated weekly 
paper, and this led to his acquiring similar publications at Washington, D. C, Mem- 
phis, Tennessee, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Humphrey J. Desmond is author of a 
number of successful books, including several volumes of essays published by A. C. 
McClurg & Company of Chicago. His "The Church and the Law," a legal textbook, 
called forth special praise from Chief Justice Cassoday of the Wisconsin supreme court. 
He is also the author of a number of historic monographs, which have had a large 
sale. He was a frequent contributor to the North American Review, the Forum, the 
Century and other magazines and a special contributor to the "Library of the World's 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 199 

Best Literature" and the Catholic Encyclopedia. His home at 612 Newberry boulevard, 
adjoining Lake Park, contains one of the best selected private libraries in Milwaukee. 

William J. Desmond, second in age of the sons of Thomas Desmond, was for many 
years engaged in educational work as principal of public schools in Milwaukee, as a 
writer for educational and other periodicals and as a conductor of Teachers' Institutes 
in Wisconsin. He later became interested in real estate and business enterprises, 
platting and building up a number of subdivisions in Milwaukee and dealing extensively 
in farming and timber lands in Wisconsin and other states. He has taken an active 
interest in civic matters, having been a member of the Charter Convention of Mil- 
waukee_and an incorporator of the City Club. He was especially identified with the 
inception and promotion of the non-partisan and the home rule laws for cities, in which 
movement Milwaukee has led the way. 

Frank B. Desmond, the third son, is officially connected with the First Wisconsin 
National Bank of Milwaukee. He is widely acquainted in business circles and is a 
director in The Citizen Company, the Home-Maker Land Company and several other 
corporations. He is also a member of the leading clubs and commercial organizations. 
He resides at No. 709 Cass street. 

Thomas Desmond, fourth of the sons, after completing a course at Wisconsin 
University, became city editor, in 1900, of the Green Bay Daily Gazette. Later seeing 
the possibilities of trade journalism, he built up a very prosperous educational publica- 
tion at Milwaukee. He also became a principal stockholder in The Citizen Company, 
of which he was vice president. As a business man he evinced both initiative and 
energy. Very popular in social circles, his early death in 1915, at the age of forty, was 
deeply deplored. He had not only given the promise but entered on the fulfillment of 
a very useful as well as successful career. 

Joseph G. Desmond, the youngest of the sons of the late Thomas Desmond, 
specialized in advertising and is now secretary and manager of the Desmond Publish- 
ing Company, which conducts a business of national scope in educational periodicals 
and textbooks, with offices in the Colby & Abbott building of Milwaukee. 



JAMES T. DROUGHT. 



James T. Drought, member of the Milwaukee bar, was born April 13, 1873, on 
the Layton farm, in the town of Greenfield, at what is now Forest Home avenue, 
between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth avenues, in Layton Park. He is the only 
son of the late Thomas M. Drought, who was born in Racine county, Wisconsin, in 
1S46, and was a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of 
the state. For fifty-nine years he was identified with the Layton Company and the 
Layton packing interests. 

James T. Drought attended the old eleventh ward grammar school at Tenth and 
Forest Home avenues, being there graduated on the completion of the eighth grade 
work in 1887. He afterward became a student in the Milwaukee high school, from 
which he was graduated with the class of 1891. After working three years as a 
stenographer in the law offices of Judge Christian Doerfler, now supreme court justice 
of the state, Mr. Drought entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison for the 
study of law and completed his course there with the class of 1896. Previously, in 
his junior college year, he had passed the required state board examination, whereby 
he was admitted to the bar and received his license to practice. Following his return 
home, he spent nearly two years in the law offices of Miller, Noyes, Miller & Wahl, 
and then opened an office on Grove street for the private practice of law. In 1902 
he removed his offices to the Railway Exchange building, where he has continued 
for the past twenty years. 

Although he has never sought public office, Mr. Drought served on the Milwaukee 
board of school directors from 1900 until 1904, and in 1916 he was elected one of 
the twelve Wisconsin presidential electors on the republican ticket, while in 1920 
he was again chosen for the same office. His opinions have long carried weight in 
the councils of the party, although he has never been ambitious to fill office nor 
sought public preferment as a reward for party fealty. Since 1903 he has been actively 
identified with the automobile and good roads interests of the state, having been 
one of the organizers of the Milwaukee Automobile Club and of the Wisconsin State 
Automobile Association, both of which organizations he has served as secretary, while 
of the latter he was president for a period of eight years. Outside of the strict path 
of his profession his greatest activities have been in the legislative field. He is recog- 
nized as the "dean of the lobby" and as "speaker of the third house" at Madison, 
where for a quarter of a century he has represented at various times many diversified 
interests. As special assistant city attorney by appointment, in 1911, he was the city's 
first legislative counsel, looking after the interests of this municipality in legislative 
matters at Madison. Among the many statutes which he has aided in framing and 



200 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

which have withstood the test of time may be mentioned the first automobile laws, 
the present sub-contractor's mechanics lien law, the certified public accountants' law, 
the hotel inspection law, the plumbers' license law, the state plumbing code and the 
check fraud law. He was also instrumental in promoting the earlier good roads 
legislation and many other measures of equal benefit to the general public. 

In 1900 Mr. Drought was united in marriage to Miss Rose Hennecke, a daughter 
of the late Casper Hennecke, a pioneer manufacturer of statuary and wire work. 
Mr. and Mrs. Drought have become parents of three sons, Ralph James. James T., 
Jr., and Neal E., and a daughter, Rose Alice. Mr. Drought was at one time secretary 
of the old South Side Gun Club and for years was an expert trap shot. He is a 
hunter and fisherman, greatly enjoying those sports. He belongs to the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club, to the Old Settlers Club and to the Pewaukee Yacht Club. His name 
is on the membership rolls of Excelsior Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and he is a past chancellor 
of Schiller Lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He also belongs to the Order of Hoo 
Hoos, to the Milwaukee Sharpshooters Society, the Milwaukee Press Club and the 
City Club. During the World war he served as a member of Local Draft Board No. 
11, under the selective service law. A lawyer of pronounced ability, long enjoying 
a prominent position at the Milwaukee bar, he has at the same time exercised a widely 
felt influence in many other fields and one of his outstanding characteristics is his 
public-spirited devotion to the general good. He has ever placed the public welfare 
before partisanship and the progress of the community and commonwealth before per- 
sonal aggrandizement. 



FRED W. KRUECK. 



Fred W. Krueck, secretary and general manager of the Integrity Savings Build- 
ing & Loan Association of Milwaukee, was born August 21, 1884, in Milwaukee county, 
a son of William Krueck, also a native of this county, and a grandson of Balthazar 
Krueck, who was born in Germany but arrived in Wisconsin in young manhood, at 
which time he settled on a farm in Milwaukee county, this being about the year 1846. 
He was one of the pioneers of the district, having located here when Indians were 
still in this section of the state. William Krueck was reared on the old homestead farm 
and continued to devote his life to agricultural pursuits until 1892, when he removed 
to South Milwaukee and turned his attention to the real estate business, principally 
handling his own property, which he had accumulated before the town of South Mil- 
waukee was laid out. He was one of the promoters and early builders of the town and 
assisted materially in its advancement and improvement. He was very successful in 
his business affairs and he built many of the homes in South Milwaukee, always 
holding to the highest standards in substantial and attractive construction. He was 
plain and unassuming in manner and the sterling worth of his character gained him 
many friends, all recognizing his generous spirit and kindly disposition. He died in 
September, 1918, and Milwaukee county mourned the loss of one of her honored and 
valued native sons. 

Fred W. Krueck was educated in the schools of South Milwaukee and in the old 
Spencerian College. After he had completed his course he was employed by the Bucyrus 
Company for a period of about eight years and then turned his attention to the real 
estate and insurance business and to building and loan work. In January, 1919, he 
became the secretary of the Integrity Savings Building & Loan Association, which 
now has assets of more than a million dollars. Under the management of Mr. Krueck 
the business has doubled in the past two years. The association was organized in the 
latter part of 1912 and entered upon a prosperous existence. It finances home building 
and provides investment on the monthly payment plan, the company being operated 
under state department supervision. Something of the steady and continuous growth 
of the business is indicated in the fact that its amount of seventy-two thousand, rive 
hundred and eighty-one dollars in the first year had risen to five hundred and thirty- 
two thousand in the sixth year and under the succeeding two years with Mr. Krueck in 
charge this was increased to one million, five thousand. The annual dividends indi- 
cate clearly that the business is established on a most safe and reliable basis, that 
each phase of the business is carefully and wisely handled and that one of the great 
assets of the undertaking is the prompt, efficient service and courteous treatment of 
those in charge, all of whom manifest a desire to be of genuine assistance to the patrons 
and stockholders. The association is a member of the United States League of Local 
Building & Loan Association of the Building and Loan League of Milwaukee County 
and the Wisconsin League of Building & Loan Association. Mr. Krueck is president 
of the last named organization, having been elected to this position in 1918. 

On the 10th of October, 1906. Mr. Krueck was united in marriage to Miss Florence 
Ziemer of Buffalo, New York, and they have become the parents of a daughter. Florence. 
Mr. Krueck belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a loyal follower of the teachings 




PEED W. KRUECK 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 203 

and purposes of the craft. He has built several of the best homes in South Milwaukee 
and his former home was one of the most beautiful residences in that city. Mr. Krueck 
now lives in Wauwatosa. He is today a representative of the family in the third gen- 
eration in this county and throughout all the years since his grandfather made pioneer 
settlement here the family name has stood as a synonym for progress and improvement 
in this section of the state. 



EARL G. WENZEL. 



Earl G. Wenzel, secretary and treasurer of the A. E. Pohlman Company and a life- 
long resident of Milwaukee, where he has made for himself a most enviable position 
not only in business circles but in the regard of his fellow townsmen, was here born 
July 7, 1900. His father, Michael Wenzel, who was born in Milwaukee and represented 
a family of German lineage, was a lithographer and died in this city March 2, 1913. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Radtke, was also born in Milwaukee, 
ff German parentage, and her death occurred on the 2d of September, 1912. 

Earl G. Wenzel was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and was graduated 
from the East Side high school with the class of 1918. He afterward attended a 
technical high school in Milwaukee and was in the service in connection with the 
great war while a student there. He became a seaman of the second class and had 
about three months of naval service, while during the remainder of his connection with 
the army he was on duty with the intelligence department. Leaving school, he went 
with the American Appraisal Company as architectural draftsman, having made a 
specialty of the study of architecture while in the technical high school. He continued 
with that firm for about six months and later was associated with the Laabs-Pohlman 
Company as salesman and all-around man. In March, 1921, the name was changed to its 
present style and he became secretary and treasurer. They do an extensive business 
in commercial photography, having built up their trade until it is now one of large 
proportions. Their work is of the highest artistic merit and of superior workmanship 
in execution and Mr. Wenzel and the other officers of the company have always 
maintained the highest degree of efficiency and have recognized the fact that satisfied 
patrons are the best advertisement. While in school and after he had become an 
expert photographer, Mr. Wenzel was constantly reaching out toward better things and 
has ever been actuated by a laudable ambition that has found expression in his con- 
stant advancement. 

On the 15th of October, 1921, Mr. Wenzel was united in marriage to Miss Ruby 
Pohlman, a sister of Arthur Earl Pohlman, his business associate, in connection with 
whose history on another page of this work is found more extensive reference to the 
family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wenzel attended the Lutheran church and he has membership with 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. He belongs 
to the Association of Commercial Photographers and also to the Association of 
Commerce. Ho is a lover of music and possesses highly artistic tendencies. He does 
most creditable sketching of landscapes and he is a lover of athletics and all outdoor 
sports. He has played professional baseball and was a letter man at high school in 
the football and baseball teams. He has also played basket ball professionally and he 
recognizes fully the value of recreation, especially as found in physical exercise, which 
constitutes an even balance to the demands of business life. 



DR. RICHARD PAUL MOMSEN. 

Dr. Richard Paul Momsen, distinguished attorney and author of various legal 
works, is now actively engaged in the practice of law in Rio de Janeiro but still lias 
many important business connections in the United States and is prominently known 
in Milwaukee, where his birth occurred September 12, 1890. He is a son of William 
H. and Mary L. (Groth) Momsen and in the acquirement of his education was gradu- 
ated from Trinity school of this city with the class of 1904. He also attended the 
Fourteenth district school of Milwaukee, in which he completed his studies in 1905, 
and was graduated from the South Division high school of this city in 1909. 

It was in February, 1909, that Dr. Momsen was appointed private secretary to 
Congressman William J. Cary, which position he filled until February. 1913. In the 
meantime he took up the study of law and was graduated from the George Wash- 
ington University with the LL. B. degree in 1912. In the same year he was appointed 
to the American consular service and in 1913 was made deputy consul general at 
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1915 he was made vice consul at Rio de Janeiro, and in 



204 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

1916 he visited the principal commercial centers of the United States for the organ- 
ization of the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil. 

It was at this time that Dr. Momsen was admitted to the Wisconsin bar. He 
receive the degree of Bachelor of Juridical and Social Sciences at the Faculty of 
Law, Rio de Janeiro, and was the first American admitted to the Brazilian bar in 
1917. In February, 1918, he assumed the duties of American consulate general in 
Brazil, which position he occupied until February, 1919, when he resigned in order 
to engage actively in the practice of law in Rio de Janeiro. "While devoting the major 
part of his attention to the duties of his profession, in which he manifests a laudable 
ambition as well as marked capability, he likewise has other business interests, being 
now a director of the Fox Film Corporation in Brazil, a director of the Studebaker 
Corporation in Brazil, representative of the Western Union Telegraph Company, rep- 
resentative of the Corn Exchange National Bank of Philadelphia and counsel for 
the American Exporters and Importers Association. His authorship has made him 
widely known. He has studied many of the vital questions of national and inter- 
national importance from the standpoint of a lawyer and is today well known as the 
author of "Legal Requirements for the Operation of Foreign Corporations in Brazil," 
"Legal Procedure Governing Patents, Trade Marks and Copyrights in Brazil," "Brazilian 
Stamp Tax Law" and various other legal works of an important and valuable character. 
He has likewise been a frequent contributor to Brazilian and American law periodicals. 

On the 27th of October, 1921. Dr. Momsen was united in marriage to Miss Dorothea 
Anne Harnecker of New York city. Dr. Momsen is a Mason and is a valued member 
of many scientific and social organizations. He is an honorary member of the Brazilian 
Geographical Society, an honorary member of the Commercial Association of Rio de 
Janeiro, a director and legal advisor of the American Chamber of Commerce for 
Brazil, a director of the Rio de Janeiro Country Club and a trustee of the Union 
church of Rio de Janeiro. He is likewise a trustee of the Young Women's Christian 
Association of Rio de Janeiro and a trustee of the Rio de Janeiro Chapter of the 
American Red Cross. He has membership in the Jockey Club of that city, in the 
Fluminense Athletic Club and in the Rio de Janeiro Athletic Club. He also belongs 
to the Automobile Club of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Tennis Club of Petropolis, Brazil, 
the Sao Paulo Country Club, the American Chamber of Commerce at Sao Paulo and 
along other than social lines he has connection with the Brazilian Press Association, 
the Brazilian Bar Association and the American Society of International law. He 
also belongs to the Kappa Sigma fraternity, is a member of the Brazilian Centennial 
Committee and a member of the Lawyers' Club of New York city. On the 11th of 
January, 1922, he was appointed by President Harding to the United States com- 
mission to the Brazilian exposition, to be held in September. While practicing his 
profession in Brazil and prominently connected with professional, social and public 
interests in that country, he also maintains close association with the interests of 
the North American continent and has an extremely wide acquaintance among people 
of prominence. 



HOWARD W. RUSSELL. 



Secret service and the name Russell have become synonymous in the middle west 
due to the success which has been achieved in the secret service business by Howard 
W. Russell, Inc. of Milwaukee, at the head of which stands Howard W. Russell as 
president, whose farsighted business policy, capable management and careful direction 
has built up a clientage that makes this enterprise the foremost of its character in this 
section of the country. 

Howard W. Russell was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, June 1, 18S4, the 
son of William C. and Julia E. (Boswell) Russell, both natives of Ohio and of Scotch 
descent. The father was engaged ;n the paper mill business for over thirty years and 
for seven years was associated with his son, Howard W., as vice president of Howard 
W. Russell, Inc. The family numbered four sons and a daughter: Howard W., Raymond 
B., Walker C, Dwight E. and Marguerite E. 

Howard W. Russell put aside his textbooks at the early age of twelve years and 
began attending the school of experience. Actual factory work at the usual meager 
wages paid inexperienced help was his lot until he reached the age of eighteen, when, 
an opportunity presenting itself, he began his apprenticeship as an operative in secret 
service work at Cleveland, Ohio. Like a duck to water he took to his work, and when 
still a young man he became general manager of one of the largest secret service 
agencies in the country. Ambition spurring him on, in 1909 he embarked in the secret 
service business for himself in the city of Milwaukee, becoming one of the first tenants 
in the Caswell block, and today, or thirteen yea.rs later, his company is one of the 
largest agencies of its kind in the country. The business is organized under the name 
of Howard W. Russell. Inc., with Mr. Russell as president and treasurer; W. Welling- 




HOWARD W. RUSSELL 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 207 

ion Burgett, vice president; Walker C. Russell, secretary; and Arthur M. Evans, super- 
intendent. We are strong or weak according to the knowledge or information we 
possess, and the heads of some of the most representative firms in Milwaukee, and in 
fact throughout the country, have found the service of Howard W. Russell, Inc. a 
most valuable aid in securing information desired. This service briefly is to secure 
information for anybody, anywhere, any time. A very important part of their service 
is that of preventing and adjusting strikes and labor troubles. 

Mr. Russell's life has not been one of ease. On the contrary he has worked hard 
from boyhood days, having been given limited educational opportunities, but diligence 
and industry have enabled him to overcome obstacles and difficulties in his path. He 
has continually broadened his knowledge through study of human nature and through 
wide worldly experience, and is now enjoying the fruits of his endeavor. Although 
only thirty-seven years of age he is at the head of a mammoth business, owns a 
beautiful home at 530 Astor street, Milwaukee, and a farm at Grafton, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Russell is well known in Masonic circles, being a thirty-second degree Mason 
and a member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Mil- 
waukee Lodge of Elks; Wisconsin Lodge, No. 1, K. P.; to ElWakodis, No. 165, D. 0. 
K. K. ; to the Milwaukee Eagles; and to the Milwaukee Moose, of which he is a life 
member. He has membership in the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Westminster Civic 
Club and the Optimist Club. He is likewise a life member of the Holstein-Friesian 
Association of America, which is indicative of his deep interest in high grade live 
stock. He finds recreation and pleasure in his farm and at the same time conducts the 
important interests which are under his direction as head of Howard W. Russell, Inc., 
which firm is a member of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce. 



william a. McMillan. 



William A. McMillan, vice president and treasurer of the Lindsay-McMillan Com- 
pany of Milwaukee, his native city, has manifested that thoroughness and diligence 
which is so essential to the attainment of success in this day of close competition. 
He was born January 20, 1885, and is a son of Thomas McMillan, whose birth occurred 
at Campbelltown, Scotland, on the 1st of April, 1847. He spent the first twenty-five 
years of his life in the land of hills and heather and then crossed the Atlantic to 
the United States, making his way to Milwaukee. Here he became associated with 
the E. P. Allis Company, at that time engaged in building the largest pumping engine 
of the present water system, and Mr. McMillan was placed in charge of that engine. He 
manifested such capability in that connection that the city council engaged him to 
supervise the pumping of city water and about 1910 he was appointed superintendent 
of the city power plant, a position which he continued to fill until his death on the 
1st of May, 1920. and Milwaukee lost one of her representative men. More extended 
mention of Thomas McMillan is made in connection with the sketch of his son, John 
Walter McMillan, on another page of this work. 

At the usual age William A. McMillan, whose name introduces this record, be- 
came a pupil in the public schools of Milwaukee, passing through consecutive grades 
to the East Division high school, and when his course there was completed he became 
a student in the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1909 with 
the degree of Bachelor of Science. During his college days he became a member 
of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and he was also a member of the track team ot 
the university and throughout the intervening years has been much interested in 
athletics. 

With the completion of his university course Mr. McMillan entered the employ 
of the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company of Milwaukee in the sales department and con- 
tinued with that house until January 1, 1918, when he became associated with the 
Delaney Oil Company, forming a partnership with Walter S. Lindsay and becoming 
vice president and treasurer of the company. The business had been established in 
1884 and has maintained a continuous existence throughout the intervening period 
to the present. They manufacture oil products of all kinds and distribute gasoline 
and lubricating oils to manufacturers and dealers. Their market covers the entire 
United States and the business is now one of very substantial and gratifying proportions. 

On the 17th of February, 1914, Mr. McMillan was united in marriage to Miss 
Josephine Howe, a daughter of Andrew J. Howe of Meadville, Pennsylvania, and a 
sister of Frederic C. Howe, who was a member of the Garfield law firm of Cleveland 
and also United States immigration commissioner at New York. He is likewise well 
known as an author, having written largely along political economy lines. He was 
born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and is a representative of one of the oldest and 
best known families of the United States. Mr. and Mrs. McMillan have become the 
parents of one child, Jane Howe. 

Politically Mr. McMillan maintains an independent course nor has he ever been 



208 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

an active political worker. He belongs to the Westminster Presbyterian church and 
the nature of his interests is further indicated in his membership in the University 
Club, the Town Club, the City Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Oconomowoc 
Golf Club and the Association of Commerce. He spends the summer months in an 
attractive home at Oconomowoc Lake and in the winter seasons maintains his resi- 
dence at No. 294 Parwell avenue. His record has been one of steady progress and 
successful achievement and through the development of his powers he has gained a 
place among the prominent and representative business men of his native city. 



FRED. W. BRUNLIEB. 



Fred W. Brunlieb, who is the vice president and treasurer of the Brunlieb & 
Schaefer Company of Milwaukee, handling summer and winter horse clothing, auto 
top and trimming materials, is building up a substantial business in this connection, 
notwithstanding the company has been organized for only a little more than a year. 
Mr. Brunlieb has a wide acquaintance in commercial circles of this city and his sterling 
worth, his business enterprise and his determination are constituting important factors 
in the continued growth of the new business. Mr. Brunlieb is a native son of Wis- 
consin, his birth having occurred in Mazomanie on the 13th of December, 1877, his 
parents being Herman and Augusta Brunlieb, the latter also a native of Mazomanie. 
The father, who was born in Germany, came to Wisconsin when twenty-one years of 
age, arriving in this state about 1855, at which time he settled in Mazomanie, where 
he engaged in business. 

Fred W. Brunlieb acquired his early education in his home town and later con- 
tinued his studies in Milwaukee, his parents removing to this city when he was a lad 
of twelve years. He started out in the business world as a cash boy in the Chapman 
store and subsequently was employed by the Wallace & Smith Company, with which 
he remained for twenty-nine years as clerk and as a traveling salesman, remaining 
upon the road for a decade. His thorough reliability, capability and enterprise are 
indicated in his long connection with the house, with which he continued until Janu- 
ary 1, 1920, when that business was closed out. 

On the 1st of January, 1921, Mr. Brunlieb became associated with Theodore Schaefer 
in organizing the Brunlieb & Schaefer Company for the purpose of selling summer 
and winter horse clothing, auto top trimming materials and also gloves and mittens. 
They are now represented upon the road by fifteen traveling salesmen and the business 
is incorporated for one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Brunlieb is also identified with 
the Brunlieb & Wing Company, of which he is the treasurer. The Brunlieb & Schaefer 
Company was organized in 1920 and is the only company in Milwaukee manufacturing 
summer and winter horse clothing and selling to the retail trade. 

In 190S Mr. Brunlieb was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Louisa Bailey, a 
daughter of E. F. Bailey of Hillsdale, Michigan. Fraternally he is connected with 
Lafayette Lodge No. 265, A. F. & A. M., of Milwaukee, and he also belongs to Wisconsin 
Chapter, R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T.; Wisconsin Consistory, A. A. S. R.; and 
Tripoli Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. He has membership with the United Commercial 
Travelers, with the Milwaukee Association of Commerce and with the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club. His religious faith is indicated in his connection with the Perseverance 
Presbyterian church. His entire life has been characterized by high and honorable 
principles, so that he stands as a man among men, respected by all for what he has 
accomplished and for the straightforward methods which he has followed in directing 
his important and growing business interests. 



CHRIESANT M. SCHMITT. 



Chriesant M. Schmitt, the president of the Schmitt Brothers Tobacco Works of 
Milwaukee, was born June 17, 1875, on his father's farm at Fussville, Waukesha county, 
Wisconsin. He is a son of Conrad Schmitt, who was born in Germany and was nine 
years of age when brought to the new world by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Schmitt. 
The grandfather became a farmer at Lannon, Waukesha county, and there Conrad 
Schmitt was reared and educated. After reaching adult age he took a prominent 
part in public affairs of his community, serving as county clerk for several terms 
in Waukesha county and also filling the office of justice of the peace. He devoted his 
business activity to farming until about forty years of age, when he put aside the 
work of the fields and turned his attention to general merchandising in Fussville, 
where he was thus engaged until failing health caused him to seek a change of climate 
and he went to Seattle, Washington, with his entire family. Later he returned to 
Milwaukee, where he lived retired throughout his remaining days, passing away at 




FRED \V. BJiUXLIEB 



Vol. Ill— 14 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 211 

the age of sixty-two. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Cecelia Hennes, was 
born in Germany, her father emigrating with his family to Waukesha county, at 
which time he settled on a farm near Menomonee Falls. His daughter Cecelia was 
then about nine years of age and in this state she was reared. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Conrad Sehmitt have now passed away. 

In the parochial schools of Fussville, C. M. Sehmitt pursued his studies to the 
age of thirteen years, spending the winter seasons in school, while the summer months 
were devoted to farm work. He was a lad of thirteen years when the family removed 
to Seattle, Washington, and in that city Mr. Sehmitt began working at the plumbing 
trade, serving an apprenticeship and thus thoroughly acquainting himself with the 
various phases of the work. The secret of his success is found in the fact that when 
only a tooy he formed the habit of constant saving and when but sixteen years of 
age he invested his savings in a lot. He continued to devote his attention to the 
plumbing business during the residence of the family in Seattle, and when the others 
of the family returned to Milwaukee he continued to reside in the metropolis of the 
Pacific northwest for another period of three years, during which time his attention 
was concentrated upon work as a plumber. It was in 1898 that he again came to 
Milwaukee and here he took up the plumbing business, in which he continued for 
six months. He then bought a horse and wagon and with his brother Joe traveled 
over Milwaukee county, selling tobacco and cigars to dealers. For three years he 
continued in business in that way and then with his two brothers organized the 
present business on Broadway under the name of the Sehmitt Brothers Tobacco Com- 
pany. The business has since been continued under the style of the Sehmitt Brothers 
Tobacco Works, with C. M. Sehmitt as the president. They manufacture a brand of 
tobacco known as "Eight Brothers." This is their principal brand and was so called 
from the fact that C. M. Sehmitt was one of a family of eight brothers. The market 
for the tobacco is principally local and yet extends in a degree to the neighboring states. 

In September, 1901, Mr. Sehmitt was united in marriage to Miss Marie Albrecht, 
a daughter of Sebastian Albrecht, a native of Germany, who in young manhood emigrated 
to the new world, settling in Milwaukee, where he was married. Mr. and Mrs. Sehmitt 
have become. the parents of six children. The three daughters, Cecelia, Lauretta and 
Frances, are pupils in the Holy Angels Academy. John, Theodore and Karl, the three 
sons, are attending the St. Francis school. The family is of the Catholic faith, being 
connected with St. Francis parish. Mr. Sehmitt is a Knight of Columbus and belongs 
to Pere Marquette Council, also to Milwaukee Lodge, B. P. 0. E., and the Association 
of Commerce. 



FRED CHARLES SPENCER. 



Fred Charles Spencer, treasurer of the Northwestern Extract Company, one of 
the important manufacturing enterprises of Milwaukee, is a young business man but 
one who has already reached a creditable position in commercial circles. He was 
here born January 31. 1894. His father, Charles T. Spencer, was born in Madison, Wis- 
consin, and is now connected with the Johns-Manville Company of Milwaukee. The 
mother, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Mueller, is a native of this city, in 
which she still reside^. 

Fred C. Spencer, having acquired his education in the public schools, afterward 
entered the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company as a messenger and 
following a service of a year or more in that connection he secured the position of 
office boy with the Charles L. Kiewert Company, engaged in the extract and brewers' 
supply business. There he remained for two years and when the Northwestern Extract 
Company was organized he secured a position with that firm. Later he went upon the 
road as a traveling salesman for the house and entered the company in 1918 as vice 
president, since which time he has been one of the officials of the concern. They manu- 
facture extracts and carry a general line of supplies for bottlers. They cover Wisconsin 
and their trade extends to some extent to the neighboring states. They use the trade 
name of "Norwesco" and their business is steadily growing. One of their products is 
a soft drink called Cherry Sparkle which they advertise extensively and of which the 
John Graf Company acts as distributors in Milwaukee. Mr. Spencer is also the secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Northwestern Brewers' Supply Company, conducting business 
at No. 234 Broadway. 

On the 2d of May 1914, Mr. Spencer was married to Miss Helen Schultz, a daughter 
of Charles Schultz. who is with the Allis-Chalmers Company of Milwaukee and who is 
a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have two children, Blanche M. and Robert 
Charles, the latter born May 18, 1918. 

In politics Mr. Spencer maintains an independent course. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with Prospect Lodge of the Knights of Pythias and also is a member of the 
Knights of Khorassan and of the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks. A lover of music, he 



212 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

plays the cornet and was a member of the Journal Band when but twelve years of age. 
While a young man, he has made steady progress in business and is today active as a 
representative of the manufacturing interests of Milwaukee, while his attractive home,, 
purchased in January. 1921, stands as a monument to his well directed energy and 
business acumen. 



EDWARD F. GOES. 



Edward F. Goes, who for almost a quarter of a century has been the vice president 
of the Vilter Manufacturing Company, was born in Milwaukee, November 16, 1858, and 
is a son of Frederick and Emma (Gerlach) Goes, both of whom were natives of Ger- 
many, the father having been born in Bavaria in 1S19. He came to Milwaukee from 
his native country in 1850 and shortly afterward became a partner in the Goes & Falk 
Brewing Company. In 1867 he returned with his family to Germany, where he spent 
his remaining days, his death there occurring in 1893. In his family were three sons: 
George W., who has departed this life; Edward F. and Frederick, Jr., both residents of 
Milwaukee. 

Edward F. Goes accompanied his parents to Germany in 1867 and in that land 
acquired his education. After attending the common schools he became a student in the 
Gymnasium at Frankfort and completed his scholastic work with an engineering course 
in Munich. The opportunities of the new world attracted Mr. Goes and in 1883 he 
returned to Milwaukee, where he entered the employ of the Vilter Company as a 
draughtsman, later becoming a member of the firm by the purchase of some of the 
capital stock. Steadily he advanced until he became head of the draughting depart- 
ment and in 1898 he was elected vice president of the company, a position which he 
has since filled in a most capable and creditable manner. He has contributed to the con- 
tinued growth and development of the business, with which he has familiarized himself 
in every detail, and as the years have gone on, his sound judgment and unfaltering 
enterprise, combined with his splendid executive ability, have brought . results that 
are most gratifying to the corporation. 

On the 25th of April, 1889, Mr. Goes was united in marriage to Miss Addie 
Schweitzer, a native of Milwaukee and a daughter of Joseph Schweitzer. They became 
parents of one son, Frederick T., who is a mechanical engineer in the employ of the 
Vilter Manufacturing Company since 1915. 

Mr. Goes is a member of the Wisconsin Club and also of the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club. In the thirty-nine years of his residence here, from 1SS3 to the present time, 
he has become widely known and is recognized throughout the city as a sane, conserva- 
tive business man of sterling integrity and exceptional capacity. 



CHARLES HENRY YUNKER. 

A well known and highly esteemed citizen of Milwaukee is Charles Henry Yunker, 
who has been president of the Milwaukee Mechanics' Insurance Company since Janu- 
ary, 1919. His inherent business sagacity and executive ability have insured the 
success of the company of which he is the head and it has grown extensively and solidly 
during his identification with it. He is a native of Milwaukee, where his birth occurred 
August IS, 1864, a son of John B. and Mary (Sprengling) Yunker. John B. Yunker 
was born in Hessen-Nassau, Germany, where he received his education and resided until 
reaching the age of twenty-one years, when he came to the United States. He first 
located in Paterson, New Jersey, where he worked as shoemaker for one year and then 
in May., 1S54, removed to Chicago, where he resided for a short time. He next went to 
Clayton county, Iowa, and subsequently came to Milwaukee, working at his trade 
until 1856, when he opened a shoe store, in the conduct of which he was active for 
about ten years. In 1S68 he engaged in the leather and findings business, and was 
soon able to retire. His success was the result of his own determined effort, intelli- 
gently directed, for when he located in Milwaukee he had back of him a capital of but 
ten dollars. His .vife. Mary Sprengling Yunker, was also a native of Germany, born in 
Hesse-Darmstadt, and at an early day she came with her mother to the United States, 
locating in Milwaukee. Here she met and married Mr. Yunker and here they resided 
throughout the remainder of their lives. 

In the acquirement of an education Charles Henry Yunker attended the schools 
of Milwaukee and after graduating from the East Division high school entered the law 
office of Dixon Noyes & Dixon, and was afterward with Markham & Noyes for a period 
of three years. In 18S2 he became connected with the Milwaukee Mechanics' Insurance 
Company in the stationery department where his ability and conscientious performance 
of every task assigned him soon brought him promotion. For some time he was assist- 



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CHARLES H. YUNKER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 215 

ant bookkeeper: then bookkeeper; in January, 1896, was made assistant treasurer; 
and three years later was promoted to treasurer, an office he held for seven years. 
In 1906 he was made vice president of the company and in January, 1919, was elected 
president, a position he has since held. The Milwaukee Mechanics' Insurance Company 
was incorporated under a charter given by special act of the legislature of Wisconsin, 
February 15, 1S52, and, originally, was a mutual company, bearing the name of Mil- 
waukee Mechanics' Mutual Insurance Company. In its infancy the company did not 
show much progress, in fact at times its very existence was endangered, but it 
weathered many storms and soon won an enviable reputation among the citizens of 
Milwaukee and vicinity. After the close of the Civil war the company made astounding 
progress and its growth from that time was steady and largely exceeded all expecta- 
tions of its founders. When the desire for greater expansion was handicapped by the 
many failures of mutual companies and the doors of many states barring its entrance 
into new and profitable territory, the company was reorganized, the change having 
been resolved upon by a general vote of the members at the annual meeting in January, 
1884, under a special act of the legislature and became a stock company with a capital 
stock of two hundred thousand dollars paid into the treasury, and the company placed 
among the millionaires. This reorganization vested the company with new power 
and it immediately branched out in every direction, adding to its territory from time 
to time until it now operates throughout the United States in pracically every state. 
It is the oldest and ranks as one of the most reliable fire insurance companies in the 
northwest. The cash capital of the company is now one million, two hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars, the, net surplus is approximately one million, fifty-seven thousand, 
one hundred and nine dollars, and the total assets including the reserves amounts to 
seven million, one hundred and twenty-seven thousand, eight hundred and sixty-seven 
dollars and ninety-nine cents, an increase of about three million dollars over the assets 
of four years ago. It has been largely through the ability of Mr. Yunkers, as president, 
that the business has been built up to its present extensive proportions. He is a mem- 
ber of the executive committee of the National Board of Fire Underwriters and also of 
the executive committee of the Western Insurance Bureau. 

In 1S92 occurred the marriage of Mr. Yunker and Miss Bertha Smith of this city, 
and to their union two daughters, Eva, who died at the age of twenty-six years; and 
Marie, who is now the wife of Alvin W. Schwarting, an official of the J. H. Rice 
& Friedman Company of Milwaukee. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Yunker was 
again married. In 1904 Ida Shape, of Milwaukee, a daughter of the late G. H. Shape, 
became his wife. She is prominent in the club and social circles of the city where she 
is recognized as a woman of a most magnetic and charming personality. 

Mr. Yunker follows an independent course in politics and has never had any desire 
for political preferment. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, in which 
he was reared, his parents having been devoted members of that denomination. . Mr. 
Yunker is a lover of the great out of doors and has been an earnest student of botany. 
He is fond of fishing and of all athletics and to tnat end maintains membership in the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club, being one of its most active members. Good music holds 
for him a great fascination and he is also of a literary turn of mind. His home at 
2520 Cedar street is artistically appointed and he is surrounded by the most cultured 
and refined influences. Thoroughness is one of his marked characteristics and he has 
mastered every phase of his business. Those who know him, and he has many friends, 
esteem him highly as a man of genuine personal worth, as a business man of ability, 
and as a citizen who is ever loyal to the best interests of the community. 



JOHN BLACK GOTTSCHALK. 

John Black Gottschalk, engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Mil- 
waukee, was born in this city, May 28, 1899, and is a son of Siegfried W. and Flora 
(Black) Gottschalk. The father was also prominently known in connection with real 
estate interests here and also conducted an insurance loan and investment department. 
He was born in Trier, Germany, August 27, 1863, his parents being Isaac and Bertha 
(Hess) Gottschalk, the former a native of Kottenheim and the latter of Trier, Germany. 
Siegfried W. Gottschalk crossed the Atlantic to the new world with his parents when only 
Two years old and took up his abode in Milwaukee, where he became a pupil in the 
public schools, while later be pursued a course of study in the Spencerian Business 
College. It was through this method that he gained a knowledge of American busi- 
ness systems and lie started out in the commercial world as a dealer in men's furnish- 
ing goods. Later he went upon the road as a traveling salesman for furniture manu- 
facturing establishments and spent seven years in that way. In 1893 he embarked 
in the real estate business and a few years later organized the real estate firm of 
S. W. & G. H. Gottschalk, his partner in the enterprise being his brother Gustav H. 
They began business just prior to the widespread financial panic of 1893 but weathered 



216 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the storm and in the face of the most adverse conditions developed a business of very 
gratifying and substantial proportions. As the years passed they gained many clients 
and negotiated many important realty transactions. They also engaged in the specu- 
lative building of houses, stores and flats, selling for cash or monthly payments, and 
in this way they contributed in substantial measure to the material improvement of 
the city. Mr. Gottschalk continued active in the business to the time of his death, 
which occurred September 14, 1920. 

In politics Siegfried W. Gottschalk was an earnest republican from the time he 
attained his majority but was never an aspirant for public office. He held to the 
religious faith of his fathers, belonging to Temple B'ne Jeshurun. Fraternally he was 
a Mason, having membership in Milwaukee Lodge, No. 261, F. & A. M.; Calumet Chap- 
ter, No. 73, R. A. M.; Kilbourn Council, R. & S. M.: and Kermat Grotto. He likewise 
had membership in the Milwaukee Real Estate Board, in the Merchants' & Manu- 
facturers' Association and with the West Side Turners and the Old Settlers Club. It 
was on the 1st of December, 1891, that Mr. Gottschalk was united in marriage to 
Miss Flora Black, a daughter of John and Mary (Pereles) Black, of Milwaukee. They 
became parents of the following named: Marie Black and Janet Black, twins; John 
Black, of this review; and Elizabeth Black. 

John B. Gottschalk obtained his education in the State Normal School and the 
public schools of Milwaukee until graduated from the West Division high school in 
1917. Later he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he was a member of the 
personnel division of the students' army training corps during the World war period. 
He afterward became connected with his father's firm and is now engaged in the con- 
duct of a general real estate, loan, investment and insurance business. This house 
is one of the oldest concerns of the kind in Milwaukee, having been founded in 1892. 
He is an alert and energetic young business man, closely studying conditions of the 
real estate market, and the qualities that he has already displayed and the result he 
has thus far achieved point to a successful future. He was a member of the Octoso 
Club when a university student, and he now has membership in the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is also a member of 
the Milwaukee Real Estate Board and the National Real Estate Board. 



ALEXANDER M. RAILING. 



Milwaukee numbers among her native sons Alexander M. Railing, president and 
manager of the Alexander M. Railing Company, manufacturers and jobbers of electrical 
supplies and lighting fixtures, with headquarters at 264-66 West Water street. His 
birth, occurred on the 15th of September. 1883, a son of Phillip and Mary (Drechsler) 
Railing. The father, who passed away in 1914, was born in Germany and came to 
this country about 1S76, locating in Milwaukee where he became a cigar manufacturer. 
Mrs. Railing is still living and makes her home in Milwaukee. She was likewise born 
in Germany and came to this country with a sister. 

In the pursuit of an education Alexander M. Railing attended the public schools 
of Milwaukee and McDonald's Business College. After putting his textbooks aside he 
entered the business world as city and later traveling salesman for the Pierron Pottery 
Company, with which concern he remained for two years, and then went on the road 
as manager of forces of five men for the American Tobacco Company, selling Dukes 
Mixture and Old Virginia cheroots for nine months. Subsequently he became associated 
with the Chicago Writing Machine Company at Galesburg, Illinois, and after six years 
in that connection became general sales manager for the whole United States, his 
promotion to that position having been the result of his intelligent effort and ability. 
In 1910, however, he severed his relations with the company and, coming to Milwau- 
kee, established his present business, which was conducted under the name of the City 
Electric Company and carried on a general electrical and contracting business. In 
1914 he organized his present company, with which the old company consolidated. In 
addition to a jobbing business the company manufactures lighting fixtures and electrical 
supplies, and they have ten salesmen who thoroughly cover twelve states. An extensive 
catalogue is issued every month and the business is conducted on the most modern 
basis, the annual business amounting to over one million dollars. 

On the 30th of May, 1906, Mr. Railing was married to Miss Edith Hoskinson, a 
daughter of Charles Hoskinson, a harness manufacturer of Macomb, Illinois. Her 
father was a native of that place and a descendant of a famous old Virginia family. 
An aunt of Mrs. Railing was treasurer of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 
Four children have been born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Railing: Phillip 
Edward, Richard, Mary Virginia, Edith Jean, all of whom attend the public schools 
with the exception of Phillip, who is now a student in the Milwaukee University School. 

Mr. Railing has never been actively interested in politics, preferring to devote his 
time and attention to the promotion of his business affairs. He belongs to no secret 




ALEXANDER M. KATLING 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 219 

societies but is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Milwaukee Electric Asso- 
ciation, National Electrical Contractors & Dealers Association, Chandelier Club, and 
in 1920 organized the Ozaukee Country Club, of which he is vice president. Mr. Rail- 
ing maintains a home at 1356 Downer avenue and has a farm of forty acres in Mequon. 
Wisconsin, on the Milwaukee river, where he spends his summers and breeds pure bred 
Guernsey cattle. Golf is his favorite form of recreation, and Mrs. Railing is a splen- 
did horsewoman. 



FRANR F. PASCH. 



Frank F. Pasch, president of the Frank F. Pasch Company of Milwaukee, was born 
in Witbeck, Germany, November 13, 1S74. His father, August Pasch, also a native of 
that country, was a forester in Germany and timber cruiser. He came to the United 
States in 1883, settling in Kiel, Wisconsin, but was not long permitted to enjoy his new 
home, for his death occurred in 1885. He married Fredricka Timreek, who was born 
in Germany, near Stolp, and came to Wisconsin with the family in 1883. Her death 
occurred January 6, 1921. 

Frank F. Pasch obtained a public school education in Kiel, Wisconsin, and came 
to Milwaukee when sixteen years of age. He started out in the business world as an 
employe of Romadka Brothers, trunk manufacturers, with whom he remained for two 
years. He was afterward connected with the Miller Brewery for two years and subse- 
quently learned the photographer's trade, following the business until 1898. In that 
year he became steward at the Milwaukee Country Club, a position which he occupied 
for eight years, while later he acted as private secretary to Louis Allis for six months. 
He next spent a year and a half as steward with the Builders Club, at the end of which 
time he went upon the road as traveling salesman, representing the Charles L. Kiewert 
Company for eight years. In 1912, in association with two partners, he organized the 
Northwestern Brewers' Supply Company and the Northwestern Extract Company. He 
disposed of his interest in the latter on the 1st of August, 1920, and in the former on the 
1st of November following. On the 1st of August, 1920, he organized his present busi- 
ness, which was incorporated in 1921. C. H. Grundman is associated with him in the 
business and is secretary and treasurer of the company. They have already won a 
substantial measure of success and their trade is steadily growing. Mr. Pasch is now 
a member of the National Manufacturers of Soda Water Flavors. 

On the 3d of October, 1S98, Mr. Pasch was married to Miss Marie Henschel, a 
daughter of Adolph Henschel of Riel, Wisconsin, who was born in Russell, this state, 
and is now engaged in the soda water business. Mr. and Mrs. Pasch have two children: 
Lester A. and Charles F. The former, born March 25, 1900, was a student in the 
University of Wisconsin and is now vice president of the company organized by his 
father. The younger son was born December 31, 1915. 

Mr. Pasch votes with the republican party but has never been an aspirant for office. 
In religious faith he is a Lutheran, belonging to Epiphany church, and fraternally he 
is connected with the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks and with the Knights of the Maccabees. 
He also belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Calumet Club, the Ozaukee Country 
Club and to the Association of Commerce. He is fond of hunting, fishing and outdoor 
sports and when leisure permits indulges therein, but business is his first interest and 
his thoroughness and diligence have been the salient features which have brought him 
to the point of success which he now occupies. 



DOUGLAS FRANCIS McKEY. 

When the aged are gathered to their fathers, one feels that it is but' the naturai 
course of events and that a human life has been rounded out to its ultimate con- 
clusion. But the real pathos of the world finds its expression when a young man, 
capable, courageous, honorable, contributing largely to the world's work and progress, 
is suddenly cut off in the midst of his activities. Douglas Francis McKey was but 
thirty-two years of age when death called him. It seemed that he should have been 
spared for many years to come, yet the finite mind may recognize the real reason and 
purpose when it enters upon the infinite. The keenest regret was felt throughout 
Milwaukee when the news spread that Douglas Francis McKey had succumbed to an 
attack of pneumonia. Although yet a young man, he had for about a decade occupied 
a position of notable prominence in the business circles of the city. He was born in 
Janesville, Wisconsin, December 21, 1888, and at the time of his demise was filling the 
position of secretary and treasurer of the Durant Manufacturing Company and had foj 
a number of years been secretary of the First Wisconsin Trust Company. His father 
George M. McKey, now living retired in Janesville, was a son of Michael McKey, a 



220 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

native of Ireland, who settled in Janesville on coming from the Emerald isle to th* 
new world in company with his twin brother, Edward. They established the first chain 
of dry goods stores in Wisconsin, conducting stores at Madison, Oshkosh and various 
other places, and were very prominent merchants of their time. They hauled their 
goods by wagon train from Milwaukee and on the outgoing trip carried with them 
loads of grain and farm produce. George M. McKey was for many years engaged in the 
lumber business, developing a most substantial enterprise of that character. He 
wedded Mary Douglas, who was born in Lockport, New York, and was of Scotch 
descent. She died in the year 1909. 

Douglas Francis McKey pursued his early education in the public schools of his 
native city, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school 
with the class of 1907. He afterward became a student in the University of Wisconsin 
and was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1911. 
During his college days he became a member of the Alpha Delta Phi. Soon after the 
completion of his university course he became a resident of Milwaukee and was 
identified with the Wisconsin Trust Company as a salesman in the bond department 
Later he was transferred to the trust department and after proving his capability and 
reliability in that connection became assistant secretary and subsequently was pro- 
moted to the position of secretary, in which capacity he continued to serve until 
January 31, 1920, when he resigned and became identified with the Durant Manufao 
turing Company as secretary and treasurer. On resigning his position as secretary of 
the First Wisconsin Trust Company he was made one of its directors, having served 
as its secretary since its consolidation with the Wisconsin Trust Company. The 
Durant Manufacturing Company, with which he was actively identified to the time of 
his demise, was organized in 1903 by W. H. Durant and is devoted to the manufacture 
of the Productometer, an automatic counting machine. The market for this machine 
extends all over the world and the company does the largest individual business in 
counting machines in the country. With the thoroughness that characterized him in 
all things, Mr. McKey took up the duties of his new position and soon acquainted him- 
self with every phase of the business. He contributed much to the steady growth of 
the trade and was regarded as a most valuable asset in the conduct of the enterprise. 

On the 21st of September, 1915, Mr. McKey was united in marriage to Miss Hazel 
Brown, a daughter of Judge Philip E. Brown of the Minnesota supreme court. Her 
father was a native of Wisconsin and removed to Luverne, Minnesota, in young man- 
hood. After many years' capable service on the circuit bench he was made judge of 
the supreme court and was filling that high judicial position at the time of his 
death. His wife bore the maiden name of Ellen Ford and she, too, was a native of 
Wisconsin. Mr and Mrs. McKey are the parents of two children: Douglas Edwin, 
born July 19, 1918; and Mary Ellen, born January 31, 1922. 

Mrs. McKey has taken a helpful part in various women's activities in Milwaukee. 
She is a member of the Episcopal church, as was Mr. McKey, their identification being 
with St. Paul's church of Milwaukee. Mr. McKey was also a valued member of the 
University Club and was a director of the Boys Busy Life Club. He was also one of 
the organizers, a director and the treasurer of the Travelers Aid Society, a director 
of the Associated Charities and president of the Milwaukee branch of the Volunteers 
of America. He took the keenest interest in all those forces which make for the uplift 
of the individual and the benefit of mankind at large. He ranked with the more 
prominent of the younger business men of Milwaukee, but it was his contribution to 
the world's work along other lines that will make him longest remembered — his earnest 
efforts to aid his fellowmen, his effective work to safeguard the young and to instill 
into their minds habits of right thinking and of right living. To know him was to 
esteem and honor him. Everywhere he was spoken of in terms of the highest regard 
and his influence will long remain as a force for good among those who knew him. 



NORMAN W. HOLLENBECK, M. D. 

Dr. Norman W. Hollenbeck. a physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, whose wide 
knowledge and ability are manifest in the extensive practice that is now accorded 
him, was born in Green Lake, Wisconsin, October 7, 1874, a son of Henry C. and Ellen 
(Colton) Hollenbeck. The father was a native of Vermont, while the mother was born 
in Wisconsin and the family comes from Holland ancestry, the first representatives of 
the name crossing the Atlantic during the early colonization of the new world, at which 
time settlement was made in the Green Mountain state. The doctor's father followed 
the occupation of farming and he removed from Wisconsin to Iowa during the boyhood 
of his son, Norman, who in the public schools of Sheldon pursued his education. He 
was reared on a farm to the age of eighteen years and then pursued a college course 
in Beloit College at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he was graduated with the Bachelor of 
Science degree. His educational training had awakened in him a desire to enter upon 




DR. NORMAN W. IIOLLENBECK 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 223 

a professional career and deciding upon the practice of medicine and surgery he 
matriculated in the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the medical 
department of Marquette University. Following his graduation as a member of the 
class of 1904 he served as an interne in the County Hospital for one year and then 
began practice at No. 2664 Fond du Lac avenue, where he has remained. He has 
here erected a beautiful residence, with offices in connection, and as the years have 
passed his practice has steadily grown in extent and in importance. He makes a 
specialty of obstetrics and is serving as obstetrician on the staff of the Milwaukee 
Hospital and of the Deaconess Hospital. He likewise engages in general practice and 
his professional duties now make heavy demands upon his time and energy. He is 
also a director in the E. H. Karrer Company, engaged in the manufacture of surgical 
instruments. He has membership in the Milwaukee County Medical Association and 
also in the Wisconsin State Medical Association. 

On the 21st of June, 1906, was celebrated the marriage of Dr. Hollenbeck and Miss 
Lillian Bark of Wauwatosa. They have three living children: Stanley, Grace and Ruth. 
During the World war Dr. Hollenbeck served on the examining board. He has always 
greatly enjoyed fishing and duck hunting and turns to these for recreation when his 
professional duties permit. He maintains a summer home at Big Cedar Lake, his 
family there sojourning during the heated months, while the winter seasons are passed 
in Milwaukee and the Hollenbecks' home is justly noted for its warm-hearted hos- 
pitality. 



JOHN C. SCHMIDTBAUER. 



John C. Schmidtbauer, vice president and general sales manager for the Julius 
Andrae & Sons Company of Milwaukee, started out upon his business career in a 
humble capacity and has steadily worked his way upward, his orderly progression 
bringing him at length to a position of prominence and large responsibility. His 
youthful days were spent upon a farm. His birth occurred March 13, 1873, on the old 
home farm in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, his parents being Joseph and Crescentia 
Schmidtbauer, both of whom were natives of Bavaria. The father was born June 10, 
1842, and was a young man of twenty-six years when in 1868 he came to the United 
States, settling in Dodge county, Wisconsin. He was a tanner by trade and took up the 
occupation of farming, which he successfully followed. He died September 28, 1920, 
when seventy-eight years of age, while his wife survived until November 6, 1921. 

John C. Schmidtbauer acquired his early education in the district schools of his 
native county and his youthful experiences were those of the farm bred boy who early 
begins work in the fields and is thus busily engaged from the time of spring planting 
until crops are gathered in the late autumn. In 1892, when a young man of nineteen 
years, he became identified with the Julius Andrae & Sons Company in the position of 
office boy. Since then he has made steady progress. The years brought him promo- 
tion as the result of his industry and faithfulness and step by step he has advanced 
until about 1907, or after fifteen years' connection with the company, he was made 
vice president. He continues to act as the second executive officer of the concern and 
is also general sales manager. The business has steadily grown and developed as the 
result of his cooperation, for he has ever employed constructive effort and has seemed 
fully to utilize every opportunity for the expansion and promotion of the business. 

On the 17th of May, 1900, Mr. Schmidtbauer was married to Miss Ida Lee, a- daugh- 
ter of Edward Lee of Baraboo, Wisconsin, who is a railroad man. Mr. and Mrs. 
Schmidtbauer have one child, Betty S., who is attending the Milwaukee public schools. 

Mr. Schmidtbauer is independent in his political views nor has he ever sought nor 
desired office. In religious faith he is a Catholic, belonging to St. Mary's parish. He 
enjoys a game of golf and is also an enthusiastic motorist. He has membership in the 
Blue Mound Country Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and also in the Association of 
Commerce, his identification with the last named indicating his sincere interest in 
Milwaukee's welfare and upbuilding. 



ISABEL V. SCANLAN. 



Known to thousands of foundrymen all over the United States, Canada and foreign 
parts is the signature of "I. V. Scanlan" attached to letters of technical and practical 
import issued from McLain's System headquarters, and thus unique in many respects 
is this McLain's System from trade uplift to the efficiency of its business management. 
Foundrymen attending the annual exhibitions of equipment and supplies held in 
various cities respectively each year, receive the surprise of their lives in meeting 



224 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

I. V. Scanlan, for "I. V." isn't a man at all as they had believed from correspondence, 
but a keen-eyed, alert woman. 

Our subject is a good illustration of pluck as well as ability. Looking back we 
And a girl of twelve mothering five brothers and sisters, sending them to school, attend- 
ing to their every need, besides keeping up her own studies. At the age of sixteen she 
began teaching in the public school, spending her vacations in improving her own 
education. Later, dissatisfied, she took up commercial work and for three years, prior 
to her association with McLain's System, was head of a shorthand department and one 
of the most successful commercial teachers in the city of Milwaukee. She employs 
only Pitman-Howard stenographers and insists on accuracy not only in typewriting but 
in the execution of their shorthand, and delights in training the young women to become 
efficient in I heir respective lines. 

Notwithstanding she had an assured position with prospects of higher salary, she 
decided to cast her life with the influence of McLain's System, which is now world-wide 
known. She believed that Mr. McLain's idea was a big one but that he lacked the 
necessary assistance to put it across, so in December, 1909, she resigned her position to 
enter a field wholly unknown to her — the iron and steel business. She started in by 
being stenographer, typist and doing all around work which caused her friends to be- 
lieve that she had really lost her reason to quit a position as head of a successful short- 
hand department to plod away at something that was ridiculed by its own tradesmen 
as they could not believe it possible to market a course of instructions to teach men 
the science of a business they had spent a lifetime at. 

Needless to say hard work and study are the secret of her success, and that Mr. 
McLain is a true teacher is proved, for, here is a pupil, a woman who had never seen 
the inside of a foundry, yet to hear her talk on the subjects of metallurgy causes one 
to think she had spent years in actual foundry practice. Intimacy with progress and 
developments in foundry practice recorded through letters from clients, visits to 
various plants, as well as the trade journals, has contributed much to her knowledge 
of the craft. She has the distinction of being the only woman in the world connected 
in an executive capacity with a business of this kind, and to her the technique of the 
subject of foundry practice, the metallurgy of iron and steel, etc., hold no terrors — as 
a matter of fact, she simply revels in the work, bringing to the many problems a brain 
that many would be disposed to envy and a precision of expression readily appreciated by 
those interested in the various solutions. As secretary and treasurer she has assumed 
almost entire charge of the office management and that she is partner as well is due to 
Mr. McLain's business acumen, for he discovered quite early in his correspondence 
school enterprise that she was too valuable an asset to risk losing by any chance. 

It should be an inspiration to many a young business woman to know a little more 
of the effort this woman put forth to win from a child up. Her history of herself, 
starting with her birth in Rudolph, Wood county, Wisconsin, and leaving the old home 
when thirteen years of age to go away to school, is brimful of human interest and has 
a tendency to make one feel like getting to know the woman a little better, and compar- 
ing notes and personalities with a view to finding out just wherein her strength lies, 
comparatively. One would think that the close association with business would have 
robbed her of the feminine qualities, but instead this woman has lost none of her 
charms through association with the foundry industry, and we hope the industrial 
world will become better acquainted with her. Mrs. Scanlan is a widow and resides at 
the Avondale apartments, 1718 Wells street. 



GEORGE WATTS. 



No history of Milwaukee's commercial development would be complete and satis- 
factory were there failure to make reference to George Watts, who for many years was 
prominently connected with the crockery and glassware trade. He built up a business 
of substantial proportions as the result of his close application, indefatigable enter- 
prise, thoroughness and persistency of purpose. His name at all times stood as a 
synonym for pregressiveness and thorough knowledge of the trade and Milwaukee 
classed him among her prominent, representative and honored merchants. Mr. Watts 
was born in England, April 17. 1847, and was a son of William Watts, who was also a 
native of that country but died in Milwaukee, having come to the new world after his 
son George had crossed the Atlantic. He then took up his abode in the Cream city and 
here continued to reside until his demise. 

George Watts spent the period of his minority in his native country and acquired 
his education in the public schools. When twenty-one years of age he determined to 
try his fortune in the new world and came alone to America, making his way across 
the country to Milwaukee, where he took up his abode in 1870. Here he entered the 
employ of Thomas Massey, who was engaged in the wholesale and retail crockery and 
glassware business. He applied himself with thoroughness to the mastery of the 




GEOKGE WATTS 



Vol. in — a 5 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 227 

trade and as time passed he gradually acquired a larger and larger interest in the 
business, and upon the death of Mr. Massey in 1S90 he purchased the interest of his 
former partner and became sole proprietor. At that time the business was situated at 
its present location — No. 424 Milwaukee street. Mr. Watts was most active in the 
development of the trade. He carried a large and carefully selected line of goods, selling 
both to the wholesale and retail trade, and his progressive business methods found 
endorsement in the support of many patrons. His was the only exclusive crockery and 
glassware house in Milwaukee and for a number of years the company has specialized 
in English bone china. Their trade extends all over the state and from the beginning 
the house has enjoyed an unassailable reputation for the integrity and reliability of its 
business methods. This reputation largely had its root in the unimpeachable honesty 
and justice of Mr. Watts, who at all times enjoyed the entire confidence and goodwill 
of those who knew him. 

In young manhood Mr. Watts was united in marriage to Miss Louise Heise, who was 
born in Milwaukee and is a daughter of Fred Heise, a native of Germany, who came to 
this city in the '40s. Mrs. Watts still survives her husband and yet makes her home in 
Milwaukee. The death of Mr. Watts occurred on the 7th of August, 1919, and in his 
passing the community mourned the loss of a valued and representative business man 
and citizen. He had always been most loyal to the interests of his adopted city through- 
out the entire period of his residence here, covering almost a half century. Those who 
knew him — and he had a wide acquaintance — esteemed him most highly and his friends 
were legion. The crockery and glassware business that is now carried on under the 
firm style of George Watts & Son stands as a monument to his business enterprise, his 
progressiveness and his determined spirit. 

Howard Manley Watts, son of George Watts and his successor as the head of the 
business, was born in Milwaukee, November 17, 1890. He acquired his early education 
in the public schools, and the East Division high school, and was graduated from the 
University of Wisconsin in 1913. Five years before his father's death he was admitted 
to a partnership and, when in 1919, George Watts passed away, he assumed the re- 
sponsibilities as head of the business, which has since been carried on under the firm 
style of George Watts & Son. 

On the 20th of August, 1914, Howard M. Watts was married to Lorraine Grimm, a 
daughter of Judge George Grimm of Jefferson, Wisconsin, and they have one daughter, 
Helen Louise. Mr. Watts is a worthy successor of his father in business and is fully 
sustaining the high reputation ever associated with the name of Watts in connection 
with the mercantile interests of this city. 



LOUIS PIERRON. 



Louis Pierron, sanitary rug cleaner of Milwaukee, whose success in business is due 
to enterprise, diligence and determination, was born in the town of Milwaukee, 
September 23, 1870, his parents being William and Martha (Mantz) Pierron. He 
comes from a long line of sturdy German-French ancestors. His father was born in 
the city of Milwaukee, September 17, 1849, and the mother's birth occurred in Ger- 
many, September 17, 1S53. Both have now passed away, the father dying June 1, 1920, 
while the mother survived only until the 16th of September of the same year. She 
came to Milwaukee with her parents in 1855 and her father was one of the pioneer brick- 
makers of the state, living at Fox Point. To Mr. and Mrs. William Pierron were born 
eight children: Louis, whose name introduces this review; William, residing in 
Bellingham, Washington; Otillie, of the city of Milwaukee; Henry, who is also located 
at Bellingham, Washington; Elsa B., the wife of G. E. Rothweiler of Bellingham; Alma, 
who became the wife of Otto A. Jacobi, who died in 1910, since which time his widow 
has become the wife of John Kemmerer, a farmer of Saskatchewan, Canada, where he 
is extensively engaged in wheat raising; Martha M., who is now the wife of William 
Kranstover, president of the Badger Dye Works of Milwaukee; and Richard, who is 
assistant superintendent of schools in Bellingham, Washington. 

The father of this family remained in Milwaukee until he was seventeen years of 
age, residing with Charles Hermann, his stepfather, who conducted a store on East 
Water street. Later Mr. Pierron worked in and afterward conducted the Silver Springs 
Mills in the town of Milwaukee from 1S66 until 1888, there engaging in the manufac- 
turing of starch and cereals. In the latter year he established a grocery and saloon at 
the corner of North avenue and Third street, where he profitably conducted business 
until 1891, when he sold out. For thirteen years thereafter he was city collector for 
the Cream City Brewing Company. He was always much interested in politics and 
was chosen to represent the fifteenth district in the state legislature in 1881, while in 
1891 he was again chosen for the position of assemblyman from the sixth district. He 
served as chairman of the town of Milwaukee in 1877 and again in 1883. In 1904 he 
retired from active business and spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of well 



228 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

earned rest, passing away in 1920. After his retirement he was appointed to fill out an 
unexpired term as a county supervisor of the sixth ward of Milwaukee. 

Louis Pierron was named in honor of his paternal grandfather, who at the time 
the village of Milwaukee was incorporated in 1846 was conducting a general store on 
East Water street. He annually made trips by oxen to St. Louis, then the commercial 
center of the mid-west, where his purchases were made. Our subject's maternal 
grandfather was a brick manufacturer of Germany and came to Milwaukee in 1855. 
He soon afterward settled on a farm on the Port Washington road and he also worked 
in the Lake Shore brick factory in connection with developing and cultivating his 
land. Louis Pierron was reared on his father's farm in the town of Milwaukee and 
pursued his education in the public schools near by and afterward in the schools of 
Milwaukee, attending for a time a private school. He was ever actuated by a laudable 
ambition and in 1887 he acquired a half interest in a flour and feed store, which he con- 
ducted in partnership with George Scholler. Two years later, when his father returned 
to Milwaukee, Louis Pierron disposed of his interest in the feed store to become a 
partner of his father at the corner of North avenue and Third street. In 1891 he ac- 
cepted the position of collector and salesman with L. M. Pierron, his uncle, and in 
1892 he became identified with the repair department of the board of public works and 
the board of school directors. He remained in the employ of the city for eight years, 
rendering capable service in that connection. In 1901 he returned to his father's old 
place in the town of Milwaukee, concentrating his efforts and attention upon general 
farming and the breeding of poultry, and he introduced many improvements there. 
He was elected town clerk of Milwaukee township, filling the position from 1904 
until 1910. 

Mr. Pierron has ever been an ardent bicyclist and his slogan in this regard i.s 
"In the Saddle Since 1879." In that year his grandfather purchased for him his first 
wheel — one of the wooden velocipedes. In 1889 he became owner of his first safety 
bicycle and in 1893 he was a participant in the Pullman road race in Chicago. He 
identified himself with the League of American Wheelmen, of which he is a life mem- 
ber, and has been very active in the interests of that organization. In 1890 he bought 
the wheel which he rode to Chicago on the thirtieth anniversary of its purchase and on 
the 7th of November, 1921, he used one of the original tires of thirty years ago. 

Mr. Pierron is a stanch republican in politics and has always been deeply inter- 
ested in everything pertaining to the welfare and progress of his community. He makes 
his home at No. 736 Holton street, where the family has lived since 1891. He is now 
engaged in sanitary rug cleaning and he has the only Seaman rug beating machine in 
the county. It beats the rug as done by hand and takes out every particle of dust. 
Most of his work is done for large concerns in his line which lack his equipment, but 
he also cleanses rugs for families and for hotels. The business has steadily grown to 
substantial proportions and has become one of the profitable business enterprises of 
the city. 



EDWARD CALLAWAY. 



Edward Callaway, president of the Callaway Fuel Company, was born in Milwaukee, 
June 19, 1877. His father, William Callaway, was a native of Portishead, England, 
born on the 13th of May, 1831. He was first a seafaring man and in 1873 he established 
the coal business now conducted by his son Edward, continuing active therein until 
his death in 1917. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Jane Broughton and 
is now living in Milwaukee, is the daughter of John Broughton, at one time a well 
known resident of this city. She was born in Somersetshire, England, and the family 
came to Milwaukee in the late '50s. 

Edward Callaway was educated in the public schools of Milwaukee and for five 
years he was employed by the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company as a stenographer, while 
later he became a salesman. He had pursued a course in stenography in the Williams 
Business College and thus qualified for his initial step in the commercial world. On 
severing his connection with the O'Neil Oil & Paint Company he entered his father's 
business. He had in the meantime served during the Spanish-American war as a 
member of the First Wisconsin Regiment and became court reporter for the brigade 
court martial. Following his return from military activity he joined his father in 
business and the partnership was continued until their interests were incorporated in 
1907, at which time Edward Callaway became president of the company, his father hav- 
ing retired from active connection with the trade. He has since carefully and sys- 
tematically directed his interests. The business is that of wholesale and retail fuel 
and the trade covers Milwaukee and many parts of the state. The business has grown 
steadily until it is one of the big enterprises of the kind in the city and in addition 
thereto Mr. Callaway is president of the Winslow Mining Company. 

On the 4th of June, 1913, Mr. Callaway was united in marriage to Miss Marie J. 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 229 

Meyer, a daughter of Carl Meyer, a native of Milwaukee. They have become parents 
cf one child, Olive Marie. Mrs. Callaway is a musician of considerable ability, possess- 
ing a splendid soprano voice which was trained in Berlin, Germany. She has been a 
member of choirs and has done much solo work in churches and in concert recitals. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Callaway hold membership in the Episcopal church and 
fraternally he is 'connected with Walker Lodge, K. P., of Milwaukee. He likewise be- 
longs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, to the City Club, to the Association of Com- 
merce, to the Spanish-American War Veterans and to other organizations. He was 
chairman of the tenth ward committee in charge of all war activities — Liberty Loans, 
Red Cress work, etc. In the line of business he is a director in the Retail Coal Men's 
Association and is a member of the National Wholesale Coal Association. His political 
endorsement is given to the republican party and he has been an active worker in its 
ranks at tiroes but has never held office. He has served as a delegate to state and other 
conventions and his opinions have carried weight in the councils of his party. Sys- 
tematic attention to all of the details as well as of the main features of his business, 
thoroughness and earnestness of purpose have been the salient features in the attain- 
ment of his present-day success. It is true that he entered upon a business already 
established, but many a man of less resolute spirit would have failed in carrying it 
forward. He has met the changed business conditions with an adaptability that shows 
his thorough understanding of conditions. His time and talents have been wisely used 
and he is today one of the foremost representatives of the coal trade in this city. 



JOHN A. WITTIG. 



John A. Wittig. of the firm of F. Wittig & Company, coal dealers of Milwaukee, has 
been a lifelong resident of this city, his birth having here occurred July 20, 1884. His 
father, Ferdinand Wittig, who passed away in 1912, was then seventy-one years of age, 
for his birth occurred in Saxony, Germany, in 1841. He came to the United States with 
his parents, who very soon afterward settled in Milwaukee. His father was John 
Wittig and the son Ferdinand, spending his youth under the parental roof, was largely 
reared in Milwaukee, where he learned the plumbing business, which he followed for 
a time. Later he turned his attention to the coal trade, in which he engaged about 1894 
in partnership with Joseph Rademacher. Ferdinand Wittig was united in marriage 
to .Miss Amelia Frantz, who was born on her father's farm in Waukesha county, Wis- 
consin, and who died in the year 1906. 

John A. Wittig pursued his early education in St. Mary's parochial school and 
afterward attended Marquette College, in which he pursued an academic course, and 
also attended a business college. Having thus qualified for the duties and responsibili- 
ties of a commercial career, he became associated with his father in business as a clerk 
and in 1912, following the death of his father, he became copartner in the business 
that is now carried on under the style cf F. Wittig & Company. They conduct a whole- 
sale charcoal business and handle coal and fuel as retailers. They have developed a 
trade of large and gratifying proportions and their enterprise, energy and determina- 
tion have brought them prominently to the front as successful dealers. 

Politically Mr. Wittig maintains an independent course, neither seeking nor de- 
siring office and voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to 
party ties. In religious faith he is a Catholic, identified with St. Mary's parish. He 
also belongs to the Knights of Columbus and to the Milwaukee Lodge of Elks. He 
greatly enjoys bowling and has been president of the Knights of Columbus Bowling 
League. When leisure permits he indulges in the game and has developed considerable 
skill as an amateur player. He is also a fisherman and frequently takes trips to the 
northern woods. He is also a lover of music and of motoring and these connections 
indicate the nature of his interests and relaxation. As a business man he is thorouRh, 
persistent and energetic and what he attempts he carries forward to successful 
completion. 



FRANK HENRY BERCKER. 



Frank Henry Bercker, president of the Munich Statuary & Altar Company of Mil- 
waukee, has built his success upon the stable foundation of broad experience in busi- 
ness and thorough training in the field of art. He possesses initiative, enterprise and 
determination in addition to artistic taste and talent and these qualities have com- 
bined to make him one of the foremost representatives of his line of business in the 
Mississippi valley. Mr. Bercker was born in Kevelaer, Germany, April 26, 1880. His 
father, Franz Herman Bercker, who was also a native of Kevelaer, spent his entire life 
there, where he became prominently known in connection with the publication and 



230 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

binding of Catholic books. He married Madeline Geritzen, who was born in Kevelaer 
in 1850, continuing her residence in her native city until called to the home beyond. 

Acquiring his early education in the elementary schools of his native city, Frank 
H. Bercker afterward pursued a high school course there and then entered the academy 
at Telgte in Westphalia. He next became a student in Charlesbourg, Belgium, and, 
following a natural tendency, he entered upon a course of study in the Art Institute at 
Dresden, Saxony, where he continued for two years. He afterward became associated 
with an art studio in Crefeld, where he gained practical knowledge of the selling de- 
partment of the business. When a year had passed, or in 1900, he came to the United 
States, settling first in Buffalo, New York, and there for two years he was connected 
with the Buffalo Volksfreund as representative of the advertising and circulating de- 
partment. Through the same period he was engaged in the sale of German almanacs 
and other publications. After two years devoted to the church supplies and art goods 
business he entered the employ of the M. H. Wiltzius Company of Milwaukee as eastern 
representative in the sale of church art goods and supplies. His capability in this field 
led to his assignment to the territory embraced in northern Minnesota, Michigan and 
Wisconsin. From Buffalo he removed to Duluth, Minnesota, in 1909 and there remained 
for a year and a half. It was during that period that Mr. Wiltzius sold the church 
goods department of his business to the Diederich Schaefer Company, retaining the 
other branch of his business. Mr. Bercker continued with Mr. Wiltzius and with him 
came to Milwaukee in 1911, acting as general representative and designer for the house 
until 1913, when the Wiltzius interests in the business were purchased by some former 
stockholders in the company and the business was reorganized under the name of the 
Munich Statuary & Altar Company. Mr. Bercker remained as general manager and in 
1915 was elected to the presidency, in which position he has since continued. Long 
experience has well qualified him for the position of executive control which he now 
occupies. He has had thorough training in every phase of the business — in salesman- 
ship, in design and directing management — and the passing years have chronicled the 
successful control of all interests entrusted to his care. As the president of the com- 
pany he has constantly extended the trade connections of the house until the volume 
of business is now most gratifying. 

On the 22d of May, 1901, Mr. Bercker was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. 
Nemmer, a daughter of Michael Nemmer, who was a landowner in the Bavarian 
forests. Mrs. Bercker was born in Miltach. Bavaria, and came to the United States in 
1892 in company with a brother and two sisters. She became the wife of Mr. Bercker 
in Buffalo, New York, and four children have been born to them: Agnes, who is now 
a high school pupil at Janesville, Wisconsin; Bernice, who is attending the Academy 
of Our Lady in Chicago; Mary, a student in SS. Peter and Paul parochial school; and 
Francis H., also attending the parochial school. 

In his political views Mr. Bercker has always been a republican but never an active 
party worker. He is identified with the Association of Commerce, is also a member 
of the National Organization of Catholic Publishers and Church Goods Manufacturers 
and belongs as well to the Catholic Merchants Guild. He and his family are com- 
municants of SS. Peter and Paul church and Mr. Bercker's name is on the member- 
ship rolls of Pere Marquette Council of the Knights of Columbus. In his youth he took 
great pleasure in gymnastics and he has in more recent years gained his recreation 
largely from motor trips. He and all of his family possess marked musical taste and 
artistic tendencies and have done much to promote progress along cultural lines in their 
adopted city. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the 
new world, for he has found the opportunities which he sought. He stands as a 
splendid type of the progressive business man who at the outset of his career realized 
there was no royal road to wealth. He knew that his advancement would depend on 
individual effort and ability and he has concentrated his labors along the lines that 
have been most resultant. 



STEPHEN J. CASPER. 



Milwaukee numbers among her representative business men Stephen J. Casper, 
president and treasurer of the Western Glass & China Company, dealing in hotel, 
restaurant, cafeteria, club and lunch room equipment. He is a native son of Milwau- 
kee, where his birth occurred July 8, 1877, his parents being William and Mary A. 
(Oster) Casper. The father, a native of Bingen, Germany, came to the United States 
with his parents when eight years of age, and located with them in Milwaukee. Here 
he grew to manhood and entered the business world, where he soon became a prominent 
figure. He was for many years treasurer of the Wisconsin Lake Ice Company, now the 
Wisconsin Ice & Coal Company, and took an active part in public affairs. He was a 
district supervisor for some time and as a communicant of the Catholic church stanchly 
supported all of its activities. His death occurred in 1897 and came as a severe blow 




STICPHEN J. CASPER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 233 

to his many friends in the city. Mrs. Casper survives and makes her home in Mil- 
waukee. She was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, and came to Milwaukee with her parents 
when but ten years of age. 

Stephen J. Casper received his education in St. Mary's parochial school in Mil- 
waukee and in due time entered Pio Mono College at St. Francis, where he completed 
a commercial course. For the following ten years he was associated with his father's 
business in a clerical capacity and then became a partner of Paul Ladwig in the Western 
Bottlers Supply Company of Milwaukee. In 1920 the demise of Mr. Lad wig occurred, 
and Mr. Casper took over his interest, incorporating the business under the name of 
the Western Glass & China Company, with a capital stock of seventy-five thousand 
dollars. Mr. Casper became president and treasurer, and Henry M. Luedtke is secre- 
tary. The corporation deals for the most part in china and glassware equipment for 
hotels, etc. and does extensive business throughout the state. They are also large im- 
porters of china and glassware for high class family trade. The keen insight and 
executive ability of Mr. Casper have been dominant factors in the continued growth of 
the business, and each year he expects to see a substantial increase. 

On the 23d of November, 1910, Mr. Casper was united in marriage to Frieda M. 
Schroeder. a daughter of John Schroeder, of the John Schroeder Lumber Company. 
He was a native of Hanover, Germany, and passed away about 190S. Four sons have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Casper: Stephen J., Jr., Robert J.. Frederick and James. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Casper has maintained an independent course 
in polities, and his religious faith is that of the St. Rose Catholic church. He is presi- 
dent of the Wisconsin Club, to the interests of which he devotes a large portion of 
his time and is a member of the Rotary Club, the Association of Commerce, and the 
.Milwaukee Athletic Club, in which he takes a very active interest. For recreation 
Mr. Casper turns to outdoor sports and is particularly fond of motoring. The con- 
tinued growth cf the business shows the results of a thorough knowledge of details and 
an active personal supervision of its various branches. 



NICHOLAS MEUSER. 



Nicholas Meuser, president of the Meuser Printing Company of Milwaukee, was 
born in this city July 31, 1886. His father, Joseph Meuser, was also a native of this 
city, born in 1860, his father being Jacob Meuser, a native of Nassau, Germany, whence 
he came to the United States in the '50s, settling in Milwaukee, where he passed away 
in 1862. He was a carpenter by trade. His son, Joseph Meuser, was a printer by 
trade and during the last year or more of his life was in partnership with his son in 
the printing business under the firm style of Wagner & Meuser. His life record covered 
a period of fifty years, his death occurring in 1910. In early manhood he wedded 
Mary Weiand, who was born in this city, where she still makes her home. She is a 
daughter of Nicholas Weiand, a furniture manufacturer and undertaker, who in early 
life devoted his attention to car building, although in his later years he conducted an 
undertaking establishment under the firm style of Nic Weiand & Son. 

Nicholas Meuser obtained his early education in the parochial schools of Mil- 
waukee and afterward attended the St. Francis parochial school and the Marquette 
University, pursuing a classical course. He started out in the business world as 
assistant bookkeeper with the Milwaukee Building Supply Company, with which he 
remained for six or seven years. He then took charge of the books and collections of 
the Reichardt & Devitt Company at 108 Grand avenue and continued to act in that 
capacity for seven or eight years. In 1909 he turned his attention to the printing busi- 
ness in connection with his father and George Hartwig, their establishment being 
situated at No. 744 Third street, where they remained for two or three years. At the 
end of that time the firm name was changed to Meuser & Hartwig, Mr. Meuser, Sr., 
having passed away. In 1912 the Meusers purchased the property at 822 Third street 
and erected thereon their present building. In 1916 Nicholas Meuser purchased the 
interest of Mr. Hartwig in the business, which was then incorporated under the name 
of the Meuser Printing Company with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars, all of 
which is owned by members of the family. They do commercial printing, engraving 
and bookbinding and also conduct a retail stationery store. They have one of the most 
modern and sanitary plants in the country and are doing a business of very gratifying 
proportions. They handle all sizes of jobs from cards to catalogues and have one of the 
most modern shops of the kind that can be found anywhere. 

On the 6th of April, 1909, Mr. Meuser was married to Miss Olga Bingenheimer, a 
daughter of Ferdinand Bingenheimer, a butcher of Milwaukee. Mrs. Meuser was also 
educated in the St. Francis parochial school. She is a lady of artistic nature and does 
excellent work with oil and water colors as well as in sketching. 

Mr. Meuser votes with the republican party but has never been active in polities 
He holds membership in the Catholic church, being a member of St. Francis parish. 



234 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and also belongs to the Association of Com- 
merce. He is fond ot motoring and bowling, to which he turns tor recreation, but 
allows no outside interest to interfere with the conduct of his business affairs, which 
have been most wisely and profitably managed. 



NORMAN LORNE MacLEAN. 

Prominent in the business circles of Milwaukee is Norman Lome MacLean, con- 
nected with Klau-Van Pietersom-Dunlap, Incorporated, an extensive advertising con- 
cern with offices in the Manhattan building. He was born in Brantford, Ontario, 
Canada, on the 16th of August, 1881, of Scotch and English ancestry, his parents being 
Archibald and Charlotte (Perrin) MacLean. The father, who is now living in Chicago 
retired from active business, was born in Orillia, Ontario, the son of Donald Alex 
MacLean, a native of the isle of Coll, Scotland. Donald Alex MacLean located in On- 
tario, Canada, with his parents when but ten years of age and there grew to manhood. 
His brother, Kaid MacLean, was commander in chief of the Persian forces in the early 
'70s. Mrs. MacLean was born in Brantford, Ontario, a daughter of Hiram Perrin, a 
native of Mount Pleasant, Ontario. The grandfather of Mrs. MacLean was William 
Henry Perrin and the great-grandfather William Perrin, who came to the United 
States from County Kent, England, and located in Massachusetts. He served as a 
colonel in the American army during the Revolutionary war, and his name figures 
prominently in the affairs of the early colonial days. Mrs. MacLean passed away in 
September, 1920. 

In the acquirement of an education Norman Lome MacLean attended the public 
schools of Chicago and at an early day put his textbooks aside to enter the business 
world. He was employed as telegraph messenger boy until he was fifteen years of 
age, when, having mastered telegraphy in his spare time, he associated with Robert 
Lindblom & Company as telegraph operator in the brokerage office. During his five 
years with that concern his ability won him steady promotion and when he left he was 
in charge of the wire department. He resigned his position with the company to enter 
the army, and in 189S he enlisted in Company E of the United States Signal Corps and 
went to the Philippine Islands. He was in active service two years and received 
wounds. He was present at the battle of Zapote Bridge, where Colonel Reilly was 
killed. After receiving his discharge from the army he went to Chicago and entered 
commercial circles in that city as manager of the country branches of the Weare Com- 
mission Company and after five years in that connection resigned to become copy writer 
for the Cattanach Advertising Agency at Winnipeg. After three years with that agency 
he determined to enter the business on his own account and as a result established 
an advertising agency in St. Paul, Minnesota, which he conducted with a great amount 
of success for three years. In 1913, however, disposing of his independent business, 
he became associated with his present concern. 

On the 17th of August, 1908, Mr. MacLean was united in marriage to Bargie Burger, 
a daughter of Holbrook Burger of St. Charles, Iowa. He was a native of Holland and 
came to the United States with his father when but a boy and located in New York 
state. Mrs. MacLean's mother was a second cousin of the noted James G. Blaine of 
Maine and was before her marriage a Miss Gillespie. 

Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. MacLean has been a stanch 
supporter of the democratic party, in the interests of which he takes an active part, 
although he has neither sought nor desired public office as a reward for party fealty. 
His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and fraternally he is identified with 
the Knights of Pythias, belonging to Garfield Lodge, No. 83. He is known in club 
circles but devotes the greater part of his time to his family and business interests. 
In literary circles Mr. MacLean is well known and has contributed several stories and 
articles to various publications. In 1918 his intense patriotism resulted in his enlist- 
ment in the Canadian army as wireless operator and for six months he saw active 
service in that connection in Europe. 



EDWARD R. WAGNER. 



Edward R. Wagner, secretary, treasurer and manager of the E. R. Wagner Manu- 
facturing Company, established his present business in 1900. He has since devoted his 
attention to the manufacture of vehicle hardware and sheet metal stampings and the 
steady development of the enterprise has made it one of the substantial productive 
concerns of the city. 

Mr. Wagner was born in Milwaukee on the 3d of August, 1873. He is a son of 
Charles H. Wagner, a native of Germany, who came to the United States when about 




Ki>u vim [;. u \<;\ i;i: 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 237 

eighteen years of age. Charles H. Wagner resided for a time in New York and then 
settled in Milwaukee. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and conducted a picture frame 
establishment on Mason street. He also figured prominently in connection with public 
affairs, serving as supervisor and assessor of his ward for several terms. He was a 
conscientious, hard-working man, devoted to his family and loyal at all times to the 
interests of the community. He was one of the early and active members of the Mil- 
waukee Musical Society. His demise occurred in 1914. His wife, who bore the maiden 
name of Johanna Munk, was a daughter of Dr. Emanuel Munk, one of the old-time 
physicians of Thiensville, who was born and educated in Germany and came to the 
United States in 1848 at the time of the German revolution, desiring to enjoy the free- 
dom and liberty of the new world. He was a surgeon in the northern army during the 
Civil war and was one of the early champions of the republican party in Wisconsin. 
He died in 1902, at the venerable age of ninety-three years. 

Edward R. Wagner pursued his early education in the public schools of Milwaukee 
and completed his studies in the East Side high school. He then started out in the 
business world and for five years was employed in the office of the Shadbolt & Boyd 
Iron Company. Later he was connected with the C. J. Smith & Sons Company for a 
period of five years but was ambitious to engage in business on his own account and 
in 1900 he organized and incorporated the E. R. Wagner Manufacturing Company. 
They manufacture vehicle hardware and sheet metal stampings and their market 
covers a large part of this country. They started in 'a small way with a capital of 
but a few thousand dollars, but today their capitalization is five hundred thousand dol- 
lars and the plant has been developed to large proportions. They have five acres of 
ground upon which stand substantial buildings, splendidly equipped for the line in 
which they are engaged. Their specialty is the production of sheet metal parts in 
large quantities, requiring special tools and machinery, many of them being of their 
own design and invention. The plant is thoroughly modern in every particular. The 
buildings were constructed on the one-story plan, with a liberal amount of daylight and 
thoroughly fireproof in every particular. 

On the 2d of December, 1905, Mr. Wagner was married to Miss Ellen Solberg, a 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Solberg of Milwaukee, who were born in Norway. Mr. 
Solberg came to the United States as a young man after acquiring a college education 
in the old country. He took an active interest in American politics and held office 
while in Minnesota. He later published a newspaper at Madison, Wisconsin, and for 
a period he was Danish consul at Milwaukee. He is now with the New York Life 
Insurance Company and is still active, although eighty-nine years of age. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are the parents of four children: Robert S., who attends the 
Milwaukee University School; Jane E. and Frederick E., twins, who are also students in 
the Milwaukee University School; and Marion C. 

Mr. Wagner belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Rotary Club, the City 
Club, the Wisconsin Club, the Blue Mound Country Club and the Association of Com- 
merce. He is much interested in public affairs and is a director of the Centralized 
Budget of Philanthropies. He is also a director of Columbia Hospital and of the Mil- 
waukee University School and thus he gives his aid and influence to many forces 
which make for the uplift of the individual and the betterment of the community at 
large. 



ADOLPH F. SAUER. 



Adolph F. Sauer is the president of the A. F. Sauer Company, dealers in tailors' 
trimmings at 353 East Water street, Milwaukee. The business was established in 1895 
and has been in existence for more than a quarter of a century, wisely guided by Mr. 
Sauer, who is a man of sound business judgment and readily recognizes and utilizes 
the opportunities that open up in the field of trade. 

Mr. Sauer was born in Baden, Germany, July 15, 1842. His father, Joseph A. Sauer, 
whose birth occurred in 1S08, passed away about 1868, at the age of sixty years. He, 
too, was born in Baden and came to Milwaukee in 1854 with his family, consisting of 
wife and three children. He conducted a notion and furnishing goods store on East 
Water street, near Juneau, and was one of the early, enterprising and successful mer- 
chants of the city. He married Margaret Neninger, who was born in Neuwitte, Ger- 
many, the wedding being celebrated, however, in Baden, to which place her family 
had removed She was born in 1808 and died in 1880. 

Adolph F. Sauer obtained his education in the schools of Germany and after com- 
ing to Milwaukee worked for the dry goods firm of W. S. Candee & Company in the 
position of errand boy at a salary of two dollars per week. He continued with the 
house for two years and then went to New York city, where he remained until 1861, 
when he returned to Milwaukee, where he was in the employ of Hoffman Brothers until 
1863. He then again entered the employ of Candee & Company, the linn having in 



238 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the meantime removed to Leivenworth, Kansas, where Mr. Sauer worked for a year, 
returning to Milwaukee in the fall of 1865. He was afterward with the firm of Love & 
Tiehenor in the dry goods business for two. years and subsequently was for three years 
with the firm of Zimmerman Brothers in the clothing business. His next connection 
was with A. W. Rich & Company, whom he represented in the position of floor walker 
for four years. Later he was with the firm of Storm & Hill, owners of a wholesale 
dry goods house, and continued as one of their representatives upon the road for a 
period of fourteen years. On giving up his position as traveling salesman in 1S92 he 
bought out the tailoring business of Peter Lehman and conducted the enterprise alone 
tor a year. At the end of that time he admitted Daniel Lowrie to a partnership and 
two years later sold his interest to Mr. Lowrie. It was in 1895 that he founded his 
present business, which was established under the firm style of Sauer & Guttelman, 
and in 1900 he became sole proprietor by acquiring the interest of the junior partner. 
Since that time he has been the sole owner of the business, which was incorporated in 
December, 1903, under the present name. Mr. Sauer remains at the head of the com- 
pany as president, while his son, Edward A. Sauer, is now the secretary and treasurer. 
The company handles trimmings for tailors and furriers and their trade covers Wiscon- 
sin and the neighboring states and extends as far west as Nebraska, Kansas and North 
and South Dakota. They have the most extensive trade of any house in their line of 
business in Milwaukee. 

Mr. Sauer has been married twice. He first wedded Elizabeth Mayer of Muscoda, 
Wisconsin, and they became parents of three children. Edward A., the eldest, now in 
business with his father, married Ella Juhre and they have two children. Frederick 
and Elizabeth. lima is the second of the family. Delphina became the wife of James 
S. Wright, of Chicago, and died in 1917, leaving two sons, Stewart and James S. Wright, 
Jr. The first wife of Mr. Sauer passed away in 1882 and on the 2Sth of September, 
1S87, Mr. Sauer wedded Miss Minnie Feldman of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and they 
have become parents of two children, Vera and Margaret, the latter now the wife of 
George Allen Wallace of River Forest, Illinois. They have two children, Janette and 
Thomas A. Wallace. 

Mr. Sauer has always supported the democratic party until 1920 but has never 
been active as a politician He belongs to Kilbourn Lodge, No. 3, A. F. & A. M.; Kil- 
bourn Chapter, R. A. M. ; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T.; and Wisconsin Consistory, A. 
& A. S. R. He has membership in the Old Settlers Club and has long been an interested 
witness of the growth and progress of this city. He was but twelve years of age when 
he arrived in Milwaukee and for more than two-thirds of a century has here made his 
home. He has used his time wisely and well since starting out in the business world 
and his enterprise and energy have brought him prominently to the front as a successful 
merchant. 



JOHN E. N. FIGVED. 



During the period of Milwaukee's early development the tanning industry came 
to the fore as one of the strong forces in the upbuilding and commercial progress of 
the city. It is with this line of business that John E. N. Figved is connected, having 
for a long period been classed with the leading tanners and prominent business men 
of the city. He came to America from the land of the Midnight Sun, his birth having 
occurred at Stavanger, Norway, on the 23d of September, 1865, his parents being Emilus 
and Johanna (Nyman) Figved, the former born April 9, 1843, and the latter in Novem- 
ber, 1847. They, too, were natives of Stavanger, where they resided until 1S70, when 
they determined to seek the opportunities of the new world and crossed the Atlantic, 
settling at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 

John E. N. Figved was at that time but five years of age. When he was a lad 
of eight he returned to his native country and was a student in the schools there for 
a period of seven years. He again came to America in 1881, taking up his abode in 
Boston, Massachusetts, where he pursued a business course in order to acquaint him- 
self with business methods in the United States. He then secured a position in a 
tannery of that city and remained in Boston for eleven years, working along the same 
lines throughout the period. In 1892 he came to Milwaukee and for a decade was 
employed in different tanneries, during which time he thoroughly mastered the business 
in principle and detail. He then established a business of his own and although the 
beginning was small he has constantly developed his interests until he now has one 
of the largest fur tanneries in the city. 

On the 8th of October, 1898, Mr. Figved was married to Miss Gina Nelson, a 
representative of one of the pioneer families of Milwaukee and they have become the 
parents of four children: Lillian, Clara, Harold and Elmer. Mr. Figved has member- 
ship with the Sons of Norway and has always been interested in the welfare of his 
native countrymen. In matters of citizenship, however, he has always loyally supported 




JOHN E. N. FIGVED 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 241 

those interests which are most necessary in the welfare and progress ot his adopted 
city and he has made tor himself a most creditable position as one of Milwaukee's sub- 
stantial business men. 



thomas McMillan. 



When Thomas McMillan passed away Milwaukee lost one of her representative 
citizens who had devoted many years of his life to the public service, and at the time 
of his demise he was the oldest city employe, having 1 been connected with Milwaukee's 
public interests for a half century. He was born at Campbelltown, in Argyleshire, 
Scotland, April 1, 1847, a son of John McMillan, who was a farmer of Argyleshire, 
where the family had lived for many generations. Thomas McMillan determined to try 
his fortune in the new world when a young man of twenty-five years and, bidding adieu 
to friends and native country, he sailed for the United States in 1872. Making his 
way to Milwaukee, he became associated with the E. P. Allis Company, which was 
then engaged in building the large pumping engine of the original water system of the 
city. Mr. McMillan, on the completion of the construction work, was placed in charge 
of that engine, first by the Allis Company and afterward by the city, which took over 
the water system and retained the services of Mr. McMillan, recognizing his marked 
capability', loyalty and fidelity. On the 20th of April. 1S73, he withdrew from all other 
interests in order to give his entire time and attention to the service of the city and 
he remained in charge of the city pumping plant and of all the city power plants 
until his demise. He was most systematic, thorough and capable in the discharge of 
his duties and his record was one which afforded the utmost satisfaction to the officials 
and to the general public. 

In the year 1874 Thomas McMillan was united in marriage to Miss Agnes 
Alexander, who is still living in Milwaukee. She was born in Alexandria. Scotland, 
March 6, 1848, a daughter of Walter Alexander, and when a young woman of twenty- 
five years sin- came with her brother William to the new world, establishing her home 
in Milwaukee, where in 1874 she became the wife of Thomas McMillan. They traveled 
life's journey happily together for forty-six year- and were separated by the hand 
of death when on the 1st day of May. 1920, Mr. .McMillan was called to the home beyond, 
survived not only by his widow but by their six children, namely: John W., mentioned 
elsewhere in this work: Thomas C; William A.; Jean; Ruth; and Mrs. Agnes Marsch. 
There are also eight grandchildren. 

No bettor estimate of the life work and of the character of Mr. McMillan could be 
given than appeared editorially in one of the local papers as follows: "The death of 
Thomas McMillan is a deep sorrow to those who knew him. But to all his life has 
been a real example and in a quiet way an inspiration. Mr. McMillan was the oldest 
employe of the city in point of service, a service of almost fifty years, and for the last 
twelve years he had been chief engineer of all the city's power plants. In itself this is 
an uncommon record. But it is the quality of the service which he rendered, far more 
than the length of it, which deserves high praise. For his was a service marked in 
every way by fidelity to his work and fidelity to the public as well as by unquestioned 
ability and rare conscientiousness. To the interests of the public, his employer, he 
gave all the devotion that it would be possible for any man to give his own interests. 
His work engrossed him and in city politics he took no part. City administrations 
came and went. His worth was so great that if any politician thought of displacing 
him. which may be doubted, he realized that such an act would be an affront to the 
public. Of Mr. McMillan one other thing should be said. He was born in a foreign 
country, but when he became an American citizen, he became an American in the 
full sense of the word. His loyalty to his adopted country was stanch and unfailing. 
And in this spirit he reared his children. His community is the better because he 
lived in it. The uprightness of his life, his wholehearted devotion to duty and his 
will to serve to the utmost are sterling virtues. It would be well if more would try 
to emulate them." 



HUGO W. SCHNETZKV. 



Hugo W. Schnetzky, president and general manager of the Wisconsin Motor 
Manufacturing Company, with plant and offices at Burnham and Forty-fourth avenues, 
was born in Milwaukee, November 17, 1882. His father, Herman P. Schnetzky, was 
a native of Germany and came to the United States when about twenty years of age, 
settling in Milwaukee, where he became identified with professional interests as an 
architect. He wedded Mary Knab, who was born in Milwaukee, a representative of one 

Vol. Ill— 16 



242 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of the early pioneer families of this city. Her death occurred in 1913, while Mr. 
Schnetzky survived until 1916. 

Hugo W. Schnetzky obtained his early education in the public schools, attending the 
West Division high school, while later he entered the University of Wisconsin and was 
graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1907. He subsequently 
pursued a course in Columbia University in New York city, specializing in the study of 
architecture. Returning to his home, he entered business in connection with his father 
and thus practiced for three years or until his father's death, after which he carried 
on the business alone. In May, 1920, he was elected president and general manager 
of the Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing Company and is now at the head of this concern. 
He consolidated his architect business with that of the Henry Horst Company of Rock 
Island, Illinois, and with them does a general business in contracting, engineering and 
architecture. They have an office in the Brumder building and their patronage is 
extensive. The Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing Company is today engaged in the 
manufacture of automobile, truck, tractor and marine motors, which they market over 
the United States, and they also do much export business. During the war the factory 
was one hundred per cent in war work. 

On the 9th of November, 1910, Mr. Schnetzky was married to Miss Belle Wilmanns, 
a daughter of Hugo Wilmanns, engaged in the lithographing business in Milwaukee, 
of which city he is a native. Mr. and Mrs. Schnetzky have two children: Hugo P., 
born October 16, 1913; and Herbert W„ born November 26, 1915. 

Mr. Schnetzky has long manifested a keen and helpful interest in public affairs. 
He is a member of the Milwaukee school board, having been elected in 1917, and is 
now president of the board. A Lutheran in religious faith, he is a member of Grace 
church. He also has membership in the Wisconsin Club and the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club and is identified with the Association of Commerce and the Kappa Sigma, a 
fraternity of the University of Wisconsin. He enjoys all outdoor sports and maintains 
a summer home at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, while his town residence is at No. 255 
Thirty-fourth street. 



FREDERICK MAYER. 



Frederick Mayer long occupied a prominent position among the representative 
manufacturers and business men of Milwaukee as head of the F. Mayer Boot & Shoe 
Company, one of the important manufacturing and commercial interests of the city. 
He had reached the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten when called 
to his final rest on the 16th of March, 1893, his birth having occurred in Nierstein, 
Germany, September 4, 1823. In his native land he acquired a common school educa- 
tion and then served an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade in the shop of a rela- 
tive in Nierstein. He afterward worked as a journeyman in various sections of Ger- 
many and was in the army from 1847 until 1851. 

When he had received an honorable discharge, however, he at once availed himself 
of the opportunity to emigrate to the United States and arrived in Milwaukee on the 
8th of May, 1851. retaining his residence here to the time of his death. He was a 
young man of twenty-eight years when he reached the new world and for a year he 
was employed as a journeyman shoemaker, after which he established business on his 
own account, opening a small shoe shop for the manufacture of boots and shoes and 
also for repair work. His patronage steadily grew and at times he employed as many 
as five or six shoemakers in addition to an apprentice, making custom-made boots and 
shoes but gradually adding factory goods in order to have a complete assortment and 
take care of all classes of trade. He conducted this store until the fall of 1880, when 
he embarked in the wholesale manufacture of boots and shoes. The invested capital 
amounted to only about five thousand dollars and the beginning of the business was 
accordingly small, the factory output being about fifty pairs of shoes daily. From the 
beginning Mr. Mayer gave the utmost attention to the quality of goods sent out from his 
establishment and by reason of this and his progressive and reliable methods the busi- 
ness steadly grew and developed until in 1884 it was incorporated with an authorized 
capital of fifty thousand dollars, of which thirty thousand dollars was paid in. Mr. 
Mayer became the president of the company, with his eldest son, George P. Mayer, as 
secretary and treasurer. During the same year pn addition was built to the factory, 
extending its capacity to five hundred pairs of shoes daily. Still the growth continued, 
necessitating other buildings from time to time until the plant comprises a group of 
buildings on Walnut street with a capacity of ten thousand pairs per day. Frederick 
Mayer continued at the head of the business until his demise, which occurred March 16, 
1893, and in the intervening period he had not only established himself in a position as 
one of the representative manufacturers and business men but also as one of the most 
progressive and public-spirited citizens — one who at all times was ready and willing 
to aid any project that promised betterment for Milwaukee along the lines cf civic 













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FREDERICK MAYER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 245 

development and improvement. The period of his residence in this city covered more 
than four decades and he had gained an extensive circle of warm friends who mourned 
his passing. 

Frederick Mayer married Miss Phillipine Laubenheimer, who was born in Germany 
on the 18th of July, 1829 Their son, George P. Mayer, who became the father's suc- 
cessor as the head of the F. Mayer Boot & Shoe Company, was born in Milwaukee, 
December 14, 1S60. He was reared and educated in Milwaukee and his entire business 
training was received in his father's factory. He was a young man of twenty-three 
years when at the incorporation of the business in 1884 he was made the secretary and 
treasurer and from that time forward he has contributed to the success of the business 
through his thorough understanding of the trade and through his executive control and 
able management. Not only has the factory in Milwaukee been enlarged eleven times 
to meet the growing demands of the trade but in addition the company also operates a 
factory and store in Seattle, Washington, under the name of the Washington Shoe 
Manufacturing Company and has likewise erected a fine plant at Ludington, Michigan, 
the capacity of which is two thousand pairs of shoes daily. Another advanced step in 
the enlargement of the business was made when in 1890 the Mayer interests absorbed 
the Schoenecker interests and F. J. Mayer and A. J. Mayer, who had been connected 
with the firm for some time, became officers. The former, who learned the shoemaker's 
trade with his father, is now the head of the manufacturing department and he has 
continued to exercise the same care in the purchase of materials and in the manufacture 
of the goods that made the name of Frederick Mayer, Sr„ a synonym for thorough 
reliability. Since the death of the father in 1S93 the three sons have been in charge, 
the efforts of the one ably supplementing and rounding out the labors of the other, so 
that the success of the undertaking is attributable to the combined activity of all 
three. They have surrounded themselves with an able corps of assistants and the 
business, which was started with a paid in capital of thirty thousand dollars, is now 
capitalized for two million five hundred thousand dollars. The plant is thoroughly 
equipped with the latest improved machinery for work of this character and the highest 
standards have always been maintained in the methods of manufacture. 



JOHN WALTER McMILLAN. 

John Walter McMillan, who for many years has engaged in law practice in 
Milwaukee and is one of the well known attorneys of the city, enjoying an enviable 
reputation through his professional connections, was here born August 4, 1875, his 
parents being Thomas and Agnes (Alexander) McMillan, who are mentioned elsewhere 
in this work. He is indebted to the public school system for the educational advantages 
■which he enjoyed, pursuing his studies to the age of fourteen years, after which he 
started out in the business world, spending five years as a cashier and bookkeeper, 
the last four years of this period being in the employ of the O'Neil Oil & Paint 
Company. His desire to enter upon a professional career, however, caused him in 1897 
to enter the University of Wisconsin. He there pursued a four years' course and was 
graduated in June, 1901, with the LL. B. degree. 

In the same year Mr. McMillan was admitted to the bar and in 1902 he entered 
upon the active practice of his profession in McAlester, Oklahoma, then Indian Ter- 
ritory. While a resident there he was active on volunteer committees striving to 
obtain statehood. From 1904 to 1907 he was connected with the United States court of 
the central district of the Indian Territory, in the capacity of United States commissioner, 
but then in the spring of 1908 he returned to Milwaukee, where he has since engaged 
in the general practice of law. From 1909 until 1912 he was associated with the firm 
of Miller, Mack & Fairchild and from 1913 until 1915 was a partner in the firm of 
Kronshage, Hannan & McMillan. In 1912 he served as assistant United States attorney 
for the eastern district of Wisconsin. He now devotes his attention to the general 
practice of law, specializing, however, along the lines of land titles and corporation 
law. 

On the 4th of September, 1902, Mr. McMillan was married to Miss Lucretia F. 
Hinkley of Milwaukee, a daughter of Frank D. Hinkley and a granddaughter of Ahira 
Rockwell Hinkley, who was one of the first white settlers of Waukesha county, Wis- 
consin, and a lineal descendant of one of the first governors of the old Plymouth colony 
in Massachusetts. The family is still largely represented in the eastern state. Frank 
D. Hinkley, the father of Mrs. McMillan, was born in Eagle, Wisconsin, in 1842 and for 
many years has made his home in Milwaukee, where he is a member of the Milwaukee 
Chamber of Commerce and filled the office of grain inspector therefor until his retire- 
ment in 1910. Mr. and Mrs. McMillan have one daughter, Elizabeth, who was graduated 
from the Riverside high school of Milwaukee with the class of 1921 and then entered 
Beloit College. Mrs. McMillan was also graduated from the University of Wisconsin 
in 1899 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. 



246 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

In politics Mr. McMillan has always been a republican and in 1902 he served as 
president of the first Young Men's Republican Club organized at McAlester, Oklahoma, 
then the Indian Territory. He takes a keen but quiet interest in politics. He belongs 
to the Westminster Presbyterian church, in which for nine years he filled the office 
of trustee, and fraternally he is connected with the Masons and with the Knights of 
Pythias. He has membership in Kenwood Lodge No. 303, A. F. & A. M., of Milwaukee, 
and he became a thirtieth degree member of the Scottish Rite at McAlester, Oklahoma. 
He is likewise a past chancellor commander of Bolander Lodge, K. P., of McAlester. 
He is identified with the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity of the University of Wisconsin, 
while his wife belongs to the Phi Beta Phi of the State University and the Phi Beta 
Kappa, an honorary scholarship fraternity. Mr. McMillan's name is also found on the 
membership rolls of the City Club and of the Association of Commerce, while along 
strictly professional lines he is identified with the Milwaukee Bar Association, the 
Wisconsin Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Mrs. McMillan is a 
member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Association of Col- 
legiate Alumni. She possesses splendid executive ability and marked musical talent 
and she is also of a most humanitarian spirit, cooperating largely in philanthropic and 
benevolent work. 



HERMAN W. LADISH. 



Herman W. Ladish is an active figure in industrial circles, being president of the 
Ladish-Stoppenbach Company, also president of the Ladish Drop Forge Company and 
vice president of the Ladish Milling Company, all of Milwaukee. He was born in this 
city November 29, 1SS0, and is a son of Herman C. and Augusta (Zahn) Ladish, both 
of whom were natives of Germany, whence they came to America about 1867, settling 
in Milwaukee. The father was a lumber inspector and followed that business the 
greater part of his life. He passed away in 1914. 

Herman W. Ladish obtained his initial business experience as an employe of the 
Hansen Hop & Malt Company, which was afterward the American Malting Company 
and is now the Ladish Milling Company. He was made superintendent of the American 
Malting Company and subsequently purchased an interest in the Lytle-Stoppenbach 
Company. Two years later the name was changed to the Ladish-Stoppenbach Company 
and Mr. Ladish purchased a controlling interest. In 1905, in association with John 
Obenberger, he established what is now the Ladish Drop Fcrge Company of Cudahy, 
Wisconsin, of which Mr. Ladish is president. It is one of the largest concerns of the 
kind in this section of the country, manufacturing forge drops for automobiles, tractors, 
railroads, etc. Mr. Ladish is also the vice president of the Ladish Milling Company, 
manufacturers of wheat flour, rye flour and corn goods, also horse, dairy stock, poultry 
and hog foods. In this enterprise, associated with Mr. Ladish, are L. M. Powell, P. P. 
Donahue, Harry M. Stratton and Stuart Hyde. 

During 1916-17 Mr. Ladish was president of the Chamber of Commerce of Milwau- 
kee, covering part of the war period, and during the war he looked after the entire 
grain interests of the Chamber of Commerce. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and 
member of Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club, the Milwaukee Club, the Wisconsin Club and the Blue Mound Countrv 
Club. 



GEORGE SEELMAN. 



George Seelman, president of the Milwaukee Envelope Manufacturing Company 
and of the George Seelman & Sons Company, has been actuated by a most progressive 
spirit in all that he undertakes and step by step he has advanced in his business 
career until he now occupies a prominent and enviable position in the commercial 
circles of Milwaukee. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, March 29, 1850, and is a 
son of Ernst Seelman, who was born in Celle, Hanover. August 29, 1817, and who 
passed away in Hamburg, Germany, in 1899. His wife bore the maiden name of Sophia 
Koltze and was born in Hamburg, January 20, 1821, while her death occurred in that 
city April 10, 1910. 

Their son, George Seelman, came to the United States in 1867, landing at New 
York on the 17th of April of that year. On the 25th of June following he enlisted in 
the United States army as a member of Company M, Second Artillery Regiment, from 
which he was honorably discharged June 25, 1870. He came to Milwaukee from San 
Francisco on the 5th of July of the same year, and now through a period of more than 
a half century he has been closely associated with the business interests and com- 
mercial development of this city. 




FIE3MAN W. LADISH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 249 

On the 27th of April, 1872, at Port Washington, Mr. Seelman was united in 
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Delles, who was born October 29, 1851. She is a daughter 
of John Delles, whose birth occurred in Canach, a village in Luxembourg, and who 
came to the United States in 1848, settling in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, where 
he followed the occupation of farming. Mr. and Mrs. Seelman have become the parents 
of four sons and a daughter. Henry, who is vice president of the George Seelman & 
Sons Company and treasurer of the Milwaukee Envelope Manufacturing Company, 
married Meta Hoffman of Milwaukee on the 6th of June, 1900. Henry Seelman was at 
that time in the twenty-seventh year of his age, his birth having occurred September 
14. 1873. He and his wife have become the parents of a son. Ralph, who was born 
January 27, 1902, and is now a student in the University of Wisconsin. Helen is the 
wife of William H. Howard, of Milwaukee, who is connected with her father's business, 
and they have one daughter, Kathryn. John J. Seelman, M. D., the third of the 
family, is president of the Milwaukee County Medical Association (in 1921) and a 
prominent physician of this city. He was born November 12, 1877, and was married 
on the 20th of June, 1905, to Mary Elizabeth Reynolds. They have two children, Mar- 
garet and Eleonore. Dr. Seelman served with the rank of major in the Medical Corps, 
U. S. A., during the World war. George Seelman, Jr., born June 6, 1880, was married 
March 26, 1913, to Clara Wegener and is now engaged in business with his father. 
Ernest C. Seelman, born September 5, 1886, was educated at the University of Wisconsin 
and was married June 29, 1910, to Miss Elsie Franke. They have two children: Alvin, 
born July 23, 1912; and Eulalia, born August 28, 1917. 

The family record of Mr. Seelman is an interesting one and equally so is that 
of his business career, for he is a self-made man whose steady progress has resulted 
from individual capability and worth. His first position in connection with insurance 
interests in Milwaukee was with the firm of J. 0. Myers & Company, with whom he 
remained for a year. He then went upon the road selling sewing machines and devoted 
two years to that business. He afterward continued upon the road as a traveling 
salesman, handling nursery stock for several years, after which he returned to Mil- 
waukee in 1880 and engaged in the bookbinding business in connection with Herman 
Voss, with whom he continued until July 1, 1890. At that date he established the Mil- 
waukee Blank Book Manufacturing Company and in 1906 he organized the Milwaukee 
Envelope Manufacturing Company and also the George Seelman & Sons Company. 
These concerns have developed largely under his able management and careful direction 
and have become two of the important business interests of the city. 

Mr. Seelman has never been active in politics and has usually sided with the 
minority as a matter of principle. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church 
and he is a communicant of Saints Peter and Paul parish. He belongs to the Old 
Settlers Club, to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Wisconsin Club and the Association 
of Commerce. It is said that every man has a hobby, and if this be true, Mr. Seelman's 
hobby is his children and his grandchildren. His interest has always centered in 
his home. He has ever been a great reader and has a fine library of German and 
English works. He resides at 385 Cambridge avenue, in an attractive residence which 
he erected in 1900. 



OSCAR LOEFFLER. 



Oscar Loeffier came to Milwaukee in June, 1869, and has been closely associated 
with the business development and commercial enterprises of the city for about fifty 
years. Actuated by a laudable ambition, he has put forth every effort to attain success, 
and as the years have passed his labors have been crowned with gratifying result-. 

Mr. Loeffier is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in the village of 
Boll, in the province of Hohenzollern. His father, Fridolin Loeffier, was born in Boll, 
near Hechingen, at the foot of the Hohenzollern castle, February 26, 1819, where his 
grandfather and his father had been school teachers; so he was born into their 
profession, as it were, and took it up. He was very successful as a teacher and retired 
after teaching for forty years. His importance was heightened by his rare quality to 
preserve a taste for further noble tasks for humanity. He was prominent in elevating 
agriculture and patricularly pomology. Standing amidst the people, he recognized their 
needs with a deep insight. In the revolutionary year 1848, he fearlessly joined those 
men who stood up for the alleviation of the people*s burdens. As Hohenzollern, the 
principality, became a Prussian province shortly after, Mr. Loeffier was under suspicion 
for a while, but he sooned gained the full confidence of the new government. In all 
public questions concerning the life of the people, he was ever ready to take an active 
and leading part. His repeated election as a member of the Kommunallandtag, Sig- 
maringen, 1872-1891, showed the confidence the people placed in him. He served during 
nineteen consecutive legislative sessions until his death, which occurred on the 2d of 
February, 1891, having represented the interests of his constituents with rare prac- 



250 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

tical knowledge and decision. His whole life was devoted to unselfish work for his 
family, his school, his home community and his country. His wife, Maria Anna, sur- 
vived for a number of years, passing away in 1905. 

Oscar Loeffler acquired his education in the public schools of Boll and in the high 
school of Hechingen, from which he was graduated with the class of 1869. The 
favorable reports which had reached him concerning the opportunities to be enjoyed 
in the new world, led him at once to sever home ties and make his way to the United 
States. Crossing the country to Milwaukee, he spent three years in study and office 
work before he entered the employ of Goll & Frank, in 1872, whose business had been 
established in 1852. His original position was that of entry clerk, but he gradually 
worked his way upward by reason of his ability and fidelity until he was made book- 
keeper and cashier. In the year 1885 the business was incorporated, at which time 
Mr. Loeffler was elected secretary and treasurer, and through the intervening period of 
thirty-six years he has continued to serve in this dual office. He has acquainted himself 
with every phase of the business, and his energy and determination have won 
recognition. His standing in business circles is indicated by the fact that from 1892 
until 1894 inclusive he was secretary of the Merchants Association of Milwaukee and 
for seven years served as one of its directors. Mr. Loeffler was one of the founders 
of the Milwaukee Association of Credit Men and served as a director of the National 
Association of Credit Men for many years. 

On the 20th of January, 1881, Mr. Loeffler was married to Miss Julia Margaret 
Goll, a daughter of Julius Goll, the founder of the house of Goll & Frank. She was 
born, reared and educated in Milwaukee. There are four children: Frank G., who is 
connected with his father in business, married Gertrude Forster, a daughter of 
Charles G. Forster, of Milwaukee, and they now have one child, Virginia. Louise G., 
the second of the family, is the wife of Roy B. Sanborn of Evanston, Illinois, and they 
have one son, Frank Sanborn. Margaret Elsa is the wife of Arthur A. Frank of the 
Federal Rubber Company, at Cudahy, and they have three sons, Arthur, Robert and 
Kenneth. Oscar F., the youngest of the family, is with the Federal Rubber Company. 

Since becoming a naturalized American citizen, Oscar Loeffler has generally given 
his support to the republican party at the polls but has never been a politician in the 
sense of office seeking. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and to the Asso- 
ciation of Commerce. Anything that comes from the hand of nature is of interest to 
Oscar Loeffler, and he has been a close student of that great book which is constantly 
unfolding the plan and the history of the world. This tendency is undoubtedly due 
to the teachings of his father and to his early training in school in the beautiful 
Swabian valley. 



FREDERICK J. KORTHALS, M. D. 

Dr. Frederick J. Korthals, physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, in which city 
he was born November 22, 1888, is a son of Paul and Elizabeth (Gerlach) Korthals, both 
of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to Milwaukee in 1S67 and the 
mother arrived in this city with her parents when about nine years of age. Paul 
Korthals was a tailor by trade, following that business as a life work. He passed away 
in 1910, while his wife survived until 1916. 

Dr. Korthals was educated in the public and high schools of Milwaukee and in the 
Normal School, while later he prepared for his profession as a student in the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons, now the Marquette University, from which he was 
graduated with the M. D. degree in 1914. He afterward acted as interne at the Buffalo 
Emergency Hospital at Buffalo, New York, for six months and was also interne in 
Trinity Hospital of Milwaukee for a similar period. He then entered upon the private 
practice of his profession in West Allis, where he remained for a year and in 1918 he 
joined the army, becoming a member of the Medical Corps, with a commission as 
lieutenant. He went overseas with Base Hospital, No. 109, and was attached to the 
French ambulance service. Later he was transferred to the First Division and went 
into Germany with that division, following the signing of the armistice, being located 
at Coblenz and in that vicinity. He was there assigned to medical hospital duties, 
caring for the sick and wounded soldiers. He remained abroad until September, 1919, 
or for almost a year after actual hostilities had ceased, and was on duty throughout the 
period. He was mustered out at Camp Grant, near Rockford, Illinois, and at once 
returned to Milwaukee. In May, 1920, he opened his office at his present location at 
No. 1028 Twenty-seventh street and has in the intervening period been accorded a 
liberal practice, which is steadily growing. 

Dr. Korthals speaks German, French and English and his linguistic powers were 
of much value to him in his military service abroad. He belongs to the Phi Rho Sigma, 
a college fraternity, and is also a Mason and belongs to the Eastern Star. He likewise 
has membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Dramatic Order of the Knights of 




DR. FREDERICK J. KORTHALS 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 253 

Khorassan, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 
Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Milwaukee County and Wis- 
consin State Medical Societies and through the proceedings of these bodies keeps in 
touch with the trend of professional thought and progress. 



RAYMOND JOSEPH WENKER, D. D. S., M. D. 

In public opinion the professional honors that have come to Dr. Raymond Joseph 
Wenker are well deserved, for he is recognized throughout the state as a prominent 
member of the medical and dental professions. He was born on a farm near Clyman, 
Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 3d of August, 1868, a son of Franklin Joseph and 
i 'aniline (Bloomberg) Wenker. The Wenker family has figured prominently in the 
history of the new and old worlds since the days of the Crusaders when a number of 
expeditions were undertaken by the Christians of Europe for the recovery of the Holy 
Land from the Mohammedans, the first expedition having occurred about 1095. The 
grandfather of Dr. Wenker, Sebastian Wenker, was a native of Alsace-Lorraine and 
came to the United States with his wife and family in 1842, locating in Wisconsin. 
Here he secured two hundred and fifteen acres of land direct from the government and, 
clearing it himself, remained thereon until his death. One of the ancestors of our 
subject, Joseph Wenker. was a well known portrait painter and his portrait of one of 
the popes won fame as a masterpiece. 

The Wenker coat of arms is an item of a collection of "Coats of Arms of Historic 
Families" and a reproduction from an original of Baron Wenker of 1699. It certainly 
is an interesting and historic specimen of a family coat of arms, consisting of the 
shield, quarterings, mantling, helmet, coronet, crest and name Wenker above it. It is 
mounted in the Chippendale style, size in all fourteen by eleven inches. The coat of 
arms is the Wenker armorial of original grant, dating from the first crusade A. D. 
1096, in which it was first borne by a Sir Knight Crusader Johan Von Wenker (See 
Feyerabeinds "Gesehichte Der Kreuz zuge" — History of the Crusades and Crusaders — 
the first printed book published in Frankfort. A. D. 1583, and most exhaustive and de- 
tailed history of the kind ever produced). He seems to be the first of the name of 
authentic records. This armorial is shown in the famous compilation (54 volumes I 
entitled "Grosses und Allegemeines Wappenbuch" von J. Siebmacher, Enthaltend Zwei 
Tausend Historisch Begrundete Familien Wappen, Nurnberg, 1857 (Greal and General 
Book of Coats of Arms, by J. Siebmacher, containing two thousand historically authen- 
ticated coats of arms of historic families. Nurnberg, 1857). See also Helmer's 
"Erneuertes und Vermehrtes Wappenbuch." Nurnberg, 1699. Section — Ritter und 
Adelspersonen. (HelmeY's New and Enlarged Book of Coats of Arms. Nurnberg, 1699. 
Section on Knights and Nobility.) Also see Potts, Forsteman and other noted authori- 
ties on the origin, antiquity and meaning of family names. Interesting biographical, 
genealogical and historical matter may also be seen in the "Allegemeine Deutsche 
Biographic" (Dictionary of German Biography). 

From these and other authorities with date of this historic family in the New York 
Public Library, Library of Congress at Washington, D. C, etc., it is evident that the 
Wenker coat of arms is one of the coats of arms of proven historic record, going back 
eight hundred and twenty years — to the first crusade A. D. 1096. At the time of the 
crusades the princes and knights were obliged to adopt various devices or emblems by 
which they and their commands could be recognized. "It is to the time of the earlier 
crusades that we can ascribe the establishment of armorial bearings in their present 
form, when the necessity of quickly recognizing each of the numerous leaders seems 
to have compelled the princes and' knights to adopt a methodical arrangement of 
various distinguishing devices borne on surcoat and banner, and soon after on the 
shield." (See The Symbolism and Heraldry on a Treatise on the Meanings and De- 
rivations of Armorial Bearings. By Sir W. Cecil Wade, F. R. A. S., etc.) 

Siebmacher describes the coat of arms as follows: On a blue shield an anchor in 
the natural colors with gold cross piece and gold telescope; helmet silver, surmounted 
by a gold coronet and this by buffalo horns in the natural colors; the mantling (scroll 
work at the sides of the helmet and shield) a blending of blue, gold and silver. The 
anchor and spy glass seem to indicate that the original bearer of this coat of arms 
was a commander in the naval contingent of the crusade. 

Franklin Joseph Wenker, the father of Dr. Wenker, was born on the same farm as 
his son in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1843, and passed away in 1915, after winning 
prominence as an agriculturist. He was a prominent member of the community and 
for some time held the office of register of deeds in Dodge county. He was of an in- 
ventive turn of mind and achieved substantial success upon securing a patent for an 
automatic wagon brake. Mrs. Wenker died at the age of fifty-nine years. She was a 
native of northern Prussia and came to the United States, locating in Dodge county, 



25-4 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Wisconsin, with her parents when a child of five years. Her father was Ignatius 
Bloomberg. 

Dr. Raymond Joseph Wenker received his education in the public schools of 
Clyman, Wisconsin, and then entered the high school at Hartford, this state, from 
which he was graduated in due time. For two years while a student in the high school he 
engaged in helping his father, who was then occupying the office of register of deeds, 
and the last year of his association was devoted to clerical work. After putting his 
textbooks aside and determining upon a professional career he entered the office of 
Dr. Frank Forbes of Horicon, Wisconsin, there to serve an apprenticeship. After four 
months in that connection he entered the Chicago College of Dental Surgery and was 
graduated from that institution in 1891 with the degree of D. D. S. In that same year 
he located in West Duluth, Minnesota, and there practiced for some time before remov- 
ing to Watertown, "Wisconsin, where he practiced until the fall of 1900, when he located 
in Milwaukee and established offices. Dr. Wenker was not content with simply a dental 
practice and as a result, in his spare time, desiring to become a medical practitioner, 
took a course in Marquette University and was graduated M. D. in 1914. He then took 
up postgraduate work with Drs. Brophy and Moorehead of Chicago, likewise other 
eminent physicians, and subsequently began practice for the treatment of diseases and 
deformities of the mouth, nose and throat, and together with dentistry has specialized 
along these lines ever since. He has been dean of the dental department of the Mil- 
waukee Medical College and of the dental department of the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons and he has been a teacher along the lines of his specialty since 1894. Dr. 
Wenker is a deep student of his professions and a man of much intellect and literary 
ability. For twenty-five years he has contributed to periodicals of a dental and medical 
nature. He has delivered addresses before many meetings of the American Medical 
Association and at the meeting of that body in Boston in June, 1921, delivered a paper 
on jaw tumors. Dr. Wenker takes an active interest in the extension course of the 
dental department of Marquette University and has lectured at the State Normal School 
in his chosen fields. He is now holding the chair of orthodontia in the dental depart- 
ment of Marquette University and is a member of the staff of Trinity Hospital of Mil- 
waukee. In 1919 he received the degree of Bachelor of Science from Marquette Uni- 
versity, in which institution he also completed a course in dramatic art by graduation 
in 1920, winning his degree in 1922. 

On the 26th of October, 1S92, Dr. Wenker was united in marriage to Margaret Ann 
Kelly, who also completed a course in dramatic expression in Marquette University by 
graduation with the class of 1920. She formerly attended the Sisters Academy at Mar- 
quette. Michigan. She has taken an active part in Red Cross work. The Kelly family has 
figured prominently in Irish and American history for over three hundred years. The 
name was originally O'Kelly and the clan lived in Hy-maine, a portion of the county of 
Roscommon, the head of the clan being habitually called Chief of Hy-maine. Tadhg 
Mor O'Kelly, from whom the family is directly traced, was slain at the battle of Brian 
in the year 1014. The title Chief of Hy-maine appears frequently in the genealogical 
tree of the family. Muirchertach O'Kelly was archbishop of Quann in the early part 
of the fifteenth century, while Thomas O'Keily was bishop of Cloufert during the same 
period. The parents of Margaret Ann (Kelly) Wenker were Patrick Francis and 
Bridget (Doyle) Kelly, the former born in County Down, Ireland, August 1, 1837, 
while the latter's birth occurred in County Kilkenny on the 4th of June, 1844, but she 
was only five years of age when taken to Canada. Patrick F. Kelly, a now prominent 
contractor and builder of Marquette, Michigan, was only two years old when brought to 
the new world, locating first in Canada, then in Wisconsin and subsequently in Min- 
nesota. He is still hale and hearty at the age of eighty-four years, but his wife passed 
away in Santa Cruz, California, December 21, 1912. The motto on the coat of arms of 
the Kelly family is "Turris fortis mihi Dius." 

Dr. Wenker, who is well versed on all the important questions and issues of the 
day, maintains an independent course in politics and has neither sought nor desired 
public preferment. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church and he and his 
wife attend St. Robert's church in Shorewood. Fraternally he is affiliated with the 
Knights of Columbus, in which he has attained the fourth degree, and he is likewise a 
member of the Catholic Order of Foresters and was chief ranger of that body for two 
years while residing in Watertown. His professional connections are with the National, 
State and County Medical Associations and Dental Associations and he was president of 
the Wisconsin State Dental Association in 1913. He is a member of the Milwaukee 
Odontological Society and during his college days became a member of Psi Omega 
fraternity at the Marquette University. The address delivered by Dr. Wenker upon 
assuming the duties of the office of president of the Wisconsin State Dental Association 
was published in the Dental Review and will long be remembered for the elegant 
simplicity of its style. Not only is Dr. Wenker gifted along literary lines but he is an 
artist of no mean ability and he has made some pen and ink sketches of more than 
ordinary merit. Mrs. Wenker does some oil painting and china painting, as well as 
water-color work and tapestry. She received her training along these lines at Mar- 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 255 

quette, Michigan. One of her water-color paintings received honorable mention when 
exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Institute. Mrs. Wenker is always prominent in every 
movement tending toward the development and improvement of artistic conditions and 
she was the founder and for some time president of the Fra Angelico Club of Mil- 
waukee, which later became federated with the state organization. She has been active 
as chairman of the state and local associations and she is at present serving as director 
in the Marquette Women's League. 

Every summer Dr. Wenker visits the lakes of northern Wisconsin, where he follows 
all outdoor sports, fishing being his particular hobby, and there receives the rest that 
is so necessary after the extensive demands which are made upon him as a member of 
two distinct medical professions. During the World war Dr. Wenker subordinated all 
personal interests in order to devote his time to furthering the interests of the govern- 
ment and throughout the entire period he served as a member of the medical advisory 
board and he with his assistants examined over twenty-eight hundred recruits. He 
received his honorable discharge on the 31st of March, 1919, and is now devoting his 
entire time to his professions. 

Aside from his professional interests Dr. Wenker thoroughly enjoys home life and 
takes great pleasure in the society of his family and friends. A man of great natural 
ability, he has furthered this ability by constant study and in 1917 attended the post- 
graduate course in oral surgery which was given by the United States at Chicago. 
Through his association with the leading medical fraternities he keeps informed con- 
cerning the advanced work being done by the leading physicians and surgeons through- 
out the country. Moreover, his college training made him thoroughly acquainted with 
modern scientific methods of practice, which he employs most effectively in his chosen 
life work. In 1891 he was awarded a bronze medal by the Parisian Academy of In- 
ventors and Industrial Exhibitors for a metal plate for artificial teeth. He has likewise 
taken out several other patents along dental lines, many of them being used for teaching 
purposes. 

Dr. and Mrs. Wenker reside at 871 Shepard avenue, where they own a very beautiful 
home. They are indeed representative citizens of Milwaukee. 



WILLIS E. KEATS. 



Since 1915 Willis E. Keats has been secretary of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and 
without ostentation and with unfailing courtesy and unquestionable integrity has 
labored most earnestly for the welfare of the club. He was born in East Troy, Wis- 
consin, on the 20th of January, 1859, a son of Washington S. and Adeline (Babcock) 
Keats, both deceased. The progenitor of the Keats family in this country was Sidney 
Keats, who came' to the United States from England in 1S28 and located in Michigan. 
His father had bought him a major's commission in the British army, but he refused 
that office. Washington S. Keats was born in Michigan and came to Wisconsin in 
1837. In early life he engaged in farming and subsequently turned his attention to 
the drug business. He was clerk of the circuit court of Walworth county for some 
time and his death occurred in 1915. Mrs. Keats passed away in 1899. She was born 
in Vermont and her family can trace their ancestry back two hundred and fifty years. 

Willis E. Keats received his early education in the common schools of East Troy, 
Wisconsin, and after putting his textbooks aside removed to Milwaukee on the 1st of 
October, 1880. and accepted a position as clerk with the F. F. Adams Tobacco Company, 
remaining with that concern until 1912. As the result of his keen business ability and 
conscientious performance of every duty assigned him, he became secretary and 
treasurer of the tobacco company in 1892 and was active in those capacities at the time 
of his resignation. In 1912 he became treasurer of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, an 
office he held for two years, was chairman of the finance committee for one year and in 
1915 became secretary of the body. Mr. Keats is one of the most popular men in Mil- 
waukee and his association with the athletic club has proved a most valuable asset. 

On the 19th of October, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Keats to Miss Adeline 
Caro, a native of Memphis, Tennessee. Three children have been born to their union: 
Marion, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, is the wife of N. William Reed, 
associated with the American Appraisal Company of Milwaukee. George S., who re- 
ceived his education in the Milwaukee public schools and the Spencerian Business 
College is now associated with the Kempsmith Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee. 
John, the youngest of the family, is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology and is now research associate in the School of Chemical Engineering 
Practice at that institution. 

Mr. Keats has been a stanch supporter of the republican party and has taken an 
active interest in local affairs but has never desired political preferment. For some 
lime he served as treasurer of the Young Men's Republican Club and is now one of the 
prominent members of that organization. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Elks, 



256 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

belonging to Milwaukee Lodge No. 46. For many years he has served the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club in some official capacity and in so doing has been an important factor in 
its continued growth and success. He is justly accorded a place among the prominent 
and representative citizens of Milwaukee, for he belongs to that class of men whose 
enterprising spirit is used not alone for their own benefit but for advancing the general 
good and promoting public prosperity. 



A. J. SMITH. 



Milwaukee has always enjoyed the well earned reputation for the attractiveness 
of its commercial establishments and the progressiveness of its merchants. Among the 
energetic, farsighted and successful business men of the city is A. J. Smith, dealer in 
men's furnishings and hats at No. 220 Grand avenue. He was born in this city, 
October 8, 1863, and is a son of Casper and Louise Smith, both of whom were natives 
of Germany, whence they came to America about 1850, settling in this city. The father 
was a machinist and bridge builder and became one of the builders of the State street 
bridge He continued to follow that occupation throughout the intervening years until 
his death, which occurred in 1872. He was one of the early residents and was identified 
with many of its public improvements and with the work of general progress and 
advancement until his life's labors were ended. His wife survived him until 1893. 
They were married in Germany and came to the United States on one of the old-time 
sailing vessels and were six weeks in crossing the ocean. 

A. .1. Smi'li is the only survivor of a family of eleven children. He was educated 
in the public schools and in early life learned the pattern making business, at which 
he worked for about six years. In 1883 he opened a hat store at No. 145 Reed street 
and thus initiated the business experience which has brought him to a foremost place 
as one of the leading merchants of the city. In 1886 he opened another store in the 
Plankinton block and continued in the Plankinton building until it was torn down in 
January, 1916, being the oldest tenant in the block at the time the building was razed. 
In 1SXS he dissolved his connection with his partner on Reed street and concentrated 
his attention upon his store in the Plankinton block. On the 1st of January, 1916, Mr. 
Smith moved to his present location, where he has since carried a full line of men's 
furnishings and hats. His stock is very attractive, meeting ali demands for medium 
price and for high price goods, and closely studying the wishes of his customers he 
das at all times been able to satisfy his patrons of the most discriminating tastes. In 
Eact, lie is a very progressive and successful merchant, widely and favorably known in 
business circles. He has been a member of the Milwaukee Association of Commerce 
for about fifteen years and has served on its retail committee for a number of years, 
while in 1920 he was elected to its board of directors. 

On the 28th of October, 1S87, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Margaret Morgan of 
Milwaukee, and they have an extensive circle of warm friends in this city, who greatly 
enjoy the hospitality of their pleasant home at No. 1921 Cedar street. Mr. Smith took 
a very helpful part in war service and was a most earnest and effective worker in con- 
nection with all the drives. He was captain of the Clothing Hats and Caps Section in 
Group 22, always going over the top with his quota and personally making the most 
liberal contributions to all war activities. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
to the Knights of Columbus and to the Rotary Club and was formerly president of the 
Calumet Club. He is truly a self-made man in the highest and best sense of the term, 
owing his progress and advancement entirely to his earnest efforts, his close application 
and his intelligently directed industry. 



EDWARD MICHAEL SULLIVAN, M. D. C. 

Dr. Edward Michael Sullivan, proprietor of a veterinary hospital in Milwaukee 
and one of the highly efficient representatives of the profession in this city, was 
here born March 25, 1883. His father, Dennis M. Sullivan, a native of Nashotah. 
Wisconsin, is a son of Timothy Sullivan, who was born in Cork, Ireland, and came 
to this state in 1851. Dennis M. Sullivan is now president of The Sullivan Detec- 
tive Agency of Milwaukee. He married Helen Walsh, who was born in this city 
and is a daughter of Edward Walsh, a contractor, who was a native of the Emerald 
isle. • 

Dr. Sullivan pursued his early education in St. John's parochial school at Mil- 
waukee and in Marquette University, while later he attended McDonald's Business 
College and then became a pupil in the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he 
was graduated in 19 05, with the degree of M. D. C. He entered into partnership 
with Dr. H. B. Clute of Milwaukee, with whom he was associated for a year and 





A. J. SMITH 



Vol. 111—17 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 259 

then began practicing independently at No. 421 Syracuse street. Two years later 
he removed to his present location, where he has remained and is now conducting 
what has always been the largest veterinary hospital in the United States outside 
of Boston and Buffalo. There are always from seventy-five to one hundred dogs 
and cats and twenty horses as patients in the hospital. The kennels ranpe from 
two by three to ten by twelve feet. It is not necessary to say that Dr. oullivan 
is a lover of animals. Success in this field could not be attained without such a 
love and added to this he has comprehensive scientific knowledge and is continually 
promoting his efficiency through further study, research and investigation, while 
experience has taught him many valuable lessons. 

On the 14th of August, 1918, Dr. Sullivan was married to Miss Helma Ruth 
Blworth, a daughter of Edward Elworth, a well known cabinetmaker of Chicago. 
Mrs. Sullivan was educated in the public and high schools of Chicago and has had 
a liberal musical education. Her parents were both born in Milwaukee. 

Dr. Sullivan has always maintained an independent course in politics, nor has 
he ever been a candidate for office yet has labored earnestly in support of his friends 
who have sought political preferment. He is a trustee of St. John's cathedral, hav- 
ing been a lifelong Catholic, and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient 
Order of Hibernians and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is likewise a 
member of the Rotary Club and of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, of which he is a 
life member. He is much interested in racing and was one of the organizers and 
builders of the race track in Washington Park. For four years he served as presi- 
dent of the club, during which time the clergymen of Milwaukee supported him in 
spite of the feeling against racing. On the 13th of December, 1914, he was pre- 
sented by the citizens of Milwaukee and the lovers of racing with a diamond charm, 
watch and chain at a banquet given in his honor, at which were present all of the 
city officials and judges of Milwaukee. He is veterinarian for Milwaukee county, 
a position which he has occupied for the past six years. He belongs to the American 
Veterinary Association and was president in 1915 of the Wisconsin Veterinary Asso- 
ciation. 



ALBERT P. MARTIN. 



No member of the Martin family, of which Albert P. Martin is a representative, 
needs introduction to the readers of this volume. The family name has figured con- 
spicuously upon the pages of Milwaukee's history for many years and has always 
been a synonym for business enterprise, progressiveness and reliability. Albert P. 
Martin, entering upon the business established by his father, is now secretary of the 
George Martin Leather Company. He was born in this city March 28, 1871, and 
having arrived at school age, pursued his education in private and public schools. 
His connection with the business established by his father, George Martin, Jr., began 
in 1886, at which time he entered the tannery as an apprentice and completed the 
full term of indenture, covering three years. He has never sought to enter upon 
other lines of business activity but has continued in this field of labor to the present 
and in 1892 he became secretary of the company, in which position he has served 
through a period of three decades. He is familiar with every practical phase of the 
business, from the time the raw material is received until the finished product is 
placed upon the market, and as one of the officials he is bending his energies to con- 
structive effort and administrative direction. 

In 1908 Albert P. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Helmreich, a 
daughter of Professor Helmreich, then of Bay City, Michigan, but now a resident 
of California. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have become parents of two sons, Albert and 
Edward. Like the others of the family, they are identified in religious faith with 
the Grace Lutheran church, while Mr. Martin has also remained true to form in his 
political connections, being a stanch republican. 



RICHARD CHARLES MUNSCHE. 

Richard Charles Munsche, lessee and proprietor of the Hotel Blatz and presi- 
dent and general manager of the Hotel Blatz Company of Milwaukee, was born in 
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, January 4, 1872. His father, Bernhard Munsche, who was born 
in the town of Rudolstadt, Saxony, Germany, came to the United States in young 
manhood and settled at Sheboygan. He had been married ere leaving his native 
country to Miss Christiana Loesche, who was also born in the town of Rudolstadt. 
After residing for a time in Sheboygan they took up their abode in Oshkosh, where 



260 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the father died in the year 1916. The mother still makes her home there. The 
father was a tanner by trade and thus provided for the support of his family. 

Richard C. Munsche pursued his education in the public schools of his native 
city, completing the high school course there, after which he became an apprentice 
to the bakery business. He arrived in Milwaukee on the 10th of March, 1889, and 
through the intervening period has largely been connected with hotel interests of 
this city. He made his initial step in this direction as a bell boy in the Republican 
House and remained with that hotel for nineteen years, winning successive promo- 
tions until he became chief clerk, a position which he was filling when he severed 
his connection with the hotel in the fall of 1908. In the following year he took over 
the management of the Hotel Blatz for the Alliance Investment Company and so 
continued until the 1st of June, 1909, when he obtained a ten-year lease of the hotel 
in company with Albert Thierbach. They conducted the hotel under this partner- 
ship relation until 1916, when their business interests were dissolved and Mr. 
Munsche assumed the management of the hotel alone. He organized the Hotel Blatz 
Company, of which he is the president, with Herman H. Blaedel as vice president 
and Mrs. Emelia Munsche as secretary. The hotel was erected by Valentine Blatz, 
St., in 1897 and contains eighty-five rooms. As lessee and proprietor Mr. Munsche 
has made the hotel one of the first-class hostelries in this section and has been ac- 
corded a liberal patronage. He is also the vice president of the Milwaukee Gas 
Specialty Company, is a director of the Simplex Alarm Company, manufacturing 
burglar alarms for banks and is secretary, treasurer and one of the directors of 
the Blatz Hotel Pharmacy. His business interests are thus broad and varied and 
have brought to him a very substantial competence as the years have gone by. 

On the 30th of June, 1903, Mr. Munsche was married to Miss Emelia Bloedel, a 
daughter of Adam Bloedel. of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this 
work. They have become parents of two children: Richard Charles, who was born 
September 14, 1912, and is attending the Trinity parochial school; and Bernice 
Anida, who was born June 12, 1915. The family attend the Grace Lutheran church 
and Mr. Munsche is also a loyal follower of Masonry, belonging to Independence 
Lodge, No. 80, F. & A. M.; Wisconsin Chapter, R. A. M.; Wisconsin Commandery, 
K. T.; Wisconsin Council, R. & S. M.; and Wisconsin Consistory, in which he has 
attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is likewise a member of 
Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine and belongs to the Tripoli Patrol. He is identi- 
fied with the Lakeside lodge of the Knights of Pythias and is a life member of the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He has membership in the Tripoli Country 
Club and the Tripoli Motor Club, while his interest in Milwaukee and her welfare 
is manifest in his membership in the Association of Commerce. He likewise belongs 
to the Milwaukee Hotel Association and has been its president. He votes with the 
republican party but has never been active as a party worker. He is fond of out- 
door life and sports, especially skating and swimming and also enjoys long motor 
tours. His wife is well known in musical circles of the city as a pianist and vocalist. 
They have a summer residence at Auer Park on Pewaukee Lake and their Milwaukee 
home is at No. 261 Tenth street. Mr. Munsche has devoted almost his entire life to 
the hotel business and his progress has been of consecutive character, his orderly 
progression bringing him at length to a prominent position in hotel circles. 



THEODORE P. ESSER. 



Theodore P. Esser is well known in Milwaukee not only through his business 
connections as a leading druggist of the city but also as president of the board of 
school directors. His public service has been actuated by a most unselfish 
devotion to the general good and the cause of education indeed finds in him a stal- 
wart champion. Mr. Esser has ever been actuated by the progressive spirit that 
has been a dominant factor in the rapid and substantial upbuilding of the middle 
west. He was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, November 9. 1879, and is a son of 
Fred J. and Augusta (Hansk) Esser, the former born in Prussia, near Berlin. 
Germany, while the mother's birth occurred in Schleswig-Holstein. It was in the 
year 1857 that Fred J. Esser came to the United States, settling first at Chilton, 
Wisconsin, where he followed the occupation of farming. His wife, on crossing 
the Atlantic, took up her abode in Kiel, Wisconsin, and they were married in this 
state. In 1886 they removed to Milwaukee and Mr. Esser was associated with 
the old Columbian, a German publication. He died in 1895, while his wife survived 
until 1906. They were the parents of four children, all of whom are living: Fred 
J.: Theodore P.; Matilda, now the wife of E. P. Xemmers, an attorney; and Nettie, 
the wife of John B. Ludwig, a son of Judge Ludwig. 

Theodore P. Esser was but six years of age when the family home was es- 
tablished in the Cream city. He largely acquired his education in St. Mary's 




TIIKODOEE P. KSSKK 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 263 

School and in Marquette College, and in the school of experience he has also 
learned many valuable lessons of practical worth. In 1898 he engaged in the 
drug business as an employe of George F. Mason, and while thus working, 
thoroughly acquainted himself with every phase of the trade. In 1902, in con- 
nection with his brother, Fred J., he opened a drug store at the corner of Reed 
and National avenues, where they conducted business for fifteen years. In 1906 
they opened a store at No. 415 Grand avenue and in 1918 they sold their south 
side store, since which time they have devoted their entire attention to the Grand 
avenue business. They have a well appointed establishment, carrying a large and 
carefully selected stock of drugs and druggists' sundries and their business has 
steadily increased, owing to their progressive methods, their reliability and their 
earnest efforts to please their customers. 

Mr. Esser has also figured in connection with the public life of the community, 
particularly in relation to the school system. In 1910 he was appointed a school 
director and in 1919 was elected president of the board. His association with 
the school board covers twelve years and he has taken a most active and helpful 
interest in all of its educational affairs. He has been untiring in his efforts to 
secure a square block for every schoolhouse so as to give ample space for play- 
ground for the children. He was a member of the building committee on the 
erection of a new building for the Grand Avenue school, a three-story structure, 
thoroughly modern and surrounded by a large campus, in the rear furnishing ample 
space for play, while in front is a beautiful fence. The school board has agreed that 
a square block will be set aside in connection with the building of all schoolhouses 
in Milwaukee in the future. Mr. Esser has been instrumental in introducing many 
reforms and improvements in connection with the conduct of the Milwaukee schools. 

On the 25th of September, 1901, Mr. Esser was united in marriage to Miss 
Nell Donahue of this city, and they have become parents of three children: Aileen, 
John and Mary, all now in school. The religious faith of the family is that of the 
Catholic church, and Mr. Esser belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He also has 
membership in the Wisconsin Club. His business and his official duties, however, 
claim the major part of his time and attention and his influence along both lines 
is on the side of progress and advancement. 

Mr. Esser is a trustee of the Marquette Medical School and is also president of 
the Wisconsin Druggist Legal Bureau. 



ARTHUR F. BORGES. 



Arthur F. Borges, well known in Milwaukee as a representative of the auto- 
mobile industry, was born in this city, November 3, 1883, his parents being Henry 
and Mary (Otting) Borges, who were natives of Hanover, Germany. The mother 
came to Milwaukee about 1845 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Otting. 
Her father was a farmer, who owned and cultivated land in the town of Granville. 
Henry Borges also came to Milwaukee with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher 
Borges. Early in life he engaged in the sale of farm lands and became an author- 
ity on acreage and also on the quality and value of the soil. He was one of the first 
to fill the position of commissioner of weights and measures and through his official 
duties and his business activities he became widely and favorably known, the ster- 
ling traits of his character winning him the high regard of many with whom he came 
Into contact. 

Arthur F. Borges acquired his education in the public schools of Milwaukee and 
became a bookkeeper for John Langenberger, with whom he remained for about five 
years. He then entered the employ of G. W. Ogden & Company, carriage makers, 
and was associated with that concern until the Ogden brothers retired in 1909. The 
plant was then taken over, with its employes, by the W. R. Sherin Company and 
Arthur F. Borges became secretary. Later in 1912 W. R. Sherin sold his interest to 
Mr. Borges and William F. Nevermann, Mr. Borges, however, having a controlling 
interest and becoming president of the company. Later William Borges became 
associated with his brother, Arthur F., and Mr. Nevermann and was made secretary 
and treasurer of the company, while Mr. Nevermann filled the office of vice presi- 
dent. In 1909 this firm was conducting a very excellent carriage business but 
gradually merged this into the automobile business and today it has nine different 
departments at its plant. The company does everything in connection with the 
automobile industry, including painting and repairing. Its predecessor, the Sherin 
Company, first conducted business at Nos. 137 to 143 Eighth street, where it re- 
mained for two years and then removed to the present location and today the 
company has one of the largest plants in the northwest. The plant has one hun- 
dred and twenty by one hundred and sixty feet of floor space and a large balcony, 
which gives thirty-five thousand square feet of floor space. The business is today 



264 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

carried on under the style of the W. R. Sherin Company. Arthur F. Borges and 
William F. Nevermann deserve great credit tor the upbuilding of the business, 
which they took over with little capital. It was a difficult task to finance it and 
establish their enterprise upon a solid financial basis but they accomplished their 
purpose through honest dealing, close application and unfaltering enterprise. To- 
day they have one of the largest and best plants of the kind in Milwaukee and their 
thorough reliability has been one of the forceful factors in the attainment of their 
present day prosperity. In association with his brother William F. Borges is engaged 
in the hardware manufacturing business under the style of the Borges-Baker Com- 
pany, manufacturers of hardware specialties and patentees of the B. B. shears. 
They are also members of the Vehicle Manufacturing Association of Wisconsin. 

In lit 14 Mr. Borges was united in marriage to Miss Ida Niessen, a daughter of 
Edward Niessen of Milwaukee, and they have become parents of one daughter, Har- 
riet. Mr. and Mrs. Borges are members of the St. John Lutheran church and in his 
political views he maintains an independent attitude, voting according to the dictates 
of his judgment without regard to party ties. He belongs to the Association of 
Commerce and is interested in everything that has to do with the progress and 
prosperity of the community, his labors constituting an important element in the 
industrial and commercial growth of Milwaukee. There have been no esoteric phases 
in his career, his entire course has been open and above board and his energy and 
determination are the qualities which won for him his gratifying success. 



BENJAMIN F. PALMER, M. D. 

Dr. Benjamin F. Palmer, a physician and surgeon engaged in general practice 
in Cudahy, was born in Monroe county, Michigan, August 10, 1886. His parents, 
Charles and Mary (Benn) Palmer, are deceased. The father, who was born in Ger- 
many, died February 13, 1918, while the mother departed this life when her son, 
Benjamin, was but three years of age. His early boyhood was spent on the home 
farm where his birth occurred and at the age of ten years he became a resident of 
Milwaukee, making his home with his sister, the wife of Dr. Charles W. Graham. 
He attended the South Side high school and in 1904, ambitious to become a member 
of the medical profession, he entered the Milwaukee Medical College, where he re- 
mained a student for five years, being graduated in 1909 with the M. D. degree. He 
afterward served as an interne in Trinity Hospital in Milwaukee and thus gained 
broad and valuable experience, such as is never acquired as quickly in any other 
way as in hospital practice. In 1910 he located in Cudahy, where he has remained 
and through the intervening period his practice has steadily grown and developed. 

Dr. Palmer was married to Mrs. Merlie Weber, a native of Wisconsin, and the 
family consists of three children, Benjamin, Donald and June Violet. Dr. Palmer 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is also identified with the Knights 
of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. During the World war 
he served on the local examining board and he is ready at all times to perform any 
public service that will prove of benefit and value to the community and to the state 
in which he resides. He finds his chief recreation in hunting and fishing and in 
taking long motor trips with his family in the summer months. He finds his greatest 
happiness at his own fireside and he and Mrs. Palmer delight to extend the hos- 
pitality of their home to their many friends. Dr. Palmer has worked his way steadily 
upward in his profession and by reading and study keeps informed concerning the 
advanced steps made by the eminent physicians and surgeons of this and other lands. 
He is ever ready to adopt new methods which his judgment sanctions as of value in 
his professional work and his many patients attest his skill in practice. 



WALTER O. TREDUPP. 

One of the progressive, alert and energetic young business men of Milwaukee is 
Walter O. Tredupp. who is the secretary and treasurer of the firm of George L. 
Waetjen & Company, manufacturers and wholesalers of veneer and veneer panels. 
He was born in this city June 28, 1891, and is a son of Christian and Bertha 
(Strehlow) Tredupp. The father was brought to this city by his parents in a very 
early day. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Tredupp. who settled on a farm 
in Milwaukee county, and Christian also took up the occupation of farming, which 
he continued to follow throughout his life. 

Walter O. Tredupp acquired his education in the public schools of his native 
city, in the Milwaukee University School and in Marquette University, which he 
attended for a year. He then accepted a position as draftsman in connection with 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 265 

the heating and ventilating business conducted by the Bayley Manufacturing Com- 
pany, with which he remained for about three years. He afterward entered the 
employ of George L. Waetjen & Company, manufacturers and wholesalers of veneer 
and veneer panels, and was elected to the office of secretary-treasurer, in which con- 
nection he continues. This business was established in 1910 by George L. Waetjen 
and in the following year Mr. Tredupp became identified therewith and has since 
been an important factor in the development of the trade and the success of the 
house. In 1912 the business was incorporated under the present style. The com- 
pany today covers the United States and Canada with its products. Its mills are 
located in the northern part of the state, but the general sales offices are maintained 
in Milwaukee. They now have a new plant located at Park and Muskego avenues in 
Milwaukee, with a floor space of twenty-two thousand square feet. The building is 
of reinforced concrete, is fireproof and is modern in every way. Splendid machinery 
has been installed and the output is of high grade, so that it is not difficult to 
secure and maintain trade. 

In 1919 Mr. Tredupp was united in marriage to Miss Janet Wilson, a daughter 
of Captain Wilson, one of the pioneers of Milwaukee. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tredupp 
are well known in this city, where they have many friends, the hospitality of a large 
number of the best homes of the city being freely accorded them. Mr. Tredupp 
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree. 
He is also a member of the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Rotary Club. His 
religious faith is that of the Lutheran church and in his political views he is a liberal 
republican. He stands loyally by any cause which he espouses and any project which 
he supports and, while a young man, he has already made for himself a most credi- 
table position in business circles through his capability, forcefulness and ever de- 
veloping powers. 



WILLIAM A. MARTIN. 



William A. Martin, vice president of the George Martin Leather Company of 
Milwaukee, is a representative of a family whose name is deeply inscribed upon the 
pages cif Milwaukee's history by reason of the prominence which different representa- 
tives of the name have maintained in connection with interests having to do with 
the city's continued growth and development. William A. Martin was here born 
July 8, 1869, being a son of George Martin, Jr., mentioned at length on another page 
of this work. He was educated in private schools and in the Spencerian College and 
about 1881 entered his father's establishment as an apprentice, the father very 
wisely believing that the sons should thoroughly learn every phase of the business 
in order that they might later direct the activities of others. William A. Martin 
accordingly served for three years in this way and then passed on to positions of 
greater importance and eventually to positions of executive control. He is now the 
vice president of the company, he and his three brothers having become associated 
with their father in the conduct and ownership of the business, and following the 
father's demise they assumed control. In 1891 William A. Martin became the secre- 
tary and continued to act in that capacity until his father's death, when he was 
elected to the vice presidency. 

In 1883 Mr. Martin was married to Miss Tillie De Haas, a daughter of Edward 
De Haas, one of the early settlers of Milwaukee. They became parents of four 
children: Edward, deceased; William; Ralph, who is a member of the Home 
Guards; and Loraine. The second son, William, was with Company A of the Light 
Horse Squadron and served on the Mexican border in 1916. In 1917 he enlisted 
for service in the World war. Mr. Martin and his family are members of Grace 
Lutheran church and his political endorsement is given to the republican party. He 
has never sought to figure prominently in connection with public affairs, preferring 
to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business interests with the thorough- 
ness that has ever characterized the Martin family in connection with the tanning 
interests of this city, being prominent representatives of an industry that has been 
a most important and valuable contributing factor to Milwaukee's commercial up- 
building and prosperity. 



GEORGE P. DEMPSEY, M. D. 

Dr. George P. Dempsey, a physician and surgeon of South Milwaukee, who is now 
one of the owners of the South Milwaukee Hospital, in which enterprise he is asso- 
ciated with Dr. Charles L. Rumph, was born near Monches, Wisconsin, June 12. 
1888, his birthplace being the farm of his father, Edward L. Dempsey, who was 



266 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

born in the state of New York and was ot Irish parentage, being a son ot Mr. and 
Mrs. Thomas L. Dempsey, who came from the Emerald isle to the new world. 
Edward L. Dempsey was united in marriage to Miss Annie Mountain, who is still 
living on the old Dempsey farm near Monches, Wisconsin. She is now sixty-four 
years of age, while her husband, Edward L. Dempsey, was sixty-eight years of age 
when he passed away in 1917. There are eleven children in the family, eight sons 
and three daughters. Those living in Milwaukee county are: George P. Dempsey 
of this review; Dr. Thomas P. Dempsey, who is a dentist of South Milwaukee; and 
Robert J. Dempsey, a business man of Milwaukee. 

In his youthful days Dr. George P. Dempsey attended the country school near 
his father's home and later continued his education in the State Normal School at 
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which he attended for four years. He afterward studied medi- 
cine in the Marquette University Medical School for four years and was graduated 
with the M. D. degree in 1913. For a year thereafter he served as interne in St. 
Mary's Hospital at Minneapolis and later became associated with Dr. H. P. Fischer 
of Shakopee, Minnesota, this partnership being maintained for four years. In 1917 he 
entered the World war as a first lieutenant of the Medical Corps, U. S. A., and 
served for thirteen months, spending the time largely in the Aviation Mechanics 
Training School at Minneapolis, being discharged in February, 1919. He afterward 
studied for about a year at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and then re- 
sumed his connection with Dr. Fischer at Shakopee, Minnesota, where he continued 
for six months. In December, 1920, he came to South Milwaukee and purchased 
a half interest in the South Milwaukee Hospital, then owned by Dr. C. L. Rumph. 
Since that time it has been conducted by Drs. Rumph and Dempsey and they have 
made it a most substantial institution of this character. It is the only hospital in 
South Milwaukee and was established in 1904. 

On the 22d of December, 1919, Dr. Dempsey was married to Miss Adeline 
Olzeene, who is descended from Norwegian and French ancestry and was born 
in Minneapolis. She is a high school graduate and was a stenographer before her 
marriage. She belongs to the Woman's Club of South Milwaukee and both Dr. 
and Mrs. Dempsey are members of the Roman Catholic church. He is also identi- 
fied with the Knights of Columbus, with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks 
and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He likewise belongs to the American Legion. 
He finds his recreation chiefly in golf and turns to the links when leisure permits 
but allows nothing to interfere with the faithful performance of his professional 
duties. His capability is widely recognized and the hospital is meeting a need in 
the public life of South Milwaukee, its equipment preparing its owners for the care 
of all kinds of medical and surgical cases. 



PAUL MONTEITH KUDER. 



Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enterprising city 
of Milwaukee than Paul Monteith Kuder, who has been an important figure in 
business circles, and his success is the result of unbending integrity, unabating 
energy and industry that never flags. He is president of the Allis Manufacturing 
Company, the General Heating and Ventilating Company and the American Con- 
tracting Company, representative business interests of Milwaukee. 

A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Pittsburgh on the 26th of May, 1891, 
a son of H. J. and Mary (Monteith) Kuder. The father was born in the same place 
and there he passed away in 1918. The first member of the Kuder. family to come to 
the United S'ates was Hans Peter Kuder, who crossed the ocean on the ship 
Charming Polly. He was a native of Wurtemberg and a member of the nobility. 
Hans Kuder located in Pennsylvania and that state has been the family home for 
many years. Various ancestors participated in the Revolutionary war, their 
names being enrolled upon the pages of history, and they have ever been repre- 
sentative citizens. The father, H. J. Kuder, was for many years active in the 
ministry of the Lutheran church. The mother, who is still living and makes her 
home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was a daughter of Alex Johnston. Her uncle, 
William Frame Johnston, was the first whig governor of Pennsylvania. 

Paul Monteith Kuder attended the public schools of Bath, Pennsylvania, and 
later received instruction under tutors for several years. Subsequently he enrolled 
as student in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York, where he 
studied mechanical engineering, and upon completing the course there came to 
Wisconsin and for a year was instructor in mathematics and military science at 
St. John's Military Academy, at Delafield. In 1914, upon establishing his resi- 
dence in Milwaukee, Mr. Kuder organized the General Heating Company and he 
became its president. That company is one of the most reliable concerns in the 
state and operates throughout the entire country. It also engages in various kinds 



HHHH^^^M|HHanmHi 




PAUL M. KI'DER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 26!) 

of power work. In 1916 Mr. Kuder organized the Allis Manufacturing Company 
and in 1920 the American Contracting Company, becoming president of both con- 
cerns. Possessing untiring energy and quick perception, he forms his plans readily 
and is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his 
excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which 
is today his. 

On the 1 n tli of April, 1915, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kuder to Miss Eliza- 
beth Allis. daughter of William Allis of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company. 
They have three children: Paul M.. Jr.; Elizabeth Allis and William Allis. Mrs. 
Kuder is well known in club and social circles of Milwaukee and is a woman of 
charming personality. 

Since age conferred upon Mr. Kuder the right of franchise he has been a stanch 
supporter of the republican party and the principles for which it stands, and 
although he has been active as campaign manager a number of times he has neither 
sought nor desired political preferment as a reward for party fealty. His religious 
faith is indicated by his attendance at the Lutheran church, and he is socially 
identified with the Milwaukee Country Club, Milwaukee Club, Oconomowoc Country 
Club. University Club, Milwaukee Athletic Club and Town Club. While a student 
of Muhlenburg College he became a member of Alpha Tau Omega, a national 
college fraternity and one of high standing. A public-spirited man, he is always 
interested in the furthering of any movement for the betterment of the general 
welfare of the community and to that end is active in the interests of the As- 
sociation of Commerce. Mr. Kuder maintains a town house at 526 Marshall street 
and a summer home at Nemahbin Lake, Nashotah, Wisconsin, where he spends his 
vacations. Throughout the period of the World war he was engaged on govern- 
ment contracts, spending the greater part of his time in the east, and he gave 
generously of his time and money. Mr. Kuder concentrates the greater part of 
his energies upon his business affairs and in their development he has shown him- 
self to be capable of managing mammoth interests which are alike of benefit to 
the city and to the individual. 



HERBERT ADOLPH SCHMIDT, D. C. 

Dr. Herbert Adolph Schmidt, a chiropractor of Milwaukee, was born in this 
city, January 21, 1881. His father, Adolph Schmidt, a native of Germany, came 
to Milwaukee with his wife and one child in 1880 and here spent his remaining 
days, passing away in 1905. He was a cabinetmaker, employed by the Matthews 
Manufacturing Company. He married Julia Hagedorn, who was born in Germany 
and came with her husband to this country in 1880, since which time she has 
resided in Milwaukee. She comes of a family stanchly allied with the Lutheran 
church. 

Herbert A. Schmidt obtained his education in the public schools of Milwaukee 
and the West Side high school and after putting aside his textbooks he made his 
initial step in the business world as a flour tester for the Kerns Mills, with which 
he was connected for about three years. During all of this time he was preparing 
for a professional career by studying chiropractic. He attended the Palmer School 
of Chiropractic at Davenport, Iowa, and was there graduated in 1911, the D. C. 
degree being at that time conferred upon him. He at once returned to his native 
city and established practice in his present office. His success is indicated in the 
fact that he has today the most extensive suite of any chiropractor in the north- 
west. He experienced persecution from members of the medical profession, who 
evinced strong antipathy to chiropractic, but he fought his case through the su- 
preme court and won it. This was the test case which made chiropractic legal in 
Wisconsin. He has since followed his profession in Milwaukee and has been most 
liberally supported by the general public, having attained a high degree of success 
in the intervening years. His record 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 and. residence Dr. Schmidt has made for himself a most creditable position 
and won a most gratifying measure of prosperity. He is now chairman of the 
board of directors of both the Milwaukee Association of Chiropractors and the 
Wisconsin State Association of Chiropractors, also belongs to the National Asso- 
ciation of Chiropractors and has been the president of the Milwaukee Association 
of Chiropractors. 

On the 29th of August. 1903, Dr Schmidt was married to Miss Martha Braun, 
a daughter of Edward Braun. a tanner of Milwaukee, who was a native of Germany 
and died in this city at the age of forty-nine years. Dr. and Mrs. Schmidt have 
become parents of seven children: Adelheid, now attending the North Side high 



270 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

school; Irma, Irmgard, Leona, Lorain and Herbert, all in school; and Edwin, who 
is not yet of school age. 

Dr. Schmidt has never taken an active part in politics and has always main- 
tained an independent course in exercising his right of tranchise. He is of the 
Lutheran faith, having membership in the Jerusalem church, and he also belongs 
to the Knights of Pythias. He is fond of gardening and forestry and his yard is 
an attractive one, with about five hundred shrubs and over fifty trees. He lives 
on the Green Bay road, just outside the city limits, where he has ten lots. He has 
ever been an inveterate reader and thus is constantly promoting his knowledge 
along various lines. His wife is also a member of the Jerusalem Lutheran church 
and his children are all musically inclined. Dr. Schmidt is very fond of motoring 
and every year takes a long motor trip. He maintains a summer home on Lake 
Okauchee, where he has a lake frontage of one hundred and seventy-four feet. 



FRED C. FASS. 



Fred C. Fass, substantial business man and representative citizen of Milwaukee, 
belongs to that class of splendid liberty-loving men who after the failure of the 
German revolution in 1848 left the fatherland and came to the new world. The 
same spirit has ever been manifest in Fred C. Fass, who is a representative in 
the second generation of those worthy forbears who came from Germany to the 
new world. His interest in the welfare and progress of Milwaukee has been mani- 
fest in many ways — in fair dealing and enterprise in business, in loyal support of 
municipal interests and in cooperation with all those projects which have been 
matters of civic virtue and of civic pride. 

Fred C. Fass was born March 26, 1857, in the sixth ward of the city of Mil- 
waukee, where the family has been represented for more than seventy years. His 
father came to the United States in 1848 with those men whose ardor for the 
liberty and equality of the great American democracy found its highest expression 
in that stanch exponent of liberalism, Carl Schurz. Mr. Fass settled in Milwaukee 
soon after his arrival in the new world and was here married in 1851 to Margaret 
Schaefer. He and his wife therefore were identified with the pioneering enter- 
prises of this city and state. The father's first work was with the railroad con- 
struction crews on some of the early lines in the city. Later he went into business 
for himself as a grading contractor and as such did some of the biggest excavating 
and grading jobs of the time. In 1878 he established the livery and undertaking 
business which is still in existence under the name of Fred C. Fass & Son Company, 
at 730 Third street. 

Shortly after his graduation from the Humboldt school in the sixth ward, at the 
age of fourteen years, Fred C. Fass started an apprenticeship in the art of sign 
writing with the firm of Van Eweyk & Baumgaertner. When he attained his 
majority, being of an ambitious nature and independent turn of mind, he established 
a business of his own in his chosen vocation. Applying himself with characteristic 
energy and diligence and always actuated by an earnest desire to deal fairly and 
squarely, he was very successful in his first business venture. However, he was 
compelled to abandon it in 18S3 because the disability of his father made it neces- 
sary for him to take charge of the livery and undertaking business before mentioned. 
At the time of this writing he is still actively engaged with his son, William H. 
Fass, in the management of the Fred C. Fass & Son Company. He is also one 
of the founders of the Rottel Refrigerating Machine Company, 609 Walnut street, 
Milwaukee, and its vice president. 

Besides pursuing vigorously an absorbing business career, Fred C. Fass has 
always evinced a keen and high-minded interest in public affairs. This brought him 
into prominence in the field of politics. He was an assistant sergeant-at-arms at 
the democratic national convention which nominated William J. Bryan for the 
presidency in 1896, and the republican national conventions of 1904 and 1920 which 
placed Roosevelt and Harding in nomination, respectively. In local and state poli- 
tics his activity took on various forms and in 1904 he was the republican candidate 
for city comptroller. For eighteen years he was a member of the common council 
of the city of Milwaukee as alderman from the sixth ward and the city at large, 
serving on all of its committees and having many special assignments of importance. 
He represented it in the League of American Municipalities and was elected a 
trustee of that organization. He was very instrumental in the passage of two note- 
worthy pieces of legislation affecting Milwaukee — the non-partisan election law and 
the law creating the sewerage commission. 

In the manifestation of his interest in civic affairs he did not confine himself 
merely to the performance of his official duties. As a private citizen he was con- 
nected with many movements for the benefit of the community. He was a member 




MR. AND MRS. FRED C. FASS 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 273 

of the Auditorium executive committee which raised the funds to defray the cost 
of building the Auditorium. 

There is much in the career of Mr. Fass that is evidence of a character of more 
than ordinary uprightness and force. His fearless independence of view and courage 
of conviction have been a big factor in establishing the good reputation which he 
enjoys in the community. 

Fred C. Fass was married on November 11, 1884, to Minnie Krueger, also of 
Milwaukee. They are both members of the Evangelical Trinity church and Mrs. 
Fass has been active for many years in its philanthropic projects and as the presi- 
dent of its Ladies' Society. They have four children: William H. Fass, Mrs. Ru- 
dolph Zedler, Mrs. Benjamin Werner and Hugo W. Fass, all of Milwaukee. Mr. 
Fass is a member of Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46, B. P. O. E., and is a life member of 
the Milwaukee County Old Settlers' Club. 



CHARLES A. MARTIN. 



No student of Milwaukee's history can carry his investigations far into the 
records of the city without learning of the close and prominent connection of the 
Martin family with the tanning industry. He whose name introduces this review is 
now the treasurer of the George Martin Leather Company, a business which was 
established by his father, who later admitted his four sons to a partnership, and the 
latter are still in active control thereof. 

Charles A. Martin was born in Milwaukee. March 14. 1876. He acquired his 
education in the Lutheran parochial and public schools and early learned the value 
of industry, determination and thrift — lessons which were impressed upon his mind 
through his father's training, for the father displayed great discernment and in- 
telligence in the care of his sons in qualifying them for life's practical and respon- 
sible duties. Like his brothers, he became an apprentice in the tannery, taking up 
the work there in the year 1893. No favoritism was shown him to win him advance- 
ment. On the contrary he thoroughly mastered every phase of the business and 
acquainted himself with every detail of the work. Step by step he advanced as he 
qualified for promotion and in due course of time became an active factor in the 
management of the business. His election to the position of treasurer came in June, 
1920, and he has since been active in control of the financial phases of this enter- 
prise. 

In 1 9 ( ) 7 Charles A. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Rae John- 
son, a daughter of Captain Henry W. Johnson of New York, and they have become 
parents of two sons, Charles A. and John Henry. Mr. Martin is a member of the 
Westminster Club and is a well known figure in musical circles of the city, being 
a life member of the A Capella Chorus. He attends the Grace Lutheran church and 
the Westminster Presbyterian church. He is interested in all that makes for the 
moral progress of the community and in all those forces which are of cultural value 
and of intellectual worth. His life is purposeful, his actions resultant. Politically 
he is a republican and his support of the party comes from a firm belief in its prin- 
ciples as factors in good government. 



EARL X. THOMPSON, M. D. 



Dr, Earl X. Thompson, one of the leading young physicians of Milwaukee county, 
located at Cudahy, was born on a farm near Leonardtown, .Mary land, June 2, 1891, 
and is a son of Francis X. and Amie L. (Milburn) Thompson, both of whom were of 
English descent and both natives of Maryland. The father was a manufacturer and 
business man who passed away August 2. 1920. The mother is still living in Balti- 
more. 

Dr. Thompson of this review has one brother, Emmet Maurice, who is a year 
his junior and who is living in Milwaukee, where he is connected with railroad 
interests. Dr. Thompson completed his education by graduating from Loyola College 
of Baltimore, in 1908. He afterward spent four years as a student in Hie medical 
department of the University of Maryland and won his M. D. degree in 1912, being 
but twenty-one years of age and the youngest member of a class of ninety-three 
students. He served as an interne and resident physician in St. Luke's Hospital of 
Baltimore for two years. Later he became assistant to Dr. Wilson Cunningham of 
Platteville, Wisconsin, remaining there for a year, and in 1915 he removed to 
Cudahy. where lie has been located for seven years. He is the director of (he Alice 
Dickson Cudahy Dispensary & Clinic and is recognized as an able member of the 
profession, practicing successfully in both medicine and surgerv 
Vol. in— 1 8 



274 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

Dr. Thompson served for six months during the World war, becoming a first 
lieutenant ot the Medical Corps at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia. He is now a member 
of the American Legion. He finds his chief recreation in golf and is a member of 
the Michiwaukee Golf Club, also of the Wisconsin Club and the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club. Along strictly professional lines he has membership with the Grant County- 
Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the American Medical 
Association. 

On the 17th of April, 1918, Dr. Thompson was married to Miss Dorothy Ferber 
of Ripon, Wisconsin, who is a graduate of the State Normal School of Milwaukee 
and is a graduate nurse. They have one son, Jack Milburn Thompson, born August 
30, 1920. Dr. and Mrs. Thompson are well known in Cudahy, where they have many 
friends. Dr. Thompson has made steady progress in his profession since completing 
his medical course, and study and experience are constantly broadening his knowl- 
edge and promoting his efficiency. 



GEORGE E. MARTIN. 



George E. Martin, general manager and president of the George Martin Leather 
Company of Milwaukee, is thus actively connected with an industry which has been 
one of the most important features in the development and material progress of 
this city. He was born in Milwaukee, November 20, 1865, and is a son of George 
Martin, Jr. He acquired his education here, pursuing his studies in a private 
school, and in April, 1881, he entered the tannery, becoming identified with the 
leather business which was established by his father. He started as a regular 
apprentice and devoted three years to mastering the trade. He continued in the 
business until 1890, working his way steadily upward to the position of general 
manager, the duties of which office he assumed at that date and still discharges. 
He was likewise elected vice president of the company at his father's death and 
on the 12th of April, 1920, he became general manager and president, with Albert 
Martin as vice president, William A. Martin as secretary and Charles A. Martin 
as treasurer. Their plant has run to full capacity throughout the recent period 
of financial depression following the war. The business is most wisely and carefully 
conducted and progressiveness is always tempered by a safe conservatism that can- 
not fail to produce desired results. The methods are thoroughly modern in every 
particular and the work turned out is of the highest standard. 

In 1889 Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Virmond, a daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. Reinhard Virmond, one of the early residents of this city. Mr. 
and Mrs. Martin have become parents of two children, Erna A. and Dr. Hilmar 
George Martin, the latter a medical practitioner of Milwaukee, now specializing on 
diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He attended the University of Wisconsin 
for six years, pursuing his classical and medical studies, and for three years was 
a student in the Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, Maryland. 

Mr. Martin gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and while 
conversant with all the vital questions and issues of the day, does not seek nor 
desire office, preferring to concentrate his efforts and attention upon his business 
affairs. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and to the Grace Lutheran 
church. His life has been passed in this city and his many sterling traits are 
familiar to his friends, who are legion. He has never sought to distribute his 
energies over a wide field but has concentrated his efforts along a single line and 
his thoroughness and persistency of purpose have made him one of the successful 
representatives of the tanning industry in Milwaukee. 



HENRY WEHR. 



Henry Wehr, who for many years was a prominent and well known restaur- 
ateur of Milwaukee, has lived retired since 1895, enjoying a well earned rest, 
the fruits of his former toil supplying him with all of the comforts and many of 
the luxuries of life. Mr. Wehr was born September 5, 1841, in the province of 
Saxony, Germany, his parents being Carl and Elizabeth (Dreiling) Wehr. The 
mother died in Germany and the father afterward came to America, with his two 
sons Henry and Carl, in 1856. He arrived in Milwaukee on the 22d of July of 
that year, and Henry Wehr, then but a lad in his teens, started out to provide for 
his own support by working as a farm hand. In 1858 he obtained employment as 
a waiter in a restaurant and from that time forward he was largely connected with 
the restaurant business. In February. 1859, he began working in the Newhall 
house as a waiter at eight dollars per month, when one day his boss told him he 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 275 

could not keep him longer. Fearing to lose his position Mr. Wehr told his em- 
ployer that he would give him two dollars of his wages each month if he would he 
retained on the staff of helpers there. This arrangement was accepted and Mr. 
Wehr continued in the position until he went to the old American house, where he 
was employed until the hotel was destroyed by fire on the 4th of July, 1861. Later 
he was connected with the Kirby house and on the 6th of January, 1866, he en- 
gaged in the restaurant business on his own account. He had made a fair start 
when in August of the same year his establishment was destroyed by fire. But on 
Thanksgiving day of the same year he opened a new restaurant on South Water 
street, where the Pritzlaff hardware store now stands. In June, 1867, he removed 
to Grand avenue, where he remained for six years and then established his restaur- 
ant at No. 4 Grand avenue, where he continued in business for about seven years. 
On the expiration of that period he located at No. 1 Grand avenue, on the 25th of 
October, 1880, and there he carried on business for fifteen years, after which he 
leased the restaurant to Gimble Brothers. During this time he also had another 
place located near the Chamber of Commerce, at 351 Broadway, which his brother 
conducted for him. Thus year by year Mr. Wehr continued in the restaurant busi- 
ness in Milwaukee, securing an extensive patronage and so managing his affairs as 
to win substantial success as the years went by. In 1895 he retired with a hand- 
some competence, amassed through his labors and has since given little or no active 
attention to business affairs, save for the supervision of his investments. 

In 1870 Mr. Wehr was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Hubman, a daugh- 
ter of Conrad and Margaret (Reichard) Hubman. They have become parents of 
eight children: Margaret, who is now the widow of Louis Falk; Henry; August; 
Edward; William; C. Frederick; Clara, the wife of August Grau; and Louisa, at 
home. The family occupies a beautiful residence on Grand avenue, which has been 
the family abode for thirty-one years. 

Mr. Wehr and his family are communicants of St. Rose's Catholic church. His 
political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is a member of the Old 
Settlers' Club. Mr. Wehr recalls when the Milwaukee & St. Paul depot was located 
on Reed street. For two-thirds of a century he has lived in Milwaukee, an inter- 
ested witness of the growth and progress of the city and as the years passed his 
business kept pace with the city's development. He deserves much credit for what 
he has accomplished since he started out in the business world empty-handed, 
perseverance and labor constituting the keys which unlocked for him the portals 
of prosperity. 



CHARLES L. RUMPH, M. D. 



Dr. Charles L. Rumph, a physician and surgeon of South Milwaukee and one of 
the owners of the South Milwaukee Hospital, was born on a farm in Orange county, 
New York, November 21, 1875, and is a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Pond) Rumph, 
both of whom have passed away. In their family were four children, the Doctor, 
however, being the only son, and the three daughters are still residents of the Empire 
state. The father was a butter and cheese maker in the employ of a large corpora- 
tion, devoting his life to that line of business. 

Dr. Rumph went to work in a creamery and cheese factory at the age of four- 
teen years, being thus employed under his father, and since that time has been 
entirely dependent upon his own resources. Ambitious to enjoy a good education, 
he was graduated from a New York state high school in 1894 and was president 
of his class. For five years thereafter he engaged in clerking in a drug store in 
the town of Greene, New York, and on the expiration of that period took up the 
study of medicine in the University of Michigan, in which he spent four years, 
being graduated from the medical department with the class of 190?,. He after- 
ward devoted about eight years to the practice of his profession in Calumet, Mich- 
igan, and during this period he was in the employ of large mining companies oper- 
ating in the vicinity of Calumet. He later practiced medicine for a short time in 
Green Bay, Wisconsin, and subsequently located at South Milwaukee, here taking 
up his abode in 1912. In the same year he purchased an interest in the South Mil- 
waukee Hospital and has been connected with this institution since, becoming sole 
owner of the hospital and so controlling it for several years, but in 1921 he sold 
a half interest to Dr. George P. Dempsey. The two now own the hospital jointly 
and have made of it a most commendable institution. They are planning to en- 
large it during the year 1922, in order to meet the growing demands made upon 
them by those who desire hospital treatment. During the World war Dr. Rumph 
served on Draft Board, No. 2, outside of Milwaukee city. 

It was in the year 1908 that Dr. Rumph was united in marriage to Miss Mar- 
ilia Holcomb Salisbury, who had been one of his schoolmates in the state of New 



276 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

York in his boyhood days. She was formerly a teacher in both the Empire state 
and in New Jersey. She is a member of the Woman's Club of South Milwaukee 
and Dr. Rumph belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Knights of Pythias. 
He is fond of golf and is a member of the Michiwaukee Golf Club. Both enjoy 
the warm regard of those with whom they have been brought into contact and 
their circle of friends is now almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. 



LLOYD TILGHMAN BOYD. 



Lloyd Tilghman Boyd, who for a number of years was business manager of the 
Milwaukee Journal and who through his newspaper and other connections became 
widely known throughout the country, was born December 19, 1861, in Natchez, 
Mississippi, a son of the Rev. Frederick W. and Mary (Railey) Boyd, the latter a 
daughter of a Mississippi planter. The father was a minister of the Episcopal church 
and was assigned to a charge at Watertown. Wisconsin, when his son Lloyd T. was 
but a small child. Soon, however, he removed to Waukesha. Wisconsin, where his 
remaining days were passed. 

It was in Waukesha that Lloyd T. Boyd acquired his early education, supple- 
menting his public school training by study in Carroll College, while later he at- 
tended college at Racine, and there graduated. Soon afterward he came to Mil- 
waukee, where he was connected with the Sentinel for a time and later he was 
appointed by President Cleveland to take charge of the United States land office at 
Ashland, where he was stationed for a number of years and during that period he 
mill Mr. Cleveland became fast friends. He next became identified with the Mil- 
waukee Journal as business manager and continued to fill that position to the time 
of his death, which occurred on the 7th of November, 1914. 

It was in 1886 that Mr. Boyd was united in marriage to Miss Susan Patterson. 
a daughter of Thomas Latimer and Catherine Patterson, who were natives of 
Delaware, the birth of Mrs. Boyd occurring in Wilmington, that state. Mr. and 
Mrs. Boyd became parents of two daughters: Katharine Patterson and Mary Railey, 
both at home with their mother. Mr. Boyd was a very prominent figure in jour- 
nalistic circles throughout the country. He was a director of the American News- 
paper Association and president of the American Association of Advertising. He 
was also a director of the American Associated Prnss. Fraternally he was con- 
nected with the Masons, loyally following the teachings and purposes of the craft. 
He belonged to the Milwaukee Club and his religious faith was indicated by his 
membership in St. Paul's Episcopal church. He was a man of genial manner, of 
unfailing courtesy, of kindly disposition and at all times was alert to the oppor- 
tunities of business and to the vital questions of the day. His ability brought him, 
prominently to the front and he commanded the respect, confidence and friend- 
ship of those with whom he came into contact. 



ERNST KRUSE. 



Ernst Kruse, a Milwaukee manufacturer of asbestos nroducts. was born in 
Mecklenburg, Germany. October 30. 1856, and is a son of Frederick and Ernestina 
( Bobsin l Kruse. It was in the year 1863 that the father brought his family to the 
new world, settling in Milwaukee in February of that year. There he followed 
farming in the vicinity of Wauwatosa, spending his remaining days in agricultural 
work in that locality. 

Ernst Kruse accordingly nursued his education in the schools of Wauwatosa 
and also attended school in Milwaukee. He afterward engaged in the cultivation of 
his father's farm on shares for several years and lias always led a life of industry 
and thrift, early coming to a recognition of the fact that industry is the basis 
of all legitimate business advancement. When eighteen years of age he learned 
the carnenter's trade, which he continued to follow until 1910. Two years later, 
or in 1912. he became associated with Charles Dieringer and Arthur Etzius in or- 
ganizing the Federal Asbestos Company. The nartnership was maintained for three 
years, but in 1915 Mr. Etzius withdrew and William F. Schoell was admitted to a 
partnership. They engage in the manufacture of asbestos pipe covering and in the 
erection of cold storage rooms. Their asbestos product has met with great favor 
and there is a constant demand for their output. They are now doing ninety per 
cent more business than when they started and their trade practically covers the 
entire state They manufacture and apply pipe covering, and their business is 
steadily growing. Mr. Kruse is the president of the company and is also the vice 
president of the Universal Roofing Company. His associate officers in the Federal 




EENST KRUSE 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 279 

Asbestos Company are Charles Dieringer, secretary, and William F. Schoell, 
treasurer. In the building of cold storage rooms they use cork, and their work in 
this connection is also in great demand. 

In 1886 Mr. Kruse was married to Miss Alwina Goedecke, of Milwaukee, a 
daughter of Fred Goedecke, who settled in this city at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kruse have a daughter, Ella, who is the wife of Charles Dieringer, and they are 
the parents of two children, Dorothy and Robert. 

Politically, Mr. Kruse is a republican, yet does not consider himself bound by 
party ties and exercises his right of franchise as his judgment dictates. He has 
never sought or desired office but has concentrated his efforts and energies upon the 
upbuilding of the business of which he is now the head. His thoroughness, 
capability and diligence have been the crowning features in the attainment of his 
present-day success. 



REV. I. PRONOLD. 



Rev. I. Pronold, pastor of St. Mathias Catholic church in West Allis, was born 
in Plain, Sauk county, Wisconsin, in 1869, his parents being George and Barbara 
Pronold, who were natives of Germany and crossed the Atlantic in 1864, at which 
time they took up their abode in this state, settling on a farm. They soon re- 
moved to Mount Calvary, in Fond du Lac county, where they spent their remain- 
ing days. 

Rev. I. Pronold obtained his early education in the schools of Mount Calvary 
and pursued a classical course in St. Lawrence College. He afterward entered the 
St. Francis Seminary at Milwaukee with the intention of completing his prepara- 
tion for the priesthood. Here he took up his studies in 1888 and after a four years' 
course was ordained in June, 189 2. He was then appointed assistant priest of St. 
Mary's Catholic church in Milwaukee, where he remained for three years. He 
afterward went to Grafton, Wisconsin, where he was in charge of St. Joseph's 
parish for thirteen years. On the expiration of that period he was transferred to 
St. Mathias church on Beloit Road in West Allis, where he has continued to the 
present time. He has done effective work here, having built the parsonage since 
his arrival, while all branches of the church work have been promoted. He has 
about ninety families in his parish and seventy pupils in the school, which is 
under the care of the Sisters of St. Francis. 



AARON YAFFE, M. D. 



Dr. Aaron Yaffe, physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, was born in Germany, 
December 19, 1885, but was brought to the United States when only about two and 
a half years old by his parents, Harry and Rebecca (Mayer) Yaffe, who are now 
residents of Ashland, Wisconsin, where they took up their abode in 1888 and 
where the father is engaged in merchandising. 

Dr. Yaffe was reared in Ashland until graduated from the high school with the 
class of 1903. He afterward spent five years as a student in the University of 
Michigan, four years of this period being passed in the medical department, from 
which he was graduated with the professional degree in 1908. Immediately after 
he came to Milwaukee and for a year was interne in the Milwaukee Passavant 
Hospital. Subsequently he spent two years in the Johnson Emergency Hospital 
and since 1911 has been engaged in general practice, building his success upon 
the broad experience and power which he had developed in his hospital practice 
and through his previous collegiate training. At one time he was a member of the 
faculty of the Marquette Medical College and he is now serving on the surgical 
staff of Mount Sinai Hospital and also of the Emergency Hospital. During the 
World war he spent seven months with the Medical Corps of the United States 
army, serving with the rank of lieutenant in American camps. He is now a mem- 
ber of the American Legion. 

On the 24th of November, 1913, Dr. Yaffe was married to Miss Aimee Frank 
of this city, who is a graduate of Downer College. They have one son, Frank 
Yaffe, who was born January 19, 1915. Dr. Yaffe is a thirty-second degree Mason 
and Mystic Shriner. He also belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, to the Wood- 
mont Country Club and to the Phi Beta Pi, a medical fraternity. Along strictly 
professional lines he is connected with the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the 
Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Wis- 
consin Surgical Society and the American Medical Association, and through the 
interchange of thought and experiences in the meetings of these organizations he 



280 ■ HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

keeps conversant with the advanced methods of all of the leaders in medical and 
surgical practice throughout the country. He never lightly regards the duties of 
his profession but discharges each with a sense of conscientious obligation, and 
thus he has developed his powers to a high point of efficiency. 



CHARLES F. ROHDE. 

\ 

Charles F. Rohde, of Milwaukee, state agent for the Fleischmann Company, 
was horn in Bremerhaven, Germany, March 1, 1867. He came to the United States 
in November, 1885, when a youth of eighteen years, taking up his abode at Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, where he was connected with mercantile interests for about 
two years. He afterward attended Eastman Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New 
York, from which he was graduated with the class of 1888, having acquired his 
early general education in his native land. When he had completed his business 
course, he went to Chicago and was there employed in the western department of 
the Glens Falls Insurance Company, with which he remained until 1892. 

It was in March of the latter year that Mr. Rohde arrived in Milwaukee as 
the representative of the Fleischmann Company, yeast manufacturers, and here he 
has continued through the intervening period, covering three decades. He now 
has entire charge of the sales of the company for the state of Wisconsin, hav- 
ing for a number of years been state manager. Under his guidance the trade has 
steadily been developed and extended until it is now one of large proportions and 
Mr. Rohde occupies a prominent position among the progressive and successful 
business men of the city. 

In 18!I4. in Milwaukee was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rohde and Miss 
H. Mielhardt. a daughter of Charles Mielhardt, one of the early settlers of Bay 
View. The children of this marriage are: Irma, now the wife of Charles Corthaus, 
of Milwaukee; Bruno, who is attending the University of Wisconsin; Carl, who is 
a student in the high school at Bay View; and Walter, who is yet a pupil in the 
grade schools. 

In his political views Mr. Rohde is a republican and is an active worker in party 
ranks. He belongs to the Turnverein of Milwaukee, to the Press Club, to the Mil- 
waukee Liederkranz, to the Milwaukee Maennerchor and to the Milwaukee Lieder- 
tafel. He is extremely fond of music and in his younger days sang in some of 
the most noted choirs in the leading churches of the city. He also enjoys fishing 
and hunting and these constitute a most pleasurable source of recreation to him. 
He has gained many friends during the period of his residence in Milwaukee, by 
whom he is called Carl, and he has become firmly established in the regard of the 
public as one of the representative and progressive business men whose activity 
has been a force in the commercial upbuilding of the city. 



WILLIAM HENRY SCHMIDT, Jit. 

William Henry Schmidt, Jr.. president of the William H. Schmidt & Sons Com- 
pany, conducting business at Nos. 46 to 56 State street in Wauwatosa, is a native 
son of Milwaukee, his birth having occurred on the 16th of July, 1877. His father, 
William H. Schmidt. Sr., was born in Germany and was about fourteen or fifteen 
years of age when he came with his mother to the United States, residing for a 
time at Manitowoc and Sheboygan, after which he took up his abode in Milwau- 
kee. He was apprenticed to the cabinetmaker's trade in Germany and followed the 
same general line of business in the United States. For several years he was a 
lumber merchant of Milwaukee and about 18 80 he founded the business on the 
south side that is now conducted under the name of the William H. Schmidt & 
Sons Company. The business was successfully carried on at the original location 
for many years and in May, 1916, a removal was made to Wauwatosa. The com- 
pany engages in the manufacture of all kinds of interior woodwork for various 
kinds of buildings and finds a splendid local market, selling the product to the 
city of Milwaukee and to the surrounding country. It specializes in high grade 
lines and Mr. Schmidt. Sr., was recognized as a man of splendid business ability 
and power. His life was characterized by diligence and determination and his 
salient qualities brought to him a notable measure of success. He passed away 
December 30, 1916, and in his death Milwaukee lost a representative citizen. In 
early manhood he had married Henrietta Farhow, who was born in Germany and 
came to Wisconsin as a young maiden of fifteen years. She is now living in Wau- 
watosa. 

William Henry Schmidt, Jr., was educated in the Milwaukee public schools 




(IIAKLES I'. HORDE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 283 

and afterward learned the cabinetmaking trade with the Cream City Sash & Door 
Company, spending three or four years in acquainting himself with the business. 
He was afterward with the Curtis & Yale Company at Wausau as estimator for two 
years, then returned to Milwaukee to accept a similar position with the Cream 
City Sash & Door Company, with which he remained for about an equal period. 
Later he joined his father and brother, Charles W. Schmidt, in organizing the 
present business, which was formed in 1902 as a partnership concern but was in- 
corporated in 1906 with William H. Schmidt, Sr., as the first president. Follow- 
ing the father's death the son succeeded him in the presidency and has remained 
the chief executive officer of the business. 

On the 5th of October, 1898, Mr. Schmidt was united in marriage to Miss Laura 
Wegmann, a daughter of Henry Wegmann of Milwaukee, who was born in this 
city and is now connected with the Mangold Milling Company. Mr. and Mrs. 
Schmidt have one child, Raymond, who was born January 22, 1905, and is now 
attending the Wauwatosa high school. While never an active politician Mr. 
Schmidt has always voted with the republican party and keeps well informed on the 
vital questions and issues of the day. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to 
Wauwatosa Lodge, No. 267, F. & A. M.; Wauwatosa Chapter, R. A. M.; Galilee 
Commandery, K. T.; Kilbourn Council, R. & S. M.; Wisconsin Consistory, A. A. 
S. R.; and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the 
Stickney Field Golf Club and aside from a game on the links he is interested in 
fishing and motoring, thus finding his recreation and rest from the arduous cares of 
a growing business. Each day in his active career has marked off a full-faithed 
attempt to know more and to grow more and thus he has advanced until today 
he controls an enterprise of large proportions that constitutes one of the important 
productive industries of the city. 



GEORGE FREDERICK MAYER. 

George Frederick Mayer, secretary and general factory manager of the F. 
Mayer Boot & Shoe Company of Milwaukee, has been a lifelong resident of this 
city. His birth here occurred February 15, 1888, his parents being George P. and 
Anna (Upmeyer) Mayer, who are mentioned elsewhere in this work. The father 
and grandfather were the founders of the Mayer Boot & Shoe Company and then- 
position as representative business men and citizens has been widely acknowledged. 

George Frederick Mayer, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, 
acquired his early education in the Milwaukee public and parochial schools. He 
eventually became a pupil in the West Side high school, from which in due course 
of time lie was graduated and then entered the University of Wisconsin, in which 
he completed his course as a member of the class of 1912. During his college days 
he became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He made his initial 
step in the business world in his father's shoe factory as a regular apprentice, 
working at the bench for five years and thus gaining intimate and accurate knowl- 
edge of every phase of the business. As he acquainted himself with the trade and 
thus developed his efficiency he won promotions from time to time, within three 
years becoming foreman of the lasting department. Business activities and inter- 
ests, however, were put aside when the country needed military aid. In 1916 he 
joined the United States Reserves and took his examination, being commissioned a 
captain. He was called to active service in June, 1917, and was on duty as a staff 
officer with General Kniskern. In June, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of 
major and was on duty in Chicago until he received his honorable discharge on 
the 26th of May, 1919. 

When the country no longer needed his aid Major Mayer returned to his home 
and again entered into active connection with the F. Mayer Boot & Shoe Company, 
with which he has since been identified. He has occupied the position of secretary 
of the company since 1914 and after leaving the army he also assumed the duties 
of general factery manager, his valuable practical experience as an apprentice and 
workman well qualifying him for the duties of the latter position and he also 
displays excellent executive ability in his work as secretary of the organization. 

On the 15th of February, 1916, Mr. Mayer was married to Miss Clairetta 
Schwaab, a daughter of Andrew Schwaab, deceased, who was the founder and 
owner of the Schwaab Stamp & Seal Company. Her mother bore the maiden 
name of Annie Kapmeier and is a sister of John H. Kapmeier of the Wisconsin Ice 
& Coal Company, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Mayer have one 
son, George Andrew, born January 10, 1917. The parents are members of the 
Evangelical Lutheran church, in the work of which they take a helpful and con- 
sistent interest. Mr. Mayer belongs to various clubs and social organizations, 
having membership in the Rotary, Milwaukee Athletic, Milwaukee Country, Uni- 



284 HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 

versity, Town, and Milwaukee Yacht Clubs. His hobby is out-of-door life and 
sports and In- greatly enjoys hunting, fishing, golf and yachting. He likewise has 
membership in the Association of Commerce and his cooperation can be counted 
upon to further any practical plan and measure of that organization for the city's 
civic improvement and development. 



JAMES KEELER ILSLEY. 



In Milwaukee the name of llsley stands as a synonym for business enterprise, 
for progressiveness and for the most thorough reliability. Charles Ferdinand 
and James Keeler llsley, father and son. have for many years been identified with 
the banking business. The former departed this life in 1904, thus closing an active 
career in which every duty was faithfully performed, while his initiative and 
enterprise enabled him to accomplish much in connection with the city's upbuild- 
ing and improvement. The son remains an honored resident of Milwaukee, but for 
several years has lived retired from business, having previously figured for an 
extended period as one of the leading bankers of the state. James K. llsley was 
born in Milwaukee. April 14, 1854. His father, Charles F. llsley, was a native 
of Eastport, Maine, and a son of Edward llsley, who was born in Portland. Maine. 
It was on the 22d of February, 1S47, that Charles F. llsley arrived in Milwaukee. 
He had come to the middle west with the intention of establishing his home in 
Chicago, but changed his plans and took up his abode in the Cream City, where he 
in 1849 became associated with Marshall & llsley, a private bank, this being today 
the oldest banking institution of the northwest. Upon the incorporation of the 
business in 1888 Mr. Marshall became president, with Mr. llsley as vice president. 
Following the death of the founder Mr. llsley succeeded him in the presidency and 
so continued until his own demise on the 4th of December, 1904. He was in turn 
succeeded by Gustave Reuss and the latter was succeeded by James K. llsley in 
1908. Mr. llsley also occupied the position of trustee of the Northwestern Mutual 
Life Insurance Company for ten years. He became a director of the .Milwaukee 
& Prairie Du Chien Railroad and during the time of the Civil war the firm of 
Marshall & llsley was made financial agent of the state to care for the extra pay 
voted to the soldiers. The partners in the firm were also associated with Alexan- 
der Mitchell in negotiating the first state loan in 1853. The business was located 
from September, 1849. until 1853. at 342 East Water street, when it was moved to 
the Furlong block, there remaining until IS 7 2, at which time the bank purchased 
and removed to the old J. R. Treat building. The firm made a splendid record 
and during times of widespread financial panic none ever doubted the integrity nor 
soundness of the Marshall & llsley institution. Mr. llsley was familiar with every 
phase of the banking business and was a man of unimpregnable integrity. He 
was an excellent judge of character and was seldom deceived by any individual. 
He took a helpful interest in public affairs and was a lover of music and literature 
and other fine arts. 

His son, James Keeler llsley, a worthy successor of an honored father, re- 
ceived his early education in the Markham Academy and also continued his studies 
in the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 
1876, with the Bachelor of Arts degree. The following autumn he entered the 
law school of Harvard University for the purpose of taking a course in commercial 
bills and papers. In 1877 he returned to Milwaukee, where he entered the Marshall 
& llsley bank as a clerk, acting in that capacity for a few years. In the early '80s 
he became a partner in the business and so continued until his retirement. In 
1888 when the bank was incorporated, he became cashier and continued to act in 
that capacity until his father's death. A few years later he was made president 
of the bank and thus served from 1908 until 1915. when he retired from active 
connection with the institution, although he remains one of its directors. He has 
ever maintained the high honor and good name associated with the institution and 
at all times has held to the highest standards of business and has also represented 
that progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in growth and progress 
here. In late years he has been the successor of his father as trustee of the Daniel 
Wells estate and continues to act in that capacity. 

On the 24th of February, 1892, Mr. llsley was married to Miss Mary Stevens, 
a daughter of John Stevens of Neenah, Wisconsin. They have two children: 
Charles F., named for his grandfather, who is now connected with the bank; 
and Mary, the wife of Robert A. Uihlein. a resident of Milwaukee. Mr. llsley 
was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity of Ann Arbor and belongs to 
the Milwaukee and University Clubs, the Milwaukee Country Club, the Fox Point 
Club and other prominent social organizations. He is quite liberal in his political 
views, although usually voting with the republican party. He is well known in 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 285 

art circles and was at one time vice president of the Layton Art Gallery, of which 
he is now president, having succeeded to this latter position and that of trustee 
after his father's death. He is likewise the president of the Layton School of 
Art, a young organization which seems to have before it a distinctively bright 
future. Mr. Ilsley has ever been interested in those activities which are of cul- 
tural value, contributing to the uplift of the individual and the benefit of the 
community at large. 



WILLIAM R. KENNEDY, M. D. 

Dr. William R. Kennedy, oculist, aurist and laryngologist, practicing success- 
fully in Milwaukee, was born in Appleton City, Missouri, May 8, 1872, and is 
a son of William Stewart Kennedy, deceased, who was born in Scotland and came 
to the United States with his parents. He devoted his life to farming. 

Dr. Kennedy was reared on his father's farm in Missouri but determined to 
follow other than agricultural pursuits and was graduated from the medical 
department of the University of Iowa, with the class of 1895. Later he pursued 
postgraduate work on the eye, ear, nose and throat in the University of Edin- 
burgh in Scotland and also in London, England, in 1901. With his return to 
his native land he opened an office in Milwaukee and has since devoted his atten- 
tion to his specialty, winning commendable and enviable prominence as an ocu- 
list, aurist, rhinologist and laryngologist. He is a member of the faculty of the 
Marquette Medical College and is on the visiting staff of all of the hospitals in 
Milwaukee. He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin 
State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Oto-Ophthalmic 
Society of Milwaukee. 

On the 3d of August. 1901, Dr. Kennedy was married to Miss Edna J. Mason 
of Corning. Iowa, and they are parents of three daughters: Florence Marjorie. 
Ada Jeanette and Geraldine, all attending school in Milwaukee. The religious 
faith of the parents is that of the Congregational church and they are interested 
in all that makes for public progress and improvement. Dr. Kennedy is a Knights 
Templar Mason and for recreation he turns to fishing and motoring. The inter- 
ests and activities of his life are well balanced and the sterling traits of his char- 
acter are attested by all with whom he has come into contact. 



JOHN W. SCHAUM. 



John W. Schaum, who was long connected with journalistic interests in Mil- 
waukee, was born October 17, 1854, in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, a son of Louis 
and Elizabeth (Sack) Schaum. who in 1856 emigrated to America, making their 
way to Milwaukee in the same year. The father was a plasterer by trade and 
spent his remaining days in this city, following his chosen occupation for an 
extended period. 

John W. Schaum was but two years old when brought by his parents to the 
United States. He acquired his early education in the parochial schools and 
afterward attended the Lutheran high school, pursuing his studies to the age of 
fifteen years. He then entered upon newspaper work, becoming connected with 
a paper called the Seebote. He was employed by others for some time and 
eventually purchased an interest in the journal with which he was associated 
for a quarter of a century, disposing of his interest in the paper about two years 
prior to his death, which occurred on the 9th of December, 1910. He was treas- 
urer of the Milwaukee Journal and also established a firm known as the Schaum 
Engraving Company. By reason of his long connection with journalistic interests 
he became well known in Milwaukee and was an active factor in promoting public 
progress along many lines. 

On the 23d of April, 1876, Mr. Schaum was united in marriage to Miss Caro- 
line Junker, a daughter of Frederick and Christiana (Ratzow) Junker, who were 
natives of Germany and became residents of Milwaukee about 1851, spending 
their remaining days in this city. To Mr. and Mrs. Schaum were born five chil- 
dren: Caroline and Frederick, both of whom have passed away; Louis A., who 
resides in Milwaukee; Edward P., who makes his home in Quincy. Massachusetts; 
and Erna, the wife of John T. Coventry, also of Milwaukee. In his political views 
Mr. Schaum was always a democrat, supporting the party from the time that age 
conferred upon him the right of franchise. He served as a member of the school 
board of the city for many years and the cause of education found in him a stal- 
wart champion. Otherwise he never held public office, preferring to concentrate 



286 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

his time and attention upon his business affairs. He was a member of the Grace 
Lutheran church and a member of the Old Settlers' Club and was widely and 
prominently known, being a resident of the city for more than a half century. He 
therefore witnessed the greater part of its growth and development and took a 
helpful part in advancing its progress. , 



FRANCIS M. ELKINTON. 



Francis M. Elkinton, making his initial step in the business world as a telegraph 
operator, became president of F. M. Elkinton. Incorporated, in which connection, 
as head of a company of traffic managers, he built up the largest institution 
of the kind in the United States. The story of his progress contains no esoteric 
phases. It is the simple recital of opportunities quickly recognized and wisely 
utilized. At the outset of his career he realized the fact that industry and perse- 
verance are essential elements to success and that one must be a thorough student 
of any business if he would gain advancement therein. Mr. Elkinton accordingly 
put forth every effort to master every phase and detail of the work entrusted to 
his care and step by step, through an orderly progression, he reached a place of 
leadership among the traffic managers of the country. Disposing of his interests 
in F. M. Elkinton, Incorporated, on the 15th of September, 1921, he created a new 
organization on the 1st of December of that year, specializing in consulting and 
advisory traffic management and commerce practice. 

Wisconsin is proud to number him among her native sons, his birth having 
occurred in Brownsville, Dodge county, August 20, 1883. He is descended from 
an old English family prominent in the public life of the "Merrie Isle." His grand- 
father, Mark Elkinton, born in England, came to the United States as a young man 
and settled in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where he followed farming throughout his 
remaining days. His son, Mark P. Elkinton, now living in Winneconne, Winnebago 
county, Wisconsin, was born on his father's farm a mile and a half from Browns- 
ville, and pursued his education in the State Normal School at Oshkosh and in the 
University of Wisconsin. He then took up the profession of teaching, which he 
followed for five or six years, after which he entered upon railroad business in 
connection with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, which he represented in various 
official capacities. He has now retired from active business, making his home in 
Winneconne, where he is filling the position of city clerk, and has also held other 
local offices. He wedded Mary E. Gardien, who was born in the town of Wayne, 
Fond du Lac county, on the farm of her father, Francis Gardien, who was of Spanish 
descent and served in the Spanish navy before coming to the United States. 

Francis M. Elkinton acquired his early education in the common schools of 
Dodge county, and was later graduated from the Mayville high school with the 
class of 1901. Starting out in the business world to provide for his own support, 
he first obtained a position as telegraph operator with the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul Railroad and afterward acted as train dispatcher. He was stationed at 
various towns as local agent for the railroad company and on severing his connection 
with that system he entered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern and eventu- 
ally became identified with the Soo Line, acting as operator and train dispatcher 
with the last two corporations. He acquainted himself with telegraphy under his 
father's direction and his initial experience constituted the foundation of his steady 
rise to prominence and success. On leaving the employ of the Soo he returned to 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul as station and tariff inspector, occupying the 
position for three years. Throughout that entire period he was studying law by 
himself, seeking to acquire a knowledge of law that would fit him for advancement 
in transportation work. In fact, throughout his entire railroad career he was reading 
law and thus clay by day was further qualifying for larger and greater responsibilities. 
He spent about a year and a half in the general offices of different Wisconsin 
railroads and thus became acquainted with various phases and features of trans- 
portation work. In 1910 he resigned from the railroad service and accepted 
a position as traffic manager for a western fruit firm in the Yakima district of 
Washington, the great fruit belt of the northwest. After a year spent in that sec- 
tion of the country he returned to Wisconsin and was associated with the Allis- 
Chalmers Company in the accounting department, handling freight accounts. For 
a year and a half he remained in that position and on the 1st of May, 1912, ac- 
cepted the position of manager of the American Freight Traffic Bureau, which was 
afterward merged into the corporation known as F. M. Elkinton, Incorporated, the 
change occurring in 1915. In the latter connection he developed the largest institu- 
tion of its kind in the United States. The company is maintained by concerns and 
industrial associations all over the country, but largely in the middle west, and pro- 




FRANCIS M. ELKINTON 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 289 

vides for them general traffic service, including legal practice before the public 
utility commissions. Mr. Elkinton continued as the executive head and directing 
force of this corporation until the 15th of September, 1921, when he disposed of 
his interests to enter upon what he believed to be a still broader field. On the 1st 
of December following, he instituted a new organization, with headquarters at 
No. 720 First National Bank building, Milwaukee, and has since specialized in con- 
sulting and advisory traffic management and commerce practice, having among his 
clients some of the most prominent business men and important corporations of the 
country. 

On the 22d of April, 1908, Mr. Elkinton was married to Miss Lottie H. Cramer, 
of Ripon, Wisconsin, a daughter of William Cramer, one of the early residents of 
that place. Her maternal grandfather was John T. Harris, for many years a promi- 
nent political figure in Wisconsin. Mrs. Elkinton pursued her education in the 
schools of Ripon and took a full musical course in Ripon College. She is a pianist 
of ability, possesses a well trained voice and has frequently been heard in public 
gatherings. She has membership in St. James Episcopal church. 

Mr. Elkinton has always given his political allegiance to the republican party 
and was once a candidate for the legislature, but otherwise has not been an active 
party worker. He has membership in Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, A. F. & A. M., 
of Milwaukee and he belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, the Calumet Club, 
the Traffic Club of Chicago, the Milwaukee Traffic Club, the Milwaukee Association 
of Commerce, the Chicago Association of Commerce and the Concatenated Order 
of Hoo-Hoos, being traffic manager for the Wisconsin Retail Lumbermen's Associa- 
tion. He was the first president of the Wisconsin Traffic League and he is widely 
known as a public speaker upon transportation subjects. There is no phase of 
transportation with which he is not thoroughly familiar and he has addressed 
many public gatherings upon transportation interests throughout Wisconsin and the 
central west. When business duties bear too heavily upon him, he finds pleasure 
in a game of baseball and was himself once a professional player. He is likewise 
fond of motoring and he and his wife have enjoyed many automobile tours. The 
major part of his time and attention, however, has always been given to his busi- 
ness affairs from the time when he entered railroad service as a telegraph operator, 
and his steady advancement is the indication of his expanding powers and his de- 
veloping executive force, combined with a mastery of all those questions which have 
to do with transportation interests in every phase. With a nature that could not 
be content with mediocrity, he has passed on to a position of leadership and is 
today a recognized authority among transportation men throughout the entire 
country. 



AUGUST F. MANEGOLD. 



August F. Manegold died in Milwaukee, January 27, 1916. He had long been 
closely associated with the business enterprise of the city as a quarryman and by 
reason of the careful management of his affairs he left a comfortable competence 
to his family. He was born in Holzminden, Braunschwieg, Germany, January 13, 
1852, his parents being William and Johanna Manegold, who, leaving Germany 
in 1863, came to Milwaukee. Here the father was engaged in the ice business for 
several years. 

August F. Manegold obtained his education in the schools of his native land 
and of Milwaukee, attending the public schools and afterward the German-Eng- 
lish Academy. On starting out in the business world he first turned his attention 
to the tanning trade but early in life became interested in stone quarrying at 
Wauwatosa. There he continued to operate along that line to the time of his 
death. The business is still being carried on under the name of the A. F. and L. 
Manegold Stone Company, the selling end being conducted .under the name of the 
Wauwatosa Stone Company. Mrs. Manegold owns a half interest. August F. Mane- 
gold was systematic, thorough, enterprising and energetic in all that he did in 
business and these qualities brought to him a substantial measure of success as 
the years passed by. 

On the 2d of May, 1876, Mr. Manegold was married to Miss Henrietta Bast, a 
daughter of Christopher and Wilhelmina (Pribnow) Bast. The father was a na- 
tive of Coblenz on the Rhine, while the mother was born in Stettin, Germany. 
They came to Milwaukee about 1853 and here the father engaged in the practice 
of veterinary surgery for many years. He was also owner of the Wisconsin brew- 
ery for an extended period and long remained an active factor in business circles. 
He figured in military connections as captain of the Home Guard. Mr. and Mrs. 
Manegold became parents of six children, four of whom are living: Amelia L., 

Vol. Ill— 19 



290 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

the wife of William O. Schilling; Clara A., the wife of William Graf; Walter A.; 
and August F. 

Mr. Manegold belonged to the Lutheran church, with which his wife is also 
connected. His political allegiance was always given to the republican party from 
the time that age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he was unfalter- 
ing in his allegiance to his principles. For a time he served as supervisor and was 
most loyal to the public good when serving in public office. He was one of the 
first directors of the Old Line Life Insurance Company of America, which position 
he held until his death. He belonged to the Old Settlers' Club and for more than 
a half century was a resident of this city. He watched with interest its growth and 
development and took active part in promoting its material advancement through 
the conduct of business interests. He withheld his support from no project that 
was promoted for the general good and at all times was a most public-spirited 
citizen. 



HANS BRUENING. 



Almost from the beginning of settlement here Milwaukee has been regarded as 
one of the musical centers of the country. Its well earned reputation in this direc- 
tion is due to such men as Hans Bruening, who was classed with the leading pianists 
not only of Wisconsin but of the United States. Born in Berlin, Germany, on the 
19th of September, 1868, he became a resident of this city in the spring of 1894, 
when a young man of twenty-six years. He was a student in the high school of 
Berlin, and his musical education was received at the Royal Academy of Music in 
his native city, where he studied for four years, from 1883 until 1887, pursuing 
his course under B. Stavenhagen, one of Liszt's most prominent pupils in Weimar. 
After his four years' course he appeared upon the concert stage as soloist and ac- 
companist, and his public appearances brought him into frequent association with 
some of the best known artists of the time, including Joseph and Amalie Joachim, 
Carl Halir, Robert Hausmann, Alice Barbi and others, for whom he acted as ac- 
companist. One of his biographers has said of him: "In 1888 and 1889, Mr. Bruen- 
ing, in company with Teresina Tua, the 'violin fairy,' toured the western part of 
Germany, Switzerland and Austria, after which he studied in Weimar for some 
time with Bernhard Stavenhagen, the eminent pianist and one of Franz Liszt's 
favorite pupils. In 1890 a tour of eastern and northern Europe was begun, which 
was only completed at the end of four years, Mr. Charles Gregorowitsch and Mrs. 
Lillian Sanderson accompanying him. During this time Mr. Bruening played before 
the late Queen Olga of Wurtemberg, at Stuttgart; the Duke of Cumberland, at 
Vienna; the Queen of Roumania (Carmen Sylva ) , at Neuwied; King Oscar of Swe- 
den, at Stockholm, and King Christian of Denmark, at Copenhagen. On all of these 
occasions he received handsome and valuable presents as proofs of appreciation for 
his excellent performances." 

Crossing the Atlantic to the new world. Mr. Bruening came to Milwaukee, in- 
fluenced in his decision as to a location by the fact that he had friends in this city. 
He taught music privately — solely piano — with harmony and theory of music and 
in 189 9 founded the Wisconsin College of Music, of which he became senior director. 
In the meantime his work in one of the concerts given by Theodore Thomas, the 
great orchestra leader, was of such excellent order that it resulted in an invitation 
from the conductor to play with the Chicago Orchestra during the season of 1896- 
1897. With the organization of the Wisconsin College of Music the duties of Mr. 
Bruening in that connection increased so rapidly that he was obliged to give up 
public playing, and only on very rare occasions was he induced to resume his work 
as a concert pianist. In January, 1914, however, he played Beethoven's G Major 
Concerto with the Chicago Orchestra under Frederick Stock, which was his fifth 
appearance with the great Chicago musical organization. 

Today the college has more than seventy teachers and above twenty-five hundred 
students, being the largest institution of the kind in the state, while the pupils 
come from almost every state in the Union. The standards maintained by the 
school are very high. As a teacher Mr. Bruening was fully as successful as in his 
career as a concert pianist and the number of his efficient pupils was notable. Some 
of these have gone abroad for further study and are now holding prominent posi- 
tions in various parts of the United States. The members of his class gave annual 
piano recitals and a Milwaukee critic termed them the "Artists' Class." Mr. Bruening 
also received the highest praise of musical critics abroad. 

The Vossische Zeitung of Berlin, Germany, said of him: "Mr. Bruening is a 
pianist of uncommon gifts. He has magnificent technique, together with much 
expression and feeling. The most brilliant number of the evening was his per- 
formance of the Liszt paraphrase of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream music, 




HANS BRTJENING 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 293 

which was played with much delicacy and refinement, showing also considerable 
amount of force and power. The artists' reception at the hands of the audience was 
enthusiastic, and he had many recalls." Equally gratifying endorsement came to him 
from the Neue Freie Presse of Vienna, which said: "Mr. Hans Bruening accompanied 
all the songs with a discretion and refinement seldom to be found among our 
younger pianists. He is also an excellent soloist, combining delicacy and feeling 
with force and fire." Appreciation for his work was felt in Stockholm, Sweden, the 
Aftonbland writing of him: "Mr. Hans Bruening accompanied both soloists, and 
played a prelude by Chopin, and the Twelfth Rhapsodie, by Liszt. Especially in 
the latter he had ample opportunity for showing a masterly technique together 
with much fire and finish." Mr. Bruening also appeared in Denmark and the Poli- 
tiken of Copenhagen wrote: "Mr. Hans Bruening's interpretation of the Chopin and 
Liszt pieces was masterly in every respect. His technique is stupendous, his touch 
and tone beautiful." 

Mr. Bruening also won eminence as a chess player. When but six years of age, 
he was regarded as a most remarkable chess player, and in 19 00 he played with two 
of the world's experts, Dr. Lasker and Mr. Pillsbury, when they visited Milwaukee. 
Mr. Bruening won one game and lost one, and two of the games were draws. At 
one time he played and won four games while blindfolded — a truly remarkable feat. 
Mr. Bruening visited every state in the Union and also the country of Mexico, and 
traveled extensively in the far east, being in China and Japan during the Boxer 
war. 

On the 25th of June, 1906, Mr. Bruening was married to Anna Kayser, then 
of Milwaukee, and connected with the Wisconsin College of Music, as one of its 
vocal teachers. She has a splendid soprano voice and is a prominent concert singer. 
Her unusual versatility has made her career a most interesting one. She obtained 
her entire musical education at the Wisconsin College of Music, and in 1914 joined 
its faculty, while for two years she had charge of the voice department and the Glee 
Club, at Grafton Hall, in Fond du Lac. She has appeared with the Milwaukee 
Auditorium Symphony Orchestra and in recital work before some of the leading 
clubs of the city. She is also actively identified with the well known MacDowell 
Club and has sung at many charitable events. After singing before Madame Calve, 
Mrs. Bruening received from her a letter, as follows: "You have a very pretty and 
expressive voice of exquisite timber and you sing with art and feeling. I was 
charmed to have heard you. I am sure that you should be a perfect instructor, 
because you have a faultless enunciation. Why don't you sing in concerts? You 
should have a splendid career. My husband and I wish you all success. Believe me, 
dear madame, I am yours most sympathetic and devoted. Emma Calve." 

Hans Bruening was called to his final rest on the 3d of March, 1922. No name 
was more familiar in musical circles in Wisconsin. Gifted by nature with marked 
talent, both Mr. and Mrs. Bruening developed their ability to a notable point, becom- 
ing artists of particularly high merit in their chosen line, and as educators their con- 
tribution to the development of musical taste and culture in the state has been 
distinct and valuable. 



JOHN J. GASPER. 



As Milwaukee has emerged from villagehood and taken on the advantages 
and opportunities of a city of metropolitan proportions there have come to the 
front men who by their substantial qualities, capability and efficiency in business 
and their loyalty in citizenship have contributed in notable measure to the growth 
and steady development of the community. To this class belongs John J. Gasper, 
whose growth, like the city, has been gradual until he is now prominent in busi- 
ness circles as superintendent and vice president of the V. Schoenecker Boot 
& Shoe Company. He was born in Milwaukee, June 7, 1864. His father, William 
Gasper, who died in 1902 at the age of sixty-eight years, was a native of Cologne, 
Germany, but came with his parents to the new world prior to the Civil war, the 
family home being established in this city. William Gasper was a carpenter by 
trade. His father, however, followed the occupation of farming at Cazenovia, 
Wisconsin, where he settled on coming to the United States, continuing his resi- 
dence at that place to the time of his death, which occurred when he was eighty- 
four years of age. William Gasper, however, did not care to engage in the till- 
ing of the soil and turned to industrial life, which claimed his attention for many 
years. At the time of the Civil war he joined the army, aiding in defense of the 
Union as a member of the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry. He married Mar- 
garet Auer, who was born in Munchen, Germany, and was brought to Milwaukee 
at the age of seven years by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Auer, the former a 
carpenter by trade. 



294 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

John J. Gasper pursued his education in parochial schools of Milwaukee and 
in the Evening Business College. He started out in the business world as an 
employe of the Mayer Boot & Shoe Company, with which he remained for eleven 
years, steadily working his way upward from one position to another until he 
became foreman of the cutting room. He was afterward associated with his 
father-in-law, V. Schoenecker, in organizing the present business, of which he 
became superintendent and buyer. Following the death of Mr. Schoenecker, Sr„ 
he was elected to the vice presidency and has continued to serve in that executive 
position, at the same time acting as superintendent of the plant, which is de- 
voted to the manufacture of a general line of shoes for men, women and children, 
for which they find a market throughout the west. Their output meets with a 
ready sale because of the excellence of quality and the reliability of the business 
methods of the house. 

On the 2d of March, 1886, Mr. Gasper was married to Miss Victoria Schoe- 
necker, a (daughter of Vincent Schoenecker, Sr., a native of this city. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gasper have a son and two daughters: John S.. who is with his father in 
business as bookkeeper at the plant and who married Annie Kramer of Mil- 
waukee, a daughter of a sea captain; Hilda K., at home; and Norma M., now the 
wife of Lester Caldwell of San Francisco. California, who is connected with the 
Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. They have one daugh- 
ter, Betty Jane Caldwell. 

Mr. Casper votes with the republican party but has never taken active part ■ 
in politics as an office seeker. He is of the Catholic faith and belongs to St. 
Michael's parish. He has membership with the Catholic Knights of America, also 
with the Elks lodge of Milwaukee, with the Travelers Protective Association and 
with the Association of Commerce. He has always greatly enjoyed a game of 
bowling and has found recreation in athletics. In his business career he has 
forged steadily to the front by reason of thoroughness, efficiency and unfaltering 
determination and he is a well known representative of the manufacturing in- 
terests of the Cream City. 



REV. JOHN BUCKLEY. 



Rev. John Buckley, who has labored untiringly for the advancement of the 
Catholic church in Milwaukee and other sections of Wisconsin, was born in Mal- 
lon, County Cork, Ireland, and acquired his English and classical education in 
his native city. He also attended the schools of Mount Melleray, in County Water- 
ford, Ireland. Having completed his philosophical and theological courses in the 
college of All Hallows at Dublin, Rev. John Buckley was ordained to the priest- 
hood on the 24th of June, 1869, by the Rt. Rev. John Francis Whelan. 

It was in 1870 that Rev. John. Buckley came to the new world. He crossed 
the Atlantic to the United States, making his way direct to Milwaukee, where he 
was appointed by Archbishop Henni to the position of assistant in St. John's 
cathedral. There he continued until the fall of 18 71, when he was sent to Beaver 
Dam, Wisconsin, as pastor of St. Patrick's church, with which he was thus con- 
nected for twenty-two years. He thoroughly developed the work of the church 
along many lines and his pastorate was one of signal usefulness to the congre- 
gation, adding to its material and spiritual growth and advancement. In March, 
1892, Archbishop Katzer sent Rev. Father Buckley to take charge of St. Rose's 
church at Brodhead, Wisconsin, with its missions at Albany and Footville. There 
he remained for several years and later was transferred to Delavan, Wisconsin, 
where he continued until 1920. In that year he returned again to Milwaukee, 
where he is continuing his labors. Throughout the period of his residence in the 
United States he has made his home in Wisconsin and has worked untiringly for 
the benefit of the church, being a most zealous -advocate of the cause. 



E. W. WINDFELDER. 



E. W. Windfelder, whose intense activity in business circles and whose marked 
public spirit in connection with the welfare and progress of Milwaukee class him 
with the representative and valued residents of the city, was here born October 
6, 1862, and passed away on the 21st of March, 1918, when in the fifty-sixth year 
of his age. He was a son of Andrew and Rosanna Windfelder and acquired his 
early education in the public schools, while spending his youthful days under 
the parental roof. When his textbooks were put aside he learned the lithograph- 
ing trade, which he followed for several years and after that time he engaged 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 295 

in the manufacturing business, in which he continued until his demise. He was 
the president o£ the Western Novelty Manufacturing Company and manifested 
a most progressive spirit in the conduct of the business. He ever looked beyond 
the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities of the future and he labored 
not alone for the success of today but of tomorrow as well. 

In 1885 Mr. Windtelder was united in marriage to Miss Delia Quinn, a daugh- 
ter of Timothy and Bridget (Leonard) Quinn, who were natives of Ireland and 
who came to Milwaukee at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Windfelder had one son 
and two daughters: Raymond Lester, residing in Milwaukee; Lauretta, at home; 
and Grace, the wife of Harry Brandecker of this city. 

Mr. Windfelder was a member of St. Rose's church. His political endorse- 
ment was given to the democratic party and he belonged to the Old Settlers Club, 
to the Milwaukee lodge of Elks, of which he was a past exalted ruler and was 
also an honorary member of the E. B. Wolcott Post No. 1, G. A. R. 

Mr. Windfelder will perhaps be longest remembered because of his notable 
public spirit and devotion to the general good. In 1898 he became a conspicuous 
figure in the public life of the city and it was largely through his efforts at that 
time that the legislature increased the mill tax for the building of the public 
museum. His labors were effective forces in later years in bringing about the 
many progressive changes which the institution underwent. When David S. Rose 
was elected mayor of Milwaukee for the first time, Mr. Windfelder received from 
him appointment to a position on the museum board and served as president 
thereof. He was likewise a director of the public library board and a member 
of the auditorium board and he acted as chairman of the joint board of the 
museum and library. When he passed away the Milwaukee Auditorium board 
prepared resolutions expressing their regret at his death and extending sympathy 
to the family, also flying the auditorium flags at halfmast for a period of three 
days. The resolution read in part as follows: "We appreciate the fine public 
spirit manifested during his life, giving thought and effort to the interests of 
the Auditorium and the things that make for progress in community life. He 
is an example of integrity of character, of personal geniality and of general help- 
fulness. In his death the community has suffered a distinct loss." There was 
no phase of the city's progress and improvement with which Mr. Windfelder was 
not closely associated. His aid at all times could be counted upon to further any 
plans for the public good and on many occasions his progressive spirit constituted 
an initiative step in promoting public advancement. 



WILLIAM HOWARD HALSEY, M. D. 

In the treatment of diseases of the eye, near, nose and throat, Dr. William 
Howard Halsey has given proof of his marked capability and adaptability. Per- 
fecting himself in his chosen field, he has rendered valuable service to his fellow- 
men in this connection and his high reputation is well deserved. A native son 
of Milwaukee, he was born March 27, 1884, his father being William H. Halsey, 
a prominent and well known business man of the city, where as a plumbing con- 
tractor he has a large patronage. 

Dr. Halsey is one of a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom 
are living. He was reared in Milwaukee and was graduated from the East Side 
high school with the class of 1900. He played on the basket-ball team there and 
was popular in his student days, just as he has been in the period of his man- 
hood. For two years he pursued an academic course in the University of Wis- 
consin and the University of Michigan, while later he was graduated as a medical 
student from the University of Illinois, winning his professional degree in 1906. 
He initiated his professional career as interne in the West Side General Hospital 
in Chicago, with which institution he was connected for two years. Later he was 
house surgeon at the Chicago Clinical School for six months. In 1911 he was 
graduated from the United States Naval Medical School at Washington, D. C, 
and he spent ten years in the Medical Corps of the United States navy, resigning 
his position on the 10th of December, 1919, at which time he held the rank of 
lieutenant commander. He had broad experience and made a most interesting 
record during his connection with the navy. He was in charge of the ear, nose 
and throat department on the United States Hospital Ship Solace from 1911 until 
1913 and then became executive officer of the Naval Medical School at Wash- 
ington, D. C, there remaining in 1913 and 1914. During the same period he 
taught ear surgery and from 1915 until 1917 he was in charge of the training 
of the Naval Hospital Corps at San Francisco, California, and also during that 
period acted as consultant at the United States Naval Hospital, at San Francisco, 
on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He became medical officer on the 



296 - HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

staff of Admiral William S. Sims at the American naval headquarters in London 
during the World war and late in the year 1919 he was sent to Fort Lyon, Colo- 
rado, to take charge of the ear, nose and throat department of the United States 
Naval Hospital at that place, there serving until December 10, 1919, when his 
resignation, previously offered, was accepted. Accordingly he returned to Mil- 
waukee, where he has remained. While stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, at the 
United States naval station, in 1918, he became founder and first editor of a 
magazine called Navy Life. He is now serving on the staff of the Milwaukee 
County Hospital, the Children's Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital and is consul- 
tant on the ear, nose and throat in the bureau of war risk of the United States 
treasury department. 

On the 21st of April, 1914, Dr. Halsey was married to Miss Else Bode, who 
was born in Milwaukee and is a graduate of the West Side high school. They 
have three sons: David, Jonathan and Donald. Dr. Halsey is a member of the 
American Legion and is entitled to membership in the Sons of the American 
Revolution, for among his ancestors were those who fought for independence and 
an ancestor has fought in every war in which this country has ever engaged. 
He is descended from Sir Thomas Halsey, who came from England in 164 2 and 
settled in Massachusetts. Dr. Halsey belongs to the Cooperative Club and is 
also a member of the Wisconsin Club and along professional lines he is connected 
with the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, 
the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society and the Ameri- 
can Medical Association. In a calling where advancement depends entirely upon 
individual merit and ability he has made steady progress, owing to his compre- 
hensive study, his thoroughness and his commendable ambition to make his serv- 
ice of the greatest efficiency to his fellowmen. 



COLONEL E. HARRISON CAWKER. 

Colonel E. Harrison Cawker, who came to rank as one of Wisconsin's most 
representative and successful business men, was prominently known as a lawyer, 
miller and agriculturist, while in the latter part of his life his attention was given 
solely to the development and improvement of his real estate. Aside from his busi- 
ness ability he possessed sterling traits of character and social qualities which made 
him popular with an ever increasing circle of friends. 

Wisconsin was proud to number him among her native sons, his birth having 
occurred in Fulton, Rock county, August 6, 1848. His parents were Emanuel and 
Lutia Ann (Harrison) Cawker. The father was a native of Devonshire, England, 
and in 183 6 came to the United States, settling in the town of Wauwatosa, on 
land that is now included in the ninth and tenth wards of Milwaukee. At that 
period this was a pioneer section in which the work of progress and development 
had scarcely been begun. In fact, he filed his claim to the land in advance of the 
United States survey, and as the claim was located within the limits of the grant of 
canal lands, the price paid when it came into market was two dollars and fifty 
cents per acre. In 1837, or soon after securing his claim, Mr. Cawker established his 
home at Fulton, Rock county, Wisconsin, where he purchased three hundred and 
twenty acres of land, a portion of which was surveyed and platted as village lots, 
the village of Fulton being. thus established. He became a most prominent factor 
in the development and progress of that locality. He built a flour mill, sawmill and 
carding factory and remained an active factor in business there to the time of his 
demise in July, 1850. His wife was a daughter of John Harrison, a prominent 
flour miller of Auburn, New York, who on removing westward, settled in Milwaukee. 
Mrs. Cawker was but thirteen years of age at the time of her marriage in 1841. 
The year following her husband's death she came to Milwaukee, where she made her 
home with her mother. Mrs. Harrison, until 1852, when she became the wife of 
James P. Rice, with whom she returned to Fulton, sold the mills and disposed of 
that portion of her estate in Rock county. In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. Rice returned to 
Milwaukee and took up their abode on the land which had been secured by her 
first husband in Wauwatosa in 1836, Mrs. Rice occupying the old homestead until her 
death, October 18, 1890. In the settlement of the estate, one hundred and thirty- 
five acres of the original quarter section which had been purchased by Mr. Cawker 
in 1836 was sold at an average of four thousand dollars per acre, the value of 
the property having increased at the rate of one hundred dollars per acre during 
the period of almost forty years in which Mrs. Rice had resided thereon. 

E. Harrison Cawker was a lad of but six years when brought by his mother 
to Milwaukee, in 1854, and in his youthful days he attended the seventh ward 
school and later the Milwaukee University and the Milwaukee high school. He 
entered Beloit College in 1861 and pursued his studies there for two years and in 




coloxki, [■:. ii \i:i:is«i\ CAW i-;i:i; 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 299 

1864-5 he was a student in the Indiana University, thus laying broad and deep the 
foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning, for it 
was then his disire and ambition to become a member of the bar. With this end 
in view, he matriculated in the Albany Law School at Albany, New York, and was 
numbered among its honor graduates of the class of 1868. On the 10th of June 
of the same year he was admitted to practice at Madison, Wisconsin, before the 
supreme court of the state, and in the same year formed a partnership under the 
style of Cawker & Thayer. After two months, however, Mr. Thayer withdrew and 
Colonel Cawker was joined by his stepfather, James P. Rice, under the firm name 
of Cawker & Rice. Following the retirement of Mr. Rice in 1869, Mr. Cawker was 
joined by A. G. Kshinka, but the firm of Cawker & Kshinka was also of but short 
duration. 

In April, 1870, Colonel Cawker transferred the scene of his labors from Wis- 
consin to Mitchell county, Kansas, where he purchased four quarter sections of 
land, surveying a portion of this into lots and founding Cawker City. Throughout 
the period of his residence in Kansas he was a prominent figure in connection with 
the material development, political history and intellectual progress of his section 
of the state. Mitchell county was at that time upon the frontier and he did much 
toward shaping public thought and action and directing the formulative policy of 
western Kansas. In 1872 he was chosen to represent his district in the general as- 
sembly and through appointment as a member of the military staff of the governor 
of Kansas he acquired the title of colonel, by which he was afterward known. 
He strove earnestly to promote the welfare and progress of the state and did every- 
think in his power to advance the best interests of the commonwealth. In November, 
1873, he began the publication of the Cawker City Weekly Tribune, of which he was 
editor and proprietor. In July, 1875, however, he sold that paper to the firm of 
Topliff & DeYoung, who changed its name to the Echo in August of that year. 
Colonel Cawker had previously had some experience along journalistic lines, having 
been city editor of the Milwaukee News. He was also the founder, editor and pro- 
prietor of the United States Milling and Manufacturing Journal, which he estab- 
lished in May, 1876. after selling his interest in the Cawker City Weekly Tribune. 
He continued the publication of the trade paper until July, 1878, when it was suc- 
ceeded by the United States Miller, which he continued to publish for thirteen con- 
secutive years, making the plant and the paper a valuable one, which he sold to 
S. H. Seamans in November, 1891. His practical knowledge of milling enabled him 
to write most intelligently on the subject and he advocated the introduction of vari- 
ous improved appliances, the later use of which demonstrated his sound judgment 
and keen business insight. His paper did much to educate western millers concern- 
ing modern methods and their opportunities for advancement and progress in their 
chosen field of labor. Colonel Cawker was a resident of Kansas during the 
memorable period of the grasshopper scourge, which caused him heavy losses, as 
it did to thousands of other residents of the state, so that after a sojourn of five 
years in the Sunflower state he again took up his abode in Milwaukee, residing upon 
the old homestead in Wauwatosa until 1891. 

It was in the year in which he finished his law course and was admitted to the 
bar that Colonel Cawker was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Miney Lincoln, the 
wedding being celebrated on the 24th of December, 1868. Mrs. Cawker is a daugh- 
ter of Professor Lowell Lincoln, founder of the first commercial college of Wiscon- 
sin. They became parents of two daughters, Pauline and Lenore, to whom they 
gave every educational opportunity. The latter for some years devoted her life 
to music and painting, and two of her canvases were on exhibition at the World's 
Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and won medals. For the past sixteen 
years her life has been devoted to humane work. Through the efforts of Miss 
Lenore Cawker there was erected in Cawker City a beautiful monument to the 
memory of Colonel Cawker. 

In his political views Colonel Cawker was a democrat but never took active part 
in politics when in Milwaukee. He held membership in Taylor Lodge No. 173, I. O. 
O. F., and Excelsior Lodge No. 28, K. P., and his funeral services were conducted 
under the auspices of the latter order. In the later years of his life Colonel Cawker 
devoted his attention to the management of the large estate which came to him on 
the death of his mother, who passed away October 18, 1890. She still held large 
landed interests which her husband had secured from the government on coming 
to Wisconsin and the property, now very valuable on account of the steady develop- 
ment and growth of Milwaukee, required the undivided attention of Colonel Cawker. 
He therefore disposed of his publishing business and began the systematic improve- 
ment of his realty. His sound business judgment and unfaltering enterprise were at 
once manifest in the increased value of his holdings. He managed his interests 
most judiciously and the market value of his property continually increased, so 
that he was able to leave a handsome estate to his family. He was a man of very 
liberal culture, speaking the French and German languages fluently and possessing 



300 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

a broad knowledge of general literature. It was largely his love of research and 
investigation and his devotion to educational work that led him into the field of 
journalism. Throughout his entire life he remained a close student of men and 
events and was thoroughly informed concerning not only the issues of the day in 
America but also great world problems. He early recognized the fact that the 
keenest joy in life comes from intellectual stimulus and as the years passed on his 
knowledge broadened and deepened, so that he was equally at home in the world of 
affairs and in the world of letters. 



ALBERT ERNST MIELENZ. 

Since 1891 Albert Ernst Mielenz of Milwaukee has been connected with the 
Aetna Life Insurance Company and as the result of ability and initiative has won 
constant promotion until he is now manager of its life, accident and health depart- 
ments for Wisconsin and northern Michigan, having his offices in the First Wiscon- 
sin National Bank building of Milwaukee. He is a native of Wisconsin, born April 
24, 1862, on his father's farm about a mile and a half from Pewaukee. His parents, 
Ernst and Augusta (Wegener) Mielenz, were natives of Germany, the former born 
in 1832. The grandfather, John Michael Mielenz, a man of considerable prominence 
in his locality, was serving as burgomaster of his home village when, because of 
opposition to the military regime, he left Germany and crossed the Atlantic, becom- 
ing a most honored and loyal American citizen. He purchased a farm of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres near Pewaukee in connection with his son-in-law, Michael 
Wegener, and the property is still in possession of the family, being owned by the 
eight children of Ernst Mielenz. The latter passed away in 1908, a prominent mem- 
ber of the community in which he resided, having served for many years in various 
school and township offices. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Augusta 
Wegener, passed away in 1893. She was a daughter of Michael Wegener and was 
brought to this country by her parents, who settled in- Wisconsin in 1849. Her 
father closely studied questions relating to horticulture and to bee keeping and was 
an expert basket weaver. Moreover, he is said to have possessed a poetic nature 
and was most generous, so that his genuine worth made him greatly beloved. He 
had passed the eightieth milestone on life's journey at the time of his demise. 

Albert Ernst Mielenz attended the district schools of Waukesha county to the 
age of seventeen years and afterward pursued a course in the Spencerian Business 
College. He then secured a position as clerk in the hardware store of Gross & 
Weinsheimer, remaining with the firm until its dissolution in the fall of 1881. He 
afterward continued in the employ of Phillipp Gross, who purchased the Kieckhefer 
store on Grand avenue, remaining there until February 28, 1891. It was at that 
date that Mr. Mielenz entered the employ of the Aetna Life Insurance Company as 
special agent under Manager Thomas R. Lynas. In 189 5 he became general travel- 
ing agent for the company, assistant manager in 1902 and in 1911 he was admitted 
to partnership as a member of the firm of Thomas R. Lynas & Company. Follow- 
ing the death of the senior partner in November, 1917, Mr. Mielenz became manager 
of the life, accident and health departments for Wisconsin and northern Michigan, 
receiving his appointment January 1, 1918. He is a man of marked force of char- 
acter and of splendid business ability and so exercises his powers as to produce sub- 
stantial results for the company with which he is associated. 

On the 29th of February, 1888, Mr. Mielenz was united in marriage to Tabitha 
R. Weckerle, a daughter of Joseph Weckerle, who for many years conducted a 
jewelry business on Grand avenue. He won prominence as an expert diamond set- 
ter and his hobby was the collection and mounting of insects and butterflies, the 
same degree of care being demonstrated in the mounting of the insects and butter- 
flies as in the mounting of a diamond. Mr. Weckerle was born in Germany and, 
arriving in this country, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, coming to Milwaukee 
in the '60s. Two of his sons served in the Union army during the Civil war and 
he was a drill master. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Mielenz three children have 
been born: Nora May, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where she made 
Phi Beta Kappa; Addie, now the wife of Charles R. Martin, a sales engineer for the 
Allis-Chalmers Company and who resides in Milwaukee; and Harold F. The last 
named is a civil engineer in the office of the city engineer of Beloit, Wisconsin. He 
graduated from the University of Wisconsin with the class of 1917 and enlisted in 
the army upon the outbreak of the World war. He was commissioned second lieu- 
tenant in the coast artillery and promoted to first lieutenant, being stationed at Fort 
Williams. Portland, Maine. He was ready to sail for active service in France when 
the signing of the armistice ended hostilities. 

Mr. Mielenz maintains an independent course in politics, favoring prohibition 
and law enforcement and supporting the candidate whom he regards as best quali- 




ALBEKT E. MIELKXZ 



HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 303 

fied for office. In religious belief he is a Methodist, having membership with the 
Wesley church of Milwaukee since 1888, and he is now serving as one of its trus- 
tees. He served for some time as superintendent of its Sunday school and is now a 
member of the Area Council of the St. Paul area of the church. He belongs to the 
Gideons, has been national vice president and is now vice president of the state 
organization. He has likewise been president of the city organization, and he is a 
prominent member of the Young Men's Christian Association, with which he has 
been identified since 1884, serving now as a director of both the city and state 
organizations. He holds the chairmanship of the boys' work committee in the state 
association and was chairman of the same committee in the Milwaukee association 
for a period of twenty-five years. Mr. Mielenz has no fraternal relations, his time 
being devoted to his business affairs, his family interests and his church and kin- 
dred work; nor does Mrs. Mielenz attempt to figure in the social circles of the city, 
but their home at 175 Thirty-second street is always hospitably open for the recep- 
tion of their many friends. 



CAPTAIN JOSEPH B. ZAWODNY. 

The life record of Captain Joseph B. Zawodny is an interesting one, by reason 
of the important events with which he has been connected and the active part 
which he has taken in upholding various enterprises and promoting various well 
defined purposes for the public good. He was born in Poland, March 18, 1881, 
a son of Albert and Sophie Zawodny. Having spent the first thirteen years of his 
life in his native country he crossed the Atlantic to America in 1894 with an uncle 
who had returned to Poland after ' living for a time in Milwaukee. It was the 
uncle's purpose to bring the parents of Captain Zawodny to the new world but 
they were both comfortably situated financially and did not care to make the 
removal. However, they allowed their son, Joseph, to accompany the uncle and 
thus Milwaukee gained a substantial citizen. He had previously attended the good 
German schools and he now speaks seven languages: German, Polish, Bohemian, 
Russian, Latin. French and English. His uncle promised to send him to college 
in Milwaukee but on arriving here he put him to work in his tailor shop, where 
Joseph B. Zawodny spent the succeeding four years, thoroughly learning the tailor's 
trade. In 1898, when war was declared with Spain, he volunteered, enlisting as 
a member of Company E, Fourth Wisconsin Infantry, in the month of July. He 
at once went with his regiment to Anniston, Alabama, and was there mustered 
out on the 1st of March. 1899. In April of the same year he enlisted in Company 
K, Wisconsin Infantry, known as the Kosciuszko Guards and served with that com- 
pany until 1902, when he was promoted to a second lieutenancy. In 1904 he was 
advanced to the rank of first lieutenant in the same company and with that com- 
mand he went to the Mexican border in 1916. being located during his period 
of service there at San Antonio, Texas. In October, 1916, he was sent by the gov- 
ernment to the state of Wisconsin on recruiting duty with six sergeants, having 
sub-stations at Madison, Beloit, Janesville, Racine, Kenosha and Camp Douglas, 
besides three stations in Milwaukee. 

Captain Zawodny was released from the United States service in January, 1917, 
and transferred to the National Guard organization of Wisconsin. In May of that 
year he. received from the adjutant general of Wisconsin orders to organize a com- 
pany of infantry in Milwaukee on the south side. At that time there were two 
captains organizing companies on the south side and it looked -as though it would 
be a difficult task for Mr. Zawodny to get a company together. However, he em- 
ployed what appeared to him the only method to accomplish results. He hired a 
band, gave concerts in the parks, also hired automobiles and made speeches until 
he had the young men of the community so enthused that in less than two nionths 
he had more than two hundred men enrolled. On the 19th of June, 1917, he was 
made captain of the company, which he organized and which became Company C, 
of the Fifth Wisconsin Infantry, and left Milwaukee for Camp Douglas on the 
30th of July, 1917, being the first company out of the city. In August of the same 
year this company constituted the advance company going to Waco, Texas. When 
the reorganization took place at Waco, Mr. Zawodny was the only captain of his 
regiment who went through the service and returned to Wisconsin with his com- 
pany. By a single scratch of the pen they became a mounted organization with 
one hundred and ninety horses, thirty mules, eighteen caissons, two three-inch 
pieces, a rolling kitchen and a blacksmith shop and a harness shop. This company 
was composed of Polish people from Russia, Germany and Austria, and out of the 
command there were one hundred and three whom Captain Zawodny was instru- 
mental in having take out their citizenship papers. In January, 1918, they left 
Waco for Camp Merritt, New Jersey, being four days on the trip. Two of the bat- 



304 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

» 
talions of the regiment got away on time but Captain Zawodny was with the third 
battalion and a snowstorm came up which blocked the road, causing them to be 
tour days late in arriving at Camp Merritt. Had this battalion been on time they 
were scheduled to leave on the Tuscania, the only boat which was sunk and which 
had on board two companies of his regiment, several of whose members lost their 
lives. 

Captain Zawodny sailed on the Orduna on the 1st of February, 1918, and 
arrived at Liverpool, England, two weeks later. From there the command pro- 
ceeded to Winchester, a rest camp, which they left on the 21st of February, 1918. 
arriving on the following day at La Havre, France. They left there for Camp 
Coetquidan, France, for an intensive artillery training, being there stationed until 
June 10, 1918, in training for modern artillery warfare. They were equipped with 
French guns, horses and other needed supplies and left for the Alsace sector with 
headquarters at Roppe. From that point on the 3d of July they proceeded to the 
front and received their first baptism of fire at Reddy Farm, Chateau Thierry, 
being in the thickest of the fight of that memorable battle which turned the tide 
of war. It was here the American forces, hastily thrown in, checked the retreat 
of the French, bridging over the break in their line and stopping the advance of 
the Germans. They were ordered to change sectors on the 29th of August, 1918, 
and went to Juvigny, near Tartieres, where they worked with three different divi- 
sions. From that point they entered the St. Mihiel offensive, on which they were 
engaged from the 29th of August until the 7th of September, after which they 
proceeded into the Meuse Argonne forest, where was fought one of the most san- 
guinary battles of the war. From the 26th of September until the 11th of Novem- 
ber, they were in the thickest of the fight, being constantly under enemy fire until 
the armistice parley begun on both sides. When the actual fighting was over they 
were ordered to take the long expected march into Germany and were quartered 
at Rommersdorf, near Coblenz on the Rhine, there remaining until April 22, 1919, 
when they received orders for their return home and left for the embarkation camp 
at Brest. On the 1st of May they sailed, arriving in the United States on the 13th 
of May. Captain Zawodny went with his troops to Camp Merritt and after a rest 
of two weeks arrived at Camp Grant, near Rockford, Illinois, on the 30th of May. 
There he was mustered out on the 13th of June, 1919, and at the present time 
he is on the reserve list with the rank of captain, U. S. A. 

In days of peace Captain Zawodny has been a designer of ladies' clothes for 
several years and in this connection has displayed marked business ability, bring- 
ing him a substantial measure of success. 

In Milwaukee, in 1910, Captain Zawodny was married to Miss Frances Jagod- 
zinski, who was born in this city and is a daughter of Frank and Appolonia 
Jagodzinski, the former deceased. The captain and his wife have two children: 
Sophie and Stanley. In his political views Captain Zawodny is a democrat and re- 
ligiously is connected with the Polish Catholic church. He is a member of the 
Officers' Club of Foreign Wars. The military chapter in his career is a most inter- 
esting one. He has rendered valuable service as a member of the National Guard 
upon the Mexican border and later upon the western front in the great World 
war. No one has ever questioned his loyalty and his fidelity to his adopted coun- 
try, nor his devotion to any cause which he has espoused. Faithfulness is one of 
his marked characteristics and in times of peace he is as true to his country and 
her interests as he was when he followed the nation's starry banner overseas. 



OTTO RATHMANN. 



One of the pioneer granite men of Wisconsin is Otto Rathmann, vice president 
of the American Granite Company, located at Fifteenth and Cleveland streets. 
He was born in Gera, Germany, on the 11th of January, 1877. His father, Julius 
Rathmann. also a native of that country, is now residing in Milwaukee. For many 
years he engaged in teaching school and as an educator has won widespread promi- 
nence. He has compiled German textbooks for use in the Milwaukee schools, like- 
wise other schools in the United States, and he is now one of the directors of the 
American Granite Company. The Rathmanns were a literary family and the grand- 
father of Otto Rathmann was a publisher in Germany. Julius Rathmann came 
to the United States in 1883 and two years later the remainder of the family came 
to the New World. The mother of the subject of this review was Lina Schmidt, 
whose death occurred in 1917. She was born in Germany, a daughter of Justus 
Schmidt, and came to the United States two years after her husband. 

Otto Rathmann received his early education in the schools of his native land 
and later attended the German-English Academy. In 1895 he was graduated from 
the East Side high school in Milwaukee and the following three years taught in 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 305 

the Milwaukee public schools. At the termination of that time he became asso- 
ciated with his present company, then known as the Milwaukee Monument Com- 
pany, as office manager. In his business life being a persistent, resolute and ener- 
getic' worker, possessing strong executive powers and a progressive spirit, he won 
constant promotion until in 1903 he was made president. He was active in that 
office until 1920 and it was in 1905 that the company took its present corporate 
name, that of the American Granite Company. In 1920 John I. Beggs became 
president of the corporation and Mr. Rathmann is now holding the office of vice 
president. With extensive quarries at Lohrville and Granite Heights, Wisconsin, 
the corporation does a wholesale business in quarrying and preparing granite and 
its product goes all over the United States. In color the granite resembles mahog- 
any and it is known on the market as Wisconsin Mahogany Granite. This state is 
the third in the union in the production of granite monuments. 

Mr. Rathmann has been twice married. On the 3d of July, 1903, he married 
Miss Charlotte Ludovici, a daughter of William Ludovici, and her death occurred 
on the 29th of December, 1919. Five children were born to their union: Otto R., 
attending the South Division high school in Milwaukee; Charlotte R., attending 
high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Elsa R., a student in the South Division 
high school in Milwaukee; Fritz R., enrolled in the Milwaukee public schools; and 
Robert R., a student in the Milwaukee public schools. On the 21st of June, 1921, 
Mr. Rathmann was again wedded, taking Mrs. Huldah Carlson for his wife. She 
is a daughter of Isaac Olson, a native of Sweden, and was born in Granite Heights, 
Wisconsin, where her father was superintendent of the quarry owned by the Ameri- 
can Granite Company. Her father is still active in that position. 

In politics Mr. Rathmann is an independent republican and although he is 
alive to the duties and responsibilities of a good citizen he has never taken an active 
part in political affairs nor has he desired public preferment. The religious faith 
of the family is that of the Lutheran church. Mr. Rathmann belongs to the Elks 
and is identified with the South Division Civic Association, of which he is presi- 
dent, the Association of Commerce and the Accountants League. For recreation 
he turns to motoring and all outdoor sports and he is particularly fond of litera- 
ture and art. Mr. Rathmann is one of the best known men of Milwaukee, respected 
and honored for his conservative methods and sound business judgment. Mr. Rath- 
mann belongs to that class of men, who, equipped with a liberal education and 
innate business ability, have recognized the opportunities and possibilities before 
them. He has met the obligations of life with the confidence and courage that 
come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and an habitual re- 
gard for what is best in the exercise of human activities. 



AUGUST KIECKHEFER. 



Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century and through the first 
two decades of the twentieth century August Kieckhefer was closely associated 
with Milwaukee, her interests and her development. As a contractor and builder 
he contributed to her architectural adornment and as head of the Kieckhefer Ele- 
vator Company he was a mo"st active factor in promoting the commercial progress 
of the city. He was also prominent in political circles and he had many admirable 
traits that endeared him to his fellowmen to a degree that equalled the prominence 
which he gained in business circles. Mr. Kieckhefer was born in Milwaukee. April 
1. isr.4. being the second son of Charles and Justine Kieckhefer. The father, a 
native of Germany, came to the United States in April, 1851, and here took up 
the business of contracting and building, which he followed for many years. He 
was numbered among the pioneer residents of the city and his labors were an ele- 
ment in its continued development and improvement. Through an extended period 
lie ranked with the leading builders of Milwaukee and he was recognized as one 
who made deep impress upon the progress of the city along many lines, owing to 
his public-spirited devotion to the general good. 

August Kieckhefer was a pupil in the parochial and public schools of the Cream 
City and also attended the Spencerian Business College, thus being well qualified 
by thorough training for life's practical and responsible duties. He was only about 
fourteen years of age when he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
lowed for six years. He gained an intimate knowledge of every phase of the busi- 
ness and at length began contracting on his own account with the result that many 
of the handsome structures of the city stand as monuments to his skill, ability and 
enterprise. He was the builder of the Immanuel Presbyterian church, also the 
Pfister block on Broadway, the Phillip Best Brewing Company plant on East Water 
street and in company with his brother, Charles, he erected the Exposition build- 
ing. For eight years he was a partner of Henry Buestrin in general contracting 

Vol. Ill— 2 



306 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

and building and the firm occupied a place of leadership in connection with their 
chosen field of endeavor. Turning his efforts in still another direction, Mr. Kieck- 
hefer in 1883 organized the A. Kieckhefer Elevator Company, filling the office of 
secretary and manager and contributing in notable measure to the success of the 
undertaking, the business becoming one of large proportions. In all that he 
attempted he displayed sound judgment coupled with untiring energy and he never 
failed to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertook, so direct- 
ing his efforts that he ultimately reached his objective. In 1892 he organized 
and incorporated the Milwaukee Brewing Company, which soon built up an exten- 
sive and profitable business and in 18 94 he was elected by the directorate to the 
office of president of the company. He continued to' serve as president 6f the 
A. Kieckhefer Elevator Company from 1895 until 1918, when he resigned the 
position. He afterward acted in an advisory capacity for about a year but with- 
drew from active connection with the business in 1919 when his sons took over 
the business and Mr. Kieckhefer retired. Another field of his activity was that 
of the iron industry, for in 1918 he became manager of the Globe Gray Iron 
Foundry Company and was elected president of the Wisconsin Foundrymen's Asso- 
ciation. In 19 20 he withdrew from that position and sold out his interest in the 
foundry. 

In June, 1876, Mr. Kieckhefer was united in marriage to Miss Anna Buestrin, 
a daughter of Henry and Catherine Buestrin, the former being president of the 
Buestrin Construction Company. Mr. and Mrs. Kieckhefer became the parents 
of four sons and five daughters: Emma, now the wife of George W. Phipps; Henry 
J.; Arthur C; Edwin F.; Meta C; August H.; Anna E.; Hilda L.; and Norma H. 
The interests of Mr. Kieckhefer centered in his family and he found his greatest 
happiness in promoting their comfort and welfare. 

In his political views Mr. Kieckhefer was ever an earnest and stalwart repub- 
lican and his opinions carried weight in the councils of his party. He served con- 
tinuously for many years, beginning in 1884 as a public official. In that year he 
was elected to the common council and the value of his service is indicated in two 
subsequent reelections. He represented the seventh ward and supported all meas- 
ures that he believed were beneficial to the city's interest in any way. In 189 2 
he was elected register of deeds of Milwaukee county and discharged the duties 
of the office faithfully and efficiently for two years. Mr. Kieckhefer was a stock- 
holder in the Builders and Traders Exchange and also a prominent member of 
the Chamber of Commerce, cooperating heartily in every plan of that organization 
for the city's benefit and upbuilding. He belonged to the Elks Club and to the 
Milwaukee Athletic Club. His friends and all who met him in any relation of 
life found him a genial, courteous gentleman and many there are who attest to 
his kindly and sympathetic disposition. He was thoroughly reliable in all his 
dealings and was a man of pronounced views and marked force of character. He 
died very suddenly in the Northwestern depot in Chicago when ready to take the 
train to his home in Milwaukee, his death occurring July 16, 1921. He was sixty- 
seven years of age and had led a life of great activity and actuated at all times 
by a spirit of enterprise that made him a forceful factor in the community. Prog- 
ress was greatly promoted through his efforts and the public interests of Milwaukee 
were largely advanced by reason of the fact that August Kieckhefer was one of 
the residents of this city. 



JOHN FORSYTH. 



It has oft been said that death loves a shining mark and calls those whom we 
can ill afford to lose. Such was the feeling which spread over Milwaukee when it 
was learned that John Forsyth had passed away on the 14th of September, 1921. He 
was a young man of but twenty-eight years who had made for himself a most credi- 
table position in business circles and who had gained the respect and confidence of 
his fellowmen in every relation of life. Born in Milwaukee on the 17th of February, 
1893, he was a son of Charles Sprague and Margaret (Knight) Forsyth, the latter 
a daughter of Bishop Knight, the fourth Episcopal bishop of the Milwaukee diocese. 
Charles Sprague Forsyth was born in Mobile. Alabama, and was a son of Colonel 
Charles Forsyth, who commanded a regiment in the Federal army and died when 
his son Charles was a young lad. The mother afterward came with Charles S. 
Forsyth to Milwaukee when he was still quite young and he acquired his education 
in the public schools of this city. After his school days were over he entered the 
leather business in connection with the William Becker Leather Company and re- 
mained in that association for several years, thoroughly acquainting himself with 
the various phases and details of the trade. In 1910 he organized the Forsyth 
Leather Company of Wauwatosa, of which he was made president, and as chief 




JOHN FORSYTH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 309 

executive officer he continued actively in the business to the time of his death, which 
resulted from an automobile accident on the 7th of November, 1914. Mr. and Mrs. 
Charles Sprague Forsyth were the parents of five children: Elizabeth, the wife of 
John T. Johnston of Milwaukee; John, whose name introduces this review; Mar- 
garet, the wife of Victor Morris of Milwaukee; William Herbert; and Charles 
Sprague. 

John Forsyth obtained his education in the schools of his native city and when 
his textbooks were put aside in 1911 he joined his father in the leather business, 
starting out in a humble position in order to thoroughly learn everything connected 
with the trade. Steadily he worked his way upward until he was made secretary at 
the time of his father's death and this position he continued to fill until his own 
demise, which occurred on the 14th of September, 1921. 

It was on the 2d of September, 1916, that Mr. Forsyth was united in marriage 
to Miss Mary Jordan, a daughter of Robert Anson and Edith (Taylor) Jordan, na- 
tives of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth became parents of three 
children: Mary Elizabeth, John, Jr., and Laura Sprague. 

Mr. Forsyth was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, being the eldest son 
of the sixth generation of the descendants of Robert Forsyth, who was an officer of 
the Revolutionary war. The religious faith of Mr. Forsyth was indicated by his 
membership in All Saints cathedral and his political views were those of the repub- 
lican party. He stood loyally for every cause which he championed and every prin- 
ciple in which he believed. He was a young man alert and energetic, wide-awake to 
the possibilities that seemed to open before him, and yet he was cut down ere he 
had reached the prime of life. He leaves behind him a memory that is enshrined 
in the hearts of all who knew him, for his friends enjoyed his companionship to a 
marked degree and those who were associated with him in the closer circles of the 
home found him a dutiful son and a faithful and loving husband and father. 



EDWARD R. RYAN, M. D. 

Dr. Edward R. Ryan, who as a representative of the medical profession is 
devoting his attention to the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear and nose, was 
born August 31, 189 2, in the city in which he still makes his home. His father, 
Daniel F. Ryan, is a well known resident of Milwaukee. The son was accorded 
good educational privileges and is a graduate of the Marquette Academy, while 
later he won his Bachelor of Science degree on completing a course in the Mar- 
quette University. He then became a medical student in that institution and 
gained his professional degree in 1917. Immediately afterward he joined the 
United States navy in the regular service and was with the navy for more than 
three years, receiving his discharge at the Annapolis Naval Academy on the 13th 
of May, 1920, with the rank of lieutenant. During six months of the time he 
was with the Grand Fleet on the United States Battleship Arkansas. 

The war over, he came to Milwaukee, where he opened an office in the Provi- 
dence building and has since concentrated his efforts and attention upon the 
treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat. His ability in this field is pronounced 
and he is most conscientious in the performance of all of his professional duties. 
He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Med- 
ical Society and the American Medical Association and he is serving on the faculty 
of the Marquette Medical College in connection with the eye department and also 
as a member of the staff of the Milwaukee County Dispensary. 

Dr. Ryan has membership in the Roman Catholic church and he also belongs 
to the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He 
enjoys a game of golf and other outdoor sports and by reason of this outdoor exer- 
cise maintains that even balance in physical development which is so necessary 
in the performance of the arduous labors that devolve upon the physician and 
surgeon. 



ANDREW OSWALD. 



Andrew Oswald, who passed away in Milwaukee. December 6. 1918. was for 
many years in public office and was at all times faithful and capable in the dis- 
charge of the duties that devolved unon him. He was born in Wittenberg, Ger- 
many, June 6, 1836, and was a young man of twenty years, when in 1856 he came 
to America. The year following his arrival on the shores of the new world he 
made his way to Milwaukee and in 1860 he here engaged in the shoe business, 
in which he continued without interruption for more than a half century, or until 



310 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

1912, when he sold that business and retired from active lite. His establishment 
throughout the period was located on Reed street. 

Mr. Oswald also figured quite prominently in connection with public affairs 
and served as supervisor of the fifth ward from 1880 until 1888. He was also 
a trustee of the Chronic Insane Asylum at Wauwatosa, being appointed to that 
position by the governor in 1903 and continuing in the office until a change was 
made, doing away with the trusteeship. 

Mr. Oswald was married to Louise Kerler, a daughter of Louis and Wil- 
helmina Kerler, who were natives of Germany and came to the United States 
in early life, settling first at Hales Corners, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Oswald 
became the parents of two children: Ida and Paula, both at home. By a former 
marriage Mr. Oswald also had a daughter, who is now Mrs. Henry Boers of Mil- 
waukee. Mr. Oswald passed away December 6, 1918. His wife passed away 
April 28, 1918. He was a lifelong republican and did all in his power to pro- 
mote the growth and insure the success of the party. He was likewise well known 
in many social organizations. He belonged to the Friday Bowling Club, which 
was organized in 1870 and he had membership in Excelsior Lodge, No. 175, A. P. 
& A. M., having a life membership in the organization. He also belonged to 
Armenia Lodge, I. O. O. F., and to Walker Council. He was much interested 
in the different societies with which he became identified and his aid and coopera- 
tion were at all times given to promote their interests and secure their growth. 
He never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for 
in this country he found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization 
advanced steadily, while at the same time he found that social companionship 
which makes life worth living. 



ARTHUR RICHARD BARRY. 



Arthur Richard Barry is an attorney of Milwaukee whose legal learning, analyti- 
cal mind and readiness with which he grasps the points in an argument all combine 
to make him one of the able lawyers practicing at the Wisconsin bar. Earnest effort, 
close application and the exercise of his native talents have won him prestige in his 
chosen calling. 

Mr. Barry was born in Fremont, Waupaca county, Wisconsin, March 17, 1877, a 
son of Michael and Jeannette (Sumner) Barry, the former a native of Ireland, while 
the latter was born in the state of Michigan. They settled at Phillips, Wisconsin. 
in 1878 and the family has since been represented in this state. The father is still 
a practicing attorney of Phillips, where he has now resided for forty-three years. 
During two terms he filled the office of district attorney and has always been prom- 
inent in democratic politics. He has likewise been grand commander of the grand 
lodge of Masons for the state of Wisconsin, occupying the office from 1918 until 

1920. , . ,_ 

Arthur Richard Barry, after obtaining his education in the graded and high 
schools of Phillips, Wisconsin, being graduated therefrom with the class of 1893, 
entered the Wisconsin Academy at Madison and completed his studies in that in- 
stitution in 1895. He afterward became a law student in the University of Minne- 
sota and finished his course in that institution in 1900. He was then admitted to 
the Wisconsin bar and entered upon active practice in Phillips, where he remained 
until 1907. In the meantime he had been called to several local offices, serving as 
district attorney for two terms, from 1901 until 1905. In 1907 he came to Milwau- 
kee and was connected with the legal department of the Wisconsin Central Railway 
under Thomas H. Gill until 1909. From that time until 1919 he practiced as a mem- 
ber of the law firm of Gill & Barry and since the dissolution of this partnership he 
has continued in practice alone, concentrating his efforts and attention upon cor- 
poration law and interstate commerce practice. He represents the coal companies 
in the interstate business and is regarded as one of the well known corporation 
lawyers of Wisconsin. His practice has long been extensive and of an important 
character. He is remarkable among lawyers for the wide research and provident 
care with which he prepares his cases and his success in a professional way affords 
the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. In addition to his practice he is 
president of the Industrial Traffic Corporation. 

On the 6th of May, 19 01, Mr. Barry was married to Miss May Monroe, of Fond 
du Lac, Wisconsin, and they have become parents of three children: Michael R., 
Margaret Jeannette and Sidney H. The family residence is at 5945 Wells street in 
Wauwatosa. 

During the World war period Mr. Barry was in Washington, D. C, in connection 
with rate matters before the shippers war board. He has long been a pronounced 
republican, recognized as a leader in party ranks. He served as chairman of the 



. 


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^_y^f pT) 







AI.'THUR B. BARRY 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 313 

republican central committee of Milwaukee county from 1918 until 1920 and has 
always taken active interest in guiding the destinies of the party. He is a Mason, 
having membership in the lodge and chapter, and he is also connected with the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, with the Fraternal Order of Eagles and with 
several leading clubs of Milwaukee, including the Wisconsin Club, the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club, the City Club and the Washington Park Driving Club. Along strictly 
professional lines his membership connection is with the Milwaukee County Bar 
Association, of which he was president from 1917 until 1919, and the Wisconsin 
State Bar Association. The greatest characteristic of his mind is strength, his pre- 
dominant faculty is reason and the aim of his eloquence is to convince. 



HERBERT C. DALLWIG, M. D. 

Dr. Herbert C. Dallwig, physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, who is specializ- 
ing in internal medicine and radiology, has his offices in the Colby-Abbott building. 
He is a native son of this city and notwithstanding the old adage that a prophet 
is not without honor save in his own country he is steadily advancing to a com- 
mendable and enviable position in professional circles. His birth occurred Feb- 
ruary 10, 1891, his father being the late William E. Dallwig, founder of the W. E. 
Dallwig Seed Company at No. 34 Juneau avenue, Milwaukee, where a wholesale 
and retail business is now being carried on by his elder son, Curt J. Dallwig. The 
father was born in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, and the greater part of his mature 
life was spent in Milwaukee, where in 1880 he founded the seed business. This 
he steadily developed, placing it upon a substantial basis, and was identified there- 
with until his death, which occurred July 7, 1916. The mother, who is still living 
in Milwaukee, was in her maidenhood Miss Wilhelmina Schoembs. Their family 
numbered six children, two sons and four daughters, of whom five are living. 

Dr. Dallwig of this review was graduated from the East Division high school, 
now the Riverside school, in 1910, winning valedictorian honors in his class, which 
numbered about one hundred members. He afterward pursued an academic course 
in the University of Wisconsin and was graduated there with the Bachelor of 
Science degree in 1914, while in 1915 the university conferred upon him the Master 
of Science degree. His medical studies were pursued in the Harvard Medical 
School and his professional degree was conferred upon him in 1917. For a year 
thereafter he was an interne in the Milwaukee County Hospital and then served 
for six months in the World war with the rank of first lieutenant, being on duty 
at the American University in Washington, D. C, studying new kinds of gases. 
He received his discharge in the capital city, December 23, 1918, after which he 
began practice in Milwaukee, where he has remained. He is on the staff of the 
Milwaukee County Dispensary. He belongs to the Milwaukee Medical Society, the 
Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association. 

Dr. Dallwig belongs to the Sigma Xi, an honorary scientific fraternity, to the 
Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary college fraternity, to the Sigma Sigma, an honorary 
medical fraternity and to the Nu Sigma Nu, a medical fraternity. He has member- 
ship in the University Club and finds his most congenial companionship with those 
men to whom scientific attainment and the acquirement of knowledge is not in- 
compatible with the enjoyments and pleasures of life. 



CAPTAIN AMOS P. FOSTER. 

In the death of Captain Amos P. Foster, Milwaukee lost one of her best known 
citizens. Plain and unassuming in manner, his life record, nevertheless, contains 
many incidents more thrilling than any tale of fiction. He passed through various 
perilous experiences during his service in the Civil war and the remainder of his 
active life he was in the employ of the government in connection with the light- 
house service, the latter part of his life commanding the lightship Warrington. 

Captain Foster was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1834, his parents being 
Jacob and Margaret (Hutton) Foster, both of whom were natives of New England, 
while the paternal grandfather was a native of England. In his youth Captain 
Foster was a pupil in the public schools of Brooklyn and afterward attended the 
North River Military Academy. Having passed the examination for admission to 
the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he continued his studies there for a brief time, 
but soon afterward entered upon active life as a sailor. In fact, as a boy he sailed 
on a ship in the China trade and advanced steadily through his loyalty, capability 



314 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

and efficiency until he was given command of the Horatio, a full-rigged ship, which 
sailed between New York and China. 

With the outbreak of the Civil war, however, Captain Foster put aside all busi- 
ness and personal interests and enlisted in the United States navy. He also had 
two brothers who were shipmasters in the Liverpool and China trade and who 
served in the United States navy during the Civil war. Captain Poster became 
master and lieutenant commander of vessels and during his active service had 
command of the gunboats, Delaware and Commodore Perry. He was twice wounded 
and was many times in most dangerous positions. On the 11th of October, 1861, 
he destroyed a rebel schooner, having on board guns for a Confederate battery, 
the schooner having sailed up the Potomac river and entered a creek emptying into 
that stream. Captain Foster volunteered for the service which he performed that 
very day and the official result was that Senator Cowan of Pennsylvania offered a 
resolution tendering a vote of thanks from congress to Captain Fost.er. The gun- 
boat, Commodore Perry, was the first to enter Richmond after the fall of that city 
and to the time of his death Captain Foster had in his possession the flag carried 
on that memorable day. Early in April, 18 65, the Commodore Perry, under com- 
mand of Captain Foster, was lying in the James river about half a mile above the 
Dutch Gap canal. The lines surrounding Lee's army were being drawn tighter and 
closer and the final blow was about to be struck. Suddenly the sound of a heavy 
firing was heard from the direction of Richmond upon which Captain Foster at 
once went ashore in his gig and climbed to the top of the old crow's nest, the 
signal tower, from which he could have an excellent view for miles around. In 
about an hour he returned and in a few minutes the flagship signalled the Perry: 
"Get under way. Take the lead to Richmond. Be very careful of torpedoes." 
Anchor being weighed, the Perry was commanded to steam up the river. The trip 
was exceedingly perilous as it was necessary to remove the torpedoes placed as 
an obstruction to the progress of the vessels. Captain Foster's men removed fifty- 
one of the torpedoes and the fleet reached the city without mishap. During the 
struggle Captain Foster participated in some very thrilling engagements and had 
many marvelous escapes. These torpedoes being demolished, the rest of the fleet 
was enabled to proceed up the river with comparatively little danger. When the 
Perry reached Fort Darling she ran aground on the obstructions placed across the 
river. Orders were given the chief engineer to pay no attention to the engine bells, 
but to force the vessel forward and backward as hard as possible until she was 
worked off. While this was going on the United States Steamship Malvern, Admiral 
Porter's flagship, with President Lincoln on board, came up astern of the Perry. 
As it was impossible for the admiral's vessel to pass the Perry, owing to the nar- 
rowness of the river at that point, the President and admiral had to be conveyed 
to Richmond in the latter's barge. In attempting to force the barge through the 
narrow passage, that boat was caught close to the steamer's immense paddle wheel 
and the engineer not being aware of that fact, commenced turning the wheel over. 
The president and admiral and crew of the barge shouted and Captain Foster, 
remembering his instructions to his engineer, ran to the engine-room hatch and 
called to that officer to stop. The immense wheel was stopped none too soon, for 
had it made one more half turn it undoubtedly would have resulted in the injury 
to (if not the death of) the whole party. Then the admiral, rising up on his barge 
and in no very good humor, shouted. "Where is the captain of this vessel?" "Here 
I am. sir." replied Captain Foster, leaning over the ship's rail. "Well." said the 
admiral, indignantly, "when you back off her. don't you go to Richmond, but anchor 
down below and allow the other vessels to go up before you." Without a moment's 
hesitation Captain Foster, in his usual tone of voice, responded, "Aye, aye, sir," 
and in a moment more the barge and boat went on. By the aid of tugs, the Perry 
was dragged with a crash head first through the obstruction and continued on its 
journey up the James river, being actually the first ship bearing national colors 
to drop anchor before that city. A few hours later the Malvern dropped anchor 
near there and during the evening President Lincoln and Admiral Porter went 
on board of her. The greatest ordeal of the whole campaign was now before Cap- 
tain Foster as he was obliged to go on board the flagship and report to the admiral 
the presence of his vessel but it had to be done. Rowing over to the Malvern and 
entering the cabin Captain Foster found the President and admiral seated there. 
Saluting, the captain announced, ."Admiral, I have the honor to report the arrival 
of the United States steamship, Commodore Perry, at Richmond." When the war 
was over Captain Foster resigned from the navy and his time was devoted to 
various mercantile interests until 1891, in which year he again entered the govern- 
ment employ, becoming captain of the lighthouse steamer, Dahlia, which was his 
first experience on fresh waters. From 1891 until 1895 he remained in the office 
of the lighthouse engineer and in the latter year was placed in command of the 
lighthouse boat, Warrington, in which capacity he continued until 1910, when he 
resigned his position in connection with the lighthouse service. 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 315 

On the 30th of June, 1878, Captain Foster was married to Miss Eliza McHugh, 
a daughter of John and Catherine (Walsh) McHugh, who were natives of Ireland 
and came to the United States in 1825, settling in Michigan, where they spent their 
remaining days. Captain Foster had been previously married in 1856 to Miss 
Jacqueline Stevens, who passed away, August 14, 1876, leaving two daughters 
and a son: Mrs. Mary Blake, now living in Cleveland, Ohio; Mrs. Margaret D. 
Clark of Detroit, Michigan; and John R., a resident of Los Angeles, California. 

Captain Foster was always a consistent member of the Roman Catholic church 
and his political support was ever given to the republican party, of which he re- 
mained a stalwart adherent, although never an office seeker. He figured promi- 
nently in the Wisconsin Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, 
of which he was at one time senior vice commander and he also belonged to E. B. 
Wolcott post, G. A. R. He served as recorder of the Loyal Legion for several 
years. An interesting incident occurred at one of the meetings of the Legion when 
Captain Foster met Captain Robert D. Smith, C. S. A., who was a second sergeant 
of Company B, Second Tennessee Regiment during the Civil war. Captain Smith 
produced a shell which was used as a weight in a clock owned by his daughter, 
a shell which Captain Foster had fired from his boat at the boat on which Captain 
Smith was stationed. 

Captain Foster departed this life, May 20, 1916, at the age of eighty-two years. 
His life was in many respects an interesting and eventful one, connecting him with 
various incidents which figure in American history. He commanded the respect 
and confidence of all and he was always a most entertaining companion because 
of his many reminiscences concerning his naval experiences on both fresh and salt 
waters. 



BENJAMIN VINCENT DELA HUNT. 

Benjamin Vincent Dela Hunt is prominent in the financial circles of Milwaukee 
as cashier of the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank, of which he is likewise a direc- 
tor. He is one of Milwaukee's native sons, his birth having occurred on the 9th 
of April, 1871. His father, Patrick Dela Hunt, passed away in 1910. He was 
born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and came to this country, locating in Milwaukee, 
at the age of nineteen years. He engaged in the dry goods business and won a 
substantial success in that connection. His father was James Dela Hunt. Mrs. 
James Dela Hunt was before her marriage Miss Ellen Gray of Galena, Illinois, 
a daughter of Thomas Gray. Her father was a native of Canada and a mining 
engineer of prominence. The death of Mrs. James Dela Hunt occurred in 1911. 
An uncle of the subject of this review, John Dela Hunt, was a captain in the Union 
army during the Civil war and participated in most of the important engagements 
of that conflict. 

In the acquirement of an education Benjamin Vincent Dela Hunt attended the 
public and parochial schools of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee high school and then 
entered the Milwaukee National Bank, now the First National Bank, as messenger. 
His advancement was rapid and he soon became assistant cashier, a position he 
retained for twenty years. During that time he won many patrons for the bank 
and his services were such as to win high commendation from that bank's offi- 
cials. In September, 1912, he resigned his position and became cashier and direc- 
tor of the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank, an institution of about six or seven 
years' standing. In addition to these duties he has other business interests and 
is president of the Badger Savings Building & Loan Association. 

On the 15th of June, 1905, Benjamin V. Dela Hunt was united in marriage to 
Miss Julia Graves, a daughter of James Graves. Her father was born at Graves 
End, England, a town named in honor of the family, and coming to Milwaukee 
at an early day he won prominence as a manufacturer. Four children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Dela Hunt: Mary Graves Dela Hunt, a graduate of Holy 
Rosary School of Milwaukee; Benjamin V. Dela Hunt, Jr., attending the Holy 
Rosary School; Robert Graves Dela Hunt, and David Graves Dela Hunt, also stu- 
dents at the Holy Rosary School. 

Fraternally Mr. Dela Hunt is identified with the Knights of Columbus and 
he is navigator in the fourth degree. He is likewise an Elk, belonging to Milwaukee 
Lodge. He is a member of the Milwaukee Athletic and Kiwanis Clubs and is active 
in the interests of the Association of Commerce. For recreation he turns to swim- 
ming and walking and also enjoys fishing and other outdoor sports. His wife is 
well known in the club and musical circles of Milwaukee and is an accomplished 
pianist, having received her training in the Sacred Heart Convent of Lake Forest, 
Illinois. Thoroughness is one of Mr. Dela Hunt's marked characteristics and there 
is no detail of the banking business with which he is not familiar. Those who 



316 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

know him, and he has many friends, esteem him highly as a man of genuine per- 
sonal worth, as a business man of ability and as a citizen who is eyer loyal to 
the best interests of the community. 



REV. LOUIS B. JURASINSKI. 

Among the Polish priests who have officiated in Milwaukee and have greatly 
endeared themselves to their parishioners is the Rev. Louis B. Jurasinski, who is 
pastor of St. Stanislaus Catholic church. He was born in 1875 in Klossowo. in 
the province of Posen, Poland, and is a son of Stephen and Joanna Jurasinski, 
who came to Milwaukee in 1880. when their son, Louis B., was but five years of 
age. He acquired his early education in the parochial schools here and afterward 
attended Marquette University, in which he completed his course in 1897. He 
also spent four years as a student in St. Francis Seminary and took holy orders 
on the 29th of March, 1903. He was then assigned to St. Casimir's church for a 
period of four months, after which he was transferred to SS. Cyril & Methodius 
parish, where he continued for four years as assistant. He then organized St. 
John Kanty parish and was instrumental in erecting all of the buildings and greatly 
promoting the church work. There he remained until September 1, 1915, when 
he was transferred to St. Stanislaus parish. He has purchased additional property 
and has thoroughly organized the work of the parish along many lines. This is 
one of the strong parishes of the city, the church having a membership of about 
one thousand families, while there are eight hundred and forty pupils in the 
school. The demands made upon Father Jurasinski. therefore, are very heavy 
but he meets all with a zeal and consecration to duty that has brought about good 
results in the strengthening of the parish and the extension of its work and 
influence. 



CHARLES JOHN KALLMEYER. 

Milwaukee numbers among her prominent citizens, Charles John Kallmeyer, 
superintendent of the Milwaukee district of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 
with offices on the sixth floor of the Merchants & Manufacturers Bank building 
at 216 West Water street. He is alert, progressive and enterprising and overlooks 
no detail in regard to the business interests of the company with which he is asso- 
ciated, and thoroughness and diligence characterize all of his work. 

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 21st of July, 1864, a son of Herman 
and Adelaide (von Schulten) Kallmeyer, both deceased, the former passing away 
in January, 1918, and the latter in February, 1920. The father was born in Olden- 
burg, Germany, and came to this country when but nine years of age with his two 
brothers, his parents having died. He engaged in the shoe business in Cincinnati, 
achieving a substantial success, and there resided until his death, a prominent and 
highly esteemed citizen. He was a northern sympathizer during the Civil war and 
served throughout the period of that conflict in the Union army. The mother of 
our subject was also a native of Germany, having been born in Hanover, and she 
came to this country with her parents when eleven years of age. She was a 
descendant of an old and honored family, some of whom participated in the revolu- 
tion of 1848. Her father, J. H. von Schulten, was a friend of Carl Schurz, the 
German-American statesman, journalist and general who took part in the insurrec- 
tion in the Palatinate and Baden, on the repression of which he was arrested but 
escaped to Switzerland, though he lost the greater part of his property by con- 
fiscation. Mr. von Schulten was a wealthy and influential man. 

Charles John Kallmeyer received his education in the public schools of Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, until he was twelve years of age, at which time he entered a leather 
store as office boy and helper, a connection he maintained for over three years, 
paying strict attention to the duties assigned him. He next entered the employ 
of the Crane & Breed Manufacturing Company, making caskets, hearses, etc., and 
during the seventeen years of his connection with that company Mr. Kallmeyer 
won constant promotion, resigning in 1893 after serving as foreman of the hard- 
ware department for some time. In that year, however, he became associated with 
the Metropolitan Insurance Company as agent with headquarters first in Cincinnati 
and later in Findlay, Ohio, and other cities. His rise to the position of assistant 
chief was rapid, for he had been in the service of the company but eight months. 
For eleven months he had charge of the agency at Wichita, Kansas, as superin- 
tendent, and was then transferred to Sedalia, Missouri, where he remained for ten 




CHARLES J. KALLMEYER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 319 

months. For thirteen months he was active in that connection in Chicago and in 
1902 was transferred to Milwaukee, where he has remained ever since. 

On the 8th of November, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kallmeyer and 
Miss Magdalena Koustmer, of Newport, Kentucky, a daughter of John Koustrner, 
a wealthy hardware dealer of that place. Her father was a native of Cincinnati 
but removed to Newport at an early day and there he was successfully identified 
with business for sixty-four years. In later life he removed to Milwaukee, where 
he passed away about 1916. Two daughters have been born to the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Kallmeyer: Mildred and Aline. Mildred is now the wife of Eldon Van 
Romain, a chemist of Milwaukee, and they have one daughter, Dorothy. Aline 
is the wife of Lawrence Donahue, a grain dealer of Chicago. 

Mr. Kallmeyer gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, having 
firm belief in the efficacy of the principles of that party as factors in good gov- 
ernment. He has never taken an active part in political affairs since his removal 
from Ohio and has never sought nor desired public office. Fraternally Mr. Kall- 
meyer is an Elk, belonging to Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46, and as a Mason belongs 
to Independence Lodge, No. 80, F. & A. M. of Milwaukee; Wisconsin Chapter, No. 
1, R. A. M.; Wisconsin Commandery, Xo. 1, K. T.; Wisconsin Consistory; and 
Tripoli Temple of the Shrine. Mrs. Kallmeyer is a member of the Milwaukee 
Chapter of the Eastern Star. As a representative of one of the most important 
business interests of Milwaukee, Mr. Kallmeyer is a member of the Association 
of Commerce, and his social connections are with the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 
the Ozaukee Country Club, of which he is a director; is president of the 
Merkel Lake Hunting & Fishing Club; and president of the Association of Wiscon- 
sin and Minnesota Superintendents of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. 
He is a man of keen business and executive ability and is a director in several 
prosperous companies in Milwaukee. Mr. Kallmeyer was thrown upon his own 
resources at an early day and learned his lessons in the school of experience. He 
has thoroughly identified his interests with those of his community and can be 
counted upon to do his part in furthering the public welfare. 



OSCAR WILLIS WILLIAMS, D. O. 

Dr. Oscar Willis Williams, who for twenty years has successfully engaged in 
the practice of osteopathy in Milwaukee, was born on a farm near Marshalltown, 
Iowa, February 23, 1872, and is the eldest in a family of seven children, all but 
one of whom are living. The father, Joseph B. Williams, was born at Nevada, 
Ohio, and served in the Union army as a member of Company F, One Hundred and 
Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the close of hostilities he removed 
to Iowa, settling on a farm near Marshalltown in 1865, having made the trip from 
Ohio to his destination in a covered wagon drawn by a pair of mules. In that state 
he continued successfuly to engage in farming until his death, which occurred 
January 9, 1912, when he was seventy-five years of age. He married Miss Julia 
Taft, who is related to the family of William Howard Taft, former president of the 
United States and now chief justice of the United States supreme court. Mrs. 
Williams makes her home with a daughter in Brewster, Minnesota. 

Dr. Williams was reared on farms in Iowa and in Minnesota and in the acquire- 
ment of his education was graduated from the Buena Vista College at Storm Lake, 
Iowa, with the class of 1897. The following year he entered the Milwaukee Col- 
lege of Osteopathy, a school which has since passed out of existence, and was 
graduated therefrom with the D. O. degree in the class of 1902, being a member 
of the first class to complete the course in that institution. He then opened an 
office in Milwaukee, where he has continued in steady practice for twenty years 
and during seventeen years of this period he has occupied offices in the Majestic 
building. He has long enjoyed an extensive practice of an important character 
and ranks very high professionally, being recognized as one of the ablest 
osteopathic practitioners in this part of the state. He belongs to the Wisconsin 
State Osteopathic Society and also to the National Society and at all times, through 
the proceedings of these bodies, keeps in touch with the advancement that is being 
made in the profession. He is most thorough in his work, his diagnosis is care- 
fully made and his thorough understanding of the anatomy of the human body has 
enabled him to effect many cures. 

On the 24th of November, 1898, Dr. Williams was married to Miss Rose Bate- 
man of Faribault, Minnesota, who is also a doctor of osteopathy, having graduated 
from the Milwaukee College of Osteopathy in the same class as her husband. They 
have become parents of four children: Leah, Alma, Harold and Roger, all of whom 
are in school, the eldest, however, having completed her studies, and is domestic 
science teacher in the Kenosha public schools. Dr. Williams is a Royal Arch 



320 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft. His attention, however, 
is chiefly concentrated upon his professional interests and he allows nothing to 
interfere with his work. His ability is pronounced and he has the professional 
support of many families who for years have called upon him for service when- 
ever there has been need in their homes. 



REV. BRONISLAW F. CELICHOWSKI. 

Rev. Bronislaw F. Celichowski, pastor of the Catholic church of SS. Cyril and 
Methodius of Milwaukee, was born in Posen, Poland, in 18T2, his parents being 
Vincent and Louisa Celichowski, who in the year 1886 crossed the Atlantic and 
became residents of Milwaukee. The son obtained his early education in the grade 
schools of his native country, where he remained to the age of fourteen years and 
later he attended Marquette College for a period of six years, while his studies 
of philosophy and theology were pursued in St. Francis Seminary. Thus having 
thoroughly qualified for the work of the priesthood he was ordained on the 19th 
of June, 1898, and for three years thereafter was assistant at St. Hedwig's church. 
He was then made pastor of that church, where he continued his labors for a period 
of nine years and was then transferred to St. Casimir's church on Clark and 
Breemer streets, his labors there covering a period of five years. His next assign- 
ment made him pastor of the church of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and here he has 
remained, doing effective work in the upbuilding and organization of the parish. 
While connected with St. Hedwig's and also with St. Casimir, he enlarged the 
parish schools and during his work in his present parish he has not only enlarged 
the buildings but has lifted the debt on the church property. His parish is now 
in splendid financial, as well as spiritual, condition. There are eighteen hundred 
pupils in the parish school, this being one of the largest Polish schools in the city. 
Rev. Father Celichowski has three assistants who aid him in carrying on the work 
of the church, which numbers about one thousand families. 



EDWARD F. SEYBOLD. 



Edward F. Seybold, president of the Waukesha Milk Company of Milwaukee, 
was born on the 10th of February, 1875, in Waukesha county, Wisconsin, his par- 
ents being George and Mary (Snowbank) Seybold, both of whom were natives of 
Germany, although the family has been represented in Wisconsin for more than 
three-quarters of a century. It was about 1847 that his parents left their native 
land and came to the new world, taking up their abode upon a . farm in Waukesha 
county, where Mr. Seybold devoted his remaining days to the care and cultivation 
of his land. 

Edward F. Seybold was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the 
best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. His education was ac- 
quired in the district schools and he gained in the free out-of-door life that strength 
and purpose which has enabled him to wisely and successfully direct his business 
affairs in later years. In 1900 he became identified with the dairy industry by- 
entering the establishment of his brother, George Seybold. who had organized the 
Waukesha Milk Company of Milwaukee in the year 1887. This was the first organ- 
ized industry of this kind in the city. Later he was joined by his younger brothers, 
Michael and Fred, and about five years later Edward F., the youngest boy of the 
family became identified with the business. George Seybold died in 1907 and his two 
sons, George J. and Clarence, are today identified with the business. The company 
stnrted with a few cans of milk and one wagon and something of the steady and 
substantial growth of the undertaking is shown in the fact that today they have 
sixty-four wagons, while their plant has a bottling capacity of fifty thousand bottles 
per day. In addition they have a large trade with hotels, restaurants and establish- 
ments of that character where the milk is taken in cans. They are also large pro- 
ducers of butter, and the trade in that commodity is an extensive one. Edward F. 
Seybold is now president and treasurer of the company, with Frank Seybold as vice 
president, and William C. Spindler as secretary. The business has been thoroughly 
organized and most efficiently managed, and the success of the undertaking is 
largely the outcome of the intelligent direction and forceful determination of the 
Seybold brothers. 

In the year 1901 Edward F. Seybold was married to Miss Catherine Reynolds, a 
daughter of John and Mary Reynolds, of Milwaukee. They have become parents of 
two children: Mary, a teacher of Milwaukee; and John Edward, who is in school. 

Fraternally Mr. Seybold is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of 




i:i.\\ \RD I' Sh"l BOLD 



Vol. 111—2 1 



> 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 323 

Elks and with the Knights of Pythias, while in the Athletic Cluh and in the Optimist 
Club he also holds membership. He is likewise a communicant of the Zion Evan- 
gelical church, and his life has ever been guided by manly principles and worthy 
purposes. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and while he 
never seeks nor desires office he is always loyal to the cause which he espouses and 
at all times stands tor progressive citizenship. 



FRANK OLIN THOMPSON. 



Since 1913 Frank Olin Thompson has been assistant director of the Wisconsin 
Conservatory of Music and has gained much prominence in that connection. In- 
heriting the love of music from his maternal grandfather he studied piano in Ger- 
many and since returning to this country has given many recitals in different cities 
and has also appeared with various orchestras as soloist. 

Frank Olin Thompson was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on the 7th of June, 
1881, a son of Tyler and Anna V. (Paradis) Thompson. His father was a master 
mechanic and in addition to being in business on his own account was associated 
with the O'Laughlin Stone Company at Ives, Wisconsin, and Bellewood, Illinois. 
His death occurred in 1914 and came as a severe blow to his many friends. Mrs. 
Thompson is making her home in Racine. She was a daughter of George A. Para- 
dis, a well known physician, likewise a violinist of ability. Upon the outbreak 
of the Civil war he joined the Union army and was with Sherman on his cele- 
brated march to the sea. 

In the acquirement of an education Frank Olin Thompson attended the public 
schools of Brillion and Racine, Wisconsin. He graduated from the Brillion high 
school and soon afterward returned with his parents to Racine, where for a year 
he worked for his father as machinist helper. He subsequently entered a com- 
mercial college, where he learned bookkeeping and stenography and after com- 
pleting his course there entered the law office of Owen & Lukes at Racine as clerk 
and stenographer. For one and one-half years he was active in that capacity 
and during that time did considerable court reporting. After resigning his posi- 
tion he associated with the Western Lime and Cement Company of Milwaukee, 
first as stenographer and later as assistant bookkeeper. For seven years he was 
an employe of that concern and rose from one position to another until he was 
made cashier. In the meantime he had been studying music with Hans Bruen- 
ning, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work, and severing his 
relations with the lime and cement company he went to Europe and there studied 
piano under Prof. Heinrich Barth of the Royal High School of Music for three 
and one-half years. Incidentally he thoroughly familiarized himself with the 
German language and became a warm friend of his instructor and accompanied 
him on many journeys. In 1906 he returned to the United States and locating in 
Chicago with his parents, was engaged in teaching there. He made many public 
appearances and after a year in Chicago removed to Milwaukee. For some time 
he gave private piano instruction and then joined the faculty of the Wisconsin 
College of Music. After a year with that institution he accepted a position as 
director of the pianoforte and theory departments at the Des Moines Musical Col- 
lege at Des Moines, Iowa, and during the four years of his activity in that con- 
nection he enjoyed many pleasant associations and gained substantial success. In 
1912 he returned to Milwaukee and became a member of the faculty of the Wis- 
consin Conservatory of Music, giving instruction in piano and harmony. In 1913, 
after one year of efficient service with the conservatory, he was made assistant 
director, in which capacity he is now active. Mr. Thompson has won many friends 
for the institution and his musical ability and personal magnetism have placed 
him in the front ranks of musicians throughout the state. He was one of the 
organizers of the Civic Music Organization, composed of a number of earnest and 
public-spirited musicians of Milwaukee, banded together for the purpose of pro- 
moting musical interests. For two years he was director of the organization, vice 
president for a year and is now holding the office of president. 

On the 4th of August, 1909, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss 
Adele Gardner, a daughter of Andrew Gardner of Milwaukee. Since age conferred 
upon Mr. Thompson the right of franchise he has given his allegiance to the re- 
publican party but has neither sought nor desired public preferment as a reward 
I'm- party fealty. His religious faith is that of the Christian Science church and he 
holds membership in the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, in Milwaukee. Mr. 
Thompson belongs to no secret societies and no clubs, with the exception of the 
City Club of Milwaukee. In the line of his profession, however, he holds mem- 
bership in the Wisconsin Music Teachers' Association, being chairman of the Ex- 
amining Board; in the Wisconsin Federated Music Clubs; and in the Civic Music 



324 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Association of Milwaukee, of which he is president. Mr. Thompson finds recrea- 
tion in reading and the library in his home at 125 8 Nineteenth street contains the 
best in literature. 



AUGUST SPRINGOB. 



When death called August Springob Milwaukee lost one who had made for 
himself a most creditable and enviable position in business circles and one who 
had been most active in connection with the German Catholic societies of the city. 
Along those lines he had become widely known and wherever he went he gained 
the respect, confidence and warm regard of those with whom he was associated. 
Mr. Springob was born February 21, 1870, at Albringhausen, in Westphalia, Ger- 
many, his parents being Casper and Katherine (Ruttmann) Springob. The first 
eleven years of his life were spent in his native land and he then accompanied his 
parents on their emigration to the United States, the family home being estab- 
lished in Milwaukee in the same year. He had begun his education in the schools 
of his native land and continued his studies in St. Anthony's parochial school of 
Milwaukee. He likewise attended Mayer's Commercial School and in 1886 he 
started out in the business world as an employe of the Excelsior Publishing Com- 
pany. He never severed his connection with the business from that time until 
death removed him from earthly labors. He steadily worked his way upward, 
acquainting himself more and more largely with the business and eventually be- 
coming one of the directors. His activity was a valuable asset in the successful 
conduct of the enterprise. 

That was only one phase, however, of Mr. Springob's life, for he became a 
leading factor in connection with the German Catholic societies. He was secretary 
of the Central Society of the United States, a national organization, for a period 
of ten years and he was also recording secretary of the Staatsverband of Wisconsin 
for fifteen years. He likewise served as the president of the Family Protective 
Association of St. Francis parish and he was president of St. Francis parish of 
Milwaukee for a considerable period. He served on the directorate of the Mar- 
quette Life Insurance Company and as one of the directors of the Excelsior Mutual 
Building & Loan Association. He belonged to the Catholic Order of Foresters, 
to the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and to the Bonaventura Benevolent Society. 
He likewise had membership in St. Anthony's Benevolent Society and he was vice 
president of the Wisconsin Staatsverband, vice president of the Central Relief 
Association and one of the organizers and codirectors of the Catholic Women's 
League of Wisconsin. He seemed to leave no opportunity untouched that would 
promote the work of the church undertaken by the lay members. He did every- 
thing possible to advance the organizations with which he was identified and his 
benevolent spirit was constantly expressed in helpfulness toward his fellowmen. 
He was of a most generous spirit and while his benevolences were of an unosten- 
tatious character there are many who have reason to bless his memory by reason 
of the timely assistance which he rendered. 

On the 26th of September. 1893, Mr. Springob was married to Miss Minnie 
Illmann. a daughter of William and Josephine ( Miksch) Illmann. She was born 
in Milwaukee. May 28, 1870, while her parents were natives of Austria and came 
to this city in 1867. Here her father was engaged in business for many years 
and also served as supervisor of the town of Lake. He died in 1915. Mr. and Mrs. 
Springob became the parents of eight children: Benno Joseph: Norbert C; August; 
Carola M.; Felix and Felice M., twins, the former deceased; Delores M. and Roman, 
who have also passed away. 

The death of Mr. Springob occurred June 21, 1921, and was the occasion of 
deep and widespread regret throughout the country, wherever he was known. He 
never aspired to office, yet was a leader in politics and exerted considerable in- 
fluence over public thought and action. His chief work, however, was his business 
and the German Catholic societies with which he was identified. 



GEORGE L. WAETJEN. 



George L. Waetjen, the president of the firm operating under the name of 
George L. Waetjen & Company, has been thus engaged in the manufacture and 
wholesaling of veneers and ply woods at Milwaukee since 1910. He is a native 
of this city, his birth having occurred on the 1st of June, 1883, his parents being 
August and Bertha (Kuehn) Waetjen, who were natives of Germany, but left that 
land in 1882 and crossed the Atlantic to the new world. 



HISTORY OF .MILWAUKEE 325 

Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, George L. Waetjen ob- 
tained his early education in the public schools of Milwaukee and afterward pur- 
sued a course in a business college, thus qualifying for life's practical and respon- 
sible duties. He made his start in the business world as errand boy in the employ 
of the H. Niedecken Company, with which he remained for a year. He was after- 
ward associated with the Milwaukee Harvester Company, entering that employ as 
an office boy but steadily working his way upward through positions of greater 
and greater responsibility until he had charge of the office. In the meantime he 
had attended evening school and at the age of sixteen years he took a position as 
stenographer with the Canada-Atlantic Transit Company. One week after starting 
with this firm he became cashier and continued to occupy that position for four 
years. On resigning his position he became identified with the Rockwell Manufac- 
turing Company, manufacturers of sash and doors, and with that house became 
purchasing agent, continuing in the position until the fall of 1909. It was in 
January, 1910, that he established business on his own account and under his own 
name to engage in the jobbing of veneers and ply woods. In 1911 he admitted 
Walter O. Tredupp to a partnership and they incorporated their business under the 
style of George L. Waetjen & Company in February, 1912. Mr. Waetjen has been 
at the head of the undertaking from the beginning and his enterprise, progressive- 
ness and sales ability have been important features in the steady growth and expan- 
sion of their trade. 

In 1908 Mr. Waetjen was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Wimmer, a daugh- 
ter of William Wimmer, a resident of Milwaukee. His political endorsement is al- 
ways given to the republican party, which he has supported since age conferred 
upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Association of Commerce and 
his interest in all public affairs is never of a perfunctory order. On the contrary 
he gives his aid and support to many projects for the public good and stands as a 
stalwart advocate of all those activities which are a matter of civic virtue and of 
civic pride. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club and is prominent in Masonic 
circles, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while with the 
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert, being at all times 
a worthy exemplar of the teachings and basic principles of Masonry, which recognizes 
the brotherhood of man and the obligations thereby imposed. 



RAYMOND JULIAN DALTON, M. D. 

Dr. Raymond Julian Dalton, well known in Milwaukee as a thoroughly trained 
physician and surgeon, his office being situated in the Wells building at the corner 
of Wisconsin and Milwaukee streets, was born July 9, 1895, in this city. His father, 
Harry J. Dalton, is acting as salesman in a tea and coffee house. He wedded Mary 
H. Smith, who is also living. Their son, Dr. Dalton, is their only child. He was 
graduated from the Marquette Academy with the class of 1914 and during the four 
years of his connection with that school he won five different medals, taking the 
highest honors during two of the four years. The Bachelor of Science degree was 
conferred upon him by Marquette University in 1917 and he gained his Bachelor 
of Arts degree from the same institution in June, 1919. His medical studies were 
also completed at Marquette in January, 1919, and thus he qualified for active 
practice as a physician and surgeon. Back in his early school days he won a Mar- 
quette scholarship by reason of the excellent work which he did in the Holy Rosary 
parochial school in 1910. During the five years of his study in the university he 
took an active part in the affairs of the school and won membership in several 
honorary fraternities. He was president of his class in both his sophomore and 
senior years in the medical school. During his general college course he took an 
active part in the debating and literary societies and he was also on the editorial 
staff of the Marquette Tribune and the Marquette Hill Top. 

After winning his M. D. degree Dr. Dalton served as interne in Milwaukee County 
Hospital for eleven months and for one month in South View Municipal Hospital, 
while for six months he was thus connected with St. Francis Hospital at La Crosse, 
Wisconsin. He was also identified with the New York Lying-In Hospital for four 
months and spent six months in Bellevue Hospital of New York. His work in New 
York city was along the line of obstetrics and he gained a high measure of efficiency 
in that branch of practice. Locating in Milwaukee, he opened his office in August, 
1921, and although one of the younger representatives of the profession here, he 
bids fair soon to win a place of prominence and present indications seem to be 
that his future career will be well worth watching. He is instructor on the obstet- 
rical staff of Marquette University and in his practice specializes in obstetrics and 
gynecology. He is the senior supervisor of the Milwaukee County Hospital and he 



326 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical 
Society and the American Medical Association. 

In religious faith Dr. Dalton is connected with the Roman Catholic church and 
he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, which draws its membership only from 
people of that faith. He served as a first lieutenant in the One Hundred and 
Twentieth Field Artillery Medical Corps of the Wisconsin National Guard and in 
May, 1920, he successfully passed an examination before the National Board of 
Medical Examiners. In his profession his training has been thorough and compre- 
hensive, his practical experience broad and valuable, and the indications are that he 
will make rapid progress in his practice. 



VICTOR WILLIAM ALEXANDER. 

Victor William Alexander, conducting an extensive and growing business under 
the name of the Corporation Coupon Envelope Company of Milwaukee, was born in 
Princeton, this state, February 19, 1887. His father, William A. Alexander, now 
president of the Alexander Company of Milwaukee, was born in Germany and came 
to Wisconsin in childhood days. He married Amelia Moser, who was born October 
4, 1863, in this state, and is a daughter of Frederick H. Moser, who was also born 
in Germany and who was a minister of the Evangelical church. 

Victor W. Alexander pursued his early education in the public schools of Mil- 
waukee and started out in the business world as an office boy in the employ of the 
Milwaukee Harvester Company, with which he remained for a year. Later he was 
associated with the Milwaukee Trust Company for fifteen years and rose to the posi- 
tion of teller. In 1917 he severed his connection with the trust company and has 
since concentrated his entire time and attention upon the interests of the Corpora- 
tion Coupon Envelope Company. Three years before leaving the trust company he 
had undertaken the work of formulating and developing this business, which has 
now grown to extensive proportions. The company manufactures the Victor "coupon 
in sight" envelopes and this is the only business of the kind in the country. His 
services in this connection have been extended to nearly three thousand institutions 
in every state in the Union. Mr. Alexander has invented and constructed special 
machines for the manufacture of the product and the enterprise has fast become one 
of the important productive industries of the city. 

On the 6th of April, 1912, Mr. Alexander was united in marriage to Miss Helen 
Raduenz, a daughter of August Raduenz, of Milwaukee, and they now have one 
child, Carol Jane. In politics Mr. Alexander maintains an independent course, nor 
has he ever sought or desired office. His religious faith is that of the Evangelical 
church. Fraternally he is connected with Harmony Lodge No. 142. A. F. & A. M.; 
Calumet Chapter, R. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T.; and Tripoli Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Association of Commerce and is inter- 
ested in its efforts to promote the civic standards and activities of the city. He is 
a lover of music and displays marked skill as a violinist, possessing a natural gift in 
that direction which was further developed through study under an old German 
master. He has found much of the pleasure of life in music and he also enjoys 
various phases of nature and the outdoor life, including motoring and ca'noeing. 
His initiative spirit has been manifest in the development of a business unlike that 
of any other in the United States and by reason of his'thoroughness, enterprise and 
sagacity he has won substantial success in instituting and directing a new business 
concern. 



HENRY FINK. 



Henry Fink, octogenarian and one of the honored citizens of Milwaukee, is. 
like a great percentage of the residents here, of German birth and lineage and like 
the large number of those who came from the fatherland to the new world he has 
been most loyal to the interests of his adopted country. When America was in the 
throes of Civil strife he wore the blue uniform that pronounced him a defendant of 
the Union cause and in later years he most capably served for a long period in public 
office. Now at the age of eighty he is enjoying well earned rest in an honorable 
retirement from labor. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, September 7, 1840, his 
parents being John Engelhart and Catherine (Dielmann) Fink. The first twelve 
years of his life were spent in his native country and then he came to the United 
States in company with his parents, who established their home on a farm in the 
town of Oak Creek. Milwaukee county. Farm labor then largely occupied the time 
and attention of Henry Fink until he reached the age of twenty, when he came to 




VICTOR W. ALEXANDER 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 329 

the city, securing the position of a porter in a store in Milwaukee. He was thus 
employed until August 17. 1862. For more than a year the country had been en- 
gaged" in Civil war and feeling that his first duty was to aid in the preservation of 
the Union he enlisted as a private of Company B, Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry 
on the 17th of August, 1862. On the 5th of October of the same year the regiment 
left Wisconsin for the south, going direct to Fairfax Court House, where the com- 
mand was attached to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Eleventh Army Corps. 
With that command Mr. Fink participated in some of the hotly contested battles of 
the war He took part in the expedition to Thoroughfare Gap, was at New Balti- 
more and Warrenton. On the 27th of April, 1863, the Eleventh Corps under com- 
mand of Major General O. O. Howard left Stafford Court House and entered upon 
the Chancellorsville campaign, crossing the Rappahannock river at Kelly's Ford. 
On the 1st of May the corps took position on the right of the Federal line, bearing 
tin' brunt of the terrible onslaught of the Confederate forces under General "Stone- 
wall" Jackson. At length the Union line wavered and then fell back and in the 
attack Mr. Fink was wounded, a musket ball piercing his right arm and rendering 
it useless. He was then sent to the field hospital at Falmouth, where he received 
medical and surgical aid and on the 7th of January, 1864, he was transferred to 
Harvey Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, there continuing until he received an hon- 
orable discharge May 10, 1864, being no longer fit for military duty at the front. 

Mr. Fink at once returned to Milwaukee and through the intervening years has 
been variously connected witli business and public interests. In 1878 he began 
dealing in land and in addition to his activity in the field of real estate he also be- 
came financially interested in the Wilkin Manufacturing Company, makers of ma- 
chinery. 

Mr. Fink's capability for public office led to his election for service as a member 
of the county board of supervisors. He was elected on the republican ticket and 
filled the office from 1870 until 1874. Two years later he was chosen to represent 
his district in the state legislature and in 1877 he received appointment to the 
position of United States marshal, filling the office during the administrations of 
Presidents Hayes, Garfield and Arthur. He retired on the 10th of May, 1885, and 
then after a period of four years was again called to office in his appointment on 
the 13th of June, 1889, as collector of internal revenue for the first district of Wis- 
consin. His incumbency in that position covered a quarter of a century. He re- 
tired in 1914 and since that time he has devoted some attention to the manufacture 
of chemicals in partnership with his son, Edward, but is now practically retired, 
enjoving in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. 

Mr. Fink has been married twice. On the 3d of May, 1866, he wedded Miss 
Catherine Streiff, who passed away in 1883, leaving three children: Albert, a 
violinist; Edward, who is in business in Wauwatosa; and Emma. On the 12th of 
September, 1883, Mr. Fink wedded Miss Rosa Blankenhorn, a native of Cedarburg, 
Wisconsin. 

For a period of almost threescore years and ten — the Psalmist's allotted span 
of Hfe — Henry Fink has lived in the Badger state and this entire period has been 
passed in or near the city of Milwaukee. There are few men who have longer wit- 
nessed the growth and progress of this section and at all times he has given his 
influence and his work to aid in measures for the public good. His life record covers 
a most momentous period in the history of city, state and nation. Great, indeed, 
are the changes in the methods of life of today from that of his boyhood. He has 
lived to witness the introduction of many inventions which have revolutionized trade 
and commerce and he has rejoiced in every forward step taken. His own record is 
a creditable one of faithful service and faithful performance of duty in every rela- 
tion of life. He was long a public official and his course in office was ever char- 
acterized by the utmost fidelity to duty. 



ROLAND F. COERPER. 



Roland F. Coerper is the president and general manager of the Western Motor 
Supply Company, engaged in jobbing in automobile accessories and supplies at 
Nos. 434-3 6 Jefferson street. Throughout the period of his residence in Milwaukee 
he has been active in connection with the automobile industry and by reason of his 
close application, his thoroughness, his persistency of purpose and his progressive- 
ness he is meeting with substantial success in his present undertaking. He has al- 
ways lived in Wisconsin, his birth occurring in Hartford, Washington county, on 
the 3d of March, 1889, his parents being John C. and Adah (Johns) Coerper. His 
grandfather in the paternal line was Christopher Coerper, a native of Germany, 
who became a resident of Milwaukee at an early day. The father, John C. Coerper, 



330 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

now living in Hartford, where he is engaged in the lumber business, was born in 
Milwaukee and is a representative of a family that has been closely associated with 
the business development of the city and state for an extended period. J. C. Coer- 
per is also interested in Coerper Brothers Lumber Company here, having been the 
original purchaser. He is also director in the North Avenue State Bank. The 
grandfather, Christopher Coerper, was a carriage-maker, while two of his sons, 
George C. and William P. Coerper, are engaged in the lumber and banking business 
in this city, connected with the North Avenue State Bank. The father of Roland 
F. Coerper is the president of the City Bank of Hartford and all are men of pro- 
gressive and enterprising spirit, who carry forward to successful completion what- 
ever they undertake, while their labors constitute an important force in public 
progress and upbuilding as well as in the advancement of their individual fortunes. 
John C. Coerper was united in marriage to Adah Johns, who passed away in 1921. 
She was a daughter of August Johns, a native of Germany, who at an early day 
settled at Hartford, Wisconsin. 

It was in the public schools of his native city that Roland F. Coerper began 
his education, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, while later he 
attended the Stout Training School at Menomonie and was graduated from the high 
school of that city. When his textbooks were put aside he became his father's 
assistant in the lumber business, working in that way for a year at Hartford, after 
which he matriculated in the University of Wisconsin and completed his course 
there in 1912, becoming a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity during his 
college days. From Madison Mr. Coerper came to Milwaukee, where he entered 
the employ of the Milwaukee Motor Company, becoming stock manager, a position 
which he filled for a year. In 1914 he organized and incorporated the Western 
Motor Supply Company, of which he has since been president and general man- 
ager. They are jobbers in all kinds of automobile hardware, tires, equipments and 
tools, their territory covering Wisconsin and upper Michigan. They are the largest 
exclusive jobbers in the section covered and the business is enjoying a substantial 
growth under the steady directing hand of Mr. Coerper, who closely studies every 
feature of the trade and the market and by honorable business dealing and progres- 
sive methods has gained a very liberal patronage. 

On the 31st of May, 1913, Mr. Coerper was married to Miss Alice Ringling, a 
daughter of August Ringling of the firm of Ringling Brothers, proprietors of the 
far-famed circus. Mrs. Coerper was born in Minneapolis and by her marriage 
has become the mother of two sons, Roland F. and Philip Ringling. Mr. Coerper 
belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, of which he is treasurer and is also a mem- 
ber of the board of directors. He is likewise a director of the Rotary Club and of 
the Blue Mound Country Club and he also has membership in the Wisconsin Club 
and the Milwaukee Gun Club. His name is on the membership list of the Asso- 
ciation of Commerce and his cooperation is heartily given to all the well organized 
plans and projects of that body for the city's upbuilding, the extension of its trade 
relations and the advancement of civic standards. One of his marked characteris- 
tics in his love of music and he also takes an active interest in the production of 
amateur theatricals. While in the University of Wisconsin he was production and 
general business manager of the Wisconsin Dramatic Society. He has frequently 
had charge of entertainments given by the Milwaukee Athletic Club. His wife was 
a classmate of Mr. Coerper in the University of Wisconsin and she, too, displays 
considerable dramatic ability and talent along theatrical lines. She was graduated 
from the University of Wisconsin with the Bachelor of Arts degree and is a lady 
of liberal culture. During the World war Mr. Coerper made a one hundred per 
cent record in war work activities among the automobile men, having charge of 
that division and participating in every campaign. In days of peace he is equally 
loyal to the interests of the government, standing at all times for those forces which 
make for progress and improvement in the community, the commonwealth and 
country. 



JULIUS HOWARD PRATT, PH. D. 

Julius Howard Pratt, member of the faculty of the Milwaukee University School, 
was born at Montclair, New Jersey, August 20, 1860. His parents, Julius Howard 
and Adeline F. (Barnes) Pratt, were natives of Connecticut but in 1858 removed to 
New Jersey, where they spent their remaining days. 

Professor Pratt was reared in his native city and obtained his early education 
in the schools of Montclair, after which he attended Yale University and was there 
graduated in 1882. During his student days he became a member of the Psi Upsilon. 
being identified also with Beta Chapter of Psi Upsilon fraternity and the Wolf's Head 
Society of Yale and of Phi Beta Kappa. Following the completion of his university 




JULirs IIOWAIID PEATT 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 333 

course in 1882 he taught in the public schools of Montclair, New Jersey, for two 
years, after which he returned to Yale and devoted three years to postgraduate study, 
"winning the Ph. D. degree in 1887. During a part of this time he also engaged in 
teaching and was instructor at Cornell University for the year 1887-88. Later he 
spent two years as one of the professors in the Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illi- 
nois, and in 1890 he came to Milwaukee, where he accepted the principalship of the 
Milwaukee Academy, continuing with that institution until 1909. He then assisted 
in organizing the high school department of what was then the German-English 
Academy now the Milwaukee University School and through the intervening period 
has been dean of the academic department. This school was founded by Peter Engel- 
mann in 1851 and has long been one of the strong educational institutions of the 
state. The highest standards are now maintained in methods of instruction, and 
Professor Pratt has been a contributing factor to the desired results secured. 

In December, 1892, Professor Pratt was married to Miss Annie Barclay, a daugh- 
ter of D. Robert and Mary (Shepard) Barclay, of St. Louis, Missouri. Mrs. Pratt 
passed away in 1913. 

In his political views Professor Pratt maintains an independent course. He was 
one of the charter members of the University Club of Milwaukee and also has 
membership in the City Club, the Art Institute, in the Schoolmasters Club, the 
Classical Association of the Middle West and Archaeological Institute of America. 
For many years he was a member of St. Paul's church. In every relation of life 
he has measured up to the highest standards of American manhood and chivalry 
and is a valued representative of one of the honored old New England families. 



REV. PIUS STUTZER, O. M. 

Rev. Pius Stutzer. pastor of St. Francis Catholic church of Milwaukee, was 
born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 8, 1878, a son of Joseph Stutzer, a well 
known teacher and organist. Rev. Father Stutzer was but ten months old when 
taken by his parents to Morrillton, Arkansas, where he lived to the age of eight 
years. He afterward went to Little Rock, where his father was a teacher in St. 
Edward's parish. It was there that Rev. Father Stutzer first attended school and 
he was but eleven years of age at the time of his father's death. His mother then 
sent him to his uncle in Pittsburgh, who was an organist, connected in his profes- 
sional capacity with Trinity church. In April of the same year he removed to 
Jersey City, New Jersey, and there Rev. Father Stutzer attended St. Peter's College, 
a Jesuit institution. Later removal was made to Yonkers, New York, where he 
continued for a year and next went to St. Lawrence College, Mount Calvary, Wis- 
consin, where he completed his college course. On the 21st of July, 1897, he en- 
tered upon his novitiate of the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order at 
Detroit, Michigan, where he continued for a year. At the end of that time he was 
transferred to Milwaukee to complete his studies in St. Francis monastery and 
was ordained to the priesthood on the 24th of July, 1904. Since then he has 
been stationed at St. Francis church, which under his guidance has steadily de- 
veloped in both a material and spiritual way. 



ELMER L. ARNOLD. 



Elmer L. Arnold, president and treasurer of the S. E. Tate Printing Company, 
which is conducting what has been termed the "most progressive and up-to-date 
printing establishment in Milwaukee," was born in Adams county, Iowa, on the 
5th of April, 1873, his parents being Charles B. and Mary R. Arnold, who were 
farming people of that state. The son completed his education by study in the 
high school at Creston, Iowa, and in a business college and then started out to 
provide for his own support. He was first employed in country newspaper and 
job printing offices, acting as carrier on the papers and learning the trade in every 
phase and branch of the business. There is no work around a printing office that 
he has not done and his broad and thorough experience has constituted the founda- 
tion for his present-day success. Step by step he has worked his way upward and 
has from time to time reached positions of larger responsibility until today he is 
one of the most forceful factors in printing circles in Milwaukee, occupying the 
enviable position of president and treasurer of the S. E. Tate Printing Company, 
having one of the largest and best equipped printing establishments of the state 
and controlling a business of large extent and importance. Neither has he con- 
fined his efforts solely to this line, although to manage an establishment of this 
character would be considered sufficient business activity by the great majority of 



334 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

men. Mr. Arnold, however, is now president of the Safety Truck Brake Company 
and he was one of the incorporators of the American Pounders Securities Company, 
which elected him a director for the three-year period. 

On the 20th of March, 1910, in this city, Mr. Arnold was married to Miss Mary 
Ellen Ward, a daughter of M. L. Ward of Columbus, Ohio. Their religious faith 
is that of the Methodist church and in political belief Mr. Arnold is a republican, 
supporting the principles of the party yet never seeking nor desiring office as a 
reward for party fealty. He is a prominent figure in Masonic circles in Milwaukee, 
having membership in Capital Lodge, No. 110, P. & A. M., of Des Moines, Iowa, 
while the advanced degrees have connected him with Wisconsin bodies. He be- 
longs to Wisconsin Chapter, R. A. M.; Wisconsin Commanderv. K. T.; Des Moines 
Consistory, S. P. R. S.; and Tripoli Temple, A. A. O. X. M. S. Of the Optimist 
Club he is a director and the fact that he is identified with an organization of 
this character is indicative of his mental attitude on all questions. He has always 
looked on the bright side of things and has been actuated by a spirit of courage 
and determination that has enabled him to make the best possible use of his 
time and opportunities and to reach his objective in everything that he has planned. 



GUSTAV A. HIPKE. M. D. 



Dr. Gustav A. Hipke, physician and surgeon, specializing in diseases of women, 
has his office in the Wells building and is recognized as one of the foremost medical 
men of Milwaukee. 

Dr. Hipke was born on a farm in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, April 25, 
1867. His father, Jacob Hipke, a native of Germany, came to the United States 
when a youth of eighteen years and first made his way across the country to 
Illinois, where he worked on the Illinois Central Railroad for a time. After spend- 
ing two years in that connection he returned to Germany and brought his widowed 
mother, Mrs. Margaret Hipke, and nine brothers and sisters to the new world. 
At this time the family settled in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Jacob Hipke after- 
ward devoted his attention to farming. Of this family, consisting of mother and 
ten children, only one is living, George Hipke of Erie, Pennsylvania, who has 
reached the age of seventy-three years. Jacob Hipke was united in marriage to 
Elizabeth Schroeder, a native of Germany, and both parents are deceased. They 
had a family of seven children, all of whom are living, and two of the sons are 
physicians, one of these being Dr. William Hipke of Marshfield, Wisconsin. An- 
other son, Arthur Hipke, is a druggist located at Chilton, Wisconsin, and Alfred T. 
Hipke is a prominent banker and owner of a canning factory at New Holstein, 
Wisconsin. The last named is the youngest of the four brothers. There are three 
sisters: Mrs. Anna Piper of Sheboygan. Wisconsin; Cecelia, who is living at New 
Holstein: and Milla, who is a trained nurse located in Honolulu. 

Dr. Gustav A. Hipke, the fourth in order of birth in this family, was reared 
on his father's farm and began his education in the rural schools of the neighbor- 
hood, going two and a half miles to the nearest school until he had attained the 
age of sixteen years. The following year he began teaching in the school in which 
he had previously been a pupil and thus he earned the money with which he met 
his college expenses. He became a student in Lawrence College, a Methodist institu- 
tion at Appleton, Wisconsin, which he attended for three years and then entered 
upon preparation for a professional career by becoming a student in the Medical 
College of the State of Illinois, from which he was graduated with the M. D. 
degree in 1S90. He at once began practice in Casco, Wisconsin, where he remained 
for eight years, and later he took postgraduate work in New York city, in Paris, 
Berlin, Vienna and London through a period of two years, coming under the in- 
struction of some of the most eminent physicians of both the old and the new 
world. Following his return to America he settled in Milwaukee in 1902 and has 
here been located for twenty years, having his office during the past fourteen years 
in the Wells building. He has specialized throughout this period on diseases of 
women and displays eminent ability in this branch of practice. He is the author 
of many treatises on medical topics and is a member of the teaching staff of Mar- 
quette University. He is also serving on the staffs of the Milwaukee Maternity 
Hospital and the Milwaukee General Hospital. His practice is now extensive and 
of a most important character, the profession as well as the public attesting the 
worth of his work and his high standing in his chosen branch. 

On the 12th of August, 1890. Dr. Hipke was married to Miss Clara Belitz. who 
was born in Manitowoc county. Wisconsin, and was formerly a teacher. Dr. and 
Mrs. Hipke lost a son and daughter in infancy and have two living sons, Lucius W. 
and Malcolm M. The former is a physician of Cleveland. Ohio, and was graduated 
with the Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin before beginning 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 335 

preparation for his professional career. He won his M. D. degree at the Western 
Reserve Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio. The younger son, Malcolm M., is now 
a student in the University of Wisconsin. 

Dr. Hipke finds his recreation in gardening through the summer months and 
in duck hunting in the fall. He is a Master Mason, loyal to the teachings and 
purposes of the craft, and he belongs to the University Club, in the membership 
of which he has many friends. Along strictly professional lines he is connected 
with the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the Milwaukee County Medical Society, 
the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Tri- 
State Medical Society, and is a charter member of the Society of Endocrinology, 
and he has been a most faithful and loyal -follower of high professional ethics and 
ideals. 



REV. AUGUST B. SALICK. 



Rev. August B. Salick, one of the representatives of the Catholic clergy in 
Milwaukee, now having charge of St. Ann's church, was assigned to the present 
pastorate on the 16th of April, 1895, and has here remained through the inter- 
vening period of twenty-six years. He was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, July 
29, 1859, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Hepp) Salick, who were natives 
of Germany. The mother came to America when but four years of age in company 
with her parents, who in 1849 took up their abode in Wisconsin. The father 
crossed the Atlantic in 1850 and first settled in Milwaukee, where he resided for 
two years, after which he removed to Watertown, Wisconsin, the family home be- 
ing long maintained there. 

Rev. Father Salick acquired his early education in the parochial schools of 
Watertown and afterward attended the Sacred Heart College at that place. He next 
continued his studies in St. Francis Seminary at Milwaukee and completing his 
preparation for the priesthood was ordained on the 24th of June, 1884. He was 
then appointed assistant at St. Joseph's Catholic church of this city, where he 
labored for a year and later he spent three years as a teacher in St. Francis Semi- 
nary. His next assignment was to the Catholic church at Allentown, Wisconsin, 
where he filled the pastorate for two years and for five years he was located at 
Potosi, Wisconsin, while on the 16th of April, 1895, he returned to Milwaukee, on 
being transferred as pastor of St. Ann's church. Here he has since been stationed 
and his labors have been fruitful of splendid results for the organization. He has 
not only built an excellent church but a school and parsonage and has developed 
a parish until it now numbers eight hundred families, while there is an attendance 
of seven hundred and fifty pupils in the school. He labors untiringly for the cause 
and his efforts have been far-reaching and resultant. 



S. J. ZWIERZCHOWSKI. 



S. J. Zwierzchowski is numbered among the representative business men of 
Milwaukee as president of the Kuryer Publishing Company with quarters at 435 
Broadway. He is a native of Srem, Poland, born on the 27th of April, 1880, a son 
of Andrzej and Ludwika (Trzeciak) Zwierzchowski. Both Mr. and Mrs. Zwierz- 
chowski are living in Srem, Poland, where the father is prominent. He is a 
manufacturer and is now president of the city council and active in many local 
societies and institutions. For many years members of the Zwierzchowski family 
have made Srem their home. 

S. J. Zowski received his education in the public schools of his native city and 
after graduating from the high school there entered the Polytechnic Institute at 
Charlottenburg, Germany, and received the degree of Dipl. Ing. (Diplom Ingenieur) 
from that institution in 1905, upon completion of a mechanical engineering course, 
specializing in water turbines and other hydraulic machinery. In the year of his 
graduation he came to the United States and located at Dayton, Ohio, where he 
became engineer with the Dayton Globe Iron Works Company, with which concern 
he was active until January, 1906. At that time he came to Milwaukee as engineer 
in the hydraulic department of the Allis-Chalmers Company and in 1907 was sent 
to Montreal in the interests of that company, remaining until fall. Desiring to 
gain more knowledge of and to make further advancement in mechanical engineer- 
ing, he spent a great deal of his spare time in study and in the fall of 1907 was 
offered a position as instructor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to de- 
velop the branch of hydro-mechanical engineering in the school. In 1913 a dis- 
tinct honor was conferred upon him when he was appointed to the chair of hydro- 



336 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

mechanical engineering, this being the only professorship of its kind in any uni- 
versity, and Mr. Zowski was the first to fill that chair. While active in association 
with the university Mr. Zowski developed some new types of turbines of very high 
speed and power, the first of which is manufactured by the Allis-Chalmers Com- 
pany. Other improved designs are being exploited by other manufacturing con- 
cerns of America. Mr. Zowski is the author of many scientific articles on water 
turbines, published by the technical magazines of the country and has won con- 
siderable prominence in that connection. His ability being widely recognized, Mr. 
Zowski was appointed a member of the staff of Colonel E. T. House, United States 
Inquiry Commission for preparing material and data for the Peace Conference after 
the war. His work consisted of gathering data concerning Poland in conjunction 
with Prof. Robert R. H. Lord of Harvard. In 1918 Mr. Zowski became associated 
with the Kuryer Publishing Company, of which he was made president, and his 
executive ability has won for the concern patronage of an extensive and important 
character. The company was founded by his father-in-law, Michael Kruszka in 
1888, and it publishes the oldest Polish daily paper in America. 

On the 3d of February, 1909, Mr. Zowski was united in marriage to Miss Felicia 
A. Kruszka, a daughter of Michael and Hedwig (Linkiewicz) Kruszka. Two chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Zowski: Alice Hedwig and Thaddeus, both 
of whom are attending the public schools of Milwaukee. 

The political allegiance of Mr. Zowski is given to the republican party and the 
paper which he publishes is one of the strongest instruments of that organization. 
Mr. Zowski was influential in bringing to Milwaukee a company to manufacture 
phonograph records and the factory has just been completed. Branch laboratories 
will also be conducted in New York and the business will operate under the name 
of the Polonia Phonograph Company and will specialize in Polish music. Although 
he has taken a prominent part in commercial affairs in Milwaukee, Mr. Zowski 
has only been on a leave of absence from the University of Michigan, his time 
having expired in the fall of 1921. Mr. Zowski has been one of the most note- 
worthy men of Milwaukee, not only because of his natural talents and the position 
to which he has attained as educator and business man, but even more because he 
is a foreign-born citizen after whom Europeans seeking a home in America might 
well pattern. The Zowski family reside at 687 Downer avenue, Milwaukee, and 
when in Ann Arbor, at 2006 Washtenaw avenue. 



OSCAR BRACHMAN. 



Milwaukee numbers among her native sons Oscar Brachman, real estate dealer, 
promoter and builder who has financed and constructed scores of the finest buildings 
in his native city. He was born on September 3, 1887, a son of Henry and Julia 
(Brandeis) Brachman, both deceased. Henry Brachman was born in upper Germany 
and came to the United States alone as a young man. He engaged in tailoring and 
won more than a substantial success in that connection. His death occurred in 
1895. His wife survived him until 1918, when her demise occurred. She was a 
native of Bohemia and came to Milwaukee with her parents when a child. 

In the pursuit of an education Oscar Brachman attended the public schools of 
Milwaukee and after putting his textbooks aside became connected with the Cohen 
Brothers, wholesale house. For six or seven years he remained in the men's fur- 
nishings department of that establishment and then resigned his position to go into 
the insurance business. From selling fire insurance he drifted into the real estate 
business about 1905 and has since been active in that connection. He has never 
entered a partnership and has built up an extensive and important patronage. He 
is responsible for many of the finest buildings in Milwaukee, having developed their 
plans and financed the construction and among them are the Hotel Astor, Central 
Market. Arden Hall, Junior Terrace. Lincoln Terrace, Ambassador Apartments, Car- 
penter Block. Downer Theatre; also the Rialto Theatre and the Baker Block at 
Racine; and other projects in this state and in Chicago. Altogether Mr. Brachman 
has erected thirty large apartment houses. 

On the 15th of February, 1911, Mr. Brachman was united in marriage to Miss 
Florence Ettenheim, a daughter of Solomon H. Ettenheim, a pioneer real estate 
man of Milwaukee. To them one son, Oscar, Jr., has been born, his natal day being 
the 15th of May, 1914. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Brachman has given his political allegiance to 
the republican party and although well informed on all the important questions and 
issues of the day has never taken an active interest in political affairs. He is a 
member of B'nai Jeshurun Temple at Tenth and Cedar streets, and is also a member 
of Harmony Lodge, No. 14 2, F. & A. M.; the Elks Lodge, No. 46; the Milwaukee 
Athletic Club and the Woodmont Country Club. Along the line of his business he is a 
member of the Milwaukee Real Estate Board and Milwaukee Fire Insurance Board. 




OSCAB HI.'.M'IIMAX 



Vol. Ill— 22 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 339 

As a man interested in the development and improvement of the community in which 
he resides, Mr. Brachman holds membership in the Association of Commerce and 
serves that organization on the industrial committee. For recreation he turns to 
the great outdoors and spends much time in motoring and in playing golf. Mr. 
Brachman is a typical young business man of the present day — wide-awake, ener- 
getic and resourceful, finding his opportunities in the prevailing conditions, which 
he wisely utilizes in the upbuilding of his own fortunes and in the improvement of 
the city of his nativity. 



REV. PETER POLOMSKY. 



Rev. Peter Polomsky, pastor of St. Stephen's Catholic church of Milwaukee, was 
born February 22, 1881, in Silesia, his parents being Antoni and Beata Polomsky. 
He acquired his early education in his home town and then went to Rome, where 
he pursued his studies, preparing for the priesthood under most able instruction. 
He was ordained in 1903, after which he was assigned to a parish in his native 
land. In 1909, however, he crossed the Atlantic to America and made his way to 
Detroit, being there assigned to duty as pastor of St. Wencelaus' church for two 
years. On the expiration of that period he went to St. Louis and was at the diocese 
of Bellville. He was also assistant at St. John's church in St. Louis for five years. 
At the request of the archbishop of Milwaukee he came to this city and soon after- 
ward entered upon duties as pastor of a Catholic church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 
There he remained from 1916 until 1917, when he was appointed to St. Stephen's 
parish in Milwaukee and through the intervening period of four years has labored 
consistently and effectively here, his efforts producing substantial results in the up- 
building of the church. 



HENRY B. HITZ, M. D. 



Dr. Henry B. Hitz, a nose, throat and ear specialist of Milwaukee, practicing 
successfully after most thorough preparation, having studied extensively both in 
America and abroad, holds to the highest standards in all of his professional work 
and has won a well merited reputation. Born in Washington, D. C, on the 16th 
of May, 1867, he is a son of Dr. Rudolph B. Hitz, who was a surgeon of the Union 
army in 'the Civil war. The father was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and a 
son of John Hitz, who was a native of Switzerland and who served as the first 
consul from that country to the United States, occupying the position for many 
years, or until 1864, when he passed away in Washington, D. C, President Lincoln 
acting as one of the honorary pallbearers on the occasion of his funeral. The 
mother of Dr. Hitz of this review bore the maiden name of Mary Barnard and was 
born in London, England. She passed away in 1919, at the age of seventy-four 
years. 

Dr. Hitz was reared in the national capital and enjoyed liberal educational op- 
portunities. Determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he won his 
M. D. degree in 1891 upon graduation from the medical department of Columbian 
University, now the George Washington University. He afterward spent a year and 
four months as interne in the Philadelphia Hospital, gaining that broad and valu- 
able experience which can never be as quickly obtained in any other way as in 
hospital practice. Removing to Milwaukee, he continued in the general practice 
of medicine for two years and in 1894 went abroad for postgraduate work, spend- 
ing six months in London, where he came under the instruction of some of the 
eminent physicians and surgeons of the old world. Since that time he has devoted 
his attention to diseases of the ear, nose and throat, following his specialty in 
Milwaukee. He belongs to the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the Milwaukee 
County Medical Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the American Medical 
Association, the Milwaukee Surgical Society, the Oto-Ophthalmic Society and is a 
fellow of the American College of Surgeons and also a fellow of the American 
Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology. He has served on the staffs of 
the Milwaukee Hospital, the Columbia Hospital and the Children's Free Hospital 
and his practice has long been extensive and of an important character. He was a 
major in the medical service during the World war, on active duty at Base Hos- 
pital, No. 22. 

On the 28th of October. 1896, Dr. Hitz was married to Miss Louise D. Winkler, 
a daughter of the late General Frederick C. Winkler, a prominent resident of Mil- 
waukee. They have become parents of two children: Frances W., born June 20, 
1899; and John B., born July 6. 1902. Dr. Hitz and his wife are Episcopalians in 



340 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

religious faith. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar and has long 
been a faithful follower of the craft. He likewise belongs to the American Legion 
and his associates in these orders bear testimony of his social qualities, his genial 
manner and kindly spirit. 



CHARLES HAYS JACKSON. 



Since boyhood Charles Hays Jackson, president of the Jackson Piano Company 
of Milwaukee,' has been interested in pianos and from an apprentice with small 
technical training but with an uncontrollable curiosity, he has won his way until he 
has become one of the best informed piano builders in the industry. He was born 
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1885, a son of Orville Jackson, who passed away 
in 1914. The father was a native of West Salem, Wisconsin, and was for many 
years cashier of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at Avery, Idaho. His 
"wife was, before her marriage, Miss Mary E. Black, and she is now residing in Los 
Angeles. California. 

Charles Hays Jackson attended the public schools of Pittsburgh and of Mil- 
waukee, where he removed with his parents when seven years of age. As a school 
boy he had great curiosity concerning pianos. The day before the school was 
to present a program before the mothers, fathers and friends of the children, it 
became noised about that a tuner was going to overhaul the old piano on the third 
floor. Mr. Jackson, then seven years of age, ran up the stairs and, passing up even 
an invitation to go sliding on the ice, remained to watch the operation long after 
every one else had gone home. This was the first glimpse that he ever had of the 
mysterious region inside of a piano and it made such a profound impression upon 
his mind that it was not strange that upon leaving school he entered a piano factory, 
there to learn the business from the ground up. His first step in that connection 
was made as an apprentice for the Schaeffer Piano Company at Riverview, Illinois, 
and for three years he remained in that position. Mr. Jackson says of his appren- 
ticeship: "Piano making is a highly specialized industry and so each man is put 
on one particular task. The work is so delicate that each worker must be an expert 
in his line. While the other lads were simply doing their regular work, I was 
getting a liberal education. I not only learned my own little job to perfection, but 
I looked about me and studied the work of the other men." One day a workman 
in a different department failed to appear. The foreman was in a quandary until 
Mr. Jackson announced that he could do the work and did it. After that. he soon 
became a thorough all-round piano builder and whenever a substitute was needed 
he filled in. For six months he was in the employ of the Smith & Barnes Piano 
Company and at the termination of that time was sent to Milwaukee to regulate the 
first piano made in their Milwaukee plant. He had previously worked for the Steger 
Company at Chicago, and in 1906 he accepted a position with Max Richtsteig in the 
piano manufacturing business. He helped make the first twelve Richtsteig pianos, 
creating a demand for them throughout the United States, and in 1908 severed his 
relations with that company which grew into the Waltham Piano Company. Both 
he and Mr. Richtsteig left at the same time and Mr. Jackson became associated 
with Edmund Gram, who was selling the Gram-Richtsteig piano. At the end of 
five years he was made vice president of that company and superintendent of its 
factory, which positions he filled for four years. His rise was rapid and in 1916 he 
delivered a paper before the Western Piano Technicians Association on "What We 
Seek in Tone," the leading piano builders of the country being in attendance. It 
was about that time that W. Otto Miessner, director of the school of music at the 
Milwaukee Normal was seriously studying how to make musical education more 
general. He was possessed of the idea of making a piano so cheap as to be within 
every family's means, yet of the same tonal quality and volume as the expensive 
instruments. Mr. Miessner knew that in order to reduce the cost of building a piano, 
the size must be reduced and that reducing the size of the piano would reduce the 
size of the soundboard and thus diminish the piano's volume. If the ordinary type 
of construction were used this would result in a small piano and in order to produce 
a small piano of the same tonal volume and quality as the large, expensive piano 
some new principle of construction must be found. After spending many years in 
working out his idea Mr. Miessner was still dissatisfied and in order to test his 
theory he decided to consult the best piano technician he could find. He was re- 
ferred to Mr. Jackson, who was then employed in an executive and sales capacity by 
a local piano company, and, explaining his ideas to him. was shown the reasons why 
his plan was not practical. Mr. Jackson recognized immediately the immense pos- 
sibilities of the idea and grasped the soundness of the new principles of construction 
but his practical knowledge told him that Miessner's plan for a small square or 
babv grand piano could not be worked out. After three months of feverish work 




CIIAKLKN II. .IACKSOX 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 343 

on blue prints and models the Miessner piano, the "Little Piano With the Big 
Tone," was successfully conceived. In May, 1918, the Jackson Piano Company was 
incorporated with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, which has since 
increased to three hundred thousand, and the first year of its organization Mr. 
Miessner was president. Mr. Jackson was appointed president the following year 
and has since been active in that capacity. The company has an output of twelve 
pianos a day which are sold in every state of the Union, South Africa, Korea, Aus- 
tralia and elsewhere. 

Since its first exhibition at the National Music Supervisors convention at Evans- 
ville, Indiana, in March, 1918, the demand for the Miessner piano has been impera- 
tive. Possessing all of the tonal qualities and volume of the standard-size instrument, 
it is a piano small enough to be easily shifted about from room to room in a 
school or to occupy some corner where its bulk need not prove objectionable and 
it has proved to be the very thing for which musical educators have been waiting for 
years. Not only are schools in every part of the United States using the Miessner 
but they have been placed in many Y. M. C. A.'s and similar institutions. In New 
York, where the Y. M. C. A. is engaged in a great deal of work, the Miessner piano 
is widely used, being packed around from neighborhood to neighborhood. At -the 
time the armistice was signed the Y. M. C. A. was negotiating with the Jackson Piano 
Company for the purchase of two thousand Miessners for overseas use, the pianos 
to be carried as far forward as trucks could take them and then carried into the 
trenches wherever possible. 

The Jackson Piano Company have created a small Miessner player piano which 
is in every way as perfect as the other make of Miessner piano but a little larger. 
Both styles have enjoyed a wide sale, and the demand in foreign countries is impera- 
tive. The orders and especially the reorders for the pianos have become so heavy 
that if the sales force stopped work for a year there would still be enough work to 
keep every man employed. Each month sees the output over the two hundred mark 
and soon that will be increased to exceed three hundred pianos. 

On the 6th of August, 1909, Mr. Jackson was united in marriage to Miss Agnes 
C. Wilke, a daughter of Christian P. Wilke, a Lutheran minister. She was born at 
Madison, Wisconsin, where she received her early education in the grade and high 
schools. Later she attended a high school in Minnesota and in due time enrolled in 
the State University of Minnesota. Mrs. Jackson takes a prominent and active part 
in club and social circles of the city and has many friends. 

Although Mr. Jackson has always given his allegiance to the republican party 
he has never taken a particularly active interest in politics, preferring to devote his 
time to his family and business. He is a member of St. James Episcopal church and 
when a lad he was a member of the choir. His wife is connected with the English 
Lutheran church. Fraternally Mr. Jackson is identified with the Masons, having 
membership in Lafayette Lodge, No. 265, F. & A. M.; Calumet Chapter, R. A. M.; 
Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T. ; Wisconsin Consistory, in which he has attained the 
thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine. 
He is active in the interests of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Wisconsin Club, 
Rotary Club, Association of Commerce and Tripoli Country Club, and during the 
World war took an untiring interest in all drives and served as a member of the 
state guard. Mr. Jackson is fond of music and art in all forms and receives his 
greatest recreation along those lines. Good music has the power to grip the soul, 
banishing the sorrows and worries of every day, to carry the listener high above 
the earth. Many homes are indebted to Mr. Jackson for this joy and recreation, 
and the success that he has achieved in business is but a just reward. 



HARRY E. BRADLEY, M. D. 

Dr. Harry E. Bradley, a Milwaukee physician and surgeon, with offices in the 
Bradley block, has practiced continuously in this city for more than thirty years 
and has maintained his offices at his present location for twenty-seven years. Born 
in New York city on the 26th of November, 1862, Dr. Bradley is a son of Colonel 
Frederick C. Bradley, who served in the Union army as colonel of an engineering 
corps. Colonel Bradley survived his military experience for about twenty years 
and passed away in Milwaukee in 1884. Dr. Bradley is a younger brother of 
Frederick C. Bradley of New York city, who is division superintendent of the New 
York Central Railroad. 

From the age of eight years Dr. Bradley has continuously resided in Wiscon- 
sin and was graduated from Professor Markham's Academy in 1879. He after- 
ward pursued an engineering course in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, 
New York, and later spent four years as a student in the medical department of 



344 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

the University of New York, being graduated with the M. D. degree in the class 
of 1887. 

At the time of the Spanish-American war Dr. Bradley offered his services to 
his country and was on duty as a major in the Medical Corps, spending several 
months in Porto Rico. He was acting division surgeon of the First Division of the 
First Army Corps and during the World war he served as major of the Medical 
Corps in the recruiting service and in a military intelligence bureau, all of which 
was volunteer work. He is now serving on the staff of the Emergency Hospital 
in Milwaukee and is police surgeon of the city, a position which he has occupied 
for more than twenty years. He was acting commissioner of health in Milwaukee 
during the smallpox epidemic of 1894 and he has rendered most valuable profes- 
sional service on many occasions. 

In the year 1890 Dr. Bradley was married to Miss Nina Harlow and they have 
become parents of two children, Harlow and Gertrude, both college graduates. 
His professional connection is with the Milwaukee County Medical Society, the 
Wisconsin State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Mil- 
waukee Neuro-Psychiatric Society. While continuing in the general practice of 
medicine, he specializes to some extent in neuropathic diseases. 



REV. HENRY T. STEMPER. 

Rev. Henry T. Stemper, pastor of St. Boniface Catholic church of Milwaukee, 
was born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, December 6, 1861, and is a son of Mathias 
and Magdalene (Ries) Stemper, who were natives of Luxemburg, Germany. They 
came to the new world in 1858, settling in Wisconsin, and their son, Henry T., 
acquired his early education in the parochial schools of Port Washington. He 
afterward attended St. Francis Seminary at Milwaukee, where he prepared for 
holy orders and was ordained to the priesthood in 1884. He was then assigned to 
duty as assistant at St. Mary's church, where he remained for seven months. On 
the expiration of that period he was made pastor of a church at Belgium, Wiscon- 
sin, where he continued for five years. He next became pastor of the Sacred Heart 
church at St. Francis, where he served for thirteen years and his next assignment 
was to St. Boniface church at the corner of Clark and Center streets in Milwau- 
kee. Here he has since been stationed. While in Belgium he was instrumental 
in erecting a church edifice and school and at St. Francis built a parish house. 
He has built a school in connection with St. Boniface church and has greatly pro- 
moted the work of the church along many lines. 



ADOLPH LANDAUER. 



The firm of Adolph Landauer & Son, merchants, is one of the representative 
business interests of Milwaukee. Mr. Landauer has long been prominent in the 
commercial circles of the city and is a man to whom life is earnest and purposeful. 
A native of Germany, he was born in Bavaria on the 27th of March, 1847, a son of 
Joseph and Mathilde (Wasserman) Landauer. On both paternal and maternal 
sides the ancestors were rabbis for many generations and the paternal ancestry 
may be traced back over one hundred years. His father, Joseph Landauer, passed 
away in 1853, at the age of forty-seven years. He was a rabbi and a most devout 
student of his religion. His wife was born in Germany and her demise occurred 
also in 1853. Her father was Rabbi S. Wasserman. 

The public schools of his native town afforded Adolph Landauer an education 
until he was twelve years of age, when he removed to Stuttgart and attended the 
commercial college there for three years. He then became an apprentice in a 
mercantile concern conducted by some relatives, established for the manufacture of 
corduroy and velvets. He remained in that connection until 1863, when he became 
a traveling salesman for a woolen house. In everything he undertook Mr. Lan- 
dauer achieved a substantial success and in 1866 he determined to seek his for- 
tune in the United States. He located first in Madison, Wisconsin, where he resided 
for a year and then removed to Milwaukee, where he accepted a position as clerk 
for the S. Klauber Retail Dry Goods Company and was active in that connection 
until 1867. In that year, however, he determined to go into business on his own 
account and with his brother Max bought out the business and changed the name 
to Landauer & Company. The success of this venture seemed assured from the 
start and the company is still in existence, although in 1869 both brothers retired 
from the firm and entered the jobbing business. The brothers were associated in 
that line of work until 1900, when Adolph Landauer withdrew from the firm and 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 345 

established a dry goods business under the name o£ Adolph Landauer & Son. Mr. 
Landauer specializes in silks and dress goods, and acting upon his belief that 
satisfied patrons are the best advertisement, he has built up an extensive and ever 
increasing trade. Seven traveling salesmen are always in the employ o£ the firm 
and their territory extends over ten states. 

On the 18th of October, 1871, occurred the marriage of Mr. Landauer and 
Miss Bertha Boguslawsky, a daughter of Marcus Boguslawsky, a native of Russia 
who came to Milwaukee at an early day and here won prominence in mercantile 
circles. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Landauer, Matty and Joseph 
Adolph. Matty is now the wife of Dr. Carl Holty of Milwaukee and they are the 
parents of a son, Carl Robert, who is an artist of ability, having already achieved 
some recognition as a painter of landscapes. He enlisted for service during the 
World war as a sergeant in the infantry, but he did not get across to France. 
The son, Joseph Adolph, is in business with his father. He married Agnes Berg, a 
(laughter of Morris Berg of Chicago. 

Mr. Landauer gives his political allegiance to the republican party and his 
religious affiliation is with the Temple Emanu-El in Milwaukee. Fraternally he is 
an exemplary member of the Masonic order, belonging to Wisconsin Lodge No. 
13, A. F. & A. M.; Wisconsin Chapter No. 7, R. A. M.; and Wisconsin Council No. 
4, R. & S. II. As a man interested in the social and civic development of the com- 
munity in which he resides he is connected with the Chamber of Commerce, being 
one of its oldest members. He has been active in its affairs for a period of over 
fifty years. He likewise holds membership in the Wisconsin Club, is a member of 
the Federated Jewish Charities, of which organization he was chief executive for 
three years, the Hebrew Relief Association, of which he is now vice president, and 
of the Schlaraffia Milwaukia, which he is serving as master of ceremonies. He is 
of a musical and literary turn of mind and to that end finds pleasure in the Maen- 
nerchor and German Press Club. Other interests in addition to his dry goods 
business make demands upon his time and he is president of the German Theatre 
Company. The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Landauer at 639 Jefferson street con- 
tains one of the finest libraries in the city, for both are lovers of good music and 
good literature. Mrs. Landauer is a woman of much culture and refinement and is 
a linguist of ability, being able to speak fluently German, English and French. The 
interests of Mr. Landauer are broad and varied, and while he has always found 
time to cooperate in any measure for the general good, he has at the same time 
carefully promoted his individual interests, becoming a prominent and prosperous 
business man. 



FREDERICK J. GAENSLEN, M. D. 

Dr. Frederick J. Gaenslen, a distinguished orthopedic surgeon of Milwaukee, 
was born December 7, 1877, in this city, a son of Julius Gaenslen, now a well known 
leather merchant here. The father was born in Germany and came to the United 
States in 1866. He married Matilda Hummel, also a native of that country, whence 
she came to the new world about 1869. Their marriage was celebrated in Milwau- 
kee, where they have since made their home. 

At the usual age Dr. Gaenslen entered the public schools and, passing from 
grade to grade, eventually was graduated from the East Side high school with the 
class of 1895. He pursued his academic course in the University of Wisconsin 
and won the Bachelor of Science degree In 1899, having completed a four years' 
course at Madison. He next matriculated in the Johns Hopkins Medical College at 
Baltimore, Maryland, where he continued until 1903, during which period Dr. 
William Osier was one of his teachers. He afterward became an interne in the 
German Hospital in New York city, where he continued from October, 1903, until 
May, 1906, gaining valuable experience through his practice there. In 1900 he 
was a student in the Harvard summer school and in every possible way, through 
public and private study and through individual research and investigation, he has 
promoted his knowledge and increased his efficiency. Since 1906 he has been en- 
gaged in private practice in Milwaukee, continuing in general practice until 1912, 
since which time he has specialized in orthopedic surgery, displaying marked skill 
in this field. He studied abroad in 1912, coming under the instruction of some of 
the eminent medical authorities of London, Berlin and other cities. He is serving 
on the staff of Columbia Hospital, the Children's Hospital, Mount Sinai and the 
Milwaukee Hospital also the Milwaukee County Hospital and the Bradley Memorial 
Hospital at Madison, the Methodist Hospital at Madison and is consulting ortho- 
pedic surgeon of the Wisconsin State General Hospital at Madison. Thus his hos- 
pital work, like his private practice, is extensive and of a most important char- 
acter and he is regarded as an authority on orthopedic surgery in this state. 



J46 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

During the World war Dr. Gaenslen served on the local advisory board. He 
has been a frequent contributor to medical journals and his articles are always of 
interest to those who desire to keep in touch with the most advanced thought of 
the profession. He belongs to the Milwaukee Medical Society, the Milwaukee 
County Medical Society, the Milwaukee Surgical Society, the American Medical 
Association and is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and of the 
American Orthopedic Association. 

In the year 1909 Dr. Gaenslen was married to Miss Clara F. Schock of New 
York city, and they have become parents of two children, Eleanor and Frederick 
G., aged, respectively, eleven and seven years. In religious faith Dr. Gaenslen is a 
Lutheran and along social lines he is connected with the Milwaukee University 
Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Ozaukee Country Club. He wins warm 
friends among the laity and in professional circles and he is ever generous and 
kindly toward his professional brethren, appreciating and encouraging advancement 
and efficiency on the part of all. 



JAMES P. McKANE. 



James P. McKane, secretary and treasurer of the McKane-Lins Company, en- 
gaged in trunk manufacturing in Milwaukee, belongs to that class of men to whom 
determination, enterprise and diligence have constituted the basis of success. His 
entire business career has been marked by the steady progress that follows the 
possession of these qualities. 

He was born in Darlington, Wisconsin, October 31, 1882, and is a son of Patrick 
and Mary (McWilliams) McKane. The father, a native of Ireland, came to the 
United States when about twenty-eight years of age and settled in Wisconsin, where 
he was an accountant. He died in the year 1903. His widow, who still resides in 
Milwaukee, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, a daughter of James McWil- 
liams, a native of Ireland, who became one of the early settlers of Lafayette county, 
Wisconsin, where he became famous as a stock raiser. 

James P. McKane acquired his early education in the St. John's school at Mil- 
waukee and in McDonald's Business College, where he prepared for the duties of a 
practical commercial career. He was first employed by Romadka Brothers, trunk 
and traveling goods manufacturers, as a salesman for about four years, at the end 
of which time he took over the business in conjunction with Christian J. Lins, his 
present partner. This was in the year 1911 and in 1912 they incorporated the 
business under the name of the McKane-Lins Company. They have three retail 
stores, handling trunks and traveling goods of all sorts. They also operate a factory 
where they manufacture trunks and leather goods and also the "Kamlee" line of 
automobile trunks, which is now nationally known. They find market for their 
product throughout the United States and Canada and they are today the most 
extensive handlers of high-grade trunks in Milwaukee and are successors to the old- 
est established business in their line — that of Romadka Brothers, which was founded 
in 1848. 

On the 4th of February, 1912, Mr. McKane was united in marriage to Miss 
Almira Henrich, a daughter of August Henrich, who is a native of Germany and a 
mechanic of Milwaukee. Mr. and Mrs. McKane now have two children: Hugh, 
born November 8, 1914; and Catherine, born November 9, 1916. 

The family is of the Catholic faith, attending St. Sebastian's church. Mr. Mc- 
Kane maintains an independent course in politics, never allying himself with any 
party and never seeking or desiring office. He belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic 
Club, to the Rotary Club, to the Milwaukee Dodge of Elks and to the Association 
of Commerce. He is also fond of outdoor life and spends much of his time at his 
country home at Lake Beulah, where he has a beautiful place of two acres bordering 
on the lake. He is especially fond of fishing and is an enthusiastic motorist and 
turns to these pursuits for pleasure when leisure permits. 



ERNST CLARENBACH. 



Ernst Clarenbach is president of the Hotel Medford Company, the Hotel 
Martin Company and the Ernst Clarenbach Systems Company. He was born in 
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on the 2d of July, 1874, a son of Ernst and Lina (Koehler) 
Clarenbach, both deceased. His grandfather, Raphael C. Clarenbach, was a manu- 
facturer in Germany and his father, Ernst Clarenbach, was born in Westphalia. 
Germany, and came to the United States at the age of twenty years. Soon after 
reaching the shores of the new world he made his way to Wisconsin, locating in 




JAMES P. McKANE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 349 

Sheboygan, where he engaged in the real estate and loan business and where for 
a period of eleven years he served as register of deeds for the county. His demise 
occurred in 1890. . 

The public schools of Sheboygan afforded Ernst Clarenbach, the subject of this 
review, a preliminary education and after graduating from the high school there 
with the class of 1893 he entered the Milwaukee Normal School. After completing 
his course there he accepted a position as clerk in a bank at Sheboygan and was 
active in that connection for a short time when he established a collection busi- 
ness on his own account and operated it for a year. He then made his initial step 
into the hotel business, taking over the Foeste Hotel in his native town and after 
four years spent in its management became associated with F. J. Matchette in the 
operation of the Palmer House at Fond du Lac. This latter connection he main- 
tained for four years and then, selling out his interest, Mr. Clarenbach bought stock 
in the St. Charles Hotel of Milwaukee, and subsequently bought the lease on the 
Blatz Hotel. While in the hotel business he devised what is known as the Claren- 
bach System of Hotel Accounting, which is now being installed on a correspond- 
ence school basis, but to which Mr. Clarenbach devoted his entire time, personally 
introducing the system throughout the United States and Canada, for four years 
after severing his connection with active hotel operations. In 19'13 Mr. Clarenbach 
again entered the hotel business and, organizing a company, took over the lease 
of the Hotel Martin in Milwaukee, in the operation of which he is still active, and 
which was doubled in size in 19 21. In 1918 he also took over the Hotel Medford 
under a corporation he had founded for that purpose and has developed his busi- 
ness interests to extensive proportions. Since 1913 he has reorganized the Claren- 
bach System of Hotel Accounting, putting it on a correspondence basis, with offices 
in the Hotel Martin. The system is one of cost accounting and covers every de- 
partment of a hotel. Its coprighted books and blanks are used in every state in 
the Union and Mr. Clarenbach has also published a textbook on accounting for 
country hotels, which is in wide use. He is chairman of the committee for uni- 
form system of hotel accounting for the Northwest Hotel Men's Association and 
chairman of a special committee of the American Hotel Association, while for some 
time he served as president of the Milwaukee Hotel Association. 

On the 2d of July, 1898, occurred the marriage of Mr. Clarenbach and Miss 
Hildegard Wolf, a daughter of Christopher Wolf, a shoe manufacturer of Sheboy- 
gan. Two children have been born to their union: Marie, a graduate of Downer 
Seminary; and Ernst, attending the Milwaukee Normal School. A man of broad 
intelligence and industry, Mr. Clarenbach is most faithful in the performance of 
every duty assigned him. He has always upheld every interest and measure which 
he has deemed of benefit and value to the community and the many sterling 
characteristics which he has displayed have gained for him the friendship and high 
regard of those with whom he has been associated. 



JOHN J. McGOVERN, M. D. 



Dr. John J. McGovern, who is on the staff of the Emergency Hospital and of 
the Martha Washington Home and in his private practice is associated with his 
brother, Dr. P. H. McGovern, with offices at No. 221 Grand avenue, was born on 
a farm near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, February 14, 1864. and was the fifth in 
order of birth in a family of six sons, whose parents were Lawrence and Ellen 
(Wren) McGovern, both of whom were natives of Ireland and have passed away. 
In addition to their six sons there was one daughter in the family and three of 
the sons and the daughter are living. 

Dr. J. J. McGovern was reared on his father's farm and attended the country 
schools during his early boyhood. He afterward taught school for three years and 
thus earned the money to continue his education with a college course. He spent 
a year and a half in the academic department of the University of Wisconsin and 
later was for two years a student in Rush Medical College of Chicago. He then 
matriculated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and at 
the end of a year's study was graduated with the M. D. degree as a member of the 
class of 1893. 

Dr. McGovern at once located in Milwaukee, where he has remained in the 
general practice of medicine for twenty-eight years. He was first associated with 
Dr. Dwight Mereness, the partnership being maintained until the latter's death in 
1901. Since then he has maintained offices with his brother, Dr. P. H. McGovern, 
each with his private suite of rooms but a central reception room. From the be- 
ginning Dr. McGovern has enjoyed a large practice of an important character. He 
is surgeon for the Soo Line Railroad, is doing important work as a member of the 
staff of the Emergency Hospital and of the Martha Washington Home and in addi- 



350 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

tion has a large private practice. He belongs to the Milwaukee County Medical 
Society, of which he has been president, also to the Sioux Railroad Surgical Society, 
the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association. Through the proceedings of these bodies he keeps 
in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and progress and is famil- 
iar with the latest scientific researches and investigations. Dr. McGovern is a 
member of the Medical Reserve Corps, becoming a member during the World war. 
He also belongs to the Medical Veterans of the World war. 

In November, 1899, Dr. McGovern was united in marriage to Miss Grace Ellen 
Neilson and they have become the parents of five living children: Margaret G.; 
John N. and Francis H., twins; Isabelle A.; and Allan W. The three eldest are 
pupils in the Milwaukee high school. 

Dr. McGovern is a republican in his political views and he is a Mason of high 
rank, having become a Knight Templar and a member of the Consistory as well 
as of the Mystic Shrine. He is loyal to the teachings and high purposes of the 
craft and has ample opportunity to exemplify the principles of Masonry in the 
course of his active and useful life. 



JESSE ALFRED SMITH. 



Jesse Alfred Smith, president of the Jesse A. Smith Auto Company of Milwaukee, 
was born on his father's farm in Racine county, October 2, 1871. He is a son of 
Warren H. and Amelia C. (Hunt) Smith, who are residents of Waukesha. The 
former is a son of Jesse A. Smith, who was born in Vermont and became one of the 
pioneer settlers of Wisconsin. Warren H. Smith followed farming in early life but 
later removed to Waukesha, where he has filled various local offices and is now liv- 
ing retired. His wife, a native of Racine county, is a daughter of Alfred Hunt, who 
was a well known farmer of that locality. 

Jesse A. Smith attended the district school at Caldwell. Racine county, until 
thirteen years of age, at which time his parents moved to Waukesha and his educa- 
tion was continued at Carroll College and the Milwaukee Business College. After 
finishing school he was associated with his father for some fifteen years in the hotel 
and livery business at Waukesha. He next turned his attention to the automobile 
business in 1910 and for a year was sales manager for the Buick Motor Company. 
In 1911 he established business independently and organized and incorporated the 
Jesse A. Smith Auto Company of Milwaukee. They now handle and distribute the 
Hudson and Essex cars, with Wisconsin and upper Michigan as their territory, and 
the business has been steadily growing until it is now one of substantial propor- 
tions. 

On the 24th of October, 1895, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Elizabeth C. 
Cahill, a daughter of Michael Cahill, of Waukesha, who was of Irish descent. They 
have one adopted child, Hawley. born in 1905 and now a student in the North- 
western Naval and Military Academy at Lake Geneva. 

The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church, their membership 
being in St. Robert's parish at Shorewood. Mr. Smith is a republican in politics 
but not an office seeker. He belongs to the Blue Mound Country Club, the Milwaukee 
Country Club, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Association of Commerce. 
He greatly enjoys a game of golf and when leisure permits is seen on the links. 
In fact he is a lover of all manly outdoor sports and an enthusiastic motorist. 
He is well known among the automobile dealers of the country, having been a 
director of the Milwaukee Automobile Dealers, Incorporated, for ten years and its 
president for two years, while for four or five years he served as treasurer. He is 
now president of the National Automobile Dealers of America and his initiative and 
enterprise have enabled him to be of great benefit to the trade at large. He closely 
studies every phase of the business and the signs of the times bearing upon the 
automobile industry and his opinions are sound, his sagacity keen and his judgment 
leliable and far-reaching. 



WILLIAM KAUMHEIMER. 



William Kaumheimer, attorney at law and now (1920) president of the Mil- 
waukee Bar 'Association, was born in Houston, Texas, April 22. 1869, a son of 
Jacob and Lissette (Klein) Kaumheimer, the former a native of Bavaria, while 
the latter was born in Baden, Germany. They came to this country in early life, 
however, being married on this side of the Atlantic. For a time they were resi- 




JESSE A. SMITH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 353 

dents of Philadelphia and afterward removed to Houston, Texas, whence they 
came to Milwaukee in 1874. Both have passed away. 

William Kaumheimer acquired a limited education in the public schools, spend- 
ing one year as a high school pupil in Milwaukee, but at the age of thirteen started 
out to provide for his own support. This was in 1882 and he was employed in the 
real estate office of Benjamin M. Weil, with whom he remained for about six years. 
On the expiration of that period he entered the employ of the Milwaukee Harvester 
Company, with which he continued until 1895, and that he made wise use of his 
time anil opportunities is indicated in the fact that he devoted his evening hours 
to the study of law and attended the Milwaukee Law Class, now a part of the Mar- 
quette University. He was admitted to the bar in December, 1894, and entered 
upon active practice in connection with O. T. Williams, with whom he remained 
for eighteen months. He then began practicing alone and so continued until 1918, 
when he became senior partner in the firm of Kaumheimer & Kinney, the junior 
member thereof being Reginald I. Kinney. Mr. Kaumheimer has been very suc- 
cessful in his law practice. He has never sought political office nor attempted to 
figure in any public light outside the strict path of his profession but has confined 
his attention solely to his legal interests and his devotion to the interests of his 
clients has become proverbial. That he enjoys the highest regard, confidence and 
goodwill of his colleagues and contemporaries in the profession is indicated in the 
fact that he was elected president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1919. 

On the 22d of June, 1898, Mr. Kaumheimer was married to Miss Elsie Katzen- 
stein. a native of Platteville, Wisconsin, and they have become parents of a son, 
Leon, who is with his parents at No. 630 Stowell avenue. Mr. Kaumheimer is a 
member of the Milwaukee Athletic and City Clubs, also of the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks and of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of 
lodge and chapter, being a loyal follower of the beneficent teachings of the craft. 
He has always done his share as a citizen in community interests and his aid has 
ever been on the side of progress and improvement. He has served as a member 
of the board of trustees of the Milwaukee public library since 1916. He was chair- 
man of the legal advisory board of Milwaukee county during the World war and 
has been president of the Legal Aid Society since its organization in 1916. He 
has been connected with the organization providing for a sane Fourth of July cele- 
bration and he was the first chairman of the Community Christmas Tree celebra- 
tion, acting in that capacity for two years. Everything which tends toward general 
progress and improvement receives his endorsement and his cooperation has at 
all times been counted upon as a factor in plans for the general good. In fact his 
labors have been far-reaching and resultant and the worth of his efforts is ac- 
knowledged by all. 



H. V. KANE. 



H. V. Kane, a lawyer, was born at Milwaukee, December 18, 1879. He gradu- 
ated from Marquette College with the A. B. degree in 1899; in the postgraduate 
department of Georgetown University, he won his A. M. degree in 1901, and the 
Ph. D. and LL. B. degrees in 1902. He was admitted to the bar and began prac- 
tice in 1902. His wife is Marion E. Kane, and his daughters are, Mary Catherine 
Kane and Elizabeth Kane. 



CHARLES J. COFFEY, M. D. 



Dr. Charles J. Coffey, physician and surgeon, specializing in the treatment of 
diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat in Milwaukee, was here born July 15. 
1870, and is a son of Michael J. and Catherine (Sullivan) Coffey, the former a 
native of Quebec, Canada, while the latter was born in Vermont. Both have 
passed away. The father was a hauling, teaming and cartage contractor and fol- 
lowed that business throughout his life. 

Dr. Coffey has always resided in his native city and in the acquirement of his 
education was graduated from the arts and science department of the Marquette 
University, which in 1888 conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree. He 
afterward entered the University of New York as a medical student and there won 
his professional degree in 1894. He spent one year as interne in St. Joseph's 
Hospital at Chicago and since 1895 has practiced medicine in Milwaukee, deyoUng 
his attention to general practice until 1903, since which time he has specialized in 
the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and. throat. He studied abroad in 
1913, doing postgraduate work in Vienna and Berlin. He belongs to the Milwau- 
Vol. ni— 2 3 



354 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

kee, the Milwaukee County, the Wisconsin State and the American Medical Asso- 
ciations and is now serving on the staff of Trinity Hospital in addition to caring 
for an extensive private practice. He is also a member of the staff of Marquette 
University in the department of eye, ear, nose and throat. 

In 19 07 Dr. Coffey was married to Miss Lillian Walsh, a native of Milwaukee. 
Dr. Coffey belongs to the Milwaukee Athletic Club, and to the Blue Mound Country 
Club and at one time he was president of the Milwaukee board of education. He 
is fond of the game of golf, is alert to the duties and obligations of citizenship and 
meets the responsibilities of his profession with a sense of conscientious obligation 
that leaves nothing to be desired. 



REV. WILLIAM J. PICHERY. 

Rev. William J. Pichery, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's Catholic church in 
Milwaukee, was born August 4, 1861, in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. His parents, 
Henry and Mary (Kuster) Pichery, were natives of Germany and- arrived in this 
state in 1854. The father, true to his adopted country, enlisted for service in 
defense of the Union during the Civil war, was wounded in battle and lost one of 
his limbs. 

Rev. Father Pichery was educated in St. Peter's school at Beaver Dam, Wis- 
consin, and in Mount Calvary Seminary at Fond du Lac. He afterward engaged 
in the drug business at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, but in 1881 entered St. Francis Semi- 
nary at Milwaukee in order to prepare for the priesthood and was ordained on the 
24th of June," 1887. Having taken holy orders he was appointed assistant at St. 
George's Catholic church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and later he became a teacher at 
Pio Nono, in St. Francis, Wisconsin. He afterward continued his labors in be- 
half of the church at Eagle, at Newberg, at Neosho and at Jefferson, Wisconsin, 
conducting successful pastorates at these various places and in 1913 he was as- 
signed to SS. Peter and Paul's Cafholic church at Milwaukee, where he is still 
stationed. He is a man of consecrated purpose and of high ideals, who is bending 
every energy toward the development of his parish in its various lines of work. 



FRANK EDWARD DELANEY. 



Frank Edward Delaney, resident manager of the Fidelity & Casualty Company 
of New York, with offices in the Wells building of Milwaukee, was born in Albany, 
New York, on the 20th of July, .1870, one of fifteen children, a son of Peter H. and 
Eliza (Finn) Delaney of Albany, New York. 

In 188 8 Frank Edward Delaney went to New York city and became associated 
with his present firm as office clerk. In 1899 he was made manager of the com- 
pany's offices in Buffalo. In 1901 he was transferred to Milwaukee, where he has 
since remained as manager. 

On the 1st of November, 1890, Mr. Delaney was united in marriage to Sarah 
Rush, a daughter of Michael Rush of Albany. Mr. and Mrs. Delaney have one 
son, William Francis, whose birth occurred in 189 7. At the time of the World war 
the son enlisted in the Naval Aviation Corps. He is now associated with his father's 
company as special representative. 

Frank E. Delaney is a communicant of St. Robert's parish of the Roman Cath- 
olic church and his social affiliations are with the Milwaukee Athletic and City 
Clubs. He has been successful in his business associations. 



PATRICK HENRY McGOVERN, M. D. 

Dr. Patrick Henry McGovern, physician and surgeon of Milwaukee and presi- 
dent of the Milwaukee County Medical Society, was born on a farm in Sheboygan 
county, Wisconsin, near Elkhart Lake, on the 24th of April, 1862. He is a son of 
Lawrence and Ellen (Wren) McGovern. both of whom were natives of Ireland, 
whence they came to the United States in early life. Both have passed away. 

Dr. McGovern was one of a family of seven children, of whom three are pro- 
fessional men in Milwaukee. He was named in honor of the great Patrick Henry, 
whose.stirring eloquence largely aroused the colonists to make the effort to achieve 
American independence. He was reared on his father's farm and attended the 
country schools. When twenty years of age he became a teacher and later attended 
the Madison high school. Ambitious to acquire an education he utilized every op- 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 355 

portunity in that connection and in 1888 was graduated from the academic depart- 
ment of the University of Wisconsin. Subsequently he became principal of the 
Chilton high sch'ool and continued in that position for three years. Thus lie earned 
the money which enabled him to pursue his professional course. In 1891 he 
matriculated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and was 
there graduated with the M. D. degree as a member of the class of 1894. Since 
that time he has been practicing medicine in Milwaukee and in 1901 he pursued 
a postgraduate course in Johns Hopkins University. Throughout his professional 
career he has utilized every chance to improve his knowledge and promote his 
efficiency in connection with the restoration of health. He belongs to the American 
Medical Association, the Wisconsin State Medical Association, the Milwaukee County 
Medical Society and the Milwaukee Medical Society and of the former is now the 
president. He has been a frequent contributor to medical literature and he is 
constantly watchful in order to promote his knowledge along the lines that will 
tender his labors of the greatest efficiency and worth to his fellowmen. He finds 
keen pleasure in his profession and aside from this his greatest enjoyment per- 
haps comes from nature. He is a lover of the outdoors and is appreciative of 
nature in her various moods. 

In 1896 Dr. McGovern was united in marriage to Miss Abbie Margaret Roth- 
mann, who was born in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, and they have many 
friend's who esteem them highly. Dr. McGovern is a Knight Templar and thirty- 
second degree Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. In fact he has taken all 
of the degrees in Masonry save the honorary thirty-third and is a loyal follower 
of the teachings and purposes of the craft, being in hearty sympathy with the 
broad humanitarian spirit that underlies the order. 



REV. JOSEPH WILLIAM BERG. 

Rev. Joseph William Berg, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic church of Milwaukee, 
was born in Jefferson, Wisconsin, April 15, 1869, a son of F. J. and Margaret 
(Jahn) Berg. The father was born in Westphalia, Germany, and came to America 
in bis childhood days with his parents, who crossed the Atlantic in the early '40s. 
At the time of the Civil war, F. J. Berg responded to the country's call and joined 
the Ninth Illinois Cavalry, with which he served for two years, when he was hon- 
orably discharged because of physical disability. He was a cooper by trade and 
was a man of marked industry and of sterling worth. For twenty-five years he was 
secretary of St. John's parish at Jefferson and was most highly respected. His 
father had first settled in Milwaukee in pioneer times and took up land but lived 
for only a brief period after his emigration to the new world. The mother of Rev. 
Father Berg was born in Bavaria, Germany, and was brought to America by her 
parents when a year old. Her birthplace was near Wunsiedel. On coming to the 
United States the family settled on a farm in Jefferson county, Wisconsin. 

Rev. Father Berg acquired his early education in the parochial schools of 
Jefferson and later attended St. Francis Seminary of Milwaukee. He was or- 
dained to the priesthood February 21, 1892, and was assigned to a chair in tin' 
seminary in September, 1891. He continued to engage in teaching until June 1, 
1921, being teacher*" of Latin and Greek for twelve years, also teacher of philosophy 
for eighteen years, and at different periods teacher of German and English, pa- 
trology, sociology and biology. For twenty years he was prefect of studies. He is 
the author of a volume entitled A Noble Priest, which is a biography of Dr. Salz- 
mann, founder of St. Francis Seminary. He also wrote the Life and Passion of 
our Savior, in German, and the Life of Pope Pius X, in English. He likewise 
prepared a monograph on St. Albert the Great and is the author of still other inter- 
esting papers. He is now in charge of St. Joseph's parish and is doing an excellent 
work in the upbuilding of the church and the extension of its work among the 
people of his section of the city. 



PERCY HENRIQUES EVANS. 



Percy Henriqnes Evans, actuary of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance 
Company in Milwaukee, was born in San Diego, California, November 9, 187;?. His 
father. James A. Evans. 11827-1887) a native of Dover, England, was a pioneer 
civil engineer in American railway building. From 1864 to 1869 lie was a divi- 
sion engineer and superintendent of construction in the building of the firsl trans- 
continental railway, the Union Pacific. He did pioneer engineering work for the 
Texas & Pacific Railroad, the Denver & South Park and other western lines, de- 



356 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

voting the greater part of his life to railway building. In 1872, at Ann Arbor, 
Michigan, he was married to Jessie Hunt Henriques, a descendant of Edward 
Howell, Westbury Manor, Marsh Gibbon, England, who was one of the founders of 
Southampton, Long Island, in 1639. 

Percy H. Evans was educated in the public schools of Denver and the Univer- 
sity of Michigan. In April, 1889, he entered the service of the Northwestern 
Mutual Life Insurance Company in the actuary's department. After a varied ex- 
perience including several years as an agent in San Francisco he was appointed 
assistant superintendent of agencies in 1902. In April, 1915, he was made asso- 
ciate actuary and in July, 1915, was elected the company's actuary. 

On the 11th of November, 1897, in Alameda, California, Percy H. Evans was 
married to Miss Eugenia Hotchkiss (b. 1873, d.1922), a daughter of Eugene Hotch- 
kiss, now deceased, senior member of the firm of E. Hotchkiss & Son and a well 
known member of the Milwaukee Board of Trade. 

Mr. Evans is a member of the executive committee of the Milwaukee Voters 
League; a thirty-second degree Mason; member of the Greek letter society Phi 
Kappa Psi, and of the Sons of the American Revolution. His club membership 
includes: The University, the Milwaukee Press, the Rotary, the Milwaukee Ath- 
letic and the City Clubs. He is a member of the American Institute of Actuaries, 
Actuarial Society of America; American Mathematical Society, American Statistical 
Association and other scientific societies. 



JOHN DONALD WAITE. 



Prominent among the energetic, farsighted and successful business men of Mil- 
waukee is John Donald Waite, president of the Milwaukee Screw Products Com- 
pany, whose executive ability, initiative spirit and well formulated plans have 
carried him into important business relations. He was born in Waukesha, this 
state, January 20, 1879, a son of John Austin and Martha (Cole) Waite. The 
father was born in England and came to this country with his parents in 1840 when 
he was about three years of age. They first located in Prairieville, Wisconsin, now 
Waukesha, and there he grew to manhood, later entering the wholesale and retail 
meat business, in which he achieved substantial success. He is now living in Mil- 
waukee retired. Mrs. Waite is a native of this state and was born on her father's 
farm three miles south of Waukesha. Her father, Abel J. Cole, was one of the first 
settlers of the county, having arrived there when Indians were numerous and the 
hunting of wild deer, antelope and other game was both a necessity and a pleasure. 
He was a native of New Hampshire. 

In the acquirement of an education, John Donald Waite attended the public 
schools of Waukesha county and later enrolled as a student in the Armour Institute 
of Chicago. His first position in the business world was with the Sioux City Pack- 
ing & Provision Company, now the Armour Company, of Sioux City, Iowa, where he 
remained for two years and then removed to Chicago. For the next four years he 
was associated with the S. & S. Packing Company as manager of the provision 
department and subsequently he resigned his position there to come to Milwaukee in 
connection with interests of the Armour Company. He was in their employ a year, 
after which he became traveling salesman for the Monarch Brass Company at Cleve- 
land and after a year on the road returned to Milwaukee and engaged in the auto- 
mobile business. For two years he was superintendent of the Petrel Motor Car 
Company and later received promotion to the office of general manager and was 
active in that connection until 1910. His next position was as manager of the 
works of the Stromberg Motor Devices Company at Chicago, and during his four 
years in that capacity he took a course at the Armour Institute. One year he was 
in the employ of the Wilson-Jones Loose Leaf Company in Chicago and was for five 
years Chicago manager for the New Britain Machine Company. 

On the 1st of January, 1920, Mr. Waite located in Milwaukee and took over his 
present business, known as the Milwaukee Screw Products Company, of which he 
became president. The business had been founded and incorporated the preceding 
year. The company manufactures automatic screw machine parts, specializing in 
hardened and ground automobile parts, and they have an extensive trade through- 
out the United States. In addition to the Milwaukee office they maintain a branch 
at Detroit. The business has steadily grown, and, where at first it required the serv- 
ices of but three machines and three men, they now operate fifteen machines and 
furnish work to over forty employes. 

Since age conferred upon Mr. Waite the right of franchise he has been a stanch 
supporter of the republican party but takes no interest in party affairs. His religious 
faith is that of the Baptist church, and fraternally he is identified with the Masons, 
belonging to Landmark Lodge, No. 422, F. & A. M., of Chicago. He is likewise 




JOHN D. WAITE 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 359 

an Elk, having membership in the lodge at Oak Park, Illinois. Mr. Waite is fond of 
all outdoor life and is an athlete and boxer of no little ability. He enjoys horseback 
riding and motoring. He is active in the interests of the Milwaukee Athletic Club 
and the Association of Commerce. As may be gathered from this review, the inter- 
ests of Mr. Waite have been wide and varied, and laudable ambition, has brought 
him success, proving what may be accomplished when determination and energy are 
constantly employed to overcome obstacles and difficulties and to meet competition. 



REV. WILLIAM HABERSTOCK. 

Rev. William Haberstock, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic church of Milwaukee, 
was born February 4, 1856, in the city which is still his home. He is a son of 
Balthasar and Catherine (Berg) Haberstock, who were natives of Nassau, 
Germany, whence they came to the new world. The mother arrived in Wisconsin 
in 1844, while the father crossed the Atlantic in 1847. He was a shoemaker by 
trade and followed the business for many years in this city. 

Rev. William Haberstock obtained his early education in the Holy Trinity 
School and for one year was a student in the Jesuit School. In 1869 he became 
a student in St. Francis Seminary and afterward spent one year in St. John's 
Seminary, attending there in 1876. He was ordained to the priesthood at St. 
Francis in 1879 and was assigned to duty at Cross Plains as a substitute priest 
for four weeks. He acted as assistant at Campbellsport for six weeks and for two 
years was pastor of the Catholic church at Random Lake and at Odell, a mission 
of Random Lake. His next assignment was to Seymour, Lafayette county, where 
he remained for six years and during that period he also attended the parishes of 
Elk Grove and Kendalltown, Lafayette county. He next went to Marytown, Wis- 
consin, where he remained for two years and later was assigned to the church at 
Elm Grove, which he served for seventeen years. On the expiration of that period 
he was called to Milwaukee as pastor of Holy Trinity church, with which he is 
still identified. It was in this church that he was baptized and received his first 
communion and also attended the first school connected with the parish. He has 
greatly built up this parish during his incumbency as pastor, paying off a big 
indebtedness and otherwise advancing the work and influence of the church. His 
mother is still living in Milwaukee, hale and hearty at the age of eighty-six years. 
Among his parishioners are many who have known Rev. Father Haberstock from 
his boyhood and who enjoy the benefit of his spiritual guidance and teaching. 



JOSEPH W. BRIGGS. 



Joseph W. Briggs, manager of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Com- 
pany for central and southern Wisconsin, is Milwaukee's son by adoption. He 
was born in Muscotah, Kansas, March 5, 1885, a son of Lewis Briggs, a prominent 
man of that state. The Briggs family is of Quaker origin and the grandfather, 
Joseph Briggs, was a well known member of the medical profession, having grad- 
uated from the La Porte Medical College with honors. The father was born in 
Coldwater, Michigan, in 1841, and upon growing to manhood engaged in the mer- 
cantile business and in operating a grain elevator, winning substantial ' success 
in both connections. He was a public-spirited man and in addition to holding 
various offices served in the Kansas legislature. His demise occurred in 1892. 
The wife of Mr. Briggs was before her marriage Miss Emma Gould, who was born 
in Batavia, New York, in 1841, a daughter of Zeno Gould, also a native of New 
York state. She passed away in 1905. 

Joseph W. Briggs received his early education in the public schools of Atchi- 
son. Kansas, and after putting his textbooks aside was employed in advertising 
and editorial work on a trade journal. He continued in that connection for some 
time when he became a reporter and labor editor for the Milwaukee Journal and 
was actively identified with that paper for a period of two years. He then be- 
came interested in the insurance business and associated with the Northwestern 
Mutual Life Insurance Company as special agent, a position he maintained from 
1912 to 1916. In the latter year he became manager of the Massachusetts Mutual 
Life Insurance Company, a position he still holds, with offices in the Caswell 
block. His dominant characteristics are pluck, energy and perseverance and 
he has steadily worked his way upward through the wise use of his opportunities, 
through his idefatigable energy and his sound judgment. 

On the 7th of April, 1909, Mr. Briggs was united in marriage to Miss Agnes 
Ritchie, of Irish descent. Her father, Frank Ritchie, is residing in Indianapolis, 



360 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

Indiana, and is a native of Oxford, Ohio. Two children have heen born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Briggs: Zeno, born February 16, 1910; and Mary Elizabeth. 

Since attaining his majority Mr. Briggs has followed an independent course 
in politics, giving his support to the man he thinks most fitted for the office with- 
out regard to party politics. The religious faith of the family is indicated by 
their membership in the Westminster church and fraternally Mr. Briggs is an 
Elk, belonging to Milwaukee Lodge, No. 46. In the club circles of the city he 
is well known as a member of the Milwaukee Athletic, Press and City Clubs, 
and being always interested in the improvement and development of the com- 
munity, he is one of the leaders in the affairs of the Association of Commerce. 
He is likewise numbered among the Sons of the American Revolution, being 
eligible through an ancestor, Zacharia Gould of Topsfield. The family home is 
located at 5 95 Frederick street and Mr. Briggs thoroughly enjoys home life and 
takes great pleasure in the society of his family and friends. His activity in 
business has not only contributed to his individual success but has also been an 
active factor in the development of the community in which he resides and he 
is accounted one of the representative citizens of Milwaukee. 



LEBERECHT JULIUS KLUG. 



Leberecht Julius Klug, secretary and treasurer of the Klug & Smith Company, 
conducting a general engineering and contracting business in the way of building 
bridges and buildings, is a man of recognized ability in his chosen field of labor. 
Thorough training, broad experience, laudable ambition and indefatigable energy 
have been the crowning points in the attainment of his present-day prominence and 
success. Mr. Klug was born in Milwaukee, January 9, 1876, and his entire life has 
been passed in this city. His father. Leberecht Klug, a native of Germany, was 
born February 21, 1839, while his mother, whose maiden name was Wilhelmina 
Blankenburg, was born in Germany, July 5, 1844. They came to the United States 
in 1867, settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they have continued to reside to 
the present time. 

The public school system of this city afforded L. J. Klug his educational oppor- 
tunities until he had completed a course in the East Side high school, after which 
he entered the University of Wisconsin and was graduated with the degree of 
Bachelor of Science, having completed a course in civil engineering. He had a 
fellowship in civil engineering at the State University in 1900, and utilizing his 
opportunity, developed his skill and proficiency along this line. For nine months 
after completing his college course he was employed by the American Bridge Works 
of Chicago as bridge draftsman, after which he returned to Milwaukee and for a 
year was connected with the J. G. Wagner Company, builders of bridges and build- 
ings. He then returned to the American Bridge Works of Chicago, with which com- 
pany he was again associated for a year and a half, after which he came to Mil- 
waukee for the American Bridge Company, which he represented for a year and a 
half in designing and drafting bridges and buildings. He next entered the employ 
of the Worden-AIlen Company of this city and remained with that corporation for 
two years, while later he spent three years as assistant engineer and chief draftsman 
with the Milwaukee Bridge Company. The following two years were passed as 
assistant city engineer of the city of Milwaukee, at the end of which time he became 
superintendent of bridges and public buildings, being the first to hold that position, 
which he occupied for two years. Ambitious to engage in business for himself, he 
formed a partnership in 1912 with Fred W. Smith, under the firm style of Klug & 
Smith, and the partnership was at length merged into a corporation in 1917 and 
still exists under the style of the Klug & Smith Company, of which Mr. Klug is 
secretary and treasurer. They conduct a general engineering and contracting busi- 
ness along the line of bridges and buildings and the high measure of efficiency 
which they have developed has made their business one of large extent and propor- 
tions. They were the builders of the North Avenue viaduct and they also designed 
and built the new United States plant of the Seaman Body Corporation. They had 
the contract for the pump well, screen chamber and grit chamber, together with the 
buildings at the Jones Island sewerage plant, for the sewerage commission of Mil- 
waukee and during the war they designed and built the heat treating building for 
the United States government at the Allis-Chalmers plant in West AUis, which is the 
tallest one-story building in Milwaukee, being the height of the Wells building. 
They also built the new waterworks pumping station for the city of Kenosha. Mr. 
Klug also designed the Michigan Street bridge and the Oneida Street bascule bridge 
in Milwaukee. The latter is the largest single-leaf bascule bridge of the girder type 
in Wisconsin. The company likewise designed bascule bridges for the cities of 
Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Their work has been of a very important character and 




LEBERECHT J. KLTTG 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 363 

as bridge and building contractors and consulting engineers they are known not 
only throughout Milwaukee and the state but in many other sections of the country 
as well. Mr. Klug has made steady progress since starting out in the business world 
and his success has come as the result of his developed powers and increasing skill 
and efficiency. 

On the 9th of January, 1902, Mr. Klug was married to Miss Hattie Druse, a 
daughter of John Druse of Milwaukee, who at one time was treasurer of Wauwatosa 
and is a native of Germany. They have become the parents of three children: 
Arleen, who is now a student in the University of Wisconsin; Bernice, attending 
the Washington high school; and Norton, who is a pupil in the grades of the public 
schools. 

Mr. Klug votes with the republican party but has never been an aspirant for 
office. He belongs to the Christian Science church and during the years 1910-12 
officiated as first reader of the Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Milwaukee. He 
was chairman of the building committee, which was charged with the responsibility 
of building the church edifice of Second Church of Christ, Scientist, at 2708 High- 
land boulevard in 1914. This edifice is one of the finest examples of modern church 
architecture in Milwaukee and is also one of the largest churches, having a seating 
capacity of fourteen hundred. He is identified with several professional societies, 
belonging to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Engineering Society of 
Wisconsin and the Builders and Traders Exchange. In 1910 to 1912 Mr. Klug acted 
as advisory engineer for Milwaukee in connection with the track elevation work on 
the south side and the track depression on the south and northwest sides. In 1913 
he acted as advisory engineer for the building code commission and drafted the 
ordinances on reinforced and plain concrete, timber construction and structural steel, 
subject to the approval of the building code commission. He was a member of the 
harbor commission in 1918 and a member of the building code commission in 
1918-19. He is also the secretary and treasurer of the Obenberger Forge Company 
of West Allis and of the Wisconsin Auto Exchange at 115 Sycamore street, perhaps 
the largest down-town garage business engaged in the storage of automobiles. His 
interest in the community welfare is shown through his membership in the Associa- 
tion of Commerce. He stands loyally in support of all those interests which are a 
matter of civic virtue and of civic pride and he believes in maintaining the highest 
municipal standards, giving earnest support to every measure that he believes will 
prove of benefit to his native city. Through his professional activity he has had 
opportunity to greatly promote the city's improvement in many ways. His entire 
career has been marked by that steady progression which ultimately means notable 
success. He is today one of the foremost representatives of his line of activity in 
the middle west, his scientific knowledge and mechanical skill and ingenuity having 
brought him to a point of enviable leadership. 



THE REV. EDWARD J. BLACKWELL. 

The Rev. Edward J. Blackwell, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas' church of Mil- 
waukee, was born in this city. April 1, 1863. He is a son of Thomas H. and Cath- 
erine (Bowe) Blackwell, the former a native of Limerick, Ireland, while the latter 
was also born in the Emerald isle. The father came to America in 1848. locating 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the early '50s. He was a machinist by trade, being 
an expert spring-maker. He was sent to different cities to instruct other men how 
to temper car springs by hand. His efficiency made his service of great value 
wherever he went. 

The Rev. Father Blackwell acquired his early education in St. John's Cathe- 
dral School at Milwaukee. His college course and his theological course were pur- 
sued at St. Francis Seminary. He was ordained June 24, 1887. He was then 
appointed to St. John's cathedral, being also assigned to attend St. Mary's Hospital 
and St. Rose's Orphan Asylum. He continued as chaplain until December, 1889. 
He was then appointed pastor of St. Mary's church at Fox Lake, Wisconsin, where 
he remained from the 1st of December, 1889, until September 13, 1898. While 
there he was instrumental in erecting the house of worship. He afterward took 
postgraduate work at the Catholic University at Washington, D. C. After two 
years he returned to Milwaukee in October, 1900, when Archbishop Katzer com- 
missioned him to establish a new English-speaking parish in the northwestern 
section of the city. The dedication of the first building took place October 13, 
1901. It was a school building, the upper story of which was used for church 
purposes until March 7, 1915. when the present new church structure was occupied. 
Attached to the church there are maintained a rectory and a nunnery. The new 
church building is a most attractive one. It is built in the Irish-Gothic style of 
architecture, its graceful pointed arches being a copy of the medieval architecture 



36.4 HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 

of Europe. With a seating capacity of a thousand it is a most beautiful church, 
of which the Rev. Father Blackwell may well he proud. The school was opened 
with eighty pupils, which number has increased from year to year until four hun- 
dred children are now attending under the direction of eight teaching Sisters of the 
Dominican Order. The new buildings were erected at a cost of about one hundred 
and twenty-five thousand dollars. The Rev. Father Hla-kwell has done splendid 
service since taking charge of this church, the work ol which is organized in every 
department, St. Thomas Aquinas having become a power for good in the promotion 
of the Catholic work in the city. 



PHILIP ORTH. 



Centuries ago the Psalmist wrote: "A good name is rather to be chosen than 
great riches." To have reached an advanced age crowned with the honor and respect 
of one's fellowmen is indeed a record well worth winning. The entire life history of 
Philip Orth measures up to the highest standards n« I only of industry and enterprise in 
business but of integrity, straightforwardness and honest dealing. Such is the record 
of Philip Orth, who still retains the title of president of the Philip Orth Company, 
wholesale dealers in flour and bakers' supplies, although he has largely turned over 
the management of the business, which today covers practically every section of 
Wisconsin, to his son. He has ever been actuated by the highest and most worthy 
purposes in his business career and no man has ever been more mindful of the rights 
of others than he, many engaged in the same line of business bearing testimony to 
his kindly consideration and his justice. 

Mr. Orth was born in Dolgesheim-Hessen, Darmstadt, Germany, March 17, 1845. 
His father, Adam Orth, was a school teacher at that place and married Elizabeth 
Regner. They spent their entire lives in Germany and had a family of nine children, 
eight sons and a daughter. Their son, Philip Orth, was educated in the schools of 
Germany, attending the gymnasium to the age of twenty years, and after coming to 
Milwaukee in 1S65 he became a student in the Markham Academy and the Spencerian 
Business College, where he acquainted himself with modern business methods and 
incidentally learned much of American life and customs. He spent three years in this 
way and in 1S6S he entered the employ of The Milwaukee Mechanics' Insurance Com- 
pany in a clerical capacity, while later he occupied the position of bookkeeper with the 
firm of Storm, Hill & Company. He has been identified with the flour, feed and grain 
business continuously since 1S78, or for a period of forty-four years, and throughout 
this entire time has conducted this business most successfully. He applies himself with 
thoroughness and energy to any task which cliims his attention and by reason of the 
many strong and sterling traits cf his character he has steadily advanced in a busi- 
ness way until he stands today at the head of a company controlling large trade inter- 
ests. Gradually he developed the business, making it one of mammoth proportions, and 
in recent years he has shifted the responsibilities of management and control over to 
his son and is now practically living retired. For forty-four years, however, he was 
a most active factor in the commercial circles of the city, the growth of his business 
being steady and sure owing to the reliable methods that he followed. He has every 
reason to be proud of his record of forty-four years in the trade. There are many 
of the small bakers of Milwaukee who purchased their supplies from him who have 
told his son how kind the father was to them when, had he desired, he could easily 
have put them out of business. He was aiways considerate of the rights and of the 
opportunities of others and was continually extending a helping hand where aid was 
needed. His associates and contemporaries in business therefore attest his considera- 
tion and his splendid qualities and entertain for him the highest respect and regard. 
Aside from his connection with the Philip Orth Company he is likewise identified 
with the Milwaukee Mechanics' Fire Insurance Company and he is a member of the 
Association of Commerce, thoroughly alive to every enterprise for the city's develop- 
ment and the advancement of its civic standards. 

On the 12th of August, 1891. Mr. Orth was married to Miss Martha Meinecke, a 
daughter of Edward and Pauline von Zastrow-Kuessow Meinecke, the former of whom 
was born in Burhave. Oldenburg. Germany, and came to the United States when about 
eighteen years of age, while a year later he was joined by his father, Dr. Ferdinand 
Meinecke. They remained for a time in New York and in 1852 came to Milwaukee, 
where Dr. Meinecke engaged in the practice of medicine to the time of his death, which 
occurred in 186S. His son, Edward Meinecke, with his brother Adolph, founded the 
Meinecke Toy Company and conducted the business for many years. His death 
occurred in 1903. The mother of Mrs. Orth bore the maiden name of Pauline von 
Zastrow-Kuessow and traced her lineage back to the eleventh century, belonging to one 
of the five oldest families of the Pomeranian nobility. Berndt von Zastrow-Kuessow, 
the maternal grandfather cf Mrs. Orth, was one of those who left Germany at the 




PHILIP ORTH 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 367 

time of the revolution in 1848, feeling that he could no longer live under monarchical 
oppression. He afterward served as a member of the general assembly of Wisconsin 
from Ozaukee county. Mrs. Orth was educated in the Engelman school of this city, 
now the Milwaukee University, from which in due course of time she was graduated, 
and she also had private tutoring in German, French and English. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Orth have been born five children, four of whom are living, one son, Frederick, dying 
on the 19th of December, 1904, at the age of six years. Philip, who is now secretary 
and treasurer of the Philip Orth Company, married Irene Gibson of Milwaukee, a 
daughter of William Gibson, connected with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, and 
they have one son, Philip Orth (III). Edward Orth married Gertrude Freuler, a daugh- 
ter of John R. Freuler, a prominent capitalist of Milwaukee, and they have one 
daughter, Marian. Margaret is the wife of George Andrae, son of Herman Andrae of 
the Herman Andrae Electrical Company. The youngest member of the family is 
Elizabeth Orth, who is now attending the Milwaukee University School. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Orth have always been strong supporters of the Milwaukee Uni- 
versity Sehcol and have given substantial aid to the cause of education in many ways. 
Mrs. Orth was for ten years president of the Ladies' Society of the German-English 
Academy, now the Milwaukee University School, and her labors in behalf of intellectual 
progress have been far-reaching and effective. In 1918 she was associated with Mrs. 
James Trottman and others in founding the Milwaukee County Chapter of the War 
Mothers of America, of which she became vice president. This organization is now- 
known as the Service Star Legion. One of her ideas which was carried out was the 
compilation of some dozen volumes of photographs of the soldier boys, with the names 
of the mothers, from Milwaukee county. This volume is now in the Milwaukee Public 
Library. Her son, Edward Orth, was a first lieutenant in the Quartermaster's Corps, 
Salvage Department, of the Eighty-fifth Division, during the war and was stationed at 
Camp Custer. George Andrae, husband of Margaret Orth, was also in the service during 
the period of hostilities with Germany. In the social circles of the city the Orth family 
lias likewise figured prominently, while Mr. Orth's position in business circles has long 
been one of leadership. It seems to be the purpose of nature, however, that the in- 
dividual in later years shall enter upon a period of relaxation and of rest. In youth 
he is possessed of ambition and energy which in mature years is supplemented by the 
sound judgment that comes through experience. Labors wisely directed by an in- 
dividual, ultimately winning success, should therefore be followed by this period of 
retirement in part or in whole, permitting of leisure for the enjoyment of what has 
already been acquired; and such is the record of Mr. Orth. Forceful and resourceful, 
he conducted his business affairs with notably sound judgment and unfaltering enter- 
prise through more than four decades and his legion of friends now rejoice that the 
opportunity is his to rest from his labors, with the opportunity to follow his taste and 
inclination in the matter of pleasurable recreation. 



WAR MOTHERS OF AMERICA. 

The organization known as the War Mothers of America was an outgrowth of senti- 
ment and needs arising from our participation in the World war. The young men of 
America, in April, 1917, left their homes for the training camps. On November 3, 1917, 
the first American soldier fell on French soil. His name was James Bethel Gresham. 
Private Gresham was from Vanderburgh county, Indiana, and from a plain unpreten- 
tious American home. He gave to his country the greatest gift of all — his life. The 
Vanderburgh county mothers, wives and sisters conceived the idea of organizing a 
Ciety in honor and in memory of Private Gresham and of all American boys who 
had given or would give their lives in the service of their country. The idea im- 
mediately became popular and spread through Indiana and other states. So great 
was i he demand for a national organization, that a number of women relatives of 
soldiers who went from Vanderburgh county, Indiana, assumed the responsibility of 
caning a national convention. This was held in Evansville, Indiana, in September, 
1918. A permanent national organization under the name of War Mothers of America 
was effected and officers were elected. The women realized that after all the tumult and 
shouting had died there would be need of patriotic service as great in peace as there 
was in war. This was the first national society having hereditary membership that was 
organized during the war and had as its main object the doing of permanent patriotic 
service. The name of the national society was subsequently changed from War Mothers 
of America to Service Star Legion. This was done at its first annual national conven- 
tion, at which eleven other women societies became amalgamated with the War Mothers 
of America under the new name, Service Star Legion. 

In the summer of 1918, Mrs. Edwin Van Ostrand, of Madison, Wisconsin, who had 
been interested in the War Mothers of America from the first and who had been 
appointed by the national organization as state organizer for Wisconsin, requested Mrs. 



368 HISTORY OP MILWAUKEE 

James Trottman to organize a Milwaukee Chapter, and in September, 191S, urged her 
to take up this work at once. 

At a meeting which had been called by Mrs. Rudolph Pfeil in connection with 
distribution of candy to soldiers and which was held in the Plankinton Hotel, Mrs. 
Orth and Mrs. Trottman spoke and told of the need and value of an organization com- 
posed of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of the men who were in service, a 
society that would grow into a great democratic organization whose right of eligibility 
was to be a mother, a wife, a sister or descendant of a son or daughter in service, a 
society that would continue and be maintained by the children, grandchildren and 
great-grandchildren and a lasting memorial to those whose lives were given in sacrifice. 
At this meeting a luncheon was suggested at which a plan of organization was to be 
outlined. 

The luncheon took place at Margaret Franklin's restaurant in the Plankinton 
Arcade. Twenty-four women were present and tentative plans were made. A com- 
mittee on organization was appointed, preliminary meetings were held, and December 
5, 1918, the organization meeting of the Milwaukee County Chapter of War Mothers of 
America was held in Library Hall. The state organizer, Mrs. Van Ostrand, presided. 
At this meeting the officers and directors were elected and the constitution adopted. 
Mrs. Trottman, who had been appointed organizer and president by the state organizer, 
was elected president of the Milwaukee Chapter. The other officers then elected were 
Mrs. Rudolph Pfeil, Jr., honorary president; Mrs. Philip Orth, Mrs. Alex Weil, Mrs. J. 
Pawinski, Mrs. Fred G. Castle and Mrs. Jesse Bradley, vice presidents; Mrs. Gustav 
Pabst, Mrs. Howard Eldred, Mrs. Fred M. Scott, Mrs. Frank Lindsay and Mrs. Gustav 
Hipke, honorary vice presidents; Mrs. Joseph P. Sherer, recording secretary; Mrs. 
Fred Dickens, assistant recording secretary; Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, corresponding 
secretary; Mrs. F. W. Siemens, treasurer; Mrs. August G. Inbusch, historian; Mrs. J. 
K. Tibbitts, assistant historian; and Mrs. J. L. Bitker, auditor. 

The work of the society began at once. Mrs. Albert Trostel's generous gift of the 
rental of a room for six months made a home for the new society and was the first 
material encouragement the chapter received. This room was in the Plankinton Arcade 
and was the gathering place of the society for nearly a year. 

The constitution. adopted by the Milwaukee County Chapter of the War Mothers of 
America, in line with the national organization, stated its purposes as follows: 

1. To form a bond of union of all mothers of American soldiers, sailors and 
marines. 

2. To extend to one another, and to our soldiers, sailors and marines and their 
families, mutual comfort, sympathy and aid. 

3. To foster the spirit of freedom, equality and true democracy. 

4. To promote American ideals and love of our country and its institutions. 

5. To collect and preserve records and accounts of individual services of our 
soldiers and sailors and marines, to secure their photographs and to promote historical 
research. 

6. To commemorate, by fitting celebrations and ceremonies, by monuments and by 
other proper means, the participation of our sons in the great World war. 

7. To cherish the memory of those of our boys who lost their lives in the service 
of their country. 

Before the local society was two months old, plans were outlined for a great 
celebration which, after preliminary arrangements had been made and the celebration 
finally determined upon, was called Homecoming Victory Festival and Circus Hippo- 
drome. One of the objects of this celebration was to create a fund for the Milwaukee 
County Chapter for the purpose of doing patriotic work, in strict conformity with the 
purposes stated in the constitution. Inasmuch as it seemed to the members and 
directors of the chapter that this celebration should not have for its sole object the 
raising cf money but should also have for one of its objects an entertainment and 
celebration for all our ciitzens, the charge for admittance tickets was placed at the 
small sum of ten cents. Soldiers, sailors and marines were admitted free. The festival 
was held in the Milwaukee Auditorium. Almost the entire Auditorium, including base- 
ment, was secured for the purpose. The celebration continued for a period of nine 
days beginning February 22, George Washington's birthday anniversary, and ending 
Much 2. 1919. The celebration was in charge of the then board of directors. 

The immediate direction of all the business and organization of the celebration was 
placed in charge of a special executive committee appointed by the directors. This 
executive committee consisted of James Trottman, chairman, and Rudolph Pfeil. Jr., 
Philip Orth, C. W. Foss and J. W. Martin. The festival was a great success. Every 
afternoon and evening the seating capacity of the main hall of the Auditorium was 
taxed to the utmost and thousands of visitors were scattered throughout the rest of 
the building, in Kilbourn. Juneau and Engelmann halls, throughout the basement, and 
at the booths and exhibits, and thousands were unable to gain admittance. This festival 
v. as the greatest community celebration that had ever taken place in Milwaukee. From 
one hundred eighty thousand to two hundred thousand persons, young and old, took 



HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE 369 

part. Many of the members of the chapter worked early and late to make the home- 
coming festival a success, and few, except those who took part, realized the amount 
of work, responsibility and enthusiasm that went into this big undertaking which was 
patriotic and democratic in every sense. However, it must not be overlooked that, but 
for the interest and aid lent by many of our prominent citizens, this undertaking could 
not have been carried through successfully. Although the charge for an admission 
ticket was only ten cents, the astounding attendance and the good will that prevailed 
gave a substantial return over and above the heavy expenses that were necessary in 
giving our people this celebration and entertainment, the first after the armistice. 
Although the rental and other items paid to the Auditorium for these nine days, was 
more than five thousand seven hundred dollars, and although there were other heavy 
expenses, the net sum earned was more than seventeen thousand dollars. This fund, 
so secured, became the working capita! of the local society Milwaukee County Chapter of 
the War Mothers of America. What now remains of this fund raised by the festival is 
under the control of the local chapter of the society known as the American War 
Mothers. At Mrs. Philip Orth's suggestion, a history of the service of Milwaukee 
county boys in the World war was undertaken, and seven thousand dollars was, by 
action of the original board, set aside for this work. A great deal of time, unselfish 
work and great care were necessary to carry out this undertaking and the result of 
the work is contained in twelve volumes which are now in the Milwaukee public 
library. 

Since the Homecoming Victory Festival, the Milwaukee County Chapter of War 
Mothers has been active in doing helpful work for soldiers, sailors and marines. In 
the early part of 1919, the Gold Stripe Minstrels, every one of whom had been seriously 
wounded in the war, gave an entertainment. When it appeared that these boys had 
little or no organized support to help them, the chapter gave aid by selling tickets and 
interesting other organizations, with the result that the entertainment was a financial 
success and gave a substantial sum for the wounded men. 

On June 6, 1919, the great homecoming of the Thirty-second Division took place. 
To help bring and entertain the wounded and convalescing soldiers from Fort Sheridan. 
Fort Snelling and Waukesha, the chapter contributed one thousand dollars. The chapter 
took part in the A Capella Choir Memorial Concert, given in the main hall of the 
Auditorium, and on that occasion presented the Memorial Wreath which is now in 
Memorial Hall of our public library; and in the campaign for the state soldiers' bonus, 
gave the state president of the War Mothers organization and other chapters through- 
out the state, valuable aid that helped materially in securing the bonus. For months 
the chapter kept open house for the boys and in that way not only gave comfort but 
also help to many who were in need. In these and other ways the Milwaukee County 
Chapter has been a great help to many of the boys who would otherwise have been 
exposed to hardship. 

In October, 1919. the second annual convention of the national society of the War 
Mothers of America was held in Baltimore. Invitations had been sent to a number of 
societies which had been formed in different parts of the United States, operating under 
different names, but of the same nature and scope as the War Mothers of America. 
Notice was also sent to all local chapters notifying them of- the invitation to these 
several societies, of possible incorporation, and of the possibility of a change of name. 

Eleven societies accepted the invitation of the War Mothers of America to attend. 
At this meeting, the eleven societies, so invited, became a part of the original society 
of War Mothers of America. At the same meeting, and by a majority vote, the old 
in me, War Mothers of America, was discarded, and a new name, Service Star Legion, 
was adopted. As part of this action, permission was given to all chapters or organiza- 
tions to use their old names locally, if they so desired, but required them to conform 
with the regulations of the state and national organizations. The Milwaukee County 
Chapter of War Mothers of America, having received invitation to this second annual 
convention of the national society, sent four representatives to the Baltimore meeting 
an